sprink58

Looks like you are starting to get it dialed in.

Just to share...for me the best prop for my combo so far is the 23" Mirage plus...7% slip. Your boat is 200# heavier than mine which is negligible so your results should be close

The torque numbers difference would suggest that you try a pair of standard Mirage 23" if you can find them....or a 21" Mirage Plus.

Good job!!

CIG3

I have a 21 Mirage Left if you can use it. Cheap

befu

Thanks Cig, but I just bought a pair of 23p mirage props, L and R. Going to buy a new CR lower unit this winter. Now I need a LH - 4 blade 21p prop the same as the Solas for tubing! the bleeding never stops!

Planning on running it once or twice more, actually getting anxious to put it away for the winter so I can start on the next series of projects on it, and hopefully NOT pull the motors this winter. Time to upgrade seating and cabin along with improving the finish of the boat.

Brian

befu

Well, time for the start of winter update. Took it out for one last run with my two sons a couple of weeks ago to test and set the timing. Turns out the timing was too far advanced, but the motor was rich enough and the octane high enough that it did not do any damage. Got lucky, will not make that mistake again. But the port motor sounded like something was loose, so what the heck, I ran it one last time to see if it lived.

Still would only turn 4100 rpm with the 4 blade - 21p pitch aluminum solas props on it (tubing). It made a constant 46 and best of 47 mph on gps which gives about 14% slip. Best part was it will run real nice and consistent at 16 mph with tabs and drives down. Plenty slow for tubing. Anyways, this week the motors came out. I have decided it wouldn't be winter without me pulling motors, besides it is getting easier. The garage setup with a chain fall and trolley on a beam works great.

Port motor that sounded noisy actually looks beautiful. The dang rocker nuts backed out on this motor also. 6 or 7 valves on each engine were loose, with 1 or 2 about to spin around! No damage on the port engine, but I am going to change it some while it is apart. I am looking to cam it up a bit from the stock 290-300hp mercruiser roller cam I am running now. I am also going to go to roller rockers while it is apart and going to go through the valves again, probably replace the old exhaust valves since I just relapped them last time. Top it off with new springs as needed to clear the lift and put it back together. With the correct timing!

The starboard motor had some metal particles in the oil and when we pulled it apart, it had damage to all five main caps. Now I bought the crank as a turned crank and bearing package last winter, and I am pretty sure it is due to bearing or crank issues. All the rod bearings look brand new and they are fed by each crank journal. It looks like the bearing surface just wore away and then grooved the crank in a few spots. Didn't have any low oil problems or over temp problems at all. Never ran it hard enough, but the last two times out I did notice the oil pressure got low when it was warm and idling. Bump the rpm up and the oil pressure would come up also, but the worn bearings tell that story. So I will put a new crank in it and put in better bearings also. Everything else still looks beautiful inside and with the new cam/head components will be ready for spring. (Oh, bearings were a "king" brand that came with the crank kit. engine house said they never had problems with them. Guess I was the first! But to be fair, it could have been the machining on the crank as well, I will never know. But I will change both sources so there is not a repeat.)

So my plans this winter are:
Put a new crank and bearings in starboard motor.
Recam and rework heads on both motors and then drop them back in.
Add a CR lower unit and run LH/RH 23 pitch mirage props. (will also have to get a LH 21p solas tube prop)
Add bolster seats to the boat (my rear broke my bucket seat this fall, need more strength!)
Have a local shop recover the two side armrest on the back bench and touch up my cockpit cover.
Move the axles forward a few inches on the trailer to lower the tongue weight (about 720 lbs right now when rigs weighs in at 8300 lbs)
finish the cabin seat cushions and storage compartments.
turn the dang thing into a mid-cabin bow rider.
lift it off the trailer, roll it over part way and remove the bottom paint somehow. (thinking sanding, not sure. Then paint it with something? No idea.)

I have 5 months to do this, what are you doing this winter?

Brian

befu

Boat is now winterized. I figure this is just how it is done. Pull the motors and take them inside. leaving them in the boat sitting in a heated building isn't good enough! Does a bilge ever stay clean?

Cam's are ordered. Machine shop is selected for the head and crank work. Need to drop them off next week. Pick up the bolsters next month. Last weekend of camping starts today, then put the camper away also. Wide open for boat and house projects after that.

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befu

Wow, almost 6 months without an update, it has been a busy and cold winter. Just read the "wide open for house and boat projects after that" comment! Ha! We ended up with two extra kids, so the 7 kids (14 to 3) kept me kind of busy with work filling in the rest. Oh-well.

