Mudboat

Snowman pretty much covered all the bases.. No gas.. Take care of the basics like cleaning out the fuel system, getting a new filter and checking the fuel pump. Also consider sending the carb to a shop for a complete rebuild.. 5 years is a long time to sit up. Gas turns to something similar to turpentine after a few years. Broken down gasoline will plug anything small, like jets and nozzles. Spend a few hunnert bucks now and it will go for years..

I had Friday off and had planned to take it out and tune it.. Note: My EA81 is in boat.. I have to run it in the water for a couple of reasons: 1. The engine is keel cooled, so the boat needs to be in the water to keep the engine coolant, uh, cool... 2. The engine is coupled to a straight drive system. When you crank it, it goes. So it needs to be in the water because the prop shaft spins when the engine is running. If it is not in the water, then the cutlas bearing on the shaft strut will burn up. A cutlas bearing is nothing but an underwater rubber bushing for the shaft. The water lubricates it and keeps the rubber from from burning. Anyway, Friday was a wash because I had to prepare for a cochon-de-lait (pig roast) at my house on Saturday, and I had out of town relatives coming in for that. Saturday was cooking, drinking and partying.. After a handful of Advils and cleaning up after the party on Sunday, it started raining.... Maybe this evening!!!! I need to get it done in the next day or so because hunting season opens on Saturday.. I need the boat to go hunt in the marsh..

I bought the entire kit (carb and adapter kit) from: http://www.webercarburetors.com/ Call them about the adapter kit. Comes with adapter, gaskets, bolts and nuts to hook up the Weber.. Adapter kit is like $40...

That's pretty much it.. About a 2 hour job.

Weber 32/36 came in yesterday. The swapover from the Hitachi to the Weber is pretty straight forward. Took about 1-1/2 hour for everything (remove old, remove studs, install new, hook ups, etc..). The kit had everything needed. Throttle cable lined up perfectly. Cranked it up late last night once everything was hooked up. Didn't have time to follow the instructions for tuning, so I'll get to the tuning either this evening or tomorrow.

I have read a few posts in here where the hardcore soob boys have bought 1-way plane tickets, bought a car sight unseen and drove it home several states away... And where exactly is this car in Fla? If you change your mind, I'm interested. A much closer drive for me as I live in La.

Great.... I just ordered a Weber conversion kit for right at 4 c-bills... Should be in today.. I would be interested in seeing the pics of the holly though..

Here is a custom fabricated ram air application setup in a hunting boat: The cowl is sealed when the engine cover is closed. There is a side mounted scoop on the opposite side, but this side looks much cooler: The guy claimed an increase in rpms and an overall increase in medium to high end power:

I have them on mine... Advance Auto Parts sells them off the shelf for about $6.. If you don't have an Advance auto, go to any auto parts store and tell them you need a chromed crankcase breather-filter-thingy... They're pretty common..

I done it last year. Simple conversion really. Swapping manifolds is 90% of the work. You may have to alter your throttle cable somewhat to line up to the Hitachi, but I found it pretty easy. Right now I'm swapping from the hitachi to the Weber 32/36. Carb and adapter kit should be in today. In my experience... The Hitachi is better than the Carter 1bbl, and have heard that the 32/36 is much better than both of the others. I'll find out in the next day or so..

The guy at Performance Parts Warehouse assured me that it is a straightforward bolt up with the adapter. By the way, I ordered it a little while ago. Running me $430 with overnight shipping, so I'll be getting it tomorrow.. Thanks to you guys who replied, but I would still like to hear from more who have the 32/36 and let me know anything that would turn this into a nightmare. As far as installing SPFI, that would be a hellish situation in a hunting boat that seems to have a little problem sinking every now and then. I think that keeping it simple and not spending money on an ECU every year is in my best interest... Keep the comments coming, and I'll report my findings on the kit after I get it.

