Got it from my father-in-law...

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   So I bought a boat from my father in law. A little history, bought the fiberglass hull in 1973 from a company in Virginia that effectively took a 20' Southwind hull, made a mold, tweaked it, and made boats from it. The hull is close to a 1/2" thick of glass, no filler. The father-in-law and his dad glassed in the stringers, floor, put a Volvo in it originally and drove it for years. It is a direct drive boat and as far as I understand is pretty much the same as the Southwind minus a different engine, propeller, and rudder 
Mechanically it has a 1965 GM 327 that was rebuild with 30 over factory in 1993. Has a marine intake manifold with a Rochester 2 barrel carb. Log style exhaust manifolds with a single port forward and two ports aft (maybe plugged mid riser on each). The engine feeds a 1:1 velvet drive which drives a 14" propeller (unsure of pitch but maybe somewhere around 14?).

I just finished installing a bracket I welded that holds the clamp for the cable steering and now (due to better positioning) the boat has a full 35 degree either side.

My question is in regards to the cooling system on this boat. Currently the boat is not a closed system, does have a transmission cooler, and does not have a thermostat or pressure relief.

When out on the water temperature goes from 140 degrees at idle (takes a while to get there, not so much when under load) to 180 degrees when rpms get around 2500 or higher for a bit. I am thinking a) the boat should get up to temp a little quicker than it does and b) it should swing like it does. 

The current cooling path is as follows (at least the best I can follow it without taking anything off).
Inlet -> pump -> transmission cooler -> bottom port on AFT end of the PORT exhaust manifold... (here is where things get iffy)

Top port on the AFT end of the PORT exhaust manifold goes over to the bottom port on the AFT end of the STBD exhaust manifold

Top port on the AFT end of the STBD exhaust manifold is tee'd to both ports on the FWD end of the engine block

PORT port on the intake manifold goes to the FWD port on the PORT exhaust manifold

STBD port on the intake manifold goes to the FWD port on the STBD exhaust manifold

See attached horrible drawing to maybe help make sense of all the words.
If someone could help me understand this a bit better / instruct me of a way to route it better that'd be great. Also if I were to add a thermostat would an inline thermostat with a bypass be the best place to start? What would be the best way to configure the cooling for that?

Anyways thanks for the laughs and comments.

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gedds1993 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: September-18-2024 Location: Kentucky Status: Offline Points: 4	Post Options Post Reply Quote gedds1993 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Got it from my father-in-law... Posted: September-25-2024 at 9:05pm
	So I bought a boat from my father in law. A little history, bought the fiberglass hull in 1973 from a company in Virginia that effectively took a 20' Southwind hull, made a mold, tweaked it, and made boats from it. The hull is close to a 1/2" thick of glass, no filler. The father-in-law and his dad glassed in the stringers, floor, put a Volvo in it originally and drove it for years. It is a direct drive boat and as far as I understand is pretty much the same as the Southwind minus a different engine, propeller, and rudder Mechanically it has a 1965 GM 327 that was rebuild with 30 over factory in 1993. Has a marine intake manifold with a Rochester 2 barrel carb. Log style exhaust manifolds with a single port forward and two ports aft (maybe plugged mid riser on each). The engine feeds a 1:1 velvet drive which drives a 14" propeller (unsure of pitch but maybe somewhere around 14?). I just finished installing a bracket I welded that holds the clamp for the cable steering and now (due to better positioning) the boat has a full 35 degree either side. My question is in regards to the cooling system on this boat. Currently the boat is not a closed system, does have a transmission cooler, and does not have a thermostat or pressure relief. When out on the water temperature goes from 140 degrees at idle (takes a while to get there, not so much when under load) to 180 degrees when rpms get around 2500 or higher for a bit. I am thinking a) the boat should get up to temp a little quicker than it does and b) it should swing like it does. The current cooling path is as follows (at least the best I can follow it without taking anything off). Inlet -> pump -> transmission cooler -> bottom port on AFT end of the PORT exhaust manifold... (here is where things get iffy) Top port on the AFT end of the PORT exhaust manifold goes over to the bottom port on the AFT end of the STBD exhaust manifold Top port on the AFT end of the STBD exhaust manifold is tee'd to both ports on the FWD end of the engine block PORT port on the intake manifold goes to the FWD port on the PORT exhaust manifold STBD port on the intake manifold goes to the FWD port on the STBD exhaust manifold See attached horrible drawing to maybe help make sense of all the words. If someone could help me understand this a bit better / instruct me of a way to route it better that'd be great. Also if I were to add a thermostat would an inline thermostat with a bypass be the best place to start? What would be the best way to configure the cooling for that? Anyways thanks for the laughs and comments.

