Hello, I'm new - (1973 West Wind Speed Boat)

Hi there,

I'm new to the forum and new to boating in general. I recently moved across country to Florida and sold a pair of SeaDoo's before I did. Once settled in, I was looking for a replacement water craft(s) when I stumbled upon and fell in love with a 1973 West Wind Speed Boat (Same as a Checkmate MX15) - It is currently powered by a 1974 Mercury Thunderbolt inline 6 "Tower of Power". To the best of my knowledge after taking it out a couple of times is that it is running fine. It's had the spark plugs, impeller, water pump, distributer and fuel lines replaced as well as the electrical. For the most part it's a ton of fun on the water. I just want to make sure that I keep up with it so I can extend the life on her.

Anyway, just wanted to say hello and that I enjoy the all the cool boats around this forum. If anyone has suggestions on resources or groups that I could benefit from I would appreciate any help!

Thanks and happy safe boating!

Attachment 323786

Good looking ride. Welcome to the site. There will be plenty of folks along with lots more knowledge on those inlines, especially Milkdud. I have several of them and grew pretty good at working on them but never did a complete rebuild. They are great old engines as long as you keep good gas in the tank, run 40:1 oil and make sure ya don't lug the engine with too large a prop. I presonally ran 36:1 oil in mine and rev them to around 6000 (I had a couple 1500 and one 1150) I was a little easier on the 1150.

Slimm

Nice find! I think WestWind must've had a deal back then with Checkmate to use their recently-retired molds (the hull is an exact knock-off of a 1971 MX-15, and the deck is too, with just minor changes that I can see). I had a couple of these back when they were new. I've always thought they better with the windshield off (I never remember seeing one with a windshield back in the day), but that's a matter of personal preference. The bottom had a narrow pad, and can be pushed into the mid-70's with a short 150 inline, and they'll handle well. With a long shaft, they will be a chine-walking circus ride over 60 or so until you raise the engine up on the transom at least 3". Get a prop that is made for that type of setup, and you're on your way. But if you just want to pull a tube, it's fine where it's at.

I can't see if your motor is a 115 or a 150 (your wraparound where it says "Mercury" is from a '79 model), and you're missing the front faceplate. But you knew that.
Care and feeding: I absolutely agree with all in the above post, Mercury Premium Plus oil (I personally use a synthetic, but there's controversy over that, sooo... can't go wrong with Mercury oil). Good fresh gas, yep. Make sure the spark advance is set at no more than 21 degrees BTDC, as these Mercs are otherwise prone to detonation with today's gasolines.
Prop it to top out at 5800 RPM minimum at WOT. No Less. No Lugging!

Have fun with it, it's a nice little rig.

Bring it down to Sebring (lake Jackson) this weekend. You can meet some people and its a nice calm lake with a sand bottom. Everyone will be hanging out in front of the Hotel telling stories and watching guys run.

Joe

Thanks! - Pure gas only and running 40:1 currently. Seems to drink it right up!

Thanks bearclaw! - It's a 115 and faceplate is in the garage :) My choke button is not currently connected, so it's a little bit of a manuel procedure at the moment to get it going at the start of the day. The boat as it sits is far from being perfect. It needs a new floor, I have no clue how my RPMs I'm doing (Gauge is broken) and you better not lean back on the seats.

Thanks!

The gas, yeah... By '73, they had a backdrag carb linkage that would economize on gas at mid-throttle - but I know that if I put my foot in my 1500, 12 gallons evaporates in a NY hour. 1150's were somewhat more forgiving.
By now you know that if you take the top cowl off, there is a manual choke knob on top on the cowl bracing.
Since your tach is broken, I would figure a prop in the 21"-23" pitch neighborhood would be in the ballpark. I would think it should be running 45-50, set up as it is.
If by "needs a new floor" means that it's soft, you can read through "recore" threads on here and get an idea of what you're really looking at.
It's a matter of water, maybe from sitting outside, getting into and under the floor and saturating/rotting.
Checkmate used a belco balsa core back then, I don't know what WestWind did. But any unsealed wood is vulnerable to saturation and damage.
For just general use with a 115, you should be okay to use it while you decide whether you want to tackle that job.