Hello, Glad I found this place and I need Help

[Roy Edwards]

Hi everyone, I am so glad i found somewhere to chat and get some help. A couple of monthes ago I bought a 1972 Fabuglas Trident 170 open bow 17 foot pleasure boat. It was a steal ($600). It does need some tlc and I have never owned a boat before. My first question is it needs some minor engine work (tune up) and I want someone to look at the lower unit as well (drive does not fully disengage in N and makes a clunk noise in neutral and at hi Rpm in forward also Reverse is inop). But along with all of that It needs the floor replaced. Should i get all my drive train work done than do the floor or do the floor first. I will be doing the floor myself. (I have been do alot of research to prepare myself for the task.) So what do you guys think I should do first. <br /><br />P.S My engine is a Mercrusier 4 banger 140 serial # 2610140 stern drive Serial # 2648949 Boat Serial # 6916276m

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Hello, Glad I found this place and I need Help

Welcome to iboats.. You did very well by posting your serial #'s. Unfotunately, I do not have acess to tell you exactly what you have. However, I do believe you have a pre-alpha drive. You will need to put out some bucks to change your rubber parts, ie. u-joint, exhaust, shift cable bellows. Get yourself mercruiser manual #6 if you plan to undertake the maintenence/repairs yourself. If it allready runs, that's great. Look to put about another $1,000 in her to get it "ship shape'. The shifting problem is probably that you need to replace your lower shift cable. This is pretty easily done while you are changing the "rubber'.You have come to the right place If you ask intelligent, concise questions,(like you have), you will get all of your answers right here. It doesn't get any better than this....Welcome aboard! You will get plenty of feedback.......J

 

[John_S]

Re: Hello, Glad I found this place and I need Help

I would at least get an estimate for the drive repair, before doing the floor. Have a decent idea of what it will cost and time involved. When you start into the floor, it is highly likely the repair that is needed is more than what the surface indicates. If you have to remove the whole floor, and a few stringers, along with $$$ on engine/drive, you might want to reassess the project. When you estimate the time needed to do repairs, at least double it! I just finished a straight forward floor replacement in a 14' alum Starcraft, and it was at least double! Anyway, I hope the repairs needed are minor, and you can get the boat on the water ASAP.

 

[thunderroad]

Re: Hello, Glad I found this place and I need Help

I bought a similar project (69 Formula F-190 w/160 Merc) earlier this year myself. It was structurally sound but needed a lot of cosmetic help. Once I committed myself to taking on the project the first thing I did was make sure the engine ran ok. The fuel tank was metal and full of rust so I tossed it and hooked up a temp system to run the engine. On mine, a simple tune-up was all that was needed to convince me that the engine was good enough to proceed with the rest. So I replaced the tank with a poly one and replaced all the fuel lines. Total cost about $100. <br />A tune-up doesn't cost all that much so I'd get confident with the engine, get someone to take a look at the drive and then go from there. The floor will probably be quite a bit of work but not ALL that expensive if you do it yourself. I've gotten a lot of enjoyment out of working on mine. It's been nice to have a project that I can see taking shape and even now that it's up in running shape I still go out and tinker with something most every night. Keeps me out of the tavern.<br />I guess what I could have said in a lot fewer words was....If you're looking for a satisfying but at times frustrating project, you're on the right track. You're not out much up front and even if you spend another $1000 you're still in pretty good shape. When you're done you will know almost every detail about the condition of your boat and that's certainly better than taking a couple of thousand and buying one you know nothing about. I say..go for it.

 

[Roy Edwards]

Re: Hello, Glad I found this place and I need Help

Thanks to all for the replys. I am very excited and committed to this project. She ran great after two years in a barn. I have already had her out on the lake about eight times and have done minor stuff like chnaging all fluids and such. I Knew about the floor when I bought her.(although I had no Idea how to fix it). I also Knew about the no reverse problem. I decided when the engine started runnung a little ruff to put her in dry dock and start the process of a complete overhaul.<br />My wife and I are going to try to do most of the work ourselves. We have set a time table of a year to a year and a half with a buget of 3-5 thousand when its totally finished. This boat is special to her ( it was her families boat before we bought it. She grew up on it. ) I have the boat in my garage ( this is where it will stay until I finish) again thank you so much for the replies I am very happy to be a member of this group and look forward to meeting many new people