Projects
'Kasper' - The Boston Whaler
Last year I bought a 17′ Boston Whaler Montauk with a bad motor. Earlier this year I bought a 1996 Johnson V-4 88SPL here on the island with a long history of abuse and neglect. Given the price though ($300.00) I could not pass up the opportunity to try and bring her back to life.
I spent several months slowly working on the engine, replacing electrtonics, seals, tuning and testing. In the end I had good compression, spark and fuel. The engine ran great for about a week or so and then one of the cylinders lost compression.
I took the cylinder head and water jacket gasket off to find that the two chunks of the piston had broken off to the rings. -uuugh.
I pondered for a while about replacing the piston – but in the end I decided that without the tools and really knowing what I’m doing, I’d spring for a new engine. So about three weeks ago I bought an Evinrude 90 and have been waiting patiently for it’s arrival.
Well after what seemed like forever, the new engine for my project boat has arrived. The Horizon Tacoma was late and our containers were some of the last to off load, so I had to wait until Saturday to pickup the beauty.
I ordered this motor for a variety of reasons. The company I ordered it from is based in Waterford Connecticut. Outboard Exchange, LLC has been rebuilding, refurbishing, servicing and selling outboards forever.
I had several options when it came to the engine I wanted. Evinrude, Mercury, Yamaha are the three they specialize in.
However, since I have an Evinrude and a Johnson v-4 88 SPL – I chose to have them send me an Evinrude that would bolt up to the OMC controls I already have installed on the boat.
It’s been six days since I installed the motor. I have had no problems at all with it. It fired right up, purred like a kitten and winked at me, like a taunt to take her out on the water to give her a test run. – Which is what I did.
The first two sea trials went well. I did not adjust the linkage prior to heading out. So I had no reverse. Not a big deal though – I wanted to go forward!!!!. I fouled a plug, Bad fuel the culprit (and or a little water in the system) – which answers the question of do I really need a water separator on my fuel system? YES! I got the fuel all cleaned up, installed new plugs, adjusted the linkage and so far – it’s a strong running, great looking, excellent performing engine. Tim and his crew at Outboard Exchange did a fantastic job. So well in fact that I’m going to ship my 1996 v-4 88 SPL down to them for a compete rebuild.
I’ve spent a good portion of the summer working on the boat, and while I still have more to do, I think that
