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Old 10-11-2008, 23:39   #1
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Total newbie to big boats--can I pick your esteemed brains?

Hi, I just bought a 30 foot 1973 Pacemaker Sedan (flybridge?) off ebay for 310 bucks...seriously. Here's a link to it.

eBay Motors: winter project 1973 pacemaker, no reserve!! (item 200269290430 end time Nov-05-08 15:35:54 PST)

I have heard that these are essentially Egg Harbor boats under a different name and that they have VERY robust hulls (mine is all fiberglass).

She appears to have the original engines, but I thought crusaders were strictly a Chris Craft line of engines. The last time I was running a boat this large was when I was a teenager "stealing" my Uncle Dave's 35 foot Connie out of the Traverse City Michigan marina. He had a pair of V12 two stroke twin turbo all aluminum diesel motors in it..I think he said they were made to replace the liberty engines in PT boats during WWII? All I know is a Connie doing 45 knots at half throttle scares people on the shoreline..not to mention being able to outrun coast guard cutters too.

Anyway, I'm now 46, retired, and my wife retired me, after I came back shot up from my last tour in Iraq..she had two kids outside the marriage and was pregnant with a third, and handed me a piece of paper saying not only did I not live there anymore, but I had lost my house, 100k in equity, my 65k race car shop I had built for my 7 year old son, 3 daughters and I to build race cars and bikes in, and she also got half my military retirement..all as a reward for sleeping with every person in a five mile radius. Gotta love a law made by two die hard liberals that allows someone to get HALF your military retirement after being married to you for ten years of your career. Odd, I didn't see HER getting blown up, shot, and stabbed.

Anyway, the pacemaker is dry land stored at a marina just south of Chicago, and since I seem to be house-less now, I'm going to try to bring her down the mississippi river to the gulf this spring/summer. If ANYONE has any experience with these boats, I'd LOVE to hear from you. I figure for 310 bucks and 500 for overwinter storage and a splash or load onto a trailer, I've got an "emergency" apartment, at least.

If you look at the pics, I know she needs a MAJOR scrubbing, buffing and whatever else I can manage. I'm 80 percent disabled now, but mainly just shot knees, back and shoulders, nothing missing yet.

But I'm a fairly good carpenter, mechanic (I do still have my mitsubishi race car) and electrician, so if I get decent instructions, I can do about anything.

I WAS wondering about the value of installing a pair of 6.2 diesel motors (both motors have a gale banks sidewinder turbo kit installed on them) and if it might raise the boats value past the range where the hassle outweighs the gains. The bellhousings will bolt on just fine..I just have to find the marine exhaust manifolds and other sundry bolt ons.

However, if the twin 327 (or maybe 350, who knows) crusaders are in decent shape, I might keep them, considering the cost of gasoline versus diesel nowdays..thank GOD the price of fuel is coming down. I am getting a 250 gallon tank for my pickup so that I can refuel her before I put her into the water anyway, and I might try to find space to stuff that tank IN the boat, especially if I do convert her to diesel after all. However, since I have no idea how the extra weight would affect cruising range on full tanks, I need to rely on you guys even for specs.

One last thing..if this is a sailing only forum..feel free to flame me to death for being an idiot..

Still, managing to pick up this boat for 310 bucks makes me feel maybe one level past an idiot..unless both motors are stuck, blown, or cracked.

Thanks for the space and feel free to email me at my normal email address, Beemer1@att.net and just put in the subject line, either "you idiot" or pacemaker and I'll know what the email is for.

Also if anyone in the Texas area has a little place in northeast texas around Toledo Bend Lake that would pass an FHA inspection, has a good sized 2 car garage or shop building and wants to sell it, AND it's under $60k, please look me up. I'd rather keep her fresh water if I can..but I do want to be able to take an ocean cruise with her before I decide where to live..I'm REALLY wanting to hit the bahamas if I can manage the fuel costs!

Again, thanks for the space and any advice/leads I can get..one being if an RV style AC unit can be put anywhere on this thing..I don't believe it has AC OR heat of any kind.

