Restoration of a cheap $600 Nitro Bass boat from the auction

Part 1 of me restoring a cheap fishing boat I bought from copart auction, in this video I’m cleaning up the boat and trying to get the motor to run.
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[@Ace.Fisher]

Here’s the 2nd part. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pHm3mKCJmLqVebssi=PIF3jKiFhTdwnhWR

[@Packindips]

Man that’s the greatest feeling in the world, after struggling to get an old boat started, that’s music to my ears

[@Ace.Fisher]

Yeah it was a very happy moment for me to see that bright spark lol

[@kenji-xj2ft]

I bought a 2002 Nitro NX882 and man she was a mess for $2900 from a old timer. I did a complete makeover and redid everything like you did and I absolutely love it now. It looks stinking brand new! I always get comments from other fishermen on how good it looks for a '02. I won various tourneys with it over the years as well. Good ole 150hp 2 stroke never failed me. With everything I did to it and just rewiring everything to redoing the bilge and etc. Also even fixing the motor with replacement parts and doing a complete clean out, she purrs like a hungry cougar. Nothing beats a smokey 2 stroke. If I post it up for sale shes worth a good 15k with everythin.

[@Ace.Fisher]

Wow you got a great deal 👍 it brings a lot of joy fishing on a boat that you did a lot of work on!

[@Whittmike2011]

Finally, A realistic Boat Purchase!!!

[@charlesronk2989]

I have a 160TF Nitro I bought in 1996 right before my first child was born. He grew up playing army men and matchbox cars in the bottom of that boat. We made a points game for fishing. 1 point for bluegills 3 points for perch and crappies 5 points for bass and 10 points for a pike. We always had a stop time and my kids and my ex would be trying to get that last little 2 inch bluegill to win. That game completely hooked my kids on fishing.

[@Ace.Fisher]

That’s awesome! Thank you for sharing your story!

[@illinoispublicland4680]

Yep this is 100% the boat my neighbor was trying to selling me last fall. I was curious if the electrical was going to be an issue with all the rat trap scattered around the boat. Cool to see that you got it running and small world coming across the video! Subscribed and would love to see a final video of you taking it out on the water and running it full throttle great job on the restoration you knocked it out!

[@Ace.Fisher]

Oh wow no way! That’s cool 👍 thanks for subscribing Im currently working on a new video will be posting it tomorrow hopefully.

[@Ace.Fisher]

Do you know any history of this boat?

[@illinoispublicland4680]

@@Ace.Fisher when I was looking at buying this boat it was November 2023. The guy didn’t have much info on it. Just said they had bought it from someone else. Taken it out a couple times on the river then it sat for about 2 years. He must’ve sold it to the guy you bought it from because I later saw it again on marketplace from a different person. I assume they got it didn’t have time to really work on it and sold it to you. I’m so jealous of this build I was looking at doing the exact same thing. I was researching reversing oxidation and how to restore etc. it turned it so well. If you ever debate on selling please hit me up in this comment I would definitely be interested would be cool full circle story.

[@Ace.Fisher]

Wow in less than a week so many views and 100 subs! Thanks for the support guys!

[@demons500]

Nicely done. Can't wait for Part 2

[@Ace.Fisher]

Thanks will be posting it soon.

[@tripster003]

Love these videos you do. Keep buying boats! We are learning so much!

[@bobswagger6748]

Awesome restoration!

[@Ace.Fisher]

Thank you!

[@alafanlaman]

I want to encourage you to continue to learn all you can. The old 2-strokes have received a bad rap over the years and the new governement regs have literally priced the common man out of the ability to afford a boat without having to take out a second mortgage. The old 2-strokes are relatively easy to work on, parts are still plentiful and you require no computer. It's either fire, air or fuel. I see you were having issues with fire initially. If no fire, check any type of in line fuses. That's an inexpensive fix which sometimes is the issue with fire. I have a 1996 model of that same boat that I rebuilt. It had the Mariner 115 option. Like you, I performed a total electric rebuild. You got a great deal on yours and with only 600.00 purchase, makes a rebuild less of a financial issue. Good luck to you.

[@Ace.Fisher]

Thank you! Definitely have a lot more to learn, at the moment the motor runs like a champ starts everytime and runs strong! Good luck with your boat!

