Zodiac Hurricane 540 - New Project

[sufius]

Just bought a Zodiac Hurricane 540. Pretty close to buying it sight unseen as the pictures were so bad lol. Within a week or two I will see what I am getting into. I thought about buying the other one there also but hiding one boat from my wife is possible...two is much tougher .

If anyone has any information on the 540 I would greatly appreciate it. I have searched and see that the hull design is a bit different than the Avon/Zodiac 5.4s which I like for the Chesapeake Bay. Max power seems to be 90hp and it has a Yamaha 90 2 stroke already. I researched and saw a couple people at least had one on here and read their posts.

I hope to get the tubes holding air and the motor running...probably wishful thinking but they believe the hull had only about 350 hours on it, so there is a small chance there may be life on the motor. More to follow I expect.

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by sufius

Just bought a Zodiac Hurricane 540. Pretty close to buying it sight unseen as the pictures were so bad lol. Within a week or two I will see what I am getting into. I thought about buying the other one there also but hiding one boat from my wife is possible...two is much tougher .

If anyone has any information on the 540 I would greatly appreciate it. I have searched and see that the hull design is a bit different than the Avon/Zodiac 5.4s which I like for the Chesapeake Bay. Max power seems to be 90hp and it has a Yamaha 90 2 stroke already. I researched and saw a couple people at least had one on here and read their posts.

I hope to get the tubes holding air and the motor running...probably wishful thinking but they believe the hull had only about 350 hours on it, so there is a small chance there may be life on the motor. More to follow I expect.

The 90 2 stroke Yamaha is probably one of the best outboards ever made & definitely worth saving & a good chance it will be fine as long as nothing silly been done with it. Tubes may be more of a challenge depending on the material & condition.

[sufius]

Yes, it will probably be a week or two before seeing and picking it up. Total gamble on the tube and outboard. I am hoping the hours are low on motor and not whacked and the tubes good but you never really know until you know. I agree on the outboard is worth keeping. I have already searched for parts motors if deemed necessary. Contacted Zodiac and they are getting back to me about tubes, but plan to drop by their office as they invited me to. They are ten minutes from me but have never gone in. I know there are other tube sellers but figured I would talk to them first :-). Actually pretty excited but have to do a couple things to my Seacraft 20' before putting up for sale. I also have a fancy rowboat project I need to finish up Yes, I have a project problem lol

[1970Chvl]

Hi, did you get yours out of maryland off gsa? I did yesterday too, I got the yamaha, did you win the one with a merc?

[1970Chvl]

Im a coastie, Im willing to bet for the most part there tight, especially with engine maintenance, not so sure about the tubes, in the coast guard those would be maintained by the boatswains mates not the machinery technicians, good chance there were “DRMO’ed” because they were replaced with a newer platform.

[sufius]

Yes I bought the other. I got the boats mixed up but yes I got the merc and you got the Yamaha. I changed my mind last second on boats and thought they had same engine. I feel a bit stupid but it’s okay. You emailed when I was on the phone with the guy there. Nice folks. I hope the boats are not a train wreck.

[sufius]

That is great to hear. They are contacting me when they figure stuff out with moving boats off of trailer and onto the one I bring. I dropped by the zodiac MilPro HQ but it was a Friday afternoon and most were gone. They were washing a new 9 meter Maryland police boat with aluminum hull I was drooling over though.

[1970Chvl]

I hope they wait to transfer them so they can drop them on our trailers. Keep intouch please. I would like your guidance on helping me get this back to running condition lol. Thank you!

[sufius]

They were trying to figure out a sling or other method. GSA wants them out I think within 10 — 15 days but I told them I would do it within their timeframe but later the better especially if they are worrying about logistics. They said they can file for extension potentially if their side takes longer. If you have a CAC to get on base it also simplifies things but if not just a couple hoops to jump thru.

[sufius]

Able to visit the boat to get an idea of what I will be dealing with later. In standing pattern, but I am in no hurry. Got to look at the other 540 also...sent PM btw to ya!

