New boat...Final update!!!

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megalomaniac

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Mississippi
Well... I decided I needed a new boat for the MS marsh and found what should be about perfect...

2012 Skull Island microskiff... 16' with 5" draft poling skiff made for the flats. 2012 Honda 4stroke. Nice aluminum trailer. Boat hasn't been run in 1.5yrs, fellow selling is getting a divorce and doesn't have the time to get it back into top shape.

I brought a battery and muff for the motor, expecting to have to pull the plugs and put gas directly in the holes, and I'll be danged if the motor didn't crank right up first try. Idled perfectly. Throttle cables seized, so I couldn't rev it up, but even if it needs 3 new carbs, I'll still be ok for what I paid for the rig. Comes with a 12v ipilot and GPS electronics as well.

Will turn Ethan loose on the hull with the pressure washer, polish the sides, replace the fusebox, and I should have her ready for the water in a month. Should make for a fun father- son project getting her in tip top shape!
 

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50/50 bleach and water is your friend on that deck. Put it in a pump sprayer and soak it down and let it sit for 10 minutes before you scrub.

Congrats on the new boat!
 
Awesome! Looks like the perfect project for something to go from dirty to perfect. You can just tell that thing will look brand new when you're done. Post after pics mega. Good find!
 
scn said:
Great find! I think you will really enjoy poling that one around.

From having the T shirt, check the age of the tires. Having one blow out on the way to the ramp isn't a fun way to start the day.
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Tires dry rotted and didn't trust them even to pull it 60miles back to my house... so I pulled the wheels and brought them back and had new tires installed yesterday. Will take those back to the fellows house and reinstall before I bring the boat home.

Clean first, then replace switches and fusebox.

Next, replace throttle cable, all fluids, filter, etc.

Launch boat in small lake and run engine while I replace all bunk boards on trailer.

Fingers crossed I don't run into any major issues, but for what I paid for it, I'll be fine spending up to $2000 to bring her back to her former glory
 

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megalomaniac said:
I cheered him on with lots of praise. Sometimes it's nice having an 18yo son!

I thought it would take a couple cycles of tsp plus bleach... but just once has the boat looking like new!
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If you need to polish or clean up any aluminum then go to NAPA and get their aluminum cleaner. That stuff will flat out clean aluminum
 
Hduke86 said:
If you need to polish or clean up any aluminum then go to NAPA and get their aluminum cleaner. That stuff will flat out clean aluminum
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Ooh... good thought! I bought a jug of that stuff to clean up the motor of a used 4wheeler I bought a decade ago and still have some left. That will be Ethans project for tomorrow!
 
Never having done this before, so it took about 2.5h for my son and I to disconnect and pull the throttle and gear shift cables that are seized. Cabke length measured and new ones on order.

Drained the fuel tank of about 6g of some nasty looking gas, agitated the tank with fresh fuel and compressed air, then drained that as well. Refilled with a gal of new fuel plus carb/injector cleaner. Motor started right up, but impeller is weak, so we only ran it for a few minutes before shutting it down. Got new impeller and all the fluids for complete engine service on the way. Good father and son afternoon, even if we don't really know what we are doing 😀
 

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WTM said:
very nice. probably know this but as a reminder make sure you check/service the sacrificial anodes.
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Not really... I'm not an expert at all on boat ownership. I've checked the anodes, and they look to have about 60% of the material remaining. At what point should they be replaced??? 30%???
 
megalomaniac said:
Not really... I'm not an expert at all on boat ownership. I've checked the anodes, and they look to have about 60% of the material remaining. At what point should they be replaced??? 30%???
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about 50%. check the service manual for your engine, it may have an internal anode as well.

fyi, brackish and even tannic fresh water will wear anodes. not just salt.
 
Some updates...

Trailing arms on the trailer were in terrible shape... posted on the general forum for advice... didn't really know how to tackle them without damaging the splines on the axle too bad, so I took the rig to a local trailer place and they were able to grind them off the axle in 3 pieces and replace with new arms. Wasn't counting on having to pay for labor on this project, but I learned a decade ago... if I'm going to say more than 3 cusswords and throw 2 tools during a project, it's worth paying someone else to do it... unfortunately, part.of the deal was they got the income from pulling the bearings, inspecting, and repacking with new seals... they said they wouldn't leave their shop unless they did that themselves. Personally, I would have replaced the bearings, but they said the grease was perfect, bearings were perfect, and no need to replace them (I guess this was the one thing prior owner did maintenance wise)... so... $650 later, and I have nice shiny trailing arms and the trailer axle itself is in good condition per the shop and needs no replacement ( I was considering just replacing everything, but the torsion axle is custom and there is a 8w wait for Dexter to make a new custom one).
 

