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1974 Starcraft Islander Mark IV 21’ 165hp Mercruiser I/O
History(now a long story): Ok so on or about the month of April, 2001 I was introduced to this boat at the time owned by Bob Little of Pelham, N.H. owner of R. F. Little Engineering. I saw the boat under a cover and asked what it was and if it was for sale as I liked the outline of it. I was interested in the boat and told that it would be let go cheaply not knowing what he meant, at the time I wasn't able to spend $1000-$5000 on anything so we were able to reach an agreement for me to provide them with a Generic Computer ASUS or Tyan motherboard 1ghz CPU with I think 256mb Ram, 12X CD Burner, various apps 20-40gb hard drive a beautiful Sony 17SF 17" Square-Flat Tube with a decent HP Inkjet Printer, approx. value $900-1100 at that time(now worth maybe $100?. The Boat was registered as a 1975 (but HIN states 1974 so I am going to try to re-reg as a 74 for the 2010 season) Starcraft Islander Mark IV 21' aluminum hull w/small cuddy cabin that can sleep 2 with 2 more on deck and has seating for 6 on deck registered for 8, the decal says 10 @ 150lbs each. Not much information was told to me about where the boat came from or what was done to it. Though just looking at the boat you could see someone changed the dashboard and replaced the flooring and it looks like a cylinder head gasket was changed at some point and they only adjusted about half of the rockers as it was a little clickety when we first fired it up. I was told that at some point the engine may have been worked on by Tech School students(little did I know that the engine was from a 1974 Chevrolet Nova). So summer 2002 due to some layoffs I lost my job at Sitara Networks and was helping a friend at Wild River Marine in Tyngsboro, Mass. (Thanks Tom!!!-RIP). I was just passing the time, he helped me get the boat running, we took about 45 mins one evening with a special fuel oil mix of his to help loosen the piston rings in the cylinders before firing it up, got it running and it sounded beautiful, like a hot rodded V8, I was very excited. We used the outdrive from a ‘67 Glastron V-174 Tom had taken in from a customer, the engine was now seized. So we took the outdrive off mine, and the outdrive from the V-174, I also had an issue with the trim on mine so to get the boat going quick I pulled the trim system from the Glastron and installed in my boat till I got mine repaired. When Wild River Marine closed I had taken the V-174 home and later gave it to my nephew along with a few other things as authorized by Tom.. The original drive on the Starcraft was not exactly usable as it had some issues. So after replacing the gimbal bellows we installed the drive and hooked up the hydraulics that was on the V-174 which could lift the drive but not trim the boat as they were tilt only hydraulics. In fact without the reverse lock the drive comes up out of the water a bit which on the Glastron it had a mechanical reverse lock built-in. I have since restored the original tilt/trim system with the exception of the hydraulic reverse lockout. At the time I didn't have storage and brought the boat to my friend Joe Shamma's in Pelham, N.H. down the street from the Littles, the next year I purchased a house in Tyngsboro and took the boat home which luckily wasn’t that far and glad I stopped when I did as the axel was very rotted and was really bad at one of the shackles on the axle and almost totally gave out. A couple months went by and I got a new axel from a Welch Welding welding shop on Middlesex Street in Chelmsford, I replaced the axle, springs and one of the hub units, greased the other side and the trailer hasn't changed except for some lighting repairs and upgrades. The Cabin: Sleeps 2 and has 2 storage bins + 1 where the factory head was which is now plugged with thick dowels, yup it has 2 ports, one starboard, one port still there and they don't leak (yet). The cushions (red tweed type) are still there and usable but could use to be replaced and reupholstered, as they are a little harsh on the eyes and skin. The Deck: Flooring has been replaced and from what I understand so have the seats, which are in very good condition 2 large front to backs (RED) and 2 smaller jumps for sitting on either side of the engine compartment. The helm was replaced and I had replaced it again with "Starboard" plastic about 1/2" thick, easy to work with but hole sizes are difficult, I am currently in progress of having R.F. Little fabricate a new 1/2" aluminum plate dash panel to hold my new gauges, MPH/Tach/Fuel (2-1L-1R)/Batt/Oil/Temp, lights, bilge & blower switches, horn and ignition switch, the new dash is in place and just needs some pretty bolts & trim. The Engine: Has been removed, Ted & Randy of Precision Balance and Machine of Hudson, NH. graciously performed a partial blueprinting and full balance of the engine(in return for some equipment they got out of the Wild River Marine Closing, I brought them the short block and head (which needed a small hole fixed), and they hot tanked the block, probably line honed the crank, had the crank cut 10/10, found I had a bent conn-rod which I was able to find an exact match for and then they balanced the whole assembly to within a couple tenths of a gram. They decided to bore the engine so I gave them a new set of .030 pistons so I found a set of Silv-o-lite TRW-3302LF .030 brand new in the box from Wild River Marine closing. I found a new connecting rod courtesy of The Boat Store.org to replace the bent one. A friend of the Wingates cut the crank 10/10, polished and chamfered no doubt a very skilled craftsman too. They completely balanced the reciprocating assembly within a couple tenths of a gram then assembled the lower end. I then brought