1978 Excalibur 31
 

Hey guys I’m new here. Just purchased my first larger boat . 1978 31 ft with 2 454’s and trs drives mercury transmission. Overall great shape and is able to be used as is. I’m sure I may have questions about any historical info any one knows about this particular boat

Congrats! Welcome to the board. Get ten posts and then you can post some pics. Did you buy the black one that was on kijiji?

Yes I did....

Nice!
That should be fun

Do you know anything about that particular boat?

Nothing, I am sort of looking for a new hull for my drive train and I take a look at the net periodically and saw it.

There was 2 hulls for sale near Ottawa... scarab 3 and a kv.... both were complete basket cases....

I've seen the KV on for a while, would be a great project, but way over priced!

I was really hoping the kv was good as it’s my favourite old school boat.... was told it was good other than a ugly paint job.... when I got there the one drive was out , motors not running, wiring was a rats nest.... void under floor of cabin was full of water... deck had splits in the glass and I imagine the core is soaked, as you can imagine you basically would have to 100 % gut it and start from scratch....

Wow, yes the ad implies that it's good to go, just ugly
It's one of my favorites as well

I’d love to post some pics of it... so how does this 10 post thing work? Does this count as a post? Like every response? Or is it 10 new posts?

Yes, your response counts, just get up to 10 posts. You need 4 more, they don't all need to be meaningful.

Thats
at they don’t need to be meaningful

Ment too to say that’s good

I think I spelt ment wrong

Haha that's the way!

So boat is home and it runs great. Was about 2 foot chop on the st Lawrence today but ran 60 mph with no strain. Very smooth. Very little sensation of speed other than my cheeks flapping in the wind

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...a075a3d65f.png
Pretty decent interior
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...6b16a2a54.jpeg

That is nice! I think you did well
Post some pics in the classic section, will get more views

went out tonight for about an hr and a half . Cruised around at 40 mph engines turning 3100 rpm gas gauge didn’t really move. Very pleasant ride. Was about 2-3 foot waves . Keeping it docked at a marina for the rest of the week so I can rebuild the bunks on the trailer... does anyone else have floating trailer issues?

Fantastic that it runs well
Issues? I love my floating trailer, can load it all by myself

How do you have it set up so it doesn’t roll under the boat?

I have plastic pipe guides on either side at the tail end of the trailer that go way above the rail

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...7e46feabd7.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...660206b88b.jpg

Keep plenty of oil in the TRS drives and the transmissions. They are beasts and I have them on my money pit.

Nice looking boat!

Should I change the transmission and drive oils like every 10-15 hrs?

that's a bit over board. I'd look up the manufacturer recommendations. as long as the oil is good and clean, there's no need to change it that often. If its not after that much use, you have bigger issues. I change my engine oil more often.

We're going to need pics of the engine compartment, stats, etc.... looks like you found a good hole in the water :D

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...65eb1b431.jpeg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...171fc232b.jpeg
I’ll get a better engine bay shot this weekend

I’ve put 32 hrs on it so far. Have a new ram for the engine hatch... figured I’ll wait till the season is done before I get into any work. Only about another week or two left around these parts