The rest of Saturday was spent wrapping up things. I ordered new wheels and tires for the trailer, and got those installed. Inspected and regreased the bearings at the same time. I'm still not a huge fan of our trailer, but I think it will last us the season. I think at year's end, we're just going to bite the bullet and order a brand new bunk one, with provisions for a third toon (winter project?).
The biggest task was redoing the steering setup. The prior cable had a slight kink in it right at the middle, so minor steering adjustments took both hands and a lot of force. On top of that, it was backwards. I had gotten used to driving that way, but it made it very challenging for other people to Captain if need be.
After about 2 hours of fighting the stupid half moon key in the helm, I had everything apart, new cable in, and the console reattached. The new cable actually steers the correct direction, and is effortless! The admiral is now super comfortable driving, which is going to make ramp time so much easier.
While I worked on the steering, she deep cleaned the whole boat and all the seats to get rid of that winter storage grime. She's looking pretty and is all ready for our big Memorial Day weekend trip. Sure, she looks a little homemade, but I'd venture to guess we're still under $3,000, all said and done, which I can live with.
Finally, a special shoutout once again to
crazyinkc. Without him, this project wouldn't have been possible. Iboaters are good folks!!
