Captain PartyMarty
Crew Member
What products are you using? Looks great
What Did You Do To Your Boat This Week?
- Thread starter Stizzla
- Start date
NOOTKA BOUND
Active Member
Finally finished my rear steering helm. Still abit of fine tuning to do yet
Thunder21
Well-Known Member
I’ve been so busy with other stuff the boat has been ignored this year. Decided today to get it ready. Oil and filters were all done in the fall so I dropped both lower units and greased the driveshaft splines and prop shafts. Next up is a new radio and antenna and maybe a tv install.
Corey_lax
Crew Member
Today’s list was:
Modified the kicker steering bar to match the new setup.
Installed my three smartcraft gauges. Fought the steering wheel for a half hour or so lol.
Finished installing new 8’ vhf antenna to replace the 3’ one.
Hooked up throttle and shift cables.
Zap strapped all the new wiring and cables back into place.
New fuel line from the filter to the main.
Vacuumed up all the fibreglass that I’ve been rolling around in from drilling holes in the boat.
Installed hydrofoil because I think I’m gonna need it. The old two stroke had one so I figure this will be the same.
Doing my trial run on Monday to see if I need to prop different. I got a couple options right now to use.
Modified the kicker steering bar to match the new setup.
Installed my three smartcraft gauges. Fought the steering wheel for a half hour or so lol.
Finished installing new 8’ vhf antenna to replace the 3’ one.
Hooked up throttle and shift cables.
Zap strapped all the new wiring and cables back into place.
New fuel line from the filter to the main.
Vacuumed up all the fibreglass that I’ve been rolling around in from drilling holes in the boat.
Installed hydrofoil because I think I’m gonna need it. The old two stroke had one so I figure this will be the same.
Doing my trial run on Monday to see if I need to prop different. I got a couple options right now to use.
doubleeagle
Crew Member
Bamfeild ready
Corey_lax
Crew Member
Almost! After tomorrow’s test run, I’ll likely have to weld up a new kicker bracket because I can’t go up any higher with mine right now. Here’s hoping that Dr Bonnie let’s us travel!
Each spring I use a 7 inch power polisher with a terry cloth type buffer and 3M rubbing compound #36060 which is a fine grit and I get it at Lordco. This year I tried a different wax to finish with..went with Meguiars Gold Class liquid wax...I used this because I bought it for my 65 Mustang and liked how it shined up. I normally used Starbrite boat wax with Teflon. Both waxes are good...I know the Starbrite stands up well over the year between applications...I will see how the Meguiars stands up.
Sir Reel
Well-Known Member
Not sure how car wax will work/ last on gelcoat. I have used Meguiars Flagship wax for years with great results.
I actually just tried the Starbrite Marine Polish with PTEF this year so will see how it compares. It seems to go on and off a bit easier and gave it a great shine.
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That Starbrite Marine Polish does apply and buff off nice and does last. If the Maguiars doesn't stand up I have a couple bottles of the Starbrite and can hit it quickly with a 2nd coat.
ab1752
Crew Member
Nothing wrong with multiple layers of product, I agree that starbrite holds up very well and is easy to apply.
I believe that marine products are designed with more bite than auto but for final layers I wouldn't hesitate to use an automotive polish / wax on the boat. Here's a good read if interested:
https://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?54498-Marine-vs-Automotive
sly_karma
Crew Member
Finally got around to getting a drop curtain made to clean up the transom area. Booked in next month. Yesterday I relocated the fuel filter under the mid transom so it falls behind the line of the curtain.
This was a "one of these days" item until a couple of weeks ago all my electronics dropped out while fishing. The culprit: corroded terminals on the circuit breakers on the electrical board seen here stb side. No corrosion found anywhere else so I can only assume this was due to splashing in rough conditions. Some physical protection needed, hence trigger has been pulled on curtain.
Power sockets for downriggers will need some thought, I think I'll ask for eyelets in the curtain to prevent mounting screws from damaging the canvas..
This was a "one of these days" item until a couple of weeks ago all my electronics dropped out while fishing. The culprit: corroded terminals on the circuit breakers on the electrical board seen here stb side. No corrosion found anywhere else so I can only assume this was due to splashing in rough conditions. Some physical protection needed, hence trigger has been pulled on curtain.
Power sockets for downriggers will need some thought, I think I'll ask for eyelets in the curtain to prevent mounting screws from damaging the canvas..
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walleyes
Crew Member
You’re a builder,, why don’t you buy yourself some HDPE board and do it up right. Build a couple nice sized access doors on stainless hinges. All easy hardware for you fellas out there to get a hold of.
sly_karma
Crew Member
Yeah maybe. On the list for 'sometime soon' is a work table made from HDPE, so I could buy a little more and make the doors. What I like about a curtain though is easy fast access. If I have cargo in the hull, it has to be moved somewhere to allow solid doors to be swung open. Curtain just pulls up and flips over into splash well, giving instant access to auxiliary tank, fuel valve, filter, and batteries.
walleyes
Crew Member
On my 26.5 wellcraft it had one long access door along the back that laid down flat onto the deck. ( the hinges were along the bottom ) You could just lay on it to get way into the back or if you had to do any amount of work it was on slide hinges you just slid it off and laid it to the side. You can see most of it here. The one hatch off to the left was a built in tray holder, very handy.
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Thought I start ringing in the solar age on my boat too today. Bought a 100W flexible panel set at Trotac and mounted it on the roof. It's a no-brainer really at those costs now for solar. The flexible panel adapts nicely to the 3d curvature of the roof. And I mounted the whole lot removeable with heavy duty Velcro tape so I can take it off and put it on the SUV roof if I go camping with the small boat and electric motor. Like how it turned out and how you can check the functions and performance through an App on your cellphone. And I am usually not the geeky type.
And another improvement done yesterday: I installed a new fuel tank gauge system as I never really trusted the lever style tank gauge. Found this conductivity type system at Trotac and thought I'd give this a try. It has no moving parts to fail or jam inside the tank. It gives me the display in the back corner of the boat where I can check the tank level in my car port without having to climb into the boat, turn on the battery and look at the dash gauge (which I never trusted) or remove the rear panel that hides the tank and manually check the fill level. Now I just reach from the outside of the boat for the battery switch, turn it on and can see the tank level right at this rear display. Hope this system holds up well over time and is more reliable.
Corey_lax
Crew Member
Took the trial run today and everything went great. Boat still floats, motor runs great and even picked up some top speed compared to the old two stroke 115. It’s sits about 1.5” lower in the stern when not moving but planes at the same level so my kicker is well out of the water. 34 mph at WOT while going against the current in the Fraser so probably about 40 mph without current.
Went back home and re wired my wiper motor which has never worked but the motor is still good. Very happy with how today went
Went back home and re wired my wiper motor which has never worked but the motor is still good. Very happy with how today went
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