Some of Bodj Built's builds

[M.Brane]

Break
Out
Another
Thousand

 

[steves_001]

^^^^ this!

300 hour service snowballed on my outdrive. .weeee!

 

[Bodj Built]

Hope the boat works out good for you and your family. My kids love boating from babies to almost adults.
Does it have an alpha drive or a bravo?
Boats require a lot of maintenance for the amount of time used. Ocean use is another level of risk.
At that size/weight I'd guess a 4.3 vs 5.7 is a wash in fuel consumption.

Same! I grew up on the water, and I've seen what a lack of maintenance can do to a boat. My dad was never good at maintaining his, and my brother is religious with his.

Thankfully the outdrive is pretty simple and everything is fairly accessible. It's not like a truck where you have to crawl on your back to get to things. This outdrive has been well maintained, but I ordered a rebuild kit to have parts on hand. $100 for a complete overhaul isn't bad.

It's a gen 1 Alpha 1

I think it's fairly significant difference. I should be in the high 2 or low 3mpg range.

Break
Out
Another
Thousand

Whether on land or sea, I'm not unaccustomed to money pits. I think, largely, the people that use that acronym don't have hobbies outside of fantasy football, or pay to have someone else work on their equipment.

Working on a guy's truck right now - two heims and two uniballs (1" and 1.5") was nearly $300. Offroad trucks just don't have a fun acronym like boats.

 

[rattle_snake]

Broken starter mount is a bummer. I'm assuming that it can't really be repaired well enough to trust? Tie into the drive bellhousing? Maybe lake but not ocean.
Do you have to get a 'marine' replacement motor?

 

[M.Brane]

Same! I grew up on the water, and I've seen what a lack of maintenance can do to a boat. My dad was never good at maintaining his, and my brother is religious with his.

Thankfully the outdrive is pretty simple and everything is fairly accessible. It's not like a truck where you have to crawl on your back to get to things. This outdrive has been well maintained, but I ordered a rebuild kit to have parts on hand. $100 for a complete overhaul isn't bad.

It's a gen 1 Alpha 1

I think it's fairly significant difference. I should be in the high 2 or low 3mpg range.



Whether on land or sea, I'm not unaccustomed to money pits. I think, largely, the people that use that acronym don't have hobbies outside of fantasy football, or pay to have someone else work on their equipment.

Working on a guy's truck right now - two heims and two uniballs (1" and 1.5") was nearly $300. Offroad trucks just don't have a fun acronym like boats.

This why I have friends with boats instead of owning one. Provide food, beverages, and gas money. No maintenance headaches.

 

[bggrnchvy]

Same! I grew up on the water, and I've seen what a lack of maintenance can do to a boat. My dad was never good at maintaining his, and my brother is religious with his.

Thankfully the outdrive is pretty simple and everything is fairly accessible. It's not like a truck where you have to crawl on your back to get to things. This outdrive has been well maintained, but I ordered a rebuild kit to have parts on hand. $100 for a complete overhaul isn't bad.

It's a gen 1 Alpha 1

I think it's fairly significant difference. I should be in the high 2 or low 3mpg range.



Whether on land or sea, I'm not unaccustomed to money pits. I think, largely, the people that use that acronym don't have hobbies outside of fantasy football, or pay to have someone else work on their equipment.

Working on a guy's truck right now - two heims and two uniballs (1" and 1.5") was nearly $300. Offroad trucks just don't have a fun acronym like boats.

Can you even still buy parts for a truck project without spending $300?

 

[customh]

Thankfully the outdrive is pretty simple and everything is fairly accessible. It's not like a truck where you have to crawl on your back to get to things. This outdrive has been well maintained, but I ordered a rebuild kit to have parts on hand. $100 for a complete overhaul isn't bad.

It's a gen 1 Alpha 1

I think it's fairly significant difference. I should be in the high 2 or low 3mpg range.

Isn't that a big-*** boat for an Alpha 1? I'm with @rattle_snake - I'd think the torque gains of more cubic inches would offset any fuel economy "gains" of the smaller motor BUT I don't know that I'd bolt a V8 onto an Alpha 1 either. Admittedly limited experience between a buddy's 26' cruiser with a (remanned) 5.7 and a Brave and the in-laws '87 16' Sea-Ray with the orig 3.0 and an Alpha.

 

[Bodj Built]

Broken starter mount is a bummer. I'm assuming that it can't really be repaired well enough to trust? Tie into the drive bellhousing? Maybe lake but not ocean.
Do you have to get a 'marine' replacement motor?

Once I get the engine out I'll assess the situation. My worry is not being able to nail the starter alignment, but we'll see once it's out. The PO said it has "an internal coolant leak," so that could be head gasket, cracked head, or cracked block. I plan to tear into it once I get the new engine installed.

The new (remanned) long block was only $2600 with 2 year warranty, so not bad at all. Risers and manifolds and shipping added another $2k, though. I figure I couldn't rebuild the current engine for that price. I'll have peace of mind with my family on the water with new hardware.

It's the same block as a road-going engine, but I think copper freeze plugs, different head gaskets, and more aggressive cam profile for the added load.

This why I have friends with boats instead of owning one. Provide food, beverages, and gas money. No maintenance headaches.

Not all of us are that lucky. Dad's boat is an open bow waterskiing boat with a saturated floor. He's in the process of redoing the floor, but that's been a two year process so far. He has other things on his plate. My brother's boat is at capacity with his family. Time for him to get out on the water without them is slim, so that means my invites don't come as often as they used to. Plus I have my own family I want to take out...

Can you even still buy parts for a truck project without spending $300?

Nope! Haha eff.

Isn't that a big-*** boat for an Alpha 1? I'm with @rattle_snake - I'd think the torque gains of more cubic inches would offset any fuel economy "gains" of the smaller motor BUT I don't know that I'd bolt a V8 onto an Alpha 1 either. Admittedly limited experience between a buddy's 26' cruiser with a (remanned) 5.7 and a Brave and the in-laws '87 16' Sea-Ray with the orig 3.0 and an Alpha.

It's only a 20ft boat. Dry weight is like 3600#, so not too bad. My dad's 21ft open bow has the same outdrive behind a 5.7 with no issues in 20 years.

 

[rattle_snake]

Ah Ok so some additional thing with the motor. Are the exhaust manifolds/riser rusted or otherwise not usable? Does it have a closed cooling system?

I guess the boat looks bigger and heavier in the pics. 4.3 should do just fine. Alpha has less drag in the water, weight and power loss compared to it's big brother.

After you get it out and see how it performs, might consider aerating/drilling the prop to help get on plane. Can really make a difference for $0.

 

[Bodj Built]

Ah Ok so some additional thing with the motor. Are the exhaust manifolds/riser rusted or otherwise not usable? Does it have a closed cooling system?

I guess the boat looks bigger and heavier in the pics. 4.3 should do just fine. Alpha has less drag in the water, weight and power loss compared to it's big brother.

After you get it out and see how it performs, might consider aerating/drilling the prop to help get on plane. Can really make a difference for $0.

Yeah they are decently crusty in the passages. Probably could plug them up and fill with vinegar and get a little more life out of them, but at this point I want a clean slate.

The 4.3L is very common in this boat. They also came with a 3.0, which couldn't get on plane.

The previous owner was an engineer and went through 9 different props, with data sheets and graphs for the boat's data for each prop, and he settled on the one that's currently on there. I'm going to leave it alone and trust him haha

 

[Mark_17]

I look forward to your custom stainless manifolds!

 

[rattle_snake]

The previous owner was an engineer ....

Ah one of those types....

 

[PugetDude]

Ah one of those types....

Pot, meet kettle.