Re: 98 Sea Swirl Striper
catfishjoe (the OP) sent me a nice PM in thanks for my SeaSwirl experience. I thought I should respond here so future iBoaters could benefit from my wisdom.
I have the Johnson Oceanrunner 175HP with the original aluminum 15x17 prop. It seems about right as I hit 42 mph on a glassy day via GPS at 5500 RPM at Wide Open Throttle (WOT)
I think the Evinrude OceanPro is the same motor as the Johnson OceanRunner. They were built by the same folks. At any rate, all the motor pros I talked to said both motors like to use lots of gas (as compared to today's high tech motors), but that both motors were WAY easy to work on, and parts are very available. The OceanPro/OceanRunners are tanks! (Unlike the finicky Ficht motors, or Force motors, which are to be avoided for the lack of parts thing alone)
My gas tank is 58 gallons. If you buy one of the better, exact size Wema fuel gauge senders, you have to measure your actual tank depth. Of course I forget what size my tank is, but note that when you remove the sender and measure from the top to the bottom of the tank, that the bottom of the tank is a "V" shape, so measuring from one side of the hole differs from the other side by about 1".
Those reed valve gauges from Wema and others are way better than the cheap rod-with-float-on-the-end-like-a-toilet-bowl gauges.
I'm about to replace my steering with the new Teleflex NFB Xtreme (as soon as it becomes available, maybe in June). My old cable does not have the size stamped on it, but I think the size is 15 foot. If anyone knows for sure, please respond here. My old steering is a bit worn, is not "No Feedback", and has about 6" of play in the steering wheel.
Your console dash has a switch for "wipers". You have no wipers, but you do have that switch. It is handy to use that wiper switch for some new dodad.
For new rod holders, especially up in the bow area, I recommend you check out the MateSeries Combination rod and cup holders.
http://mateseries.com
I got the 0 degree ones, so that I won't break off any rods on my boat lift guide on posts as I enter my lift. I also got the models with the drain, and attached a hose so that they would drain past the cockpit down to the bilge. Btw, the double-walled 20+ ounce cups with lid and straw they sell at Walmart fit perfectly in the cupholder. I mean real snug, so you can use the cup as a rod holder cork.
I got the glove compartment at West Marine for about $130. I don't think iBoats carries them.
There will be an old wasp nest under your seats, right in the seat tube. Leave it there. Wasps don't reuse nests, and it discourages new wasps from building new nests there.
If your boat slips out of gear in reverse, or makes "chunking" noises, don't panic. It's probably a cable adjustment, like on a 10 speed bike. PM me and I'll pass on adjustment advice I got from Tashasdaddy (a late iBoater who is still missed)
You will find that 99% of the time you will want to be standing as you drive this boat. Me too. If you ever install one of those 12"-20" adjustable seat pedestals, let me know how you like it.
For a bimini top, the 6' ones are fine, the 8' tops would get in the way for fishing. Measure from the deck to the top of the gunwale. That measurement, plus the height of the top, equals the total bimini height. Get one just a couple of inches taller than yourself. If you get one too tall, the shade tends to be in the wrong spot as the sun moves away from noon. Here's a handy thing for biminis:
http://www.iboats.com/4-Pack-Boaters-Clothespin-Taylor-Made/dm/view_id.428528
It's basically a clothspin, to attach a towel to your bimini poles, for when the sun comes in sideways.
To start this boat from a cold motor start:
1. Point the primer bulb arrows straight up, and squeeze it until it is firm.
2. Push the key in then turn the key. (some will say this activates the choke. It really does not. It activates a primer which squirts some gas into the motor)
3. As soon as the motor attempts to start, I mean as soon as it makes that "coughing" sound, stop using the push in key primer. From then on just turn the key. For the rest of the day, don't push in the key/primer.
You probably know that flushing out your motor is a Very Good Thing after every use, especially if you use it in saltwater. Instead of that pain in the but "muffs" thing, you can screw this hose quick connect gadget into the spot where your pee stream comes from.
http://www.iboats.com/Quick-Flush-K...8873078--session_id.011792540--view_id.168866
It does seem to get jammed up and need replacement after a couple of seasons, but it is way handy. If you buy the matching bits from Home Depot or Lowes, you can just quick-click your hose from nozzle to motor flush.
Here's probably the biggest thing: At the end of the day, turn off ALL those console switches. If I had $1 for every time I left the depthfinder or navlight switch on and killed the battery, I could probably buy over 2 cups of Starbucks coffee.
Final thought: I extremely recommend the Nauticus Smart Tabs. Like most boats, before the tabs while getting on plane I got bow rise blocking my view for about 5 seconds. After the tabs, no bow rise at all. The boat just smoothly rises up on plane.
Before the tabs, while towing the kids tubing, I couldn't go slow enough. The boat would drop off plane below about 25MPH. With the tabs, I can't even tell when I'm dropping off plane, it's so smooth. I know I'm still on plane down into the upper teens.
Tight turns at WOT speeds used to be scary with the boat healing over like a Nascar. Now with the tabs tight turns feel much more stable, safer and more predictable.
I got the Smart Tabs SX. I should have got the Nauticus ProTroller. They're the same things, but the attachment has a flip down lever that lets you set the tabs straight down, to act as breaks for your boat. My boat at idle speed is still a bit too fast for troll fishing, so these would be great. Fortunately, I can buy the mounts separately and retrofit my tabs. I'll be doing that soon.