** SeaArk 1652 Bass Boat Conversion - "The Dirty Oar" **

[ATW]

Been travelling around the US the past week for work so the boat was being neglected.

As stated earlier, there were some things that needed to be done to the motor since its maiden voyage was a bust.

1.) Had a good leak at the back of the block by the top spark plug hole.
2.) Had a fuel leak at the primer solenoid valve
2.) Motor wouldn't go under load.

Motor seemed to run okay on the muffs but wasn't great. I bought a new compression tester and spark plug tester.

Cold compression test yielded 125# and 121# = I'll call that a pass.
Had nice blue spark jumping 7/16" gap with the tester on both cylinders = pass.

All evidence pointed toward a carb rebuid/cleaning.

Bought a complete carb gasket kit. Tore the carb apart and let it soak in Pine-Sol overnight. Yes.. Pine-sol. (Google it!)

While the carb was soaking, I took apart the water jacket. Can you see where my water leak was? :lol:

Put in a new thermostat while it was apart-- old gasket and new!

My fuel primer solenoid was leaking gas when activated. You can see the crack in the red plastic valve. Replaced it with a new kit.

P.S. If you don't own a OEM Service Manual, get one. I found one on ebay for my year for $20 and it's been amazing.

 

[ATW]

Let the carb soak in Pine-sol all night and cleaned it out this morning. I installed it and did some minor throttle linkage adjusting per the OMC manual.
Reinstalled everything and put the muffs on it and the boat ran considerably better on the muffs. One bump of the primer switch when cold and you can barely bump the key when warm and she fires.
I was also able to throttle up a bit on the muffs (it would die before this.) Fuel leak was fixed and no more water leak in the back of the motor.

Today's forecast in southern Wis.

I was too anxious to NOT launch the boat today!

The boat ran BEAUTIFULLY. Topped out at 27mph with a 10x11 aluminum prop. I think it will do better with less wind and me playing a bit more with the trim/tilt heights. But it ran great, idled great, felt great. Here is a video of the cruise. It was BRISK out!

[youtube]v8MV8TEU4UE[/youtube]

 

[ATW]

Have't done a hell of a lot to the boat. Been enjoying it mostly with my boy and G/F.

I did get the rear fish finder rigged up. Made a transducer bracket so I didn't have to put holes in the transom below the water line-- haven't used it yet but should work in theory.

Added another decal to match the back of the boat.

 

[ATW]

First game fish in the tinny!

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[ATW]

Haven't done a heck of a lot to the rig-- just been enjoying it. However, I did have a lousy of time getting it to start when cold. My JohnnyRude has primer solenoid that I could audibly hear clicking when I engaged it with the key so I figured all was well. Did some investigating last night as I was sick of launching the boat and struggling to get it fired for 5 minutes while trying to keep the boat from crashing into the docks/shore, etc. I ended up having a pinched line under the starter from the solenoid to the top of the carb. I replaced the line entirely as the old fuel line had hardened. I had it on muffs on last night after the repair and it fired up on the first crank so that's promising.. Looking forward to the real world test this week!

 

[Bowhunter1661]

Love the boat man. Nearly identical to mine aside for make and the fact I don't have a console. That will all change come next year though. I hate tiller steer. I nearly cut my legs off last year when my motor ripped out of my hand and I went over board. Lesson learned, always wear your kill switch and life jacket.

 

[ATW]

Thanks for the comments-- I 2nd about the kill switch and disliking tiller steer. I grew up with my Dad owning bass boats or console steered boats so I like them better. I try and make it a habit to wear the killswitch.

Update: The boat has been running really well since the fuel line ordeal. Starts on the 1st or 2nd crank when cold now. I ordered a set of guide posts for the trailer just to keep it centered on one lousy boat launch I often use. Haven't done much to the boat aside from buy a 2nd pedestal seat. Just been fishing and boating with the fam!

 

[hercload]

Awesome build!

 

[nowgrn4]

Nice Rig!

Take this old timers advice. Have a 8"-10" print made of this picture.

In 25 years when your bouncing your grand kids off your knee it will be one of your most prized possessions.

 

[RStewart]

Nice build. Glad you're getting to enjoy it with the family. Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[bobberboy]

Thanks for the comments-- I 2nd about the kill switch and disliking tiller steer. I grew up with my Dad owning bass boats or console steered boats so I like them better. I try and make it a habit to wear the killswitch.

The killswitch thing is hard. It's so easy to develop bad habits and so hard to break them. I've been trying hard to wear the killswitch and life jacket while under way. Accidents are by definition unplanned so thinking you'll slip on the life jacket or killswitch if necessary isn't gonna work.

 

[ATW]

Well, pretty major update to the Dirty Oar today-- a repower.

I removed the 1991 25 HP Johnson and CMC Power Trim unit.. and traded it plus $250 for a 2003 Mercury 25 4 Stroke. I think I did okay on the deal! Need to get the right length shift and throttle cables and she's ready to rip for the year!

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[ATW]

Update: ordered new throttle/shift cables for the new motor. The ones on the control box that came with it were 14 foot... I need 10 or 11 foot. I found a deal on ebay for a used set of 10 footers for $27.. According to teleflex, I should be using 11 or 12ft but I used their standard equation on my last motor and found it to be too long. 10ft leaves a smaller loop at the motor which I like and does not bind.

I ordered a new steering arm for the motor and steering cable.. Another ebay find for $15. I believe the one from my Johnson would have worked but the buyer of my motor needed one so I opted to include it.

I ordered a new Hummingbird 698CI fish finder this evening. It has side imaging, down imaging, and gps. Cant wait to install it and super pumped about the price I paid. I have a Hummingbird 525 on the boat now that I got for next-to-nothing. Gander has the 698 on clearance for $349.. With a 15% off code and gift card, I paid $278 plus I get $150 in Gander rebates. I would have liked to rock the Helix series on the boat but for a net price of less than $130 on the 698CI for GPS, DI, and SI, I will sacrifice the screen size and a few other doodads on the savings for this tinny. I might move the 525 to the bow or sell it and do something better up front.

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[ATW]

Dismounted the old 'bird Friday night and put the new 698CI on with a RAM mount. Pretty simple set-up and nice little unit.
Old:

New:

Took the boat out to test the 25HP 4 stroke Merc and the Humminbird--both ran very well. Hit a MAX of 25MPH with me, an 8 year old boy, and a 40lb dog. I expect about 27MPH by myself and my gear-- same as my old Johnson 25. Love the quietness and easy starting of this Merc.

Short video:
https://gdurl.com/Z0_2

 

[RStewart]

Always nice to play with new toys. Have you noticed any difference in the motors, performance or mileage?

 

[ATW]

Always nice to play with new toys. Have you noticed any difference in the motors, performance or mileage?

I haven't had it out enough to fully tell. Speed seems to be very comparable but it does have less holeshot than the 2 stroke did. I do love the whisper-quiet idle and 1mph trolling speed of this 4 stroke, though.

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[ATW]

Did some work today since temps were in the 70s in Wisconsin. Finally got all the edge trim on the carpet. Looks a ton better than the bare carpet edge.

I also put on the ladder stabilizer guide posts.. which work quite well for windy days at the launch

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[ATW]

My bow mount Minn Kota fried a wire from the pedal to the motor last week. Only would work on high speed so I figured the resistor was shot as well. Found the culprit to be a loose terminal connection. A shame..

However, I picked up a preowned Minn Kota All Terrain 55 to replace it for $125. 10lb more thrust than the Edge was.