it home and I installed the oil pump(should’ve put a new one in) and oil pan, camshaft, timing gears and front cover. I used Toyota's Oil Pan RTV to seal the bottom and front cover I was told it was the best. I purchased a slightly newer style cylinder head, which has hardened exhaust valve seats had the Wingates rebuild it, so now I’ll be able to run regular pump gas without issue. The cylinder head was given a proper valve job including shimming springs for height & seat pressure from the Wingate’s. I checked the Cylinder compression at one point and got 160psi on 4 out of 6 cylinders and 150 on one and 155 on the other due to the smalled chambered head and higher comp pistons, stock says 140psi so I think I am doing pretty well a little much but that's OK. Thanks Ted and Randy Wingate!!! I still have the original cylinder head and with some Lead Fuel Additive I can use it or sell it. I will probably oil it with WD-40 and double bag it and keep it with the boat. July 7th 2004: I went to the engine rebuilding shop of the infamous Theodore (Ted) and Randy Wingate in Hudson, NH. Randy helped me put the short block in the back of the truck and happily threw the rest of the parts in too. So now I have the short block at home, with crank, rods, pistons, bearings (Inc. Cam bearings) hot tanked, magfluxxed ready for the rest of the parts. Cam, head, oil pump, pan, front cover etc. Next on the list is to test fit the cam, put in the plug on the backside of the cam, clean up the oil pan, front cover, camshaft, oil pump (open, clean and inspect) then can close up the bottom to get ready to drop in the boat so I can put on the flywheel, drive hub and flywheel housing. So I can put the engine in place. Oct 04: with the help of Andrey Levenko and my father in law Jim Wyatt we slid the engine into the boat from the deck of the house, then mounted and installed a couple items as you see from the early engine pics. I still need to run the engine and do a final adjust of the valves, they are close, but not perfect. May 28th 2005: Finally spent some quality time working on the boat, installed thermostat housing, alternator, distributor, wiring harness, removed board in front of engine for revised routing of fuel line. Would like to use copper lines, maybe next year. Next is installing freeze plugs in cylinder head, install new intake/exhaust manifold. Once fuel lines are routed may try to fire up engine. I am rerouting the lines to come-in in front of engine will allow better access to shutoff/diverter and reducing line length by at least half. Then need to check & possibly correct the engine mounting alignment and need to change the nut on aft port mount pin, hopefully will be able to remove then reinstall. Will then work on hydraulics, have couple good pumps just need to check valve bodies etc. Run and test lines and bleed system. Then can get new Aluminum dash from R. F. Little Engineering and hook up dash, will most likely take an afternoon. June 1, 2005: New Dash panel designed by Jason Welch and fabricated by R. F. Little will be available soon. Also Jim Wyatt will be providing the replacement lower front windshield and helping to install. Next will be installing spark plugs (think I have some NGK’s), oil pressure sender, and battery cables. Need to find bolts for valve cover and side covers (add oil) and figure out a way to make a drive piece to fit on a drill to pump oil through, I might have to destroy a spare distributor, get new hose for fresh water from outdrive to water inlet, connect temp sender, oil pressure, tighten connections on Alternator and Starter (rebuilt by Chelmsford Auto Electric). Need to drill holes in floor near fuel tanks to drop fuel lines in, hope fully will be able to route lines better to engine. (See pic). June 4th: was able to install a few more parts, before going for an afternoon ride with Andrey on the Merrimack River. We just went up and back once; dropped in at the new Lowell Dock went up to the north Nashua/Merrimack ramp? And floated down a bit. Very nice. Noticed he has a mild miss at low rpms. Suggest getting the Pertronix Ignitor II, like Jim and me. June 7th: installed SS bolts on the I/E manifold; one of the bolts on the cyl head is in bad shape. Will have to try some thread epoxy at some point. Also installed therm housing to manifold hose, dipstick and oil pressure sender. Need to replace couple connectors. The distributor is in place and plugs/wires but I’ll need to pull the dist to prime the engine, before I fire it up. Which may be very soon, I shortened up the fuel line from the right tank and will pull the one from the left. Get a drill bit and run under the floor. I will also relocate the throttle/shift control to higher on the gunwale to make it easier to operate while standing. Friday 17th: work on a lot of different things. Joe Shamma jr. stopped by to install some really nice Red carpet to match the red interior, worked on the console I got from R.F. Little and wiring and engine some more. Saturday 18th: lots more work, got the 4cyl outdrive on with my hydraulics Sunday 19th: even more work done. Windows on repaired hatch hinge, replaced rivets on topside, Jim came over with replacement front window. Hoping to launch today, ran into problems with hydraulic pump and lines. Had couple incorrect fittings allowing air into the return lines, and issues with the pump. Installed 2 Grippers mid-ship to hold bumpers. (Hope to get red ones someday). I have also found a new valve body on EBay in Cali for <$50 very good deal, 10% of its retail value. The only thing I haven't done yet is anything with the anchors. Which I have 2! So that’s good Need to strengthen the bolts and support for the Cleats (just stronger bolts and some type of plate or wood on the back. I do have some aluminum