Dave
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Old 11-11-2008, 00:15   #2
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Wow Dave

First off let me say thank you for your service..second there are several power cruisers here and you are indeed most welcome...and third sorry your gal treated you that way and I hope things work out with future relationships with your kids...what a bummer man.

You probably know more about engines then most here from the sounds of it..and I'm not telling you anything when I say ditch the gas for diesel for mere safty if nothing else but thats your decition..and an extra expense that might not make the boat worth a dollor more.

I havent looked at what you bought yet but your smart enough to know you have a project boat that will drain you for just about any amount you want to through at it.

So my suggestion is spend 400.00 bucks and get a C & V survey done..He/she will find most everything deficient with your new vessel and you can prioritize what needs to be done first and what is less important that can wait...It is also necessary if you intend to get insurance of any kind on it which almost all marinas will require now days.

Welcome aboard..glad your back safe and alive to at least start over..and it sounds to me you are one heck of a positive forward thinking dude..and I salute you sir.
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Old 11-11-2008, 14:55   #3
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Aloha Dave,
Welcome aboard! Thanks for serving and hope you can find happiness with your new (to you) boat.
Kind regards,
JohnL
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Old 11-11-2008, 16:03   #4
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Welcome, Dave!

Pacemaker bought Egg Harbor many years ago (depending on where you get your information from: some say EH bought Pace). Egg Harbor was the top of the line and Pacemaker was a trim line down. Still excellent boats, though. Egg Harbor had the reputation, so the Pacemaker brand was dropped about a decade later. I had a 1966 wood Pacemaker 36' and loved it.

One caution on engine swaps. Twin engines on boats are counter-rotating. On those crusaders, the normal turning one can use parts from the regular auto engines. The other has some parts that are different. The Chrysler 340s I had were VERY different.

If you stay gas, expect about 1-1.5 gallons per mile as long as you don't get it up on plane. The ad for your boat says it's 11,000lbs. My 22,000lb gas boat burned 1.5. Diesels may get 1.5-2 MPG. (I get 1.5mpg on my current 18,000lb diesel boat). This doesn't only affect your pocket book. It dramatically affects your range and what trips are actually possible.

If you plan to put diesels in it, and they are auto/truck diesels, you got a LOT of work to make them work. Even if you leave them spinning the same way. Someone else in here may have something to say about that, but I'd bet it'll change the tracking of the boat, and especially make backing it and slow speed maneuvering more of a challenge.

You also have to deal with the exhaust and cooling. You really don't want raw water cooling, especially if you are thinking of salt water. So, you now have the heat exchanger, and a second water pump (and probably changing some pullies to hook it up). Plus you need the marine jacketed exhaust manifolds to funnel that water back out and cool the exhaust. Don't forget the price of two new props. If the HP is much higher, now you got new shaft logs (and fiberglass work to install) and probably new trannys.

So, is it worth it? First, you'll NEVER get your money back. If you are looking at making a profit, check the current engines. If they run, just clean the boat up as much as possible. Do all the work you can do on it with no or very little money outlay. If they don't run and you can't rebuild them youself, dump the boat however you can. (Actually, as cheap as you got it, you might be able to put some money in it and get it back, but I'd research selling prices of similar boats VERY carefully)

If you are going to use it, then don't make decisions based on resale. Make them based on how you want to use the boat.

Either way you go, I strongly second Stillraining's suggestion to get a professional survey. I'd do that immediately before putting a single dime into it.

Sorry, I gotta run do some work, so I didn't finish editing this, but I'm gonna go ahead and just post what I got.

