"Things to fix this spring" wish list

[pyro]

If anybody has any advice for any of these tasks, let me know:

Change water pump, properly epoxy-fill stock intake passages to keep water from freezing and cracking the stock intake Bondo.

Chisel out remaining nosecone & intake Bondo and re-do with Marine Tex, sand and repaint AGAIN.

Replace 4" Land & Sea jackplate's plastic slide runners: We plan to hang the motor with a ring and cherry picker, un-bolt the hydraulic cylinder and slide the jackplate apart, one half on the boat, one half on the motor. Replace worn out gauge sender (If I can find one), replace sliders and re-assemble.

Fill a half-dime sized chip in the side edge of the pad, the only major imperfection on this hull.

Pull out gas tank for rear access,and install new battery hold-downs & strap. Re-install battery and gas tank.

Remove oil injection: Module, reservoir, tank, hoses, pump, and re-install crankcase plug and gasket from Rickracers

Install some thin head gaskets just for the hell of it, see if it squeezes out another HP or two without cutting heads.

With proper setup, I WILL achieve 80 mph this season. I have in my possession:
A 28" A5 big-ear chopper with unknown history, runs 78.8
A perfect 9+ condition Mazco RE3 29", only ran it ONCE, so far 79.3
A 7.5+ condition polished Mazco 30" RE3, we'll see if I can turn it...
A lake I keep my boat at that is over 2 miles end to end
I still WANT a 26" Merc Big-ear chopper, 5" wide blades, with NO mods or re-work other than maybe some mild cupping. (EDIT: Got one on the way...)

Optional stuff, costs more money than I want to spend right now:

Install stereo deck in place of depth sounder beneath grab handle. Sony deck mould match the boat's colors, I would get a base model deck so I get the light background display with black numbers. The negative displays SUCK in the sun! 4" or 5.25" speakers in front and back seat bases, maybe even components with tweeters mounted up higher, and little 150W powered Bazooka in back or under the bow.

Replace steering cables and change to a 6" jackplate for another 2" of setback!

Already replaced trailer step boards & bunks and new carpet last year, but the half-circle shaped inner fender panels still need to be done. Cut plywood, soak with CPES resin, re-carpet and install.

I also want to re-paint the trailer eventually. Years of stone chips turn into little rust dots. Remove stripes and Eagle logo, sand & strip the bad areas, re-paint in one of the following schemes:
-Black base like it is now, with red, silver, and some gray tape stripes for accent. Big Hydrostream logo on the side.
-Silver base with black, red, and gray accent tape stripes, this would require a few coats to cover up the black.

The trailer could use new tires, these ones are a bit dull and cracked from age. I would also like to somehow match up a third rim and tire for a spare, and install a spare tire mount.

Whew! With one day a week to get stuff done it's gonna be tough...

-Chad

[MirageSmack]

I think you should have started in the Winter--thats a big list!!

I also plan to repaint my trailer if money allows. There is a local dude here than will sandblast it for me, then I'll paint. That seems like a lot of sanding you can avoid by doing that. Most of the rust is underneath anyway--hard to get to by hand.

Good luck. Makes my list look more do-able after seeing yours.

[pyro]

I just ordered some goodies from Rickracers. (Thanks Barbara!)
She found that elusive trim sender for the L&S jackplate!

I also got a 1" milled aluminum spacer set! It looks like I can add an inch of setback without getting longer steering cables. With as little setback as I have (4"), the more the better!

[Bulletboy]

it's a better job. Other than that my list is longer than that, so I can't be much more help.




Ray

[pyro]

Got most of it done! Almost ready for the water again!

Oil injection has been removed.
Knees are glassed in, area painted gray to match. New 12" worth of floor on each side.
Aluminum reinforcing plates installed, upper and lower.
Fuel tank moved forward 2" to accomodate new knees.
Jackplate height gauge sender replaced.
nylon jackplate slides replaced.
1" setback spacers installed, every bit helps.
Made new "welding cable" battery cables, battery moved to passenger side.
New water pump, stock inlet passage filled with West epoxy.
Small chip in pad filled with Marine Tex, gray and white blended.

The boat goes in next weekend. 80 mph coming soon...

-Chad

[Bulletboy]

where did you get them and how much? I just got a 12' piece of 1x4 alum bar stock to make 1'' spacers for my boat and I'm gonna have lots left over.


Ray

[yamahadog]

first project is to fix the fist size hole in my 175 yamaha block, i know its not hapenin but its a thought

[pyro]

www.rickracers.com
sales@rickracers.com

Ask Barbara which set of spacers Chad purchased 2 weeks ago. They also sell some wedge-style spacers for changing the range of your trim.

These spacers are rough-cast aluminum. They're pretty ugly, if you get a set, be sure to level them out so they'll lay flat. I had to bore the holes out bigger to fit the bolts through.

-Chad

[Bulletboy]

They were cast so I woouldn't be interested I was wondering what they cost more than anything. This piece of 1x4 alum was $190 for 12 feet so after I get what I want I figured I would ask around and see if anyone wanted a set. I will get ten sets so I will have a few to sell. I thought $ 30-$40 would be a fair price.



Ray

[pyro]

The spacers I got were made by Hydrodynamics. $26.95 /pair:

http://rickracers.com/product_info.p...oducts_id=2681


Some nice 2" spacers here, $65 /pair. Their surfaces are machined flat:

http://rickracers.com/product_info.p...products_id=43

-chad

[imq707s]

Pyro....I noticed that you said you are wanting to put in a CD player in your boat. Make sure you get a good one. I've got a pretty good Clarion CD player in my Vegas, and after only two trips to the lake, the vibration from the boat has already killed it. The radio still works, but I think I must have rattled the CD player portion of the stero to death. It sounds like I must have knocked a bunch of the mechanical internals out of allignment. It makes a terrible grinding noise when I attempt play a CD.

Anyone have some recomendations for a CD player that will handle the extra vibration and pounding that is found in a boating application?

Thanks