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Post by shadowxmas on Mar 13, 2018 7:40:25 GMT -5
Aussieguy,
Glad you replaced the cable and boat is running well.
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Post by seabird on Mar 13, 2018 7:53:48 GMT -5
Really nice to see that picture of your boat running across that water! All that effort, sweat and hard work was worthwhile! Enjoy!
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Post by aussieguy on Mar 21, 2018 5:28:58 GMT -5
put the rear seats and engine cover in place had to make up a new board and re-upholster the top most piece of the seat backing which runs all the way across the stern much quieter engine and looks much nicer
but it sure makes the boat look smaller and a bit cramped. seat cushions are not bolted down so can easily remove them for fishing from the stern
installed the new Garmin... plotter / fishfinder checked the tuneup and idle mixtures runs a bit smoother
back out onto the lake for some more testing shifts forward / reverse much better but not great... still need some work on the controller it's a bit sticky
Garmin doesn't have maps of the lake so the chart was useless depth / fish finder works flawless can see contours so easily puttered around slowly near the edge .... Mrs AG was driving while I watched/played with the Garmin
5 foot was the average around the shoreline except for that little spit of mud/sand up ahead now I would have gone around it ... I guess Mrs AG wanted to sea how much draft we really need 1 foot is nowhere near enough water MRS
enough of the slow stuff ... hit the throttle Garmin says 35mph at WOT but my tach says only 3000 rpm I don't trust the tachometer it is erratic and way out says I'm doing 1200 at idle when it clearly is NOT ... going to get another tach
plus I failed to trim the outdrive up should have read the operators manual a lot better I guess I forgot a lot of stuff since my last boat ... getting old I guess
weather was great and we both had smiles ear to ear MRs AG only complaint... "why didn't we do this 10 years ago!"
back to the ramp but this time Mrs AG says to use reverse cause she's tired of trying to stop the boat! sounds fair enough ... got the boat into reverse and pretty much stopped tried to put it into neutral ... bit sticky and hit forward
then I heard "Crap" and a huge splash I know what that was! YUP... Mrs AG was in the drink....
had never watched her when she tied up and never realized she gets onto the swim platform and then steps onto the dock well I guess she'll never do that again!
but to be fair .. I was driving and should have known what was going on
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Post by montylfl on Mar 21, 2018 18:24:15 GMT -5
the idea was to find a boat to keep me outta trouble nada value around 5,000 so far invested 2,000 estimate another 1,000 Ah. What is your time worth?
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Post by aussieguy on Mar 22, 2018 5:49:06 GMT -5
Ah. What is your time worth? OMG the boat is worth a fortune? I could have spent more initially and bought a running boat in fact the plan on this one was suppose to be fairly simple should have only needed to replace the outdrive and some minor head work to the motor but like any used old boat the plan soon changes when you start work could have bought a cheap used 5.7 from a truck and added all the marine requirements ....... but for the same price I assembled an rebuilt a 5.7 peace of mind knowing there is new bearings rings etc like any hobby / pastime...... time is not the issue having bragging rights and the pride in knowing you can do it is priceless so how much is a fish worth ... money for tackle, bait , fuel , pier fees + time
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Post by tears143 on Mar 22, 2018 7:43:37 GMT -5
Two people have two different set of mine. One value time VS money. If you can make more money doing xx, yy. Do that and use it to buy a better boat. Another one value the exp more than the money.
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Post by montylfl on Mar 26, 2018 21:02:02 GMT -5
Two people have two different set of mine. One value time VS money. If you can make more money doing xx, yy. Do that and use it to buy a better boat. Another one value the exp more than the money. Well said but "Show me the money!!!"
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Post by montylfl on Mar 26, 2018 21:03:05 GMT -5
Ah. What is your time worth? OMG the boat is worth a fortune Good answer. Lol
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Post by Mackerelman on Mar 27, 2018 8:41:50 GMT -5
I hope that Aussieguy has the Boat ready in time for This Years Grouper Season. I know that He likes Grouper to Catch & Eat.
