'86 Barefoot Nautique 2001

OK, here goes. I'm newer to boating (through inheritance - I married into it) but am mechanically apt. My in-laws have an '86 BFN (grey/white/black with the large 2001 logo towards the stern and after a little bit of working on the boat last season (electrical) I am starting to bring it back up to snuff as I tend to be very meticulous about vehicles under my care. So, I apologize up front if these questions have been asked a million times - I've spent a few hours trying to find good info, but it seems like with this age boat it's harder to get the detail of info I'm looking for. Here goes...

1) The carb needs to be rebuilt. Not a problem, however I don't have access to the boat this week and would like to start ordering parts. Is this the 4150 Holley rebuild kit? And where do you guys get parts from? It seems like a lot of people recommend skidim.

2) Oil change. I haven't even attempted to look at how this gets done but since the motor sits down in the hull a little bit I'm assuming you need to run a drain hose somewhere? Type of oil / filter suggestions? This is a 454 I'm told and since this boat seems to be popular I'd like to restore it to as-good-as-new as possible. I generally run Ams in my cars/trucks/bikes - but am not sure if this should even be attempted in this age of a 454 (worried about leaks until I can completely tear it down and rebuild - not for another season or two).

3) The electrical system on this thing has seen better days. My thoughts are to redo the distributor and plug wires initially and then new battery and main and ground lines. After that I'm going to redo all the lighting wiring and add in some in boat LED accent. Again, what do you guys recommend for parts and since it seems hard to match parts up is there something I should be looking for to make sure, for example, I'm buying the right distributor, plug wires, etc?

4) Gauges. One speedo works of the two (I'm assuming this is for left turn / right turn accuracy). The dash is a little sad although none of the gauges are cracked. The ammeter and fuel gauges work but bounce around like they're on meth when you're not powered down. I'd like to replace them all on one hand but on the other I'd like to keep it as original as possible. It also seems like most boats only have one speedo. Is there anyone that restores / upgrades old gauges?

5) Switches on the dash all need to be replaced. Any suggestions on what type to use for the bilge, blower, lighting, etc?

6) Fake a lake - will this work on this boat? I've read certain CC have hulls that don't play nice with this, but if I'm going to rebuild and tune the carb I'd like to be able to do it in the shop.

7) Gel coating? The boat is in good shape from a body perspective, it's always on a lift in the summer under cover and then covered as well. The boat itself though is a little "dull". What can I do to preserve the color it still has and keep it (polish / protectant)?

8) Impeller. I forgot about this one - but this is a decent size motor and cooling is important. Anything I can do to replace the water pump system? I might as well just do it while now. I've read about the impeller in the pump on these being a common fail item.

Anything else? This boat is relatively clean and taken care of, but just not to the level I would have unfortunately. I was thinking of augmenting the original analog dash with some electronics for speed, temp, etc - but I think I have enough on my plate for right now. Game plan for this year is to bring it up to "great" operating status by making sure the mechanical/electrical are all working well.

Thanks so very much for any insight and suggestions! I'll keep digging for info.

Wow Tim. short answers but lots of them!!
8er,
We want pictures! make sure you get some as well as some text submitted for the CCfan diaries section. Also, add your first name if you care to in your profile. I feel once you've had a chance to spend more time on the site you'll realize most here use their first names.

Welcome to CCfan.

Welcome fellow BFNer
Jeff

WindX - Since your are the primary caregiver to this beauty, you might want to check the shaft alignment & packing gland adjustment. Pete B. has a great video on these items that you can find at the bottom of this site.

Have a great time with the boat this summer - just working on them is fun to me.

I need to post the carb rebuild kit part number i purchased thru Napa "Sierra" nice kit and pretty complete.
I guess you wouldnt need to change the trans fluid, the tranny's are like the 4th kid you never wanted, neglected, last in line, left out of the family photo's

The fluid extractors work great.



When I got my 77, it came with the oil drain hose you put through the bilge hull drain. I tried it once but just couldn't keep the water from coming into the boat. I went back to using the extractor!

Damn, Pete! I guess you didn't have a trailer?

