My retrieval boat

[Doubledog]

Been working on this for a while now. We picked it up last year and its been in storeage since last month due to my job. I've been in a rush to get it water ready for the last two weeks. The guy that had it took good care but set it up for his grandkids to play with and didn't care too much what it looked like. He installed a center steering wheel and aluminum plate bottom across the stringers.

We've been in a rush to get it water ready and the idea was just to sand it down and put a fresh coat of boat laquer on it. That didn't work. Instead, I ripped out the dash and floor and sanded forever. The dash behind the one he installed is like Swiss cheese. Mahagony over here is expensive to say the least so we'll work on it more as time goes.The floor... you've got to be kidding me. I thought it would be easy to install a plank setup but nope! The stringers are a total (you know what). The stringers are different heights and so forth. Over the next winter, we plan on doing things right and making it what its supposed to be.... an Oldie. We've got ideas for a windshield, new seating, floor of course done right and a few other ideas. The bimini top should be here next week.

Once again, its not completed, but its in the water. Tomorrow will be its first day of chase boat duty.

Btw, we've handled this thing like a crystal egg. When launching & loading etc.. it hasn't so much as bumped anything. Now, we've got a split a fingernail's width about 12" long running along the keel just under the curl in the bow. I noticed it after we pulled it in and did an inspection over everything. Almost made me cry. But when I got home and pulled a few boards out of the floor, it was dry as a bone.

Any ideas about these mahagony boats? Could almost swear I've read where they like to have a little water in the bottom so they stay swollen out. Tomorrow is our big day for r/c boating in the river and I'm nervous.

Talk to me guys.
Best Regards,
Double

[Doubledog]

The split starts right under the front bunk and goes 6" front and back. I'm guessing add some epoxy to it tonight but my trusted friends say let it be. There's no water inside so...

[Doubledog]

Your's truely hoping the wife could take a better photo. :rolleyes:

Any ideas on the split? Hopefully tomorrow I'll have some good photos of the r/c boats in action.

Take care.

[550racer]

lets see how it moves on the water

[dannyUAL767]

That is one cool boat! I've always wanted to build my own real boat. The company Glen L makes kits and your boat makes me want one all the more!

[Doubledog]

Thanks feller's.

550, here in Germany you can run up to a 5 hp engine on a boat without a license, so needless to say the little 4 Deluxe Rude thats on it does one thing... it gets us around. lol. Actually it almost planned out with just me in there. But it does whats expected and nothing less. Btw, tried to get my license here & they don't have a translated test so it wasn't worth the effort.

[MikDee]

That boat is so pretty, classic style wood boats are in a class of their own. In my youth there were quite a few of these mahogany wood speedboats around (fiberglas boats were just starting out), some had red bottom paint, some had green (which I prefer), but they were all so pretty when kept up well. The old 16' lapstrake Thompson we had, we painted it with an expensive pinkish copperbottom paint, which turned pretty moss green when the chemical reaction to saltwater took place, and it kept the barnacles off But Good!

[Doubledog]

We've taken it out three days straight now ! Talk about having fun. Yesterday we took our 10 mo. old with us and she had a ball. Had to take the yellow Enforcer along too :D Not much room in the boat so it got towed.

Any ideas on how to make a 4hp OMC into a 6 or more? I'm more familiar with the larger V6 outboard engines, not these smaller ones.

Take care.

[scottericsonon]

all engines are the same jamie

big pump
the more air in and out the better

depends on what you would want to spend

2 stroke or 4?

right now id run her then over the winter do the basics

free up exaust free up intake maybe a mild port and polish

deck the cyl for a little more compression etc

wooden boats are cool
when i was a kid and my parents had a real boat we used to see a guy with an old wooden cris-craft with a BB chevy in it

SWEET boat

we had a 21FT Larson with an open bow and an Evinrude OB on it 150horse if i remember correctly

good little ski boat



scott

[scottericsonon]

oh BTW

is your daughter the pope??

JK/JK/JK shes adoreable

scott

[Doubledog]

Its a two stroke.

You know, I've been telling myself the same thing you just mentioned... more in & more out. The only reason I keep asking is that guys here talk a lot about making more power How? If I could find a new powerhead, we'd toss it on there. The boat is right at the edge of planing over so the challenge presents itself.