KENO Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Grand Poobah Joined: June-06-2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 11127	Post Options Post Reply Quote KENO Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: September-26-2024 at 7:45am
	I'd probably look into getting a thermostat housing and thermostat and duplicating the setup on a PCM or Indmar or Mercruiser Chevy inboard. Not knowing what you have for a raw water pump, circulating pump setup, I'd probably try duplicating the Indmar setup with a crank driven raw water pump. Sine you posted a drawing, I figure you'd know how to post a few pictures of the engine to show what you're working with for manifolds, pump(s) etc.

fanofccfan Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Platinum Member Joined: December-13-2009 Location: North Bend NE Status: Offline Points: 1781	Post Options Post Reply Quote fanofccfan Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: September-26-2024 at 8:20am
	A few pictures of the boat would also be a nice addition.
	2004 196 LE Ski 1969 Marauder 19 1978 Ski

gedds1993 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: September-18-2024 Location: Kentucky Status: Offline Points: 4	Post Options Post Reply Quote gedds1993 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: September-28-2024 at 2:56am
	Sorry for the late reply here are some pics of the manifolds and pipe routing Oh and here is the rudder bracket i mentioned Anyways I decided to take the manifolds off and clean them. I'll let you guys know how it goes. Ben

KENO Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Grand Poobah Joined: June-06-2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 11127	Post Options Post Reply Quote KENO Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: September-28-2024 at 2:14pm
	That looks like one of the conversion kits that various companies offered in the early 70's Is there a name on the side of the exhaust manifolds by any chance? Something like Econ-O-Power maybe. The way the cooling is arranged the incoming water is preheated by going thru the exhaust manifolds before going into the engine. It helps it warm up faster with no thermostat, but at the same time it runs hotter at higher speeds due to the preheated water. Sort of a double edged sword. You don't have a circulating pump on the engine, the 2 lines going to the front go into the engine through connections bolted where the circulating water pump would bolt on and you manifold has no provision for a thermostat. If temperature doesn't get over 180 at high speeds, I'd probably leave things alone.....if it keeps climbing to 200 or so, a more modern, simpler system would be something to look into. You'd need an intake manifold with a thermostat provision, thermostat housing and thermostat, circulating pump, new exhaust manifolds, maybe a new raw water pump, so the price would start adding up. In the category of "things you didn't ask about but somebody should tell you anyways" , your distributor isn't a marine unit. The vacuum advance canister just screams "I ain't marine" The GM HEI distributor that you have wasn't born yet in 1973.so it was a late addition at some time. The carburetor may or may not be marine but in 73 USCG regs were a lot different. So, the boat could be made safer with marine certified stuff like the carburetor, distributor, starter and alternator getting replaced or verified to be marine stuff by today's standards. On the other hand, your steering bracket looks good

gedds1993 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: September-18-2024 Location: Kentucky Status: Offline Points: 4	Post Options Post Reply Quote gedds1993 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October-03-2024 at 9:38pm
	Got all the manifolds cleaned up. Used the copper gasket stuff for exhausts since finding a set of gaskets proved to be difficult. Manifolds are old osco log style, replacements will be some Chris crafts. Got some new manifold to engine gaskets (ones with metal in them) would you coat that gasket in the copper stuff or no? Also the manifolds didn’t look bad when cleaning them out so I’ll probably replace them after next season. The back ports on the manifold are feed ports and the front port is the one that exits out the exhaust. Would I have to upgrade intake manifold or could I put an inline thermostat in? Does the marine distributor really make a difference or is it just safety? Carb is not marine so I’ll have to update that, along with an electric choke. Before the manifolds were clean boat would stay under 170F at high speeds. Starter and alternator are verified marine so good on that score. Plan to redo wiring, gauges, and dash this spring so plenty of work to do to pretty it up but good guts on the boat and strong runner. Thanks for all your input KENO.

KENO Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Grand Poobah Joined: June-06-2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 11127	Post Options Post Reply Quote KENO Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October-04-2024 at 7:55am
	Since it stays under 170 at high speeds and runs cooler at low speeds, I think I'd leave it alone and run it like it is. Running a constant temperature is better but running cool isn't the worst thing in the world. And the exhaust gaskets go on dry, shiny side toward the manifolds if one side is shiny. As far as the distributor.....it's a safety thing. You can find a cheap HEI marine distributor like what you have without the vacuum advance canister for around 200 bucks. You'll find some advertised as "marine" with a vacuum advance canister hanging off of it.....call that deceptive advertising and stay miles away from them. Here's a link to a DUI HEI that numerous people here on CCF use link Here's a link to a marine Chevy HEI that's cheaper but checks all the right boxes. It's been used by some CCF people too with no complaints. link And don't believe any advertising hype about huge power and fuel economy gains from any of them, unless you're replacing a total piece of crap worn out distributor

Got it from my father-in-law...

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