Seeking Manuals or Help on restoring a 1979 34' Sedan Tollycraft

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ballyandreen

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Feb 6, 2022, 8:41:11 PM2/6/22
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Hello forum,
I just joined the Tolly Club, and am seeking basic help in how to proceed with a restoration.  A high school friend and I are working on a 34' Sedan with two Merc Cruiser 255 engines.   The engines run fine, and the transmissions seem okay, but the V-drive on one of the engines is shot.  It seizes up when operating for just a minute or two, and the engine struggles and dies.  (The V-drive was entirely out of oil, and we drove it unknowingly, no doubt causing the damage.)
I have engaged the services of a mechanic, but still, we have done some work on cars, and in any case, I always like to have manuals on hand if possible.  I considered moving the engine back myself, but decided I might end up sinking the boat if I disconnected the wrong fitting.  
Any advice on how to get a manual, or parts, would be greatly appreciated.

Ralph Berger
Berkeley Marina on the SF Bay

Jeff Few

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Feb 6, 2022, 10:34:26 PM2/6/22
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Apropos of this question: if any such materials exist out there, I’d like to volunteer to get them scanned to PDF and posted as part of the club’s member resources. 

RALPH BERGER

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Feb 7, 2022, 6:46:44 PM2/7/22
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That is a smart idea!  Do we have a virtual library for this kind of thing?  I'll bet there are some really interesting material that was provided with the boats back when they were originally sold,
Ralph Berger
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Mark

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Feb 8, 2022, 1:40:50 PM2/8/22
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I have a 1978, 34’ Sedan that I went through completely in the last 4 years.  I used Harbor Marine in Everett Washington.  They have a superb transmission shop, and they rebuilt both my v drives, at the same time I put new Crusaide 6.0 engines in it.  Mike is the guy to talk to, he may have some ideas and what to watch for. 
Harbor Marine

I did a lot myself but had HM do the Eng and Trans work.  
Mark 

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 7, 2022, at 3:46 PM, RALPH BERGER <lapla...@comcast.net> wrote:



bhoov...@gmail.com

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Feb 8, 2022, 2:14:14 PM2/8/22
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I have a number of manuals already on digits.

 

Let me know an email to send them to, some are quite large, greater than 5mb and take up quite a bit of space. I keep them all on my ipad that stays on the boat so I have access to them when needed.

 

Brian

 

1973 34 Sedan Tollycraft Boat Owners Manual.PDF

1972 Chrysler Marine Engines Operating Manual.PDF

1981 Rev Chrysler Marine V8 Operating Manual.PDF

(1980) Tolly 26 12 VDC Diagram2.pdf

(1980) Tolly 26 Engine Wiring 2.pdf

(1980) Tolly 110 VAC 26 Diagram2.pdf

26 Tolly Color wiring diagram.pdf

Tolly 26 12 VDC electrical 2.pdf

Tolly 26 equipment electrical 2.jpeg

Tolly 120 VAC 26 Panel.pdf

Tollycraft Mercruiser engine harness - electrical and ignition system.pdf

Wiring detail take-off 1.pdf

Wiring detail take-off 2.pdf

Velvet Drive BW71C_72C_All_Ratios.pdf

Raritan L206V0911v1700 WaterHeaterOM.pdf

Xantrex TrueCharge TC20_40(445-0050-01-01_Rev-A).pdf

Brian Edmondson

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Feb 8, 2022, 2:20:50 PM2/8/22
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I can't be a great deal of help right now (hours-wise) because I am into my 5th year in the restoration of my Tolly 26 Sedan.  I do have both the original Tollycraft 3-ring binder owner's manual, and the original Crusader manual, both from 1983; however I  am completely uncomfortable with loaning them to somebody as I've done that stuff in the past and never saw my books again.  What I can do right now is share my Google Drive photos which are fairly extensive.  At some point I am going to fill in all the verbal information that supports the photos.  I also want to look for any copyright restrictions and create a shareable PDF of my manuals.  If you live in the Seattle area, I would consider getting together to look at the manuals and figure out a way to scan them to the extent that the law allows.  I think the manuals are valuable, but they are NOT going to give you a great deal of what you need.  And, I'm sure there is somebody out there with the manuals for your Tolly 34.

