Just something about a Baja

[leif8660]

Hello All,

The main reason for this post is am I ok purchasing 30oz. vinyl from MarineVinylFabric.com

I'm new here and just wanted to share what bring a Baja into my family has been for me. I remember when I was walking to elementary school around 5th grade I saw a boat in a driveway in Pacific Beach San Diego. It was different than the other boats I would see in the area. This one was sleek and look like it just wanted to be on the ocean. My father was one of those crazy fisherman that would load up a 13' Chrysler cathedral hull with a 35hp outboard and go 90 miles of the coast to Albacore. He and his buddy were both had healthy stomachs and together seriously put the boat rail about 12" from the water. Funny as hell to think about it now lol. But damn, I loved driving the boat as it just jumped right to a plane and just skipped over the swells. But the Baja looked really special. The reality is it was probably 16 to 18 feet max. But I remember more than anything as I sat in somebody else boat pretending to drive, the BAJA Sun on the dash staring at me. Forty years later I came across Bruce. Bruce is what my children named the boat since they think he resembles the Shark from Finding Nemo. So the Baja has a mans name instead of Female. My daughters informed me that its ok these days.


1989 Baja 216 DSR with only 300 hours on the motor from the original owner that only had the boat in the water during the summer on Lake Arrowhead. They bought a pontoon boat a few years ago and instead of paying the storage fee she told them to just keep the boat. i couldn't find any info that matched the specs on this boat. I guess this is actually a 1990 216 Islander since Baja doesn't show this model for 1989. Anyway, this thing is old and couldn't believe how well Baja boats were built. I think it was 2018 when I purchased him. And because I was lazy and didn't cover him up and pay closer attention to the weather , that it was time for the interior to be redone.

They wanted a lot to refinish the interior of the boat and my daughters kept saying they wanted him to look different. Girls didn't like his color at all. I have never done this kind of work before and as usual, I went for it anyway. I've always been kind of crafty so let the learning curve begin LMAO!! I'm not finished yet and the wake tower is just my concept and not built yet, but considering so many boat towers to me are really ugly and just rattle all the time. I just put 4" pipes through the transom with only one place to put them.
So I'm going to post the almost done picture then go start the boat and check for leaks, But I changed the layout of the back half of the boat, well.....this has been therapeutic in so many ways.


I kind of altered the Logo a little but it needed something. it had a tiny sunpad originally and now almost 4' x the beam of the boat sun pad and a full size engine compartment. No back to back seats anymore and a full bench across the back. Moving the weight forward makes him ride so much better!

Can anyone let me know if I'm ok with getting the vinyl from, <MarineVinyFabric.com please/

All the best

 

[leif8660]

Hello all,
Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying this Holiday weekend. We were hit by a mini monsoon here at Canyon Lake Ca just as I was about to back the truck up to the trailer and just drenched the inside lol. That really sucked. Spent a couple hours wiping everything down. I just for the most part finished the interior. I did use the vinyl from the Marine Vinyl Store that is in my main post. So far so good. To recap on the post I wanted this Baja boat to have an interior or cockpit like its bigger brothers so I had some things to learn. The boat has only been in the water a few times since this project started and I will definately say that this is not the same boat anymore. Everything about it is different now and I'm guessing its supposed to. For instance...
I put the four inch exhaust tip through the transom. It's like I have to learn the sounds of this boat all over again. In the drivers seat it doesn't seem loud but if your anywhere outside the boat apparently it sounds pretty awesome. I didn't want to pull the motor at this time and was told that's what I had to do to put a plate to block water from coming up through the horn for the stock exhaust. So I tried expanding foam to seal both of them and so far this is working great.. But the boat almost feels alive and so responsive to anything you do while driving. I must of changed the weight with my modifications. The original engine cover and dog house weighed more than the new engine cover. Plus i got rid of the back to back seating. enough of this I will post some pictures now.

Questions though....
do the stabalizer foils for the outdrive work ok? I have to run about 2400 rpms to keep the nose down and was told that this will allow me to cruise lower rpms and the nose will be down. Somebody else said they don't work worth Craaaaaa....p! Can somebody give me there experience with these please? They are way cheaper than having to buy trim tabs. What do I do?

And how can the boats entire feel change so much by just adding 4" exhaust tips???