Advice for reviving a '87 SN 2001 after 10yrs

If there is no water gushing out somewhere, then that is must be a spare plug. Looks new too.

xarmypilot wrote:     You stick the hose through the bilge drain so you can empty the oil without fear of contaminating the bilge with spilled waste oil. Now that I think about it, I guess I probably looked a little silly yesterday siphoning the oil through the dipstick...

The sucking the oil out of the dip stick tube is a good way especially if the boat is in the water! I use the method since it's harder to get a drain pan under the boat if their'r hanging in the boathouse or on the lift.

Gary S wrote: No reason to ever pull oil out of the dipstick tube when you have a drain hose Pete,hook the pump to the hose. Go back and edit your post,you made it real easy for Quinner,HW and me

Gary,
I took your advice. The thought did cross my mind but I had to run for an errand. Yup, CQ and HW would have had a field day with the statement!

Interesting concept with the drain hose. I had never thought of it. I'll have to do some thinking about the needed parts to adapt the super sucker to the drain hose. and then at least I can use the method on one of my boats. The Tique I'd have to add the drain hose to the pan drain which isn't a problem but with the Atom, I can't With old engines that shared engine oil with the trans, the oil does need to be sucked out of the trans since it's the lowest point.

Gary,
One year on my 312, I did play around attaching the supper sucker directly to the dip stick tube. I didn't have the proper size rubber hose so it kept sucking air at that connection. I'm going to give it another try.

I'd pull the arm off,loosen the gland nut and get underneath the boat and turn and pull the rudder until it comes out. Should not have to pound and most of the time they want to fall out when everything is loose. Yours might be stuck in the packing though.

I just so happen to have a thread like that with pics, you may have a rotary and mine is a rack and pinion style, but some similarities exist.

I'd unbolt/disconnect the steering cable from the helm and then see if the wheel turns. If the wheel then turns easily, it's likely your steering cable is frozen.

http://www.correctcraftfan.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=31166&title=steering-cable-replacement-with-pictures

To my knowledge it's a must replace. Mine wasn't even fully seized but they can start to drag after a while. It would probably be more work trying to free it up than to replace it.

Thanks to all for the recommendations. Nautiqueparts.com has the cable listed at $309 and N3 is closed today - any better recommendations where I can find a decent one (the right one) on a budget? Part #'s would be very helpful as well.

I've got wiry arms so I'm going to try removing\replacing the cable without pulling the fuel cell - but something tells me that is going to make getting the cable disconnected from the tiller a real PITA...

Gary S wrote: There are certain years that the cable was a special length only available thru a dealer,someone will know if yours is in that range. Zach, phatsat67 on here, is N3's part manager and since they are a site sponcer does provide us with a discount

Thanks Gary, +1 to you for reminding me about the sponsors      Yeah, N3's always been good to me and quite frankly, you won't have much of a community unless you support one another.

I think I remember reading that the steering cable on 82-90 boats are 17.5 ft, a size that's specific to CC only.

The old cable is out now...



...and ready for the new one.

Bri892001 wrote: Wow, you got right after it!

Yes sir, your thread helped a lot <thanks again> and no since waiting around for a part when I can be quasi-productive today. Frankly it wasn't all that difficult to remove once I got past all the zip ties. Now getting the new one installed and adjusted so the steering is "right" may be a whole different story...guess we'll see soon enough!   

skutsch wrote: I know you are going in the direction of replacing it and that is GREAT. So my comment is for someone in the future reading this. There are lots of places you can cut corners on boats, patching them for one more year, etc. Steering should NEVER be one of those places. Way to much can happen when a steering cable goes, I have seen way to many people get thrown across the boat resulting in busted ribs or worse, get completely ejected. Ok, getting off the soap box, sorry for the preaching.

Amen! It's that time of year to begin getting your head right. It's not just the owner's safety that's at stake, but everyone who shares the water with you could be at risk. I watched a runaway cruiser almost t-bone a Sunfish full of kids once, all because the owner failed to replace a required safety stop. Imagine having to explain that one to a parent.

You center the helm wheel, center the rudder and any adjustment is done with the tube block clamp at the aft end of the cable.

To get the steering wheel 'level' you have to engage the cable going into the helm at a given spot in its rotation.. This takes trial & error - best to have a helper look for level as you will be laying on your back spouting 4 letter words about the 4th iteration.

What a great day it was on the lake today! After all the preparation, steering cable stress and trailer madness, everything finally came together and I was able to get out and have a relatively flawless 1st run. First impression is that this is a fairly quick "bone stock" boat. It's no BareFooter, but I was constantly able to pull down 47-48 (gps measured) mph and hold it there. Maybe after a good buffing and waxing, I might be able to squeeze 2-3 more mph outta her.

One thing I noticed was that, after a 20 minute warm up on the water, she still acted like she wanted to stall out of the hole. So I drove it like I stole it for a good 15-20 minutes then tried again - success! My best guess is that there was probably some crud left in the fuel system or in the carb that was blown out on my romp. Thankfully, I didn't have any such problem the rest of the day...

In my eyes, that's not too shabby considering the boat's been stored for 19 years and there was no "real" engine or carb work was done beyond fluids and cleaning. I owe Zach (phatsat67) from N3 a big thanks for saving the weekend and helping me "procure" then correct steering cable. It was good to catch him launching at the boat ramp so he could see the big smile on my face...

So as she sits, the only mechanical chits I have are
1) Right speedo doesn't function
2) Stuffing box needs re-done and adjusted (already picked up materials Sat.)
3) Need to determine why the alarm is occasionally sounding very faintly. It stops when the horn is blown so I think that it's most likely this is due to something disconnected or dislodged when I pulled the new steering cable through to the helm.
4) No sound through the speakers. Stereo works and has a signal, just no sound to the speakers. Probably another casualty of the steering cable replacement.   

So a big thanks to all who who've helped me get my mechanical bearings on this boat. Hopefully sometime our paths will cross season and we can shred some water together.     

In any event, here's proof that she floats -   .   

Project looks great. Some minor punch list issues, and then time to Enjoy, Enjoy, Enjoy!!!