1987 Blue Fin S170 Rebuild

[Shife]

Re: 1987 Blue Fin S170 Rebuild

I had to put some decent speakers in. I like to have my tunes. The Poly Planar 840B speakers are under the consoles. I'm powering the Kicker KM620.2 component set off an old 50x2 rms PPI Art Series amp from my car stereo days back in the early '90s. Sounds much better.

The fish don't seem to mind my taste in music:

 

[Shife]

Re: 1987 Blue Fin S170 Rebuild

I should really be finishing little things like trim items and the interior lighting, but it keep getting distracted by these buggers:

 

[Shife]

Re: 1987 Blue Fin S170 Rebuild

I had a bit of free time this evening so I thought I would finally start getting the interior lights put together so I can install them. The goal is to install these so the light is indirect and not overpowering. Even red and green night lighting can ruin you night vision if the intensity is too high.

I have 20 of these little green LED clusters to use. The micro switches are for the hatch lighting so each compartment will light up when the lid is lifted.

 

[Triton II]

Re: 1987 Blue Fin S170 Rebuild

The micro switches are for the hatch lighting so each compartment will light up when the lid is lifted.

Now that is a cool idea... mind if I steal it?

TII

 

[Shife]

Re: 1987 Blue Fin S170 Rebuild

Now that is a cool idea... mind if I steal it?

TII

Sure!

 

[Shife]

Re: 1987 Blue Fin S170 Rebuild

All of the interior LED clusters are mounted and wired. I used 16 out of 20 of the clusters so I can add a couple more in if need be after a test run tonight.

 

[Shife]

Re: 1987 Blue Fin S170 Rebuild

Need some tweaking and an actual night fishing test run, but they should work out. My phone camera did a really crappy job of capturing how the lighting actually looks. It is much more broad and even. The photos make it look narrow and focused.

 

[Shife]

Re: 1987 Blue Fin S170 Rebuild

 

[Shife]

Re: 1987 Blue Fin S170 Rebuild

Some advice if you decide to add interior mood/fishing lighting to your boat:

The light must be indirect to all outside traffic and cannot interfere with visibility of required navigational lighting in any way. I took great care to make sure none of the clusters were directly visible from outside the boat at any angle. It is a violation of both Inland Waterway Rules and the COLREGs to show improper lighting and law enforcement will ticket you if your mood/fishing/party lighting interferes with the ability to distinguish your required navigational lighting.

The most glaring and common violation of this rule is the complete idiots who run around with their docking lights on thinking they are headlights. That is not only illegal, it ruins the ability of the idiot violator to actually see where he/she is going and blinds everyone else on the water. If you know someone who does this, whack them on the head and explain to them why they need to turn it off.

Two things pretty much tell me all I need to know about someone:

1. Driving around with docking lights on.
2. Driving around with fenders hanging over the side.

What that tells me is that the individual has no business driving a boat and that they probably require velcro shoes.

 

[solar7647]

Re: 1987 Blue Fin S170 Rebuild

If I was hitting pike like that my project would never get done!! Nice Fish.

Your works looks great, I like the lights, I may steel that one to add to my project! I am thicking blue......yea going to have to do it now. I hate going through others resto threads I always find something that I then want to add to mine!

 

[NetMatrix]

Re: 1987 Blue Fin S170 Rebuild

Well the boat looks pretty good. I like the green lighting that you did on the inside of it. I do have to agree with you about the fenders and the deck lighting; those people are idiots, and don't need to be on the water. I've seen accidents almost happen cause of that. All and all the boat looks really nice. Good job.

 

[Shife]

Re: 1987 Blue Fin S170 Rebuild

Thanks, guys. The fishing is really starting to ramp up here so I knew if I didn't force myself to just get the dang lights in there and wire them I'd keep putting it off until winter. I still have a ton of things left to do, but a lot of it is little trim things or luxury items like a new head unit for the stereo. I need to rebuild the fun money coffers for a while before worrying about that stuff.

Once this season is over I want to pick up an approx 90hp outboard, replace the transom core, and do a bottom job.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: 1987 Blue Fin S170 Rebuild

That all looks great. You did a great job.

Where did you get the vent? Is it stainless or aluminum? I think that is something I would like to add to my casting deck.

 

[Shife]

Re: 1987 Blue Fin S170 Rebuild

That all looks great. You did a great job.

Where did you get the vent? Is it stainless or aluminum? I think that is something I would like to add to my casting deck.

That is actually a stainless cowl vent for a Jeep CJ with fiberglass window screen glued to the back of it. I have boxes of parts from my Jeep days in the basement and somehow remembered I had that when looking to ventilate the casting platform. The other two vents under the casting platform on the middle support are 3in plastic computer case vents I had laying around.

http://www.4wd.com/productdetails.aspx?jeep-sid=199&plID=948&partID=5293

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: 1987 Blue Fin S170 Rebuild

Well while I was out ..... I was on a mission to find something and found a small but adequate PVC drain with a small flange. I intend on installing one for each closed compartment........ Thanks to your idea

 

[Shife]

Re: 1987 Blue Fin S170 Rebuild

Well while I was out ..... I was on a mission to find something and found a small but adequate PVC drain with a small flange. I intend on installing one for each closed compartment........ Thanks to your idea

That's some good out of the box thinkin'. I still need the vent the livewell hatch and I really don't want to spend $30 on actual livewell vents. I may follow your lead and search my local box store.

 

[Shife]

Re: 1987 Blue Fin S170 Rebuild

Well then... I need to diffuse some of the lights. Way too froggin' bright in full darkness. I have a few potentiometers lying around that I can play with. If that doesn't give me the desired effect I'll have to find some lenses to diffuse a few of the problematic locations. The hatch lighting and rear deck lighting is fine. The lights under the consoles and on the casting platform need a bit of work.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: 1987 Blue Fin S170 Rebuild

Hey if the lights are LED you could diffuse them with resin..... OR some thin plastic tubing cut and placed over them...... it will not change any color but will cut back on the light.

 

[Shife]

Re: 1987 Blue Fin S170 Rebuild

Hey if the lights are LED you could diffuse them with resin..... OR some thin plastic tubing cut and placed over them...... it will not change any color but will cut back on the light.

That's a great idea. Thanks! I've stolen the power/volume control off an old Alley Cat CB radio and I'm going to splice that in as a dimmer first. If that doesn't give me the effect I'm looking for then I'll start diffusing the light with ideas such as yours.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: 1987 Blue Fin S170 Rebuild

Using an old volume control is another great idea...I have a marine band radio that I fried the board on that has some good switches. I may look into the same idea.

What are you getting the Pike on? I caught a 27" on a 2" red-lipped rapala last week.