plate that I can use. Also have some of the starboard pieces left... Soon I will mount the Tilt/Trim control too. Right in front of the engine controls. Recently while checking the engine I found the Oil filter to be loose. Might not have tightened it up enough when I installed it. It is tight now. And down a quart. July 4th 2005: Spent the day on Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire from about 11am-11pm and what a day we had. We all went Wendy, Tyler and Emily, we left about 10-11 am go to Meredith town dock, loaded it up, dropped it in and headed down near Weirs Beach, from there we met up with my friend Andre and his wife Aleksandra and drove around for a while just enjoying the sites, it was a very beautiful day. For lunch we drove the boat by water to the Burger King in Laconia, which has a private dock you can use, parking for about 20 boats. Not a sturdy dock but it’s a good dock. From there we went back up to the main Winni Lake and went around and found a place to drop anchor for a while and let the kid’s fish and we rested from the rough water. Did some more cruising and looking and parked again had dinner at BK again I think then headed up to Meredith to watch the fireworks, on the way there we pulled into a cove to rest the engine that was getting a little hot, more on that later and then continued to Meredith and anchored and waited for the show. Saw the fireworks, need to bring couple blankets when going out on the boat for extended periods in Winni. July 5th: Engine overheating, found cracks in the intake/exhaust manifold and was getting some water into the engine, hopefully didn’t bend a rod again. Due to this and tilt/trim issues rest of the year will be dry-docked. Did other modifications while dry-docked, installed VHF radio, AM/FM Radio & Speakers. April 22nd 2006: Well installed a replacement Impeller and housing, oiled up the top bearing, had to reuse lower housing but r&r’d the seals from the new one into the old one. Fit perfectly, I then installed the lower back on the boat and proceeded to remove the prop, which seems to have been installed without greasing the shaft. Thanks!!! Good backup prop now useless. Removed the prop with much trouble, use a modified gear puller and some 3/8” chains, with some heat I was able to remove the prop from the rubber bushing and shaft sleeve, and then used the gear puller with extended arms to remove the sleeve. Installed new copper fuel line with shutoff at tank and Fuel Sender in starboard tank and wired, hopefully setup good, installed speaker baffle kit on both after 4x6 radio speakers to improve audio quality and protect back of speaker. Installed purchased trim pump with replacement used trim cylinders that I bench tested and now working VERY nicely, goes up and down quickly! Battery is installed, trim pump has 2 relays, and need to connect blower and bilge pump wiring. Next install port fuel line, and new fuel sender. April 24th: Filled Outdrive with 80x90w Oil -completed added more oil to trim pump, ran couple more times to bleed and test. April 27th: Replaced port fuel line & replaced port fuel sender – need to check wiring on fuel sender as it is showing full when it is not. (Did I put it in upside down?) April 30th: Ran new fuel sender wire, installed 3rd deck light near helm, Installed hose for Speedo Pitot, installed Pitot, installed wires for depth sounder & water temp. Fueled port tank 16.6 gals @ $3.00 gal for 89 octanes had some in it already, flushed port fuel line, Engine basically fired up with easy no choke adjustment needed, and engine idled well. Trim system working very good but rear trim cylinder mounting shaft not correct, either need slightly shorter shaft or need a couple spacers. Also installed added the port 4x6 Speaker baffle and attached & tested Blower & Bilge Pump wires, will mount the bilge pump and pump switch with some silicone sealer to the bilge this week. Need to find a propeller!!! May 1st: Installed depth finder and prepped the wiring hole to be sealed. I installed a second brace on the trailer jack from my nephew’s boat. Found the reverse lockout and shift interrupt plate will install those this week, also found a piece or plastic I may be able to use to mount the radio! May 3: Filled in the hole I made in the transom for the pitot tube and depth sounder the 1” plus hole that I made didn’t need to be that big, wanted to only make a .5” hole but the .5” drill bit I had didn’t fit the drill I have and I am on a schedule and didn’t want to wait so I paid the price but it’s done. I put the wood core back in that I took out, back in with a notch in it so the cables sit in the core. I used Black Silicone Sealer to seal the hole, looks good with the black paint, I then put a chrome hole cover over it just using the adhesion of the RTV and as it chrome plate has holes in it, I pushed into the sealer so that some would go through the holes and lock it in place.. May 5: Promises to be a warm sunny day in the high 70’s to low 80’s hope to have lots of pics!! – Well... forgot the camera Oh well. Tried to go to Lake Sunapee drove around for about an hour wasted 3 hours overall 1 hour to and from, then ended up driving to Lake Winnipesauke. We dropped in the usual place, the town of Meredith. Good place to drop in, parking is just 300’ behind the hardware store!!! Parking for about 30 trucks n trailers. Free too!!! As we only had a single starboard fuel cell to run on, we didn’t goto far around the lake, plus this 19p prop on a 1.98 drive is like a 15p prop on the original drive. Not much for economy or distance & speed, it tops out at about 32mph @ about 4100-4200rpm. This is the first time on the water since July 4 ’05; looks like replacing the impeller went well!! The Engine performed within operating