The Messer Log

[Messer]

The Messer boat log
   I bought my 84 Skier in Charleston in 2006. The boat came from the original owner (his family) who was selling off property after he lost his battle with cancer. His wife and kids kept the boat in a garage, used it well, but obviously didn’t do anything to it other than crank her and go..and return. It shows 800hrs on the meter but the lady said she dropped it off the summer before to a boat mechanic who rebuilt the engine and replaced the deck. Actual hours…about 20 on the new rebuild. (I  personally believe the mechanic put an automotive long block in it and put the original marine specific parts back on it).
  So, due to an incident with an alligator we didn’t ski in South Carolina at all, but rather a few summer days back home on Logan martin during leave. We chose to leave the boat on a farm and over two years she sat in limbo and accumulated some weathering…. Enough said.
  Since I bought her I dropper her off at Roberts Sporting in Birmingham to have all the gauges and breakers rewired, blower replaced, new impeller, oil, plugs and electronic ignition installed.
   She was running at about 200 degrees during our skiing so replaced the thermostat (actually added one to an empty hole) but no change. At that point I blew a freeze plug…sent it back to Roberts to replace and he advised the freeze plugs were tin vice brass (hence the idea that I have an automotive long block). After she continued to run warm I tested the water suction …it was less than desirable…checked the housing where the thermo was and sure enough…pieces of impeller lodged in there. Once I pulled them out, she pulls water like a champ. While trying to figure the temp issue I replaced the sending unit and gauge…from Autozone (late night purchase) only to find that an automotive sending unit does not work on true marine applications. A new marine sending unit corrected this but the gauge reads 190 consistently. I think I need a new gauge now….more on this later.
  The boat runs like a champ and pulls like a maniac. However, even with the new electronic ignition she doesn’t fire right up after getting cold. If it has been a few weeks since starting her it takes a shot of starting fluid, then all is well. If anyone has any ideas before I do a carb rebuild, please let me know.
  So I got the bug to get my boat and get her to good working condition and here I am. Over Christmas we pulled her to Mobile Alabama on the original trailer which even though is rough still pulls great and the bearings run nice and cool.
  In an effort to get good tips on the refurbish I’ll post my business for all to comment or just silently refer to me as a goober with no mechanical skills.
  So that brings me to today. Attached are a couple of pix of the boat. Since the sun showed up today I got outside and rewired the trailer getting all the lights working again ( I only had one working) and tightening up wired, plugs and such.

[Messer]

Proof of minor progress!

[Joel]

Well, speaking on behalf of myself, another goober with no true mechanical skills, please post away.  I'm all over this site asking all kinds of seemingly stupid questions... some worse, worser, worst than others    I've gotten 100% support from everyone on here - even with the "no brainers"...  Its a good place to air out any problems you come across, seek advice, etc...  I wont be much for advice (way too many guys on here that know a helluvalot more than me) but I'll be reading along just in case I come across the same problem 

Good luck!

[phil]

as far as tough starting when cold, have you checked that your choke is operating correctly? when cold, it should only be open 1/16 of an inch. the coils in the choke eventually wear out and the coil doesn't have enough recoil to tighten back up. You can probably re-adjust it but chances are it won't do much good if the coil is worn out. I put a new one on mine 2 summers ago and it helped a lot. good thing is that they are fairly cheap (30 bucks or so if I recall correctly). mine always starts when cold but it requires a little bit of pumping with the throttle.

[Messer]

I haven't yet, but I will. Thanks for the tip..  I'm gonna start searching for a book called "Carburetors for dummies" ...hopefully it will be next to the "boats for dummies" book I am already looking for.

I know my cousin had a set of PCMs in his 29ft Aquasport and put electronic ignitions (convert) in. After that they always fired right up, thats what I'm going for.

[Messer]

I inherited this fender problem. At one time I took it off and tried to bend it back in place but didn't have the necessary tools, gave up and put her back on. I will start theprocess again soon. I'm thinking the best thing to do is take the fender to a trailer shop and get a new one made. This fender has a funny shape (read- not standard) and I have no idea what the cost will be.   