-dan
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Old 12-11-2008, 03:04   #5
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Survey

Looks like an in-depth survey is going to cost me more than the boat did initially, but I see your point. If the hull isn't sound, for instance, or the wood ribs are soft or waterlogged (as they are STILL in my old 75 Larson 19 foot all american, thanks to Larson's "better idea" to fill the voids between the spars/ribs with spray foam to make the boat "unsinkable", it also made it impossible for the wood to dry out at ALL..so I essentially have a fiberglass hull with a deck that is held down by screws going into foam, because all the underdeck wood that is surrounded by foam is essentially sponge. I even ripped up the deck and left it in my shop for over a year and it is STILL wet. (So I just run the boat and keep an inflateable raft onboard..Larson DID make strong hulls back then though..I think they rate right up there with Sea Sprites, which were REALLY heavy boats.

Anyone know of a reasonable survey guy near where the boat is at?

When I talked to the marina, the guy said their records showed the boat being winterized about 3 or 4 years ago..so aside from getting the motors to loosen up and spin over, I imagine everything else is ok if there were no deck leaks down into the bilge area (one can hope, anyway)

I do plan on replacing the packing on the driveshafts either way. Even if it is a POS, I can still, depending on the fuel tanks, putt it down to the bahamas or costa rica and turn it into a liveaboard. I'm not afraid of the work, I'm retired and honestly CANNOT work anymore at a paid job..my temper isn't good with idiots anymore.

Worst comes to worst, I find an old mobile home, knock the home part off, make a trailer for the beast, and find a lot and park it as a mobile home. I can't buy a 30 foot travel trailer for that price.. Plus, if I was in a flood plain, I'd still be ok! (although the trailer probably wouldn't be)

So if you know of any survey companies or licensed individuals near the boat, let me know.

Dave
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Old 12-11-2008, 06:00   #6
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Dave,

At least you have a sense of humor about what your getting into regarding making it a floating apartment. If you are disabled to the extent that you cannot work a regular job, then this boat restoration will be a major physical challenge for you (Just from looking at the photos, shes going to need a serious investment in labor and funds).

You did get her for cheap, but consider your transportation costs as well in getting this boat towed down river. Grab a sleeping bag, and some water and you have a fiberglass tent for camping. Congrats on your boat purchase.
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Old 13-11-2008, 17:50   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Beemer
Survey
Looks like an in-depth survey is going to cost me more than the boat did initially, but I see your point
As the saying goes..." There is no such thing as a free boat"
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Old 13-11-2008, 18:03   #8
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get with me some time if your even thinking about a diesel repower. The 6.2's are not appropriate for the boat.
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Old 13-11-2008, 19:53   #9
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That quote about no boat being free is certainly true. I'm still restoring a basket case 1975 Larson All American with an OMC 302 electric shift drive. Floor was rotten, and someone painted it with house paint (latex too) but the hull is good and since the old OMC drives aren't transom mounts, but engine mount with a bellows boot, I don't have to worry that the transom wood essentially disappeared due to dry rot..and it WILL out-turn any mercruiser or cobra drive system out there..period.

Unfortunately I loaned it to a now ex friend and he somehow stripped the starter ring gear on the flywheel..so if anyone has an old OMC ford 302 flywheel in the 157 tooth 28 ounce variety, I'd buy it.

Anyway, I'm now looking for radar systems on ebay, and it seems the older 24 mile range sets are relatively cheap..although with trawler speeds, I'd be happier with a hundred mile range, but at least I'll have time to prepare for a dunking in the bermuda triangle.

I'm actually not thrilled with the GM 6.2 diesels either, but I have a set. I can pick up Yanmar diesel motors all day long for a few hundred bucks from truck reefer units on trailers that have either rotted out or been totaled in an accident. Those motors recieve GREAT care..do you think someone wants to pay for a 40k pound trailer of meat that rotted because their reefer pack died? I see them all the time on ebay cheap, and those motors would work since I have to build a closed cooling system anyway for salt water use no matter what I decide to power it with. I even though about using a pair of 4v71 motors too, or something similar. My big issue is MPG..I want to cruise at around six to eight knots and use around 2 liters per hour..one for each engine..but a gallon per hour would be ok since the tank is huge. I'm retired, so I have all the time in the world to get there, but a limited amount of $$ for fuel.

