1994 Spectrum 16 Sport Rebuild? - Bouncing ideas around

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Some after thoughts from today.

The cons:
The boat feels tippy compared to the Princecraft, despite being heavier. A product of having more V.
The boat definitely leans toward the port side when at rest. Two batteries on that side. Should be able to fix that.
Something clogging the fuel pickup, and the fuel fitting leaks. The fitting is easy, pickup is a pain, but I will find it.
The trailer has tiny, 8 wheels and tires, and very low bunks. Must be careful when loading to not drag the prop. Not a great highway trailer. Thinking of swapping trailers with the Princecraft.

This is after fishing for 2 hours. Will test more this week.
Look for a piece of plastic in your fuel tank, or something like that. That's one of the thing people do to vandalize a vehicle. It'll run, then clog up. When suction has stopped, piece falls down and motor works fine. Repeat later.

I saw a spectrum like yours, same color, etc yesterday on the river. Nice looking boat. I think they are sharp looking.
The trailers seem to be low as I have the same problem w/my 19'. The bunks were broken, so I just added another one on those, with supports and leveled it out. I did that to put it into storage and will do something more permanent as I fix it. Don't know if the fix will be using thicker wood, double the wood up, and/or putting rollers on it. The last should raise it up abut 3-4" alone. Why create work elsewhere to resolve an issue someplace else?

I have it stripped of all but the motor, so I'll have to make sure it's supported all as it should be so I can 'form' it back into shape, then put in the floor framing and crossmembers. The latter provides support and helps keep the sides up in the middle front.. For xport to storage I used three ratchet straps to keep it from spreading, but might have cinched it a tad too much as the front piece of alum covering the nose bulged up quite a bit. That's how flexible that can be. I'm going to make the trailer into sort of a frame table to make sure I don't button things up out of shape.

You have the better windshield as it's more upright than either the earlier ones or the longer ones. Makes no sense when boats have those where when sitting, your head is clearly above the top of the windows. Lakeland had that also where everything was too low--for adults anyway. Must be a low center of gravity at all costs thing.

It's a V. What kind of hull does it have by the transom? The lund fisherman is a hull I really liked--V all the way and hard, reverse chines on each side. Very stable and cuts into turns nicely.
Here's your 16' bow compared to the bow of an earlier 19'. Looks like they redid the bow to better penetrate waves but the trade off is some loss of stability. You can see how the longer boat would be more stable in front due to more lateral wetted area. Some boats have a very pointed front that drags back pretty far. I don't understand this other than OK, they want a planing hull that will help with waves...but you have to stop some time.


1.jpg
 
Thanks, Sonny, it's getting there.

Driftless,
I have a feeling it's a leaf in the gas tank. I was going to pump out the tank and look for it today, but I just didn't feel like it.

It does have a great ride, and I think I'll get use to the rocking. Quite different from the solid stability of the Princecraft.

Yes, mine has the front end like the top picture. The V carries through to the stern. The Princecraft has as sharp or maybe a little sharper entry, but the back end is almost dead flat. You have to trim down hard in rough water in the PC and slow down.

I actually put both boats up for sale, and am curious of which one will get the most attention. For the right price, I'll sell either one of them. But I doubt either will sell before spring. By then, I'll know for sure which one I want, ha ha.

Stand up,
The test run was a success, for sure. And made it back safely.
Now, all I want is whatever is floating around in the gas tank to go away!
 
forgot: That guy should have learned his lesson, but who knows, people can be quite dumb and hard headed sometimes. That's just a bad intersection for some reason. It seems to be the locus of bad ju ju.

After you drain the tank, might want to see if you can rent/borrow a scope to view the inside. Something can fold up and wind up in there, but once it flattens out, it's hard to get out as you can't pour it out.

I'd think the spectrum will go first as that just looks like it's a more capable ride, on bow lines alone. I'd keep that one and sell the princraft as that name is better known. And anyone doing any research on spectrum boats will find out there is a history they have to be aware of when looking at one. The later ones, the true 'spectrum' boats like yours had welded seams. on some, they had issues with cracking. But the same can be said with trackers. I'd not mind having that boat, but I need something longer for the great lakes.
 
I just came in from cleaning out the tank. It looked like dirt and rotten leaves. It could have hid in the back corner of the tank, and the hot soapy water just didn't knock it loose. But I strongly suspect that it was hiding in the fill hose. I cleaned the tank well, but I didn't check that stupid hose.

