New to me Celebrity 1997 180 BowRider

[Momboy007]

Hello All,
I am brand new to this Forum and boat ownership
I was hoping I could get some help if possible from this Forum, me and my family just purchased a 1997 Celebrity 180 bow rider to take the kids and grandkids out on the Lake with, but I have a few questions. The boats interior upholstery has been gutted and someone installed seats out of a car in there, really cheesy looking, the front of the boat, or I guess you would say, the bow upholstery is all there and looking pretty good, but, how do I find seats, more like the originals to reinstall into this boat? I think the 2 front bucket seats are from a Chevy Yukon as well as the small bench seat in the rear, looks pretty bad if you ask me.
It also has a 4.3 Murcruiser motor and I/O, is that a good one?
Also, what is the best stuff to use for cleaning the weathered upholstery and the faded Gel coat on the outside? the previous owner has not had it in the water for the last 10 Years as he was fighting cancer.
He told me when he put the boat away (Outside in the weather) it ran flawless and should once again be a good boat for us, we will have to wait and see

Thank you all in advance for any help you can provide

Rick

 

[R055]

Do not try to start the boat wothout replacing gas and oil.
The mercruiser 4.3 is a common boat engine and is a pretty good and reliable one. Really common. Post some pictures of the current seats and boat layout.

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Welcome to Iboats!! Depending on the condition of the vinyl, simple dish washing liquid does a great job and is safe. I also like the starbrite products for stains or mildew. 303 is my choice for protectant. As far as the gelcoat, meguiars makes some great marine products to bring out that shine.

Definitely post pictures!!

Captains seats won't be hard to find, just search iboats or the web. The bench seat was most likely built in place, and not something that can be purchased. That may be something you have to custom build.

If the boat sat out in the weather for years, there may be some structural issues beneath the floor. Any soft spots on the deck?

 

[tpenfield]

:welcome: . . . to iBoats.

I see from a few image searches that the Celebrity 180 bowriders DID have bucket seats and a bench seat right behind them. So, maybe the seats are original :noidea:

Not much room in the main cockpit for much more than that anyway.

10 years sitting out in the weather :facepalm: . . one can only imagine what lurks within.

I am curious as to the circumstances that lead you to buy this particular boat? Deal of a life time? Looking for a project?

10 years ago I put a lawn mower out in my yard. It ran flawlessly when I put it there . . . but it doesn't seem to work any more . . . I think you get my point.

Who in the family is good with engines and overall handyman stuff? That will be your go-to person to try to bring things back to life. The Mercruiser 4.3 is a decent engine. The question will be what happened to it after being left for 10 years. Do you know if it was winterized (i.e. prepared for a long term layup)? Freezing temperatures where you are located?

I would probably pull the carburetor off and either clean it or re-build it. Pull the spark plugs, squirt some fogging oil in each cylinder and see if you can get the engine to rotate by hand. If so, then may be see if you can spin it with the starter motor. Put new oil and filter in it and then see if you can get the engine to build up some oil pressure by spinning the motor with the starter . . . all this without the spark plugs.

You will want to drain the fuel tank and replace the fuel filter.

On the outdrive, you will want to replace the impeller as it is probably dried out.

If you get this far . . . Put the carburetor back on . . . add some fuel to the tank, put the spark plugs in, connect the water supply ('ear muffs') to the outdrive and see if you can get the engine to start. I assume that you will be getting a new battery to make all this happen . . . you will want a battery charger to keep the battery re-charged while you are doing all this prep work.

After a few posts, you can add some pictures to your posts, so it would be interesting to see the boat. . . we like pictures.

Again, welcome and we will be routing for you. :thumb:

 

[Momboy007]

Hello All,
So I feel like I did get the deal of a lifetime, I am pretty handy so I feel like I can get through most of the issues, and begin throwing money at any problems that arise. I have the carb being rebuilt by a Marina and the mechanic has already drained, flushed and changed out the fuel filter.
The boat has been stored out of doors in Riverside Ca., which does not normally freeze, so I think I will be lucky in that regard.
How does the motor get its cooling? I know if I put on the water ear muffs to the outdrive, will that pump up to the motor?
I am going to order a Mercruiser manual for this boat, hopefully that will help bunches. how difficult is it to replace the water impeller, I did it once on a Force 120HP outboard and that was a piece of cake, hopefully this won't be much worse.

Thank you all again for all your help and pics to follow

Rick

 

[tpenfield]

I assume that the boat has an Alpha drive (typical Mercruiser outdrive for smaller boats). There is an impeller in the lower unit of the outdrive, much like an outboard motor. so, you need to remove the lower unit to replace the impeller.

The impeller/pump in the lower unit is what pumps cooling water from the lake/ocean up through the engine. the cooling water goes through the engine and then up the internal passages of the exhaust manifolds and out through the exhaust tubes. So, when you put the ear muffs on the lower portion of the outdrive, the garden hose will make enough pressure to feed water to the impeller/pump in the lower unit, but the pump itself does the job of moving the water up to and through the engine.

 

[Momboy007]

Thank You Ted!
How difficult is it to remove the lower unit? I think this will need to be done ASAP on my boat

Rick

 

[Alumarine]

Here's a link to the sterndrive manual

http://boatinfo.no/lib/mercruiser/manuals/mercruiser14.html#/0

 

[Mule Laker]

No photos?

So I'm wondering did you purchase this boat assuming it wouldn't run? Ten years is a long time for a boat/vehicle to sit.

 

[Momboy007]

It has actually been started up every Year and run, I feel even if I need to replace the motor, I paid very little for this boat which just needs cleaned up, I am hoping I am right

Rick

 

[lprizman]

post up some pics,,,,tons of advice and pics would help.
welcome to boating!!
tylenol cash and booze needed!!
Lance