The Eagle has Landed :-)

[JBplusThuy]

No, I'm not going to call my boat The Eagle :-)  However, I did pick it up today and it is now safely in my garage.

Yeah, I did manage to make it fit after moving a bunch of stuff around.  Good thing I live on a quiet street, it took a few back and forth attempts to get it to go fairly straight into my garage :-) Once in the garage, of course, it was down to hand maneuvering to get it up against the wall on one side.

Then I took all of my fishing stuff that used to be on a shelf where the boat is now and put it in the boat for storage, which makes it messy enough that I won't be immediately posting pictures lol.

Here are a couple of small pics that I got from the guy I bought it from. The trolling motor on the bow is not included (big, expensive motor that was from his bass boat). The outboard is a Mariner 15. It also has another swivel seat that was never installed and there's a small "butt bucket" swivel seat that's obscured by the motor in the pic.

I'll be adding a trolling motor and battery soon, and will get it out on the water for a shakedown cruise just as soon as the weather gets a bit more reliably warm.

Jonathan

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

That is awesome. Have a look at those outrigger hulls - that thing is going to be stable. And you say you got the motor with it?

It's really a gem in the rough. Boats like this are always a work in process, which is a good thing. You can use her while you learn what is really needed to suit the way you use it. Look up "panfishing" or "catfishing" boats on google and you will see all sorts of great ideas. Think of it as marrying a plump woman - built for comfort, not speed! 

Another good place to check out is www.tinboats.net. Your boat is not aluminum, but there are tons of good ideas there.

 

[JBplusThuy]

I love tinboats.net, so many cool project photos on there!

On Facebook, I saw a photo of a Livingston like mine done with full decking, compartments, fore and aft swivel seats. Step-by-step photos, even. It looked great, gave me a lot of ideas. That won't be happening on mine for quite a while, but the rough idea is to have something like that. Like you said, that picture will evolve and get clearer after I've had the boat for a while.

Yes, I did get the gas motor with it, a 15 HP Mariner.  Compression is over 100 and the same on both cylinders. The guy I bought it from is not the original owner (grandfather's boat), but he believes the motor is a 1990. The boat and trailer are both 1984 and were sold new together.

The boat also has a horizontal rod rack on the port side. I like it so much already that I will probably add another one on the starboard.

I'm thinking of getting a towable cover for it so I can put my rods and some other gear inside it for towing, but semi-custom covers cost more (north of $200) than I want to spend. 12-foot generic Jon boat covers aren't wide enough (beam is 63 inches). Do you think a 14-foot Jon boat towable cover would be workable on this boat?  If necessary, I could try to convince my wife to modify it. She has the sewing skills and a machine that could stitch a boat cover. The motivation? Well, I'd have to work on that part :p

Oh, one other question that just now crossed my mind: do I need to use regular or premium gas in a two-stroke outboard? I've read some forum posts in various places claiming that ethanol-blend gas is a problem for carbureted engines. AFAIK we have no E85 here in California, but also AFAIK, all gasoline is oxygenated here and may be up to 10% ethanol (winter blend, IIRC). What are your thought on this?

Thanks!

Jonathan

[Tony Livingston]

Premium fuel, definitely. I can't tell you how many fuel related problems I see in the shop nearly every day.

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

What Tony said. It doesn't have to be E85 as you've mentioned, since almost all gasoline today has ethanol added to it. A good friend of mine had an engine repair service up until a few years ago, and he recommends finding fuel without ethanol. The problem is, this is harder than it sounds Some of our gas stations around here say they cannot get it and distributors are refusing to carry it. This will only get worse in the future. Ethanol in older engines is a concern now, and will remain so, it would seem.

I'm told it affects the seals, diaphragms, o-rings and etc. within the fuel system. It may not eat them away (although in time that is possible), but you can expect it to distort the "rubber bits," eventually, causing the performance to suffer. You may have to consider a carb rebuild and tubing refit down the road. If it has been stored with gas in it and/or not run in some time, that point may be sooner than later.

The long range solution is to replace the outboard with a newer 4-stroke - at great expense. Meanwhile, you will want to school yourself on the intricacies of your carburetor and be prepared to keep it in tip-top shape.

[JBplusThuy]

In my youth, I was into muscle cars, and I'll tell ya, the first time I bought a car that had fuel injection (1980s Mustang GT) I swore I'd never own a carburetor again lol. My long term goal is to get either a 4-stroke or a direct-injected 2-stroke, but this Mariner will have to serve for quite a while until that happens. Probably around the same distant date when it goes through conversion to a bass, er, I mean, bluegill boat and maybe gets a steering console or side stick or something.

In the meantime, I'll order a repair manual for this engine and dust off the skills I formerly applied to Detroit iron, as needed.

For the carb, I'll probably have it professionally rebuilt when that day comes. Carbs were always a pain, one of my least favorite parts of an engine.

Cabela's has a decent looking cover with a lot of tie-downs for $68:

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas-Jon-Boat-Cover/737706.uts?Nt...

They don't specifically mention towing with it, but several reviewers say they did and it performed well, and others mention it stood up well in snow, hard rain, heavy winds.

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

I think towability depends on how many tie downs you can arrange!

I forgot about Cabela's - I've been looking at Ba$$ Pro Shop$ catalog lately.....

Highway speeds will take their toll, of course. But $68 beats over $200. Do keep in mind that if you decide to store the boat outside, under the wrap, you will want some PVC hoops to keep the cover from filling with water.

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

As for the boat cover, well, the BPS shows the 14 footers fitting your beam, but they are all over $200. They might still need to be shortened, too, if you can't stand the extra material bunched up around the bow or stern.

It may be time for flowers and candy and some special weekend nights with the wife.  That in itself could be a good thing. It's not often you hear about a boat breathing new life into a marriage!

[Steve Crowder]

Have fun with your kid JB, catch a bunch of bluegills and be safe. 

[Leo Nguyen]

You got that thing in the garage?! Wow! I can barely fit my own minivan in the garage, with all the mirrors and stop indicators for us drivers.

 

Congrats! Now, time to paint that baby camo style! Make sure to get a matching camo outfit, with dark Wet SEAL facial makeups and all *LOL* Go crazy with your family on the water!

[JBplusThuy]

Bright purple and pink (to cover their favorite colors) might be more popular :p

From the tip of the trailer to the prop, it's a good foot longer than the Odyssey, but it fits because it's only 63 inches at the beam and the garage is fairly long at that point. If I didn't care about blocking the side garage door, and if I got rid of *all* our stuff <g> I could probably get an 18 foot bass boat in there. For sure if the trailer had a folding tongue. Of course, then I'd also need to get used to sleeping in the boat... :-)

[chris]

She sure looke good.

If you have a lake close by that rents boats. you may check there to see about

buying your fuel from them.

it will already be mixed,and ready to go.

Around here it ia almost impossable to find the 2 stroke oil to mix with the fuel.

Wally world isnt even stocking it.

I hope you and your family have lots of fun on the water.

[dick tabbert]

It's not a rough water boat but I can see lots of pan fish being hauled in. Good luck JB and GOOD FISHIN..