The motor that I thought was a Yamaha but it was a Mercury turned out to be an Evinrude lol. It is supposed to only have 327 hours on it. It didn't look too bad but will need to go through all the motions after pickup. Tubes and gelcoat are faded but I did not see any obvious holes, delaminations, or even any fraying at seam areas. One side still had air in it after some years I assume so possibly a good sign. They spray painted over plastic letters but had to chuckle.

[brveagle]

I shouldn't have waited so long between log in's on this forum. Pretty neat to see not one, but two more 540's entering the civilian population!

I also have a coast guard zodiac hurricane 540 that i bought a few years back. It was on the uscgc roanoke island.

Thanks for the pics. Post some more once you get it picked up.

P.s. those tubes look rough! Make sure you clean all that debris out of the rope rail area.

p.s.s. I would pay big money for an A frame that would fit my 540, so if either of you decide to upgrade or get rid of it, let me know!

[sufius]

The whole boat was left to sit in the weather and looks a bit worse for wear. I am hoping much of it comes back to life. One side of the tubes actually still had some air in it believe it or not. It should be picked up within a couple weeks as they are getting the hoist lined up. They are faded but no fraying or obvious patches. I will clean and pull them off (hopefully rail mounted) and then clean more. I just need to see what I "won" first haha.

I had read your posts in the past when I did research on them. You were one of the few boats I could find anything on. I would like to pick your brain on issues you ran into.

[brveagle]

Yes the 540 are mounted with the rope rail. Undo the back transom straps, front aluminum bracket bolts and spray lots of soapy water on the top/bottom of the rail slit and they'll pull off from the front in about 4 minutes.

Pretty stoked to see more 540's out there. Feel free to post your questions or email me. My email is my ribnet user name @yahoo.com. (brve****@yahoo.com)

[sufius]

Picked up the boat from the Coast Guard last week. Process was flawless and the very large crane was a bit overkill but it worked very well lol. It was gently sat on a borrowed bunk trailer and dropped off where I am storing it temporarily. It could not have gone smoother.

[sufius]

Had a chance to work on the boat for a few hours to see what I am working with. Most of this is quite new but was able to fog behind the spark plugs just in case a bit crunchy. I plan on doing a 300 hour maintenance on the outboard within a few weeks (water pump, impeller, filters, etc.). It has a yellow top battery and am going to check if it can hold any charge, as it was sitting in a battery box full of water I have my doubts but nothing ventured nothing gained.

Used my mini shop vac and put some air in it...not fully inflated but mostly there. To my amazement I did not see any leaks. Later I will inflate it properly and spray the boat down with soapy water but I am thrilled so far. I scrubbed a section with some cleaner and then 303 and got it looking like this in about 20 minutes. It needs to be done properly and with better cleaners but the tubes "seem" to be in great shape. Here is a pic of the corner.

I pressure washed the deck and the hull and it got about 80% of it off but will need to scrub down the rest. It is quite UV blasted, so interior is more pink than orange. This pic shows the floor color to that of the anchor hatch which was original color.

[IMG][/IMG]

Not sure if this is true on all Zodiacs but like the way they set up drainage. Raised transom, so even if boat swamps the motor is still out of water. Splash well has drain, deck has elephant trunks, mini bilge has other drain, Left/Right inspection port areas then drain into mini bilge with plugs.

This is going to take some time to really spend time on it but so far so good for the little time I have spent. Before I left I looked at the Zodiac tube and it is 08 12 as the last digits and I am wondering if that happens to mean Aug 2012. If so, then both the motor and tube have been replaced since the boat is a 1999. The motor is supposed to have 320 hours but the hour meter states 55 hours and the gauges look kind of new. I will check into it once I eventually buy the ETEC software which should tell me.

[brveagle]

Glad you were finally able to take possession of the boat! Looks great. Glad to see the tubes are holding air so far. They sure cleaned up nicely. Did you try and start the motor yet? How does the wiring look?

Yes, the multiple drains/elephant trunks are nice!
P.s. let me know if you want to sell that A frame.