range. Temp and oil pressure seemed good (forgot to check engine oil – dummy) Tilt/trim system worked great! Need to purchase 23P prop to get inline with original prop/gear ratio combination. Did have some stumbling problems with engine/carb, not sure if fuel filter plugged with junk... will change, could take filter kit from Chris’s 4.3 engine sitting in yard. Would be a good idea!!! May 12/13/14/15/16: Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain May 18, 2006: Century flooding in the southern NH/Northern MA area, flooding pics up on sight, we got a lot of rain, and flooding, and some serious flooding of the Merrimack River in Lowell not seen since 1930’s, I will post some pictures I took soon. May 21: Hours before a little tornado started up and came through the area, I was out working on the shift interrupt wiring and mechanism, have the replacement switch installed and wired. It will be nice to have the shift interrupt working – first ever. Tried to use RTV to install the bilge pump to the hull but it wouldn’t stick, also wanted to stick the bilge switch but that didn’t work either. Will leave as is. At some point may install an all-in-one unit maybe use liquid nails adhesive (sticks better) or even use some of the epoxy I have, need to get in the bilge and clean it some more. Did not install the reverse lockout yet, not really needed at this point as the tilt/trim holds pressure nice, though it does serve the purpose of not letting the drive go up when you go in reverse which takes less strain off the trim pump valve body. The trim limit switch is not currently connected either which prevents trimming to high when in forward or reverse. May 24: All I can say is... Oh yea!! Quicksilver Mirage Stainless Steel 23P Prop!! 48-13740A-41 23P $106.00
May 29: We went to Boston harbor today; we dropped in at Wellington Station about 2pm and pulled out at about 5:30pm. Went to Logan airport and saw Fort Independence, we had earlier weather reports of thunder and lightning and I didn’t want to get caught that far out so we then went to the Charles River locks... And a little into Charles River to see where the Esplanade was in prep to July 4th, very nice very easy. Here are some notes of the day... Previously my shift interrupt switch didn’t' work, I replaced and now works nice no hard shifting at all. Over the weekend I remembered that the engine was stumbling a bit at Winnipesauke so I had a rebuilt carb lying around so I replaced and now the engine idles smooth and accelerates strongly without hesitation. The 23p Prop I bought is left hand and worked ideally can't imagine going to higher pitch, will stay with 23p. I would like to see what the boat does, without windshield, light fuel me & Andre or Chris on a calm river or lake, the Merrimack is still closed. The 23p prop worked beautifully glad I had the extra pitch for Boston harbor, helped in handling the current & waves; engine ran nice with the replaced rebuilt carburetor, ZERO idling issues. The boat moved nicely in calm water at or close to idle never went beyond 3k rpm's too rough and had speed restrictions still inside harbor till Logan runway... June 16: We went to Massabesic Lake just east of Manchester NH, to bring the kids fishing and spend a little time on the boat. Found the boat ramp and dock ok, dropped the boat in got about 500’ from the dock just after going on plane and the engine died from a plugged inline fuel filter with rust from the steel tanks. I cleared it out started back up and continued on turning about 3800rpms with the 23p prop. Again because it’s a LH prop reverse is forward, and forward is reverse, well I guess I don’t get full throttle in rev(forward) so only got 3800rpms out of it. On the way to another fishing spot, was running it over 3k and sounded like I hit something. I didn’t hit anything (at least no damage to the SS prop) so I think I broke a gear in the lower, as we were able to get back to the dock but any strain on the drive makes a lot of noise and binding, later dissasembly found a piece of a roller bearing had broken off. I consulted Scott from the Boat Store Online and he advised me not to run the prop because of this danger of running a LH prop on a RH drive (oops). Well I was anxious to get out on the water and forgot I had a spare (19p prop) and went out and used it and paid the price. Now I am trading an old used Gravely Tractor for an outdrive, am I dumb? Yea. But I will not be able to use it, and my brothers can’t use the machine anymore, so I will be more careful. -After inspection of the lower unit after running a LH prop on a RH drive we(bob & I) found a small piece from a roller bearing but it was from the forward gear not the reverse gear, so we don’t think it was from the strain and the gears looked new no bad or abnormal wear. One of the next things is I want to do is put a 4bbl carb I have on from a 3.8L engine and see how it will run.. Wish me luck!!