Mark Boyd's Family Web Pages.

Crownline Boat Improvements 2017

July 15, 2017

I just got a new anchor and chain today from Walmart, and two throwable cushions/life preservers. The ODNR rules only require one, but I think it makes sense to have one on each side of the boat, ready to throw.

The new anchor. 300' of rope should be delivered next week.

The new cushions.
This is the old anchor and rope. This would hold the boat on a "picnic day" but that's all. And there is only 30 feet of rope.

July 21, 2017

I got home yesterday and the 300 feet of 1/2 inch nylon rope had arrived. This was a spool 300 foot long, from Walmart. I unwound it and found that the rope is a little ratty. Not a high quality thing, but good enough for an anchor line.

Cut a length 75 feet long and put that on the anchor. I plan to make some dock lines.. not sure of the length, maybe six feet and eight feet.

We went out tonight and the engine wasn't right. I'm pretty confident it's the accelerator pump. Shouldn't be too difficult to replace. The challenge is finding the best way to acquire the parts. An accelerator pump alone is $30. A rebuild kit that includes the accelerator pumps for two different carbs is $22. Makes you wonder about the quality, eh?

Anyway, that's the next project... get the accelerator pump fixed.

July 22, 2017

I started work at the kitchen table, making up two dock lines from the 1/2 inch nylon rope I bought at Walmart.

Ready to start work, watching a Youtube video on how to do it.
The finished rope. I'm not sure I really got the braid right, but it will hold, and I don't expect to have any nautical knot experts on board.


I worked on getting the carburetor off. Everything is loose, I just have to pry it off. I also repaired the weather-strip on the windshield opening.

The windshield opening weather-strip was loose. I glued it down with Universal Cement.
Universal Cement. Can be used on anything to do anything?

I also started cleaning the storage locker in the floor. Water is standing at the back of this compartment. It should drain. So this is a concern. I have to figure out why it's not draining and then fix it, but I don't see any way to get into the space. I'll use the shop vac to suck the water out hopefully. This is actually my biggest concern about the boat at this point.

I cleaned the flame arrester and started thinking about a better arrangement for the crankcase vent. Its was really poorly done. I don't know if this was the factory set up, or someone hacked it. It's shabby regardless.
The plastic hose is simply jammed on top of this flange that is part of the flame arrester hold down bracket. Kind of hard to see in the photo.

Here are the details of the improvements to this vent situation.

July 24, 2017

I got started on the carburetor last night. The accelerator pump doesn't look all that bad, but there was a fair amount of crap and crud (aka dirt) in the float bowl. So maybe the port for the accelerator pump is plugged up. I'll take all the jets out and work it over with carb cleaner and compressed air.


I spent some more time looking into the cockpit locker bilge drain issue. I can't see back under the floor where it drains to, and I poked around with a coat hanger wire and didn't reach the back of the area. This is still a puzzle. The floor is rather soft above this area, and so I'm thinking over the winter I'm going to be taking the floor out and see what's going on, and put in a new floor with drains.

July 25, 2017

Spent some time cleaning today. I cleaned the cockpit locker edge trim and the cover.

The locker itself. I also took the rubber mat out a few days ago and cleaned that. So it's ready to back as well.
Here's the cover. These cleaning pads do a fantastic job. I had cleaned this with Fantastik and a scrub brush, and then I cleaned half with this cleaner pad. You can see the results. These things really work. I don't know what they are, but I suspect they use hydrogen peroxide.

July 26, 2017

I need a todo list: (doesn't include things already in process)
- New spare tire
- Lube wheel bearings
- fix trailer center tail lights
- battery and wiring clean up

August 2, 2017

I got the new (rebuilt) carburetor installed and ran it on the hose this morning. After adjusting the idle speed and mixture it runs pretty good.

Tachometer Issue

When I was running it today, the tachometer was goofy. I don't know if it's backwards or what (it seemed to be working backwards and indicating around 6000 rpm), but it's certainly not showing the engine speed correctly. I don't know how that could have gotten goofed up. It's worked fine until now. I haven't touched anything that is close to that.

I've been doing some research and the tachometer signal comes from the coil. The shift interlock switch also uses this signal (this switch keeps you from shifting when the engine is above some RPM I believe). I saw one comment on the Inet that replacing that switch fixed the issue. I guess I could disconnect it and see if that cures things. Getting to the back of the tach to check the wiring is very difficult. The dashboard brace goes right behind the tach (of course).

Speedometer Issue

While I was under the dash, I pulled the hose off the speedometer. I'll find a small hose to put on there and see if the guage moves with a little puff of air. The speedo wasn't working when we took the trial run.

August 12, 2017

Installed the new Garmin Striker 4 fish finder.

August 29, 2017

Started working on the brakes.

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