1988 V-Master Bowrider w/ Merccruiser I/O

[reckedracing]

We just picked up a cheap boat.
Looking to find some information on said boat.
Not having much success.

Looking for factory specs.
Also want to know how to service the outdrive.

 

[TurboMirage]

iboats Boating Forums

 

[reckedracing]

iboats doesn't list a vmaster

i did the free history report from boatfistoryreport.com and got these results

HIN: VCL********
Model Year: 1988
Certification Year: 1987 (August)
Manufacturer: CARAVELLE BOATS INC
Manufacturer City/State: AMERICUS GA

so far it looks like caravelle may have bought v-master boats in 1987 or 1988

 

[Battle Pope]

boat fistory?

people fist boats?

 

[E_SolSi]

boat fistory?

people fist boats?

learn something new every day

 

[Briansol]

elbow deep inside the waterline?

 

[89y49rexsi]

hahahahahahahah lmfao now thats funny as hell lol

 

[FLounder]

what do you want to know about the boat? there are about a million boat manufacturers and many more that are no longer around. often when you are fixing up an old boat many things must be retrofitted because the original parts are not available. finding parts for boats is often a challenge.

as far as the engine and drive are concerned, its much more black and white. parts and manuals should be easy to come by.

servicing the outdrive isnt hard... remove the drain screw at the bottom of the torpedo, then remove the vent screw on the top of the drive. let it drain out completely, then you will need a pump to fill the drive with new mercruiser gear lube. fill from the bottom, you know its full when it comes out the vent. change the washers on both screws before replacing them, and tighten the vent screw (top) before removing the pump from the drain screw (bottom) to prevent a big mess.

check the zincs and replace them if they are looking rough.

check water pickups and make sure they are clean and clear of debris.

remove the prop(s), clean and regrease the shaft and hub. replace prop.

you should consider doing the water pump as well. depending on the model it may be on the engine or in the drive.

 

[reckedracing]

lmfao
just saw the boatfistory
fucking typos

so we've gone over the boat pretty thoroughly.
the floor is soft and will be replaced after this season, and the interior/vinyl is cracked and generally rough, but thats a winter project, main concern is hitting the water

so far we've changed the gimbel bearing, gimbel seal, outdrive to transom gasket set, rear main seal, oil pan gasket, intake, outdrive oil, motor oil

Taking the boat out for its first water test tomorrow.
We were told by a local marina that this boat was wet docked for some amount of time.
The hull itself is in rough shape. Patches, keel cover etc.
But as long as it holds water well enough for the next 2 months, we can give it a proper repair in the winter.

Anything we should bring first time out?
We've been going over the coast guard list and have gotten
air horn, throwable floatation device, life jackets, flares, battery box
we'll have cell phones for ship to shore communication
also bringing a 55lb minn kota and battery for emergency, but the motor and outdrive seem to be pretty strong

we also added a pioneer cd player and sony 6.5's
not marine rated, but we needed something for tunes

suggestions? ideas?

 

[phyregod]

Check the motor mounts and make sure they aren't soft/rotten. Push on various areas of the bottom of the boat and check for soft spots. Coast guard list is pretty solid. Might want to upgrade the extinguisher to something a little larger than minimum, just incase.

Set of tools
Couple gallons of fresh water incase it overheats and starts spewing.
If you can manage it, change the impeller. In my experience, all used boats need an impeller.. Its pretty much supposed to be changed every season, and no one ever does it.

 

[awptickes]

Do you have a VHF marine radio?

Depending on how far out you are planning on traveling, you might want to think about a simple lat/long GPS, they can be had for a couple bucks on eBay anymore.

 

[reckedracing]

No VHF radio. I never plan to be out of cell phone range.
From my area to the ocean is probably a good half day by boat?

Do you know if a regular car GPS will display lat/long?

 

[awptickes]

Most will, but it's a burried option, you probably have to hit up the GPS Status menu.

Honestly, I'd pick up a cheap Marine VHF radio, you don't *plan* to be out of cellular range, but you never know what might happen. I always thought it was the law to have one, but I may be wrong.

 

[reckedracing]

Lets put it this way.
If I'm out of cell range I have done something incredibly wrong and am probably dead.
I believe larger vessels are required to have radios, but ship to shore communications (ie: cell phone) is sufficient for my boat. At least thats how it was explained to us.

This boat is only on the Hudson river in well populated areas. We went 9 miles north on Saturday and cell coverage was fine. And it will only be better the closer I get to NYC since its more populated.

 

[awptickes]

K. I wasn't sure what the NY laws were.

 

[Jeef]

In Ct on smaller boats its recommended by not mandatory.