TOPIC: Starcraft 16'/1970 Merc 800

I was on my way home from Portland this last weekend and spotted this in a back yard. I stopped and asked if he would sell it and he said he was moving and if I wanted it to just haul it off. It ran for him as a fishing boat till 2009 when he had health issues and had to stop boating.

Sweet!!!!!!!!! That's a great find Neil!!!!!!!!

Bob

Nice find Neil, looks like she (the Merc) cleaned up very nicely!

Thanks guys.
The lower is newer, I will have to pull it and get some #'s to determine the year. All though some one on here will chime in and let me know the year. I took the whale tail off and deposited it in my wood stove in the shop. The controls work fine and the key was in it. No surprise, he said he was using the boat until 2009.
The boat has got the George Jetson stern light, and yes the lens is purple.
Being interested the Merc only, someone will be getting on heck of a deal on a boat and trailer soon! I don't fish....'cause it tastes like fish!
Neil

Some guys got all the luck. That musta smelled good in the burner.

Neil,

Nice Find! The later-style lower unit was used from '79-up. An added Plus is that you've got a stainless or stainless-clad driveshaft in there.

One caveat on retrofits like this is that Merc changed the method of sealing the driveshaft/crankshaft splines over the years.

Older motors used an O-ringed driveshaft which sealed directly against the i.d. of the crankshaft.

Around '76-or-so was when the stainless/clad driveshafts were introduced, on those motors a stainless-steel seal-carrier was pressed into the end of the crankshaft, and captured the O-ring. The driveshaft no longer had an O-ring groove in it and so slid smoothly into the seal carrier. I presume the Merc engineers considered this to be a more positive method of sealing the driveshaft/crankshaft interface, the O-ring that fit in the stainless carrier was more stout that the one that went on the driveshaft.

All the previous drivel comes down to, is, a newer lower unit mounted on an older motor will not properly seal the driveshaft/crankshaft splines, and they will be more prone to rust-out/stripping.

So, when you tear 'er down for maintenance, I'd very carefully check the crankshaft splines for wear. You can shine a strong light up the mid-section to get a good view of the end of the crank.

If she checks out good enough to use, and you end up leaving that later-model L/U on 'er, it's easy enough to grind an O-ring groove into the driveshaft, below the splines, and use a 30613 O-ring (the original OEM part #).

There's a slight possibility that someone pulled the powerhead and retro-fitted the seal assy to the end of the crankshaft (I did that on a 1350 I used to have, so I could use the later L/U). Easy to confirm or deny when you inspect the end of the crankshaft. If you spy the seal assy, no driveshaft groove is required. Or maybe you feel like pulling a powerhead, Harr!!!

If you can get 'er to spark, you've really got a winner! Those doggone distibutor triggers are getting more $$$ all the time. I expect she'll need the usual tune-up items, fuel pump diaphragms, carb service, impeller, etc.

Many Oregon motors are river or lake-run so you may get lucky and have a Fresh-Water-Gem on your hands, especially if it's as clean on the inside as it appears out.

Unlike so many Salty Dogs up here in the PNW!

BTW the original gear ratio for the 800 is 2.3:1, it'd be really cool if the newer L/U is the same. Even if it's a 2:1, the 800 will still run OK if propped accordingly. Or, good trading stock to someone with a Tower of Power Six who can better utilize the 2:1 gears.

Cheers......ed

Ed
Thank you for all of the info. So far all I have done is wipe it down. I took the cowl and hat off and looked it over and it seems to be complete. Before I pull it from the boat I will do a comp. check and see what she says. I have her soaking right now.
When I get into that part, I will post in the Mercury section and will be needing input.
I am glad you mentioned the gear ratio, I was curious about that.
I will keep all posted and thank you again.
Neil

Ed
I checked the lower ratio, 2 to 1 just like you said.
Been soaking with Marvel and turning it by hand. Spun it up with the starter and have lots of spark and the compression comes out at 181,167,175,175. Going to start it up in the next couple days and then pull the lower and check the o-ring on the drive shaft. I would like to bring it up to temp and redo the com. check. Those #'s seem a little high. High is good but maybe guage trouble. I will then winterize and hang it in the engine room.
Thanks again for the tips.
This is the last post here about this, I will move it into the Mercury section and continue there. After all, it is just about the motor.
Neil