Getting ideas for my upcoming work on 170

[Miguel]

Thanks!

[minionsram]

Thanks!

well I had taken a pic of it but I think I deleted it, Ill try to get one of it in a day or so when if get home before dark.

[minionsram]

Well I rebuilt the carbs, replaced all fuel lines on the motor and cleaned and regapped the NGK plugs, and then replaced the primer bulb with a Johnson evinrude one. The wife wanted to go fishing at the coast for her birthday so we carried the boat out for its voyage. It ran great, no issues with starting, and only a very slight skip on idle. The idle was too low in the water, only around 500 rpm in gear and was close to shutting off, but never did. I need to get a book to make sure I have the link and sync done properly.
The water was rough! 2-1/2 ft and a few 4's every once in a while. we only put up with that in the ICW and hit the creeks. Had a blast and the best thing was the new bimini top!

[boatnamesue]

If you've dialed in the carb mix and the engine responds good, but the idle speed is a little low as you indicated....Start engine on flush and let warm up, 10-15min.  Keeping an eye on your tach, turn in the idle speed screw, 1/4 turn at a time.  This will increase your idle speed rpms.  Set to rpm spec.

[minionsram]

If you've dialed in the carb mix and the engine responds good, but the idle speed is a little low as you indicated....Start engine on flush and let warm up, 10-15min.  Keeping an eye on your tach, turn in the idle speed screw, 1/4 turn at a time.  This will increase your idle speed rpms.  Set to rpm spec.

on the 96 evinrude 115 I dont have a mix screw or an idle screw as far as I know. It is my understanding that its all preset and if the link and sync is proper, with no leaks or clogs then the carbs run as they should

[boatnamesue]

If you've dialed in the carb mix and the engine responds good, but the idle speed is a little low as you indicated....Start engine on flush and let warm up, 10-15min.  Keeping an eye on your tach, turn in the idle speed screw, 1/4 turn at a time.  This will increase your idle speed rpms.  Set to rpm spec.

on the 96 evinrude 115 I dont have a mix screw or an idle screw as far as I know. It is my understanding that its all preset and if the link and sync is proper, with no leaks or clogs then the carbs run as they should

I'm not familiar with evinrude motors.  But I would be surprised if its carbs did not allow you the ability to fine tune mix and speed.  Even a 2 stroke lawnmower carb allows this.  Look at your engines service manual, fuel section, carb schematic.  The mix screw is normally located above and left of each barrel.  Idle speed screw can be found by tracing the carb valves linkage rod.  At the bottom of the linkage is a lever.  A screw seats on top of the lever, allowing you to set the throttle plates.

[minionsram]

well I did a hatch in the floor, works great.



for large items like lifejackets and things the wife likes, like rugs and pillows lol



very suprised the floor and sub system had no moisture, rot or delam to it. the tempress hatch sent in like a dream with some stainless screws and some 5200

[boatnamesue]

Cool.  I'm curious...how deep is this hatch?  Like, what is the measurement from top of deck down to hull?

[minionsram]

Thanks!

here it is mounted man. sorry it has taken so long to get you a pic of it.

[minionsram]

Cool.  I'm curious...how deep is this hatch?  Like, what is the measurement from top of deck down to hull?

Ok the center of the hatch is 10 and 1/2 inches to the bottom flange of the hatch. that is to the top of the center stringer. on the sides of the hatch its 10 inches even to the side of the hull. From the front lip of the hatch you have about 2' of storage before you touch the fuel tank coffin. and of course you can store junk all the way to the front of the deck. any large items would be good from what I see. small ones will fit in the gap that goes under the fuel tank coffin.

[boatnamesue]

Gotcha, thanks.  It's a great idea.  Dam sure the 170 lacks dry storage.  Did you drop a plastic tub/bin/liner in there, same dimensions as the hatch?  Or just stuffing dry items in there and closing hatch?  Surprised to hear you say how dry it is under there.  I wouldn't expect this to be so.

[minionsram]

Gotcha, thanks.  It's a great idea.  Dam sure the 170 lacks dry storage.  Did you drop a plastic tub/bin/liner in there, same dimensions as the hatch?  Or just stuffing dry items in there and closing hatch?  Surprised to hear you say how dry it is under there.  I wouldn't expect this to be so.

no liner, just stuffing it with junk lol

[Miguel]

Thanks!

here it is mounted man. sorry it has taken so long to get you a pic of it.

Looks great!  Good sized unit.