The nice thing about this old girl is that being nearly free, I'm not paying for someone else's mistakes. I'd hate to think how I'd feel if I'd bought an old connie that looked great, but had hidden rot, or bastardized wiring. I always run wire that is TWICE the recommended amp rating. So if it was running 14 guage, I run 12 (and that is the LOWEST guage wire I'll use too) if it ran 12 originally, I use 10 guage, etc, and I run it in plastic conduit as well. Might not be pretty, but it is accessible and it won't fail. I also only use US NAVY Marine Tinned copper wire. Plenty of the stuff available in the surplus market, and hey, if it lasted on a battleship for 80 years, I think the stuff will work on my boat (of course I'm not using 80 year old wire, but it hasn't changed much in that time..I do try to use oxygen free copper when I can too.)

I also make it a habit to rip out ALL the "residential" plumbing and install the new PEX tubing, that can freeze and not hurt it. Can't take sharp corners as well, but it is damned near indestructible, it cannot corrode, and unlike schedule 40 pvc, it can't crack or separate joints under high pressure either. Can you tell I'm sold on the stuff? I cut all the copper out of my house and used that for balusters on my porch rails..kinda cool with that weathered green look.

Anyway, So far, the recommended list after I actually see the boat and go thru her myself, checking engine compression and leakdown, checking the hull for blisters and damage, and replacing the packing in the prop shaft boxes and probably the cutlass bearings just to be safe, and doing a wiring check which will include purposely blowing every circuit fuse to see exactly how much load each circuit will bear, and also to map out a wiring diagram. I'd much rather let some magic smoke out now, ashore than in a driving rain in the middle of the Bermuda triangle, you know? After I have the wire harnesses mapped out in detail, and I check all the interior stuff like lights, switches, outlets, the ac/dc converters and charge regulators, and I install the wind/solar battery bank, and power up the fridge, and possibly install an rv style heat/ac unit, I can check the stove, water pumps and holding tanks. Then I'd be ready for the survey after some serious scrubbing and buffing, which is what I had kids for in the first place.. Then check the fuel tanks (I'm sure they're full of turpentine by now anyway) and run the motors.

Now, the first REAL expenses start.

Survey-$400. Needed to get valuation for insurance and major defects noted that I missed.

Used Furuno or Raytheon/Raymarine radar system min 24 miles or 2kw dome - $400 or less.

Ideally I find something like a Lowrance LMS-350A Sonar/GPS unit that will use standard FOAA raster maps. The downside to the all in one unit is that I have a single point of failure for both the GPS and sonar systems, so I'll still use my handheld IPAQ Navman GPS units (I have four NAVMAN SLEEVES and four Ipaq's as well, plus my HP 6515 with tomtom gps built in (european version 4 band cell phone too) and I'd have to find a full set of paper charts as well, and dig up my old sextant and a sextant bearing book..or whatever they call it. I learned a LONG time ago when I was learning to fly in an Ercoupe (I WILL have one before I die, even if that plane is in pieces on my garage floor) that when the instruments all die and you're running on magneto power, knowing how to dead reckon navigate was a lifesaver. However, dead reckoning on the ocean when you're a newbie isn't very easy with no landmarks to go off of..so a sextant and charts and that priceless book can locate me when no electronic device will work..and man, am I ever rusty on using my sextant..

Anyway, with radar and sonar out of the way and GPS at quadruple redundancy for positioning at least, I should be set aside from getting a chart table and the charts themselves.

