Days 40-42:
I took the boat to Toledo for the weekend and me and my dad pretty much finished it up. It was nice to spend some time with him and he definitely helped me out on a few things making it better and easier.
First, we put the swim platform on. I supported my to rails with 4"x4", quarter aluminum plating and needed to make sure where the plates were going to be so I could mount the remaining wiring for my blower, bilge pump, etc. I bought a Plas-Teak platform. It's a composite and requires zero maintenance.
Then, I relocated my blower, reinstalled my transom cap and routed my blower hose. I used 2" PVC and blocked it of with aluminum screen to keep bees/bugs from flying into the opening through my cowl vent. I have a 4" to 2" reducer that my blower hose is routed to blow into, but I did not rigidly connect the two. I have the hose suspended with zip-ties, leaving a gap so the boat can naturally ventilate through the same cowl.
After that, we installed the transducer for my depth finder. It was pretty straight forward. I didn't want holes in my newly welded aluminum so I used 5200 to secure the wire to my transom. I put a dab down pressed the wire into it and then shot a line across. It seems to have worked pretty good! I am happy about that one! No holes in my aluminum.
Then, I installed my new HIN plate, and the Blower Warning decal on my dash which is required by the Coast Guard. I had an aluminum bracket made and put it right on my dash above the key. I think it gives the boat a rugged look and I like it. My dad said he don't like it up there though... oh well...
Then we installed my new cleats, which I love the look of. They have a nice classic look. We added two right behind the windshield. It'll make launching and retrieving a lot easier, and I don't know how/where they've been tying fenders for the past 50 years on this boat.
We re-built one side of my engine cover that was rotted and installed that and the jump-seats. It all fit in ok. The new engine doesn't fit under my engine cover very good. I am going to do an interior job on it, winter 2020-2021 and it will get a wider cover then. The flame arrestor is too far to the one side. Dad really helped out with the engine cover. I was going to do kind of a hack job. He definitely saved that one.
Then I put on my capacity decal. The vinyl kind of screwed that up a little, but again re-done with the interior job. Stuck a Starmada sticker in the window, representing!
As of now I have a fully functional boat. I need to take it for a test drive still. I'm hoping tomorrow is the day.
It still needs a bath, badly, and I have a really nice heavy Stainless Steel Taylor Flagpole to put on it.
June 1st it goes in to get a summer cover built for it and I am going to talk to them about putting my boat name on it somewhere. I think the starboard side of the transom, name and hailing port.
On a side note, I am absolutely loving the Boat Buckles! Awesome!
I have a boat again!!!!!!!!:thumb::cheer2:
eace::rockon::smiley_simmons::humble:Now to test-drive it and make sure it all works.:grumpy:
