-
Well during the outage I got a few new things done.
LED's:
- Added strips along the length of the vinyl-covered side board on the inside of the gunwale. These really completed the LED look, super easy install because I just wired them directly into the existing accent lights.
- Added Red LED replacement bulbs for my gauges. Love the way they turned out and compliment my blue accents. I also have red lights in the EQ, head unit, and amps so it worked out well.
- Finally, possibly my favorite LED's, four simple strips inside of my cooler.... PINK!
Alternator:
- Added a brand new 110 amp alternator. The old one was definitely the culprit of my battery charge problem and I haven't had an issue since.
Window Tint:
- Had a buddy help me tint the side windows to 20%. LOVE the new look of the boat. All the blacks kind of blend nicely throughout now.
Amp Rack:
- Finally tackled that project. Spent less than $10 and came away with an awesome looking final product.
Here's the pictures, enjoy and thanks for all the help!
http://i842.photobucket.com/albums/z...r/e042d9aa.jpg
http://i842.photobucket.com/albums/z...r/263b2346.jpg
http://i842.photobucket.com/albums/z...r/d11205fa.jpg
http://i842.photobucket.com/albums/z...r/0dc946cd.jpg
-
-
It's a sad week this week. I had to spend my last night on the water with my baby Sunday night. I'm going to be spending this entire week cleaning, cleaning, winterizing, and cleaning the boat before I have to put it away for storage for the year... : (
I still have one year of school left and I just can't afford to trailer the boat down to Missouri with me and keep it there. As much as I would love to, I know that it miiiiiight have an adverse effect on my studying. As sad as it is, I do have a cast on my foot so it's not like I'm missing out on riding and skiing, just driving and being on the water. Also, in just my short summer season I've put 150 hours on it - from the middle of May till the middle of August.
So, for the next 5 days I will be thoroughly cleaning out the boat. I'm planning on a full interior detail as well as wet sanding, compounding, polishing, and waxing the hull. I can't wait to post a picture of the current oxidation that is happening on my hull just to hear some reactions. So if anyone has any good tips on doing any of that or winterizing a ballast system or anything else, please feel free to share!
-
It's already looking good Chris, but I'll look forward to seeing your progress over the winter. It's great to see people actually using and enjoying their boats. Sorry the season is cut a little short, but it sounds like your priorities are in the right place. Keep us updated.
-
-
Looks like it was worth it...she's shining good now!
-
Wow! How long did it take for it to get that oxidized? Was that one summer's worth, or has this been building for a while?
-
Just one summer's worth, it was that black when I started the season. But I guess that'll happen when you put 150 hours on your boat in under three months. Also, starboard side was a little worse because the way my shorestation is situated that side gets beat by the sun most of the day. Also, the river I'm on is a pretty dirty river, a foot of visibility max.
-
So when I bought my Aerial tower 2 years ago they accidentally sent me an Attwood LED anchor light. The light clipped in to some of their other towers bought mine wasn't compatible with mine. I just had it sitting in a box for the last year and half but then I got bored and had an idea.
I modified the light slightly using a lathe so that it would fit down inside a piece of pipe that I had laying around from an old child's basketball hoop. I had a friend's grandpa weld a steel plate inside of the pipe and drill and tap a 1/4" thread through that plate. We used a hole saw and grinder to cut the proper radius into the bottom of the pipe and we epoxied the light to the top of the pipe.
On the tower, we drilled down through the top of the tower all the way through to the bottom. Then using a progressive bit drilled out about a 3/4 - 1" hole in the top so I could use needle nose pliers to grab the existing extra wires I had laying in the tower. Wired the light up, put a piece of rubber on the bottom of the pipe and bolted it to the tower. Cut the rubber around the edges with a razor to make it nice and clean and I was done.
No more messing around with the standard anchor light pole in the back of the boat, just have to pull the existing switch.
http://i842.photobucket.com/albums/z...r/44fb2d7d.jpg
http://i842.photobucket.com/albums/z...r/b2fcc260.jpg
http://i842.photobucket.com/albums/z...r/118455a4.jpg
http://i842.photobucket.com/albums/z...r/308962d0.jpg
-
awesome man! Some of this ingenuity is thoroughly inspiring. Once we FINALLY track down a boat worth purchasing, I hope you don't mind if I steal a few ideas :)
