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

[BWR1953]

Notice the brown gooey Gluvit goodness in the pic. The drips match the direction the hull was facing when the Gluvit was applied when I was maneuvering the hull on all sides. I'll be painting that area all the way up to the spray rail in the next week or so. Will do the deck and some other trim as well. And that small forward area behind the bow post will be enclosed at some point, necessitating another reconfiguration. But cable ties are cheap so no worries there! :joyous:

Oh! I also bought some spray-in foam to use to fill the cracks along the deck edges. Once cured, I'll slice the foam level with the deck and paint it as well.

 

[64osby]

Nice work by you and the Admiral. Hope the health issues stay at bay.

Don't forget to seal up the exposed holes in the deck and seal up the deck where you have moved stuff. It will want to soak up water like a sponge if not protected.

 

[BWR1953]

Nice work by you and the Admiral. Hope the health issues stay at bay.

Don't forget to seal up the exposed holes in the deck and seal up the deck where you have moved stuff. It will want to soak up water like a sponge if not protected.

Yup, that's in the plan with the foam stuff. Or maybe a caulk for the bolt holes. Fortunately, since acquiring the tent shelter, no more rainwater gets to the boat. Yayy!

Heading out to fish now. :fish2:

 

[BWR1953]

We spent about 5.5 or 6 hours on the boat today. I got a small bass and we all caught bluegill. The boy caught the first fish of the day which was great because it was our first outing to the small lake.

And the little Kingfisher stayed completely dry and performed well. Am beginning to get the yearning for a 50hp bigun to get installed sometime fairly soon though. Maybe in the next 6 months? Time will tell.

Kingfisher view from the correct side of the launch ramp. :joyous:




The new layout worked well. We were able to move about the boat without difficulty. Had to have my wife and boy try different seats in order to get the best performance from the little 8hp Johnson but it worked out well enough. Legroom up front to run the trolling motor was excellent. I was able to operate the thing without issue and my legs didn't tire. Very happy with those changes.

Of course, my wife is still interested in getting a larger boat with a cuddy cabin to add to the fleet at some point. Something like an Islander, Starchief or smaller Chieftain. Won't argue with her about that.

Sometime this week I hope to get the foam insulation sprayed in place in the cracks and crevices. Then maybe some paint for the Gluvit and the deck. All depends on doc appointments later this week though. Sigh. :blue:

Anywho... here's 90 seconds of cruising slowly along the very narrow canal out to the main body of the lake. Pretty scenery. Even a little color change in the trees. It was nice out there this morning.

 

[BWR1953]

One thing that became very apparent yesterday was that the boat needs drink holders. On our prior two outings it was less important because we were basically on shakedown cruises and checking out the overall concept of the boat. But yesterday was about fishing and functionality. And soda bottles rolling around on the deck clearly wasn't very functional. :suspicious:

So while taking a break from fishing and having a PB&J sandwich, I got online with my smartphone out there on the lake and ordered 4 fold down drink holders plus a new fishing bait for myself! I am sooo 21st century!

They'll be here tomorrow and I'll get the holders installed this week so that they're ready for our next fishing trip. :thumb:

 

[Watermann]

Looks like it was a great day to be on the water! Yeah a 50 horse would add to the fun and make things safer if weather rolls in.

 

[jbcurt00]

Plus w a 50hp next season, you'll be able to tow a tube behind the boat. If the crew is up for it

 

[BWR1953]

For some odd reason they just don't seem interested in tubing or skiing and such. :lol:

 

[64osby]

^^^^ Mmmmmmm Dinner, but it works either way.

 

[jbcurt00]

well, that certainly makes tubing SPORTY
:jaw:

 

[Decker83]

Don't believe I'd care to see any of those floating logs around..:laugh:
The vid was great.. Always nice to get on the water..
Get the drink holders in quick.. Don't want any vids of someone stepping on a lose bottle and going over board..:faint2:
Have a great rest of the week..

 

[BWR1953]

^^^^ Mmmmmmm Dinner, but it works either way.

Yeahh... I've had gator tail before but was unimpressed. Tasted like fishy chicken. Meh. Dunno how people taste to those gators though! :lol:

well, that certainly makes tubing SPORTY
:jaw:

Hey, sometimes you eat the gator, other times the gator eats you! :laugh:​

Don't believe I'd care to see any of those floating logs around..:laugh:
The vid was great.. Always nice to get on the water..
Get the drink holders in quick.. Don't want any vids of someone stepping on a lose bottle and going over board..:faint2:
Have a great rest of the week..