[sufius]

Haven’t tried the motor as there is a bunch of stuff I want to do first and need to scrape up some extra funds. I am going paranoia route on things to do with the hope nothing major is wrong. It also gives me a chance to learn outboards better.

I have no faith in the wiring lol. At least the runs are short and simple. I also am without a key and couldn’t find the code on the barrel. I will remove it next time and give it another look but may need a new ignition maybe.

[sufius]

This was my train of thought I have been storing in notepad. It is not all-inclusive. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself until the outboard is running and the tubes have gone a week without leaking. I could add youtube videos as I find ones I like on some of the tasks.


clean boat
300 hour outboard maintenance (whether it has hours or not)
check hull (tap out, bolts, holes, etc.)
check transom deeply
check and clean valves replace gaskets maybe
clean tubes and then clean tubes and then clean tubes
get cost for cushion
303 tubes
check prop (fishing line and etc.) add marine bearing grease
replace lower unit oil (check for shavings and water)
clean linkages, lub components throttle plates, springs, etc. on outboard
Hook up battery
Test lights
Test radio
Test power to outboard
Hit all the outboard grease fittings
Test power tilt
drop lower unit - 300 hour stuff
Check Steering - Replace SeaStar hydraulic fluid
drain fuel system, replace gas filters - 300 hour stuff
Add external gas filter with dual lines
buy two gas tanks
replace fuel lines
check compression
replace spark plugs - gap them and they must be indexed...pointing toward injector
need computer program to confirm oil..and general health and hours
check throttle bits
check gauges
check electrical wiring and existing stuff...start replacing as necessary
check helm/cables...clean and grease where needed
check lights/replace lights probably
check anodes on outboard
replace fuel bulb
replace or clean thermostat (?) (2 of them) flat head to clean outside corrosion to clean up then paper towel to wipe. clean up thermostat with wire brush and gasket good.
VST Filter replace (300 hr) outboard
get trailer...ugh!
patch/repair tubes if needed - so far so good
remove tubes and clean tubes and boat
Compound/polish/etc. hull

Bits and Pieces I probably need
anchor, chain, and line
Water separator kit (Have two in and one to motor...have cut offs for tanks)
Seastar hydraulic steering oil - $50
ear muffs - $10.50
battery - ~150
fire extinguisher
first aid kit
throw ring
300 hour kit - water pump/impeller kit - $300
spark plugs - get at auto parts store! (must be indexed) ~$40
lower unit oil ( Synthetic 75W90 GL5) - $40
lower unit pump (fill from bottom) - $15
remote key switch to start easy
gasket sealing compound (for water pump seals)
glue (per evinrude for pump bowl sealing and for o-ring
torque wrench (ex. water pump housing)
compression checker - $20
fuel line assembly with bulb - $20 (2)
fuel filter assembly (racor/Sierra) - $70
sea foam for gas
VHF radio and antenna
trailer & tags
boat title and registration
straps for boat
evinrude paint and stickers
gas tank (not attwood like yamaha or something)
rod holders clamp on (?) outrigger types and have clips for arch?
interior lights
need seat cushion quote
anchor, chain, line
life ring
stereo/speakers (on arch?)
kicker motor?
satellite/gps - dreaming now
ropes
engine protector (yamishield), engine cleaner/degreaser
GPS/FF - motor/stereo compatible
transducer
torch for shrink tubes
trim tabs? probably not needed

[brveagle]

Wow you're very thorough. Glad to hear the tubes are holding air. That's really the key. If that motor fires up, you're all set! Everything else is just minor!

[sufius]

Selling my other boat in a couple hours and am looking at trailers to get it off of my friend
s trailer and then get it to my house. I am talking with the person who owns this 5 Starr 18' trailer but has no model info on it (grrrr). That said, they used it for a grady 18' sportsman. They state new tires and new disc brakes which is a bonus and that it is in good condition and operating order. I enclosed a couple pictures does anyone have any comments or red flags for adjustability and etc. beyond make sure I look at everything ;-)


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