That boat looks pretty darn nice- and all original, as far as I can tell.

That looks to be the original carb and distributor- I might be inclined to do a water test before tearing into or replacing anything. That being said, the LIST-9394 carb takes a Holley 703-28 renew kit, and I really like the DUI distributor we're running in our BFN.

PerformanceDistributors Marine DUI

The one thing I would definitely add to the list is to replace your riser gaskets. They look to be leaking pretty good externally, so better get new ones in there to prevent them from leaking internally... you dont want water in your cylinders.

Yes, that is the correct part number for the DUI. Im not sure about that p/n on the Livewires... you definitely want the under header wires, but those are for a small block. Might want to call and ask them if they have a BB version. The Livewires are really nice, but pricey!

Getting the full manifold kit is not a bad idea, but the one you have listed is for the 5.0/5.7. Call SkiDIM and see if they have a kit that fits the 454.

That bilge pump should work well- we just installed the same one.

windexh8er wrote: So for the distributor is this correct (I had been looking at the DUI based on another thread I found that you were talking about): M12720 - All Small Block & Big Block Chevrolet V8's and C9051 - SB Chev - Under Headers ------------------------------------------------------- Also, where would you go about getting the riser gaskets from? Finally - is this the right bilge pump? I'm on a buying spree today. :) http://www.n3boatworks.com/eshopprod_cat_5045-68032-69650_product_868314.Bilge_Pump_Rule_500_GPH_Fully.htm EDIT: Riser gasket? http://www.skidim.com/prodinfo.asp?number=RM0099 And would it be wise to get the exhaust rebuild kit, or just the riser gaskets? http://www.skidim.com/prodinfo.asp?number=RP173091 Oh, and in terms of water test - I've driven the boat plenty last year. That's why I'm doing all of this this year while it's still out of the water. It needs to be done! Been neglected, or barely maintained, for quite a while.

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"Not Given",
Also not common with other site, we have a tendency to use first names!! If you want, fill in your profile!

I guess you don't want to let anyone know who you are?

8122pbrainard wrote: 8er, We want pictures! make sure you get some as well as some text submitted for the CCfan diaries section. Also, add your first name if you care to in your profile. I feel once you've had a chance to spend more time on the site you'll realize most here use their first names. Welcome to CCfan.

1 week turnaround on the DUI is pretty quick... if it takes longer, dont be surprised!

Id go with a group 65 battery- they fill the batt box nicely. Im not married to any particular brand, just make sure to get a non-deep cycle. Ive got a bunch of Everstart MAXX-65N (Walmart brand) in most of my boats and theyve treated me well- good warranty and reasonably priced... though theyre a few bucks more expensive than they used to be.

If you have a "ground bar" or bus, then its probably not original- but probably a good idea. I plan to add one to most of my boats (probably add power, ground and IGN busses) and get rid of the daisy chains.

We had the MR43T's in our BFN. No need for the M (marine) designation though- the regular R43T's should suit you just fine.

Your water inlet hose should be 1-1/4".

Glad to see you gung ho on those riser gaskets... but dont be surprised if the bolts fight you and turn it into a longer project than you anticipate! Be patient and soak them if need be.

I noticed on the carb that it is using the old style spring screws on the bowls. You will need to get new (updated) screws to replace those (if you haven't already). Nice boat Is the seat behind the driver a standard feature on the BFN? I like it, and I may want to do something like that on my SN.

Good move on the simple tee for the garden hose.

Those screws on the rear metering plate come out pretty easily with a large phillips screw driver... but Im curious if anyone knows a better trick!

Those seats are removeable and were optional in BFN's starting sometime in the early 80's. They were called "judges seats". CC started offering something similar in those about 10 years ago and called them "jump seats". They work great as additional removeable seating... Im going to build a few some day.

For the Secondary metering block, those are clutch head screws. You can get a small set for about 10 online. Apparently they can cause a leak situation, and the new gasket washers will not work correctly with the old style screws. The new screws are hex head. (I just rebuild mine about 2 weeks ago)

I trimmed a small flathead screwdriver to fit those screws...works great.