Couple ownership ?'s
 

day is quickly approaching to take possession of the 91 cafe & i have some general questions.

do i switch on the fuel pumps before starting engines or after its started?

if i forget to turn off pumps, what could happen?

the batter charger/(inverter?) does not appear to be working. any recommendations on what unit to replace it w/?

is replacing the impellor on the hawk engines similiar to a typical mercruiser?

i think thats it for now. i will worry about the macerator not powering & how to use the pressurized water system after i get some bolster time.

Glad to hear you made that Cafe work....

Turn the fuel pumps on before you start and leave them on. That is what I do.

I don't have recommendation on the Inverter - sorry.

I don't have impellors but I assume you are talking about the water impellor in the drive? If so that should all be standard Merc. regardless of actual Engine package.

Pressurized water system is just a switch on the dash, and a switch on the panel on the left as you enter the cabin. Turn both on and you should have water pressure. Mine has a small hole in the system somewhere so instead of water pressure I get a bilge full of water and sporadic bursts of air/water.

Hope you enjoy the boat (you will)

congrats on the purchase. How about some pics.

i havent had a chance to take many of it yet, but have some from the ad.

hopefully the weather holds out tomorrow & i can get it moved to new slip. plan on getting more pics then!

Nice boat and congrats again!

nice boat. i love the cafes

thanks, we are excited to start the summer!

From the engine placement and the Gil dry tails, my guess is it's a TRS drive boat. It should have Merc raw water pumps. Put two new impellers in them and carry the old one's with you, unless they're smoked. In that case, buy a backup set.

Charger- ProMariner Pro Tournament. That's the high-end. I know Mystic uses them and I believe Nor Tech does as well.

Ditto what everybody has said. What i did was made a mental numerical checklist of things I do before I start the engines. 1 battery switches. 2 raise hatch. 3 blowers 4 drives from trailer (5 for you fuel pumps) 6 key on. 7 start switch...make it simple and you can count them off and do it all quickly to save time at the ramp, its a quick way to double check yourself.

I have some of that rig in my stash....

2....

3...

4....

That's about it...

Welcome to the Cigarette Club!

Good Luck with it.

Good advice OSD, i'm a creature of habit so a routine will definately help.

Thanks GLH.

Unfortunately this is what the interior looks like now. This will be the first major project of the winter. Planning on replacing the cloth w/ vinyl, new headliner & remove all the old carpeting & replace w/ some other material.

good luck, your gonna love the cafe... she looks like shes really clean... welcome to the family...

WELCOME TO THE CAFE CLUB!! - Hey, wondering what props/pitch your running..

Enjoy the best affordable boat ever made!!!!

Hey good luck with the Cafe just bought a 87 Cafe myself. Just waiting to put it in the water. First Cig owned I know I won't be disappointed have fun.

Sweet boat Brian. You will enjoy it, I'm sure. Welcome to the club. I love the liquor bottles as standard equipment in the late 80's, early 90's boats. My 89 Formula had them too and they definitely got used!:D

One other thing...

Hopefully you've had the boat surveyed and they did a moisture test. If not, the Cig 35's all have one bolt per tab that doesn't nut on the other side. It screws into the end of the stringer- it's a stainless lag bolt. This is a common place for water intrusion and subsequently rot. Especially if the tabs have been removed and the bolt wasn't re-sealed properly

If you haven't had a survey done, the best time to do so is before $$ changes hands. A transom and stringer job is pricey and May isn't the best time to start one.

i had the survey done about 2 weeks ago & no moisture was found. lets hope he didnt miss what u described. i may see if he can go back over & test specifically by the tabs just to be safe.

You can just pull the bolt out. If it comes out covered in sealant, you're probably OK, especially if it passed a moisture test. If it strips and then pulls out moist black crumbly stuff, you have an issue.

If you pull it, make sure you reseal the living hell out of it. Inject silicone deep into the hole- make sure you don't over-tighten it.

Congrats and welcome to the family....

26p, 4 blade. dont know more than that at the moment. the longest ive been w/ it so far is to move it from one dock to another across the lake, at 9p, so i couldnt even break 30mph. :(