1983 Tolly 26 Sedan "Symphony" -  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1o9MjulUkV7KiOCbjzcg9xhDngPGWODsm?usp=sharing

I have only been a club member since 2015, so I think there are a LOT of people who are more knowledgeable than me on a number of topics.  The forum with all its "how-to" information was one of many incentives for me to search for a Tollycraft.  It is my understanding that somewhere along the line a system crashed, the club lost all that information, and it was not recoverable.  For the Tolly 26 Sedan at least, I am working towards rebuilding comprehensive and detailed information captured from my experience.  I have literally thousands of hours into my boat and knew early on that I had to do my own work.  In my opinion, at $110 (or more) per hour, it would be ridiculous to pay a marine service provider to restore a boat like this.  Another significant hurdle that frankly caught me off guard, is how often I have NOT been able to find what I needed off-the-shelf and had to custom make or modify almost everything (see the custom battery box in the "Symphony Wiring" folder).  So, a HUGE part of my time has gone into research and study in addition to design, engineering, and planning.  FYI/disclaimer: I am NOT an engineer.  But I am 68 years old and started turning a wrench when I was five and I have been building, fixing, modifying, and improving things all my life.

I very much want to help the club rebuild its DIY info and help other club members, but until I get Symphony back in the water, I need to get selfish with my time.  Don't be discouraged by my work taking so long.  There are a number of reasons for the "five years" including life-interruptions.  Perhaps more importantly, this is the last big project of my lifetime and I am driving towards perfection.  Perfection takes a great deal of time, but for once I own it all after a lifetime of needing to take shortcuts in my work projects that put my kids through college.  So, a great deal of the time I am spending is for the purpose of saving that time for other people doing this work.  For example, I spent a ridiculous amount of time and money re-designing the waste system.

Back to work for me... let me know if the link doesn't work.  I think for people who aren't using Gmail, you may be prompted that you need to request permission to access my Google Drive boat folder.

Good luck.  I will try to help when I can.  

BE

And watch out for bad information... including from me and maybe especially YouTube.  I recommend that you question everything.  Several times I have been given information from experienced people that was flat-out wrong... like "I used 1/4" King Starboard that I cut into two-inch strips and bonded to the bottom of my new fuel tanks with 3M 5200 to prevent crevice corrosion."  If you research it, you will discover that NOTHING sticks to King Starboard; which is a wonderful material, but must be either mechanically fastened with screws (for example) or welded together, which is NOT really something the average do-it-yourselfer would want to try.  So.... THEN I found a product advertised as being specifically designed for this purpose and it reacted with the 5200 and sorta stuck... but I was able to peel the strips off without much effort.  After doing some research, I used 1/4" polycarbonate bonded with 3M 5200.  See the "Fuel System" folder.  No words are needed.

Brian Edmondson

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Feb 8, 2022, 2:46:55 PM2/8/22
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WOW... Brian!  THANK YOU!!   I am getting close to finishing my restoration but I have a couple of tricky things to work on... one being the engine harness.  I would LOVE to have the files I highlighted below, and I think you could just drag and drop them onto my Google Drive:

Google Drive is a free way to keep your files backed up and easy to reach from any phone, tablet, or computer. Start with 15GB of Google storage – free.
Let me know if it doesn't work.

Brian Edmondson, Tolly 26 Sedan "Symphony"
Kent, WA

From: tollycraft-boa...@googlegroups.com <tollycraft-boa...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of bhoov...@gmail.com <bhoov...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 8, 2022 11:14 AM
To: tollycraft-boa...@googlegroups.com <tollycraft-boa...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: RE: Seeking Manuals or Help on restoring a 1979 34' Sedan Tollycraft
 

Brian Hoover

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Feb 8, 2022, 2:49:41 PM2/8/22
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Brian E,

I did not see any highlights, let me know what you want. 

Brian

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On Feb 8, 2022, at 11:46 AM, Brian Edmondson <bhedm...@hotmail.com> wrote:



RALPH BERGER

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Feb 8, 2022, 3:34:18 PM2/8/22
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Hi Brian - Those are wonderful!  I guess the ones that I would want are:
    • 1973 34 Sedan Tollycraft Boat Owners Manual.PDF
    • Tollycraft Mercruiser engine harness - electrical and ignition system.pdf
      Thank you!  - Ralph


      RALPH BERGER

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      Feb 8, 2022, 3:39:11 PM2/8/22
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      Hi Brian - Those are wonderful!  I guess the ones that I would want are:
      • 1973 34 Sedan Tollycraft Boat Owners Manual.PDF
      • Tollycraft Mercruiser engine harness - electrical and ignition system.pdf

        Thank you!  - Ralph

        Walt Souza

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        Feb 8, 2022, 3:46:45 PM2/8/22
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        Hi Brian, I have a 1973 tolly 26, did the wiring 
        Change much thru the years? I could use 
        All the 26 wiring diagrams if you have time to send them! I’ll buy you a drink of your choice 
        At a Tolly meeting! We live in Bellingham.
        Thanks!

        Timothy Lunsford

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        Feb 8, 2022, 5:00:43 PM2/8/22
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        I wonder how those ‘80 wiring diagrams would compare to ‘79? I could sure use all of them .