I'm getting tired of the chronic problems and heartburn this Hitachi is giving me. Rebuilt a little over a year ago. Ran fine up until about 2 weeks ago. Carb shop that did the work was under 6' of water during hurricane Katrina, so I can't get it checked by anyone in my area... I bought a carb kit, but it didn't help. Thought it was a plugged port on the accelerator pump, but that wasn't it either. I am seriously contemplating dishing out the money for a 32/36 kit with the adapter. Found a kit for $384 (new everything) plus shipping from Performance Parts Warehouse. . Note: This engine is in a boat.. No emmission equipment. No cat. converter. Free flowing exhaust.. Any comments on the Weber will be greatly appreciated. Is it fairly easy to tune after it's installed? How much conversion work needed for throttle cable? Is it more reliable than the Hitachi? Performance improvements? Better throttle response? Any other known gremlins? Another note: I am NOT interested in troubleshooting the old Hitachi. Something either reuilt or new is going on it.. Thanks in advance..

Have you tried changing the ignition coil? Fairly cheap fix.. Edit... Never mind.. I see you did.. Let me think about that one a bit...

They are not cheap... The kit from carbs unlimited run $388. http://www.carburetion.com/Weber/weber.htm The cheapest I found (carb only, not with adapter plate) was in the neighborhood of $315... Aftermarket Webers are expensive, especially when you can buy Holly 2bbls for under $150 all day long..

I had a Carter Weber on my engine when I first bought it. Note: My engine is in a mud boat.. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=8086 First of all, I couldn't get the CW to run decent no matter hard I tried. I finally paid $15 for a used intake and another $25 for a used Hitachi carb. Another $175 for a shop rebuild and it ran FANTASTIC, until about 2 weeks ago that is.. The carb shop that rebuilt mine a year ago took in 9' of water during hurricane Katrina. I live 10 miles west of New Orleans. The next nearest shop was literally washed away.. So, I had to clean it the best I could and figure out the problem on my own, or I was looking at shipping it off somewhere. My next option would be to buy the Weber 32/36 kit, which I just may do anyway.. My advice for your carb is to bring it to a professional carb shop and get a total rebuild. The CW 1bbl is actually a bit more simplified than the Hitachi, but it's twice as finicky...

I was having really bad hesitation with my EA-81. The carb was rebuilt last year by a carb shop. I noticed that the accelerator pump was not squirting gas, so I pulled the top of the carb off and checked the pump. Found the pump to work, but the jet that squirts it into the throat was plugged. I rodded it out with a torch tip cleaner and it helped out with the hesication drastically. I am a little concerned that I may have shaved the bore in the jet a bit too much.. Is it a big deal if that little jet has a slightly bigger hole than it is supposed to have?

Some guy had one during the "Cruisin' the Coast" in Mississippi 2 years ago with an Oldsmobile 455 stuffed in the back.... I'm quite sure that a soob engine would be 1000 times easier than that conversion...

Suhweeeeet!!!!!

Make a bid on this one.... If you can pick it up for $350 or less, then you got a pretty good deal... All you would need is an adapter plate to fit it to your soob.. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/WEBER-Carburetor-2-Barrell-32-36-DGEV_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33550QQitemZ7994746185QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

The hunting boats in my pics top out between 40 - 50 mph with one person and no gear depending on the prop, but you'd better be in low to no chop at top end. They are mainly designed to power a light weight hull through oatmeal-like mud and thick vegetation... A perfect boat for what we run through.. Light hull, light engine and plenty of power.. Keel-cooled closed loop cooling system. My engine temp runs 130 deg F in the summer and 115 in the winter...

There's plenty of soobs in boats. I have one rigged for hunting... There is even a company in Houma La. that takes EA81 and EA82 engines, completely overhaul them and will add upgrades to make them USCG compliant marine engines, but you're looking at about $6,000 for one. Here are some hunting boats with soobs... Putting one in a regular power boat is really not much different.. Of course the engine would be best to have a USCG approved equipment if it will be used in an enclosed engine compartment as well as a forced ventilation system to evacuate gas fumes.. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=8086

Nothing special about the props used. I think that the picture angle makes it look like it is odd shaped. All mudboats use a 2- blade weedless prop, either brass or stainless with a lot of pitch. I use a 2 blade stainless cleaver prop that is cupped. The cleaver design allows for higher rpm and the extra cup displaces water efficiently. Every year I have the prop sharpened and balanced at a local machine shop. A sharp prop is not really necessary, but it helps shed grass better. Every boat is a little different, so you basically have to experiment with a few different props to get the right one.