[@FishingWorldUkraine]

It turned out great! Add light (Led) to the lockers, lighting is always needed

[@Ace.Fisher]

Thank you! Great idea!

[@CAN43715]

If you are looking for a boat to restore again in the future, the old Champions and mid 2000 Rangers get a lot of money restored. Just be careful buying the Champions as they were the last to use wood stringers and transoms, but they ride so nice and build quality is second to none. Also be careful on the trailers as some of them came with tubular steel that would rot from inside out. If you find one with a Yamaha hanging on it, bonus.

[@Ace.Fisher]

Thanks will keep that in mind, I almost bought a 2008 ranger Comanche for cheap! But it sold fast

[@CAN43715]

Nice, a lot of those rangers had hand laid hulls instead of chopped fiberglass blown onto the mold and premium epoxy @@Ace.Fisher

[@CNGaming101]

Great save lol

[@Konta76_fishing]

Good work👍👍👍😃🎣🎣🎣

[@Ace.Fisher]

Thank you!

[@johnnywaldrop1297]

My first Bass boat was on of these. Great boat

[@Ace.Fisher]

Thanks!

[@HarborYachtTours]

Cool boat

[@Ace.Fisher]

Thank you!

[@lilbopeep6059]

I’m doing a skeeter myself and she was rough to start (still rough tho lol) and am already in it about 3k in and just past the halfway point to completely restored but by the time I’m done I’m looking right around the same value between 15-20k (probably worth 20-25 if I do power pole and upgrade trolling motor and fish finder but that’s adding like 7k) all with a total of 4500 to get it back to what it was and then some. Hoping to wrap up the rest of the bodywork this weekend then I’ll just have flooring and a bit of fiberglass in the bilge to replace and she’ll be show room ready. Buying used when it comes to boats and dumping sweet equity into it is always the way to go imo. Only thing in not looking forward to is the longee board. I’m looking at getting another to pay for the upgrades to mine now tho and maybe put some money back in my pocket😂

[@demetresichinava5088]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@slugbug55]

What an amazing deal. Where I live in Quebec, Canada a boat like that would probably cost over $5000 and would be in much worse condition.

[@andrewjenkins6327]

Great video. I really like to know what was the main problem for not getting spark. I bought a 96 farm find dodge dokata few years ago. No rust ,no dents and no spark. I replaced all almost everything doing with electrical and i had a gut feeling to check underneath battery where cables ran. I sold it my friend who dad found a few correded wires underneath the battery. Thing fires right up and purred lol

[@Ace.Fisher]

Since I just swapped out all the electricals from a different motor I have no idea what the problem was, but my guess is there was a short somewhere in the wiring.

[@wesmcbride1045]

great job

[@ntsegmuag3144]

2 stroke oil in the carbs is how you winterize the boat. Most use 2 stroke. I use marvel Mystery oil. Keeps your carbs from corrosion and moisture.

[@Ace.Fisher]

Oh I did not know that, how do you get the oil out of the carbs when you’re ready to use the boat?

[@CAN43715]

Use non ethanol gas and you will be fine@@Ace.Fisher

[@justinjdavis79]

Very nice

[@bricehale6593]

You got a great deal on that my old boss has a 90s skeeter in about that same condition still a nice boat but needs alot of cleaning and work he wants 2500 i just dont know if i can risk it even tho im sure i could buy it an put a lil elbows grease in it and make 500-1000 off it

[@Ace.Fisher]

It depends on what kind of motor it has, you could even double your money!

[@privateer0561]

Don't use that kind of flywheel puller - it can bend the flywheel (ask me how I know) Use one designed to bolt through the middle instead.

[@Ace.Fisher]

Thanks for letting me know.

[@Usefullinformationphilippines]

Don’t ever use starting fluid on a two cycle engine unless you want to destroy it

[@illinoispublicland4680]

So what should you use for an old motor that’s sat for 2-3 years?

[@Popecountyoutdoors]

I have this same exact boat color and all except mine is a 125

[@Ace.Fisher]

Nice 👍 how fast does yours go with the 115?

[@Popecountyoutdoors]

@@Ace.Fisher 125 and around 56

[@CraigWinkler-d8y]

Fantastic job! That was so inspiring! I have a 1994 Nitro 16TF Ricky Clunn Edition that is in need of some of the same repair. Please....where did you get the steering wheel and the NITRO sticker for the boat. It really does dress it up. I need both!!!! (Cost?) and , what was in the spray bottle that you used while sanding the surface with the 1000 grit sponge pad? Any chance you might do a "soft spot" floor repair in the future? Thanks again!