Next is getting an oil analysis done on the existing oil before I change it all out..both drives and engines will get synthetic oil after I get the report on both drives and motors from the oil analysis folks. If the compression and leakdown tests agree with the oil analysis, i fire the engines the first time after their fresh fluid changes and look for leaks. By the time I've gotten that far I'll have designed the closed cooling system and figured out how to build the heat exchanger system. I'm also thinking about using an air to water intercooler system for the engine intakes. With the engine bay being so hot, getting cool air to the engines is problematic. My idea is to simply use one of my spare air to water turbo intercoolers and not use the turbo. I'd just use a spare sur-flo pump and tap off the raw water cooling lines to feed the intercooler as well. The drop in intake air temps will give me a little more power and less chance of detonation under load, with no appreciable weight gain, as the intercoolers I have weigh less than the pumps do. (and they're already paid for). After doing that, and retuning the engines to their full potential, (and installing automotive style one wire HEI ignitions to both motors instead of the points systems, but keeping those distributors on board, totally rebuilt, as backups) I'll get the props teflon coated (or some other slickery coating), along with the rudders, and I'll tyr to find the slickest bottom coating I can find for less drag, which also improves fuel mileage. If everything goes right, I hope, with the original engines, to be able to putt along at 8-10 knots using 2 gallons per hour for each engine at around 1400 - 1800 RPM. Does that sound reasonable?

All the raw water plumbing will be done in copper with soldered joints and flex joints wherever I find any vibration, because I do NOT want any cracks in the raw water system while under way.. If I had a choice I'd find a way to remote mount the radiators and use electric fans to keep them cool, ducting them away over the stern of the boat or out the sides somehow.

Now the one spot I have NO experience in is bilge pumps. How big, and how many and how to power them?

Any suggestions? Also where to mount them.

I want to be able to stay afloat with a foot diameter hole in the bottom of the boat.

Tell me what I'd need to do. If that is too conservative, let me know. From my experience with drunken friends ramming reefs in the middle of the night when I was in my twenties, a foot wide hole seems to be about the average damage for konking something underwater, or a long gash, but it still adds up to a foot square hole. One reason I chose a pacemaker is their hulls are like double overkill and are incredibly strong.

Also, what emergency supplies should I carry to PLUG such a leak? I wasn't in the Navy, so I have no clue what damage control parties usually have at their disposal other than some 2x4s and something resembling a pillow or mattress to slow the leak down.

All for now, and please, feel freee to slap me down if I'm talking out of my ass..or if I'm planning something really stupid in your eyes. I essentially am trying to make a bulletproof (maybe literally), highly efficient boat. I may even try converting it to diesel electric drive as well. A friend and I designed a sailboat that was nearly fuel free..I'll detail it in a write up later. I don't have pics, as they were lost after he died from lung and brain cancer in 2003..seems my world went to **** that year..lost my best friend, wife started cheating..phoey.

He didn't patent anything, and I'll probaby give someone a million dollar idea..just be fair and cut me in for ten percent, ok?

Dave
2nd,
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Old 13-11-2008, 20:45   #10
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Well................................


Your excited that evident.

Take a deep breath and enjoy the rebuild all the while keeping your eye on the goal..It's a whole lot easier to write it down then it is to get it done...so my advice is to shift in to low low right now...so you dont get frustrated with your progress or you will get discouraged.

I will slap on notion you have out of you...You cant Carry a big enough pump for a one foot hole...STAY OFF THE ROCKS... A crash mat will be your second defence for that caliber of dammage and then what ever other means you can take if its accessible after that...and then your EPIRB your third.. or keep it on a plane up out of the water.

Forget about all the Radar..and radios and heaters and other junk for now...you have a hull, deck, interior and drive train to get up to snuff so you can keep this thing in the water.

PRIORITIZE>>>PRIORITIZE>>>PRIORITIZE

Your brain storming is good...write it all down..but with your limited funds you are going to have to tackle what has to be done in an orderly way or you are going to crash and burn.