We will see if any more trash shows up. I pulled the screen from the bottom of the pickup tube. If there is anything else hiding in there, it should get sucked up and caught by the fuel filter in the boat. I'm going to run the boat hard one of these afternoons to make sure there is no more issue.

While in there, I bent/adjusted the fuel sender float rod. Before, it always read 5/8 tank. I think it was stuck. Now it moves a little when I tilt the boat up or down, so it seems to be working properly now.


As far as selling boats, now is the wrong time of year to sell an aluminum boat around here. There are a ton of them up for sale right now, and at some very good prices. I might even pick up one or two if I see any exceptional deals. They will sell in the spring. They always do.
 
leaves and dirt? wow, what kinda knucklehead had that before you?
OK, no need to respond, I know,...the world's full of 'em
 
It was a rotten, abandoned boat with a locked motor that was full of leaves. I bought it from the landlord of the house. Last registration was 2012, so it had been sitting for a while. You can see the condition of it in the early pics of this post. I cleaned out the tank, but I should have cleaned out that hose, stupid me!

Thankfully, it has a poly tank and not an aluminum one, or things would have been a lot worse. Finding stuff like this is typical for bringing old boats back from the dead. That's why I always test boats close to home a number of times before I trust them. A

Last night, I shook the boat around, then tilted the bow high and pumped the fuel out through a filter, using the hose like a vacuum cleaner, sucking up chunks of stuff. There was quite a bit of stuff in there. Then, I dropped the bow, pumped some gas back in the tank and shook the boat around again, then tilted the bow up high again and got a little more stuff out.

Looks much better now. I only see a little fine dust in the corners, and the fuel filter will catch that as time goes on. Just as long as there aren't any leaves or big chunks in there. Those things stop the fuel up instantly.

I have to lake test the boat a few more times before our trip to the beach on Friday. Getting excited!
 
Had a decision to make- take the proven and tested Princecraft or take the Spectrum. Have decided to take the Spectrum.
Have quite a bit to do before the trip. Installing fish finders, fully testing engine reliability and getting the boat loaded and rigged for service.

All USCG equipment needs to be brought on and secured. Spares of important repair parts need to be gathered. Spare hub and bearings, spare tires, (I always bring 2 on long trips) fuses, extra trailer lights, etc.

I need to get this list started ASAP. I don't want any problems on our first trip. (7 hours of driving time there and back)

Any suggestions or recommendations of things to bring on a long trip?
 
I'd rather bring my hot little wife, but I'm taking the nephews on an all-guy trip. But she is loading us up with food for the trip. And the boy's mom is her sister, so they are getting loaded down, too.

We are already joking that "We're gonna need a bigger boat and a bigger truck"... for the snacks.;

My nephews might bring a kayak along so we can tow the food behind us. 😲😲😲
 
Getting the trip list tuned in...
  • 2 anchors, a fluke and a grapple, for any kind of bottom
  • I added Autopilot to the TM. Very useful feature.
  • I spliced a new launching lines. I have a way of launching a boat solo that makes it quick and easy every time. I need to make a video showing that, as it would help a lot of people.
  • I’m going to add a transducer plate to the transom to protect the hull make it easier to add/remove transducers
  • Moving the Garmin 94SV with Livescope to this boat
  • Adding a 2nd prop as a spare
  • I must upgrade tires. When jacked up, both tires have a visible wobble to them, and it's not the hubs. Either that, or I need to modify my other trailer to fit this boat. Just discovered this, the night before the trip, ugh
We will see what else comes up. Tomorrow morning is going to be busy.
 
The trailer has tiny, 8" wheels and tires, and very low bunks. Must be careful when loading to not drag the prop. Not a great highway trailer.

Thanks for clarifying I was looking at the pic on the ramp, and scratching my head about the size of those wheels. Looks like wheelbarrow tires on that big trailer! :)

Your boat looks great on the water.
 
Could not find 13" tire/wheels with 4 Lugs, so decided to swap trailers with the Princecraft. What a pain, adjusting it to fit.

She now sets pretty good:

20231007_020616.jpg

Made us 3 hours late to leave for our trip, but the 5 hour drive went smoothly. Ready for some good fishing and shrimping tomorrow, we hope
 
Could not find 13" tire/wheels with 4 Lugs, so decided to swap trailers with the Princecraft. What a pain, adjusting it to fit.

She now sets pretty good:

View attachment 117193

Made us 3 hours late to leave for our trip, but the 5 hour drive went smoothly. Ready for some good fishing and shrimping tomorrow, we hope
Excellent! Glad it worked out for you!!

As Im sure you know...
this_thread_is_worthless_without_pics.gif
 

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