[@Ace.Fisher]

Thank you! The steering wheel and stickers I got on eBay. And in the spray bottle was just some dawn soap and water, it helps the sand paper glide better.

[@smoovefishing]

Well at least you have some spare parts

[@Ace.Fisher]

True!

[@bobwallace5257]

Did you check the on/off switch?

[@stb3wgnn]

Video muito bom, estou querendo muito fabricar um barco para mim! Estou vendo ideias de como é um barco para poder comprar as coisas e fabricar.

[@sandman70131]

Did you put the clip on the kill switch?

[@shernmccraken4253]

Nice work, but jeez, get some wheel chocks....

[@Ace.Fisher]

Thanks 😂

[@nathanhejny4045]

People have no clue the first and foremost thing is 2 fog the cylinders first with 2 stroke oil and skin it over and never use starting fluid. If this is how this boat is treated then give it to someone who knows what their doing

[@Ace.Fisher]

Thanks for watching, the first thing I did is spray some 2 stroke oil into each cylinder before trying to turn it over.

[@bobporter1681]

Cant anyone just do a nice vid without annoying music it just kills the interest in watching

[@crandell85]

Totally agree. The silence between occasional speaking is perfectly acceptable. Take a chance & try it.

[@crankingtanks7]

Where on earth do you find these auctions??? I need a boat for $600

[@mv-cs9tm]

Realy cheap, i am loocking buy bass tracker aluminium 18,5 ft in salvage auction how much usually people pay ,my budget is $ 3000

[@FloridaLivin_Christian]

Your rev limiter was your problem. I have a 115 and had no spark and disconnected the black/yellow cable and it fired right up

[@Ace.Fisher]

I tested the rev limiter and disconnected the black yellow wire too but still didn’t have any spark, what I’m thinking the problem could be is somewhere in the wiring it was shorting out, that’s why I decided to swap everything out including all the wiring harness

[@jimw6991]

I am glad you got it going. Since you have a functional system, why not go back thru and discover what was wrong with original electrical. Ohm out stator, sensors, wires, etc. Finish learning ​, problem is in there somewhere. @Ace.Fisher

[@privateer0561]

Probably had a bad ground somewhere. Well, at least you have a lot of spares. You really need to learn electrical diagnosis - at least the basics for continuity, resistance, etc. Loading up the parts cannon does not serve your purposes; indeed, if the motor again goes dark, what will you do?

[@Ace.Fisher]

Definitely have a lot more to learn but how will I learn without trial and error 🤷‍♂️ I was able to return the parts that I didn’t need, but for example the stator didn’t pass the test and was not working at all, 2 of the coils were also bad, I went through all the grounds, I’m thinking there was a short somewhere in the wiring, but I also went through everything checking every single wire 🤷‍♂️ either way I have a lot more experience and knowledge because before this I never worked on an outboard before. Now I have a better understanding how it all works :)

[@garykrell2058]

These years had a thin hull ask me how I know 😊

[@Ace.Fisher]

Really? What makes this boat so heavy then, my first impression of the boat was that it’s too heavy for it’s size 😅

[@dirtybootsfishing]

Even though the motor say tracker its a mercury

[@Gokywildcats11]

Wanna sell it??

[@Ace.Fisher]

No sorry I was looking for a boat for a while, I’m holding on to this one.

[@bobwallace5257]

Dude never place a battery on the ground or on concrete, it destroys them!!! Take them to the store and have them checked if you don’t have a tester!!

[@locker1325]

Where are these 600 bass boat deals. Where I say.

[@dalebechtel8904]

Sucks you wasted all that money on electrical parts

[@Ace.Fisher]

Yes but I returned most of the parts that I didn’t end up needing.

[@swade-gz6sy]

Boat = Break Out Another Thousand

[@dirtybootsfishing]

An you can tell it's your first boat cause u did some things wrong

[@timsussenbach5376]

Too bad it has the worst engine ever produced on it... nice boat though

[@Ace.Fisher]

Thanks for watching! You’re probably thinking that this is force engine but it’s not. It’s a true mercury engine.

[@zbrown72]

Walmart POS batteries anyway…