Does it matter if my handles on the back of the boat are bolted through the transom wood? They seem pretty sturdy - just as sturdy as if I were to pass and eye bolt through and hook the strap there, right? I hope so, because I bought two 500 Lb. retractable straps that are now connecting the boat to the trailer via the back handles. I'm using them in conjunction with the boat buckle strap we were talking about.
Anyway, I splashed. On Saturday.
The boat was finished on Saturday morning, after wrestling with the steering cable install. Long story, lots of grease and frustration, and some bloody knuckles. Followed by bewilderment and confusion when the motor would only turn left. Disassembled, reassembled, didn't do anything different, but it somehow fixed the problem.
Putted around the lake with the four of us in the boat for about 3 hours. The wife and kids loved it. I was nervous the whole time. I was listening to the motor, checking the bilge, expecting the worst. But, to my surprise, the motor worked perfectly, and there was almost no water entry during the entire trip. There was some water in the bilge, but I never heard the pump kick on, and it never rose above a certain level. I believe the culprit was a few rivets that I sank without 5200 under them. I expected them to be well above the water line, but with wife, kids, motor, two batteries, and a full tank of gas, she rode a little lower than expected.
The motor was running perfectly smoothly. But I'm already missing my big horse of a 20 Hp two stroke. The 9.9 is a bit anemic, and barely gets the boat up on plane. I'm going to check the prop pitch, and consider getting a hydrafoil for the O/B. Later, though - maybe next year. I just want to be done with the project for a little while.
Sorry I didn't get any pictures. I was more concerned with making sure the boat was floating, the engine was running, and keeping my family doing what they were supposed to be doing. My son (9) follows about half of the directions I give, which resulted in him attaching one dock line only to the bow. After I parked the Jeep and the trailer, I came back to the dock to find the boat 90 degrees to the dock and beached. Got it hooked up again while wife and daughter (5) decided to wander off for some reason. Add that to the fact that I was trying to lower the motor, answer my son's questions, check for leaks, and try to remember everything I learned about launching a boat just last year, you might say I was distracted. My worrying definitely detracted from the fun of finally getting the boat back on the lake.
I promise there will be pictures of the boat out on the water soon. Hopefully this weekend. In the meantime, I've attached a pi of what the boat looked like immediately after I finished the checklist.
I did get a very nice compliment as we got back to the dock. I was chatting with a guy as I tied up, who asked how big the boat was. I told him it was a 16 footer. He said "Beautiful boat." I thanked him and told him it was a 1979. He asked "It's a 19 footer? I thought you said 16?" My wife told him no, it was built in 1979, and that I just finished rebuilding it. His response made 8 months of frustration and skinned knuckles worth it: "Whoa. That's a beautiful boat."
