So what have you done to your Blue Water lately?

vfrkent

Seaman
Joined
Aug 18, 2010
Messages
62
I purchased my Blue Water Mirage in August of 2010, and have been working on it ever since, it all started with needing to fix the rusty water slinging out of the drums after retrieving the boat from the water, I replaced the drums with new disk brake set up, then it was on to replace the brake actuator and then I couldn't leave well enough alone, I replaced the electrical connector from 4 pin to 7 pin so I could plug it directly into the truck.

Next I had one tire that had a cut in the side wall and replaced the tires and wheels, then it was on to the lights, changed them all over to LED lamps.

Now onto the boat it self, it all started with the shifter not moving smoothly, I replaced the shift cables and then couldn't leave it there I had to up grade the shifter also, dang that shifts smooth now.

Next it was onto the stereo, pulled out the factory Kenwood deck and replaced it with a Sony marine unit that we can plug the Ipod into, then we had to add a couple of Sony amps and new speakers, with 1000+ watts I hope will be able to hear it on the water.

In December I had a Gel coat specialist come over to the house and fix a few scratches on the bottom of the hull, boy the guy is good, when he got done you couldn't even tell he had done a repair.

I throughly enjoyed making this boat ours, by making it personalized to our needs, hope you enjoy yours as much as we have.
 

Hogger

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 15, 2008
Messages
214
Re: So what have you done to your Blue Water lately?

I also bought a Mirage this past February, mine is a 2003.
It needed a lot of TLC.
First we had to clean all the upholstery, using magic erasers, and Babe's seat soap. I think we went through about 40 of the cleaning pads.
Then I had to re-finish the teak swim deck.
Pulled all the rub rail off to re-set the screws, and re-install rub rail so it doesn't pull away at the corners of the swim deck.
Then it was on to the captains chairs. Had to order new plastic inserts because the seats were really loose. Still need to get the other set of inserts, but seats are much better now.
Semi fixed a bad squeak in the floor.
The previous owner had the graphics covered in clear coat. When I got it, the clear coat was chipping and peeling, so I had to do a bunch of tedious scraping, wet sanding, and polishing. Still have some of the more detailed area's to do, but the worst is done for this season.
While I was working on the above projects, the stereo was an ongoing upgrade. Apline, and Rockford amps, 2 Polk subs, Polk and Sony in boat speakers, and Polk double tower speakers. Will be adding a new head unit soon. Also added dual batteries with a switch.
Have been fighting some engine issues, but those seem to be fixed now also.
Future projects include a new head unit, trailer guides, building a bimini for it as we speak.
 

vfrkent

Seaman
Joined
Aug 18, 2010
Messages
62
Re: So what have you done to your Blue Water lately?

Hey Hogger, I would love to see some more pictures of your boat and keep us up dated with the changes your making.
I also had to refinish the teak swim deck, the previous owner had put a varnish on the top and it looked like doo doo, so I sanded it all down cleaned it with deck cleaner and then applied about 6 coats of teak oil, now when I come back from the river after it dries out I just apply another light coat and it always looks like new.

Regards,
Kent
 

Hogger

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 15, 2008
Messages
214
Re: So what have you done to your Blue Water lately?

Here's some of the work I've done.

Before and after on the sundeck. You can see some of the teak that I refinished too.
miragedeck1.jpg

miragedeck2.jpg


Here is some of the clear coat work before and after.
Gelcoatchips.jpg

Finishgelcoat.jpg


Separated rub rail that has since been repaired. This was pre-teak finish.
IMG_4416.jpg
 

Hogger

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 15, 2008
Messages
214
Re: So what have you done to your Blue Water lately?

Too many pictures for one post. Here are the rest.

Here are some shots of the stereo work. I built the little "pods" for the speakers to sit on the sides, on each side of the bench seat. The amps are mounted in the only place I could find where I had room, and had the least potential for getting wet. They don't get hot in there either.

Jordan.


Sidespeakers.jpg


sub1.jpg


Mirageamps.jpg


towerspeakers.jpg


miragenew1.jpg
 
Last edited:

Hogger

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 15, 2008
Messages
214
Re: So what have you done to your Blue Water lately?

Just added a keel guard, and a scuff guard.
Scuff guard is coming off, now that I sliced my fingers open on the edge of it. Ruined my first day out to wakeboard behind the boat. At least I still got to pull the kids around.
 

Wetinoregon

Recruit
Joined
Aug 9, 2011
Messages
4
Re: So what have you done to your Blue Water lately?

Hogger,
I am very interested in how you mounted and found space for the subwoofer under the dash. Can you share some additional details? Is it in a custom box or is it just mounted on a panel you fitted in there? Does it rattle the hell out of everything on your dash? issues?
Any feedback would be helpful.
 

tejastoolman

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Jun 27, 2011
Messages
36
Re: So what have you done to your Blue Water lately?

cool lookin boats, never see those here in tx yet....
 

Hogger

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 15, 2008
Messages
214
Re: So what have you done to your Blue Water lately?

The sub is a 10" Polk that I built a .85 cu in. box for.
I had to remove the little shelf, then put the box up in there and hold it in place while I replaced the shelf.
Doesn't rattle, and no issues. Sounds really good.
 

Rick237

Recruit
Joined
Jan 16, 2015
Messages
5
Bought our '04 last winter from original owner.
Lots of clean-up prior to putting it in last summer.
Wheels and rims were grimy - used Armor-All wheel cleaner then wheel black for shine.
Used Armor-All wipes and spray on all the upholstery and gel coat surfaces - cleaned up the black areas really nice. boat on driveway 2 small.jpg swim platform before and after smaller.jpg
Refreshed the teak swim platforms with a power wash to remove 'gray' and get back to beautiful wood, then teak oiled them. Picture is before and after.
Will be curious to see what everything looks like after a winter in storage.
 

vfrkent

Seaman
Joined
Aug 18, 2010
Messages
62
Rick237, Looks good, one of the things I ran into was the teak oil did not hold up to well, I found "Star Brite tropical teak sealer" that worked great! After three seasons it still looks like new.

Where about's are you located?

Regards,
Kent
 
Last edited:
Top