21 Bahner I/O project...

[DeltaSigBoater]

You could always put a switch on it so you can switch between your right and left tanks. That's the way I have mine instead of 2 gauges. But I didn't have room for the extra gauge either.

yeh i had a on-off-on switch on my last boat because i only had a hole for one gauge. id rather have a single gauge but someone at bahner LOVED the hole saw and cut a bazillion holes in the dash.

Even though none of my boats are setup in this fashion, I like the idea of having 1 gauge for each tank, plus the ability to draw off both tanks simultaneously.

However I gotta ask, why didn't you put in a Vacuum Gunge, Clock, Stereo Remote or ___(blank)___ in the extra hole?

 

[ka0tyk]

Even though none of my boats are setup in this fashion, I like the idea of having 1 gauge for each tank, plus the ability to draw off both tanks simultaneously.

However I gotta ask, why didn't you put in a Vacuum Gunge, Clock, Stereo Remote or ___(blank)___ in the extra hole?

my current gauges are:

tach
speedo
oil press
water temp
fuel press
volts
trim
fuel
fuel

i *might* drop the fuel pressure or a fuel level and get a depth gauge. kinda interesting to see how deep things are and they're only like $200.

 

[ka0tyk]

finished homemade brackets.

gauges are in...

my fuel level gauge is a newer gaffrig and my LED's dont seem to fit so i just need to trim them down a little bit. then ill toss em in. all the wires will be loomed up and then ill snug up the zip ties once everythings done.

 

[ka0tyk]

 

[25Elmn8r]

Looks great!

 

[ka0tyk]

more OCD AN parts...

 

[ka0tyk]

water lines all ran and done. next is fuel.

 

[ka0tyk]

some shiney chingas for my trailer.

fyi my old set are up for sale. come pick em up, $40 and they're yours. tires have tread but unknown how old they are, they came with the trailer.

 

[BDMar]

water lines all ran and done. next is fuel.

Can't see in this picture. How is the water plumbed in and out of the manifolds?

 

[ka0tyk]

Can't see in this picture. How is the water plumbed in and out of the manifolds?

plumbed in from drive pump to lower rear of the manifold, then it comes out of the top preheated and into front of the motor, out of top of intake and out the risers back into the lake. i would run it to the front top of the manifolds but i cant get the damn plugs out of em. ive tried heating em up, pb blaster, elbow grease etc. they are STUCK. having it come out of the front would cut down on my hose run and make it look a little nicer too.

ive hit the manifolds themselves with a IT temp gauge and they're fairly consistent all the way across with no hot cylinders. some day ill do one of those logs along the whole bottom...



maybe u can answer a question ive had from another forum. does the alphas water pump in the drive push enough water to cool the motor or is a water pump required on the front of the motor? mercruiser refers to it as a "recirculation pump" and im not sure if thats because of the thermostat stuff or that they were fitted with a closed loop cooling system with a heat exchanger... i know the front pump is not self-priming thus the need for the pump in the drive to feed it.

 

[DeltaSigBoater]

plumbed in from drive pump to lower rear of the manifold, then it comes out of the top preheated and into front of the motor, out of top of intake and out the risers back into the lake. i would run it to the front top of the manifolds but i cant get the damn plugs out of em. ive tried heating em up, pb blaster, elbow grease etc. they are STUCK. having it come out of the front would cut down on my hose run and make it look a little nicer too.

ive hit the manifolds themselves with a IT temp gauge and they're fairly consistent all the way across with no hot cylinders. some day ill do one of those logs along the whole bottom...



maybe u can answer a question ive had from another forum. does the alphas water pump in the drive push enough water to cool the motor or is a water pump required on the front of the motor? mercruiser refers to it as a "recirculation pump" and im not sure if thats because of the thermostat stuff or that they were fitted with a closed loop cooling system with a heat exchanger... i know the front pump is not self-priming thus the need for the pump in the drive to feed it.

In short NO, the water pump in the drive does not push enough water to keep the motor cool. Since you're using the same motor that was in your Jet boat now in a Stern Drive boat, even though the cooling needs are the same, the requirements to keep it cool have changed. The jet drive was capable of getting enough water to the motor, and circulating it, and dumping it. An Alpha alone, not so much as it has no where near the force to circulate the water through the motor. This is where the recirculating water pump comes into play.

Over Memorial Day '12 I lost the belt that drives my recirculating water pump and power steering pump in my daycruiser, 350 Chevy with a MerCruiser 1-R (3 years before Alpha) Drive, raw water cooled with the pump/impeller in the drive and a RcWP bolted to the front of the motor, cruising across the lake, and the temp started to rise PFQ!!!

 

[ka0tyk]

In short NO, the water pump in the drive does not push enough water to keep the motor cool. Since you're using the same motor that was in your Jet boat now in a Stern Drive boat, even though the cooling needs are the same, the requirements to keep it cool have changed. The jet drive was capable of getting enough water to the motor, and circulating it, and dumping it. An Alpha alone, not so much as it has no where near the force to circulate the water through the motor. This is where the recirculating water pump comes into play.

