1st time MC owner

[mash]

I bought a used 1993 prostar a few months ago, living here in Indiana (AKA - boating hell), I've only had a few chances to get it out on the water. I have been impressed with the handling and overall quality compared to the I/O's Ive owned in the past.

I've owned several boats over the years, but never an inboard, so there are a few things I need to learn. This boat is a few years old and has a few problems I need to take care of. I'm new to TT, been reading some of the posts and find them very helpful.

Thanks everyone!

[peason]

Feel free to ask any questions - there is a wealth of knowledge on this board. Congrats on the MC!

[sanjuan23]

Congratulations and Welcome. Mastercrafts do not have problems as they get older they mearly have some character issues. Welcome aboard!

[mrG]

Welcome. What issues are you having with your new boat?

[TMCNo1]

Welcome and ask away, you will have more answers than you can deal with!

[mash]

Remember - You asked

I love the boat, the hull is in great shape, has 800 hours - but the motor and trans seem sound. . Most of my problems are due to age and previous owners. I knew the swim platform needed work when I bought the boat. I did not realize that someone had put light brown latex stain on it. I've been workin gthe last week or so to correct this. It's in pieces on my workbench.

It was glued as well as screwed together. Lots of mildew between the pieces. I'm considering laying on a coat or two of teak oil before assembly and skipping the glue, just using screws. Any advice?

Next problem - I noticed a vibration and growling noise when applying throttle in reverse. Noticed some slop in the rear strut bearing. I pulled the shaft back to find the drive shaft is pretty ate up. Checks .010" under in a few of the deeper gouges. Suspect that someone replaced the bearings and left the shaft as is. Thought about getting the shaft welded up and re-machining the diameter. ($300+ for a new one) Any thoughts here? While it's apart I think I'll go ahead and replace the bearings too.

This is my first Ford, are they all hard starting, cold blooded, sons of guns or will my spring tune up help. Has prestolite electronic ignition. It's the HO version as well, I've read some complaints about the Holley carb on these, is that part of the problem. The last boat I had had a MPI mercruiser so I may just be a little spoiled.

I've got a few more, but it's Thanksgiving so I'll just wish everyone a happy holiday!

[Bruce]

Welcome! Like you I bought my first MC in Sept. It was also my first IO. The folks on this board bend over backwards to help. The scary thing is they usually know what they are talking about.(there are of course exceptions. It won't take long to figure that out)
As for me if you are looking for a little knowledge--I have as little as anyone. Happy Thanksgiving

[Maristar210]

Welcome aboard and be sure to check out the FAQ section, it is full of information you will find useful and a lot of the issues have step by step instructions with pictures. East Tx Skier is the moderator as you have proabably seen and he is quite knowlegdeable, for a Texan that is

Steve

[TMCNo1]

Welcome aboard and be sure to check out the FAQ section, it is full of information you will find useful and a lot of the issues have step by step instructions with pictures. East Tx Skier is the moderator as you have proabably seen and he is quite knowlegdeable, for a Texan that is

Steve

Are you kidding me, he's a regular Alfred Ibenspyin!

[Archimedes]

Welcome and great boat by the way. Re: that swim platform, if it's as bad as you indicate, you may want to search around for a used one on eBay.

[Ramhouse]

'93mc190

Welcome, and you'll be glad you're an MC owner. My '93 has 1300hrs. and with regular maintance you will be more than trilled with your purchase. Lets see some pics. Mine also makes some noise when you go in reverse with fast action, but while easing it in, there is no winding sound that you describe. Starting after sitting for a while will take a few tries, but a good tune up sloves that. I'm in California where we use it year round. I run it every two weeks for about 15min. to keep seals wet.
Great boat!!You'll love it...
Richard
Questions just ask..and you'll even get more answers than you sometimes need.

[SteveO]

Welcome to the jungle. Careful as this site is addictive. Rumor has it that a fellow named Doug, aka EastTx, has a few things to say about your hull style.

[mrG]

I love the boat, the hull is in great shape, has 800 hours - but the motor and trans seem sound. . Most of my problems are due to age and previous owners. I knew the swim platform needed work when I bought the boat. I did not realize that someone had put light brown latex stain on it. I've been workin gthe last week or so to correct this. It's in pieces on my workbench.

It was glued as well as screwed together. Lots of mildew between the pieces. I'm considering laying on a coat or two of teak oil before assembly and skipping the glue, just using screws. Any advice?

Next problem - I noticed a vibration and growling noise when applying throttle in reverse. Noticed some slop in the rear strut bearing. I pulled the shaft back to find the drive shaft is pretty ate up. Checks .010" under in a few of the deeper gouges. Suspect that someone replaced the bearings and left the shaft as is. Thought about getting the shaft welded up and re-machining the diameter. ($300+ for a new one) Any thoughts here? While it's apart I think I'll go ahead and replace the bearings too.

This is my first Ford, are they all hard starting, cold blooded, sons of guns or will my spring tune up help. Has prestolite electronic ignition. It's the HO version as well, I've read some complaints about the Holley carb on these, is that part of the problem. The last boat I had had a MPI mercruiser so I may just be a little spoiled.

I've got a few more, but it's Thanksgiving so I'll just wish everyone a happy holiday!

I don't know if you can get that stain off of your platform without a lot of labor. At this point you may be better off leaving stained with a quality exterior teak colored stain, but I can understand if you would to bring it back to OEM standards.

The vibration is something you should address ASAP. If the boat has not been maintained regularly chances are the enginge alignment is out of tolerance which will, or has, destroyed the strut bushings and causes vibration. I recently went through the very same issue with my 92 PS 190. I considered trying to do the work myself but when I looked at the price of the tools required for a one time job it made better sense to me to have a pro do the work. Total cost for alignment and new cutlass bearings was $175 . This can be a dirty job if there is corrosion involved. I also discovered that I had a bent prop which was adding to the vibration problem.

I have the fish bowl Holley on my engine. It did have some cold starting and idle problems but I ran some Berryman B-12 Chemtool thorugh it and had the the carb tuned along with a good tune-up and now it runs strong and smooth as glass.

If your prop shaft is run out I'm not sure what to recomend on that one. I'm sure someone else would here would have some experience with that.

Let us know how is goes.

[TOO-TALL]

Mash

Where in Indiana do you live???

[Hoosier Bob]

Answer the above question! I am in Indy and may have some of the parts you need or have been there and done that. PineCrest marine got me a new strut and bearings for under $200 and I think it was around $150. I have a spare drive shaft that is in great shape. The strut bearing is good place to start regarding vibration. I have never had an inboard that backed smoothly. PM me and I will help any way I can.
HB