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Post by aussieguy on Aug 26, 2018 6:59:52 GMT -5
Still got number one and plan to keep it till number 2 is on the water
Number 2 ...
we decided that we just got to have some creature comforts a) standup cabin with sink stove etc
b) bigger cockpit / fishing area c) a flat floor plan without a motor cover that obstructs fishing area
d) a head (toilet)
So we found a 1989 Regal Ambassador 25 footer 350 + Volvo Duoprop , motor was supposedly rebuilt it does run the galvanized trailer was not in the best of shape
negotiated a price without the trailer so I can buy a better one Found a secondhand trailer... Aluminum that needed some cleaning up and TLC Flat tire ... turned out to be a valve stem , New bunk U-bolts so I could move the bunks to fit the new boat
Initial investment 4,600
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Post by aussieguy on Aug 26, 2018 7:03:32 GMT -5
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Post by aussieguy on Aug 26, 2018 7:43:30 GMT -5
got it on the new trailer and home from Spring hill was worried about total tow weight but the aluminum trailer saved about 400 pounds and it tows good
Did a better inspection of boat and found a) someone did a really bad job of fixing the motor mounts b) they also put holes in some of the stringers for wiring etc and not sealed properly
Job 1 replace the SHORT motor Stringers build better motor mounting points and replace plywood where house batteries sit
There is so much room in the motor compartment that I can do this without pulling the motor completely out , just need to lift it a bit , maybe remove the exhaust manifolds
Job 2 ... replace raw water hose fitting on outdrive
then can splash
Already got one stringer and the battery area fixed... BUT ... the dreaded epoxy rash on my arms returned with a vengeance.
I certainly should know better than to wipe sweat off face while using epoxy got some around/in my eyes which resulted in swelling and irritation
anyone ever had those nasty red styes on the eyelid? multiply that by 10 and that's how I feel so not doing any more epoxy work until eyes clear up Yes went to doctor .. there is no damage + invested in better eye protection , sweat bands and a fan in the motor compartment
Mrs AG must have an air conditioner in the cabin ... Mr AG reluctantly agreed but secretly was more than happy to put one in
tried out one of them Portable A/C (100.00 on craigs list) ... the single hose units are useless if you ever get a portable A/C for your house/trailer/boat ... get the 2 hose style
but I did find a used marine A/C unit, got it home and tested guess what Job 3 will be
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Post by huntfish7909 on Aug 26, 2018 12:54:33 GMT -5
Oh how I can't hardly wait to read about this adventure
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Post by yankeeredneck on Aug 31, 2018 20:14:24 GMT -5
Good luck with the boat. I had 3 used at different times. Like my fishing partner says if you don't use them the gremlins come calling. I am a mechanic by trade so I nipped the little things as they popped up. Before I moved from NY to here. I was hooked up w a friend who had a friend that was an avid fisherman and was going to sell the boat to him. Oh no, my bro in-law got wind I was selling to someone else and I damn near gave it to him for nothing. I still hear him bitch every time I visit what a piece of crap that boat is. Moral of the story, don't sell to family !
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Post by aussieguy on Sept 26, 2018 7:48:10 GMT -5
so work is progressing pretty slowly ... but it is moving a bit Hot , sweaty and dodging the afternoon storms is taking much longer than I wanted
biggest problem is the sweat, 10 minutes work and I need a shower
the sore eye cleared up after 2 weeks of misery ended up seeing an eye specialist who prescribed a better lubricating eye drop.
So back to work, cut out a bulkhead and the next morning epoxied in a new one, I think during cleanup , managed to touch my face , near the eye ........again !!
apparently I am getting sensitized to this stuff by the end of the day the swollen eyes, irritation, watery eye and unbearable itch resulted in a trip to the ER
they knew exactly what to do. Antihistamine.. through a drip killed the symptoms that night.
apparently the other doctors including that eye specialist have no idea on how to treat this I suffered weeks of irritation , when it could have been managed by taking Benadrile!
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Post by SkyJay on Sept 26, 2018 11:48:31 GMT -5
glad they figured it out.
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Post by aussieguy on Nov 3, 2018 7:38:06 GMT -5
The epoxy woes continue... each time i try and work it hits me eyes get irritated swell and itch
had to let my son put in the second motor mount tower motor is now secured !
so for now, that will do for the epoxy. The other minor repairs can wait
test ran the motor on the hose... oh dear got a water leak at the top of the Y pipe pulled the riser and it's hose found that the top of the Y pipe corroded crap!
made a temporary repair with JB weld should last a couple of seasons
only one job remains ... need to pull the top of the outdrive to replace a water connection.
of course Murphy is hanging around the first part I need to take off is stuck fast with corrosion and salt deposits got that soaking with Power blaster
when Mrs AG runs out and says we are under a tornado warning packed up the tools and got into the garage just in time.
the guy next door had his boat parked on the road... it got pushed backwards about 10 feet, he lost a few shingles off his roof house across the road... large branches snapped off but fell away from the house shewwwww
we managed NO damage but it was a bit hairy Mrs AG swears she looked out the front window wind was going north ....looked out the rear it was going south Hmmmmmmm
today a bit of a cleanup around the house and get up on the roof look for damage then can finish the water fitting and ...... SPLASH the boat for water trials
BOAT # 1 got sold rough math says I may have actually made a couple hundred profit!
