New to me 1978 200CCP 185 Johnson

[nightimefishn]

Hello everyone,
 I just picked up my 1978 200CCP with a Johnson 185HP last weekend, named her Sick Day. I am very excited about this boat and am looking forward to starting my work on her. She is in pretty good shape and will be starting my rebuild soon. Looks like we are going to have some great weather this weekend so I can’t wait to get started....

I have so many questions for all you Aquasport pros on here, looking forward to learning a ton about what I think is an excellent boat!!

So far I have been out a couple times with her and she runs pretty strong. I have changed plugs, cleaned carbs, lower unit oil looked real good and the impeller looked to have been changed very recently. I am getting 110 PSI on 5 cylinders and 101 on one. Pretty good compression I think. I am concerned about the hole shot or lack there of. I am a little disappointed as it seemed my 115 merc inline 6 on a 21 ft manatee blows it away out of the hole. I have a couple things still to look at prop being my first suspicion. I will post some numbers on RPM @WOT after I get out on her again ( I was too  excited and cold this past weekend to take numbers down). I think IM propped too big but will also jot down prop numbers soon.

I am going to start this weekend by inspecting all of my wiring, having some electrical issues with the bilge pumps and basically all of the switches on the boat. Any suggestions on buying marine wire and cable online would be appreciated!!

I have sold the Todd Seats and picked up a really cool leaning post which I plan on installing this weekend. I have attached a photo any suggestions on manufacturer would be appreciated. (sorry for the bad picture I will take some more tomorrow) It has 2 cutouts for seat cushions. I like this option and for 20 bucks couldn’t resist. I will need to either find cushions online or I think I can probably make my own. Any way I look forward to meeting some fellow Aquasport owners on here and sharing my project with you guys and gals.....



Here is a picture(sorry its in the back of my van) of the leaning post. Any idea on name brand anything? I can’t find anything on line to match it up to.




Thanks all!

[Capt. Bob]

Welcome aboard NTF

You need to to talk to Capt. John. aka GoneFission.

He's a few electrons short in the outer shell    but boy he knows the 200CCP.

Be sure to inquire about the infamous steering wheel fillet/blender board.

Good luck.

[Marcq]

Nice boat man   Looking forward to pictures and numbers  :)

Marc..

[RickK]

Welcome aboard nightimefishn  :!:  :!:
Nice looking rig

[nightimefishn]

Thanks everyone. Yeah I am pretty excited about this new boat. I'm very much looking forward to working on her.

And thanks to Capt Bob I am loving the NTF acronym. On a side note I am an avid fisherman who loves the nightime fishing. I prefer striped bass fishing and before I owned a boat would go out on party boats. A buddy and I would always look at each other and say nightimefishing as soon as it got dark. Just love it. SO NTF is perfect thanks capt bob.  I will look up Gone fission and get some of his feedback.

I will post some better pictures and numbers this weekend. I plan on going out and slaying some blackfish for a few days before they are gone in the Long Island Sound.....

Talk to you guys soon.

[Marcq]

I love night fishing , actually my fave, spooky too  

Marc..

[jdupree]

Welcome aboard :!:   I have owned my 1981 200 CCP for 3 years and it is a very solid boat.  I have had it 25 miles out and handles the water great.

As far as your hole shot is concerned, you have to keep in mind that the CCP is a very heavy boat and has a deep V hull.  Don't know much about a Manatee but I don't think that it is near the weight that a CCP is.  I have a 200 Mercury on mine and run a 17 pitch prop.  She gets out of the water fine.  Finding the right prop is trial & error.  

I have learned a great deal about the 200 CCP since I have had her.  Will be glad to answer any questions that you might have.  Welcome again :!:

[nightimefishn]

Thanks John, I am actually taking a look at your earlier threads from when you first got your boat. I love the colors of your deck and the hull itself. Very nice. I may have to look in to that. So I see you ripped out your gas tank. I am going to tackle this possibly this weekend. THe guy I bought it from said the original owner abandoned it I dont know why but will want to inspect and take a looksy. Currently I have a 12 gallon portable which will no way be enough for me. I will burn that getting out of the harbor I think. So I guess i am just looking for some pointers. I will post some pictures soon on my boat.

