# New guy with a "new" project



## chbarnha (May 14, 2018)

Any advice on getting this boat straight would be appreciated. I have been looking at this forum the last few weeks and finally decided to join. I acquired this boat about two weeks ago for the high cost of 2 cases of beer.... couple of the old guys I hunt with wanted to get rid of it. The one with the title has been out of town so I haven't picked up any of the title or registration paper work yet. Any ideas as to what brand it may be? The boat is a 16' xtra wide with a 25hp mariner. The motor hasn't been run in about 7 years but looks to be in pretty decent shape. Any input on these motors is appreciated as ive only had omc or Johnson motors. I know I need to do the plugs, fuel filter and water pump before I run it but any other suggestions? Thanks for your help guys as this is my first project. The trailer probably needs the most work, but for two cases of beer I started out pretty cheap.

I don't know what the plan for it is going to be yet, I don't know how much ill trick it out from the get go or if ill just get it seaworthy at first. I filled it up with water the other day and found no leaks anywhere. Don't know if I want to go the bass john route or just the river running basic john boat route yet.


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## richg99 (May 14, 2018)

Hull registration number (HIN) off of the stern tag ( if it has one) will tell the year and manufacturer. Same with the engine serial number. 

In fact, in many cases, the engine serial number year will be the same as the boat year.


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## chbarnha (May 14, 2018)

stern tag is gone, I looked everywhere when I cleaned it up to see if I could find any info on it, and its all gone. don't know if they repainted it and removed it or what.


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## richg99 (May 14, 2018)

Depending on your State laws, a boat without a HIN could be considered stolen, until proven otherwise. Of course, it could have been produced before HIN's were mandated.

Was it registered with the State at any time that you know of?


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## chbarnha (May 14, 2018)

yeah it is registered, the guy is just out of town for the next three weeks. Must be nice to be retired. He has all the paperwork and title and registration for it, I just haven't been able to get it yet. Was just trying to see what yall thought it was.


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## LDUBS (May 15, 2018)

Might have been a better idea to give the two cases of beer to the guy who has the paperwork. :LOL2: (just kidding- I know what you mean)

A lot of guys here suggest using the boat for awhile before making any major mod's. That way you will be much more comfortable with whatever plan you come up with. I think it is pretty good advice.


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## chbarnha (May 15, 2018)

I know what your saying about giving the beer to the guy with the paperwork!!! HE was one of them but he had to catch a flight to fla and said he had to dig it out. They are two brothers, apparently they bought it together about 15 years ago. Im not sure if it was new when they bought it or not.... didn't really think to ask. I think im just going to get the motor running for the time being and enjoy it for this summer. That's the plan right now anyway.


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## Zum (May 15, 2018)

For me the and the type of fishing I do, a front deck is all I need....storage added under it. Is the motor seized?

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## thomasdgs (May 15, 2018)

That motor looks exactly like my Mercury 25 XD. Here is a link to the parts niche that has helped me a few times with it. You'll probably want to do a water pump kit and a carb kit before trying to get it running.

https://www.marineengine.com/parts/mercury-outboard-parts/25xd/7209533-thru-0a730006-can


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## jethro (May 16, 2018)

Yup, looks just like my 95 Merc 25hp as well. Nice motor, mine is flawless.


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## chbarnha (May 20, 2018)

well we got the motor running, need to put an impeller on it and a carburetor rebuild but the motor does run. The reason they couldn't get it running, the kill switch had a short in it. It was never getting fire. Pretty satisfied with that. I also need to order the plastic push to prime piece as that was fairly fragile and broke when we were removing it but that is ok.


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## chbarnha (Jun 1, 2018)

Got the impeller put on last night and the carburetor kit minus one of the diaphragms it didn't have in the kit. Ordered that tonight and should be here by Tuesday, the local marine shop didn't have the gasket/diaphragm I needed. It is getting close to going on a test ride anyway. ONce I get the motor straight then I can start messing with the boat. Planning on picking up a wiring harness in the morning and pulling the boat off and getting the trailer wired up.