- need to get it professionally rebuilt first. July 1st: Found an outdrive on eBay, sold my Gravely tractor (1965 Model LI w/accessories) to someone near Manchester NH, and used the money to purchase a drive from a person in Plymouth MA, brought the drive home and on 07/01 I installed the drive on my boat (by myself! –thanks Chris) and removed the lower drain plug, when I did some water came out then some yucky oil? What is strange is I removed the upper plug and found some OK oil (looked new) and it was overfilled, so I let it drain for a couple days and then I filled it up with new oil 80w-90w and we’ll see what happens. July 3rd: Filled the drive with oil, when I went to re-adjust the shift cables for the replacement drive I found that the throttle cable wasn’t working very good, and as it turned out the accelerator pump in the carb was jamming ( this was a rebuilt Carb !!! – I didn’t do it...) so Ok... here’s my chance to try the 4bbl carb... well I put it on and wouldn’t ya know it? No fuel... damn float is stuck... rip that off and put on old carb, which ended up being fine, after some re-adjusting. July 4th: Well I wanted to go to Boston Harbor to watch the USS Constitution sail out an blow it’s guns off... but it looked like it would be rainy and me without a bimini yet, decided to go north to Lake Winni’ as it looked like the weather was going to stay south of Concord, so we did, got there about 12:30p went to Weirs Beach, let the kids go swimming hopped back on the boat.. Found a nice little cove area, did some drift fishing and then headed back to Meredith NH for some supper, at a dock-side restaurant, we got lucky as the town dock was closed and there were limited spaces available. After dinner we were thinking of pulling the boat out and watching the fireworks from the land but the kids wanted to stay on the boat... so... after the fireworks we pulled into the dock but couldn’t get the truck right-away as the road was closed, we had to wait a while, we went into a restaurant that was closing, grabbed a couple sodas and Bud lights and a couple little deserts ( choc cake & really good cheese cake) then grabbed the truck, waited 20 mins for other people to load then we headed home.. Which we finally got there at about 1pm... what a day... The Boat ran very good, I am very pleased! ‘cept wish I had a bimini and some trim tabs. New pics up on the gallery... I will be updating the descriptions and captions, hopefully get some action photos!!! PS!! I was able to return the LH prop to the person I bought it from and found a different RH 23p prop for half including shipping, $64, hopefully it fits!!! Thanks to Mario at Middlesex Power Sports & Marine he let me borrow a 21p SS prop, worked great on Lake Winni, didn’t hit any rocks (thankfully!!-though we did see some!!! ALWAYS HAVE A MAP!!! So I found another 23p SS prop on eBay for $60 installed it and it is working great to, the last time out with just me and Emily in the boat I had her drive and wasn't pleased with the trimming so I sat on the engine cover and got some decent plane out of it and ran about 3850-3900 RPMS, spec is 3800-4200, I'm a little low but I removed the whale tale fin which I think is keeping the bow down TOO much which my boat does NOT need.. The boat has 2 fuel tanks mid ship and it just seems like I can't get the bow up enough before the prop blows out. So off came the whale tail fin and I am waiting to test, I also swapped back to the original carb which had a problem with the accell pump plunger and seems to have a little hesitation (need to do more water testing) and maybe starving for air as the original spark arrestor is a bit small and seems very restrictive.. Alas more testing needs to get the 4bbl carb together!! Oct 9 2006: The last ride, ok last ride of the year, by myself boat performed very well without the whale tale fin thing but my tilt/trim broke again, need to replace the seal on the valve body. Next year I’ll incorporate the reverse lockout, trim limit and trim sensor routing. At one point before the trim broke I did get 37 on the Speedo and 3950 on the Tach. I need to put a mechanical oil pressure gauge and see where I am at, I am concerned and am considering replacing the oil pump, could be the readings are sender related as the sender I have is from a 350 V8 and could be a 100psi sender where I need a 80psi sender. I am going to check the part number tonight and see if they cross-reference. Also I think the accell pump in the carb pulled apart again and will be swapping that out but the carb itself worked fine no hesitations at all, just need to put the return spring on and put on a better spark arrestor. I believe that I need to re-adjust the lifters as I am getting a vibration and shouldn't be because the engine is so tightly balanced. The additional fact the I have 2 cylinders out of 6 running at 150 & 155psi compression could be causing this. The other item that I need to try is the 4bbl carb I have, it first needs to be rebuilt but I am sure that the engine is starving for both air & fuel and with the added compression and boring the cyl's to .030 oversize it should be able to take advantage of the added CFM's should be good for 20-30hp. I am also going to get my 23p prop tuned by New England Propeller, it's shape is a little off it looks like it was repaired by an armature. I may get it re-pitched to 22 or maybe they can make it a progressive pitch. April/May 07: Worked on trim pump, I took the piece that the lines go into and milled them flat using a heavy flat metal piece that had some nice sandpaper glued to it. I got some testing gauges from Mario @ Middlesex PowerSports, the pump was able to hold 2700lbs pressure without any leaks, let’s hope this works. Installed the pump with the reverse lockout inline, I’m not going to use the trim gauge at this time maybe next year. I did some valve adjustment to the lower pressure cylinders but wasn't able to make a difference. I re-cleaned the valve cover put on my Decal and sprayed it with some nitrocellulose lacquer; we'll see how that holds up. I mounted a water/fuel separator and installed a new filter in the carb and fuel pump, and am adding one before the water separator just to keep an eye on the rusting. I'm also installing a new metal line from the pump to the carb as the old one had a rounded fitting on the carb. I also relocated the battery ground to the back of the block and relocated the positive for the trim pump to the starter main battery wire and the ground to the engine block as well; this will provided better juice for the trim pump and will leave me with only 2 wires to the battery which keeps things