need some help

wrangler893 · Post by **wrangler893** » Fri Oct 21, 2011 8:35 pm

ive been lurking around here for a few years now mostly reading since im to dense to be able to give any good advice. I bought a 1968 sea voyager about six years ago, I usually to custom carpentry work and moonlight on fiberglass and composite repair learned in the air craft industry years ago. When i purchased the boat i was doing some fiberglass repair on a sailboat that was at the marina, I had just finished refurbishing a houseboat at the same place so I guess they were all used to seeing me there. The previous owner of the boat approached me and asked if I would come and look at it saying he needed some work done to it. I went over after i finished the days work and looked at it. It had some major problems at the water line and I knew that it would have to be taken out and some structural work done. This didnt bother me to much since after crawling around in the bilge for I while I determined that all of the boat was intact and that the ribs and stringers were all in place just that it had been neglected for to long. For those of you who havent tried to figure out new ribs and other framing components its a relief to see them intact so that if they have to be replaced at least you have a pattern to go by to make new ones instead of doing alot of measuring planning and a couple of hail mary's thrown in. Any way the gentleman wanted to know what needed to be done he had lived on the boat for the past three years and was about to get married and become land locked lol. I told him that the boat would have to be hauled out and at least part of the bottom redone. Well to make a long story short he decided that he didnt want to mess with it and wanted me to buy the vessel. I of course declined and went about my merry way, however over the next week or so of work he would come by and ask me if I wanted to buy the boat yet or not, each time the price went down alot. Well needless to say in the end I paid the man for his boat and then immediatley took it to the nearest place I could get it hauled out, which was 50 miles by water away hehe.... thats another story. I then rebuilt everything from the keel up that was showing signs of wear, a process that lasted a little over two years. Oh yeah did I mention that neither of the engines ran so it was a tow for the fifty miles to get her out. any way after the two years of working on her on week ends and when I could steal some time off we sat her back in the water. By now i had the port engine running and was able to power her back home without a tow... though we did keep one on call. After that we just kinda glided.... we might go out a mile or so to the mouth of the river on the one engine or for the most of the time it was a floating cabin a retreat that we would run to on the weekends to get away. And that has been the way its been for several years now however the recent flood this year hit us kinda hard here in Ky. and we almost lost the marina its self. there is only so far that you can weld on extensions to spud poles. But during that adventure apparently something like a huge 32 inch diameter log got up under my beloved cabin on the lake. The end effects was that the log settled under my slip it wasnt a problem till the water went down, but now that it has guess what i gotta pull her out again. I have never started the starboard engine but I am guessing that it is counter clockwise in rotation. Is there anyone here that can help me out with that and what parts that are special that i may need. Any way thanks for any help in advance. Dont worry the old girl has gotten to me now and there will be no surrender

Big D · Post by **Big D** » Fri Oct 21, 2011 9:17 pm

Welcome aboard. Hang in there. Give us some detail on what you have; Chrysler 318s maybe? In general, differences are the starter, cam, rear main seal, position of raw water pump, distributor in some applications. What is wrong with the starboard engine, and what did it take to get the port one going?

wrangler893 · Post by **wrangler893** » Fri Oct 21, 2011 9:34 pm

to tell you the truth not sure what i have at this point, title says 42' everything ive read says 45' its an aft cabin model and I have really spent most of my time on it making the whole cabin, fore and aft really a nice place to stay the weekend... like I said im a carpenter not a boat mechanic. It has 250 hp trojan interceptors in it but the best that I can tell its a 1968 ford 390 engine with barr marine heads on it.

larryeddington · Post by **larryeddington** » Sat Oct 22, 2011 9:44 am

I looked at one for sale in Arkansas a couple of years ago it was a wood 36 footer and it had 427 Ford Interceptors in it. Think it was a 66.

wrangler893 · Post by **wrangler893** » Sat Oct 22, 2011 12:52 pm

im heading down to the lake today to do some work on her ill see if i can crawl around in the engine compartment and get some numbers and a few photos thanks for the replies guys