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## chbarnha (Jun 10, 2018)

well, the motor runs like a top... got the other gasket put in the carburetor and messed with the kill switch. The motor started running on the 3rd pull. I left it running for about 45 mins in a barrel and it ran like a top. Got it mounted on the boat and think im gonna try to take it for a test ride later this week. Any advice on how to run it now that its rebuilt? should I take it easy or just go to it.


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## onthewater102 (Jun 11, 2018)

Looks like a great setup good luck with it!

Motor might take some adjustment to the carb while you're on the water, but you should be good to go with it otherwise. Just bring a flat head screw driver with you in case you need to play with the mixture screw.


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## chbarnha (Jun 27, 2018)

Ok guys, im about to order a new wiring harness and submersible trailer light kit. Any recommendations as to what kit to get? Just want to make sure I get a quality kit the first time!


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## richg99 (Jun 27, 2018)

I've used these LEDs and have had no problems, dunking them in salt water and all. rich

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008CE0W5Y/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1


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## chbarnha (Jun 27, 2018)

thank you sir, that's actually the kit I was looking at on amazon, but I wasn't sure if they were quality or not


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## chbarnha (Mar 17, 2019)

Well I started a new job down here at the papermill, so haven’t had time to mess with the project until yesterday. Finally started framing in the front deck. I used 1”by 1/8 aluminum angle and decided to run the front deck all the way to the middle bench seat to give me plenty of room for under deck storage and such. Haven’t framed in for the seat pedestal base yet but did make some headway anyway.


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## FORE567 (Mar 17, 2019)

Just curious, is your trailer a load-rite lil rider?


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## chbarnha (Mar 18, 2019)

Yes it is


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## thedude (Mar 18, 2019)

Glad to see the project continue! Looks like a good start..


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## chbarnha (May 28, 2019)

Well I got the rest of the framing done yesterday on the 1985 Grumman. I am now ready for a deck.im going to have 6 storage compartments two of which will be for the trolling motor batteries up front under the seat. Getting a little closer!


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## heron2000 (May 28, 2019)

On the motor
Mariner is a very good engine
New water pump
Carb kit
Do not use starting spray to start the engine - it's a 2 cycle and needs oil in the gas


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## onthewater102 (May 29, 2019)

A few thoughts on the motor:

1.) I agree, change the impeller/water pump. It's too important to not inspect and it's an easy part to swap out. Plenty of videos of how-to and what to watch out for up on youtube

2.) I would order a carburetor gasket kit for it with the impeller - it's cheap, not worth the extra shipping you'd pay to order it later, and you're bound to need it eventually, so it won't go to waste. There is a vacuum powered diaphragm in there that acts as a fuel pump which is easily weakened by the alcohol in gas or just prone to drying out and cracking over time. It is included in the kit and likely a part you will need if it's been sitting that long.

3.) If that's a 15" transom on that boat you'll likely want to frame a riser out while you're working with that aluminum to get the most performance out of that motor. I found with my mariner the cavitation plate naturally lined up almost 2" below the bottom of the boat (I also have a 15" transom). Raising it up to be level did a lot for the performance/ strain on the motor.

Framing work looks great.


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## chbarnha (May 29, 2019)

Thanks for all the help. All the motor work is done. I redid all of that last year and it runs like a top. Replaced the carburetor gaskets and the impeller. Trying to decide if I want to go with an aluminum carpeted floor or a plywood carpeted floor. Won’t work on the boat again until next weekend. Paper mill will take up all of my time until then. Then I need to find a foot control tm that won’t break the bank. Then hopefully we will
Be fishing and tweaking the setup


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## onthewater102 (May 29, 2019)

Personally I avoid carpet, having had it on both my grandparent's dock for 30yrs and then on my first bass boat, but I'm farther north and temperature isn't an issue for me. Vinyl gets a lot of attention, brighter colors will stay cooler than dark, but I prefer the ease of textured paint. 

