My first boat.. lots of newbie questions!

Hey all!

First time poster; I’ve been looking for a small fishing boat for awhile; as a kid I went fishing on small resort boats with my grandparents and family, so I’m used to them, and they hold some sentimental value for me. Finally found what I think is a good deal on one, and bit. I read lots of forum posts here while researching the boat, and thought I’d come join in!

The boat is a 1993 Lund WC14 with a 2004 8hp Yamaha F8 (four-stroke) that came out of a resort; they used to have 7 fishing boats, traded 5 of them in a couple years ago when purchasing pontoons, and are switching entirely over to pontoons this year, so the last two boats were sold. As I expected for a resort boat and motor, there is lots (and lots and lots) of dock rash and some minor dents on the boat. The motor’s been kept in good running shape (the owner confirmed that he fogged it, changed the lower unit oil and the motor oil, etc every winter), but from what I can see the prop is complete junk and I probably shouldn’t run with it. Boat the boat and motor need a good scrubbing too!

I picked up the trailer separately – found a Holsclaw on Craigslist that I liked the looks of, with a combination of roller bunks and rollers on the bottom. Way more of a trailer than I need for this boat, but it wasn’t excessively expensive, and seemed to be in pretty good shape. Already replaced the safety chains on it, as the old ones were junk (one wouldn’t even reach!), and fixed the existing lighting (had to clean up the tilt mechanism to let the ground get to the rear of the boat, and replace a couple bulbs – no biggie!).. but I think I’ll probably replace the lighting with LED later this year.

Now, to some questions! I’ve attached a bunch of pictures below, and will be referring to them here.

1. Don’t even know if I should ask this or not – but I spent $800 for the boat and motor, and $350 for the trailer.. did I get taken, or did I actually get a reasonable deal like I convinced myself I did? (grin)
2. On the trailer – I wasn’t able to get the bunks to lower enough to let the bottom of the hull actually make contact with the rollers in the center of the trailer on the back; see picture called ‘trailer_boat_not_touching_rollers.jpg’, along with ‘1974_holsclaw_trailer.jpg’ for a better shot of the trailer itself. This is with the bunks all the way down. Is this OK, or does the boat need to be making contact with both the bunks and the rollers to be safe to haul? If so, I think that I can remove the brackets the bunks are currently mounted to, and mount the bunks directly to the trailer frame, which should drop it low enough.. but I guess I don’t know if I need to do that, or if it’s OK as-is. With the single strap across the back, the boat held fine driving from Faribault up to my place in Savage; no side to side movement. I’m planning on adding transom straps too.. probably overkill, but better than underkill, right?
3. Interior of the boat – photo boat_interior.jpg.. on the boats I grew up with (and on the ones I’ve rented), there has always been a piece of metal going up from each seat to the top cap on the side of the boat; to keep the oars from moving around, I’d shove the end under one of these, and tie a strap around the other end of the oar to another one. I’d also use those to secure the tie down ropes to tie up to docks. This boat has wooden seats on top of aluminum supports, and as far as I can tell, no good place to secure anything inside the boat, either for towing or on the water. Any recommendations on how to secure the oars specifically, and on the proper way to tie the boat up? I suppose I could just tie off the handles on the transom and then the slot in the cap thing on the bow.. but it seems like it’d be more secure to have a tiedown near the front of the boat but before the bow starts curving in?
4. Prop – see ‘prop_8.5×7.5.jpg’, and ‘prop_8.5×7.5_bent_blade.jpg’. This prop is a 8 1/2 x 7 1/2 (according to the label), and the blades have a decent bend to the end of them. In the condition this prop is in, would it be reasonable to run it for a little while, or am I better off just replacing it right away? If I do replace it – any recommendations on pitch? I realize this motor is fairly small (and may not have the power to get the boat up to plane with any weight in it), so from what I’ve read sticking with a lower pitch (Yahama’s propeller guide shows that I could go with a pitch of 6 1/2, 7 1/2, 8, 8 1/2, or 9 1/4 for this motor, so this is on the low end for pitch, but not the lowest) may be better for getting the boat up and moving, even though the top speed (and ability to get on plane) may be compromised.. am I reading that right? Also, is it worth spending the $110 or so for an OEM Yamaha, or are the $55-$60 ‘Solas Amita’ props decent enough?
5. Also on the motor – see picture ‘yamaha_f8_bottom_anode.jpg’. Obviously I’ve gotta remove the scale from the anode, but how do I tell if the anode itself is still in good shape, or if I need to replace it?
6. After pulling the prop off, I noticed that there is some scale buildup inside the lower unit – see ‘yamaha_f8_lower_unit_prop_removed.jpg’. Is it safe to use a small soft-bristle brush to remove this, and then flush this area with some water or something? Or what’s the best way to clean this area out?
7. In general, what’s the best way to clean off the hull of the boat and the exterior of the motor? I don’t want to use anything that’ll strip the paint off the hull; just want to clean the gunk off; the picture ‘trailer_boat_not_touching_rollers.jpg’ gives a nice view of the accumulation. Same deal for the motor – since it’s plastic, I assume I’ll need to use something very soft, but wondering if there’s a good way to cut through the gunk without ruining anything.
8. Is there any maintenance I should do on the motor right off the bat? Again, the resort owner (and one of his guys in a separate conversation) mentioned that they had changed the lower unit oil and the motor oil when winterizing – but is it still best if I change them myself again to be safe? I also have no idea when the impeller was last changed; am I OK to run on the one that’s in there for awhile, or to be safe should I just go ahead and change it? (I’ve read through the tutorials on how to do it, and I think it’s within my capabilities – but if it’s safe I’d like to get some use out of it before I go tearing it all the way apart! Anything else I should be doing to the motor?

