Power, listing, and more

[tiernanlaw@gmail.com]

All:
I just bought a 1982 C Dory Cabin Cruiser with 130 Hp 4 stroke Honda main power and 8 hp Honda 4-stroke kicker. I know nothing about C Dorys. After a buyer's inspection and $2000 of maintenance, I took it into a fresh water lake. I had 30 gallons of fuel, 4 teenage kids (about 600 pounds) and 400 pounds of adults (2) on board. The RPM gauge was inoperative (after boat shop said "everything works"). After idling around the lake for an hour, I gave it the juice, it "kinda" went on step (didn't feel like it to me.....but what do I know). Seemed like we were going approximately 18-20 mph. This is the speed the previous owner said he did with the same boat. When the boat got up on step it would slowly list to the starboard and then turn left without any steering input. We tried this in different configurations of weight with adults and kids moved forward and aft. Didn't seem to make a difference. If you could anticipate the left turn, you could "catch it" by turning right. There seemed to be 4 or five inches of play in the steering. First question, what the hell is going on? Linkage? Also, is 130 4 stroke Honda not enough engine? Boat does not havd a data plate for max weight, people, or horsepower. And finally, The owner prior to the person I bought the boat from told my seller the 4 amidships fuel tanks "did not work" and he had 2 30 gallon portable red tanks in the hold aft of the built in amidships tanks. Anybody know why somebody would not use the 4 built in amidships tanks in favor of two 30 gallon portable tanks in the aft hold? Any advice would be appreciated. tiernanlaw@gmail.com

[thataway]

Power:
You have one of those rare but great early 27' cruisers. Starcraft Tom (Tom Elliott," Susan E", is one of the most knowledgeable of the 27 owners. He has 225 hp. I had a C Dory 25 and with a 130 I felt it was under powered. Some of the boats have low HP, but most have gone to the 175 to 225 hp range outboards. Others still have a gas or diesel I/O.

Steering:
It sounds as if you have a problem with air in the hydraulic steering system. I would start by bleeding it, and replacing the fluid as you do it. Use Mil Spec as suggested by Sea Star. (Aviation hydraulic oil is far cheaper than buying the Sea Star/Teleflex product.)

Fuel tank:
I would start off by inspecting the built in tank...then pressure test (no more than 2.5 PSI) testing. Start with 1 PSI and go very slowly. There is a pretty good chance that the old tank has a leak...almost 40 years old...There are several videos showing how to pressure test a tank. You have to occlude the fill and vents, then pressure test at the fuel pickup point. Fuel lines may be shot. Do some investigation around the tank--probably. using a video borescope to look at the sides and corners of the bottom of the tank.

[Teufelshunde]

Simple question but are you trimming the motor up as you gain speed or as you say step up ( I’m assuming getting on plane )?
I noticed when I first took out my 22 I had a similar response without trimming the engine.
And I agree with Bob as far as steering play.
Just my two cents.

[tiernanlaw@gmail.com]

Thanks guys. I believe the steering is a hydraulic system issue. I discovered a "T" valve connecting the inside and aft steering system. The aft steering was free wheeling and is still connected to the main inside steering. I am going to disconnect the aft steering from the main (plug the stem of the "T" valve) and bleed it. I've got plenty of 5606 aviation hydraulic fluid, so will use that. Thanks for the advice. Will let you know if it works.

[thataway]

The 5606 Fluid will be perfect. The aft station helm may be handy, and unless there is a good reason to exclude this helm, I would go ahead and purge it also, while you are doing the bleeding of the entire system.