FastFission
Petty Officer 2nd Class
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2011
- Messages
- 134
Well, we finally got on the water this afternoon. I think I can call my 2012 spring refit a success. I apologize for the lack of action pictures, but by the time the Admiral and I remembered the camera (in the truck) we were already blocking the ramp. I figured it was better to get out of the way.
Overall, a great afternoon. All the fluids that were outside the boat stayed outside, and all the fluids inside the boat stayed where they were supposed to stay. I didn't forget anything important while launching (except for a couple of times where I apparently forgot how to properly back a trailer:facepalm:, but I'm starting to remember.
Her steering still pulls to port. I thought I'd fixed the trim tab, but after looking a bit closer, I locked it in the full "to port" position instead of starboard:facepalm:, so I think I may have a clue now. Next Time...
I really need to figure out how to dock without getting wet, or at least need to remember to wear shorts. I'm stil reluctant to drive her on, so I generally just pull her into position and winch up.
I also need to remember the d__n kill switch
. I'm sitting there wondering why she just cranks and cranks and won't start, then I remember why that happened last week when I fired her up on the muffs.
Here she is, just back from the river.
We bought our 1993 Bayliner last fall and just had a chance for a couple of quick trips before winter. Projects this spring to get her ready:
Happy Boating
Overall, a great afternoon. All the fluids that were outside the boat stayed outside, and all the fluids inside the boat stayed where they were supposed to stay. I didn't forget anything important while launching (except for a couple of times where I apparently forgot how to properly back a trailer:facepalm:, but I'm starting to remember.
Her steering still pulls to port. I thought I'd fixed the trim tab, but after looking a bit closer, I locked it in the full "to port" position instead of starboard:facepalm:, so I think I may have a clue now. Next Time...
I really need to figure out how to dock without getting wet, or at least need to remember to wear shorts. I'm stil reluctant to drive her on, so I generally just pull her into position and winch up.
I also need to remember the d__n kill switch
. I'm sitting there wondering why she just cranks and cranks and won't start, then I remember why that happened last week when I fired her up on the muffs. Here she is, just back from the river.
We bought our 1993 Bayliner last fall and just had a chance for a couple of quick trips before winter. Projects this spring to get her ready:
- New Bunks (starboard bunk broke during last retrieval of the season).
- New Axle (PO apparently had previously destroyed a set of trailer bearings. Spindles were badly damaged and bearings starting to spall. I replaced original square tube drop axle with round tube axle, since that saved me about $300 and I wanted some additional ground clearance anyway. I was a bit worried about loss of axle travel, but nothings bottoming on some fairly rough roads today, so I'm happy.
- Kicker and mount. Bought a cheap beater 6hp Johnson and rebuilt the carb and water pump. Part of what I wanted to do today was see how the kicker worked. Overall, the size is marginal. It certainly won't hit hull speed, but it pushes her along maybe 4 kts. I expected that, and it's big enough for what I wanted (fishing and having a second way to get to shore without paddling). Maybe in a few years I'll find a cheap 9.9.
- Rewiring - Some of the custom wiring from the PO was very interesting. I found several connections that he'd just stripped the ends of the wire and twisted it onto a handy terminal. Also, for some strange reason, he'd run a straight 14 gauge power and ground lead direclty from the battery to the fish finder (which might pull a couple of amps). There are available terminals on the fuse block, so it's all done my way now (I'm kind of picky about my wiring).
- Battery was just floating around in an unsecured plastic box. I cleaned out the battery bay and neutralized everything with baking soda, and tied the battery box down.
- Added surge drum brakes to the trailer. Idaho doesn't require brakes unless your EMPTY trailer weight exceeds 1900 lbs, but I felt better with brakes, particularly since the original hubs were trashed. I did get some cheap Tiedown brakes, but so far they seem to work quite well.
Happy Boating