Appreciate any thoughts on my questions, or comments about anything else I should be looking at doing to get this boat ready — thanks, and look I forward to many discussions here!

Attachments:

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   trailer_boat_not_touching_rollers.jpg
   

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   boat_interior.jpg
   

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   yamaha_f8_bottom_anode.jpg
   

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   yamaha_f8_lower_unit_prop_removed.jpg
   

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   prop_8.5x7.5.jpg
   

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   prop_8.5x7.5_bent_blade.jpg
   

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   1994_lund_wc14_on_1974_holsclaw_trailer.jpg
   

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   1974_holsclaw_trailer.jpg
   

That’s a lot of info!
You got a good deal, if the motor works and the boat doesn’t leak. Take it out all of the time and run it hard. You could probably use a new prop, but on an 8 there won’t be much of a difference in performance. If it were me, I wouldn’t waste one moment cleaning it; USE IT! It’s supposed to be dirty! Get some dead minnows and fish slime in it. Drop another couple hundred on a trolling motor and battery and cheap depth finder and you’ll be good to go. I’ve got a 14′ and bring it everywhere and anywhere in good weather, even Mille Lacs in the old days. Just use common sense.
Your biggest concern should be the bearings on the trailer. Re-pack them or get bearing buddies.

Looks like a decent deal as long as everything is good. Plugs may be good for the motor, pull them and take a look. I wouldn’t be worried about looks but if you are scrub away. Like lundojam said check out your bearings and make sure they are greased up.
8hp you should be able to troll with that motor. You may want to look at a drift sock for the front to help control and slow your troll speed.
That light of a boat I would worry at all about transom straps, save the money. I wouldn’t worry about it not sitting on the center roller either, just as long as the boat isn’t sliding around you’ll be good.

Good luck fishing and get ready to
B-ust
O-ut
A-nother
T-housand

You got a reasonable deal, perhaps a pretty good one depending on how things clean up.

Trailer – YES! Replace the lights with LEDs as soon as your budget allows. But before that, completely overhaul the wheel bearings. This is an absolute must with a trailer where you do not know the maintenance history! When you do this, also add Bearing Buddies to the hubs and use them as per the supplied instructions.

I cannot see enough to advise on what specifically to do with the bunks, but the point is your boat should rest lightly on the keel rollers (those rollers in the center) and the bunks should support the hull all the way from the front of the bunk to the back.

Every boat is different, you may have to fashion some treated wood spacers or otherwise move the bunks in or out until you get them resting flat on the trailer.

Motor maintenance: Change the spark plugs and gap them to spec. NO! There is no “universal” gap setting. Find the right gap for this engine.

Then change the lower unit oil. Search YouTube for instructions. If there is water in the lower unit, you have issues, but this must be done and on a resort boat that has been left in the water, this should be done soon.

Your anode is fine. Sand it lightly and put it back. These are not very relevant to freshwater use and trailered boats.

Your prop is a hot mess. Repair or replace it.

The hull must be cleaned. Try a good self serve carwash first and then report back.

