Help..

I am looking at a Ski Tique and found out that the engine was replaced some years ago with a standard automobile engine (non-marinized), I am not sure how this will effect the boat over time, the owner said the main difference is that the engine rotates the opposite direction of a marinized engine, but the components that needed to be marinized, i.e. alternator, distributer, fuel pump, etc. could be put on at a reasonable price. Does anyone out there know anything about this or have any advice.

Does the boat run. if it originally had rev. rotation, then the trans and prop are set up for rev. rotation. were these changed as well. changing an engine to rev. rotation involves completely tearing down the engine. i would look else where for a boat.

Chris

It is very dangerous to run an automotive alternator, fuel pump, starter, and carburetor on a boat. Also, reversing the rotation to LH could cause problems if the boat was designed for RH rotation.

It definitely can be done as long as you know ALL of the differences. I don't know about the 318, but the automotive Fords also have the back of the crank knurled to sling the oil into the engine and reversing the rotation will sling oil past the seal (of course, this won't be a problem if you keep your LH crank turning LH). I've also heard of problems with a boat listing to starboard which can be counteracted by moving the helm to the port side. It may not be a big deal, depending on how you drive.

richardsoncd, if you get a real low price and you are up for the challenge, it can be done. Some of the components may have already been changed. As Ken said, the pump in the transmission should have been flipped, otherwise your transmission would have to run in reverse.

Here's my 2 cents. I was under the impression counter rotation was used to prevent swaping of parts and engines from the automotive group. At some point, boat manufactures went to using standard rotation. Automotive engines can be converted to marine engines by amautures and there are serval books on how to do it (check out the boat building site www.glen-l.com ). Some of the changes are for safety, some are for durability, and some give better performance, some are illegal for street use. I'd be concerned if the transmission is working properly and what was done to make the boat go forawrd. It would be a considerable expense to rebuild ($1200?) or replace the tranny. Another concern is who did the engine swap? If a boat shop did, why didn't they do it right? If the owner and his buddies did it, they may have made other mistakes. If the boat runs and handles fine and it has all the power it should and you're getting a good price it might be worth it. Otherwise, I'd keep looking. If you do buy the boat, I'd do the conversion or have it done right away. I wouldn't worry about changing the rotation. That would be really expensive and you would have to change the tranny rotation again. That's my thoughts. Does anybody know if the owner could have got the boat to go forward simply by changing to a standard rotation prop? If you can, chances are nothing was done to the tranny and I'd assume a rebuild is in the future.

I have decided against buying the boat, thanks for the advice. I am now looking at an old Skier that has been restored. Does anyone have any advice on building a ski platform, does it have to be made of teak or can it be a single piece?

Thanks.