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Post by eaglesfanguy on Nov 3, 2018 14:23:45 GMT -5
Good thing your so handy.. And weather is weird, at my house we just got a 5 minute blast of rain and wind wasn't bad at all..
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Post by shadowxmas on Nov 4, 2018 23:56:00 GMT -5
aussieguy,
Good luck with the new boat. Keep the Benedryl handy and the eye drops.
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Post by aussieguy on Nov 5, 2018 7:59:49 GMT -5
No more benedryl needed cause I'm never gonna touch that epoxy again! will farm out any job requiring that crap (scuse the French)
forgot to mention 3 fingernails are falling off didn't hit them ... they just started to rot away (best way to describe it) ewwwwwwww
so I replaced the water intake connection this weekend it sits right under the U joint bellows what a PITA that was to get at took about 6 hours to remove / replace a part that is held on with 2 bolts
fired up the motor and the temp crept up more than I liked not sure if my garden hose wasn't supply enough water or something more sinister today will look at the thermostat and water pump impeller plus check that the bilge pump actually pumps water
Mrs AG has tuesday and wednesday off work so plan to splash on those days
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Post by alaskaguy on Nov 5, 2018 8:32:03 GMT -5
the main impeller should be replaced for sure
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sctaz
Rod Polisher
Posts: 114
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Post by sctaz on Nov 5, 2018 9:12:19 GMT -5
Good luck with your project but you know what boat stands for, Break Out Another Thousand
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Post by aussieguy on Nov 8, 2018 8:17:44 GMT -5
got her in the water yesterday for sea trials put her in Anclote river park ramp a) outdrive did not lock in reverse at the ramp... made a wonderful sight for all the onlookers the old dork in the big boat can't drive... had checked the locking mechanism beforehand cleaned and lubed it decided to go out anyways . was pretty confident that running in forward would put enough pressure on the drive to lock it. (it did) but still.. will need to replace the locking springs to get proper tension b) motor appears sluggish under load gotta do a good Tune up and a carb cleaning / rebuild repace fuel filters c) engine temperature gauge didn't work on the water... but works on the trailer gawwd? after running a while ... didn't push it hard cause no temp gauge wouldn't idle + difficulty in restarting d) shifter is pretty sticky and not smooth check cables and lube/adjust the shifter (if possible) e) too much water in bilge for my liking not a real lot but I am a bit anal about sinking will look for leaks f) boat trim out of whack appears to list to the right hmmmmmm gotta work on that? trim tabs not work at this time .... they was on the todo list for later soooo. Going back to the ramp ... Anclote is notorious for it's strong current and with the motor not idling correctly was worried that relying on reverse was iffy at best plan was to 1) drive boat for the last mile or so at slow speed to cool it down somewhat 2) make sure can drive at idle way before getting near the ramp 3) pick my dock and drive straight in kill motor and let the current push me to the dock 1 and 2 worked great 3 got stuffed up completely ... just not enough headway for good control in that current ended up somewhat sideways taking up both docks until the current did it's job and pushed me to the dock made a wonderful sight for all the onlookers .. the old dork in the big boat can't drive... got it back on the trailer .. but it's not sitting right? need to do more work on positioning the bunks the rear bunks are not supporting correctly got boat to staging area to tie up and unload where I noticed the front eye / cable had a lot of tension released the winch to adjust .... yeah won't do that again. The winch handle spun around from the tension whacked me just under the elbow Nastyyyy that bruise is gonna hurt for days all in all a good test run... it didn't sink ! now where did I put that... another $1,000
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Post by aussieguy on Nov 8, 2018 8:24:00 GMT -5
PS... when it was running correctly
OMG the ride is so much nicer than #1 boat gets on plane pretty quick handle chop and boat wakes like a dream no pounding great angle on bow to cut through the chop
gonna be a great boat when all is finalized!
it may be old but it's gonna be fun
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sctaz
Rod Polisher
Posts: 114
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Post by sctaz on Nov 8, 2018 12:27:06 GMT -5
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Post by ChathamAngler on Nov 8, 2018 13:54:12 GMT -5
Already working on saving up the down payment! Definitely going this route when I'm ready to rejoin the boating scene. Gives me a lot of flexibility to take out the family of 7 one boat to just cruise the bay yet also to take.... well take just me on another boat to go fishing ha (sorry kids)! For now..... pier fishing for the win!