clean & simple. June 07: I am building a 9" high base for the main seat to be on as the added height will make it more comfortable at lower speeds & some cruising speeds to sit and drive. I've looked at other mid-70's Starcraft Islanders and they have a similar design. I'm thinking of adding a 2x4 PT board across the transom for strength as the top 12+ inches is a little soft. I guess the transom or part of it will need to be replaced over the winter which will be a good time to maybe replace the floor with some better wood and floor covering and remove the fuel tanks and epoxy coat the insides to help with the rust contamination, cheaper than new alum tanks I think, which if I did replace I would make them slightly larger and let them extend a little further aft for more mid ship weight and to be able to carry another 10-14 gallons of fuel which would extend the range nicely. June 23 07: VVRROOOM!! fired up the engine after a very long winters nap, checked and locked down the timing, checked the idle mixture (would like to put a vac gauge on it to dial it in more. worked on the front cabin cross brace, need a new piece of wood, it's rotted at one end, going to seal things up a bit more up front but it's at least ready for the new front window again. Seat base is in the boat after a couple coats of paint & clear sealer, will need to screw down the seat to the riser base as it slides around a bit too much. Emily cleaned the upper windshield and cabin roof where the radio & depth electronics is. At some point I will remove the dashboard clean and spray some nitrocellulose lacquer on it like I did the valve cover to protect it, I'm not sure if should leave it unpainted or not. Next is to work on the transom a bit and modify the trim anode on the outdrive for the new prop a Piranha 4x22 Blade, I'm anxious to see what it does as the boat should be able to hold trim while underway now. But again the drive ratio is 1.98:1 as I'm using a outdrive from a 120/140 Mercruiser, a friend of mine is re-sealing a outdrive for me and putting in some 1.65:1 gears which I'll put in my boat then put my drive on one of Chris's boat as he has a 120hp & 140hp boats, and his 140hp is using a Alpha1 drive with 1.8 gears which belongs on a 4.3L V6 outboard, so he should change it before selling. July 7 07: Went boating on Lake Massabesic, boat ran GREAT, the 4 blade 22p Piranha Prop did very well, would really like to get the 1.65 gears in the outdrive and us a 19p prop, would also like to get the engine dyno'd up at Derry Marine as they have a Land & Sea Marine dyno kit. I'm expecting to go boating on the 14th at Winni with some friends, the new trailer tires I got, some Goodyear HMG 2020's ST205-75D14 seem to get a little warm but maybe because I dropped the pressure a bit, called the dealer and he noticed the same thing, going to try to get a hold of someone at U-haul and or at Goodyear to see what's up. Bought some oil & filter for the engine and some black RTV to seal around the Gimbal housing on the transom to chase a small leak. July 21 07: Took some friends for a guy day on Lake Winni, think I did really good on the test prop for gas mileage, performance was pretty good, seemed to have a problem coming out of reverse-neutral with the prop though, seemed to put more tension on the shift interrupt and caused engine stalling a couple times, no problems engine ran great!!! July 28 07: Went on the Merrimack river from the Lowell ramp to Hudson NH and back with the 23p SS prop and it seemed to use a little more gas though I would like to have the prop re-worked. Think I ran out of gas at the dock, I'll be running it empty on both tanks for sure before installing the newly rebuilt 3.7L Mercruiser Rochester Quadrajet Carb I have, hope I did a good job on it, I'm going to mix up some epoxy and re-seal a couple of the factory epoxied areas as even minor vac leaks cause poor fuel management and operability. I hope that adding the carb will greatly improve top end performance. I'm not looking for a lot of gain; just any gain would be great. Fall 2007 - I met a guy fall of '07 that worked at a warehouse for Navman in Littleton Ma, he stopped by the boat yard I was working to see if we wanted to buy or sell them and split the $$$.. I said Ok, then when I took the stuff home I got scared and thought I was in a sting. So I contacted the local PD and they checked him out and all was good.. so he brought over about 10 boxes of stuff including a few 3-4 Navman TF6600's a couple 6500's a few just chartplotters, and a bunch of fishfinders, some color some grey, some new some refurb'd.. all told we split about 10k-12K worth of sales via Ebay, most of the stuff went over seas go Greece, Poland, Austrailia, New Zealand etc.. I still have some greyscale Fishfinders left, that I need to do something with. I had a bunch of depthfinders and a couple fuel flow monitors. I even sold most of what was needed for my co-worker's uncle to be able to install an Autopilot, all he needed was the unit to turn the wheel.. sold it for super cheap. 2008 - did a bit of boating, played with the Carter Carb from a 4.3L V6 and the Carb from the 3.7L 4I and found that I need to incorporate the air diverter under the carb at the #3 & #4 Cylinders, I think that's hurting the top end. Bought a new Sierra Carb through MPSCM as I was having problems hitting top speed. Purchased a Marine Cam for the engine through MPSCM, we'll see what happens next year. Took the boat out for the WaveRider Marine Video / Photo Shoot, had some running issues, found the accell pump skirt was cut. I also had issues with the trim pump holding pressure and resolved it by sanding down the pieces on a metal block to maintain flatness, problem solved. As I left MPSCM I dropped the boat off at Joes for the winter.
