Louisiana Senator

[yellowfiero88]

I have looked at several sites on-line, including one that was recommended here a few weeks ago. Seems like alot, but I need 25 yards at 6 feet wide. That what the old carpet measures...

SOME lowes stores stock boat carpet. Out of 4 right around me, only 1 of them has it. The guy says its their most popular selling carpet. They got it in black and grey and its very nice and soft. Cheaper than any online I found that was of the same quality.

Lastly, I need to purchase an alternator. Another problem... The original engine from 1987 has a different engine harness than the new motor has. The new motor originally must have had a serpintine belt, but half of the bracket on the front was gone, so we converted it to v-belts, all 3 of them. Now I am having a problem determining which alternator to get. The wiring harness has think Orange and thick Black wires to the alternator (they should attach to the posts) but it also has smaller purple and smaller red wires also. They are not in a conector, but loose. (See the picture below) Any idea which direction to go? It is a GM engine, but I do not know the year. The block serial number is 14093638 which shows an 86-94.

Anyway, we are getting closer!

Bill

I think this might be what your looking for,
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/100-...9244289QQptZBoatQ5fPartsQ5fAccessoriesQ5fGear
Great company to deal with as well and very good products

 

[btrbill]

Pics

I had attached pics yesterday, but i see they didn't get posted... I will try again.

Brian, Thanks! That Alternator is perfect has been ordered! And thanks for the Lowes tip... I am gonna call a few right now!

Bill

 

[btrbill]

Need a part...

Anybody got an extra one of these sitting around? I have all the other hinges and chrome, except this one. The are side specific, and I need the one in the first photo. I am willing to pay if you got an extra one... It is for the engine hatch...

And today was almost like Christmas!! I got a box from Mike Combs that had some parts for the Senator. He even threw in a few little freebies! That was cool! Anyway, tomorrow the fuel pump and alternator go on, as well as most of the chrome. I hope to also get the carpet cut and glued in. Hopefully I can have some pictures of a nearly finished project this weekend!

 

[merc245]

I gave my hinges away last yr to a dude in louisiana. Then he promply sold his boat. SORRY!

 

[Rob B]

Anybody got an extra one of these sitting around? I have all the other hinges and chrome, except this one. The are side specific, and I need the one in the first photo. I am willing to pay if you got an extra one... It is for the engine hatch...

And today was almost like Christmas!! I got a box from Mike Combs that had some parts for the Senator. He even threw in a few little freebies! That was cool! Anyway, tomorrow the fuel pump and alternator go on, as well as most of the chrome. I hope to also get the carpet cut and glued in. Hopefully I can have some pictures of a nearly finished project this weekend!

Here are those hinges from one of our supporting vendors:http://www.boatingstore.com/us/MKHa...?target=products&mode=search&q=hinges&cat=419

 

[btrbill]

Well CRAP!!

Today, the new carpet came in! I went out and got the shop-vac and began cleaning the boat and preping it for the glue and new carpet tomorrow...

Now you might remember a while back when I was installing the second battery tray, I drilled a hole to check for rot and was very happy when everything checked out clean. So I naturally presumed the entire boat was clean...

WRONG!!

When I was working around the area where the drivers seat goes, I noticed the fiberglass was a little soft. I poked a screwdriver in one of the holes and got a little black wood. I pulled out a knife and cut a little bigger hole and did not like what I saw. I pulled the saw out and cut the hole you see in the pictures below. The funny thing is the passenger side floor is real solid and doesn't look like this.

What I noticed, and you can see it in the picture with my finger is it looks like there are two layers of 3/8 ply on top of a fiberglass wall that covers foam. The top of the foam is damp, but deeper down, it seems to be dry. Is this how these floors are made? It seems like all the other refurbs do not have this type of construction.

In any case, tomorrow morning, I am going to cut out this whole area. I will cut an area from side to side, and 4 feet along the length. This will encompass the opening for the ski locker so I can make sure I cut it out the right size. It will also entail cutting up the seemingly good side on the left, but I really want to check and see that it is dry anyway. Besides, I do not want a seem in the middle, so...

Now, would it be better to replace in with two pieces of 3/8 or go with a single piece of 3/4?

Also, in the last photo, why is there some kind of fiberglass out to this point where it then meets bare wood? doesn't make sense...

