Formula 330SS Bulkhead Replacement

[tpenfield]

as Captain Ron stated, "if anything is going to happen to her, its going to happen out there"

don't forget to put the plug in it

Yea, I know . . . things tend to run their best in the driveway

My boat hauler usually checks for the drain plug as well, since he deals with it all the time. I have the plug out now, as I usually run the tubing for the oil change out through the drain plug hole. . . . but I will certainly have to make sure it is back in there and tight before we head off to the launch ramp.

 

[bigdirty]

Congrats man! :thumb: Shes looking good, hope all goes well. There is ALWAYS something that crops up after launch, it must be in the rules or something.. Im about a week away (I hope) from being able to walk across the deck on mine, and have her all cleaned and prepped for splash.. and yes, the plug.. must remember the plug.. :lol:

 

[Scott Danforth]

when I launched after my latest transom redo, i found that all the 5200 in each of the thru-hull holes for cables and speedo tube had oozed enough to leak. found the leaks when I was under the dog house diagnosing intermittent ignition issues. :facepalm:

 

[tpenfield]

Doing a few last minute adjustments to the trim senders last night (God I hate those things) . . .

. . . and the hits just keep on coming . . .

Port side ignition switch decided to crap out. :facepalm: It sort of works, but very flaky. I am going to check out the connections this morning

Still cleaning restoration dust from various places throughout the boat.

 

[alldodge]

Keeping the fingies crossed

 

[tpenfield]

It Floats !!!

made a double post somehow . . . see below

 

[tpenfield]

It Floats !!!

It was a busy day getting all of the boat cleaning done and I still had to do the oil change on both engines. The boat hauler was scheduled for 1:00 PM, but he delayed for an hour, which was a good thing, as I was finishing up the oil changes when he came.

Here is the boat all washed up and ready to go . . .



It was about a 7 mile journey from the launch ramp to our home port and mooring. The boat handled noticeably better than last year . . . things did not shake much over the waves and such. The Admiral noticed it as well . . . So, the structural work was a good thing. I am also glad that I did the bonding of the cockpit sole to the stringer grid. I think that helps too.

Back at our harbor we filled the water tank, so now the the restroom onboard is officially open.



And here is a picture out at the mooring that the Admiral took.


The only mishap was that the cap was loose on the starboard outdrive lube reservoir . . . so that went all over the place during our brief trip to the harbor. . . . something for those oil absorbent pads to soak up . . .

 

[JASinIL2006]

Congratulations! It's been very informative watching you do all this great work. Enjoy the water!

 

[Scott Danforth]

but does the cooler have beer and wine....

 

[tpenfield]

but does the cooler have beer and wine....

Usually does . . .

 

[tpenfield]

Congratulations! It's been very informative watching you do all this great work. Enjoy the water!

Thanks, it was fun sharing this with the iBoats community (also shared it with the OSO/Formula community) :thumb:

 

[GT1000000]

Congrats on getting your Formula back in its natural environment!
Hope all goes well and may all your boating be trouble free...

 

[tpenfield]

Congrats on getting your Formula back in its natural environment!
Hope all goes well and may all your boating be trouble free...

Thanks, GT. I enjoyed having you along for the ride. Trouble-free would be good, but then again, it is a boat

 

[tpenfield]

I saw all sorts of comments about the Forums being faster and more error-free. . . . Sooo, I thought that I would post an update.

We've been out in the boat a couple of times for sort trips. The boat feels a whole lot more solid, but I have yet to put it to the test with any decent sized chop.

Still working through a few loose ends. My ignition switch issue, may have spread to the other engine, and in doing so seems to be pointing to the kill switches as the culprit. So, maybe those are getting a bit corroded on the inside. :noidea:

The water system pressure pump decided to seize up a bit, so I had to whack it with a hammer . . . it seems to be OK for now, but probably will end up on the short list for the off season.

Trying to replace the fume detector, and the easiest thing would be to re-utilize the existing wiring, but that is all wrapped up in a big harness along with 100 other things. I might be able to get to that this coming holiday weekend.

Speaking of which, I probably will get the boat out a few days with lots of people, etc. So, it should be a good test of everything. :thumb:

 

[tpenfield]

Oh, and another thing . . . the fancy water level gauge that I installed last year to give me an indication of how full the water tank is . . . S. T. B. over the winter. :facepalm:

I think the gauge seized up, as I am getting voltage to the gauge and sender, but no response on the dial/needle of the gauge. I'll have to pull that thing out for further diagnostics.

 

[alldodge]

Oh, and another thing . . . the fancy water level gauge that I installed last year to give me an indication of how full the water tank is . . . S. T. B. over the winter. :facepalm:

I think the gauge seized up, as I am getting voltage to the gauge and sender, but no response on the dial/needle of the gauge. I'll have to pull that thing out for further diagnostics.

Bummer on the gauge.

On the good side I actually received my first email response from iboats which lead me right back to this thread.... Yippie

BIG EDIT: still got the data base error.... but I'll take it, it's getting better also got another post count increase

 

[GT1000000]

Yeah, bummer on the little gremlins popping up, but unfortunately the nature of the these beasts is that they are always asking for something in return for all the enjoyment they provide...
Sometimes they can be a bit selfish...
Awww well, at least structurally it should be good to go...now as you use it some of the gremlins may disappear from use and yet others may rear their ugly heads...
Hopefully they will be few and far between...
May you get to enjoy the long holiday weekend with friends and family out on the Formula!
We will be expecting a full and complete report of all that happened in the following week!

 

[tpenfield]

Thanks guys. Yup the forums seem to work a little bit differently for each member . . . I've been getting some notifications on thread updates, but not all, I figured out that I need to 'subscribe' to new threads that I post to, my post count seems to be OK and updating, once in a while I get an error free post.

Anyway, I am wondering if I should just grab a new gauge at West Marine to fix my water level 'system' . . . of course, if I do, then it will probably be the sender that is the fault.

The weather may not be in much co-operation this holiday weekend, but usually the forecast changes as you get closer. So, we'll see.

 

[tpenfield]

quick update . . .

I've been out a few times, but the higher than normal winds have kept us in the harbor for the most part. In total, I've put about 50 miles on the boat (about 35 gallons of fuel )

- I managed to get the new fume detector installed, so that is a good thing.

- We were out in a 3 foot chop and I noticed the the extra flotation the I put in the port mid-section area 'screeches' a little bit if you hit a wave just right. We'll have to see if that 'wears' itself in. :noidea:

- I got a few stains on the vinyl and the fiberglass (gelcoat) from the 2-part foam mixing and pouring that I did. They do not seem to come off too well with acetone, so maybe I'll have to try something else (MEK maybe) :noidea:

- The new trim sender that I put on the port outdrive is junk . . . very erratic. I'm working on a longer term solution though, so, I'll just deal with it for now.

 

[Scott Danforth]

regarding the foam stain on the gel, have you tried to remove the foam with a razor blade and buff? not sure what you can use to get it out of the vinyl. if you find something, let me know :facepalm:

fuel consumption is a bit high, however if your pushing winds and going against the chop, that would be normal. Especially if your just lumbering along at displacement speed.

most importantly, was the cooler full?