Summer Project

[Gut Shot]

Last fall I was hunting at a local lake. I'd shot a buck with my bow but he'd ducked the shot and caught the arrow in the scapula. It didn't penetrate the bone and he ran off wounded. I have no doubt that he recovered, but the thought entered my mind that, had he died, I'd have a long haul out. I'd have to quarter and pack him back to the truck. That isn't a problem but as I age I've found working smarter is more rewarding than working harder. The lake shore was a 2-300 yard drag, downhill. My flat bottom jon boat is a little too big to handle alone in the mud, especially with a buck in it. But I've had this old Grumman canoe sitting in my barn for the past couple of decades. It was lots of fun when I was a kid but if I wasn't going to use it I needed to sell it. So, I'm refurbishing it to use for hunting.

I lost the pics I had of it when it came out of the barn but I've stripped it and primered it. It's a 17' square back.

I'll try to update this thread as I go. Next step is to paint it. I've also got a trailer I have to rebuild for it and a motor.

 

[Gut Shot]

Paint's done.

Now on to the transom, wiring up the lights, getting the motor running and finishing the trailer.

 

[WildWill]

Good looking canoe! I've used the same tactic to get out a few deer and several hogs with my kayak.

 

[Rack Daniels]

What did/do you do for work?

The paint looks fantastic!

 

[Gut Shot]

What did/do you do for work?

The paint looks fantastic!

I'm a jeweler.

 

[Rack Daniels]

I'm a jeweler.

Well you are quite talented my friend! The project looks awesome and I’d be proud to be in the water on that bad boy!

Do you do faceting? Shoot me a PM or I can shoot you one in just a bit. Been looking for someone to cut some stones but don’t want to send them to Sri Lanka…

 

[sigpros]

Man that came out good. Looks great

 

[Gut Shot]

Been working on the motor when I get a little time and a few parts.

This is the motor that will go on the back. It's a 1968 Mercury 3.9hp.

Topless pic.

I got this motor on another boat years ago. The boat was too small for my needs so I sold it and the trailer for what I had in it and kept the motor. So the motor was free right? Yeah, right...there's no such thing as free.

I changed the gear oil, mixed some gas and pulled the cord...and pulled and pulled. Seemed like it wasn't getting gas, I had spark and compression. I sprayed a little ether into the carb and puled. It chugged a little telling me it was probably something clogged in the carburetor.

Here it is removed from the motor.

The big problem with ancient outboards is that the parts places don't seem to know what they got. I ordered this rebuild kit for an outboard in my serial number range and they sent me one that was for a later version of the engine. The gaskets all matched but the internal parts were different. I ended up thoroughly cleaning everything and replacing the gaskets.

I also rebuilt the fuel pump and replaced the fuel lines. It fired off when I put it back together, but it wasn't pumping water. No surprise the impeller probably hadn't been replaced in years. So I dropped the lower unit to take a look.

That crack in the pump housing isn't supposed to be there. And, when I opened it, this is what the impeller looked like.

The rubber had hardened and three fins were broken off. I ordered a new pump kit and installed it. Those three missing fins had to go somewhere though. I thought I might get lucky, maybe they had been blown out through the cooling system? Yeah, right. It still isn't pumping water so I have to remove the power head and find those fins and anything else that's clogging up the system. Now I'm waiting on a gasket for the power head.

 

[kansasdad]

@Gut Shot you made me chuckle with the topless photo captioning

Nice to see you are using 1968 era screwdrivers to make your project that much more authentic!

 

[Gut Shot]

@Gut Shot you made me chuckle with the topless photo captioning

Nice to see you are using 1968 era screwdrivers to make your project that much more authentic!

It isn't the age on those screwdrivers, it's the mileage. I can tell you that 2 of those screwdrivers were from the first set of drivers I bought when I moved out on my own and were purchased at Kmart in the very early 1990's.