I just picked up this boat. The 5.0L Mercruiser is shot. Some of the manifolds may be salvagable. They seem to be based on a SBC, so would any SBC do the trick? The “outdrive”? is almost new and looks to be in perfect shape.
The floor between the front seating section and the main seating area is soft. Very soft. Other than that the floor seems fine.
All of the seats and fabric and carpet will have to be replaced. I’m not looking for a pretty boat, just something to bang around on the waves or fish off of in the canal, so fixing the interior is not a priority. Getting it running is my only concern.
Is it worth saving?
How much will it take to get her sea-worthy?
If it is not worth saving, is it worth anything?
Does anyone have any experience repairing something like this? Nobody I know has a lot of experience with inboard motors/setups. Any advice from you guys is appreciated.
These pics are from when I picked it up. All that is different now is the parts are sitting on the floor, and the wheel on the jack has a nice flat spot. From Genessee St… where it fell off the ball of my hitch and dragged on the street for a couple hundred feet. Other than that, it is the same
Probably not worth it. They are not worth much running in decent shape. If you put a new motor in it and a new interior it would be worth a lot less that half the money you put into it to fix it.
Supposedly a marine engine is going to have a ton of stuff that an automotive engine won’t have. Hose and wire material is different, flame arrestor on the carb, etc. The mushy floor is rather disconcerting.
If you got it for free and want a project then maybe it’s worth it. Personally I’d run far far away from that boat. The old Bayliners aren’t known to be very good hulls so when you’re done you’ll just be left with a polished turd. Does it even float without taking on water?
Other than basic shittyness, what makes them any worse than another brand?
If it floats and moves what else does a basic boat need to offer?
If I can get a motor in it for a couple hundred bucks… and then it moves, it seems to be a great deal. I can reinforce the floor pretty quickly with wood and stuff I already have.
Can I use a car motor in this without too much modification? Thats my primary concern.
I’m pretty sure most of the electronics, charging system etc are all different on a boat. Everything has to be guaranteed to work without making a spark since the engine runs in an enclosed space with far less venting than a car.
And after a quick search, I’m right:
This guy summed it up:
It can be done since Merc, OCM and Volvo do it all the time. Remember to:
Change to Brass freeze plugs
Change the Alternator, Starter and Distributor to their respective Marine Versions
Change the Air Filter to a USCG Flash suppression type.
And the coast guard will check the flame arrestor every time they do a safety check. It’s usually one of the first things they check.
EDIT: Another post from that link that has some good points.
Justin, I’m not sure of you’re engine knowledge or skills, but be advised that this task can only be done by very knowledgeable, experienced people or you will have lots of trouble. The following points must be observed.
A car engine is a LIMITED duty engine and a marine engine is a continuous duty engine.
There are many differences in the following: a. Ignition advance curve b. Valve timing (camshaft) c. Oiling system d. Cooling system. e. Exhaust system f. Carburetor g. Air cleaner h. Alternator I. Starter Please remember when it breaks, you cannot call AAA for service. You become a burden on others, give boating a bad name and risk lives unnecessarily. Please be responsible and do this correctly.
I have been in a small bayliner of the same general age as this one. I found it to be severely underpowered and in a high traffic situation, turned pretty dangerous pretty quickly. We took on A LOT of water.
unless you want to remove the entire top half of the boat and refiberglass the ribs in the hull… from the sounds of the rest of the guys on here, this is a bad choice in boats. i’ve seen hulls repaired, and ribs glassed in, it’s not a weekend project. it’s a complete summer project, on what everyone is saying is a turd.
After reading quite a bit in the thread that was posted up there… there is a lot of debate on whether an automotvie motor can and will perform in a boat.
The answer is yes, it will work.
Yes, I have to buy special parts.
No, I’m not going 100 miles offshore. The canal is not a deadly place to be in a boat. Neither are the parts of the river and lake that I’d be in.
Sounds like a Chevy 305 is what is in the boat already (as I suspected) so by placing a 350 motor in its place I’ll be able to run it at lower RPMs and make similar power. I’m not looking to build a race boat… so as long as I can get it converted relatively cheap, I think I’m going to go for it.
From years of working on boats stay away from Bayliners all together,soft floor means a whole new floor not just sections and carpet. The motor is BASED on the SBC but is all Mercury Marine sow no not all parts will transfer(very few) and whatdrive is it. See if you could drop the drain plug look for metal chunks. And dont forget the gimbel bearing that will have to be replaced as well to rebuild the motor when pulling it out. I say if you do buy it is worth 500 bucks .But save your self from a summer of nightmares and buy something in better shape and not a BAYLINER!
As long as you do the electrical mods so you don’t blow yourself up it sounds like a good plan.
Also, have two anchors and plenty of line. The river flows pretty fast and with a dead motor it takes way less time than you might think to reach the falls.
Personally I would put it on craigslist and see how much you could get for it. It was free to you so you profit. Take that profit and combine it with your money to buy a real boat.