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sctaz
Rod Polisher
Posts: 114
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Post by sctaz on Nov 8, 2018 14:29:31 GMT -5
We live in SC and come to Florida several times a year. I reserve boats every time and weather permitting get out once or twice a week while we're there. It's great, boats are new and well maintained plus they are in the water, fueled up and clean when you get there. Unlike a rental you can take the club boats offshore in the gulf.
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Post by aussieguy on Nov 8, 2018 15:53:36 GMT -5
I looked at a membership didn't want to commit to a monthly payment
plus I enjoy the tinkering
some boat clubs appear OK but others wouldn't touch with a fishing pole
this boat is all mine no payments just hook her up put gas in and pay 5.00 at the ramp any day I like
added benefit the neighbors stop by more cause it looks like I'm rich
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Post by aussieguy on Nov 29, 2018 7:35:54 GMT -5
slowly fixing the stuff I found on the initial water test
lifted and positioned boat on the trailer correctly. set the bowstop roller and winch to the correct height. fixed the bow eye hook which I damaged when hauling boat out.
put sealant on the thermostat housing bolt threads, (leaked water at top of bolt)
new gas gauge , kinda important to know how much is in there old gauge read 1/2 a tank all the time even when out of the boat new gauge (matched to ohms on the sender) reads empty , inspected the tank when I tested the sender, not a lot of gas in there
New ignition switch old one kept sticking when starting, not good for the starter motor and ring gear
water temp gauge works intermittently... found the metal fuel line touches the sending unit moved the fuel line and bought a second (used) gauge to mount on/near the motor so can check the dash gauge
fixed toggle switch for dash lights I can see the dash at night now
BLACK FRIDAY ... got a good deal on a Garmin 94SV PLUS chartplotter / fishfinder combo was impressed with the little 5 inch one that I sold with boat #1
New one .. 9 inch touch screen yeee gads its huge old one ... you had to press the buttons about 10 times to change views new one .... touch screen 2 times OR use the favorite buttons to go straight to a saved layout new one ..... has side scan sonar so I can locate structure a bit faster , store demo showed it can see about 100 foot sideways in 25 foot of water
Got the head unit mounted on top of the dash and ran a dedicated circuit from the house battery this circuit allows me to start / stop the motor without interfering with the Garmin
Haven't installed the transom mount transducer just yet. have read a lot of info where people use their transducer as a shoot through hull they loose a bit of depth but I'm probably never gonna see 1000 foot of water anyways will loose the water temp feature
when I go out next time will test the transducer in the bilge using a temporary setup which will allow me to move it around to find the best spot. If it don't work in the bilge then will mount on the transom (not a lot of room out there)
TO DO before next splash Check motor alignment Tune up motor change the fuel filter / water separator fix broken trim tab actuator (part arrived yesterday)
Would have had the TO DO list completed before this weekend but Mrs AG decided to have chest pains I should be able pick her up from the hospital today
Geeze woman I thought your pacemaker would have stopped all your problems
PS tests so far have showed no sign of any concern, she's only in there for observation and some testing shewwwwww
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Post by shadowxmas on Nov 29, 2018 11:04:52 GMT -5
slowly fixing the stuff I found on the initial water test lifted and positioned boat on the trailer correctly. set the bowstop roller and winch to the correct height. fixed the bow eye hook which I damaged when hauling boat out. put sealant on the thermostat housing bolt threads, (leaked water at top of bolt) new gas gauge , kinda important to know how much is in there old gauge read 1/2 a tank all the time even when out of the boat new gauge (matched to ohms on the sender) reads empty , inspected the tank when I tested the sender, not a lot of gas in there New ignition switch old one kept sticking when starting, not good for the starter motor and ring gear water temp gauge works intermittently... found the metal fuel line touches the sending unit moved the fuel line and bought a second (used) gauge to mount on/near the motor so can check the dash gauge fixed toggle switch for dash lights I can see the dash at night now BLACK FRIDAY ... got a good deal on a Garmin 94SV PLUS chartplotter / fishfinder combo was impressed with the little 5 inch one that I sold with boat #1 New one .. 9 inch touch screen yeee gads its huge old one ... you had to press the buttons about 10 times to change views new one .... touch screen 2 times OR use the favorite buttons to go straight to a saved layout new one ..... has side scan sonar so I can locate structure a bit faster , store demo showed it can see about 100 foot sideways in 25 foot of water Got the head unit mounted on top of the dash and ran a dedicated circuit from the house battery this circuit allows me to start / stop the motor without interfering with the Garmin Haven't installed the transom mount transducer just yet. have read a lot of info where people use their transducer as a shoot through hull they loose a bit of depth but I'm probably never gonna see 1000 foot of water anyways will loose the water temp feature when I go out next time will test the transducer in the bilge using a temporary setup which will allow me to move it around to find the best spot. If it don't work in the bilge then will mount on the transom (not a lot of room out there) TO DO before next splash Check motor alignment Tune up motor change the fuel filter / water separator fix broken trim tab actuator (part arrived yesterday) Would have had the TO DO list completed before this weekend but Mrs AG decided to have chest pains I should be able pick her up from the hospital today Geeze woman I thought your pacemaker would have stopped all your problems PS tests so far have showed no sign of any concern, she's only in there for observation and some testing shewwwwww Aussieguy, Sounds like you have been busy. Glad Mrs.AG is doing ok and will be coming home soon.