        Sent from my iPhone

        On Feb 8, 2022, at 12:39 PM, Mark <markf...@gmail.com> wrote:

        I have a 1978, 34’ Sedan that I went through completely in the last 4 years.  I used Harbor Marine in Everett Washington.  They have a superb transmission shop, and they rebuilt both my v drives, at the same time I put new Crusaide 6.0 engines in it.  Mike is the guy to talk to, he may have some ideas and what to watch for. 

        Brian Edmondson

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        Feb 9, 2022, 2:46:05 PM2/9/22
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        Hey Brian H... :)


        I'm wondering if people are going to get mixed up by you and I having the same name.  What adds to that is that I use my middle initial because I have had two experiences where I lived in the same town as another "Brian Edmondson," and one of the stories is very weird.  So, my nickname is "Be," and feel free to use that or just "B" or "BE" if it works better for you.


        I have been swimming in email lately, often waking up to over 100 messages.  Please forgive me for any duplicate messages I might send.  For example, I just sent you an "access" message from two of my Google Drive folders for my Tolly 26.  In one of those I mentioned that I am cleaning up an old Tollycraft electrical diagram to make it more readable.  It's really time consuming and I hope your drawings allow me to either clean it up better and faster, or dump the effort all together because you-got-this.  


        Below are the files you have that I am interested in that the hightlight didn't come through for you.  If you've already sent these, please disregard:.  


        (1980) Tolly 26 12 VDC Diagram2.pdf

        (1980) Tolly 26 Engine Wiring 2.pdf

        (1980) Tolly 110 VAC 26 Diagram2.pdf

        26 Tolly Color wiring diagram.pdf

        Tolly 26 12 VDC electrical 2.pdf

        Tolly 26 equipment electrical 2.jpeg

        Tolly 120 VAC 26 Panel.pdf


        Also, I can't remember what city and state you live it.  Could you provide that so I can add it to your contact info.  I live in Kent, WA.
        BE

        RALPH BERGER

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        Feb 10, 2022, 2:32:16 PM2/10/22
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        Thank you, I wish I was up there in Washington, others have reported good experiences with Harbor Marine.  I guess I am an outlier in that I am in the SF Bay, Ralph

        Brian Edmondson

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        Feb 10, 2022, 7:44:57 PM2/10/22
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        Hey Ralph... 

        There HAS to be a good transmission company near you, although guys like Mike Vogt at Harbor Marine are not common.  I had Mike rebuild my Borg Warner V-Drive.  It was behaving fine, but I put the boat in the driveway for a new engine (I spec'd out to Action Machine in Lynwood, WA) and I was NOT going to leave the tranny stay without at least a breakdown and thorough inspection.  I think Mike could swap me for a completely rebuilt tranny for (around) +/- $3,500.  I think a new tranny was around 5k.  But I like working with what I got and he had one of his best guys tear it down.  I asked them to replace ANYTHING that was out of spec and the total cost was about $2,200.  

        So, what you could do is crate it up and send it to Mike for an exchange or rebuild.  I think it weighs 200lbs.

        Brian Edmondson

        From: tollycraft-boa...@googlegroups.com <tollycraft-boa...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of RALPH BERGER <lapla...@comcast.net>
        Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2022 11:31 AM

        To: tollycraft-boa...@googlegroups.com <tollycraft-boa...@googlegroups.com>
        Subject: Re: Seeking Manuals or Help on restoring a 1979 34' Sedan Tollycraft

        Chris Hartsfield

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        Feb 10, 2022, 11:47:04 PM2/10/22
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        I will also take to following if you get a chance.

        Chris

        1980) Tolly 26 12 VDC Diagram2.pdf

        (1980) Tolly 26 Engine Wiring 2.pdf

        (1980) Tolly 110 VAC 26 Diagram2.pdf

        26 Tolly Color wiring diagram.pdf

        Tolly 26 12 VDC electrical 2.pdf

        Tolly 26 equipment electrical 2.jpeg

        Tolly 120 VAC 26 Panel.pdf


        huebn...@gmail.com

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        Jan 30, 2023, 1:00:04 PM1/30/23
        to Tollycraft Boating Club Forum
        Thank you for posting this information.  I have a lot to go through it, but I just spent 8 hours yesterday getting my butt kicked by the wiring in my '78 26 Sedan (I don't even know how electricity works anymore after yesterday's misadventure...)
        My blower, bilge pump, and fresh water pump all stopped working at the same time, and the drawings that I have are all illegible.
        Have Fun,
        Tom

        Michelle C

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        Jan 31, 2023, 1:19:38 PM1/31/23
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        Re: the wiring. If components all stopped working at once, check the power going to the fuse block from battery (switch or cables) it's usually red in older boats. And don't overlook the other common point- grounds and ground buss. A simple tester from a auto store will help. It looks like a screw driver and has a light inside it.
          Michelle- original owner 1972 30'.

        de:  Michelle's  I-pad.
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