New to this site and New to the V-20

[Bpitz15]

Originally Posted by RWilson2526

Yea the mirror shot is cool for sure.....You give that hull a wet sand, compound and wax you may be able to get that hull pretty close to what that stripe looks like. I had the same effect with a large vinyl sticker on the side of mine...its nearly invisible now.

OOOOOOoooo! good idea!! I may have to give that a try! What grit paper should I go with?


Thanks for the warm welcome everybody. That pic with it in my mirror was the day I took her home.

[SkunkBoat]

when I did my 84 (same as 83 I think) i didn't find a Moeller that was quite right. fill & vents are in wrong place. Took the old one to Atlantic Welding Bayville, NJ. They matched the outside dimensions but didn't write them on the receipt, sorry. They did use thicker aluminum and added more baffles so it went from a 60 gal to a 57 gal.

Don't forget. the tank compartment is designed to be a dry space. It does not drain to bilge! always SEAL the hatch!

[Bpitz15]

Originally Posted by SkunkBoat

when I did my 84 (same as 83 I think) i didn't find a Moeller that was quite right. fill & vents are in wrong place. Took the old one to Atlantic Welding Bayville, NJ. They matched the outside dimensions but didn't write them on the receipt, sorry. They did use thicker aluminum and added more baffles so it went from a 60 gal to a 57 gal.

Don't forget. the tank compartment is designed to be a dry space. It does not drain to bilge! always SEAL the hatch!

I don't mind dropping into the 40-50 gallon range in my boat. I think I just need to do the research here and choose my best option. I would like to avoid going custom built for this as I am trying to keep the costs down.

[awthacker]

Originally Posted by Bpitz15

I don't mind dropping into the 40-50 gallon range in my boat. I think I just need to do the research here and choose my best option. I would like to avoid going custom built for this as I am trying to keep the costs down.

Mine had different dimensions, but I found the best price for the moeller tank on iBoats

[GREYWOLF]

at the shop I work at I heve seen many ( ATTWOOD) bulbs leek air and cause a loss in preasure. I recomend replacing the bulb and put a preasure tester in the output and see what you loose . but also always change the filter when any fuel suply work is done . JUST MY 2 cents

[spareparts]

always use a primer bulb sold by an engine manufacture ie: merc/Bomb/yamaha/ Zuki.... The primer bulb will rarely stay hard while the engine is running, you have to overcome what the engine is pulling to get the bulb hard, and once its pulls that fuel, its starts to go down, you're keeping the bulb under vacuum. I would normally go straight to the low pressure pump, but they actually give very little trouble. Pull the pump off the valve cover with teh lines still connected and pump up the bulb, if you have fuel leaking past teh diaphragm, you know the pump is bad. Easy way to test the fuel system is to buy a fuel pressure test kit, they sell them at the auto parts stores for a reasonable price. One thing most people over look on Zukes are the high pressure fuel filter, its not cheap, so it rarely gets changed. If its like most of the engines i work on, the vapor separator tanks needs to be cleaned out, fuel screen needs replacing and then retest, if it still acts up, high pressure pump.

[Bpitz15]

Originally Posted by spareparts

always use a primer bulb sold by an engine manufacture ie: merc/Bomb/yamaha/ Zuki.... The primer bulb will rarely stay hard while the engine is running, you have to overcome what the engine is pulling to get the bulb hard, and once its pulls that fuel, its starts to go down, you're keeping the bulb under vacuum. I would normally go straight to the low pressure pump, but they actually give very little trouble. Pull the pump off the valve cover with teh lines still connected and pump up the bulb, if you have fuel leaking past teh diaphragm, you know the pump is bad. Easy way to test the fuel system is to buy a fuel pressure test kit, they sell them at the auto parts stores for a reasonable price. One thing most people over look on Zukes are the high pressure fuel filter, its not cheap, so it rarely gets changed. If its like most of the engines i work on, the vapor separator tanks needs to be cleaned out, fuel screen needs replacing and then retest, if it still acts up, high pressure pump.

Thanks for that information. I do have the VST fuel screen en route. I'll head to NAPA eventually to get the fuel pressure tester as well!

So now, I'll obviously for (maintenance purposes) switch out the water separator filter, fuel filter, VST screen, and fuel primer bulb and test the pressures in the fuel lines as I perform the work. If fuel leaks past the fuel pump when I pressure test the lines I will replace the $140 fuel pump, if not, i'll return it.

I appreciate the help guys!

[RWilson2526]

Originally Posted by Bpitz15

OOOOOOoooo! good idea!! I may have to give that a try! What grit paper should I go with?


Thanks for the warm welcome everybody. That pic with it in my mirror was the day I took her home.

I think I did the heavy stuff with 800 first and then 1200 if I recall? Do a few google searches and you'll find everyone's favorite method. I had the garden hose on mist in one hand and sandpaper in the other and just went at it.

[reelapeelin]

Originally Posted by RWilson2526

. I had the garden hose on mist in one hand and sandpaper in the other and just went at it.

Oh NO!!...a multi-tasker!!...ppsssssssss....I'm not worthy...

[Bpitz15]

finally got her in the water for the first time on Friday. I planned on it being a shake down run where I would learn all of her strengths and faults. I learned a couple things...

Everything started off well, got her launched, started right up, went through the no wake zone like it should. I started to give her throttle, planed her out and she started bogging down. Crap.

I started doing the analysis...I checked the bulb, it didn't hold pressure when running...had my buddy keep pumping on it and the motor ran fine. Unfortunately for me, my buddy doesn't have the forearms of Popeye so I puttered back in to the launch and took her out.

It's time to diagnose the problem. I am running off of a 6.6 gallon auxiliary tank at the moment. I haven't had the time to purchase a new fuel tank yet but I don't know if it could be undersized fuel lines from the aux tank... i dont know if my fuel pump is going on my motor, and I dont know if its my fuel filter or fuel/water separator.
First things first, I will buy a new fuel/water separator filter, I'll buy a new secondary fuel filter and see what that does.
Second, I'd like to purchase a new gas tank this week and hopefully get that in soon. That should help with the fuel line size issue.
Thirdly, i'd like some help from this forum, do you think I should look into purchasing a new fuel pump or should I trouble shoot first?

Any other ideas/opinions would be greatly appreciated.