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Post by aussieguy on Mar 28, 2018 8:38:41 GMT -5
no water time last weekend .... but did get some more work done found a lot of oil in the bilge tracked it down to be power steering fluid, much easier to fix than a engine oil leak thought the pump was bad ...cause some oil was near the pulley then took off the engine cover to access the steering actuator cylinder and found the high pressure hose connection was the culprit it was loose and steering fluid has been pissing out all over the back of the engine half a turn with a little wrench and now everything is tight emptied out the bilge and sprayed everything with degreaser tis nice and clean again and ready for another try out tinkered with the hand controller.. disconnected it from the motor and it moves freely. did find that the Electronic Shift Assist cam .. for reverse was out of alignment which would explain why I dunked the Mrs last trip adjusted the cam, hope that makes getting out of reverse work better. Oh My... when I looked at the hand controller wondered why I could move it sideways, assumed it was just sloppy from age found out it is the shift bypass.... pull the lever towards the seat and you can work the throttle without engaging the gears so niffty... now I can cold start and warm up the engine much simpler (should have read the owners manual better) BTW last boat had a separate shift and throttle lever pulled out the tachometer and oil pressure gauges to determine their sizes whole new set of gauges is on order... cleaned the rear upholstery AGAIN... this time using "Awesome" cleaner from Dollar Tree it really gets the old grime and even some rust stains off. need to find a piano hinge for the top engine cover but that cover looks a bit rough might re-upholstering it, or replace the whole engine cover without vinyl that's a job for the future... for now the cover works, but looks a bit crappy Fishing..... been trying to work out how to set up the boat for some fishing. It's a sporty / play toy .......not really a fishing boat 2 people would be able to fish easily from the stern more than 2 ...... would have to drop the bimi top but not a lot of room for a fish cooler or live bait well. hmmmmmmmmmm ??
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Post by aussieguy on Mar 28, 2018 8:43:45 GMT -5
I hope that Aussieguy has the Boat ready in time for This Years Grouper Season. I know that He likes Grouper to Catch & Eat. oooooh yeahhhhhh but won't be going out too far only got 44 gallons of gas and if I push the boat fast it drinks like a fish gonna need some numbers for close inshore grouper spots (max 10 miles) and work out how to put them into the Garmin NUMBERS PLEASE.....
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Post by tears143 on Mar 29, 2018 8:47:42 GMT -5
I hope that Aussieguy has the Boat ready in time for This Years Grouper Season. I know that He likes Grouper to Catch & Eat. oooooh yeahhhhhh but won't be going out too far only got 44 gallons of gas and if I push the boat fast it drinks like a fish gonna need some numbers for close inshore grouper spots (max 10 miles) and work out how to put them into the Garmin NUMBERS PLEASE..... Might want to include where you are launching from. Not many spots are within 10miles that are good.
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Post by aussieguy on Mar 30, 2018 7:35:59 GMT -5
home port .......Tarpon Springs
but bought a towing accessory .... Tahoe so I can launch in a wide area
Have a app on the phone that shows all the artificial reefs along with their numbers would appreciate any numbers for drop offs or areas around the mouth of the bay
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Post by aussieguy on Apr 1, 2018 6:01:40 GMT -5
electrical stuff got done... removed windshield wiper motor , opened it up and it was all melted inside plus the plastic housing inside the cabin ,that the motor sits in had started to melt as close to being an electrical fire as I ever want to see... they want 200.00 for a new motor... for that sort of money, I'll stand up and look over the windscreen if it rains so for now put old motor back so I don't have a hole in the top deck.. didn't wire it up and now the fuse stops blowing p.s.. checked the auto parts store, none of them had one that would fit found a new mini horn at West Marine, list price was 40.00 ouch! the guy in the store (he was the manager) asked me if I had my cell phone huh? I didn't have it with me , so he looked up the horn on the internet using the store computer he found the same one for 20.00 and then matched the price! moral of the story... they do honor their claim to price match so never go to west marine without your phone swapped out the VHF antenna, old one had a broken tip, the boat came with the replacement antenna when I bought it cleaned and installed the radio , Hey it works listened to some guy down at the Seminole ramp new bulb in front navigation light adjusted / re-seated the seal on the cuddy cabin hatch cover, should stop that annoying water leak. Gave the old gal a good wash! the outside of the hull was starting to get chalky ... washed the hull thoroughly with a good auto cleaner / wax this will make you wince.... I used a green scrubbing pad for the washing NOTE... scrubbing pad was real OLD and used had got some pine sap stuck on the gelcoat... fingernail to remove as much as possible then used alcohol to removed the remainder Started to WAX the gelcoat... but ran out of steam and daylight. the section that I have completed looks totally transformed ... can see my reflection on it It'll never look new... but it sure don't look neglected and streaky
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Post by aussieguy on Apr 2, 2018 8:22:00 GMT -5
quickly got the waxing finished on Sunday morning with plenty of time left to do a bit of boating
decided to go out on St Joseph Sound, launching from Anclote River Park
got there around 11:30 am figure most people would be already out and the ramp would be quiet No such luck plenty people using the ramp but... I'm here so lets do it
Got in the water without being yelled at .. looking good
then into the narrow channel heading out when some idiot in a 25-30 footer comes roaring in creating a huge wake nowhere to maneuver to cut across his wake got tossed around like a cork inconsiderate azzhole !
was choppy and windy with a lot of boat traffic and wakes motored over to the Islands and puttered around at low speed learning the water , looking around and testing the garmin . did a few high speed runs to see how the boat handles chop etc after 20 years of no boat figured taking it easy is the best bet.. gotta re-learn everything.... and my prediction was spot on (Mr Phd)
Got down near the Dunedin Causeway all the barrier islands were packed "why arn't these people in church, are all boaters atheists?"
all in all a fun afternoon until it came time to dock at the ramp had been warned beforehand there is a good current at the ramp and the wind only made it worse aborted first attempt .. it was all screwed up second attempt got her in just fine... friendly FWC officer help us tie up and I forbid Mrs AG from getting out of the cockpit before we were stopped!
