richiemoe
Member
I am visiting Florida, from Michigan, and my grandparents mentioned that they were planning on selling their boat soon. I happened to ask how much and they thought about it, and said that I can have it, since it needs some work. It has sat for about a year, and during that time, the cover ripped. I don't see any standing water in it, but the dash panel looks BAD, and there is a soft spot on the floor, behind the captain's chair. It has an OB 115 Mercury SaltWater with hydraulic steering. The steering wheel turns freely, while off, is this normal with the hydraulic pump off? The battery is dead, so I can't test it. The seats look fine, just dirty. The carpet is original 1988.... So i'm thinking that i'll pull it all up, and put down some 3/4" plywood down over the old boards, then re-carpet it.
I can drop a Jeep transmission and replace a hybrid vehicle battery pack, so I think/hope that I can restore this, during the winter, in my garage. HOPEFULLY!!! I've never worked on a boat before.... I currently have a 14' (non deep V) fishing boat with an Evinrude Deluxe 4hp. Nothing fancy. So this is a big step up. I also live 0.25 miles from a pretty large lake, boat ramp.
Is there anything that I should know about this boat make/model/year? It will be cold in Michigan when I get home, is there anything that I need to prep the OB motor for winter? My garage is insulated, but can I keep the motor on the boat outside? The trailer is a Continental single axle and looks like it is in great condition! (Luckily i just replaced my brake rotors and pads, and fully synthetic oil; the mountains on the drive home will be interesting) Worst case scenario, I figure that I can make the trailer into a pontoon trailer, then put the boat motor onto a pontoon. Or find a boat without a motor.... A lot of this revolves around the OB staying good for a while...... haha I don't know if it is a 2 or 4 stroke, i forgot to ask..... I'll look at the id tag next time I go over.
I can drop a Jeep transmission and replace a hybrid vehicle battery pack, so I think/hope that I can restore this, during the winter, in my garage. HOPEFULLY!!! I've never worked on a boat before.... I currently have a 14' (non deep V) fishing boat with an Evinrude Deluxe 4hp. Nothing fancy. So this is a big step up. I also live 0.25 miles from a pretty large lake, boat ramp.
Is there anything that I should know about this boat make/model/year? It will be cold in Michigan when I get home, is there anything that I need to prep the OB motor for winter? My garage is insulated, but can I keep the motor on the boat outside? The trailer is a Continental single axle and looks like it is in great condition! (Luckily i just replaced my brake rotors and pads, and fully synthetic oil; the mountains on the drive home will be interesting) Worst case scenario, I figure that I can make the trailer into a pontoon trailer, then put the boat motor onto a pontoon. Or find a boat without a motor.... A lot of this revolves around the OB staying good for a while...... haha I don't know if it is a 2 or 4 stroke, i forgot to ask..... I'll look at the id tag next time I go over.