New 1990 Prostar 190 owner

[carlbernhard]

Awesome work. I have huge respect having just finished my rebuild. Admittedly I did not have many of the headaches you are dealing with but can appreciate the time and patience that gioes into a job like this. Would love to share ideas. I ended up cutting out the side rails on the gunwhales to allow for more movement in the boat. I moulded glass panels to fit into where the old pieces were removed. MC seemed to change the deck design after 90 and left thelong stainless hand rails out opting for a continuous line from mid to stern. Check out my thread prostar 190 rebuild and I would love to share ideas. I have not got to the engine yeat as mine is running fine. I am itching to do the reso of the boat justice with a sweet rebuild and some mods but the wallet is empty for now. Keep it up!
PS
I have the decal set in PDF for you that you could use. I also had my dash inserts laser cut and engraved in 316 stainless so could ask for the cad drawings and fwd to you.
Good luck with the wind shield...it is a huge nightmare to get it back. I used stainless 6mm bolts and ground the heads flat on a bench top grinder. This allows them into the base slot, but you need to exercise care when torquing them from beneath the bow as they can start to turn. Have a vice grip handy and use long bolts. This will allow you to grab the bolt end and torque using a 10mm wrench. I cut off the long ends of the bolts once wind shield was installed with a dremel.

[carlbernhard]

Dont mean to hijack your thread but these may be of interest to you. It has allowed for a lot more movement inside the boat and allowed for much nicer upholstery finishes.

The gunwhale was cut away and new panels were moulded onto a masonite template.

Next step was to glass the new panels into place. The crews show the timber support had been glassed into the bottom of the panels

Screws were removed and holes filled/edges built up and faired carefully

Finished product with new upholstery panel


Good luck!

[nkorep2]

Originally Posted by carlbernhard

Dont mean to hijack your thread but these may be of interest to you. It has allowed for a lot more movement inside the boat and allowed for much nicer upholstery finishes.

The gunwhale was cut away and new panels were moulded onto a masonite template.
Attachment 87029
Next step was to glass the new panels into place. The crews show the timber support had been glassed into the bottom of the panels
Attachment 87031
Screws were removed and holes filled/edges built up and faired carefully
Attachment 87030
Finished product with new upholstery panel
Attachment 87028

Good luck!

I like the idea, and Ive been a little annoyed with the awkward gunnel shape. But Im not sure that I wanna get rid of the grab handle. Id like to avoid messing with the visible fiberglass if I can. Im not planning on painting or anything like that, not yet anyway. Also, there is a good chance that I will use the handle to tie off bumpers or a place to store ski ropes.

I think I'll use your windshield mounting idea, I was trying to find replacement bolts, but your idea will work just fine. I already have replacement dash panels they are engraved plastic. Ill clear coat them, and see how they do. What would you suggest to repair the dash? The rubber coating on mine is cracked on top. I wasnt planning on upholstering mine like you did yours, but I havent decided how Im gonna fix it yet. Worse case senario, for the time being, I'll leave it alone for now.

I will be building a rear storage seat. What did you use for yours? I have a enough 3/4 in marine ply, that would work, but maybe a synthetic material would be better?

Finally, I love the pdf of the decals. Ill be replacing them last. could you email them? nikolai.korepanov@gmail.com

I absolutely love your boat!

[mcparadise]

Originally Posted by nkorep2

My boat originally did not have a transmission heat alarm. I have a friend that has a similar set up in a hydrodyne and that boat does not have the heat alarm either. Is that something difficult to wire up or add? Seem like it could be a good thing to have.

The process continues!

FWIW, both my indmar 98 5.0 L 305 and mercruiser 93 5.7 L 350 have a tranny hi temp alarm sender/switch. When I replaced the 350's sender due to the contacts corroding off, I confirmed with Bake's that the setpoint was 200 degrees, which is the same setpoint as that for hi temp coolant. I'll bet the 305 has the same setpoint.

If your tranny doesn't have one of these critters installed originally, adding one and wiring would be way too hard for me.

