Woo Hoo! Finally got the 1800FS up and running!

[Ben Robinson]

Hey Hey guys! She's a runnin'!!! Hope everybody had a Merry Christmas and Happy NY. I haven't been online very much at all for the last month or 2, but now I'm back!



I've still got lots of wiring details to work out as well as cosmetic cleaning up, but the boat is finally useable. I'm getting about 43 or 44 mph gps trimmed out all the way with the 110 V4 Johnson/aluminum OMC 13x19 prop. And Rob, you are right. GOOD rough water boat for an 18 footer. Steve K. over at the BBC prop forum thinks I can get 50+ mph with an 18" or 20" pitch raker and the motor raised up a hole or 2. We'll see!



Only thing that scares me is that I found some water in the transom when I pulled the speedo cable mount screws. Dark brown stinky smelling stuff! It very little flex though. I weigh about 235 and I trimmed the motor up and bounced on the anti-cav plate, and could only BARELY get about 1/4 inch of flex. I hope it will last a couple more years, as I am NOT looking foward to replacing it.



I'll get some pictures of her up soon in my library for all to view.



Trep- I think it's gonna be a good year for us! We caught 2 stripes this past Sat. at Flat creek on live bluebacks! One went 10+ and the other was 6+. What a FIGHT! When are you and I going???

 

[Staci Matheis]

Ben -



I would have no hesitation to drill a shallow, 1/2" hole in my transom and refill it immediately with fiberglass compound if I suspected the wood might be bad. Not a deep hole - just enough to get into the wood and find out what condition it was in.



The water you found could be very localized from the screws just not being properly sealed - or it could be something much worse that you'd want to know about for your own safety.....



Glad to hear you got it up and running!



me!

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Ben, any flex is not good. There is some stuff you can put in the transom to stiffen it up. Don't recall the name. It does add a few years before the inevitable replacement, but you need to find out, where the water is coming from first. As for the speed, I don't know about what you were told. I have a 150, 3 blade Raker tricked out, at the top of the motor mounts where it still gets good water, and I only turn 58-59 mph on the gps. A 110.......I could see maybe 50-52 max. Put on a SS prop and raise the motor 1 set of holes, that would be biggest difference, but you're only talking a few MPH. But hey, hi 40's out of an 18 footer with only a 110 HP on it, is nothing to sneeze at. That's moving. I rarely run mine WOT anyway. The optimum cruising speed for that hull with my motor is about 40 mph and 3500 on the RPMs. Now you have to post some pics.

 

[TrepMan]

Ben - Was going to call you for this sunday's trip but when I decided to hit Allatoona didn't think you'd want to drive that far! Hows the job hunting going??



We'll hit the water this year, don't you worry! Did you catch the Striper in your boat? I'm waiting on approval for my first quarter travel budget to know when i'll be able to hit the water, I know Sunday mornings are bad for you, so we'll plan a Sunday afternoon soon.



Trep

 

[Ben Robinson]

Rob and Scott- I found the transom stuff on BBC. It is called Seacast, and the website is transomrepair.com. As far as how the water got in, I think it got in from the splashwell drain scuppers. The boat spent 10 years just sitting under cover, so I could see that happening. Also, the motor mounting holes seem to have come unsealed and are leaking the nasty brown liquid. I think I will pull the motor soon and go ahead and seacast it! The knees are solid, as are the sides of the transom, so I think that will do the trick. The rest of the boat is solid as a rock. What the heck, gotta raise the motor a hole or 2 to run a raker, so may as well fix the transom while it's off.



Yeah Rob, Steve told me 52 or 53 mph with a raker, and I will be VERY happy if I get that! I know that a 110 puts out about 122 hp at the prop. I've learned that a 110 crossflow is actually an old 70's-early 80's 140 v4 xflow that is rated at the prop instead of the PH. The old (pre looper) 140's were very optimistically rated, and only put out the 122 at the prop. Yep, the good ole' 15% variation! So, we shall see. Anyway, I'll try to get some pictures up today. I got a cheap digital camera for xmas, so the quality may not be the greatest! Oh well, at least I'll have some pics.
http://www.transomrepair.com

 

[Ben Robinson]

Hey Trep! I can do Sunday mornings! Just need a little advance notice for she who must be obeyed. Ha ha. Yes, we caught the fish off the 1800. She's a proven catcher!!!!

 

[TrepMan]

Ben - No problem, I see you're a Boortz fan too!!! he ROCKS!!!



Mine does the Gym every Saturday AM, so i've got the boys. My oldest has sunday school on sunday mornings (imagine that so sunday's are better for me!

 

[Ben Robinson]

Oh yeah Trep... Neal is my man! We think too much alike...

 

[TrepMan]

I'm with you Ben on Neal! My first read at the office each morning is neals nuze on the web!



How's the job front?

 

[Ben Robinson]

Trep- the job front is unfortunately nonexistent, so I have just started my own company installing voice and data cabling. Cat 3, 5e, fiber, coax, you name it. That is where my roots are in telecom so why not! Now the trick is finding the business! I am still waiting on my business cards, so I can't really start networking and meeting with people and potential clients until then. I also will be doing sub work for other telecom and cabling companies when I can. Business and residential too! Lots of folks are wanting networks installed in their houses these days.



Let's get together for lunch later this week if you can. I can come meet you if you like! Email me and let me know.