Project Boat Update!
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I think I introduced Oppo to this project, but just in case, here's a
quick rundownlong story because once I started typing I couldn't stop.My father in law owns a mid 1950's Shepherd 18' "utility" wooden boat, an inboard direct drive. It had a Graymarine inline 6 cylinder engine, an old industrial engine converted to marine use with dual carburetors and some modified cooling system, but probably little else.
A little history on the boat: I met my wife because I started a conversation with her father about the boat, then one day she was with him in the boat... the rest is history. When we got married (on an island chapel, where we first met) this boat was not in good enough condition for us to use at that time, and it was heartbreaking not to be able to include such a special part of the family in that day.
Fast forward to... 2012? The boat is in much better shape and back in the water again after a new bottom and total re-finish. It was running okay but not great, it was always a little finicky but not as bad as this. Then it sank. It was only 5' down so it was recovered no problem, but honestly, it was never the same. Its run issues were just insurmountable.
So he says get the engine fixed, whatever, find a guy, send it out. Which the marina did, although it's VERY hard to find people to work on these engines these days. And the guy they sent it to didn't do the work. The engine came back painted and pretty but running the same. UGH, you might say.
Father-in-law then says, "find me an engine, I don't care what it is. How about one from a ski boat like mine, that thing runs perfectly all the time." He's got a 1989 Supra with a Ford 351, holley 4bbl carb, and yeah, it's a good engine and dead reliable, great parts availability too.
I went searching for one, trying to buy a boat that needed tons of work but had a good engine as a donor. No luck in 2021 because everything is crazy. I wasn't willing to spend $10k on a nice boat only to rip out the engine. A brand-new crate engine just isn't that simple on a boat like this, either. All the suggestions people had really didn't pan out. You can't just order an engine, certainly not for $10k like you could just a few years ago.
Finally I found a good engine, from a guy who used to work for Correct Craft boats (like, for 50 years). Among other things, he used to work on the engines of boats that belonged to waterski camps and other important customers. He'd travel out to see what was going on, then fix it there. He ran test engines in test hulls and did troubleshooting with the factory guys. His close friend cut a Correct Craft hull in half down the middle and modified it to improve the wake, then took his design and made a new company - MasterCraft boats.
So this guy offers to sell me an engine he's got, and I said hell yeah. It's a standard carb'd Ford 351 with low hours, and he got it running perfectly and crated it up and sent it to me in New Hampshire, from Florida. It arrived JUST as I was starting back at work for the fall, which was bad timing, but we're playing the long game here.
I don't have a space to work on a project like this, nor does my father in law. But I did work as GM at a nearby marina for 8 years, and we have a very good relationship. I have my own bay in the shop and full access to all the marina's resources, from wholesale parts suppliers to tools, and I've been chipping away at this project recently, squeezing in time where I can. Yesterday I hoisted the engine up but the electric hoist kind of overheated and nearly caught fire, so today I used a good ol' chainfall instead. Less smoke, more dirty hands. But better control, too, which I really like.
You can imagine my feeling today when I got the engine hoisted up and back down into the boat, to make sure it will, you know, fit. Because we were pretty sure, but not really sure, that the bellhousing wouldn't hit the floor before the driveshaft coupler lined up at the transmission.
Well, if you read this far, or scrolled down for pics instead, I don't really care. I am so excited that this looks like it will work.
Of course, there are one or two more challenges left to overcome before this thing hits the water.
- adapt the exhaust from two 3" outputs to a single 3" via a muffler/collector and figure out how that all fits together, including drilling a new 3" hole in the transom
- wiring - the boat was 12V before, but it will need a boat-side wiring harness to work with the new engine, and oh yeah ...
