New Member & My CM23

[cmattj]

I pulled the boat out of the carport and it started right up with good oil pressure. (Wooo Hooo) My plan was to let it run and build some heat in the motor but it was looking like rain so I put it away. I did take a short video of the engine at idle. Click on the YouTube link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf_iFRv ... e=youtu.be

Good to hear as you expected!! Engine sounds good Nola

[nolaboater99]

All of the big pieces of upholstery are in. Tomorrow morning she is getting wet....hopefully not from rain.

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I will try and get more pics tomorrow and report on how things went. Fingers crossed....

[Big Block Power]

Hats off to you!

[slideruleracer]

Great job, Nola. Looks awesome!

[Ytmsn]

Really really nice. Hopefully you'll have an awesome day on the water. After you sand and buff she's going to look like a shiny new creampuff!

[nolaboater99]

Really really nice. Hopefully you'll have an awesome day on the water. After you sand and buff she's going to look like a shiny new creampuff!

Uuhhhh…. The upper deck has been sanded and buffed. It really has a nice gloss to it.

My morning on the water was....OK. Still needs some adjustments.

[nolaboater99]

Well the launch went OK, the trailer needs some attention. Knew that was coming though.... The motor ran great. Good oil pressure and temp. Fuel gauge still not working and the depth gauge is doing weird stuff....all minor items I think. The biggest problem is the Merc power steering system has a problem. The boat wants to turn to port....hard if I let go of the wheel and she lists to port while on plane so the power steering is not compensating for prop torque I think. And while cruising at idle and I turn the wheel I feel a jerky feedback in the wheel and the whole boat. The pump reservoir was at the proper level. I need to do some research.

Here is a pic in the slip she'll be in for a few days while I work on the trailer.

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[slideruleracer]

Nice job, Nola.. A long time coming!

As for the listing, it's the boat running the original prop? How does it sit in the water when just floating? Did you inspect the hull for any hook when you were doing your work to it? Some things to consider, if you haven't already.

I'd get that figured out before the power steering.

[Big Block Power]

Looks great in the water. I remember being in a boat without power steering and it always wanted to pull hard. You had to use 2 arms on it to go straight. Did you have good assist? Might be the pump or rack? Fuel guage reading empty or full? Which would mean a open or grounded.

[nolaboater99]

Nice job, Nola.. A long time coming!

As for the listing, it's the boat running the original prop? How does it sit in the water when just floating? Did you inspect the hull for any hook when you were doing your work to it? Some things to consider, if you haven't already.

I'd get that figured out before the power steering.

Boat sits level in the water. I didn't think to look for a hook. the way the wheel feels at low speeds, really jerky when turned, especially when turned fast, really makes me feel this is something in the power steering system.
Thanks

[nolaboater99]

Looks great in the water. I remember being in a boat without power steering and it always wanted to pull hard. You had to use 2 arms on it to go straight. Did you have good assist? Might be the pump or rack? Fuel guage reading empty or full? Which would mean a open or grounded.

No I don't think the power assist is working properly. The unit on the transom plate is not original to the boat. A few years ago I had to replace the gimbal housing and I bought one off Craigslist. It was from a 1990 Maxum and it came with the transome plate, trim cylinders and the steering unit. The pump is original.

The fuel gauge needle comes off the peg when the key is turned to "on" but does not register fuel level. It's a long wire run but I checked continuity of both the ground and the signal wires. I must have missed something....
Thanks for the input.

[Big Block Power]

Ground the wire at the sender. Let us know what it does then. That checks the wiring and says if the guage is working.
Power steering rack or pump is your issue or both.

[nolaboater99]

Nice job, Nola.. A long time coming!

As for the listing, it's the boat running the original prop? How does it sit in the water when just floating? Did you inspect the hull for any hook when you were doing your work to it? Some things to consider, if you haven't already.

I'd get that figured out before the power steering.

No, it is not running the original prop. It has a 4-blade aluminum on it that was on it when I bought the boat 4 years ago. WOT was 4400 rpms yesterday with 2 people and a half tank of fuel which would be good for a stock 1985 260. But this motor is a built (not by me) 383 Stroker motor estimated to have about 325-375 HP. The motor does have a performance cam, medium riser intake manifold, a Holley 650 cfm double-pumper and performance exhaust manifolds. I haven't checked WOT specs for a Merc 6.2L but with the way the engine was built I would think it should run closer to 5000 ropms. A new SST prop is in the future when I get everything else working right and I'll probably go back to a 3-blade. The outdrive is an SEI 106 which is equivelent to a Merc Alpha I.

Thanks for the input.

[Big Block Power]

What pitch prop. I know I sound like a broken record but a mercury revolution 4 17 p might be a great prop for you. I love those props. T55555000000 has one on his boat and it performs very well. All of the crownline guys 225 and under run it because it's the best we found. I tried a ton of props on my 202 with a 350 mag and that prop was awesome. Just my 2 cents. Of course your gear ratio and rpms will make a diff. Yes I would think you should be able to turn 5k also.

[cmattj]

Looks good Nola.. as mentioned you may want to research the prop as set stock. That drives x dimension is low and If some one put a 15 in diameter four blade as a opposed to a 14 inch 3 blade that can cause an issue. She may have tooo much Blade deep pushing her over and the steering feed back is the result.

Have you driven her with this prop before and it was fine??

Unless you could trim it out and slip it and see if that helped. And yes always good to see if the pre owner didn't bunk her right and there a hook showing up?

All easy stuff.. she's has oil pressure.. she doesn't overheat and it sounds terrific!! Sea worthy and ready for adventure!