Hummm, it makes one wonder how useful is this alarm, considering some trannys don't even have?

[SWGA Boater]

Followed up with the thread tonight. Great job. You have came a long way since I last checked. I finally found a Stars and Stripes boat to work on. Hope to have the floor/transon and mechanicals done by the Spring, then slowly start on the cosmetics.

Did you ever get rid of your fenders? Both of mine are not in really good shape. One could be repaired, but the other is busted and has too much missing. I wonder could they be retrofitted to an older trailer (77)? Also, where did you get your marine plywood? I have not been able to come up with any locally, Tallahassee was my next stop.

Ansley in Bainbridge

[nkorep2]

Originally Posted by mcparadise

FWIW, both my indmar 98 5.0 L 305 and mercruiser 93 5.7 L 350 have a tranny hi temp alarm sender/switch. When I replaced the 350's sender due to the contacts corroding off, I confirmed with Bake's that the setpoint was 200 degrees, which is the same setpoint as that for hi temp coolant. I'll bet the 305 has the same setpoint.

If your tranny doesn't have one of these critters installed originally, adding one and wiring would be way too hard for me.

Hummm, it makes one wonder how useful is this alarm, considering some trannys don't even have?

Id imagine its not such a big deal.

Originally Posted by SWGA Boater

Followed up with the thread tonight. Great job. You have came a long way since I last checked. I finally found a Stars and Stripes boat to work on. Hope to have the floor/transon and mechanicals done by the Spring, then slowly start on the cosmetics.

Did you ever get rid of your fenders? Both of mine are not in really good shape. One could be repaired, but the other is busted and has too much missing. I wonder could they be retrofitted to an older trailer (77)? Also, where did you get your marine plywood? I have not been able to come up with any locally, Tallahassee was my next stop.

Ansley in Bainbridge

http://johnsonslumberandsupply.com/contactus.html You order it at their location on NW Capital Circle just west of 27. And can pick it up at the wholesaler off Capital Circle by the airport. Its not cheap, I think the 3/4in was about $80 for the 4x8 sheet. I sold the fenders several months ago. Not that Im free on time, but Id love to help or at least watch you rebuild yours. Im halfway thinking about getting an old MC next. Whats your motors condition? I wouldnt be much help with the wood repair, but I def know what the 351W looks like inside if thats what you have in there

[SWGA Boater]

Thanks for the lumber link. Price is not too bad on the plywood for 3/4 inch. I found very similar online, but when you add freight the price skyrockets. I think I'm going to go with cypress for the stringers (easy to get), but I will also ask the lumber company about red cedar or douglas fir for the stringers. I haven't made my mind up about the transom. Thinking of going the no-rot route and use Coosa board, but it is also expensive--$250+ for a single 4x8 sheet + freight. I'm just worried about sealing the transon tie-downs and swim platform from seepage and eventual rot, but like my dad says boat is 35 years old and lasted this long.

Supposedly, the motor had been rebuilt two years ago but you know how that is...Going to try and pull the motor out this weekend. I'll break it down, see what it looks like and go from there. Hopefully, the PO was truthful about the motor. We shall see. I was thinking like you about getting a set of GT40 heads. Will go this route if there is a rebuild in the works. There was a set of GT40 heads I saw on the T'hassee Craigslist tonight for $200 OBO.

[nkorep2]

Im thinking Ill by a complete set instead of marinizing them. Id also rather not by a set that might be cracked. But I think that set is $150 now.

[carlbernhard]

Originally Posted by nkorep2

I like the idea, and Ive been a little annoyed with the awkward gunnel shape. But Im not sure that I wanna get rid of the grab handle. Id like to avoid messing with the visible fiberglass if I can. Im not planning on painting or anything like that, not yet anyway. Also, there is a good chance that I will use the handle to tie off bumpers or a place to store ski ropes.