[jdupree]

Thanks for the compliment on the color.  That is original from Aquasport and it was called Tahitian Tan.  I have never been much of a fan for it, but do like the original deck color.

I replaced my original 73 gal tank with a 55 gal tank.  I wish that I had stuck with a 73 considering I like to go offshore and my gas mileage is horrible.

Would love to see some additional pictures of yours.  She looks to be in good shape.  Noticed that you said that you were starting a re-build?  What all are you going to do to her?

[nightimefishn]

Well rebuild may not have been the proper term. I plan on removing the pedestals, I picked up a leaning post for dirt cheap just need to get some cushions for it. Definitely need to do something with the fuel tank situation. I am looking to add a T Top and some type of enclosure at some point. I like to fish at night for Striped bass in the fall so it will be cold as hell without something...I looked at another guys rebuild and I love all the storage he had added. I plan on doing some of the same work, adding some wash downs probably some seats in the back. I love the under gunnel blue led lights, need to add a search spot light, and would like to light the console a bit.

I have a buddy who welds so we are taking some measurements this weekend for the Top frame. Should come out pretty nice. I really like the idea of a hard top but too pricey. I saw a guy on ebay recently selling a blemished top but now cant find him. Of course trying to do all this on a budget (wife cant stand when fishing and boating season start).... BOAT = BREAK OUT ANOTHER THOUSAND!

I have to go through all of the wiring and straighten that mess out, bilge pumps.... etc. I would like to re finish the deck as the deck is pretty beat up. Only one little soft spot.

I know I wont get to all of this too soon, because this weekend weather is calling for 75 - 80 degrees in NY and Stripers have begun to move in. SO WHO KNOWS NOW>>>>

I am having some issues with my hole shot, I will be rebuilding the fuel pump this weekend also. I have a feeling it could be the cause. It is like the boat is trying to catch up. I know its a heavy boat but I think I should be getting more out of the hole. Will post some numbers when I get out this weekend.

[nightimefishn]

So I have a 14 1/2 X 19 prop on my 185 Johnson. Everything I am looking at says pitch should be 15 for water sports and 17 for speed. So I am going to try and find an inexpensive prop to test. Anyone have any of these sizes around for sale?

Should I be looking at 4 blade or 3 blade? What are the differences?

Thanks

[GoneFission]

Welcome to the site - it's good to have another CCP owner!  Try a 17 pitch stainless prop, and look for a 4 blade for a CCP.  I'm running a 19 pitch HighFive on my 22-2CCP with a 200 Merc and it's just about right.  However, the 185 on your boat would probably do better with a 17, and the 4 blade gives a better hole shot than a 3 blade.  You may be able to find a nice one locally, or keep an eye on eBay and you might find a deal:

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid ... Categories  

You may find the tank cover panel is soft when you remove the pedastals.  Recoring the tank cover is pretty easy, and you have to take it off to get to the tank anyway.  The tank cover is cored with plywood, and the deck plate hole usually was not sealed when they cut the hole, so rot and delamination starts there.  You need to lift the console up to get the cover off and get access to the tank, but you don't have to disconnect anything - just lift it up and put some 2x4s under it to hold it up.  It will look like this with the cover off:
 

Hope this helps - good luck and see ya on the water!

[Capt. Bob]

Well NTF,
You're in with a couple of scoundrels now dude.  :pirat:  

Hell, I forgot about JD and the nice thing is, he has all of his valence electrons in their designed shell. :shaking2:
Looks like you bit the bear today.

Good luck with your boat and post pics when you can.

[GoneFission]

It's good to hear I've moved up to the level of scoundrel.  

As Luther said in Mission Impossible, "I'm going to miss being disreputable."

See ya on the water!

[Capt. Bob]

It's good to hear I've moved up to the level of scoundrel.  

And well deserved I might add