Congrats and welcome to boat ownership. Like I’ve always said, as long as you’ve got a boat, you’ve always got something to do.

Grouse

Appreciate the responses, and sorry for my late reply – busy weekend!!

I did get a new prop ordered – ended up going with a QuickSilver 8.5″ x 8″; hopefully it’ll perform fairly well.

Also ordered spark plugs, lower unit lube and pump, and will pick four-stroke oil locally.. figure I might as well change out the critical fluids in the motor with ones I know are good quality, and also so I can know _for sure_ that it’s been done.

For the trailer – bearing buddies are installed (it came with them), and appear to be full.. I also have checked the hubs after driving with it (~40 miles the first trip, and then a few small 5-10 mile trips), and they are just warm to the touch.. would it still be a good idea to repack the bearings now, or is it OK to wait until the end of the season, with plenty of checks in the meantime?

I did swing into the self serve carwash and tried pressure washing the hull; it took a bit of the build-up off the hull, but not all of it. The inside of the boat cleaned up nicely though – lots of sand flushed out from under the seats, etc. I’m thinking I’ll probably have to flip the boat over at some point and scrub it down by hand.. in the meantime, not going to worry about it too much!

Once one of the smaller lakes around here opens up, I will have the boat out to make sure it doesn’t sink and see how the engine runs in the water (versus on muffs) – looking forward to it for sure!

And lundojam, no worries, I am planning on getting out and enjoying it, and it will get plenty dirty again!!

Thanks!

Oh yeah – I’m also thinking that I will need to mount the bunks to the trailer frame itself instead of the current adjustment brackets.. will have to find a nice quiet boat launch at some point where I can dump the boat in the water, tie it up to a tree or something, adjust the trailer, check with the boat, re-launch, etc.

Nate Carlson wrote:

Appreciate the responses, and sorry for my late reply – busy weekend!!

I did get a new prop ordered – ended up going with a QuickSilver 8.5″ x 8″; hopefully it’ll perform fairly well.

Also ordered spark plugs, lower unit lube and pump, and will pick four-stroke oil locally.. figure I might as well change out the critical fluids in the motor with ones I know are good quality, and also so I can know _for sure_ that it’s been done.

For the trailer – bearing buddies are installed (it came with them), and appear to be full.. I also have checked the hubs after driving with it (~40 miles the first trip, and then a few small 5-10 mile trips), and they are just warm to the touch.. would it still be a good idea to repack the bearings now, or is it OK to wait until the end of the season, with plenty of checks in the meantime?

I did swing into the self serve carwash and tried pressure washing the hull; it took a bit of the build-up off the hull, but not all of it. The inside of the boat cleaned up nicely though – lots of sand flushed out from under the seats, etc. I’m thinking I’ll probably have to flip the boat over at some point and scrub it down by hand.. in the meantime, not going to worry about it too much!

Once one of the smaller lakes around here opens up, I will have the boat out to make sure it doesn’t sink and see how the engine runs in the water (versus on muffs) – looking forward to it for sure!

And lundojam, no worries, I am planning on getting out and enjoying it, and it will get plenty dirty again!!

Thanks!

Sounds like a good start. Just go ahead and change out the trailer bearings. Similar to what you’ve done with the motor, that’s the critical point for the trailer-may as well start with new so you know for sure what you’ve got. Takes little time, but sure is a PITA doing it alongside the road in the dark you know?
For less than $1200, you did all right. I’m a big Yamaha fan, so probably biased but those motors are solid. Given decent care and maintenence you should get years of use out of it. Boat’s openness leaves you room to customize at will…looks like a great starter boat, perfect for just getting out there and fishing!

With a limited amount of knowledge, bearings are easy to do, and give piece of mind. Take them apart and inspect them, if they look good, clean and repack them and you are good to go. If there is water and the bearings, races or both are rusty, replace both bearing and race. Less than 2 hours of maintenance and you are good for the year

puddlepounder wrote:

With a limited amount of knowledge, bearings are easy to do, and give piece of mind. Take them apart and inspect them, if they look good, clean and repack them and you are good to go. If there is water and the bearings, races or both are rusty, replace both bearing and race. Less than 2 hours of maintenance and you are good for the year

Forgot to mention seals, most any auto parts store can order them, sometimes you can find them in a kit also with the bearings/races.
Cheap insurance to do this at least bi-anually. I would check them yearly for water by removing the dust cap before snow flies.