One thing after another....grrrr

[Mattyman]

I finally got my 'no spark' issue resolved and took the boat out thurdsay for about a 20 minute trial run and everything seemed to work well. We went out today and fired it up and did a quick lap around the lake and then shut the boat down to check the oil. After that, we went to start and the engine would not turn over. It would hardly crank at all. Had to get towed in after a lot of paddling.

We brought it back to my place and tried to jump it off my truck. The engine still had some trouble turning over but then all of a sudden jumped to life and fired up. After about 1 minute, we shut it off and went to try again and it struggled to turn over and the crank was very slow. Couldnt get it to start.

Since I have had the boat, it has cranked pretty slow and always seemed like there was some type of load on the engine when cranking. Even after buying a new battery it still didn't crank fast. Could there be an issue with my starter or something causing so much compression on the engine that it is having a hard time cranking?

One thing we did notice was when attempting to start the positive battery lead going to the starter would actually 'jump' near the starter, which I believe was from the high load.

This is getting frustrating and I just want to enjoy the boat. Any help or ideas would be helpful.

[OUI]

Check to make sure your battery contacts are secure and clean -- on both ends. From there, the starter is easy to pull, do it and bring it in to have it tested. It's unlikely that compression is an issue.

[SUPRALUVIN]

Check to make sure your battery contacts are secure and clean -- on both ends. From there, the starter is easy to pull, do it and bring it in to have it tested. It's unlikely that compression is an issue.

I second that I had the same issue...crimped new terminals on battery cables...much better. Also you may want to think about replacing the starter

[saltare inverts]

I would replace starter and whole cables. I bet you will have a boat starting like a new one.

[Mattyman]

Thanks for the information so far. Just for possible future purchase, do I need a specific marine grade starter or will any old starter for a ford 351 do the trick? Also, do places like Advance Auto test starters? The terminals on the battery side are pretty clean but I have no idea of the internal shape of the wires running to the starter and the shape of the contacts at the starter end.

I'll start there this week. This boat has just given me problem after problem since I bought it the other year. Should have just kept my old '77 Chaparal that is still running like a champ

[Longhorn21]

I had the same problem on my 87 comp and rebuilt the starter and fixed the problem

[jzelt]

Hopefully it is just the starter.
I would think if you wanted to see if it was compression next time, pull the spark plugs and see if it will turn over.
I don't want to think about it, but possibly a hydro-lock if it is just leaking a little right now?

[Mattyman]

I'm going to try and pull out some plugs and see how well she turns over. If there is an issue, what could cause a problem with too much compression upon startup? Once it is running, things seem well. It is just getting it started, which is the hard thing.

[Supra-in-steamboat]

There is the an old saying... Nothing works on an old boat but you... Matty- most likely your dealing with an electrical issue. The starter just bolts on/off, very easy to pull off and have tested. Autozone, Napa, Carquest can test them. Yes it must be marine grade. Rebuilt ones go for @$129.00- $159.00 plus shipping. Replace your battery cables if you have any doubt. Cheap and easy.
When your start your boat cold, it is the first current your pulling thru the wires. Juice is flowing thru those cables as the boat continues to run. Old cables are prone to corrosion from water. Once corroded they lose their efficiency to conduct the amps your boats starter needs to fire up your V8.
It's easy to get frustrated when it works only sometimes. Be patient with your ride because once it is dialed, you will forget all this s**t. Good luck

[87SunSportMikeyD]

Have you checked the timing at all with a timing light?? That is pretty easy.