Make lists of all the small steps required to compleat each problum through to completion...allot of time you cant do "A" untill you do "B" and "C" first...this is where the frustration sets in when the money insist there for B and C yet holding you up...So shift gears now or you will doom yourself.
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Old 13-11-2008, 20:46   #11
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Originally Posted by Beemer View Post
I'm actually not thrilled with the GM 6.2 diesels either, but I have a set. I can pick up Yanmar diesel motors all day long for a few hundred bucks from truck reefer units on trailers that have either rotted out or been totaled in an accident. Those motors recieve GREAT care..do you think someone wants to pay for a 40k pound trailer of meat that rotted because their reefer pack died? I see them all the time on ebay cheap, and those motors would work since I have to build a closed cooling system anyway for salt water use no matter what I decide to power it with. I even though about using a pair of 4v71 motors too, or something similar. My big issue is MPG..I want to cruise at around six to eight knots and use around 2 liters per hour..one for each engine..but a gallon per hour would be ok since the tank is huge. I'm retired, so I have all the time in the world to get there, but a limited amount of $$ for fuel.
Dave
2nd,
The Yanmar's you speak of are quit difficult and expensive to adapt. they have fix speed governors. All the Thermo Kings are renamed and numbered so all references to Yanmar are removed. IIRC they're mostly small 3cyl units. The 4v71's will be thirsty...
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Old 13-11-2008, 22:11   #12
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To STILLRAINING: Believe it or not I AM going slow. I used to restore old victorian houses when I was single and in the military as a way to actually have an income..in 1980 I made around 560 a month as a Corporal in the US Army..back when there were a thousand Spec 4's to a single E4 NCO.

We'd gut one floor, live on the other, and finish, swap floors, then do the outside over the summer and sell before college started..this was WAY before this "flip you house" crap on TV. Trust me, I DO know you have to do this before that. I've had big projects get away from me before, and trust me I DO know how budget woes and everyday crap in life can frustrate you to no end..read my first post? Yeah, I know what life can throw out. But you do raise some questions though..how big a hole should I be prepared to fight with before I give up and throw the lifeboat? Staying off the rocks is fine, but snapping an anchor line while you're asleep and drifting into something can happen..and trust me, I'm a poster child for murphy's law..so many times that I can beat the movie FINAL DESTINATION in figuring out what can go wrong.

To NEVER MONDAY: You're correct..I had forgotten that they were constant speed setups..and you're also correct that the smaller units are 3 cyl..but when the newer 53 foot reefers came out, they went to four cyl engines as well for frozen foods, because the little 3 cyl motors couldn't push hard enough to keep 53 feet cool versus 40 feet. However, at least the two 4 cyl yanmars I found (one was in an old reefer unit and the other was in a light cart) they both had governers, but they were disabled fairly easily. Another reason I looked at the 6.2 diesels is that there are 6.5 diesel marine engines out there. they are NOT very robust, but they are bolt ins in place of the small block chevy crusaders, and while they're heavy, so are the 327's..the difference is around 150-200 pounds apiece, and you can thru hull the exhaust easier since the EGT is a bit lower too...you just have to water jacket the thru hull pipes, not the actual exhaust manifolds if you use good heat shields and header wrap the entire mess to the hull, and use reflectix insulation on the engine covers and surrounding engine bay.

However, I've only done single engine applications, and trying to get a 6.2 to run backwards might be problematic, requiring a different camshaft profile and turning all the pistons around in the bore so the offset is correct for the rotation. I think the pump timing would still be ok though, if it could handle being driven backwards. Only real reason I suggested it is that I already have a pair of them..but I have a spare 350 too..so if one motor winds up bad, lets hope it is the clockwise rotation motor.

I actually wanted to do something along the line of a diesel electric setup using a yanmar 4 cyl constant speed motor to spin a generator, and then use electric drive motors. If you can run that diesel at its most efficient engine speed and load, I'd think that would be the way to go..since if the diesel failed and you had a decent battery bank, you could still manage to limp along for a while and then recharge with the solar panels (I plan four 135 watt panels and an MPPT charger on the sedan roof) so even if I had that setup as an auxillary drive system, I could putt along at a few knots for very little fuel. I have no desire to run that boat up on plane. I'm content to putt along at 5-10 knots and keep the "big guns" in reserve if I had to outrun a storm or something. What would be nice would be to put those electric motors in front of the existing motors so the motor shaft was coupled to the prop shafts, so when the engines are running, they're essentially turning generators as well as the props (just not generators that are pushing a heavy charging load)

