Got my first Grady today!

[65aircooled]

I have been looking for a first boat for a while and wanted to get a used walk around to fish and sort of all around fun boat. Looked at a few and almost bought a 96 2140 Robalo but things didn't work out with it.
I found a nice 93 GW 226 with an evinrude 225 and fell in love with the boat. After a week or so of dealing and wheeling I finally picked her up today. Inspected and Sea trialed last week, today I measure compression (engine cold) which turned out to be decent:
Port side
Top = 100
Mid = 100
Bottom= 98

Starboard
Top=102
Mid=102
Bottom=98

Boats needs some tlc, a good buff, new decals and some love here and there. I am really exited, hope to have her back in the water in a week.

 

[onoahimahi]

Congrats - a great first boat. You will enjoy it...! I bought a 1994 Sailfish this year which is also getting some TLC.

Compression looks very even. I notice that some folks do their compression tests cold, while others claim the engine needs to be at operating temperature. Does it matter?

-Scott

 

[65aircooled]

Scott,
I don't really have an answer for that. I can tell you that I searched hi and low and both cold and hot seem to have an equal amount of fans. I did both and they don't vary by much. I can tell you that I ran my boat in the Raritan bay today for 5 hrs and it ran like a top. No trim tabs in mine, but the boat gets on plane really fast and easy and the ride is not that bad at the right speed (2 adults and 2 kids)
Next week we are planning to bring friends, so it'll be 4 adults and 3 kids, we'll see how she behaves.
I never had a boat, so I don't know what fuel consumption should be, but we burned about 40 gallons traveling most of the time at 30 mph which didn't seem bad.
Trolled a couple of times and the smoke did get kind of annoying but the drinking wasn't all that bad, at least not as bad as I thought.

 

[65aircooled]

Some of the much deserved TLC was given this week. Boat looks a lot better

Decals removed

Next day, getting detailed

Unsightly Dura-Trim sanded, primed and painted in the back (cockpit still to be done)

New registration #'s and decals applied

She doesn't look like a million bucks yet... but she looks much better than when I picked her up. :mrgreen:

 

[Pay2Play]

I like what you've done so far...looking good. Curious as to how you did the duratrim. Can you elaborate.

 

[65aircooled]

I sanded the dura trim to get rid of the sheen, coated it with (2) coats of self etching primer and 2 coats of PVC/plastic trim paint. I've used the above in PVC (Azek and Kleer) moldings in homes that are exposed to the same environment my boat is exposed to with great success so far.
If it doesn't work I may have to replace all the dura trim with azek, since it is white and it won't need to be painted.
The dura trim in my boat is structurally sound so it didn't make sense to replace it.

 

[81Malibu]

With a compression test your looking more for variance in the cylinders than overall psi. When you did the test was your throttle wide open? I did one on my 130 Johnson after Sandy wrecked my boat to see if the motor was still good and I had 150 across the board, but my powerhead was replaced in 09 and I only have 123hrs on it.
Lookin good by the way. In a bit jealous, that's the perfect boat for me.

 

[65aircooled]

With a compression test your looking more for variance in the cylinders than overall psi. When you did the test was your throttle wide open? I did one on my 130 Johnson after Sandy wrecked my boat to see if the motor was still good and I had 150 across the board, but my powerhead was replaced in 09 and I only have 123hrs on it.
Lookin good by the way. In a bit jealous, that's the perfect boat for me.

WOT yes, I am hoping I get many years of trouble free use out of the motor. I have no desire what so ever for a new motor... and neither does my wallet.
I'll sell it to ya, you won't have to be jealous no mo! :mrgreen:

 

[Graybeard]

The boat looks nice, but good luck with that old Ocean Pro. Not to many of the repair guys in my neck of the woods know how to work on them anymore or carry a good supply of parts. I tried to fix the Ocean Pro on my niece's boat and it was a mission failure. Found an older repair guy that could work on it but it's still an old 2 cycle and I still can't work on it.

 

[65aircooled]

The boat looks nice, but good luck with that old Ocean Pro. Not to many of the repair guys in my neck of the woods know how to work on them anymore or carry a good supply of parts. I tried to fix the Ocean Pro on my niece's boat and it was a mission failure. Found an older repair guy that could work on it but it's still an old 2 cycle and I still can't work on it.

Thanks,
The motor has had the same mechanic for the last 5 years, not close by, about an hr ride from me so I know I have him as an option. Also I was very surprised and pleased to meet a young mechanic in his 30's maybe who was dropping off my neighbors wave runners a week ago and he came over to see my boat. Spoke highly of the ocean pro and seemed very knowledgable about older 2 cycle motors. He seems to be a fan of the oil injection delete, not something I know much about yet, specially pros and cons of it.