Ron do you have any fenders in stock that wil fit this AmSki trailer (1984)?   if not, does anyone have one? 

Brandon, I'm not sure if our trailers match but I'd beinterested in a fender or two.

[brandon]

Messer,
I believe we have the same trailer, almost exactly as both the fenders on mine were crushed also.  I think you can just go to a trailer supply store and get a standard fender the same size and just cut the side to match the existing fender.  Remember when you cut to leave a few "tabs" to bend to allow a spot for the plywood board to attach to.  Northern tool may have the right diameter fender you are looking for.  The midwest has Farm & Fleet or Big R stores that carry fenders.  Maybe a Tractor Supply Store has them?  Shouldn't be much more than $30 a fender, although it might not be galvanized.  On your other post you were looking for a cover.  I have a blue heavy cover that the last owner had made and it has skirts on the sides so you won't have to buff as much if you leave the boat outside!  I will try to get a picture of it and post it, it think it is in OK shape?

[Midskier]

fenders are cheap about $20-$30 each for plain steel
local trailer shop cna get them easy enough
Ron or I can too but any savings would eaten by the shipping


Dan T

Midskier

[RonT]

In trailer language you are asking for a slant-back fender typically used for boats

[Messer]

ya see, what a great site.. "slant-back" I would never have known that and looked like a total goober at the trailer shop.   

Books to find-
1. Boating for dummies
2. Carberators for dummies
3. trailers for dummies (new addition)

Appreciate all the info guys!

[Messer]

New winch and strap- I think I saw a scribbling underneath my winch that said "Ron wuz here 1984".... The prior one was rusted. I went to buy a new cable and Bass Pro Shops had a sale and it was almost the same price to buy a new winch. 1200lbs rated, same as the old one.

[Messer]

The deck was shot. Old, looked like it had never seen a drip of teak oil. Jagged, cracked, roough and ...the worst, someone was thoughtfull enough to put about ten coats of varnish on it, aged about a decade of course and peeling. So today I sanded on it for about four hours. It still needs finer sanding then eventual oil, but so far....

[Joel]

Looking much better...     I can only hope my swim platform cleans up as nice - got a lot of elbow grease & sweat to apply, but I'm sure it will clean up fairly well.  Whats up with the port/stbd top-side supports???  I'm assuming those are compliments of the previous owner...  Looks like they would hurt if one caught you on the shin - OUCH!

[Messer]

The supports...yes I hate them...previous owner. I have a feeling that the bottom brackets may be sufffering from looseness, this probably due to water intrusion where they are mounted. Once I take the deck off for final sanding and oil I plan on inspecting the mounting holes. I looked from the inside today and where the brackets mount is not accessible without pulling the deck. I believe I will have to invest in some longer screws to bite into dry wood if I want to remount without those port and stbd hanging brackets.

if anyone has experienced loose mounting brackets such as this I'm all ears, especially any fix tips.

[brandon]

The platform if like my boat is lag bolted into the transom, which is wood and I assume yours is also.  The holes are wallowed out, which also would allow water into the transom, rot.  My boat you can see where the platform brackets actually sucked in the gelcoat and transom when longer screws were used to get a "bite".  Real fix is to remove rotted transom and replace.  If your transom is not soft, you may get away with longer & larger diameter lags (silicone hole really good before inserting to help keep out water).  Another thing you may be able to do is use a "toggle" bolt all the way thru the transom.  I don't think you can access the back side of where the bolts would come thru, so toggles or a hole in the floor are the only option for thru bolting.  By the way, they are not the hardware store toggle bolts, a place such as Fastenal or Lawson sells a stainless steel version (I will try to post a picture as they aren't exactly the same as hardware store toggles).  If you fix it to remove the extra bracket, you now create the problem of color matching the gelcoat where the "added" bracket once attached! Never ending battle!