Aquasport 22-2 Rebuild Log

[compcrasher86]

Hey guys here you can find the cosmetic restoration of my 22-2

I bought this boat in June for $2900 off of a frustrated owner who didnt have enough space for it.

It is a classic 1973 Aquasport 22-2 with a Hialeah Semi-Vee hull. It came with a 1987 Evinrude 140hp V4 with VRO. The engine runs great for her age and has compression ratings of 135, 135, 135, and 130. The boat was beached often by the original owner so the hull is a bit scraped up but structurally this boat is solid as a rock.

Therefore, I have decided to undergo a cosmetic restoration. Everything except for my helm cooler is stock on the boat and in good shape. I plan on keeping the original layout of the 22-2 and clean, paint, and polish her to a shine.

There are several small damage spots in the hull cap that show careless docking jobs and other than that there are a couple scuff marks here and there on the outside of the boat. Other than that this old beauty is in great shape. Thanks for reading all of this and I hope you enjoy my first restoration  
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Here I will post updates and the boats current status:

Boat is at my friends shop being patched. Will post pics when its back.

-Matt  

[compcrasher86]

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Heres some pics of the boat right after I got it, its been a month or two since I took these pics:

heres me checking out the boat:


heres the console with the seat off:


heres the front compartments:


heres the console:


and the back of the boat with the evinrude 140:


The previous owner included the following with the boat:

New Starter (Installed)
New Electronic Choke (Installed)
New hydraulic trim/lift (Installed)
New Lift trim/switch (Installed)
New Battery (On the side)
New Water Separator (In box)
New Anchor with rope (In box)
Cooler to act as helm seat
Fuel Additive and cleaner

[Mad Dog]

Inside it looks exactly like my '75.  Can you post a pic from the stern?  Does it have semi-vee or is the bottom flat across the stern?  If it is a "flatback" then it was built prior to '75.  Check out the Resourse area of the forum.  Lots of good info there.

The hull identification number should be on the outside of the transom on the port side just below the cap.  It is imbossed into the gelcoat.  The transom looks original so the ID should be there.

MD  

[compcrasher86]

Today I tested her on the water and I maxed out at 6000rpms and 44mph, I was plowing through the waves and my passengers were amazed at how smooth the ride was despite the age of the boat. Definately a sturdy boat and a good ride. (Knock on wood)

I used some cleaner and a scrub brush  and the two-tone paint shines like its new (As you can see in the pics)  

here is a pic from inside transom:

and outside transom:

and one of the transom last month when she was out of the water (yes I know my skeg is missing, but it wasnt my fault   , it still runs fine though and if I run something over and kill the gearcase, its a good excuse to repower:

^^As you can see above, there was a hydrofoil stabilizer on the motor. I took it off and replaced the prop because I found that at around 4500 RPM my engine would cavitate like crazy. Now I can go the full 6000 RPM and running great.

Based on the above pic I would say shes a semi-vee

And yes the HIN is still on there:


however, I just looked up the HIN online and it says the boats manufacturer is the Alexandria Seaport Meuseum (ASM) in Alexandria Virginia in May of 1973. ASM is a boat importing/building place so my guess is it was imported from aquasport and then ASM just tagged it with a HIN

[compcrasher86]

Well my last couple of hours have been marvelous. I went out on the boat and I was just cruising and suddenly the engine started to lose power, almost as if it was out of gas, and then it completely stalled out, wouldnt start again. I tried pumping the bubble and it squeezed in but didnt pop back out which means there was something clogging the line (yayy). So I checked the lines to the engine, and opened the water separator (which had no fuel in it ?!?!?) Then finally I opened up the access hatch to the gas tank and found this:

(sorry its a cell phone picture)
So I hit myself in the head for not checking the tank when I bought the boat. So its a bit rusty, right. Ohkay, but why was it clogging. I took the hose off the feed spigot on the tank and there I found the problem. A huge piece of solidified gasoline. So not only do I have a rusty tank, but there must be old gas in it as well. And to top it all off, I just put $250 of new gas in this tank. I am having the remaining gas pumped and filtered tomarrow and for now, my buddy stopped by and dropped off these:

So I have decided to use the removable tanks until the end of the season and then over the winter I will consider my options for new gas tanks. I considered having the old one power-washed out and dried but I dont know if it is in good enough condition to be used again. Maybe a new alluminum or those cool new plastic in-hull ones

[Capt. Bob]

I'm a little fuzzy on where you're coming up with ASM.
The first three letters are ASP and if I'm understanding the USCG's MIC database then.....

ASP now seems to stand for Alexandria Seaport Foundation in Alexandria, Va.

ASP formerly stood for Aquasport in Hialeah Fla.

They still appear to be in business.

These are USCG comments at bottom of page.

Give them a call and see if they can ID your hull.