I think I'll use your windshield mounting idea, I was trying to find replacement bolts, but your idea will work just fine. I already have replacement dash panels they are engraved plastic. Ill clear coat them, and see how they do. What would you suggest to repair the dash? The rubber coating on mine is cracked on top. I wasnt planning on upholstering mine like you did yours, but I havent decided how Im gonna fix it yet. Worse case senario, for the time being, I'll leave it alone for now.

I will be building a rear storage seat. What did you use for yours? I have a enough 3/4 in marine ply, that would work, but maybe a synthetic material would be better?

Finally, I love the pdf of the decals. Ill be replacing them last. could you email them? nikolai.korepanov@gmail.com

I absolutely love your boat!

Re Dashboard: You have 2 options. You could take it somehwere and ask them to recover with Vinyl. I would not go the leather routs as I did. It is pricey and the finish is not as good as you would get with vinyl. Vinyl is stretched with heat and that allows them to get into all the curvatures. A seconf option is to strip off all the vinyl and clean off all the adhesive with a good solvent. If you need to sterengthen the dash you could put a layer of glass on the back panel. ( i havd a few cracks in mine ) You could then fill all the holes on the front and send it away to an autoshop for respraying. They will spray a few layers a 2k filler primer to finish is off really well and will then spray with a colour of your choice.
Re windshield. I put a layer of the spongy/neoprene material down that has adhesive on one side. I then put the windshield, part assembled on top and torquet the bolts down from below. Its important to torque them all down at the same time so as to get a decent fit and also to make sure that the alu base does not bend. MC used mild steel bolts for some reason ????????? i replaced with SS locknots. The rear eand of the windshield have 2 long self tapping screws that pull the frame towards the deck. Not sure if your have this. I would suggest filling the old holes and drilling new holes once you have fitted the wind whield again. It is very unlikely that you wll ,ine up to the same holes again.

Re the rear seat box.The fit is essential as you will need it to drop in perfectly into the area behind the cupholders. The base of the box would need a slight curvature to fit into the floor nice and snugly. You could screw you marine ply base down nice and tight and put a layer of glass on top ( just not over the screws ) Once glass has set you could remove screws and your ply will maintain the shape. Its much easier working with marine ply as you will need to construct the box with ss screws first and then glass outside and inside. The nasty job is getting a perfect finish on the outside. This will require lots of filling and block fairing until it is perfectly smooth. My box was initially larger so that the top of the seat was level with the deck of the boat. your passsengers then sit at deck level which is not ideal, but makes for a great sunbed and a huge storage area. I cut min down to allow for a seat back, and i cut the seat in half so as to allow for 2 separate seat lids. Good luck.
I will ask the printers for the decal file and send to you.

[nkorep2]

An update:

I have moved the boat to a friends house that is willing to let me work on it there, it now has a cover to sit under. I started to buff the hull and see how pretty I can make it to motivate the project. Here's some pics. I used 600 and then 1000 grit sand paper, wet sanding it. Then a rubbing compound, followed by pre wax glaze. I have a wax to go, but the results are pretty staggering.

You can see the affect of the buffing in the first 2 pics. The third is off the transom. I have a ton of the boat to go. Its a slow process, but def worth it.







I also started tearing down the rear motor mounts. They have givin me trouble including a broken thumb when I slammed it with a mallet. I got one side completely apart, Ive used the wire brush on the bench grinder and cleaned up most of the components, ill get pics tom. Priming, painting, and reassembly is next. Im still struggling with the other mount...I may have to replace it, but Im hoping to save it.

The most exciting part is I got cylinder heads!! I ordered GT40-P heads yesterday morning, and they flippin arrived today!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FORD-EXPLORE...393665&vxp=mtr

They look nice. Brass plugs, stainless components, holes drilled to 1/2 inch. I got them for $600 for the pair. Im planning on installing them in the next couple days. I'll get pics as the process continues to unfold.

Also ordered more parts: Damper Plate, Oil cooler, and a few fittings. I need to figure out all the hardware needed for mounting flywheel/damper plate/ and bell housing. I have bags of bolts, need to figure out what goes where.