- new gauges to work with this engine
- adapt the "really neat" mechanical shift and throttle linkages to work with modern standard cables
- modify the steering rod - which was a 12' long 1/2" ID (?) pipe. It worked fine but now its path is right through where the starter will be
- build a new engine box
- modify the stringers to accept the motor mounts
- modify the water intake for a single source (the old engine had two water intakes I guess?) and add a shut-off valve
- get a new driveshaft made, oh and a coupler too
- take a wild guess and then get a different prop when my first guess isn't right
I'm sure there's more. But hey. At least the engine looks like it will fit. This was a big day.
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@functionoverfashion That's an incredible story for that boat. It makes it worth it to see it out on the water again I hope.
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@functionoverfashion This is why I always roll my eyes whenever someone casually says "oh, just swap out the engine for x", the job's invariably more complicated than YouTube commenters seem to believe.
2022 Ioniq SE
1964 Corvair Monza -
@functionoverfashion oh my god that boat is gorgeous. Yeah, definitely gotta make it seaworthy (lake worthy?) again!
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@functionoverfashion said in Project Boat Update!:
My father in law owns a mid 1950's Shepherd 18' "utility" wooden boat, an inboard direct drive.
As soon as I read that, I knew is was gonna be a long story.
Those old boats are nice to look at, but I've read enough to know they're a pain in the ass... much more so than something more modern.
There are some good reasons why most people have moved away from wooden boats with in-board engines for small boats like that.
2008 Honda Fit
A Known Dad, prone to Dad Jokes
Full of Meaty Goodness -
@functionoverfashion That is really freaking cool! Please keep us updated as progress is made
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@functionoverfashion Looks awesome, but that oil filter looks like it'll be a nightmare.
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@functionoverfashion Nice work!!
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@functionoverfashion Cool boat!
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@functionoverfashion this is so beautiful! borderline NSFW dude, LOL... great work, cheers to many hours on the water with the family!
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@cb agree - is there a remote oil filter conversion for this engine? Like .. yep .. https://www.summitracing.com/search/part-type/oil-filter-adapters/make/ford/engine-size/5-8l-351/engine-family/ford-small-block-windsor?ppckw=dsa-pt-oil-filter-adapters&gclid=CjwKCAjwy7CKBhBMEiwA0Eb7anZU0zy4N8oJfRl0EoDR8sNP-HzFRqpvQKXkzZI0QFaGcqX9DfZtRxoCQPwQAvD_BwE
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@functionoverfashion awesome!
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@ranwhenparked said in Project Boat Update!:
@functionoverfashion This is why I always roll my eyes whenever someone casually says "oh, just swap out the engine for x", the job's invariably more complicated than YouTube commenters seem to believe.
I'm gonna need a montage ...
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@cb said in Project Boat Update!:
@functionoverfashion Looks awesome, but that oil filter looks like it'll be a nightmare.
It's actually not bad. The engine cover will just be a big ol' box that hinges at the rear, so the access is just like in the picture. Easy to reach, put a rag or oil-zorb pad under it for drips, spin it off. It's the same basic setup as most inboard direct drive ski boats, at least older ones.
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@functionoverfashion Jimmy Buffett's Turning Around worked for John Candy, according to a documentary on sailboat racing I saw once
2022 Ioniq SE
1964 Corvair Monza -
@ranwhenparked lol
I've started counting how many times the engine has gone in and back out of the boat. We're already at 2. I am very lucky to have the shop space, but I wish the hoist was on a gantry system because I have to move the boat to the engine, not the other way around. It's on rolling stands but still. -
@functionoverfashion Lovely to see you working so hard to get the old girl running again!
Stupid question from a non-boat person....a lot of marine engines are cooled by sea (or freshwater), right? How do you prevent the cooling passages from rusting? 0_o
'09 Hyundai Accent | Loves 2-cyl FIATs, old Euro, Eastern Bloc & kei cars!
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@manwich said in Project Boat Update!:
@functionoverfashion said in Project Boat Update!:
My father in law owns a mid 1950's Shepherd 18' "utility" wooden boat, an inboard direct drive.
As soon as I read that, I knew is was gonna be a long story.