You got me there torxxx. I have never owned a jet boat. I have rode in a 32' Allison jet with a blown 540 ci engine. Quite a rush once the thing actually gets going. For the first 45 seconds, it makes a lot of noise but doesn't really go anywhere.. And since you are a brother commercial fisherman, you will appreciate the fact that I own and operate a 35' Lafitte Skiff with a keel-cooled 555 Cummins marine turbo diesel. A double skimmer shrimp boat if you will. Oh, and it has a prop as well, you know.. for power, not speed. One thing you will never see in the areas where we run mud boats is any kind of jet driven craft, including sea doos. They will suck up vegetation faster than the blink of an eye. The soft mud we run in is probably like 40% decomposing vegetation. Unless you want to burn it up in a hurry, you best stay running your boats away from the shallow bayous in Louisiana. You are correct with several comments. First, we don't jump beaver dams and I doubt that you would either with a fiberglass hull. Plus, there are no beavers down here. They will give an alligator a pretty nasty headache. Second - We do pay good money for these boats even if this is the only part of the country where they are practical. We live here, so they are the right fit for us. You are incorrect in saying that the keel cool on these boats create drag. The keel cool is incorporated into the hull. Nothing protrudes off of the boat, yet the metal surfaces make good contact with the water. You say your problem is that it is prop driven. These boats are designed for power in muck. A jet boat at a standstill would not budge in thick mud or vegetation. I just can't see that happening. It has to be able to pump something in order to displace water to move, right? If it can't pump, you don't move... With a prop, it will displace the mud, water and vegetation and get it moving in a hurry . These 16' suboats will easily transport 2 persons with guns, and misc gear as well as carry 2 deer. They are not built for speed, but speed is a positive side effect with the design. They are both powerful and fast.. Don't get me wrong... I am not knocking jet driven crafts other than that they take forever to get moving from a stand still. They are just not practical where I'm from..

torxxx I work in the marine industry as well. I also own a boat exactly like the one on ebay. While they may look crude, and incapable of running as described in the listing, I can assure you that these boats will run as he described. They are designed primarily for hunters to use in shallow, fresh water, soft bottom marshes in South Louisiana. With an EA-81 or 82 soob, they will run through mud with the consistency of oatmeal at over 25 mph and blow through water lillies and hydrilla like it's not even there. A jet drive would not even get out of the starting block where these boats run without sucking in mud and vegetation. The only other types of boats that can run in this terrain are air boats and go-devil, or pro-drive boats (which are air cooled engines on an external tiller controlled contraption). The suboat hulls will draft approximately 2" with the prop, rudder and stump jumper 10" under water. The engines are keel cooled, not fresh water cooled. They circulate water/anti-freeze through the keel radiator. A very efficient cooling system I might add. Top speed varies depending on the weight of the boat and the depth of the water (they are fastest in 6" or less with a soft bottom), but my boat will run 40 mph in water that would burn up a jet drive in seconds. I attached my photo gallery with various pics of the same types of boats in the terrain where they are designed to run. Notice the picture of my boat, which was taken from my deer stand and you will notice that we actually run through ditches, which in Louisiana are called a trenausse'. Enjoy!! http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=8086

That is a good price for a Kirk Matherne boat. It has a marine clutch, which costs about $1,500 by itself.. Boats like this sell for over $5,000 all the time in South La. A new boat like this fully rigged with an EA-82, clutch and trailer goes for over $10,000.. I've seen them as high as $14,000, but that is with hydraulic steering and fully tricked out with trolling motor and fishing seats...... $3500 is a steal.............