New Owner

We just bought (too late now) a 1974 Southwind 20 from a little old lady in docksiders.
The boat was in the water under canopy 33 summers. Covered in winters. Interior looks like new. Her kids learned to ski behind it. Then it became evening outings on Lake Minnetonka. It ran just great in demo. The last 5 summers probably had no more that 10-15 hours per year everage. It was serviced every fall by the marina that stored it. Who knows?
Just soda ashed paint off of hull. Hull looks good. Compression test shows (1) 95, (2) 92, (3) 100, (4) 95, (5)-(8) all 100. We're going to pull the motor (Ford 351A) and take it to the engine repair experts. Any help in what to watch out for would be appreciated.
Puck

It's always great to add to the CC family. Welcome. Sounds like you have made a very good find with the Southwind. My only concern would be the integrity of the stringers. Since you are pulling the engine, it would be a good time to check for any rot. The amount of use the boat has seen over the years is not as influential to rot as simply age.
Did you do a leak down on the engine as well? Are you going for a full rebuild or just the top end?

Thanks for help. Will check on stringers when the motor's out. Don't know about leak down. Was done by my local marina. I'll check it out.
Looking at Hennen Engine, St. Boni, MN. They do a lot of marine engines. They're also big in forklifts. Have you ever skied behind a forklift?
Puck

Things must be slow for you to be slammin' Billy Bob and his gang of monkeys....
We Ain't SLOW, We Ain't FAST......
......WE ARE HALF FAST.....

ridicule is a form of flattery, Whats up BD, I got some Walleye in which i will be beer battering later, of course you so boys dont know what walleye is, it is equal to craw dads up here in the north, it is a fresh water fish that melts in your mouth, I had Perch last night in the deep fryer and i saved the walleye for today

hope your top engine guess is correct . we think so. hr. meter shows 160. so its dead or turned over. have a pulsifer hampton lobster boat we hauled to Mn. from maine if the fork
lift fails we'll pull the 23 hp yanmar diesel
and save fuel$. again thanks puck.

good question. I was told numbers should be around 120-130. Is that to much to ask for a 1974? The w may be from the waukesha on the engine nameplate. puck

Puck wrote: good question. I was told numbers should be around 120-130. Is that to much to ask for a 1974? The w may be from the waukesha on the engine nameplate. puck

   Are you checking it with the throttle open or closed ?

   
   Mike

Don't forget to ask if they did a leak down too. With the low hours on that engine and the within 10% compression I think we are wondering if the marina is steering you in the proper direction! I think I would start it up and rev it up to pour some Seafoam, Marvel Mystery or ATF down it and see what happens.

in sitations like this, I have a scope that you insert through the spark plug hole, its a series of mirrors and an eye piece with a fiber optic light, you can accurately inspect the walls for what type of damage or wear you might see. you can look at piston scuff to see if engine had been overheated at one time, you also can look a the ridge at the top of the walls to see if a rebuild is justifiable. if you see piston scuff it is usually a sign of the squirts expanding and scuffing the walls, also this is a sign that the rings may be galled into the pistons and not making contact with the walls lowering your comp ratio.
The ridge at the top if excessive is a sign of wear or not enough oil changes over thew years. what will warrant a rebuild of course is low compression, excessive blow by, poor fuel economy, lack of power, blue smoke, white smoke and possibly black smoke.
Accurately troubleshooting the engine is key here to what type of rebuild you may need. If possible troubleshoot it yourself because of all the variables including...was the engine at op temp when performing the comp test, what is the correct spec for this engine, did they pour oil in the engine to try to raise the comp ratio to determine if it is rings or possibly the valves are carboned up and so on. Its easy to do a comp test your self if you understand how to do it and what to look for. read the directions carefully because it is not a matter of plugging in the tester and cranking over the engine. Its very easy to say you have low compression to warrant a rebuild but at this point i would ask why is it doing what its doing and the person who did the test should have a decissive answer on why the engine is doing what it is doing
Eric

I'm with ya Eric, fryed up about 5 lbs of perch last night for supper from some or our catch this fall. Sat, would have been a great day for catching more, but the boat is already winterized gotta love those perch.

Puck wrote: The letter I thought was an "A" was a 351-"4". Nameplate says Waukesha Motor Co. Clinton IA.

Makes sense- the 4 should indicate that its a 4-barrel motor. Waukesha became PCM, I believe, which is the marinization company that Correct Craft still uses.

Eric we still get walleye and perch up here. Lots of guys at work fish your waters and bring them in for lunch. We also have venison days at work to. Lots of hunters and fishermen, menu depends on what season it is.

Jbear not sure yet, the high lites sound good. It's the low lites that you don't get to see until after the contract is voted on. All and all the plant that I work at was given a new product so I am happy with that idea. I think it will pass with out much of a problem. We all have to keep in mind times are tough and do what we can to help out.

Yeah we got spared for a fe more years, we should not have to start worring again until next contract talks. I think a lot of people here at the plant are starting to realize they need to do the best job they can and stop missing work. I think the big three will be ok, in the end though.