Anyway, I was really hoping to not get involved in fiberglass work, but I guess I get to get dirty like the rest of you guys...

Wish me luck.

 

[ezflyer]

Anyway, I was really hoping to not get involved in fiberglass work, but I guess I get to get dirty like the rest of you guys...

hey bill if you need some help with the glass work, give me a pm and we can set up a weekend and i will gladly give you a hand..

 

[btrbill]

Thanks Charles! Actually, Dad is coming over tomorrow and we are going to get it cut out and see what all has to be done. It appears the only bad spot is under the captain chair, but you never know until you open her up!

 

[mkhammer]

Here are those hinges from one of our supporting vendors:http://www.boatingstore.com/us/MKHa...?target=products&mode=search&q=hinges&cat=419

Those are the good hinges and I can do a little better on price for forum members,

Bill I did send you a pm with some hinge options.

Mike

 

[ndaniels]

Sorry to hear about the floor. Hopefully its just from a screw at the captians chair and the rot is contianed to a small area.

Good luck with it tommorow.

 

[yellowfiero88]

Sucks about the rot.
I hate to say it but ,
..
.
.
.
.
Welcome to the club
I would do one piece so that you don't have a issue with water getting trapped in between the 2 pieces of wood. Looks like a small patch so hopefully it don't turn into a entire floor. And, its 10x better you found it now then after you put the new carpet in. The carpet will not come back out in one piece if you had found it while trying to mount the seats back in.

 

[Rob B]

Oh memories!! Hopefully the entire floor doesn't have to come out and it's contained to a small section. I would go with a single piece as well if possible. Good luck!!!

 

[btrbill]

The Jury is in...

And the verdict is not too bad. As you can see, it cleaned up real nice with everything solid underneath and the foam... DRY!

We cut an area roughly 48x65 out of the 1/2" top floor, and then all the 3/4" sub-floor beneath it. After a trip to Lowes and West Marine, we got the wood all cut to fit as you can see, then began covering it with resin. BTW, the black looking area to the left is actually the remnants of the wood still clinging tightly to resin. I was able to scrape most of it off this evening so it doesn't look quite that bad.

Tomorrow, I will get all pieces installed and lay the fiberglass over the area. A little (or a lot) of sanding, and I will be able to get the carpet installed for the weekend.

Also this week, the outdrive gets installed and the fuel pump mounted, the tank dropped in, then hopefully fire the engine! Then it will just be a little waiting for the seat covers to come in from Checkmate!

I can ALMOST see the light at the end of the tunnel!!

Hey, by the way, how do you post pictures within the body of the message? All I can figure is how to attach them as thumbnails.

Thanks!
Bill

 

[btrbill]

I will post the pics when I get home, but I have the floor all glassed in and ready to carpet. I just finished it last night, so I will give it a few days, then sand it and the rest of the floor area and prep it for the new carpet. My goal is to have the boat in the water and completed by memorial day weekend!!

Can't wait!

 

[btrbill]

Well, at least she flosts...

Well, I finally got the title in from Florida on Thursday, so Friday I went to Baton Rouge and got all the paperwork done, and then came home and re-checked everything for the maiden voyage...

Went out Saturday morning and put in at a local landing by Tin Lizzy's with my Dad as a safety boat. We tied up to the dock to do some final checks before heading out on the water. The motor ran real smooth, but was idling a little high. A quick adjustment on the throttle linkage mostly took care of that. I looked everything over and it all seemed to be working right. I felt the water hoses and felt water flowing through them. After a few minutes, I decided it was time, so I engaged the drive and off we went!!

It still was idling a little high, so I put out a little too much wake going out the canal. Have to readjust the linkage a little more... Anyway, got into the river, and while I waited for Dad to come out the canal, kinda did a few circles there in the no-wake zone checking the steering limits. We hooked up and started heading down river for some higher speed testing. Just as we were about to leave the no-wake zone, my wife thought she saw a wisp of smoke, so I took it out of gear and opened the engine cover. Well, it wasn't smoke... but steam! I shut down the engine and listen to it pop, crack, creak, and release the heat! I could barely touch the hoses they were so hot.

Anyway, got Dad to tow us back to the dock and started looking at possible problems. It was so hot I decided to put it back on the trailer and get into some shade to fix it. I looked over it last night, but am still not sure what the problem is. The hoses are all hooked up right, but there is no thermostat, so I will add one. Also, not sure if the engine water pump is working either, so I am going to get a new one as well to see if that helps.