Updates: With both motors tore down, I dropped all 6 vortec heads off to be reworked. Cleaned decks, magnafuxed, valve job, new springs for higher lift cam and assembled. Now I have a set of head for my spare motor that I am trying to mimic sprinks 355's. Guy said that is the first time he had ever done 6 heads at once for one person.

One motor I stripped and had the block honed, put in a new set of pistons, rings, bearings, crank, oil pump, cam, and lifters. also put on a new set of roller tip steel lifters to replace the stock ones that gave me problems last year.

Second motor was the +0.040 one and that just had all new bearings along with new cam, lifters and rockers also in addition to the reworked heads.
Modified my exhaust manifolds to accept an 18mm thread in O2 sensor also. Might not be the best place, but I think it will help me tune the motors for carb jetting. I also am adding knock sensors to both blocks for use with my knock detector indicators I am adding to the dash. I am tired of replacing motors.

Put in new couplers, found out my old ones were bent and not running true, definitely some vibration issues there. The motors are now ready to be dropped back in next week and the drives put back on. Once running, I will get the CR SEI lower to help with the steering. Till then I will just run my 21p - 4 blade aluminum props.

Today I am heading up there to install the Bennett trim tab control kit with LED indicators for the tabs. Will post some pics later of how that goes. Time to get some work out of my 12 and 14 yo boys. Yesterday I installed the depth transducer just behind the engine room bulk head.

Besides the motors, biggest thing I did was move the axles on the trailer. Pulled one out, found out it has some toe in so we fixed that. Put everything back together moving the axles 7" forward and finally mounted the fenders so they look straight and not sagging. Trailer looked sad before!

Once all that is done I can button up the engine compartment and move back to the cockpit and cabin. Want to put at least the captains bolster seat in since my big butt keeps breaking the seat.

Brian

Edit: Have I mentioned how much I like having that removable rear bench back? That is the biggest improvement I have made to the boat, incredible!

Crude Intentions

Sounds good Brian. Can't wait to hear and see some results.

befu

Well, back from some work and the tab kit install went great. Now I know that the Bennett tabs are pretty much a joke to most of the guys on this forum, but for my little 272 LS lake boat, they really are plenty for me. And this new trim control kit with indicators was a very easy install. The tops of the rams even came off by hand on the rams. Not sure if they are 28 years old or not, but either way they worked just fine! Remove them and screw the new top hinge pieces on. Bolt the relay control box next to the old HPU unit and route a new cable forward. Very easy job for myself and the boys. New controller looks good also, can't wait to test it out. finally I will know where the tabs are with just a glance!

Tomorrow's project is to get the motors out to the boat and all set up to drop in next week! Making progress now!
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befu

Well, wrapped up the engine compartment today. Got all the wires tucked away and zip tied into place. Really happy with how the Bennett tab controller went, way easier than I thought and for less than $300 complete, not a bad way to get indicators on my poor boy tabs.

Even got the motors rolled out next to the boat, ready to drop in. Maybe tomorrow, maybe Tuesday, not sure. Never know how my life is going to proceed where time is an issue. Boat definitely needs a cleaning of the winter dust, yikes!

Made enough progress that I even got a chance to dream about my bolster seats. Enough to realize that I need more information! Where do you put these things? Attached is a couple of pictures of the seat sitting in place. This is about the location that works for me to sit and my knees not to be within a pounding range of the steering console. It really doesn't feel bad sitting right there, especially since I sit up higher than the original bucket seat which drove me crazy. I ended up with two seat cushions stacked up to lift my big behind up where I could see easier. but I wonder if the seat is too far back for proper standing or if the seat is too low on it's stand for me.

so I can place it there, I can slide it forward and look at modifying or padding the steering console also, or I can look at making new bolster stands. Since the seats are drop out seats, I am considering adding an electric lift to control the seat so I can drop it part way to use as a leaning seat. Have to try a few things but wanted to see if others could see how theirs measure up and compare. So how far is the back rest of your bolster from your steering wheel? How does it compare to what I have? Thanks to any who can help.

Brian
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masi242

The way I measured mine was from the center of the steering wheel to the back should be close to 24". That is what I have read in all the info I could find here. But make it comfortable for you, I am only 5'7 so mine should be fine. I am with you can not wait to drive it with the bolsters, yours look good in place.