Hi Robert, go to http://gaffrigperformance.com/ and in search type in drink holders, I ordered the small because of clearance problems with the front ones but are bigger than what's in there now. I sanded the holes bigger by hand because I did not have a small drum sander. Dr. Doom
I noticed in your "camping" post that you may have installed a larger cup holder than the original ones (at least the ones I have seem to be original and smaller). I can't see to hold a decent size cup in that old cup holder. It seemed you may have installed a larger diameter one in your teak piece. Please let me know if you bored a larger hold and if so what size? Also did you bore the hole in the existing teak piece that might have had the original smaller hole first? Or did you make new teak pieces altogether. Would appreciate any help.
The hard top is fiberglass and is thick enough to take screws and you should bevel the screw holes a little so the gel coat won't get little cracks starting from the screw holes, I wish I knew that trick 30 years ago.
Ahhh, thanks much! That helps! Question in regard to the screws mounted into the hardtop fiberglass.....was there solid material to screw into on the hardtop to get a good bite with the screw (I don't know what the hardtop is constructed with)?
Hi Rob, go to page two to tee top safety straps and study the pictures, on the tee top end there is a half loop bolted top then a ring then a swivel then wire leader with crimps to make a loop in wire and on boat end a snap that you can unsnap from the half loop on boat when removing tops and now you can't lose your tops. Gordy
Never called you previously as the problem was the need of a Sea Water Pump required on these new engines. No gas tank issues for now. Had to install a thru hull fitting and the Sea Water Pump to bring the engine more water for cooling. Otherwise the Merc Guardian System shut the engine down to idle in protection mode which is the problem I was experiencing. Since installing the Sea Water Pump the Boat/Motor has run great!
Another note: I saw some pictures in previous pages in regard to securing the T-Tops. I did apply some Velcro which I remember Red mentioning. That seems to work fairly well however would like the security of a fail safe method as my T-Tops don't seem to fit perfectly again the hardtop frame. Therefore the Velcro seats up against itself in only a few smaller areas where the T-Top seats up against the hardtop frame. I saw your pictures regarding use of fishing leaders (I believe they were yours). If so do you have some other pictures that clarifies the use of the leaders? Note the clasps that are installed on my T-Tops do latch shut however as mentioned the T-Tops and clasps are not a perfect fit and seem to come unlatched under power. I just don't want to experience one of those T-Tops being at the bottom of a 60' Lake as you guys have mentioned previously. :) Thanks for the help!
Hey Rob, I would like to chat with you over the phone regarding your fuel tank issues ,if you are interested...so if you are ,you can call me on my cell...408-665-9331. Pelican Bill
Thats good news that its running a little smoother. I hope there is no damage if it has been heating up, If you have a temp gun you could shoot it and see what temp it's running at. Good luck.
Thanks everyone!! Appreciate the input! A new pickup tube was put in as well as check valve. As you all have stated it could be the tank itself which I'm dreading however...... Weird thing is it runs fine for about 5 minutes or so until it warms up. Mechanic thinks it's overheating...am checking impeller. If it's not that then it's probably "tank time".
Good to see you posting. I agree with Red & Bill, you gotta watch running an old tank especially if you haven't done a good cleaning on it. I had a front nose tank in my CV-16 that I thought I cleaned pretty well but the pick up tube had got so corroded in the screen that it wouldn't let the fuel flow. Red told me to replace the tube and the 90 Merc screamed out on the water.
Ahoy Robert, I had a very similar problem in my '81 Scimitar and it was a "living night mare" until I realized I needed to replace the original tank with a new one!!! If you scroll down the page and click open page#3, then look for the title..."losing that old messed up gas tank" you will see some pics of my boat and how to remove the tank. And of course, it was Ole Red that provided the council as to how to accomplish this task. Thanks again Red! Finally, if you look at some of my other postings you see more of the how it was done details. Best of luck to you Robert . Pelican Bill
Not the valve, those boats ran for years with that tank set-up, it's in the tank, if it's an original tank, it's got to be split and acidized or it just won't work because of the residue from old gas, makes shellac, belly tank is good for two reasons, balance of the boat, faster, and closer to the motor with less draw source if you got a performance motor and pump. With 300hp and a 23 pitch prop you should be running mid 60's
All...finally completed the restoration of my '83 Scimitar! Lot's of stories and also will post some pics later. Installed a brand new Mercruiser 300HP (350 MPI) Engine. Also reinstalled existing fuel tank in bow after total structural rebuild (I know...should have put fuel tank in the belly). New pickup tube and fuel line. Maiden voyage engine ran good for about 3 minutes and then bogged down and sputtered terribly once trying to plane out from idle. Issue seemed to worsen some and limped back to dock. Could not get on plane it sputtered so badly. Seemed to starve terribly for fuel. Marina thinks that we need a 2nd fuel pump installed upfront near the fuel tank as the draw is too much for the one that came with the engine in the back of the boat. Theory is that the draw is too far from the fuel tank in the front (bow). They also seemed to rule out the check valve (Red told me to watch for that before)....believe they put a new one in. Any thoughts?? Could even a new check valve be the culprit??