On 6 Aug 2005 23:11:02 -0700, "sfcarioca"
wrote:

Hey all,

I am somewhat of a newbie and am trying to revive a 1987 Larson 25 foot
cabin cruiser and I have several boat maintenance questions... figured
the nice people that participate in this group probably have the
answers.

- The engine on the boat is only 2 years old, looks really clean, and
starts with ease. It's a 160HP engine and should not have trouble
propelling this relatively light boat (4500 lbs.) However, the boat
strugles to go more than 18 mph or so at full throttle and I can't get
it to plane at all. A guy I befriended a couple of slips down the pier
said that this boat should easily be able to go 25-30 with that engine
and the reason why it can't is probably stuff growning on the bottom.
I intend to have it pulled out and bottom cleaned/sanded/painted and
believe that could speed it up, but it's hard to believe it could have
such a large impact. Any thoughts?

Outboard or inboard?

Because of no details, it's kind of tough, but you may have a fuel
restriction somewhere, most likely a fuel filter or it could be more
serious than that. Look at the plugs, wires and ignition and make
sure they are ok. Do a compression test. Or have all that done for
you by a good mechanic. Perhaps you might have a throttle adjustment
problem.

- The fiberglass on the deck has lots of markings and is generally very
dirty. Should I just give it some elbow grease by scrubbing with
household cleaners or are those expensive cleaning solutions intended
just for boats better?

On my fiberglass boats, I use regular Soft Scrub (no bleach) or if I
can't find that, then I use the unscented Soft Scrub only less of it.
It's always worked well for me. There are other cleaners on the
market, regular household cleaners, which work just fine.

You might also want to look for these products which are cost
effective. http://www.starbrite.com/

I've had success with this stuff. It's bio-friendly and actually
works, but it can be hard to find sometimes.

http://www.303products.com/main.php?...rospacecleaner

Although the 3M products, while a little pricey, work very well. If
you look around, you can usually find them at a good deal.

- I went to the local marine store, and I thought the non marking shoes
that grip well to the deck were overpriced and uncomfortable. Any tips
for shoe brands/models available in a run of the mill retail store that
won't mark the boat and will give sure footing?

Try a Nike or Reebok outlet store. They have several styles of
non-marking deck shoes that fit and wear well.

- The colored part of the gel coating is rather faded... and I heard
that waxing it will shine it up very little... what is the best
approach whe dealing with faded gel coats.

Not much - the UV has done it's damage and changed the color pretty
much permanently. The only good way is to repaint and that can get
pretty expensive.

However if it's just a case of the gel coat being chalky or needing
some help, 3M makes a great product for just that issue.

http://tinyurl.com/97pbu

It's not a lot of help, but it should get you going in the right
direction.

Good luck.

Later,

Tom