On our last trip in September the boy spotted a gator about 20 yards off our starboard bow, moving slowly away while we were slowly trolling with the electric motor. At first it was just the eyes showing, then the nose, then the whole head. It was clearly a big one. As it got to about 30 yards away its back surfaced... and the back alone was longer than the boy is tall! That beggar must have been a 12 footer!

The drink holders are out for delivery today, so I'll be installing those in short order.

 

[BWR1953]

Received the cup holders last evening. They look pretty good. :joyous:

But it's too stinkin' hot to work outside today. Got up to 87 this afternoon and I just don't feel like going out there in the heat. Humidity still hasn't dropped either. Oftentimes, we'll get frost by now but there's just no relief on the horizon. Argh.

And tomorrow I'm having oral surgery so I'll be feeling pretty lousy for a few days. So I can't even cut the grass today for the last time of the year, much less work on da boat. Dangit.

 

[GA_Boater]

I see you have alligator gar in your fishin' hole. They're a different strain than the ones I'm used to seeing.

Good to see the family enjoying the boat. Since you're on Phase 1a now, does Phase II still include a cabin?

Take care of yourself!

 

[BWR1953]

I see you have alligator gar in your fishin' hole. They're a different strain than the ones I'm used to seeing.

Good to see the family enjoying the boat. Since you're on Phase 1a now, does Phase II still include a cabin?

Take care of yourself!

Hmmm... good question! Could be that we'll get a foldable pop-up shelter. Still haven't decided yet.

Been reworking and rearranging my Project Plan this evening. Gonna move a few things to Phase 1a and others to later times. As of now I have a dozen items remaining for Phase 1a.

And as happens with many other folks, the more I look at everything the more I find that I'd like to do! :tongue-new: And buy!

 

[BWR1953]

Am home from oral surgery. Pretty much painless other than the needles!

Bummer that I had to do it today because it got down to 56 here this morning. Would have been a great time to cut the grass and work on the boat a little.

Post-operative instructions say no heavy physical exertion for 5-7 days. Another excuse not to put in the new fence around the second half of our place. Heh heh. Who knows, maybe the weather will break in the next week or so!

I suppose that I should just stay indoors and watch TV and surf the 'net for the rest of the day. But I feel fine and am tempted to at least go out and visit the boat! Then again, that might just be the pain meds talkin'! :lol:

 

[Watermann]

Go on out and climb inside... I'm betting you could make some real good motor boat noises with those numb lips. ound:

 

[BWR1953]

Go on out and climb inside... I'm betting you could make some real good motor boat noises with those numb lips. ound:

Hahaha! Yeah, I bet! Brrrrmmmm.... pfffrrrrtttvvvvrrrooommrmmmrrmmm... !! ound:

I was a good boy yesterday and just took it easy.

But this morning I went out to cut the grass. The tractor hadn't been started for awhile and was cantankerous. So I squirted some (too much) starting fluid down the carb and gave it a good crank. It backfired and stripped the nylon starter gear. A common occurrence with this machine. :yell:

So I gave up and called it a day for mowing stuff. :yield: I do have a spare gear but it's a PITA to change out so I'll wait a day or so.

Am planning on going out to the boat with the new cup holders and giving it a go later this evening. It's "only" 82 here now so maybe it'll be cool enough to be comfortable in a couple hours.

 

[BWR1953]

Well, we got out there a bit later than I wanted to this evening but we did make a little bit of progress. And learned a couple lessons.

Installed 2 cup holders and will put the other two in tomorrow.

Also started putting the spray foam into place. Got part of it done but it was getting too dark to do any more.

NOTE: If cracks, gaps and holes need to be filled with expanding spray foam, do it before installing other stuff that has small droppable components! :facepalm: Yeah, I dropped a cup holder screw and it went below the deck.

And that spray foam requires a delicate touch. As can be seen in the pic, I don't have one of those and the stuff flew out of the nozzle and got all over the place. Wasteful. My wife will complete the rest of the task tomorrow.

Cup holders fore and aft on the console.



Foam job.

 

[BWR1953]

Well, we got the cup holders all installed today. And rerouted the depth finder wiring and hooked that up; works okay so far! Sliced off the expanding foam level with the deck in the area that I did last night. Am hoping my wife will have time to spray the rest of the boat tonight or tomorrow.

Making progress, a little at a time. :joyous:


Forward cup holders installed.


Aft cup holder installed. Can be used by passenger or tiller operator.




We have da powah! Or at least 12v to the depth finder.



Expanding foam really expands! Needs that delicate touch...



Excess sliced off. Forward part of boat is now complete as far as foam installation is concerned.