I've gotta say, that engine compartment looks great and quite luxurious.
I've gotta say, that engine compartment looks great and quite luxurious.
Me too, so glad the original vinyl name stayed in such good shape over the years. Shooting for 1st splash this summer.
A 5.7 in a super sport? Very nice, that must be a fast planing boat! Is it an SS18? I loved my 16! It didn't have the sharper V5 hull but always wished it did.
Thanks! This being my 1st I/O and always having appreciated the ease of access with my outboards- I tried to make the engine bay as open and convenient as possible. Seen plenty of layouts that explain the engine access horror stories...
Ultimately you're taking a big powerplant and building it into a boat. You're generally either gonna sacrifice something in access to the engine or in usable space on the boat. The full-width deck (or seating, I guess) across the top is probably the smoothest imo as long as you can use the deck space. I ended up doing a similar deck on my SS, but with storage compartments on either side rather than the the luxurious space of your empty bay. I can pull the panels for side access easily enough when needed for e.g. changing plugs more easily, but for more mundane tasks like draining and winterizing I generally choose to reach in semi-awkwardly. Also relocated the oil filter so it's easily accessible from the front of the engine.
After seeing a few elusive snapshots of a similar, somewhat less raised deck build on a 25 like mine (the "Salty Dawg"I think it was called) I really loved the flat/flush deck setup. I think it will be great, esp once the railings are on. I do plan on adding some storage under there, but later on bc I'll likely be spending extra time down there till all the kinks are worked out. I drew up plans to have vertical divider like pieces in slots and a setup attaching milk crates or something simar, but for now I'll keep all the luxurious mechanic space. I like the oil filter idea, I'll probably end up doing that as well.
Thanks, she's getting there, slowly but surely. All these damn O rings and seals have been slowing me down a bit but I've also been working on gathering up critical items like railings, controls, and the swim platform components. Really looking forward to working on the swim deck. Then she'll really be getting close.