First though, my plan is to hook up the muffs and undo the intake hose to make sure the lower unit pump is sending water to the engine. Then I will undo and inspect each hose as it runs. I am reusing the old exhaust risers so I need to remove them and re-check them for blockage. I did that once but you never know.

So, the good news is she floats, and runs, and goes down the river!!! Now if I can just cool her off, we will be ready to go!!!!!!

 

[mateman]

Congtrats on getting it in the water. Sorry about your problem but sounds like you have everything under control. Thermostat and lower unit waterpump is where I would put my money. Good luck.

 

[btrbill]

Sea trials, Take 2...

So, this week, a buddy of mine and I took the Senator down to a local ramp and put the back end in the water to see where thr cooling problem was. After putting the lower unit in the water, we went to start the boat. We tried, and tried, and used half a can of starter fluis, but couldn't get it started... then, one time, it just fired and began to run. I had pulled the intake water hose from the water manifild to see how much water came out...

It took almost 45 seconds to a minute before water finally started coming up, and even then it was a very low flow. We shut the motor off and reconnected the hose adn then disconnected it at the Power Sterring cooler under the block. The motor started again after working it for a few minutes. After fifteen seconds, we shut the engine off because no water was coming out the hose. Must be the water pump... So off to the house I went and removed the lower unit. WOW!!! The water pump housing was melted!!!! I will try to post a picture of it later. I removed the housing but the rubber rotor would not budge. I had to get my dremel tool out to cut the copper liner and pry it off the drive shaft!!! Then I had to sand the shaft a little where the copper had attached itself to the steel. After removong all the gaskets and plate, and the seals from the lower part, I went up to the local West Marine to pick up a new pump assmbly. They happened to have the lower part with the oil seals on the clearance table, so I got out of there for less than $50... until I went back and got more gear fluid. Figured I better change that as well...

Anyway, got it all back together, reinstalled the lower unit, changed the oil, and took it back to the waterfront. Backed it in... and it wouldn't start. Seems like it wasn't getting much fuel. We played with it for a while, finally got it started, and let in run... and run... and run. We ran it for over 30 minutes at different throttle settings (never above 2000) and she just purred like a sleeping lion! And the water temp never got above 160!! We checked all the hoses and everyone of them had good flow of water. So, the water pump, melted as it was, casued all my problems.

So today, we are all excited! It was the second day of sea trials, and with the cooling problem tackled, it was time to run her up and down the river a bit to see how she handled and what kind of speed we could do. Once again, Dad brought his boat in case we had a problem.

We put in, got everything ready, hit the starter, and...nothing. We checked firing... good. We checked throttle response... good. We checked fuel...good... maybe. We did finally get it started, but with everything we had to do to get it started and keep it running intially, I believe we are having a fuel delivery problem. In anycase, we got her started out the canal and into the river toward the end of the no wake zone. Upon reaching it, I told my wife to hold on, and advanced the throttle. The RPM's increased to about 2250, then everything bogged down. My wife looked at me, like, "well...?" We tried a few more times with the same results. So, as I put her back in gear to go back to the dock, she died. And this time, no matter what we did, she wouldn't start. So once again Dad towed me back to the dock.

We had rebuilt the carb (Rochestor Quadra-jet) but there has to be something wrong with it. I am thinking about going with a new Holley, though. Hopefully, that will do the trick...

 

[Blue Mist '97]

Since you live in Louisiana, you might call Steve Zepeda (google him as Steve Zepeda Carburetors and you should be able to find his website - if not PM me and I will get you his number) in Pearland south suburb of Houston. He has been rebuilding carbs forever. He rebuilt my Weber (Carter AFB) last year. It was sooting up the transom like a big dog, black soot everywhere. It was the original carb that was installed in my boat. He will tell you if he can rebuild it or if you need a new one. All I did was get it to him and tell him the problem. He broke it down right then and started telling me everything that was wrong inside. When he finished and I picked it up, he said that all I might have to do was to adjust the idle. I installed it, fired it up and didn't have to make any adjustments. Idle was right on the money. It has run perfect since then. He's not cheap but the best usually aren't.

Steve builds a load of Holley's for race cars but he is good with all carbs including Quadrajets. He has pretty quick turnaround time also.