[Capt. Bob]

If you think your tank is oxidized (edited because I should have known better) on top, wait till you see the bottom. :o

[slippery73]

Your boat is a 73' as designated by the last two numbers on your HIN. Also these boats had aluminum tanks, ie: no rust. You will most likely need a new tank, after all your is 35 years old. Might check your max rpm on that motor as well, I don't think those v-4 omc motors will have a long life at 6000rpm.

[Capt. Bob]

I just went out in the nasty weather to check my HIN

ASPA0492M84E

I know that the ASP stands for Aquasport (it's a glorious Hialeah hull).
The 84E is the manufacture date of 1984 and I'm guessing that the E stands for May.
I would swear I remember reading somewhere on this Forum that someone had deciphered these HIN numbers.

EDIT: Found in the resource forum

I'm guessing your's is Hialeah hull also, manufactured in May  1973.

EDIT #2 Slippery beat me to it

[Marcq]

I didn't think they had metal tanks in Aquasport !!

Marc..

[compcrasher86]

When I said ASM I was abbreviating Alexandria Seaport Meuseum (same as foundation). So it was a bit of a misunderstanding, sorry.

Good to I have Hialeah hull. According to the MIC database, Aquasport Hialeah (ASP) was taken over by Aquasport in Miami (OUA) in 1988 which was then bought over by Glastron boats (GLA) the current owner. Confusing ownership!  

Yes, I agree with you Capt. Bob, the hull is amazing!

I'm also hoping santa will leave a custom built gas tank by speedtanks.com under the tree this winter, if he could lift it, of course! Does anybody have any idea what I am supposed to do with the old one?

As for the motor, she runs great for her age, the previous owner said she still has low hours and I beleive him because it runs like it. On a cold start, it takes only 2 seconds of cranking with choke and a bit of throttle and shes on. Warm up for 30 seconds and shes ready to go for the whole day. It does have a dead spot on the RPM (between 3k and 4k) (see my thread at http://www.classicaquasport.com/forum/v ... 2278#22278) and its kinda loud and drinks gas, but thats what makes her a two stroke. Even my friends 2002 Johnson shakes around like crazy but mine is 15 years older and It barely moves around at all.

I have already promised myself though, if the engine ever needs a repair over $500, I am getting rid of it and my friend over at the local evinrude shop has a brand new 115hp 2008 e-tec he will install and setup for only $6,000

[Capt. Bob]

 
 Does anybody have any idea what I am supposed to do with the old one?

Clean it up the best you can and see if they will accept it at your local (?) recycling center. It will make a lot of beer cans.



 my friend over at the local evinrude shop has a brand new 115hp 2008 e-tec he will install and setup for only $6,000

I'd be all over that. I'm not up on E-Tecs 115 cost but last year I looked at a 200 and to refit using my controls was about $15 large.

[compcrasher86]

Yea, he said he would do everything, including new controls and everything, which is regularly worth like 11 big ones.

Im pretty cheap though, so I'm going to hold on to my old one till it starts costing me big bucks, then I'll repower. After all, my friend said the offer will still be open (I think he knows the old engine is a hunk of crud)

[compcrasher86]

I tried to replace the old creaky warning horn in the throttle with a nice modern tone out of a buzzer I bought at radioshack. I tested it out on 12v and it worked perfectly!

Heres my diagram of how it should be wired:
  ______
 | Alarm |--------12v on ignition------------------------> Ignition switch
 |_____ |--------Alarm wire from engine--------------> Wiring harness

Whenever the alarm wire is grounded, the buzzer should go off. So I connected the new one right in the place of the old one and here is how it went. I put everything back together and turned the key. Instantly I heard the nice new tone loud and clear, but after a second, instead of turning off like the old one, it stayed on and became somewhat faint but still audible. I knew it would bug the heck out of me So I put the old one back in without thinking. Now I am home and trying out to figure out what happened out there

Here are my theories:

1- The negative terminal on the warning horn may have been touching another wire or terminal in the ignition when I stuffed it back in the throttle assembly thus causing the faint beep.

2- There may still be a partial ground when the engine is running normal and because the new buzzer works at a variety of voltages, it could have accepted the partial ground and allowed through only the necessary voltage, explaining the faintness. Whatever the ground was, it must have been low because it only sounded like it was letting one or two volts through

3 - The old buzzer may have been designed as a one second beep buzzer. Honestly I have never hear the alarm on for more than a second at a time because the engine has never overheated, low oil, over revved, etc.

Another odd time I heard the buzzer go off was during cranking.Once, the engine flooded and I was cranking for like six seconds straight and the alarm went off, obviously I stopped and waited a while after that

Honestly the whole buzzer system on this engine is depressing, and I cant wait to have a nice system check feature on a new E-tec, hope I get it soon!

[compcrasher86]

Alright guys Im heading up to NH till saturday, I need some time on the lake. I also have another boat project up there to work on, but its not an Aquasport. Im restoring an old peterborough with a 150 mercruiser. Rotted floorboards, should be fun