2000 Larson 186 LXi Project

[Bayou Dave]

It is a 2000 186 lxi.

1st cav still? Once donned the electric strawberry.

Former 1st Cav. many moons ago. You may be lucky and find that your boat was made with the VEC system which means that there is no wood in the boat. Contact this person at Larson and give him the HIN. JSchmidtbauer@larsonboatgroup.com
John Schmidtbauer
LARSON BOAT GROUP
Larson, Striper, Triumph & Gekko Boats
Warranty, Parts, Technical Representative
1-320-632-1419
1-800-452-4834
He will research and see if your boat does or does not have wooden stringers and transom. My 2002 SEI 190 does have the VEC system.

 

[Sunken Ship]

Thanks, just sent him an email. It sure appears different. The bulk head aft of the fuel cell has 1" holes( apprx.) where they were filled with foam. The motor mounts have the same thing. Will post back if I hear back from him.

That was fast. He said the "stringers are fiberglass, Transom and the sub floor is made of marine grade treated plywood." News to my ears.

He was kind enough to send this, but I can't read it very well.

 

[Bayou Dave]

Thanks, just sent him an email. It sure appears different. The bulk head aft of the fuel cell has 1" holes( apprx.) where they were filled with foam. The motor mounts have the same thing. Will post back if I hear back from him.

That was fast. He said the "stringers are fiberglass, Transom and the sub floor is made of marine grade treated plywood."

At least the stringers are fiberglass. That helps a bit.

 

[Woodonglass]

That Larson is a WELL MADE BOAT. You won't need to do a LOT to get her Ship Shape!!!! I wish we would have known it was a 2000 model Larson. They started making all Glass Boats in 2000. It's NOT surprising that the deck and all else is in good shape. If the motor is a Runner then the interior and other cosmetics should be all that's needed.

 

[Sunken Ship]

Thanks for the comments guys. I really liked this boat design despite condition-I can look through those things. Couldn't have been happier when I found out the stringers are glass as I really didn't want to go through that again. Lucked out!

It will now be on at least the third engine. I found a sticker that states "Jasper Engines" by the starter. I take it the original engine was messed up then someone put a Jasper engine in it and now I will do a third (at least). No worries, she is worth it to me. I found the oil pan is busted so it looks like she threw a rod on no. 5 according to where it is busted. She is all ready to come out I think.

Got her tucked away in the garage diagonally (tight fit). Removed all of the carpet to expose the wood. Really want to get this dried out asap. The plywood on the floor is solid despite some warping from the water I am satisfied and will just re-carpet.



Here is the oil pan:



Jasper Engine:

 

[Sunken Ship]

Had to try the buffer out. Placed a piece of tape and then buffed around it to see the difference.

 

[Sunken Ship]

Here is the fuel cell if anyone is wondering what they look like. Has an electric siphon feed.

 

[Woodonglass]

Does the deck have any significant soft spots in it?

 

[Sunken Ship]

Zero to my pure amazement.

 

[Bayou Dave]

You mentioned that you removed the rear seat. I am trying to figure out how to remove the bolster part to recover it. The long part right in front of the cushions. Can't find any screws hidden under carpeting. Mine has 3 seperate cushions.

 

[Sunken Ship]

Feel along the edge of the carpet where I made the arrow, Should be around 8-10 holding 1.5" screws holding it to the floor. Our seat is a little different. Is this your 2002? Also that petition with the fire retardant insulation has 90 degree aluminum brackets on each side.

 

[Bayou Dave]

Feel along the edge of the carpet where I made the arrow, Should be around 8-10 holding 1.5" screws holding it to the floor. Our seat is a little different. Is this your 2002? Also that petition with the fire retardant insulation has 90 degree aluminum brackets on each side.

Yes, it is my 2002. I have more info on it here.
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/other/dockside-chat/10189872-dragged-home-a-new-to-me-boat

This is the part I am trying to get off. Not sure if yours is the same or not.

 

[Sunken Ship]

Will check out your thread and post over there.

 

[Sunken Ship]

I buffed the deck section first with 3M rubbing compound:

 

[Sunken Ship]

Bondo and dypcdiver coached me through getting the out drive out of the way in the V/P section for engine removal.

Contacted Jasper with the build number from that sticker by the starter and the engine is now 107 months old. I was told a previous owner "did some work to the boat." Must have been the engine as it dates exactly to the registration I found today in the glove box. Discovered the boat was registered in both AR and TX in addition to KY while buffing it out today. This thing has had a hard life!

Salvage yard is willing to lift the engine out of the boat and set it in my truck next week, hoping Tuesday. Can't wait to tear it down and see what has happened. This yard has a Jimmy there with the 4.3, but I want to do some more research to make sure it is the correct block. I took pictures, but could not capture the cast number on the engine block of the Jimmy. I would imagine the heads on mine MIGHT be reusable after a valve job. See what the machine shop says about them as soon as I get to that step.

The Jasper block cast in it now is 14099090M which traces to 96-98. I might take the heads off this weekend and start laying things out in the garage floor.

 

[Bayou Dave]

That buffed out real nice!

 

[Sunken Ship]

Thanks DRS. Hoping to do port side tomorrow.

I pulled the top-end off the engine today. Almost undetectable ring groove-suggesting it did not have many "miles" on her. Was .020 over on pistons. Starting to think the PO dumped fresh oil in the cylinders to free them up without knowing the extent of the engine damage.Oil just doesn't make sense inside the cylinders otherwise. Will ask salvage yard about taking the old fuel.

I think it is ready to go now:




What is you delight... oil or water (see below) :



Here is the crack found on No.1:



Port Bank:

 

[Sunken Ship]

A little about the prospective engine donor:

Local yard has a1998 GMC Jimmy. The engine (long block) would be $176 after tax and I pull. One concern is that it has an electronic odometer, so I am unable to check mileage (cluster is still there). This engine has a relatively new water pump and it was not in a wreck-possibly overheating issues at some point. One thought is that if these salvage vehicles are wrecked then they were running and driving when they entered the yards. As you can see this one is not wrecked and went into the yard for other reasons. Not able to inspect the oil since they drain all fluids before placing them on the yard.

I am not concerned about getting a ready to run engine as I will have the machinist check all of my parts before reassembly anyway. If I went with a yard engine, I would have a back-up in the event my crank is beyond being turned, heads are cracked/warped, cam broke, etc. I will call tomorrow to see what kind of warranty these engines have from the salvage yard.

Also, checked craigslist for a prospect engine to save me the trouble of pulling this engine, but came up empty handed.

 

[Sunken Ship]

I have been thinking of doing something to treat the floor after it dries out. It is solid everywhere, but some warping has occurred. Would like to sand the old glue off, then "treat" the wood anew. Any suggestions of how I might treat the plywood after it dries out to give it a new lease on life?

 

[Woodonglass]

If you want it to last for a few decades I'd recommed purchasing a gallon of epoxy and rolling it on both sides and the edges. You should get at least 2 coats out of a gallon maybe 3. If you do this it'll be there for your grandkids. It's probably treated Marine Grade plywood anyway since it's lasted this long so if you seal it with epxoy it'll be Good to Go!!!