A bit of a frustrating day

[ryan_8099]

Well today we were hoping to get our boat all docked up for the season. Started off good, got the intake hose off to be connected to our hose fairly easily (for the oil change) Realized that we had the wrong gaskets for our impeller and also found out there where was no easy way to drain the oil. The 1 drain plug hole had some type of ball valve on it so you couldn't run the hose through it. (Assuming this was installed as an "oh shit" if you forgot the drain plug since the water pressure would force the ball closed) After chasing around for an oil extractor (bought one that runs off a drill) and cutting our own gasket (since no one had them in stock) we got the oil changed. The oil filter was the biggest PITA to replace in our boat, no room at all to work with.

I got to take a closer look at a weird looking spot under our boat where the hull comes to a point a little past halfway to the back of the boat. When wiping dry we noticed water was leaking out of a small crack in the hull. It also felt soft....what a disappointment. So instead of putting it at the dock at the end of the day we had to take it to a shop to get fiberglass work done. Really hoping this comes at a reasonable price.

On the positive side, we were able to get the boat in the water for a bit and loaded it down with our new ballast system. Surf wake looked decent for us and the wakeboard wake also looked pretty damn good from what we could see. However, I am planning on moving the wake plate "box" that houses the atf fluid etc out of the way of the bag.

Thanks for listening to my rant, just feel a little bummed out about the hull.

Here is the only picture I snapped today of our swim platform when our ballast was full (was a bit surprised how much it sank). 2x 750s nearly full and 1180 center maybe 90% full or so.
swimPlatform.jpg

Hope some people got to enjoy their boats today more than we did

[Cigars n scotch]

Sorry to hear that. Is that the first time changing your own oil?

Hope that the fiberglass work is not too much and your back on your boat in no time. Hey at least you were on it. I spent all day washing, waxing, vacuuming, vinyl cleaning, etc trying to get the boat ready.

Best of luck.

[wolfeman131]

It'll all come together, Ryan. There is always something to do with the boat. So, be glad you caught it before the season is in full swing and you'll forget it all by fall! Hope it goes fast & cheap for you guys.

[ryan_8099]

Sorry to hear that. Is that the first time changing your own oil?

Yep, we had someone help us who is pretty good at boat maintenance and he agreed it was in a very difficult spot. I actually don't mind work as it makes me appreciate the boat quite a bit more and I certainly enjoy learning something new (have never even changed oil in a car before), but we were hoping to get out riding which didn't quite happen.

[KSmith]

Keep us posted on the Hull issue. Hoping it isn't a major fix for you guys,

[kaneboats]

It'll be OK. Those fiberglass guys are artists. They'll fix you right up. Glad to hear you are learning to do your own maintenance. It's the way to go so you know your way around your own boat.

[bergermaister]

The oil filter was the biggest PITA to replace in our boat, no room at all to work with.

Dude, get a filter relocater mounted on that thing. Will make life so much easier, changes cleaner, etc. Mine came with one on it already - you can see here where it's mounted. Huge convenience!


I'm curious how did the 750's fit when they were full?

Nothing like a few "new to me boat" discoveries - good and bad. You'll get it figured out and dialed in.

[ryan_8099]

Berg, thanks that may very well be the solution we go with...I will look into it (and might have more questions). Your picture brings up another question of mine. Where yours is mounted, is there anything behind that plating? I want to mount the wake plate thing on there. Maybe you have a picture of where yours is?

I was very happy with the fit of the 750s, they fit much better than I thought. I would say we are getting them nearly full, but Ill have to check the ends closer next time (definitely no issues with height once the wakeplate stuff is moved). I can also snap some pictures too.

Your engine walls look nice, how are they attached? Ours aren't carpeted and it pretty much screw into the cross bar, and there are some L brackets towards the back that screw in as well. It kind of annoys me how it looks and how hard they are to get out, may look at adding a track system.

Overall I was pretty impressed with the wake and can't wait to get out there. Once our 200 lb friend sat on the side of our boat, the surf wake really cleaned up and looked awesome. Makes me excited to see what it will do with just a few more family/friends in the boat.

[bergermaister]

Where yours is mounted, is there anything behind that plating? I want to mount the wake plate thing on there. Maybe you have a picture of where yours is?

That plate is actually more like a hollow rectangular tube - that is what the ski pylon mounts to. Very solid. I may have or can get a better pic for you, that was all I had floating around on photobucket from a diff project. How big is the wakeplate box/plumbing? I don't have one so no idea what you're working with there.

Your engine walls look nice, how are they attached? Ours aren't carpeted and it pretty much screw into the cross bar, and there are some L brackets towards the back that screw in as well. It kind of annoys me how it looks and how hard they are to get out, may look at adding a track system.

Mine are mounted exactly like you described yours. I reused the starboard pieces I had that originally covered the hard tanks so they are not a perfect fit and have more gaps than if I would have done them from scratch. However, being a little smaller makes them easier to jockey in there. Carpeting them will make a huge difference for looks and is easy to do!

I'm toying with taking my one piece rear engine cover and making it a 3-piece so I can open the side compartments individually. If I go for it, I'm going to have to add some kind of tracks or railing for support right above or attached to those walls too.

Can't wait to see some pics of your wave and wake.

[Cigars n scotch]

Ryan, forgive me cuz I'm on tapatalk and can't see signatures, but what kind of boat do you have? Can't decipher from the tiny avatar image. Looks like a Supra but can't tell. What year and model?