Wet Raider made first splash & float test today. Time is quickly running out and I will be at the campgrounds on Thursday night come hell or high water.
Drilled a new hole and re-mounted the ignition, sprayed some starting fluid in the carbs, turned the key - TA DA ! Started up right away. Heavy exhaust ... just like last summer, left a big oily black mark in the grass for a few feet behind the prop.
Dragged out to Lake Rathbun, left it tethered to the winch strap, but got it floating ... jumped around in it, laid down on my belly and looked around every to spot for any leaks. Found two.
Here is my plea list ... For those of you who don't know, I live kinda out in the middle of nowhere. There isn't a marine shop within 200 miles that will touch the boat with this old motor. I've done everything on this boat with my own two hands ... and sometimes you need another pair just to get something right. So ...
1) I need a tune-up. Link-n-sync (hopefully not sink, haha) or something. Help setting idle, or timing ... I don't know what to do here, nor do I have any of the proper tools.
2) I could use a new water pump. I'm happy to buy the parts and have them ready, but I'd like some help dropping that lower unit and setting it back - it's a speed thing ... by myself it'd take me 6 hours to do it with interruptions by the kids, the wife, the pets, cooking dinner, yada yada ... for somebody with experience & a helper, it might be a 20 minute project.
3) Prop swap. Assuming that my WOT issues are not symptomatic of the tune-up/link-n-sync issue, I have a nice prop I'd like put on (Thanks, Don - RetroPerformance). I can buy a prop nut & tab washer and have that ready, too. I've been hesitant to make the swap down to a 15 pitch prop until I get the tuning resolved.
4) Trim leak help. I have not yet resolved my trim leak. Female threads in the cylinder body are stripped on port side. For now, I plan on bleeding the system a bit and using the set pin to hold that motor in place. I won't have any trim control, but it's better than not going or spewing power steering fluid all over the river. I've tried an o-ring between the collar and flare, pipe thread sealant (both tape and goop), and loctite. Once under pressure it just blows the collar out.
5) Re-setting the motor mount bolts. My only options out here for stainless bolts are 3" or 4". The three inch leaves just the tiniest bit of thread poked through, not enough to get the nut on with a washer. The 4" is better, but the threads don't go all the way - I've got 3" of unthreaded shaft. I think my nut and washer are set tight to the unthreaded part, but not quite tight enough to cinch this motor down snug. Those of you with access to a marine shop ... if there's a 4" full threaded bolt, 3/8" diameter in stainless, pick up a pair for me. I have washers and nylok nuts. This is another one of those two person projects ... I need somebody on the outside of the boat and somebody on the inside.
That should be it. I will be there Thursday evening, any of you with the talent and/or experience (and tools) who can help with the rest - please comment so I know who to go looking for. :-) Friday morning sounds like a good time to me ...