If you used an electromagnetic clutch to couple/decouple the main engines, you could cruise on electric power with a pair of 30 or 50 horse DC motors like what they use in electric cars, running that constant speed genset

I know you can get those motors for electric cars in 100hp dc motors, but I'd think a pair of 50's would work to push that old girl to 5 to 8 knots or so. I helped build a few geo metro electric car conversions and they always suprised me with their power. Usually MORE torque than the metro 3cyl had..
Dave
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Old 14-11-2008, 19:13   #13
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Good luck with your project, I've been looking for a similar deal, that link above is for pacemaker owners, the boat was designed by a former Hatteras engineer, very heavy boat.
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Old 14-11-2008, 19:28   #14
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Nothing wrong with a good gas motor and some modern electronics, my self I would keep the gassers if they are sound, if there is ANY doubt such as low compression, oil leakage, roughness I would overhaul both even if one was totally good, think matched pair matched maintenance.
However for a boat this heavy a pair of diesels sounds better, I have found that pretty soon after an old motor gets new full synthetic leaks crop up everywhere because the synthetic oil washes out the sludge buildup around the seals that were actually being protected, plus old seals tend to get hard.

if you go to diesels go Perkins, very simple motor that is in a lot of forklifts and sailboats and boats your size, I almost bought a 41' Hatteras this spring that was converted to 4-108 Perkins, top speed now is something like 10-12knts.
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Old 14-11-2008, 21:16   #15
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Silverado 6x6, thanks for the link. I also agree with you about the diesel motors, mainly because of the explosion hazard with gasoline and the frequency of overhaul.

I have been looking at perkins motors, yanmar, and even the old Lister hit and miss engines, that, while massive and low powered, run on about any kind of oil from WVO to coconut to diesel and are so simple that a kid can overhaul one in a day or two.

The Lister-Petter type diesel motors are now made in India for the most part. Look up "LISTEROID" on google..

VERY reliable engines, but also a lot of vibration. That's the motor that was being used in Bogart's trip down the Nile..or whatever that famous movie was..
The original PUTT PUTT motor..but damned near indestructible too..

I think I got a flipping steal on the boat..310 bucks? I paid more to store it thru the spring at the marina. Nice thing about the 327 chevy motors is that 350's bolt right in, and I already have one rebuilt with complete throttle body wiring and computer. I'd probably stick with carbs for the simplicity, but EFI would save me some fuel in the long run and is honestly more reliable if you can keep the computers dry. I WILL put in new HEI single wire distributors though. Points piss me off.

I Knew the hulls were VERY well built..that's the ONLY reason I even considered getting an engine powered cruiser instead of a sailboat..aside from the price, of course..which was a miracle.. If you're looking for one, the marina owner was bought out, and the buyer discovered a buttload of abandoned boats there..there was even a NINETY ONE FOOT HATTERAS that was abandoned..Now if I'd gotten THAT monster, I'd be living on it right now for 310 bucks..
But the guy is plowing thru a huge stack of paperwork trying to clear out the yard for new business, and trust me, getting a boat title is NOT as easy as a mechanics lein on a car.. You have to go thru the DNR and all kinds of hoops. He sold five boats so far..all for pennies comparative to their worth.

The reason I got the pacemaker was the hull, the fact that it was complete, in relatively good shape for an old boat..it had NOT been hacked up by some idiot, and it has all the original engines, drives and other equipment, so I can pick peoples brains on what can stay and what is unsafe or needs to go or be upgraded.

Plus, it IS NOT WOOD..and pacemakers are NOT known to blister. I think I could RAM a Carver and go right thru it with very little damage to that boat myself.

Since I want to use it for blue water cruising, I wanted the strongest hull I could afford..and the pacemaker was the only choice. I'm REALLY amazed at the variance in price on these too. I also didn't know that Pacemaker made real YACHT class ships like Hatteras did/does. I saw what I think was at LEAST a 90 foot pacemaker a few years ago in Galveston. Nice..expensive..and out of my league.

Again, thanks for the help with that website..I'm already a newbie there now!

Dave
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