[JimInPB]

A 96 Evinrude 115 is not an overweight motor for that boat.  The 88-115 OMC outboards were all basically the same motor, with a few minor tuning variations.  The biggest difference was the “bubble back” on the 115 as compared to the “flat back” on the 88/90hp versions.  The bubble back was an exhaust tuning chamber.  The flat backs didn’t breath as well at high RPMs.  These motors are all the older cross flow design.  Unless you change shaft length, or add/subtract the power trim/tilt system, the weight variation between any of the V-4’s is probably not different by more than 5 pounds.  The 88 & 112 specials did not have the VRO pumps.  They were designed for pre-mixed fuel & marketed to the commercial sector.  Most specials did not have TnT.

It is not uncommon for water to come in the scuppers on a lot of 17’ boats if the operator is standing at the rear.  The boats were balanced for just the weight of a V-4 motor at the back & not much more.  If you add a bracket, you will throw the center of balance further back & you will have a lot of water coming in through the scuppers.  You will also have funny handling characteristics.  I tried mounting a Sea Drive on a brand new 25’ Express Fisherman back around 1984 or 85.  That was a big mistake.  The boat did not like the weight being that far back at all.  If you want to run a bracket on that little boat, then it is probably a good idea to first move the fuel tank & center console forward a bit to bring the center of gravity back where it should be.  That is a lot of work & I would not want to attempt it unless you are already doing a full deck tear up for some other reason.

I run my boats in the ocean.  It is very important for me to have working scuppers.  Plugs are suicide in heavy seas & I occasionally find myself in heavy seas.  I often fish my little 17 out in water that is more than 600’ deep & sometimes more than 1,000’ deep.  I have the ball scuppers & they generally work pretty well at preventing back flow.  If they do leak, it’s usually because a small piece of bait or something has washed out from inside the boat & is holding one open.  I almost never have a problem from something outside the boat sneaking into a scupper & holding it open.  I also have a deck pump in the trough by the scupper holes.  Between the ball scuppers & the deck pump, I generally keep a pretty dry deck.  I also have a bilge pump down below.  I may add a second bilge pump, if I can figure out a good way to run a second outflow hose to the port side of the boat without pulling up the whole top half of the hull.  My pumps are all wired on HOA switches.  Up is manual on.  Center is off.  Down is automatic via float switch.  The power feeds to one pump runs directly to battery #2 through a self resetting breaker.  The other pump runs off of my main distribution panel that goes to battery #1.  All outflow hoses have anti-siphon devices, as required by ABYC for discharges less than 12” above the water line.

Idle mix adjustment screws probably are present on any cross flow motor that has carbs.  In 96, the factory probably hammered in plugs over the screw heads.  This was an EPA mandate that was done to keep the owners from messing with the idle mixture & making the motors run less lean & therefore produce more smog.  If you can find the plugs, you can usually drill them out.  They are usually made out of a soft steel or aluminum or on rare occasion, brass.  If you do drill them, be careful not to drill all the way into the screw heads.  Drill a small hole (like 1/8”) & then pry out the plug, using a small punch or screw driver for leverage.  On the older motors, at least up through the 70’s, the idle mix screws were openly accessible.  Idle speed screws for all cross flows, that I have seen, are on the linkage that also connects to the timing advance up under the flywheel.  It’s just 1 adjustment for the idle speed on all 4 carbs.  Carb sync is another story.  It is more complicated to adjust.

As for storage ideas, the 170 has limited space to work with, but depending on what you do & don’t need, you may be able to rob Peter to pay Paul.  If you don’t need a lot of cooler space, then you can probably build a fairly high storage cabinet where your cooler seat is currently located.  Or you could just use the cooler under the seat as dry storage & maybe have one of the little soft side coolers kicking around on deck to keep a few things cold.  You may be able to build a storage locker into the space on top of the deck, in front of the console, if nobody spends much time sitting in front of the console.  You could also do the same on the sides of the console, if you don’t mind having that much raised deck area. 

…..Just some ideas.

Nice looking little boat you have there.  For $1,100 you stole it.  Congrats. 

[minionsram]

Thanks Jim. I haven't taken the ole boat out to deep water yet. Ive had it in 4' seas on the ICW though. I was thinking about using a small deck bilge to keep the trough clear. What brand you use and how shallow does it draw? I have also thought about using the duck bill scuppers but am worried they wont flow. Also been drafting and planning to make 2 flotation pods that look a bit like the factory fish boxes that mounted on the back on either side of the motor.
 I am going to look at the carbs when I get back from my drill this weekend. For the most part I have the kinks worked out, but with my tinker, rebuild and fabrication disorder I doubt it will ever be 100%. I did install a deck plate forward of the bait tank in front of the console. So far that has been the bees knee's. I am looking at installing a tackle locker somewhere now.