Oh, Sophies hat is supposed to fall backwards on her head but the breeze had it flipped up. :o

[BoatDoc]

i used to fly r/c planes with the guys from the OMC R&D shop. if i was still in touch with them, they could get a lot more than 6 hp out of your motor! scott is right though, run it til winter than tear it down. on these engines, it comes down to porting and compression, and maybe a little tweaking on the iginition timing. so, again, scott is right. if want to be really nutty, they have tuned pipes and all sorts of crazy stuff for motors like that. i've seen a johnson 15 hp get the treatment and it pushes an 8 ft hydro at over 60 mph. that's my next project once i'm out of the service :D

[Doubledog]

Boat Doc, I've seen the same things you have with these small engines and used to sit back and laugh at why someone would want to do stuff like that to them. Tuned pipes, velocity stacks and such.

OKAY... THE MAIN REASON (this has to be it finally) I'm asking is because the 4 hp Deluxe & the 6 & 7.5 hp engines from '85 to about mid '90s from OMC was all the same. In other words the 4 hp that I have is the same cubes as the larger ones, just detuned with different carbs etc...

See my point? But just to set the record straight, I'm wanting to make dang sure I know what to do before going out there jerking around.

Okay, so the cat is out of the bag now. Thats it.... love you guys. Jamie :D

[BoatDoc]

those johnson/OMC motors are pretty common in the APBA for smaller boats. they have quite a following of hard-core builders and racers. i bet if you ran a search for OMC or Johnson performance parts you could probably come up with some stuff. overall, they're pretty simple, and soooooo common that parts should be easy to find. i bet if you ran a search, you'd be amazed at what you find. another thing to look at, btw, is get your flywheel machined to drop some weight.

[Doubledog]

The few places I've visited it has been a real pain in the neck. Don't want to go joining a new forum, ask one or two questions & then leave.

I know I wrote it earlier, but those hydro's you're talking about are something else.

[scottericsonon]

same cubes as the "big" motors???

well then im 99% positive its ALL in the intake/exaust (carb/pipe)

yank the cyl and check your base gasket thickness

then go over here http://aperaceparts.com/ and call these guys

if i remember correctly from my drag bike days they have 100% pure copper sheets in different thicknesses to make base gaskets for bike motors

you could probably order a much thinner sheet off of them to make your own gasket OR send them yours and theyll cut you one in whatever thickness you desire

OR deck the cyl

ok that takes care of compression

give it a little more exaust timing by opening the port and polishing to a mirror finish

port the intake side but DO NOT polish smooth (air fuel mix likes a semi rough finish) promotes atomization-better more complete burn

hotter plug =better burn but watch your plug color white is BAD

bump the ignition timing (this is just a guess) 5-8 degrees

MORE CARB!!!!!!!! even if you just open up what you have

MORE EXAUST! again even if you just open what you have


port match EVERYTHING

if ALL else fails i have a little blue bottle out in my shop................
:D

BTW your smart enough to know this but just in case anyone else is reading this here goes

DO NOT ATTEMPT ANY MODIFACTIONS TO YOUR ENGINE IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING

YOU WILL BLOW IT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THAT WILL MAKE YOU LOOK LIKE THIS :confused: THEN THIS :mad:

seriously tho jamie dont take my word as gospel

id do ALL the research i possibly could before attempting such a project
G/L scott

[Ron Olson]

Get yourself a 9.9 powerhead then put the 4HP cover back on it. This was an old trick that Bass Fishermen used. They'd of course have a 175 or 200 HP Merc with the 150 HP cover on it. Most Tournaments had a 150 Horse limit but the motors were never teched.

[Micho523]

I dont know alot about marine engines but I am a real gearhead for almost all other kinds of engines. The only thing that i havent seen mentioned is machining the valves and head. Machining the valves will give better flow and help them seat better, and machining the head is an easy way to increase the compression. A thinner head gasked is definately a must. Theres an old saying that goes as follows: "There is no replacement for displacement." Check around and see if you can't up the displacement of the engine. Do a full engine balancing as well, that helps alot. Thats about all i can think of. good luck!!

[BoatDoc]

i like scotts idea...little blue bottles are cooooool!!!! but then of course you have to drop compression a bit and keep an eye on your timing. good grief!! this performance thing is one big go around isn't it?!?!?!? but ron's got a good point too. a 9.9 hp powerhead under a 4 hp cover, it's sneaky, but it'll get the job done.