Over Memorial Day '12 I lost the belt that drives my recirculating water pump and power steering pump in my daycruiser, 350 Chevy with a MerCruiser 1-R (3 years before Alpha) Drive, raw water cooled with the pump/impeller in the drive and a RcWP bolted to the front of the motor, cruising across the lake, and the temp started to rise PFQ!!!

yes but was the rise due to the impeller in the recirc pump stopping the flow or the actual pump in the drive not being "adequate"? I've found a couple mercruiser tech manuals online and they have a procedure to test the pump in the drive by measuring how much water it pumps out.

i figure worst case if its not adequate (ill put the drive into a trashcan filled with water and idle it) i can use an electric water pump so i dont have to screw around with belt routing... which I am having a hell of a time with the 7.4 bracket causing the alternator and power steering pump to hit my EMI/RM center rise exhaust. So I am going to use spacers to move it forward and use a spacer on the crank pulley.

 

[DeltaSigBoater]

yes but was the rise due to the impeller in the recirc pump stopping the flow or the actual pump in the drive not being "adequate"? I've found a couple mercruiser tech manuals online and they have a procedure to test the pump in the drive by measuring how much water it pumps out.

i figure worst case if its not adequate (ill put the drive into a trashcan filled with water and idle it) i can use an electric water pump so i dont have to screw around with belt routing... which I am having a hell of a time with the 7.4 bracket causing the alternator and power steering pump to hit my EMI/RM center rise exhaust. So I am going to use spacers to move it forward and use a spacer on the crank pulley.

I should've clarified better, but both. When I lost the belt cruising, the temp was rising but not at an alarming rate. Coming off plane back down to idle is when it started rising fast, and I only throttled back because I was hard to steer. On the other hand, the boat ran hot, (but not HOT) at idle for years, and as soon as you got on plane the temp would drop to normal. My dad didn't believe me that there was a water pump/impeller in the drive, until the mechanic said something. Again this is just my experiences,

I like the idea of a seperate pump. Much easier and cheaper to change out the impeller than having to drop the lower unit everytime. If I felt like spending the time, money, and energy it'd be done.

 

[BDMar]

plumbed in from drive pump to lower rear of the manifold, then it comes out of the top preheated and into front of the motor, out of top of intake and out the risers back into the lake. i would run it to the front top of the manifolds but i cant get the damn plugs out of em. ive tried heating em up, pb blaster, elbow grease etc. they are STUCK. having it come out of the front would cut down on my hose run and make it look a little nicer too.

ive hit the manifolds themselves with a IT temp gauge and they're fairly consistent all the way across with no hot cylinders. some day ill do one of those logs along the whole bottom...



maybe u can answer a question ive had from another forum. does the alphas water pump in the drive push enough water to cool the motor or is a water pump required on the front of the motor? mercruiser refers to it as a "recirculation pump" and im not sure if thats because of the thermostat stuff or that they were fitted with a closed loop cooling system with a heat exchanger... i know the front pump is not self-priming thus the need for the pump in the drive to feed it.

Ok that makes sense. I couldn't see the hose exiting the top of the manifolds and wanted to make sure that is how you had it.

I do not believe the Alpha pump will supply enough volume to keep that engine cool.

 

[ka0tyk]

chingas on. dropped the trailer a good inch too. 195/70 instead of 205/75's.

 

[ka0tyk]

well my spacers showed up that i ordered online... so that i could move my power steering bracket out 3/8" to clear my exhaust. ill slap the same spacers onto my crank pulley and right now the alternator and crank pulley will be in alignment. but the power steering pulley sits forward and right now it has a car pulley for a "long water pump" setup. i need to find a crank pulley that puts the belt into a stock location... grr. anyone know where i can order a pulley from?

 

[Bails]

first time I've seen this thread. you are an animal. What a great project.:thumbup:

 

[crzy2bealive]

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[ka0tyk]

20' of -8 hose for fuel lines. heeeeere we go!

 

[ka0tyk]

started thinking of my project as a whole and i realized, i cant risk losing the whole thing because i decided to run on some may-pop tires... so i got a new set.

 

[FlatNv]

20' of -8 hose for fuel lines. heeeeere we go!

Wow nice job!! looking at all that hose hurts my fingers, don't care how carful your getting stuck

 

[ka0tyk]

Wow nice job!! looking at all that hose hurts my fingers, don't care how carful your getting stuck

ive only stuck myself a couple times. wrapping it in electrical tape and cutting it on a bandsaw or dremel with a cutting disc makes short work of it. then i trim the edges back with some metal snips so its easier to shove into the collar. ive done so many i have it down to a science. the first ones i boogered up pretty bad.

