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1997 Bayliner Capri SS 2350 454ci- Floor done, now to bust out that other thousand…

So I'll be updating this thread here soon, but for now a short update on both boats.

The restored 1996 20ft:
  • The boat is still at the upholstery shop. Supposedly they are still working on it. The plan is to run it a little bit this season to make sure there are no hidden issues before selling it. Don't want to sell it and plague the new owner with issues. I do have a coworker very interested in it.
The Big Block 1997 23ft:
  • Got back on Sunday the weekend we picked up the boat. Took it out for a maiden voyage, and was greatly disappointed at the performance. The boat would only go about 43mph. Decided to start checking maint. items to see where it needed improved. Sand in the carb. Spark plugs black and fouled. Plug wires crossed and not timed. Both props bent and out of balance. Lower unit fluid was black. Long story short, the owner lied a lot about recent maint. items done by a local shop. I have spent the last couple of months fixing these issues, while still taking it out on the weekends to test run and enjoy the boat. I've got the boat running a lot smoother, but still about 1k rpms short of the top end that's available.
I'll be updating this thread with pictures and progress of the maint. that I performed and the results. Headed out this Friday for a week of camping and boating. My dad and brother will be there, so plenty of time to test and tune while on the water to see what we can come up with.
 
I was wondering what you had going on this these. Hopefully you got a good deal to make up for the problems they lied about. Shoulda made them meet you at a lake with it for a test drive.
 
Truckman4life said:
I was wondering what you had going on this these. Hopefully you got a good deal to make up for the problems they lied about. Shoulda made them meet you at a lake with it for a test drive.
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The odd thing was, is he left the lake to meet us at his house. I figured, surely it must run fine if he was using it. He left beer cans inside and a bunch of other boating supplies. I did talk him down another $1,000 cause he left it kind of trashed and dirty.
 
GWeakland620 said:
The odd thing was, is he left the lake to meet us at his house. I figured, surely it must run fine if he was using it. He left beer cans inside and a bunch of other boating supplies. I did talk him down another $1,000 cause he left it kind of trashed and dirty.
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Well that's good. As long as you are happy with it. He must not be very mechanical and maybe he thought it ran fine. I've bought vehicles before and then afterwards I was like why the heck did I not say no. Hopefully I can find a boat like that in the future when we are ready to get one.
 
Hey @Bent77 how much do you know about the Carter AFB carbs?

The boat is now timed and runs pretty good, but once it gets to 3800rpms it just kind of sits there and doesn't rev any higher. Factory specs show it can run as high as 4800rpms. What am I missing?
 
do you have full throttle at carb? Is fuel delivery good? Is this a merc or volvo or ? What type of timing controls are there? I know you had spark plug wire issues, have they been changed and firing order corrected? Make sure the wires are tight in cap and clipped onto plugs.

How was the float level when you cleaned out the sand? AFB are pretty simple, thou a boat probably should have the off road needle and seats.
 
tRustyK5 said:
Maybe the prop is too aggressive for the engine's power?
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Just like high gears and tall tires. The engine does not have enough HP/torque to swing it.

Like Wes said. Check throttle opening. Those Carters suck. Eileen's Corvette has one on it.
 
Yeah, that's where I was going. We had a boat back in the day, not a BBC but it did come with three props. kinda like little red riding hood, except with props. It had the shallowest pitch prop on it, and it went OK, motor would run to 5K no problem. The next prop up the boat went only slightly faster and it wouldn't go to 5K anymore. The third prop was horrible even though it was the most aggressive of the three. Motor did not have the jam to turn it.
 
I rebuilt the carb after I found the sand. I also readjusted the floats as they were way out of speck. Fuel pressure shows a solid 7psi. Plug wires were pulled off and inspected, and reinstalled and double checked. Timed it with a timing light and no longer having hard/long starting issues.

As for props, it has 24P props on it. I know that helps with the hole shot more than top speed, but the fact I am missing 1000rpms tells me there is a little more left in it to get more top end.
 
What controls the timing advance? Does the throttle lever cable mechanism give you wide open throttle?
 
It doesn’t sound like you need my help Greg!
:haha:


Start with the basics, check full throttle
What does it sound like at 3800? These other items these guys have asked may be indicated by how much it is (or isn’t) laboring
 
tRustyK5 said:
Is it getting up on plane quickly? Might be a trim issue?
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Wes Harden said:
sounds like a dual prop should get up on plain easily
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Yes correct the dual props do help, but it does seem a little on the slower end to plain out.
Wes Harden said:
What controls the timing advance? Does the throttle lever cable mechanism give you wide open throttle?
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The boat was equipped with the Thunderbolt IV system. I installed a new distributor due to the old one being super crusty.
 
Bent77 said:
It doesn’t sound like you need my help Greg!
:haha:


Start with the basics, check full throttle
What does it sound like at 3800? These other items these guys have asked may be indicated by how much it is (or isn’t) laboring
Click to expand...
The boat sounds great all the way through the RPM's. Super smooth big block. I wish my K5 would sounds like this...
 
Maybe that’s all it’s gonna pull?

needs an 8.1....
 
24 pitch? What diameter? I’m not familiar with the double prop drives, but 24 sounds like a lot of pitch to me. My 24’ formula had a 19pitch on it when I got it. Currently with 450ftlbs of torque I have a 21p
High five on there. I remember trying a 24p 3 blade and it wouldn’t get the rpm I wanted.
 
You also did prop change ? Hard to know if props that came with boat were correct. I'd call Mercruiser or bayliner and see what the oem props were. thunder bolt IV tells me you have Mercruiser. Some 97 tb 4 had a "overspeed" assembly, on the Merc/racing Blue engines. not sure if it's adjustable. Very little info I guess it was an option.
 
yep 21p to 23p will drop 300- 400 rpms single prop not sure what a duo would do.
 
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