Thanks man! I've really grown to love this boat. I wish I could say I sought out an XLT-185, but I was just looking for something cheap to get me on the water and my brother found it on CraigsList and said I should get it, so I did. I feel lucky to have ended up with such a cool boat, when I...
Took the boat and wife to the ramp today and spent about an hour letting her practice backing up a trailer. She did great, but we confused a lot of fishermen by backing the boat all the way to the edge of the water and then pulling out and going around for another shot. 😂
There's always the slight chance of a cold snap again by the end of April, but I couldn't resist. I'll re-winterize if I've got to, but I think we're good. Hoping to practice at the boat ramp a few times on weekdays in the coming weeks.
Washed and waxed the boat today, got the trim limit switch and trim sender set (trim up button works now!), and since the 15 day forecast shows a low of about 39F for my area, I decided to de-winterize. It's so nice to hear that rumble again:
Your shop vac filter will clog in no time at all. You'll need to get a dust cyclone attachment to keep from having to stop to clean the filter every minute ot two. I bought one called a Dust Deputy. I also got a long (13 ft?) hose for my shop vac and a remote controlled outlet to plug the shop...
Angle grinder with 40 grit flap discs. I bought cheap Amazon discs (about $1.50 each) and went through 3 or 4 10-packs on my 19ft hull. You'll want to do this grinding outdoors and cover as much of yourself in Tyvek / goggles / respirator / etc. to protect yourself. I did mine indoors and...
My 10-pin switches are for my nav/anchor lights and my trim tabs. They are DPDT on-off-on switches with backlighting, hence all the wires. You can see the details here:
https://newwiremarine.com/product/nav-anc-rocker-switch-contura-v/
Thanks! Hoping to enjoy the fruits of my labor this summer. It just shows that any old joe with enough time and money can restore a boat...especially with the help of the intelligence housed on this forum.
You'll be nickel and dime'd till the end. It's always like that.
Good visual on the fuel hose too. Mine weren't that bad, but I was very glad I replaced them, as they were original to my boat.
Have you checked your timing?
Don't rule the carb out. You could have some trash that got moved around while it was running good.
Do you have a water/fuel separator? If so, pull it off and pour the contents into a clear glass. How does it look?