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Post by tears143 on Nov 30, 2018 0:11:47 GMT -5
You would lose a lot if you go the route of transducer through the hull. A lot of stuff will not work correctly including the side scan. This is from what I heard/read only. Do not own any of these boat stuff. Do not have a boat. :-p
Good luck, you are able to put boat #1 together so this boat #2 should be a piece of cake for you.
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Post by SkyJay on Nov 30, 2018 12:00:09 GMT -5
through hull works but youre gonna lose major defintion when moving limiting your ability to look for ledges
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Post by aussieguy on Nov 30, 2018 16:33:45 GMT -5
Hmmmmm
maybe I should just rethink the transducer and mount it on the transom would be a bummer not to find ledges
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Post by SkyJay on Nov 30, 2018 21:19:13 GMT -5
Hmmmmm maybe I should just rethink the transducer and mount it on the transom would be a bummer not to find ledges i mean sitting at idle you'll prolly be fine in 30-80 ft but youre gonna wanna move around and look for new stuff to fish. ESPECIALLY up there in your area with all that spectacular limestone bottom y'all have up there. Youre gonn wanna be able to find those subtle little cracks and breaks and you want optimumn vision. I tell guys all the time, and it took me a long time to realize it but that sonar is your best friend out there if youre serious about catchin lots of Grouper. got some killer numbers out of Anclote in 45-60 ft btw
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Post by aussieguy on Dec 3, 2018 5:23:48 GMT -5
ooops tracked down my tuneup / poor power issue it's amazing how a 5.7 sounds / feels good without any load on the motor but never develops good power with one plug lead not connected I remember now ... I pulled #4 lead when doing some work on the alternator wiring oh well..... it's now got new tuneup parts won't have to worry about them for a while
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Post by aussieguy on Dec 14, 2018 8:07:42 GMT -5
weather and work schedules keeping me off the water, hoping today's weather passes quickly and I can try and get out on Saturday transducer now mounted on transom 2 helm seats I got off Craig's List got installed popup bolster with side support nice thick seat cushion for my hemorrhoids had to cut the driver's pedestal (tube), so glad it was aluminum for easy hacksawing interior cabin got a good vacuuming and wall scrubbing the removable table tube was stuck real good in the floor fitting unscrewed it from floor and a few good whacks with a hammer got it free removed all the oxidation and now works as it should
the tube was chrome plated steel showing it's age with rust etc
gave it a thorough sanding and quick coat of paint to hide the rust hoping to install trailer uprights (guides) today after the rain passes what happened to all that nice sunny winter weather we suppose to get?
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Post by tears143 on Dec 14, 2018 12:28:33 GMT -5
weather and work schedules keeping me off the water, hoping today's weather passes quickly and I can try and get out on Saturday transducer now mounted on transom 2 helm seats I got off Craig's List got installed popup bolster with side support nice thick seat cushion for my hemorrhoids had to cut the driver's pedestal (tube), so glad it was aluminum for easy hacksawing interior cabin got a good vacuuming and wall scrubbing the removable table tube was stuck real good in the floor fitting unscrewed it from floor and a few good whacks with a hammer got it free removed all the oxidation and now works as it should
the tube was chrome plated steel showing it's age with rust etc
gave it a thorough sanding and quick coat of paint to hide the rust hoping to install trailer uprights (guides) today after the rain passes what happened to all that nice sunny winter weather we suppose to get? This Saturday? 12/15? You are nuts!
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Post by aussieguy on Dec 14, 2018 19:01:03 GMT -5
well my weather man said the front / storms will have passed before Saturday won't go out if it has not
just need a couple hours to do some more testing
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Post by SkyJay on Dec 14, 2018 21:02:29 GMT -5
Dont do it Attachments:
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