Baja SS 164 Upkeep (Pics)

[CalicoKid]

Below are some Photo's of my Sunsport 164. It is a 1988 and is in like-new original condition. I bought it from the second owner in the summer of 2002. She's powered by a 1988 Johnson 110.<br /><br />

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<br /><br />I had to remove the seats in order to scrub the carpeting and clean out every little corner and crevase. The interior came out looking new.<br /> <br />

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<br /><br />Last winter I again removed the seats and completely rewired the boat. It all started with the need for a water pressure gauge. I decided to replace all of the gauges and rewire the boat since the original wiring, typical of small boats, was a mess and sure to cause me trouble. I had to push in the cig. lighter to beep the horn! In order to fit six gauges where there used to be five I needed to fill the original holes, glass everything over from behind, and redrill new holes for the new layout. On the front of the dash I had to add a composite panel to cover the evidence and improve the look of the cockpit. The panel is carbon fiber with a top layer of aluminized glass mat. The gauges are from Beede.<br /><br />

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<br /><br />I added a high current fuse panel near the battery to allow for the possibility of a future stereo system or other options. There is also a ground buss. From here a no. 8 wire feeds the fuse panel at the helm which also features a ground buss. There should be no reason for cobbled taps in this boat! In the pictures there are only two branches wired from the helm, the nav. lights and the bilge pump. I've completed wiring of the horn circuit, power outlets etc. since the pics were taken.<br /><br />

<br /><br />The Stunner, on a beautiful Fall day.<br />If I keep her this Spring I'd like to play with setbacks and see if I can run over 55 mph consistently.

 

[jimmythekid]

Re: Baja SS 164 Upkeep (Pics)

Nice looking boat, and very nice looking wiring job! To the right of the fuse panel looks like a hole thats drilled in there. If it is seal it up just in case. If not forget i opened my big fat mouth er... keyboard

 

[Mark42]

Re: Baja SS 164 Upkeep (Pics)

Cool! Beautiful wiring job and dash work. Got a closer shot of the dash? Interested in seeing what aluminized glass fiber mat looks like up close.<br /><br />Thanks,<br /><br />Mark.

 

[G DANE]

Re: Baja SS 164 Upkeep (Pics)

Nice boat, and VERY nice job with the wiring, good to see. <br /><br />Can I ask you:<br /><br />Where did you buy all the terminal row stuff ?? Which propeller is on it, and what does the boat weigh with motor, without fuel ?? Is 55 WOT speed on calm water ??? What RPM.

 

[CalicoKid]

Re: Baja SS 164 Upkeep (Pics)

Thanks for the comliments. I do not have any close ups of the dash material but I'll try and take a few this weekend when I go see her. I'd been gathering the materials to do this wiring for a while. The terminal blocks I had in the shop for a long time, I'm not sure where I got them but I've seen similar at Radio Shack and in electronics catalogs. I used Marine wire in the proper colors and crimped the bare terminals with a high quality crimper. I don't like insulated terminals so I heat shrink wrapped mine. Before crimping I dressed the stripped ends of the wires with anti-ox compound.<br /><br />The boat according to NADA weighs 850 lbs. dry and the motor 305 lbs. I've never weighed it myself but I'd guess with gas and two people and the bare neccessities on board I'm tipping 1500 lbs or so.<br /><br />I currently have on an OMC Raker 13.5 x 20 and on glassy water can get a hair under 50mph at 5700-5800 rpm. With a slight chop I can get 50.5mph. I can trim out for more rpms but the prop slips a bit and no speed is gained. I had a 13.5 x 22 on it for a while and could get faster but my rpms were a bit low. The 22 had more grip and would really run strong in heavy chop. 55 mph was achievable but frightening. This boat gets slowed down by smooth water and thrown around in big waves. Ideally I'd always be running up wind in a tall chop with no wakes or waves. She really rips with some air under the hull. I stuck with the 20 inch prop because it works best with my setup and acceleration is, well, stunning. Like I mentioned though, I'd like to try a setback device and see how that changes things.