Tomorrow 06/18/09 John and I will be cleaning up the int/exh ports of the head a little then painting the port side a bit, doing a little painting of the int/exh manifold then installing that and the new water drains on the block and manifold. We will also continue to close up the engine a bit more, adjust the front mount (which I still need to purchase the replacement piece the mount sits on from Skips Marine here in Nashua. I added some pictures to the gallery and will be adding more very soon. 6/18/09 Cleaned the int/exh ports, did some painting of the engine and int/exh manifold, installed new manifold bolt kit with quality gasket, installed the alt belt and WP Pulley, primed the oil system, installed the engine lift brackets and valve cover. Need to get a couple things out of the boat and get the boat undercover to get it dry again, need to put some 3M 5200 on the inside of the trans to block further damage of the corrosion. : updated the gallery with 3 new pics of the engine 6/18/09 - 8/04/09 Sprayed the transom with Zinc Chromate Primer inside the transom and outside, then coated the inside with 3M 5200 Marine Sealer on the nasty spots, then cut the transom wood, Epoxied it together, stacked about 600-800lbs of weight on it while it layed flat on a concrete floor, after a few days I mixed up a 2 quart kit of CPES, 1 quart at a time and per side. CPES is available from www.rotdoctor.com , I plan on buying a 2 gallon kit for the floor/deck, Also when I was working on the transom, sanding it today I found some more holes where I knew it was leaking from !!! then Joe, Greg and I dropped the transom wood in (with some more 3M 5200 & 4200 along the bottom to help seal it. then I used a circular saw to angle cut the top of wood so the metal will sit flush, then we found that the boat was sitting on the trailer crooked, and adjusted that so the metal at the back fit as it came apart, next I need to get some more sealer for the top of the transom (may mix some epoxy or use Liquid Nails). I need to also get some screws to hold down the metal to the top of the transom, and get another pack of SS Rivets. Cut the hole, install the gimbal housing and transom plate and more. I received the new Moeller 40g fuel tank for the belly (8-5-9) !!! and have some nice new SS Fillers !!! 09/05/09 Transom is ready for the install of the Gimbal Housing, need to pickup the transom plate from Performance Automotive in Tyngsboro, Ma. And get the front engine mount brace from Skip’s Marine in Nashua, NH. I need to do a little more work on the transom area, like reinstalling the Stern light, the Air Scoops(i’d really like to put new ones, on, but, Oh well.. it’ll have to wait. I will install the new Blower, and reinstall the Wood brace that goes from Port to Starboard, I Think I’m gonna pull the RED Vinyl off it and paint it Mercruiser Black, I also want a Chromed Bilge thru-hull fitting. I’d also want to install the battery under the floor, I think there’s enough room, I have a battery switch. I think I’m gonna electrical bond drive and engine to the boat. I’ll also have some 10g wire for the trim pump now and need a couple hydraulic hoses to improve the design a bit, like a longer one to go to the reverse lockout from the trim cylinder returns.