Tide at the ramp was a lot lower and had to burn a bit of rubber to get some traction but managed to pull out without incident or getting yelled at
conclusion ... need better front seating and a comfy hand hold while standing the lounge seat only good for smooth water and there wasn't a lot of that out there!
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Post by aussieguy on Apr 15, 2018 8:53:25 GMT -5
late start again on Saturday left home at 11:00 am took the boat to the Seminole ramp at Clearwater planned to have a picnic on Caladesi Island
so everybody in Tampa Bay area had same idea to beat the front predicted for Sunday great weather yeahhhhhhh
BUT...... Nooooo parking at the ramp and the overflow lots everything was totally full and some people were waiting to see if a parking spot would open up
went back north checked out the other ramps... Nope them was full too
Decided to have lunch / picnic at home before heading up to Anclote driving around make ya hungry
while towing noticed the some weird electrical crap in the Tahoe, on flat road no turning / acceleration etc, the gas gauge was erratic one minute totally empty hit a small bump now it's half full
couldn't be from sloshing around cause I was driving real careful
after lunch looked at the trailer wiring which was one of my To Do's list anyway lots of chaffed wires, corroded connections and way too may old splices/repairs multi meter says there is a short somewhere in that mess
spent the rest of the afternoon re-wiring the trailer
the joys of owning a boat !
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Post by alaskaguy on Apr 15, 2018 12:51:03 GMT -5
I have never seen the parking lot at GRANDVIEW PARK ( 6th st so and 39th av so ST PETE ) more than 1/2 full on the best boating day of the year, farther drive for you but closer to the skyway. Takes me 15 min from my dock to the main span. As far as Grouper fishing goes try the "Pipe Line" off Egmont or around the Whistler (last marker west of Egmont channel) think it is 12mi off shore. on a nice day there are always plenty of boats around for help if needed, or the man made reefs in Tampa bay or under the main span of the Skyway
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Post by aussieguy on Apr 23, 2018 5:45:33 GMT -5
took the boat out for a quick ride Saturday afternoon and I almost KILLED my outdrive !!
forgot to screw in the dipstick which is located in the top of the drive this let a LOT of water into the drive
luckily the wife didn't like the water conditions and we only went a couple miles before returning to Anclote river puttered about, sightseeing at no wake speeds
got home .. went to flush the motor and found oil all over the drive eeeeeek
drained it , took a sample of the oil and let it separate overnight ... almost 50% water
a) let it drain overnight b) flushed the drive with kerosene c) flushed the kerosene out with cheap gear oil until the oil came out clean d) let that drain and filled it with the expensive quicksilver oil
didn't find any signs of damage in the oil, there was some metal on the magnets but I expected that due to being a new drive and the gears were suppose to wear in.
will test it later today
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Post by aussieguy on Jul 29, 2018 5:39:39 GMT -5
so been real busy lately ... havn't had time to update took the boat out a few times
and decided ..... gonna have to SELL IT !
wife wants a standup cabin potty sink A/C TV fridge etc etc etc I need a bigger fishing cockpit
So .... bought a 1989 25 foot Regal got it home last weekend and after full inspection found a rotten stringer under the motor repairs should take a couple of weeks
still got number 1 won't sell it until new one is on the water
Here we go again ....
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Post by montylfl on Jul 29, 2018 9:36:05 GMT -5
New boat need a new thread. (Scrolling thru four pages is too much. Lol) Good luck with the repairs.
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Post by huntfish7909 on Aug 13, 2018 13:33:37 GMT -5
home port .......Tarpon Springs but bought a towing accessory .... Tahoe so I can launch in a wide area Have a app on the phone that shows all the artificial reefs along with their numbers would appreciate any numbers for drop offs or areas around the mouth of the bay what would that app be?
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Post by parkpass on Aug 13, 2018 18:21:34 GMT -5
An App for a towing service might come in handy.
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Post by macktime on Aug 16, 2018 5:27:24 GMT -5
Great post Aussieguy, it should be mandatory reading for people considering buying a used boat... hope you get the boay dialed in... soon.
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Post by aussieguy on Aug 26, 2018 5:38:27 GMT -5
An App for a towing service might come in handy. got the Seatow App and membership....
as yet not had to use it ..touch wood
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Post by aussieguy on Aug 26, 2018 5:50:17 GMT -5
what would that app be?the app is called Florida Reef mapgot it from Google play store for Android
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