Those old boats are nice to look at, but I've read enough to know they're a pain in the ass... much more so than something more modern.
There are some good reasons why most people have moved away from wooden boats with in-board engines for small boats like that.
I mean, wooden boats were just about the only choice in the 50's, and people haven't been buying small inboards much for a long time. They're not as comfy as a sterndrive of the same size, that's for sure. But modern boats can't touch the character and beauty of these things.
One of the reasons it's a PITA is because we're fitting a much newer engine in there, so everything is different. I'll write up something about some of the original controls, it's pretty cool. Extremely rugged and over-engineered, compared to modern stuff. On the other hand, you might have to put a new steering cable in a modern boat every 3-7 years, while this steering system is approaching 70 years old and working great. We're trying to retain the original throttle and shift levers, which is like adapting a drive-by-wire engine to work with the spark advance lever on a Model T. "Some assembly required" as they say. We could just slap a Morse control box on this thing, but that would be boring.
This thing will also become mine some day, so I'm a little bit doing this for my future self and my kids, too.
"Do it right, once."
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@rallydarkstrike said in Project Boat Update!:
@functionoverfashion Lovely to see you working so hard to get the old girl running again!
Stupid question from a non-boat person....a lot of marine engines are cooled by sea (or freshwater), right? How do you prevent the cooling passages from rusting? 0_o
Thanks! It will be a ton of work, that I was hoping to do over the summer when I had more time. But the shop is heated and at this rate, we'll spend the winter getting it right, and launch in the spring.
You're right, this is "fresh" water cooled like many marine engines (all outboards). And the answer is, you don't. some rust and corrosion builds up and that's part of the deal. To winterize engines like this, you have to drain the water out so it doesn't freeze and break stuff. Many people will then re-fill the water system with non-toxic antifreeze which helps prevent corrosion from the leftover moisture in the cooling passages. But it's not perfect. Sometimes you have to stick a piece of stiff wire into the drain ports to get little rust flakes out, when you're draining. It's just part of the deal.
It's also the reason why inland people shy away from "fresh" water cooled engines that have seen salt water, because, obviously, it's worse. But also, clearly, millions of boats are out there running in salt all the time. Outboards handle it pretty well, but the lifespan is shorter for saltwater use. And lots of inboards can be "closed" cooled, which just means there's a heat exchanger that uses water to cool the coolant - if that corrodes it's easy to replace that one thing.
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@functionoverfashion Wouldn't it make far more sense to just close the loop on these engines and fill them with coolant or waterless coolant instead...? Like.....still designing boats to be cooled by a thing we know ruins their engines in this day and age makes no sense to me, yet car engines can go for hundreds of thousands of miles with little issue and no damaging rust in the cooling passages with regular coolant changes and care...
'09 Hyundai Accent | Loves 2-cyl FIATs, old Euro, Eastern Bloc & kei cars!
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@rallydarkstrike said in Project Boat Update!:
@functionoverfashion Wouldn't it make far more sense to just close the loop on these engines and fill them with coolant or waterless coolant instead...? Like.....still designing boats to be cooled by a thing we know ruins their engines in this day and age makes no sense to me, yet car engines can go for hundreds of thousands of miles with little issue and no damaging rust in the cooling passages with regular coolant changes and care...
Yes and no. The corrosion is really pretty minimal in fresh water and anywhere with a cooler climate, these things are used for like 3 months and then put away. I'm sure more saltwater engines use closed systems, and most recreational inboards are run in fresh water.
Let me put it this way: corrosion of the internal cooling passages of the engine is not the thing that causes them to be put out of service. More likely, they'll die from being run REALLY hard 90% of the time - there's no equivalent to highway miles in an inboard boat. A lot of times it's the third owner of a boat, who stretched financially to buy the thing, and then can't afford proper maintenance, that really does a boat in.
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@functionoverfashion Yeah, I know the thing with boat engines is they can often be run at full or near-full throttle for long periods of time and often with little warm-up and the like.....that can't be easy on them...
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