 

[ka0tyk]

aaand seats are gone...

gave him these as a guideline of what i was looking for. they'll be all white though.

 

[Brian]

Who is going to do the seats?

 

[ka0tyk]

Who is going to do the seats?

fiber tech design in huntington beach. they were at the long beach boat races and we talked for a few. i had a previous shop that did my first boat that came out great but hes down to like 2 people and he said it would take him forever to do an entire boat setup with his current workload.

martinez wants an arm and a leg, a1 marine seems to fall WAAAAY behind due dates... most of the time people complain that they dont even start the work until weeks after its been dropped off, etc. i didnt want to deal with all of that.

 

[ka0tyk]

mounted up my berkeley drive and worked out my place diverter rams and pump. not sure how ill be able to put the swimstep brackets on and still fit it into the garage... we will see...

 

[Brian]

fiber tech design in huntington beach. they were at the long beach boat races and we talked for a few. i had a previous shop that did my first boat that came out great but hes down to like 2 people and he said it would take him forever to do an entire boat setup with his current workload.

martinez wants an arm and a leg, a1 marine seems to fall WAAAAY behind due dates... most of the time people complain that they dont even start the work until weeks after its been dropped off, etc. i didnt want to deal with all of that.

Are they going to go a engine hatch? I might of missed you building the frame for one in this thread.

 

[DeltaSigBoater]

mounted up my berkeley drive and worked out my place diverter rams and pump. not sure how ill be able to put the swimstep brackets on and still fit it into the garage... we will see...

Have you thought about ditching your current brackets and going with removable ones?

http://www.woodworkingforwatercraft.com/bracket.html

http://www.waterskis.com/TP03-2-RB02-RB03-p/swim_platform_brackets.htm

 

[ka0tyk]

Are they going to go a engine hatch? I might of missed you building the frame for one in this thread.

yeah im going to make a hatch but im waiting for the power steering pulley and crank pulley to come in so i know where the front of the motor ends so i know where to mount the rear seat so i have the most useable space. the upholstery shop ordered extra to do the hatch so when i get the seats back, etc and build the hatch the vinyl will match up.

 

[ka0tyk]

Have you thought about ditching your current brackets and going with removable ones?

http://www.woodworkingforwatercraft.com/bracket.html

http://www.waterskis.com/TP03-2-RB02-RB03-p/swim_platform_brackets.htm

now those are cool! thanks for the link!

 

[DeltaSigBoater]

now those are cool! thanks for the link!

Depending on what my next boat is, I'm doing this! In my head I see detailing the transom will be much easier!

 

[ka0tyk]

had a 2 rib pulley made... then ill use the same spacers i used on the bracket and things SHOULD line up... hopefully...

 

[ka0tyk]

just some small details...

 

[ka0tyk]

new solenoids for my trim pump... might as well.

 

[ka0tyk]

time for a new trailer tongue thats longer and detatchable...

 

[f_inscreenname]

Never ends does it. Great thread!

 

[ka0tyk]

start of my swing tongue...

 

[ka0tyk]

part one done... now onto the part that goes on the trailer...

 

[ka0tyk]

pulley attempt #3... sigh.

 

[ka0tyk]

fuel filter and tank shutoffs. just need 2 male to male adapters. :sly:

 

[Vegaskeith]

Looking good!

 

[Brian]

Are those ball valves rated for fuel? I thought running the ones from your local big box store were a no-no.

 

[ka0tyk]

Are those ball valves rated for fuel? I thought running the ones from your local big box store were a no-no.

i made sure the tag said that it had PTFE seat/seals. They're a little more expensive. PTFE is inert and doesnt react with a lot of chemicals and gasses, most importantly to us, gasoline. If they have a teflon seal they'll leak in a few months.

 

[ka0tyk]

swing tongue done. also pulled the boat up onto the trailer about another foot. if you havent been following the trailer is from an 18 footer. a 21' trailer wouldnt fit in my garage.

 

[ka0tyk]

tongue progress. made the little hoob-a-joob that will hold the boat from moving forward. the little "bar" was a pain with my 18 footer, i couldnt imagine with a heavy 21. so i put a winch on it, ill thread the strap through a hole, it will go over the bolt at the top which has a sleeve on the inside that rolls, and then it will hook to the boat.

ill also put a little piece on it with a "V" that will hold the front of the boat below the bow eye...

one of these...

and then of course ill have a safety chain as well.

 

[ka0tyk]

drove around and put gas in the tanks. trailer works but i need to put some safety chains on it. first time its left the garage this year!

went to the upholstery shop friday because they wanted to know a couple things about where to stop/start the piping, etc. they said monday they will be completely done. sadly im not "omg they look great!" about em... i think i went "too plain"

 

[ka0tyk]

picked em up. like i said they're "nice" but i was hoping for something more. :banghead:

 

[ka0tyk]

 

[ka0tyk]

 

[Vegaskeith]

Do you wish you went with colored piping?