9-6-9 Transom is ready for the install of the Gimbal Housing, need to pickup the transom plate from Performance Automotive in Tyngsboro, Ma. And get the front engine mount brace from Skip’s Marine in Nashua, NH. I need to do a little more work on the transom area, like reinstalling the Stern light, the Air Scoops(i’d really like to put new ones, on, but, Oh well.. it’ll have to wait. I will install the new Blower, and reinstall the Wood brace that goes from Port to Starboard, I Think I’m gonna pull the RED Vinyl off it and paint it Mercruiser Black, I also want a Chromed Bilge thru-hull fitting. I’d also want to install the battery under the floor, I think there’s enough room, I have a battery switch. I think I’m gonna electrical bond drive and engine to the boat. I’ll also have some 10g wire for the trim pump now and need a couple hydraulic hoses to improve the design a bit, like a longer one to goto the reverse lockout from the tr.m cylinder returns. 9/6/9 - Gimbal housing hole cut and drilled, transom wood is bolted and sealed along top with 4200/5200 and High End Liquid Nails (for waterproofing) Fuel tank is installed, steel brackets hold it down(not tightly, just sitting) a peice of thick rubber roofing cradles the tank and protects if from the floor. New D-Rings are installed, will get backing plates when I can. 9/9/9 - Gimbal housing installed, 5200 on BOTH sides of the gasket, and on the ZINC Studs, Used Liquid Nails around the old Trim line holes, drilled hole for the PITOT, and Depth Finders. 9/18/9 - Tank Fuel Fill and Vent lines installed, engine is installed and 100% of being perfectly installed +-5% (its really close, used engine alingment tool saw nice lines all the way around, on the edge where the 9/22/9 - ran all wires and controls from console to engine, connected main harness, Need Shorter Throttle Cable(in storage somewhere). Need 3/8" fuel line from tank to pump and 3/8" fittings on F/W Filter and Fuel pump. 9/25/9 - ran depth gauge wire, attached Temp sender wire, shortened idle bolt as it was hitting at Full Throttle, re-attached cabin walls(would like to replace port wall), installed depth gauge, installed 3/8" fuel fittings and hose 10/01/9 - installed the wood brace above the engine that goes across the transom, had to trim the ends a little ( 1/4" each side) so it would go back in a little easier, needed force to re-align the bolt holes, just need to add 2 screws each side, then finish bolting on the aft deck supports. All are painted with Krylon Blue to help protect from moisture, and for padding and squeak prevention I used truck camper tape, double sided sticky and resists moisture. I'm also upgrading to new 10-32 screws when needed and using flat washers where nuts previously contacted wood. ( to prevent them from sinking in ). I dont think I'm going to fire up the engine till spring. I may mount the drive(temp) and toss the engine cover in so Joe can have room in his warehouse. 10/21/09 - removed the vinyl from the port side board, found it to be rotted in spots, decided to make new ones, 8' long instead of 12' long. liberally applied Behr Premium waterproofing and sealant not the best choice but it was free, cut out holes for the speakers, need to cut 2 holes for deck lights. Going to get some glue from joe to adhere the marine vinyl, this will reduce the amount of staples needed. Going to clean up the aluminum trim, the lower mounting trim till be painted the top trim will be cleaned and polished somewhat. 10/23/09 - went boating with my nephew on his 2008 Glastron 205GX (305L V8 VP with 2bbl Holley) 10/25/09 - shoulda worked on the boat instead of playing games, but the wife and kids went to a Halloween parade in Woburn Ma, and I didn’t want to go. I guess I missed a good showing of Stormtroopers and other Star Wars Characters 10/27/09 - Covered one of the side boards today (ended up being port) mounted the 6x9 speaker, cut the holes in the vinyl for the 4x6 and deck light. need to purchase some Brads for upper trim, need to figure out how I am going to mount the lower trim bracket, either screws or like original rivets. Will have pictures 10/29. 11/02/09 - updated my resto section with pics of the new side panel(s), still need to get some Brass Brads and solve how I am going to re-attach the bracket along the bottom edge, I’d also like to make a pair of 6x9 Speaker Boxes. Good news.. Got a Burle Wood Steering wheel from my previous boss that owes me a few favors to replace the Fiat Wheel from my Brother that cracked from being out in the sun.. too bad.
-- just had a thought about flooring.. I guess 3/4” wouldn’t be a bad Idea, but my problem is it would be too thick at the cabin bulk head, but I’m thinking of replacing that anyway.. so I could just cut them 1/4” shorter, then I would have the stiffness of the 3/4” with minimal weight gain. I would still cover in CPES and Paint. Or CPES, Glue down some vapor barrier, then carpet (not glue down the carpet though) - brian Need: NEED to Buy: 2 Gallon kit of CPES 103** 2 gallon unit (7.6 L) $ 177.71 Still currently need to complete: Covering and finishing the new side boards.
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9-6-9 Got the hardware I needed to install the tank, DONE.. I laid a piece of new rubber roofing (thick & heavy) the size of the tank(bottom length/width + sides) underneath the tank, to help protect it from vibration and rubbing against the alum stringers and rivets. I have 4 Steel 1/8” brackets with 3/8” bolts and #10 bolts with SS washers and rubber washers under the brackets between the tank, to help with rubbing. There is a 3” hole headed from the Fill/Vent area to the PORT side of the boat (single fill now). The tank is mounted with 1” of the steps now about 2.5’ from the previous tank position extending a little more aft, to within 2’ of the front of the engine. I also installed the Floor Cross Bracing (2 pieces) that tie the center 2 stringers with the middle 2 stringers sandwiching the tank, increasing the rigidity. I will be using 1/2” High Grade Plywood for the floors, and will hopefully be removing then treating them next year, and filling the 2 side sections with 2 Part Foam, which will make the boat more quiet, and safer.
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