New Boater Questions

[bonelessi]

Hi guys, I'm new to the forums and am new to the boating scene. My girlfriend just bought a 14 foot Geneva (?) from 1972. It was quite a steal and seems like an awesome little starter boat. Unfortunately she just jumped on it and didn't ask to hear the motor turn over before she brought it home, so this thing may have a ton of problems but the guy was honest I suppose and said there's an electrical issue with the motor and it won't start. He had replaced a few parts, she has no idea what they are, and she sent me pictures of them. I haven't looked at the service manual yet so I'm not even sure what they are. Maybe I'll post some pics later and you guys can help me out.

Anywhooo ... I haven't played with it yet but I'm headed over there tonight because I'd like to hear it turn over. I'm pretty good with small engine repair but I have never owned a boat or worked on a boat motor. Is there anything I should look for while I'm looking the motor over as far as regular maintenance? You know, basic things I should check before putting the boat in the water. And the boat itself. It looks clean, but is there anything I should check?

Any advice would be a huge help!

Thanks in advance,

Dan

Oh, how does the battery stay charged? Is there an alternator on the motor? It's and Evinrude 50 Lark. Or you charge it up at the end of the day? That's been on my mind all day

 

[5150abf]

Re: New Boater Questions

Sharp little boat there, Looks like and Evinrude 48-50 from the 80s, super good engine, siimple as stone and built like one too.

I have an '81 50 and the thing is just bullit proof.

The first thing I would do is get a manual for it, OMC factory, stay away from Seloc-Clymers or anything on CD, they cover 50 different engines and never the one you are working on where a factory manual covers only your specific engine and has a great trouble shooting section and tells you how test all the electrical components to find out what is actually wrong with it.

You can get them here at iboats or poke around on ebay, I think I got mine for $30 and it was worth 3 times that.

There is a stator on the engine that is suppose to charge the battery but it may/may not work. mine gave up the ghost a few years ago and I haven't wnated to pony up the $300 bucks to fix it, the engine runs fine you just have to throw it on the charger once in a awhile.

The first thing I would do when you get the boat in your hands is check compression, should be 100+ on that engine, mine is 138, the actual number isn't as important as the cylinders being within 10% of each other.

Get a spark checker and see if it has spark, should throw a strong blue spark across a 7/16 open gap, you can get them at any auto parts store and while you are there get some lower unit oil and change that, normally takes 2 tubes.

Note the color of the oil when you drain it,black or honey color is good, milky white is bad and means you need to change the seals, also look for any metal chunks, small flakes are pretty normal.

I woudl also inspect all the wiires under the hood, mine got pretty brittle and have all been replaced, if you do this do one wire at a time and make sure all the connections are clean.

Post what yuou find and there are a bunch of really good OMC guys on here that can talk you through about any problem.

Oh and by the way, if you found a girlfriend that will buy a boat you want to hang onto that one.

 

[5150abf]

Re: New Boater Questions

Forgot to mention, there should be a small metal tag on the right(starboard) side of the engie mount with a serial and model number, post the model number so we know what year engine you have.

If you can't find the plate look on the top of the engine somewhere is a nickel size welch plug that has the same info on it

 

[bonelessi]

Re: New Boater Questions

Forgot to mention, there should be a small metal tag on the right(starboard) side of the engie mount with a serial and model number, post the model number so we know what year engine you have.

If you can't find the plate look on the top of the engine somewhere is a nickel size welch plug that has the same info on it

It says 50173s. Looks like it's a 71 50 Lark (?). Got to look at it last night and it looks good. There is an electrical problem, we get power to the motor but when you turn the ignition to start nothing happens. No clicking no nothing. The starter solenoid has been replaced. I forgot my meter at home yesterday so I couldn't see what going on electrically. Anyway I should probably take this over to the engine repair forums.

Thanks for the info!!!!

Dan