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  1. ratdude747

    How to kill mold on billge/engine surfaces

    Went to change my fuel filter today and discovered fluffy white mold all over the starboard side of the bilge around the gas tank and on the thermostat housing: For this situation, what's the best solution? Or will it resolve itself with time and use once the season starts?
  2. ratdude747

    Who makes covers that are any good?

    Ever since I acquired my 1976 Starcraft Montego (16'), one sore spot has been storage covers. I've been through two seal skin covers (the standard blue material they offer) that were excellent new but in a matter of months/over a winter developed pinholes and stopped repelling water to the...
  3. ratdude747

    1976 888 (MC-1) Trim/Tilt pump/line leak

    Been fighting a hydraulic issue the last two weeks. Last weekend I found my drive I had raised the night before had fallen. Massive lagoon of oil in the bilge under the pump. Found the high pressure line was loose and was able to finagle a wrench down there to tighten it. Adding some 10W-30 and...
  4. ratdude747

    File uploads no good again?

    Seems for me today, that file uploads are failing in the same way they did back in August of last year: https://forums.iboats.com/threads/photos-not-saving-to-server.773767/ Had it both on my phone earlier and now on my laptop... both were on my WiFi so technically it could be ISP related?
  5. ratdude747

    MC-1 Drive Dog failure?

    Had a frustrating outing today with my 1976 MC-1 (888 302). It's always been hard to not granny shift without slamming the throttle (both directions)... but today was particularly bad (would not engage)... but then we seemingly hit something at the end that wildly nuked two prop blades on my...
  6. ratdude747

    Gel coat repair gone wrong

    Well, I'm having a fail of a time with gel coat repairs. I had a pretty nasty chip in my Gel coat (along with a decent amount of dock rash) and made the mistake of using a generic "mix your own color" type gel coat kit. The issues so far have been that I can't get an orange as vibrant as the...
  7. ratdude747

    Cold Starting RPM: What is normal?

    This is something I noticed last season (my first season of owning a boat)... it seems I had to run the idle awful fast on cold start. Engine is a 1976 Mercruiser 888 (302) that has been swapped to a Holley 4160 (4 barrel) marine carb. It would only start if I gave it enough throttle to get...
  8. ratdude747

    Modifying a 1975 Trail-R-Craft

    After buying another trailer and finding out it's maybe not what I want or worth the effort, I am looking to see the feasbility of modifying the trailer I already have to better serve my needs. It's a 1975 Art Roll Manufacturing "Trail-R-Craft". History: This is the second trailer the boat...
  9. ratdude747

    Found me a project trailer...

    I love my boat (1976 Starcraft Montego), but I hate the trailer, mainly how high it rides. It also seems to be be too big. While the trailer is older than the boat by a year (MFD. in 1975), it's technically not original, the original low-riding Aluminum dual-axle traded for this due to the...
  10. ratdude747

    Best "low effort" towable?

    Last season I tried tubing with my boat... and well, for me (and my wife) things didn't go well. We started with an old SportsStuff 4-person donut that came with the boat (and despite being 12+ years old, still worked great). While it was fine for some teenage guests (who were fit athletes) and...
  11. ratdude747

    Mercruiser 888 (302) Cylinder Head swap?

    One thing I eventually need to do on my Mercruiser 888 is swap or rework the heads so I no longer need to run lead substitute. I may have found a deal on some heads that likely have hardened seats... they're Ford D5AE-CA 351 heads that came off an OMC 302 (supposedly includes ARP 351-302...
  12. ratdude747

    Tow Smart "Submersible" LED tail lights are junk... better solution?

    This weekend my LED tail lights suffered a progressive failure. Despite being marketed as submersible, unlike some LED tail lights I've seen (which despite that fact, also failed in a similar way on a car hauler), they didn't fully seal the light (has a drain hole) nor did they...
  13. ratdude747

    How to fix stress crack in fiberglass under seat cushion

    While replacing some bungee cords on my bow riding seats, I found a stress crack in the seat opening: Specifically the crack radiating from the hull edge (the other is just in the Gel coat AFAIK). It goes all the way through the wood and inner glass. How should I mitigate this? Not looking...
  14. ratdude747

    Broken "oddball" stern light socket- how to fill old hull screw holes?

    Had a bit of a mishap today. Wife made a boo-boo while backing out of a slip full of deadwood, and bent the stern light. No big deal (it was a cheapo BassPro one). But, the mount got snapped in half: Issue is that this mount is a bit longer than the similar 3-screw sockets I've seen for sale...
  15. ratdude747

    Will a mercruiser 120 prop fit on an 888 (302)?

    Found a local deal on a recently rebuilt and apparently decent condition mercruiser 120 prop (48-78120-19). Other than having a bit less pitch (19 vs 21), being a bit smaller (14" instead of 14.5"), and having a solid hub (instead of rubber), it's pretty close to what the original (not usable)...
  16. ratdude747

    Process for changing boat trailers?

    Today I tried dipping my boat in the Ohio river... and I found out the city ramp is in fact very shallow at the bottom. So much so, that without pushing my truck (RWD 1984 F150, open diff) too far (past the concrete 4' from the water's edge) I couldn't get enough buoyancy to leave the bunks...
  17. ratdude747

    Best way to improve a short vintage swim ladder

    On my last outing, we had a bit of a situation where one of our passengers wanted to swim but was unable to get back into the boat due to the woefully short factory swim ladder (1976 Starcraft Montego): I'd like to mitigate this on future outings but would also like to preserve the vintage...
  18. ratdude747

    Are these old D!ck Pope Water Skis any good?

    (Using the word "D!ck" to get around the curse filter... as using the actual brand name results in "****" :rolleyes:) As part of a "free" 1976 Starcraft Montego 16 Tri-Hull Ski Boat I was gifted, I received several ski tow ropes and a couple pairs of skis. The ropes I've gotten settled out- a...
  19. ratdude747

    Mercruiser 69729 Alternator (888, etc.) Rebuild notes and info

    Been rebuilding the alternator out of my 1976 Mercruiser 888 (302) and wanted to note some findings and info that don't seem to be on the forum already. Also, I noticed that another member with the same engine may be having an alternator issue, so I figured I better get the info out there. This...
  20. ratdude747

    Mercruiser MC-1: is this play acceptable?

    While putting my outdrive back together (impeller replacement) I noticed some steering/trim play: It's a 1976 Mercruiser 888 (MC-1). This is a project boat that I haven't had on the water yet, so I can't comment on steering performance (it's a standard cable setup, no power assist or...
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