1989 2000/SR 5.0LX Alpha floating restoration
Hi all. I've been following this board since we purchased our new-to-us Maxum bow rider in July. Last Spring, we were looking for a "disposable" starter boat <$3000 with Mercruiser I/O that would handle 6 adults and a child but was still small enough to be towed by my Jimmy. Everything we looked at was beat to death by users and by the sun. We were about to give up the search when we ran across this boat 4th of July weekend. The vinyl was in good shape and the boat was not beat to death. However, it had not been in the water for several years and we didn't couldn't get it started at the time. A full tune-up was done just before going dormant (saw the bill). The prop didn't engage in forward or reverse when the controls were cycled and the 26 yr old tires were severely cracked. But we struck a deal with the seller and went carefully on our way. I love a challenge and am not afraid of work.
That first weekend, we did a general cleanup, replaced the trailer tires and battery, replaced the fuel separator/filter and added some fuel snake oil products. We finally got it started. Turns out that it was flooded and we didn't know at the time how to get the throttle opened in neutral and still crank the engine so we disconnected the throttle cable at the carb and cleared the flooded condition. Rookie mistake with not knowing how to use the throttle control I now know. It started up and ran on 15 gals of stale gas We immediately we smelled burning rubber. The alternator was frozen solid and the belt was spinning on the frozen pulley. I expected the bearings had froze so went to disassemble it for analysis/repair. In the disassembly process the impact gun broke the rotor free. It turns out that the rotor had rusted to the stator. Once it broke free, continued spinning removed the interference corrosion. The bearings still sounded good. A simple fix. There was also no gear oil in the outdrive! (maybe a couple of ounces at best) We found the fill and check hole screws were reversed with the magnet in the upper position. We drained it and filled with fresh oil and put the screws in their proper location. We also found a torn shift bellows so we replaced that along with the other bellows and the gimbal bearing while in there.
Once that was done, we had our 1st test drive. We were out for about 4-5 hours 2 days in a row with no major issues. Afterwards, we checked the outdrive oil, it was still full. (whew!)
We have been using the boat several days a week since mid July while attending to other minor issues.
So far we have: touched up some parts of gel coat in the hull that were causing a slow leak, (maybe a couple of cups of water after 5 hrs on the water), got the speedo and tach working, Checked ignition timing, replaced the plywood in the rear deck and bow seats, buffed the dull red gel coat to a nice finish, purchased anchors, installed a new horn, bilge pump, fire extinguisher, adjusted the shift cable/ cutoff switch, lubed the throttle and shift cables, hand worked the SS prop into shape (wasn't too bad to start), repaired the courtesy and anchor lights, Replaced some broken snaps on the canvas, replaced the trailer lights the decking and one broken bunk on the trailer. Also replaced the ono-functioning radio with a modern one with USB capability, and added a USB charging port in the glove box. I'm sure there are a few other small things not mentioned.
The engine is clean for it's 27 yrs of age and has good oil pressure and holds temperature well. We have had the boat up to 48.8MPH (GPS) upriver with 4 adults on board. I am pleased with that.
There is still a ways to go yet. It needs a new floor (this winter). despite that, it has been a good running old boat for us so far.
Sorry for the long intro.
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