There was quite a bit of maintenance, initially, as the boat had not been used very much.  The hull bottom and the outdrive needed some TLC.

Click the links below to see the various maintenance that I do.

I have also done some major improvement projects , beyond the normal maintenance

Engine Detailing: I do the engine maintenance (so far, so good).  Here is a picture of the engine all shined up and detailed for the season.

Sea Water Pump/Impeller:  Every couple of years the impeller in the sea water pump needs to be replaced.  Of course, it is not an easy reach, being way down at the bottom of the engine.  Each maintenance interval it also needs a bit of refurbishment & painting.

Outdrive Oil Reservoir Replacement:  The oil reservoir (bottle) continually leaked due to hairline cracks.  I sealed the bottle up as much as possible, but the cracks spread and the leaks continued.

A new bottle is a bit pricey ($65 +/-), and that is just the bottle.  There is a float and low level sensor that is attached to the bottom of the bottle.  So, I took a Nalgene bottle, which is almost exactly the same size as the Mercruiser bottle, and adapted it to be the new reservoir.

Engine Mounts:

The engine mounts rusted badly, and when it came time to align the engine, the mounts needed to be replaced.  Click this link to see replacement of the engine mounts

Engine Top-end Rebuild:

The engine needed some internal work at 20 years of age.  Click Here to see the pages documenting the process of pulling the engine and doing a ‘top-end’ rebuild and general re-furbishment.

Refurbishing the Bilge:

While the engine was out of the boat for a ‘re-build’ the bilge was refurbished.  Click here to see the bilge refurbishment page .

Not So Routine Maintenance

As the boat aged there was some significant maintenance that was done in order to keep it in good running condition.  These major projects and links to detail pages are listed below

Bulkhead and Stringer Repair:

After 20 years the bulkheads and stringers were showing some evidence of deterioration. 

Click here the see the process of repairing the bulkheads and stringers.