Brought the old girl to her new home

E

ezuskin

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Nov 18, 2003
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12479
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I picked up our 1982 33 Mariner today. It had been at the prior owners dock until we had warm enough weather. It was in the 50's and sunny with 1' to 2' in the Chesapeake Bay.

I was a little disappointed that we couldn't run her up past 2500rpm for long as the temps started rising. The captain/mechanic I brought along is certain it just needs new impellers in the raw water pumps as the temps came down as soon as I backed off the throttles. I was impressed at the performance of the twin 300hp/440 Chryslers. She jumped out of the hole and from 2500 to 3500rpms went from 15 to 21knots very quickly. Don't think I'd want to pay the fuel bill for 3500rpms.

Lots of big and little thinks to fix, but so far she seems to run OK.
Eddie Zuskin
 
Boat sounds nice. 440s are powerful. Suggest post the cooling issue in the Engines forum and indicate if raw or fresh water cooled.
 
Eddie:

Congratulations on the new boat! We did the same thing on the spur of the moment last fall. Still have our 250 DA JUST IN CASE!! We want to make sure the new boat is as good as the survey indicates before we sell the old 250 DA! I'm sure you'll have a great time with the boat once you get the kinks ironed out! The nice part about the old boat is having money leftover to fix it up and spend on fuel.
 
The motors are transplants by the prior owner. One of the original 351 Pleasurecraft motors bit the dust so he bought these 440's used with 340 hours and had them installed by a reputable shop in the area. They are freshwater cooled.
Did you know that we also have a 250DA? Are you my alter ego from Idaho? :>) Our Searay is a 1987 that I've made very reliable and nice over the last 4 seasons. Need more room, tired of eating with a plate in my lap and the teenage daughters are unwilling to still sleep in that little mid cabin. What boat did you buy?
Eddie Zuskin
 
Congratulations on the new boat Eddie, that is a really roomy boat. Where in Maryland are you? I am in Solomons. Mike
 
Mike,
We are in Middle River. Never been that far south in the 25' Searay. Maybe the Carver will be different. Lots of work to do before I trust her for that distance. We would take our "little" 25' Searay as far as the Chester River, Wye River and St. Michaels. Hoping to broaden our horizons some if we can afford the fuel.
Eddie Zuskin
 
Interesting engine installation. You may possess the only Carver around with Chrysler motors in it. I would make doubly sure that there aren't any problems with water intake into those engines. For example, Carver (an an odd installation that I recall being not exactly endorsed by Walter Machine Co.) routed the cooling water from the intake, through the V Drive and into the engine seawater pump. Are there many Chryslers out there with Walter V Drives??? Perhaps the Chrysler engines need more water flowing in than this installation can provide. Just a thought, I'm no mechanic, but I always look for what's out of the ordinary when troubleshooting something...
 
All of Trojan tri-cabins from the 70's had Walter V-drives mated to Chrysler engines. The ones I've seen did not have the set up you are refering to pete. That may have just been a Carver thing. I wonder why though.
 
Eddie:

We bought a 1989 300 DA with twin 350's. It's a great boat! I'm the one you sent the macerator pump to in Spokane, WA and have the same 87 250 DA. I'm with you, I wanted a REAL table so I don't have to wrestle the dog while balancing dinner in my lap. It's nice to have more space. My 15 yo son is the largest person (over 6 ft) in the family and four of us were a bit tight. Still have to pull the 250 out and get it ready to sell when we're comfortable with the reliability of the 300 DA!

The Carver sounds like a great boat as well. I'm sure you will enjoy the size and comfort that comes with a step up in boat size. We still trailer both of ours and I don't think we'll go any bigger. The San Juans keep calling and we need to answer that call after 20 plus years of boating!

Have a great trip to the NW in July and enjoy the new boat!!
 
I would start with the basics. Clean stainers, full anti-freeze in the heat exchanger, tight pump belts and new IMPELLERS. Other problems could be sea growth on the intakes (has boat been sitting) or some restriction on the raw water dump (exhaust elbows). Last issues if all else is ok could be engine timing (spark advance). Most get fixed with those first choices.
 
Mike, I think it was just to simplify the installation. My Carver has the 1" water intake hose leading to the inlet on the V-Drive, then another length of 1" hose leading first to the oil cooler and then all the way under the engine to the raw water intake pump. That's a long way to travel before reaching the pump. A 440cid is going to need a lot more water flow than a 302/351, hence my concern. Plus a line could be kinked somewhere. Do you happen to know the diameter of the hose Trojan used to use on those Tri-Cabins???

I think I'd take George's suggestion before panicking, anyway. Check those impellers on the raw water pumps, and also check for obstructions in the sea strainers (if equipped) or (as happened to me once) inside the water jacket atop the Walter V Drive. I pulled the lid off one time (I forgot how many screws - 6 or 8 probably) and there was a big rubber thing in there that had gotten sucked in the intake and lodged in there. THAT will cause a boatload of trouble for sure!!!
 
concorde mike...is the Cruis A Long plant still standing there in Solomons? We ahd a 36 Cruis A Long El Dorado when I was growing up...it was one fantastic boat!
 
Hey, great responses WRT my temperature woes. Have only run the boat to transport to home marina, about 15 miles. I bought her with open eyes and a professional mechanic spending 3 hours going over everything we could find. There are difinitely some kinked hoses, one rusted out muffler, incorrect exhaust hoses(no reinforcement, you can squeeze them with your fingers). It also has a rotten stringer that, fortunately, is not one that supports the motors. The interior upholstery, bridge upholstery and canvas all need replacing. The huge aluminum windows have some rotten wood between the fiberglass that supports them. With all that said, some engine maintenance is in order, they run really strong and I am confident that the suggestions offered here should sort out the problem.

I will complete the upholstery(interior and bridge) and canvas myself for under $1500 in supplies vs around 7 to 8 thousand if done by a custom shop. I am budgeting another 6 to 8 thousand for the window/fiberglass/stringer repairs and a fair bit of other updates. Did I forget to mention the bottom blisters-fortunately found none that were too deep, large or concentrated in one area. Funny they were nearly all on the port side hull. I bought the boat for $8500 and believe I can have a very comfortable boat for around $20K. Anyone think I'm dreaming.
Wish me luck
Eddie Zuskin
 
Congrats on the new boat! I'm sure you'll love your Mariner as we do ours. We bought a 1993 330 Mariner last year and are also off Middle River at Baltimore Yacht Club, maybe we can rendezvous some time.

Stu
 
Pete, I don't remember but I think about 1 inch to the v-drive.

Kenny, The old plant is still there, it is now Calvert Marina. There is a pristine 36 Cruise a Long in the covered slip right next to me. They are beautiful boats. The side decks are so wide that two can pass on them.
 
Eddie,

Yes, thought you might be the one I talked with a while back, but didn't remember your last - checked with my wife this morning. Give me a call some time.

Stu
 
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