New guy saying hi!

[vmaxjay]

Hi folks. I've been boating since I was 13 yrs old. We lived on a small lake and my Dad bought a used 17' Thunderbird with a Evinrude 70. Once I learned the basics... I learned how to drive a boat with that old Thunderbird. That was in the early to mid 80's. It was a private lake so it was a great place to learn how! I've owned several boats including run abouts, a cabin cruiser, Bass boat and now a flats boat. I currently own a 1993 Release 20' (19' 7") with a '97 Yamaha 2.6L that I've been tinkering with and restoring. It also has a Bob's hydralic flats jac and trim tabs. I'm running a 3 blade Power Tech 23" SS prop and have a spare 22" Stiletto 4 blade SS prop. It's a great fishing and running boat. Very stable and takes some really rough water! Here's a pic of my boat... I bought this boat a little over 1 yr ago for $5,500. I use it a lot for Bass fishing actually.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: New guy saying hi!

Welcome to iboats.
Good looking boat there.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: New guy saying hi!

welcome. great boat, would be super, in the intercoastal, and keys.

 

[PhatboyC]

Re: New guy saying hi!

Nice boat. Around here most Bass boat are the ones where you sit lower with the side console. I guess it is when they are in a tournament and have to hammer it back to get the fish weighed. Being lower at fast speed must be comfortable. How do you find it?

 

[vmaxjay]

Re: New guy saying hi!

Thanks for the warm welcome, guys!

PhatboyC, I kinda like standing up while driving the boat. You can see where you're going quite well.

I just finished restoring the look of the engine. I took off all of the old stickers... buffed it all out and had some custom graphics made up for the motor. The old ones had faded some what and were scuffed up. Here's a couple pics of the project...

Before...

After...

 

[Fish n Geer]

Re: New guy saying hi!

Welcome Aboard! That is a sweet looking boat.

 

[azlakes]

Re: New guy saying hi!

.. yup looks great. I like the cowling work you did. So need to do mine. How did you remove the graphics or stickers?

 

[wncrjb]

Re: New guy saying hi!

Welcome to the forum, and don't be shy on here either LOL

 

[vmaxjay]

Re: New guy saying hi!

.. yup looks great. I like the cowling work you did. So need to do mine. How did you remove the graphics or stickers?

I used a exacto flat razor knife to get them started and then pulled them off. I then used Goo Gone Pro Power Spray Gel and used a plastic scraper (you can use a old credit card if you don't have one) and then used a buffer with some swirl mark remover compound to clean it all up. I then located this guy http://www.iguanagrafix.com/ who does mostly stuff for boats and specializes in cowlings. He does great work and is super fast in getting you the finished product!


Thanks again for the warm welcome, guys! I'll try not to be too shy! Here's one last pic of the boat in action...