3Squids '87 Cuddy thread - Page 5

steplift20 · #41 04-19-2017, 09:08 PM

Well she needs work that's for sure but honestly she is still beautiful I have to say these wellcrafts are the nicest boat hulls I ever saw great looking boats That's why I have mine for 20 years and don't plan on ever selling her Great looking boats And I bet when your done with her she is going to look even better (She looks good now )

3 Squids · #42 04-20-2017, 07:55 PM

Thanks for all the input. I may just try and run it and see how it goes before I seal the hatch back up. Seems I have the drainage issue straight. If I end up not liking it I'll let you know Kracker and you'll have first dibs at the tank.

Thanks for the dash compliment. It's not much but I don't need all that fancy stuff, just more problems.

3 Squids · #43 04-21-2017, 08:43 PM

Got off early today so messed with the boat some. I basically rewired the whole boat. I used most of the existing wires just cleaned the ends up. A lot of unnecessary splicing going on. I got it all wired up and nervously turned the battery switch on. No smoke so that's good. Bilge pump and pump in the fish box both came on great, float switch works great. All lights work, fuel gauge reads 1/2 tank which from what I can see from the side of the tank looks about right. Turned the motor over and tach turned right up. Still have to get the straight gas out and put premix in before I start her up but moving right along. I feel much better that I now know basically every inch of wire on the boat. Soldered and heat shrunk everything I could and used "marine" grade connectors for everything else. Supposed to be a washout here all weekend so looks like that may be all I get done. Kinda bummed out she won't be in the water this weekend.

3 Squids · #44 04-23-2017, 06:32 PM

Well guys I basically spent all day today working on the boat. Here's what got done.

Console and controls are wired and hooked up. Surprisingly after all the re-wiring I did everything worked as it was supposed to. Only thing left to hook up are electronics like radio, gps, compass light etc. Nothing keeping me from cruising the river.

Gauges look great. Might replace the bulbs with leds but not a huge issue. Fuel gauge read half a tank and also today I drained the tank. There was roughly 18 gallons in it. It's a 50 gallon Moeller tank so seems the gauge is a little lower than what's actually in the tank. But when refueling it 5 gallons at a time I took note of the 5 gallon and 10 gallon reading that way I know when it's time to head home. With 5 gallons the gauge reads 1/16 of a tank and at 10 gallons it reads just a hair under 3/8 so I will know exactly what's left in there. I plan on making a decal with this info so I do not forget.

When I drained the tank I used a hand pump and got as much as possible. There was maybe 1/4" of fuel left in the tank. I pumped the primer ball and sure enough the pickup sucked the tank almost dry. That's great news I guess, seems she'll run til it's definitely out.

Also I added a access for the sending unit and pickup location. The PO recored the hatch and didn't put an access back in it. I feel it's necessary as I'd hate to have to crack the hatch seal if I needed just a quick repair in there. Once I start doing glass work I plan on glassing the edges of the hole to seal the core back up.

I had bought these stainless rod holders for my green boat to help keep rain water from running down on top of the foam, plus they look much nicer than the cheap plastic ones. This boat was similar in design. Any rain water just ran into the hull and in theory would work its way to the bilge and out but we all know that closed cell foam after many years will take on water. Probably won't stop it but should help.

Got my batteries in and strapped down good. The battery shelf has seen better days for sure. Has a lot of moisture in it. I sandwiched it between 2 pieces of starboard then mounted the battery straps with screws that reach through all 3 layers. They won't move now. Also not sure if it's common practice but I put a toggle switch on one of the lids for the float switch 12v constant supply. That way when it's on the trailer, covered and plug out I can cut it off just for peace of mind that it won't short and drain the battery.

I love the room with just one seat. I plan on running the bean bag chair and getting maybe a couple fold out chairs. There's no way with the floor being soft on the port side where the existing seat was that I can mount another pedestal.

Once fueled up I decided to try and fire the motor. It hadn't ran since I got it back from the rebuild. Primed the ball up good and hit the key and bam!! fired right up. I shut it right down as I'm going to get my buddy to come over when I start it up for good to have him make sure everything seems normal.

Next on the list is trying to inject the soft spot in the floor with epoxy. I have no doubt that the boat needs a floor in the near future, just with all the other headaches I have going on I just can't dig into that right now. Hopefully I can get a couple years out of her with minimal repairs.

3 Squids · #45 04-26-2017, 04:46 PM

Well looks like boating this weekend is out of the question. The lower unit originally on this motor was toast. I bought a parts motor and it "felt" good and smooth. The guy that rebuilt the motor said put it on and run it and see what happens. Today I got her fired up and running for a while and decided to put it in gear and see what happened. It's making a horrible clunking/rattling noise while in gear. Looks like a new foot is on the to do list just not sure if it's in the budget. I found one on Craig's for $650 but scared out of my mind to buy something used. When I bought the parts motor the guy told me he knew nothing about it. I was pretty much buying the cowling and spare coil packs and such so I knew this was a possibility. If it ain't one thing it's another.

Destroyer · #46 04-27-2017, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3 Squids

When I bought the parts motor the guy told me he knew nothing about it. I was pretty much buying the cowling and spare coil packs and such so I knew this was a possibility. If it ain't one thing it's another.

ANY time a seller tells me they know "nothing about it" I know 3 things...
(1) I know it's broken beyond repair.
(2) I know they know everything about it.
(3) I know I walk away from bull$hitters.

3 Squids · #47 04-27-2017, 05:28 PM

Well in most cases I agree with you. But I know the story on this boat and I don't doubt him. The boat was abandoned on a piece of property he bought. He was dealing with getting a title for the boat. It was a 22' Wahoo center console. He told me he had plans of putting a 150 4-stroke on it. Few months later I saw it on Craig's with no motor for sale. Guess he never got around to it. My local Mercury mechanic had worked on the motor in the past and actually gave me a printout of all the work he'd done.

Destroyer · #48 04-28-2017, 12:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3 Squids

Well in most cases I agree with you. But I know the story on this boat and I don't doubt him. The boat was abandoned on a piece of property he bought. He was dealing with getting a title for the boat. It was a 22' Wahoo center console. He told me he had plans of putting a 150 4-stroke on it. Few months later I saw it on Craig's with no motor for sale. Guess he never got around to it. My local Mercury mechanic had worked on the motor in the past and actually gave me a printout of all the work he'd done.

I was talking more about sellers on Craigslist or eBay that I don't know personally. In all cases I hope you get a good lower for your engine and get on the water soon :)

3 Squids · #49 04-28-2017, 05:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Destroyer

I was talking more about sellers on Craigslist or eBay that I don't know personally. In all cases I hope you get a good lower for your engine and get on the water soon :)

Looks like a call to SEI is in the works. Can't justify $2k for an oem unit and have heard good things about them. $900 shipped to my door sounds good to me.

Striper80 · #50 04-29-2017, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3 Squids

Looks like a call to SEI is in the works. Can't justify $2k for an oem unit and have heard good things about them. $900 shipped to my door sounds good to me.

I have an sei lower on my boat now. The PO put it in there and it was failing. I called them and they replaced it under warranty for me. I replaced the control cables and adjusted everything correctly and now it rhbs smooth. The only problem is after 40 hours I'm getting water in the gear oil. If I had a choice I would've looked for a used or rebuilt lower over this one.