Re: Project Sweet 16!: YAHOOOOOOO!!!

Always good to hear a success story! Congratulations!
----- Original Message -----
From: Michael Frenn <semsc@...>
To: <omc-boats-digest@...>
Sent: Monday, August 19, 2002 7:00 PM
Subject: Project Sweet 16!: YAHOOOOOOO!!!

> We did it! Project Sweet 16! went into the water and ran all weekend!!
>
> Actually, it's not quite that simple. Last Sunday I put her in the water
> for the very first time - man that boat looks great! It was the first
time
> I had trailered her, too. Unfortunately, after several hours, I couldn't
> get her to start. She would start if I used starting fluid, but not run.
> Just seemed fuel starved. Disappointed, I took her back home. I thought
> the gas might be bad, so my plan was to drain and replace the fuel.
> Thursday morning I was doing an inspection and I noticed the (new) fuel
line
> to the carburetor was kinked where it came out of the fuel pump. I
trimmed
> some line off and eliminted the kink and voila! She fired right up>
>
> I was so excited I immediately took her back up to the lake. This time
she
> started okay, and I backed her away from the dock. Yahoo, I was under
way.
> Not so fast, I had NO FORWARD GEAR! :( Reverse and neutral were there,
but
> no forward. So I spent several hours trying to adjust the linkage but to
no
> avail. That night I poured over the service manual and decided to double
> check the shift rod coupler since I had the lower unit last weekend to
> replace the water pump impeller. Sure enough, it looked like I didn't
> quite get the coupler connected all the way. Took her back up to the lake
> that afternoon and whooooweee! She started and ran great, forward and
> reverse. The family can't believe I finally got her going (neither can I,
> actually).
>
> We christened her with a bottle of beer (poured over the hull) on Sunday.
> Next step is to redo the steering, then the carpet, then the canopy. Then
I
> canget fishing goodies (trolling motor, downriggers, etc.). The kids had
a
> lot of fun being pulled around on the boogy board. Oh yeah, wedid run out
> of gas, once! Some nice people gave us a tow. Now I know how much fuel
she
> drinks.
>
> So here's what I did:
>
> Cleaned out the leaves, cat crap and junk in the boat.
>
> Removed all the seats, old carpet and aluminum trim
>
> Install indoor/outdoor carpet (that's coming out!)
>
> Repainted the seats - you wouldn't even believe it!
>
> Bought a battery
>
> Bought a starter solenoid
>
> Overhauled the magneto (man, that was a learning curve!)
>
> Rebuilt the fuel pump
>
> Rebuilt the carburetors (I still can't believe it runs!)
>
> Replaced the ignition swtich
>
> After all that I finally got there.
>
> I'll post some pics when I get access to a digital camera.
>
>
> Michael Frenn, California
> 1965 Sweet 16 75 HP Evinrude
>
Received on Monday, 19 August 2002