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Got the throttle and gear cables replaced Saturday. Wasn't as bad as I thought it would be... maybe 1.5h to install the new ones replacing the prior ones that were seized up.

Got new batteries (remote battery and main 12v battery) and played with the trolling motor. Downloaded the manual, (as Im just used to operating $150 tiller steer trolling motors) Seems to work fine (it's a Minn Kota Riptide SP with ipilot), although there is a noticeable whine on low speed... (would love opinions whether this is normal or not)... gonna pull the prop and make sure there isn't fishing line wrapped in it... but that's for another day...

Had today off and had plans to service entire motor and begin on electrical system (NOTHING works currently... no bilge, lights, trim tabs). Motor isn't peeing well and will overheat, so need to pull lower unit and replace water impeller.

We literally spent 1.5 hours trying to get the nut that links the gear shift rod in upper motor to the gear selector in the lower unit removed. Just horrible corrosion in the middle of the nut. After more than 3 cusswords (but I didn't throw any tools) I got to the point where it was either cut the nut off or just crank on it till it broke or the shifter rods broke. Fortunately, the the threads in the nut broke and we pulled the lower unit. Time.for MAJOR celebration!!!
 

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Once the lower unit was removed, it was easy to replace the impeller and reinstall the lower unit (we recut the threads in that damn nut and put antiseize compound on the threads of the linkage bolts going into it during reinstallation so it went on with just fingers). Serviced the rest of the motor (new spark plugs, new oil and filter, new fuel pump, new water separator filter, new thermostat) then fired her up! She was pissing stronger than most 12yo boys could! Prior owner thought she probably need new carbs, but it was just the seized throttle cable that kept her from revving up.
 

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Ethan got the new cowling gasket installed, and we feel comfortable the motor and fuel system itself is ready for the water. Unfortunately, we spent so much time pulling the lower unit, we didn't feel like tackling the electrical system today...
 

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Unfortunately, I've discovered a new problem... the steering piston doesn't rotate when turning, allowing the bolt linking the motor to the steering piston to grind into the mounting plate. I have no idea how simple.or complicated this is going to be to fix, but will start cranking on some nuts and bolts later this week and see what happens when I start taking stuff apart
 

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If I can get the steering and wiring sorted out this week, I'm hopeful I may be able to dunk the boat in a freshwater lake this weekend to replace the trailer bunks and (fingers crossed...) get the trailer rewired and lights working. Im getting several reports from others that some folks are killing the reds the past few days
 
Keep posting this stuff. I'm really enjoying following your journey! Can't wait to see pictures of you and your son's first trip on the new vessel. It will be something he never forgets!

I'm not sure I understand the problem two posts above. Is it possible that it's working properly and your bolt is just too long? Tough to tell what I'm looking at from the picture.
 
Pilchard said:
Keep posting this stuff. I'm really enjoying following your journey! Can't wait to see pictures of you and your son's first trip on the new vessel. It will be something he never forgets!

I'm not sure I understand the problem two posts above. Is it possible that it's working properly and your bolt is just too long? Tough to tell what I'm looking at from the picture.
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I'm not really sure what I'm looking at either, nor how it is supposed to operate correctly. all I know is that if the motor is trimmed all the way down and you turn the steering wheel, the hydro piston rotates too far down and binds into the motor mount. I'm thinking the hydro steering piston itself is supposed to rotate with trimming/ tilting, as there are 2 grease zerks on the either side of the piston bar that are impossible to reach in its current configuration. I'll do some research on the internet/ you tube and see if I can figure out what it's supposed to look like.

and yes, I do think the gray piece of metal connecting the steering system to the motor is also bent... but I don't think thats the main problem...
 
Any of you guys have the Minn Kota Riptide SP ipilot TM??? I'm thinking its 55lb, but not sure. Def 12v system. The whine coming from the trolling motor itself on low speed normal? (Goes away on higher speeds). I don't see how I'm going to be able to sneak up on fish without poling if I can't get this issue resolved.

I also have concerns whether I will be able to get the hang of operating a TM remotely after using a tiller steer one forever... but if I can get the hang of it, it will be nice to be up on the poling platform in the back and control the trolling motor up front remotely.
 

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