FWIW I don't like carpet for 2 reasons...
1 - I snag it constantly with my treble hooks no matter how hard I try to avoid it.
2 - ESOX fish stink it up something fierce and the stench never seems to go away. Nothing worse than pealing back the boat cover on a sunny day to a face full of stank from three week old sun-baked pickerel slime. No thanks.


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## LDUBS (May 29, 2019)

onthewater102 said:


> FWIW I don't like carpet for 2 reasons...
> 1 - I snag it constantly with my treble hooks no matter how hard I try to avoid it.
> 2 - ESOX fish stink it up something fierce and the stench never seems to go away. Nothing worse than pealing back the boat cover on a sunny day to a face full of stank from three week old sun-baked pickerel slime. No thanks.



I love the smell of pickerel slime in the morning! :LOL2: :LOL2:


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## chbarnha (Jun 1, 2019)

Well I got the carpet ordered and just waiting to go pick up the wood or a few signs. Haven’t decided yet. Should I go with aluminum decking or plywood decking? Looking for opinions.... on another note I am now the owner of another Grumman. Me and a boy I work with were looking at craigslist and came across two 14’ John boats for 250$. He said he really wanted one but didn’t need two, so I told him if he wanted one then we split the cost and I’ll take the other one. His is the alumacraft and mine is the Grumman. Not a bad deal I don’t think. May flip mine, or make it into a little pond boat for at the hunt club... not to sure yet


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## chbarnha (Jun 8, 2019)

Well here’s the carpet I’m going to be going with... my dads 16 foot alumacraft has had this carpet in it for over 10years and it’s still going strong. Doubt if I will be duck hunting out of this boat but if I do the carpet will be semi camo. It’s 97$ for 6x15. Also free shipping. I’ll take that type of deal.







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## chbarnha (May 9, 2020)

Well I finally took the time to actually deck the boat. Got tired of looking at it sitting over next to the field and never using it. It came out great, gonna carpet it tomorrow. And then it will
Be time to fish it.












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## chbarnha (May 10, 2020)

Well the carpet was a little more intensive than I thought. This is all new to me. But I got all but two of the pieces covered before I had to head to the mill. Definitely
Happy with how it is coming out. I have to finish the two pieces and then I think I am gonna do the vertical surfaces of the bench as well but I need to figure out how will be best to mount a radio and speakers. I’m thinking the bench vertical surface but am open to
Suggestions.









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## chbarnha (May 19, 2020)

Well I finally got it to about 90% completion and said heck with it I’m putting her in the drink. I’m sure I will find plenty more I want to add and still need to wire up most of the electrical components but it was done enough to spend a day on the water. The mariner gave me a scare right out of the gate. The kill switch in the tiller handle must be randomly vibrating closed and killing the engine. It happened a few times sporadically through the day but as long as I took pliers and messed with the switch it would fire right back up. Overall pretty happy with how it came out. I did end up having to replace the pvc compartment doors with half inch ply as they bowed in horrible as the glue set. Now to
Just wire up the radio and speakers and the fish finder and after that it will all just be things I figure out I need as time goes on. Definitely been a fun project but glad to finally be able to put her in the water.

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## richg99 (May 19, 2020)

Nice work.


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## chbarnha (May 21, 2020)

Well the money keeps going.... probably the most expensive part of my build bought today. Didn’t want to go this expensive but here it is. Simrad go9. Anybody got one? I’ll put it on tomorrow.






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## Colorado1135 (May 30, 2020)

I've had good luck with the cheap LED trailer lights, use heatshrink splices and you should have no issues. I tend to not own a boat long enough though to see how long they will actually last, 2-4 years is about average until this last boat, I think I'll keep her for a good while. I second the suggestion of using it a few times before deciding to customize it, maybe check out some other styles of boat to see what features you like on the water- if you have the ability to do so. should be a fun project, I've never been a fan of the square bow of johnboats but to each their own, lots of folks love em.


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