I have returned... with a Starcraft this time!

BWR1953

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Jan 23, 2009
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How do you expect that to cool with all that goo blocking the fins?
The paste should only be on the mating surfaces to assure heat transfer from metal to metal.

Dan

The fins are not blocked. And the "goo" IS only on the mating surfaces. :rolleyes:
 

BWR1953

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After turning the interwebz upside down and shaking vigorously, I was able to find a 2" tach to fit the KF dash. I actually found a needle in a haystack. Finally! :p

But! Although I received it in the mail today, I won't be able to install it for another two weeks. That's because the tach harness that I ordered might not arrive before 19Oct20. :rolleyes:

At least I have the cute little tach on hand though. Soon, my pretty... :lol:

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BWR1953

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I received the tach harness today but won't be able to install the tach for a couple more weeks. We're hot and heavy into the garage cleanup/fixup project and that's sucking up all my time.

We are planning on taking the KF out this coming weekend. Long overdue! :cool:
 

BWR1953

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I was going to update this thread with a long sob story about the KF travails that have been happening which were my fault, but I'll try to keep it short.

I messed up and destroyed the fuel hose connector where it mates to the engine. Bought a new one plus a quick disconnect for the fuel tank side and that got destroyed too.

My neighbor buddy gave me a used replacement tank and I got it hooked up. I had the boy inspect the interior and he said that there was just one leaf in there which he removed and we were good to go. Tested the motor at home in the barrel and all was well. Took the KF to the water the next morning (Oct 17th) and launched. Idled out of the No Wake Zone just fine but when I hit the gas it bogged down badly and the fuel bulb got sucked flat. I verified that the vent was open and tried again. Same result. I was able to idle back to the dock and we retrieved the boat and went home.

Jeez, I was supposed to keep this short. Bottom line, after two trips to the water and 3 trips to the Merc shop, we ended up dumping the gas out of the tank, strained through an aluminum screen and into a 5 gallon bucket.

FULL OF LEAVES and other detritus! :cautious:
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So, we cleaned the tank thoroughly and it's now ready for on-water testing again. But, we haven't had time.

Oh yeah, on the second trip to the water with the replacement tank, the hull starboard side paint got banged up badly during retrieval because it was windy and I had to use the trolling motor to return. So I had to repaint that section.

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Second coat done and after it dries for a few months, it'll match the rest of the color.
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Also, did I mention the confrontation at the launch ramp? I de-escalated that and took care of the boat but was glad that this old man didn't have to do the old man thing. :oops:

There's more to the KF issues, but I've said enough for now. :rolleyes:
 

BWR1953

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Jan 23, 2009
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5,802
The good news is that the KF is fixed and back to normal!

We went out for testing this morning and the test period lasted maybe 5 minutes. The boat was good to go, so we wet our lines. 🎣

My wife and the boy caught bluegill and I hooked a couple small bass which came off at the boat. My shoulders have been killing me for well over a month (injured while working on my truck) and I simply couldn't get a proper hookset. 😖

But, there was success!
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A peaceful respite from the stresses of life.
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Yes!
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And the boy is turning into a teenaged walking stomach! :ROFLMAO:
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Watermann

Starmada Splash of the Year 2014
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Jan 12, 2013
Messages
13,747
Well I guess having that long boating season makes for more troubles. My Chief has been winterized for over a month now and the SS is tucked inside the garage under a cover. Would love to be out on the water in shorts and a t shirt right now, driving on this ice and snow is not much fun.

You just got the KF splashed this year right?
 

BWR1953

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Hi guys. We had a great time using the KF actually on the water last weekend! The boat/motor is completely back to normal. 😁

But there are still a few more minor improvements we'll be making.

This afternoon we installed some pads to prevent the Bimini top from scratching the paint when we have it rotated fully forward. That typically happens when we're working on the motor, etc.

I bought a cheap cutting board and cut it to shape for the two pads. Then we drilled holes in the pads followed by drilling the mounting holes in the gunnels.
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And finally we riveted the pads into place.
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I hope to get the big fuel/water filter and the new tachometer installed by the end of this year. My time has been spread pretty thin because of the garage project, laptop upgrades, truck stuff and more. But I'm making good progress on all those other projects, so I may actually get the upgrades done soon! :cool:
 

BWR1953

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Joined
Jan 23, 2009
Messages
5,802
Well I guess having that long boating season makes for more troubles. My Chief has been winterized for over a month now and the SS is tucked inside the garage under a cover. Would love to be out on the water in shorts and a t shirt right now, driving on this ice and snow is not much fun.

You just got the KF splashed this year right?
Long boating season? It's only 366 days this year! 🤣

I'm just glad that we got it all sorted out and that the KF is back its normal, happy self!

Actually, I can relate to having to store a boat in a frozen land. Went through that myself when I lived up north. I feel ya. 😉 Shorts & t-shirt is pretty much standard dress around here for most of the year.

Yessir, we re-splashed the KF this year on May 2nd after a 3 1/2 year restoration. A happy day! 😁

 

Watermann

Starmada Splash of the Year 2014
Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Messages
13,747
So why haven't any of these scurvy dogs floating around here nominated you for the SOTY? :rolleyes: I got my nomination in already. :cool:
 

BWR1953

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Jan 23, 2009
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5,802
She's a little cutie (y)
Thanks WM! Couldn't have done it without help from you and others on this forum. :)

I just wish that I'd left the seats up instead of folded down. They aren't visible in the pix. And I wasn't able to get drone pix/video because my drone broke... twice. :rolleyes:
 

BWR1953

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Jan 23, 2009
Messages
5,802
It's been a beautiful, sunny day here. Blue skies, no wind and 75 degrees with low humidity. ☀️ 😎

So the boy and I went out to the garage to do a couple small things with the KF. Got those done and started to continue, but ended up getting stuck.

The idea was to just test fit the tach harness so that we could install the new tachometer at some point. Buuuttt... one thing led to another. 🤪

The new tach harness.
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The boy got it hooked up perfectly!
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I turned the key and sure enough, we had good voltage. 😃
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And now we're stuck. Tried to remove the steering wheel and it didn't cooperate even after PB Blaster was applied.
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From the underside, it looks like the steering column isn't meant to come back out.
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Maybe I need to get a wheel puller? Any ideas?
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This is the new 2" tach which we'll install once the steering wheel is off and I have room to maneuver the drill to make the 2" hole.
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