Well it was a friend of a friend of a friend .... 1987 Thompson Daytona 300 29' (the next year was the same exact boat but was considered a 31' b/c they decided to count the swim platform and pulpit where in 1987 they didn't). Documented 1 Owner maintained meticulously. This guy was a mechanic at a ...

Actually I went out and bought another boat. I decided that the Chris is truly a restoration project and will take a lot more time than I thought. I bought a new boat that needs no restoration so I can enjoy boating right away. Like I said, if the right person doesn't come around and want to buy the...

http://newyork.craigslist.org/lgi/boa/1095936129.html

He had the wires bass-akwards! I cant find a remote starter button, however.... I may not need one. My wife and I decided to sell her and move on to a newer boat with a true need for "TLC." Not a rebuild. Our Chris is a GEM. A true diamond in the rough! We are looking for a good home for her with s...

Since I am going to ix-nay the mechanic and try to work on her myself from here on in, I need a good reliable parts supplier. I know I will be replacing both manifolds and all risers and many other smaller cost items. Where do you guys get your parts from that you are happy with? Thanks! [/color] :D

So I am going to take it over from here and trust my instincts. You guys have all given me great guidance so I should be able to figure this out on my own and not pay a mechanic. The mechanic didn't use the boats electrical system to power the engines up. He attached a remote starter button to the s...

I spoke with another local mechanic who knows the older boats well. I explained everything to him and he picked up on something that I didn't even think of and neglected to mention to you guys. When we did the compression check the plugs were pulled. When the mechanic re-installed the plugs and wir...

No - The mechanic says he thinks it's the lower half of the engine! It doesn't make sense to me b/c it had good compression but now with the plugs back in she wouln't turn over. She tries but seems like she turns a little then stops.

I finally got the carb back from the previous owner so my mechanic and I set out to fire her up. Here are the results: Port Engine: Ran strong but had a tranny leak and no reverse. Starboard Engine (one w/out carb) Wouldn't fire up! I am really in shock right now especially after the strong compres...

Compression test showed a strong compression at 180 lbs all around. Next step is to get the rebuilt carb from the previous owner and install it and fire her up!

Turned out that starter solenoid was fine just had a loose terminal. Tightened it up and re-installed.

U P D A T E.. All cylinders up to 180 on the compression and the MIS is gone. I guess to fogging oil did a good job inside. Once we actually fire her up and get the engines hot we are hoping for that 210 mark! Now that we have moved to the Port engine as well, that starter solenoid is bad. I am goin...

That's what we are hoping for. The mechanic thinks it may be a spring sticking in the valve. We will see later on when we do another compression test. I fogged the engine earlier today so we'll see if that loosens anything up.

Just to clarify my virgin boating knowledge a little.

Starboard Engine

Cylinders

1 150 lbs. 2 150 lbs.
3 150 lbs. 4 150 lbs
5 150 lbs. 6 Mis
7 125 lbs 8 125 lbs

So here is where we stand: 1. Was able to crank both engines by hand. 2. Was able to electronically crank both engines. 3. Weak battery resulted in low compression on the questionable starboard engine of 150 lbs throughout with the exception of the back 2 cylinders at 125. A miss was found in one o...

NoGin, as an aside, please use the "Add Image to Post" link to add html code for your images. You can still use hosting service like Photobucket. The Add Image to Post link will create a small thumbnail image for the body of your post...which links out to the full size version. Using this method wi...

Ok great. I will be headed to the boat in the am to work on the starters. Once I bench test them to see which direction each goes, I will install them if I find the bolts. Otherwise I will spend some time at local shops and hope to find the correct bolts and brackets.

Needless to say, I didn't do the compression test yet as I have not gotten the starters in. I want to make sure I don't put them in backwards and mess things up more than they already are. :) Hopefully I will spend some time on her tomorrow and get them in. I know the brackets are missing and most l...

Yes pretty muddy! Great tutorial and history. I need t spend a lot of time reading it over and over again to understand it. " Starboard (right side) prop, and your Starboard flywheel turns to the right when you are looking at the stern (rear) of the boat, facing forward. And the Port (left) prop an...

So I spent some time in the archives and I am still confused about this LH - RH reverse set up thing. We have established that my "twin screw boat has counter - rotating engines and props." My flywheel faces the front so which engine is LH and which engine is RH? I took a good look at the props and ...

Yes, I noticed that was well. Actually when speaking with the previous owner the other day he told me that one alternator was in need of replacement and to just go to the auto store and pick up and auto alternator. That raised the red flags and I will be replacing most of if not all the accessories ...

I will post the results of the compression test and coolant check tomorrow night.

Yes thanks Don. I am hoping to get the starters back n tomorrow so we can do a compression test and see where the engines stand.

I owned an auto shop for 8 years so I am familiar with engines. Not a mechanic, but can get my way around and figure things out. I just got back form the boat where I met a well known local boat mechanic. We spent about an hour going over everything. He said it's not that bad. He was able to crank t...

Here is what I would like to do. Please help me with this as I have never done this before. I can not take the engines out. My yard can't even get to the boat until late April which is when I want to have her in the water for a sea trial. SO WITH HER ON LAND, AND THE ENGINES IN TACK, I WANT TO MAKE ...

I'm going to sound like an idiot here but don't I need to have the engines running to do a compression test?

Thanks for the encouragement and advice guys. I kind of freaked out yesterday when I almost couldn't get out of the port side bilge behind the engine! That wasn't very much fun. ~ KROIL - 50-50 ratio? ~Turning engine over by hand - Should I go ahead and remove the valve covers and intake manifold to...

I just got home from spending about 5 hours on the boat in the bilge rummaging and cleaning around the engines to familiarize myself with it. I have to say, I am very overwhelmed at this point with the amount of work I need to do! I picked up the starters today. One was bad and was rebuilt the othe...