[Doubledog]

I've thought about the larger engine under the cowl thing. Would it fit on my leg (part where the powerhead is removed from)?

Scott old boy! Spoke to a friend of the family that works for a marina back home he said the 4 & 7.5 are the same cubes just detuned and the way they did it was through carbration & the reed assembly. Sounds easy enough right? Now to find such an engine and scrape the parts off it.

Ron, I remember those days when 200+ engines would mascarade around as a 150. You know what we call those? RINGERS !

That would piss me off so bad! When I was 17, I saved up enough money (and with a loan through my parents) to buy a two year old Stratos 179V bass boat. Also, bought a NIC NEW IN CRATE '89 150 Mariner Magnum II. It would run in the mid 60's all day long and took a bit of set-up work to get there.

Then a guy would come along with a slightly larger boat and a 150 engine and want to string them out for a mile or two. It wasn't funny when I'd get my butt handed to me. How could a guy run a 150 on a larger boat, pull a taller prop & still get on the big end? Ooooo, he must'a had something done.... He had a ringer. LOL. The whole time he's swearing its a stock fishing mota'. Sure pal. LMAO!

Buds, if you don't mind, keep an eye out for one of these engines for me. A lot of old timers don't know how to use the net so there's deals that you just can't get to.

Certainly appreciate it.

[scottericsonon]

I dont know alot about marine engines but I am a real gearhead for almost all other kinds of engines. The only thing that i havent seen mentioned is machining the valves and head. Machining the valves will give better flow and help them seat better, and machining the head is an easy way to increase the compression. A thinner head gasked is definately a must. Theres an old saying that goes as follows: "There is no replacement for displacement." Check around and see if you can't up the displacement of the engine. Do a full engine balancing as well, that helps alot. Thats about all i can think of. good luck!!

its a two stroke hence no valves

two strokes are goofy decking the head WILL increase compression but so would decking thy cyl or running a thinner base gasket

SOME 2 strokes dont even have a seperate head/cyl therefore you HAVE to deck the cyl

ill keep my eyes peeled for ya jamie


scott

[MikDee]

Chances are the reed valves, and possibly the carbs, are different, (maybe just the reeds) if the powerhead is the same,,, you should be able to easily replace the reed valve assembly. Usually the only difference, is the reeds are bigger, or easier to open, or open more. Even without changing the carburetion, This would let your engine breathe in more, & faster, fuel air mixture, like putting in a high performance camshaft in a 4cycle engine. I would research this. good luck, and let me know how u make out.

[Capt.Hook]

Cool boat you have there,
as for the planks opening up,keep the boat either in the water or keep some water in the boat,this is a standard rule.
Twice we've had to strip and submerge large wooden vessels that had opened up due to the fact they had been on the hard for too long.Not a pleasant task.
Hope this helps.

[Doubledog]

Got some information from a reliable source this time.

Here's the email my Pops sent me today:

"Went to Gibb's today, the parts man looked your seriel number up, your motor is a 1985, in that year model there was a 4,6 and 8hp the bore and stroke for the 4hp is 1.56x1.37 the 8hp was 1.93x1.70 totaly differant in cub. in. plus the cost of a carb. for the 8 hp (if it would have fit) was $206.00 and some of the hook up was different".

Looks my my buddy was wrong after all, but so it goes. No problem. At least we can get out on the water and enjoy it.

Thanks for the input on everything from the engine to the wood swelling shut.

[MikDee]

I still say if you work the reeds, so that they open easier, and or abit more, you may get just the power you were looking for to plane, plus I would richen up the carb jets, possibly drilling them out. And, at least 1 number hotter on the spark plug.

[Micho523]

I found an auction you may be intrested in. It only has 23hours left as of when i post, so look quick! Here (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=19166&item=5901269639&rd=1) is the link for it.

[Doubledog]

Micho, thanks for the reply but the boat couldn't handle the power of that engine much less carry the weight. Very thoughtful to keep an eye out. Btw, if any of you see the reeds and stuff on ebay for a 7.5, I'm not bidding. I offered to buy the whole engine, not parted out and what happens? The guy parts the stuff out. I'll pass.

You know, I'll be home in two weeks and am sure I'll have some time to search around and get a new one boxed up to ship over here. Peace.