money pit......even more than my Penn reel addiction

[milne]

Can never work out how to put a group of photo's in one post with narrative...
My computer skills havent quite got there yet  

So this was the inside during the big chop out, basically down to nothing..

[milne]

To this ...

Re did the stringers and bulk heads under the floor, made the underfloor tank cavity larger to carry more fuel for those out wide trips.
Put bulk heads between the helm and the small cuddy cabin, which was open before, still to finish that area off, will be soley used for storage only, was always to small to sit in there or even have a kip on overnighters. Got rid of the original pedestal seating which was un functional and had some new seat boxes with storage made up and fitted some comfortable bolster seats which flip up so they can be used as a leaning/standing post when out in rougher stuff where sitting isn't comfortable. Finished everything off with a new speckle coat everywhere. I filled up all the old switch holes, plugged them up and re gelcoated, already for the new Suzuki gauges.

[milne]

The transom got the u-but upgrade as well, raising it to take a 25'' motor leg,,, keeps the head out of the water a little bit further, especially out wide.
All re Gel Coated as well, a blank canvas for the marine mechanic to fit up the new engine.
It's going to be hard for me to drill any holes in the transom, for the likes of transducers and deck and live bait pumps, especially since that's where most of the transom damage comes from over time. I'm looking at those ready made blocks of special plastics that get fibre glassed on to the stern so as you can then screw into them rather than the transom, deck savers I think they call them....  anyway, that's on the list for when the boat returns...

[milne]

Nothing special up front happened, just refitted the anchor winch and set up the " boat catch" again, these are two of my most important and best extra's on the boat. Not sure if you guys have these Boat catches over your way ??  maybe there made there, Dunno.  Effectively they make solo fishing, Fun !!.
Just a simple cord pull when launching and the boat is released to drift back, then when back at the ramp, simply drive the boat on the trailer, boat catch locks in when fully on, and Bobs your Uncle !!  No more winching the boat back on..

[milne]

Apologise if this is boring people  
Down back inside is pretty straight forward, tried to make everything simple and functional, kind of a must in a small boat when your out wide.
Still have to set up a decent live bait tank up against the back, one of the many other jobs that boating seems to always have, your never actually completely finished setting up you boats, it changes consistently  .

Well that's it  !!.
I've fully checked out all my new wiring, seems to be working well, the boat never melted down overnight !  touch wood...  But I've given instruction to the marine mechanic to do the once over for me while fitting up the motor.
Won't get her back for near 2 weeks, the marine shop is down a man, but no issues from me there, plenty to do at our new place.
This has been, a pure labour of love,, you were right Randy, many many times I walked away from her, saying, enough is enough, especially trying to do what qualified blokes do for a living...  But it's been worth it, well, now it is  , never realised how bigger job it really was, till I was knee deep..

Col

[Swami805]

Great job, like a new boat only better.  Thanks for the run down.

[oc1]

Really sweet Col.  You should be proud.   I'll definitely remember the trick about glassing blocks onto the transom.

[milne]

Really sweet Col.  You should be proud.   I'll definitely remember the trick about glassing blocks onto the transom.

Hi oc1,
   I think there called Stern savers, and I'm sure there a US product, they come pre made, different sizes, the plastic pad has holes in the back, it comes with a 2 part epoxy tube, so with a little sanding prep in the spot, it's pretty straight forward to glue on.
A lot of blokes here just use marine Sika, but I've heard of many instances where they have let go. You pay a bit more for the Ready to go kit of the stern saver, so if you can mix up some epoxy yourself and buy the proper plastic stuff, you would save a bit of coin, but the principle of it is brilliant.
I mean, I will have a transducer, at least one pick up for a bait pump and deck wash, so the holes mount up real quick. That's where most of the water ingress comes from and then it's only a matter of time. You can drill as many holes to re position what ever your fixing to the transom, so no disadvantages really.
Yes, it's come up good, thankyou. Once the motor is on and I have it back, fit out all the extra's, then finally I get out on the water, I'm sure I will have that "proud " feeling   

Cheers
Col

[Donnyboat]

Hi Col, it looks great man, one thing I may draw your attention to is, if the drain pipes in the bait board are not large enough, then the liquid in the bait, will spill over into the back of the boat, I have a mate here, he has a seat across the back, and the liquid spills over onto the seat, as the drain hoses sometimes block up with small peices of bait, cheers Don.

[milne]

Hi Don,
           My " fish and chip vat" as my mates used to call it LOL,   the bait board is a good one, had it made by a mate 8-9 years back, what I did was drain the underneath part, so I have removable bait boards slightly down from the top, with drain holes in each corner, under that is about a 3 inch depth to where the drain holes and piping come from. It did block up once that I can remember, but it's contained in the body of the whole thing, it can hold close to 10 plus litres so it would take a lot to spew over. But I here what you are saying.. I put mesh over the outlet holes so large pieces of bait couldn't find there way down the hose and block it.  I'll take a photo of it when I get the boat back.
Can't remember what it cost me to get made, mate knocked it up for a cashy, but she is a solid lump of Stainless, has 4 different angled rod holders sunk into it, which get used all the time,,, I'd hate to think what it would cost to get made up now   LOL.

Just got back from dropping the boat off, he was well and truly under the pump, a man down so I won't see it for 2 weeks, not an issue in all honesty, It's been 4-5 years since I started so a few more weeks won't matter. I was kinda chuffed after I went thru everything with the marine mechanic, organised where the gauge was going where the controls were going etc, after he went over everything he asked did you do all this, which I replied yes, he shook his head and told me I can have a job at his shop !!  Tongue and cheek ofcourse, but kinda made me feel good about the end result I managed.

OK, my head swelled a bit...
Back to reality, more gardens to clean up and weed  !!!

Hope all is well over your side Don.

Col

[Cor]

A great project to be proud of, the boat looks perfect for the job.

Hope she will give you much pleasure on the water as well.

[milne]

Thankyou Cor,
             Hope all is well with you over your side of the world...

Col

[milne]

Still a few wee clean up jobs to tinker with, but apart from sounder and canopy, Oh and the Gunwhale rubber, she's done..
My Little big boat !!!..
WE have been getting flooded out down under, all down the east coast, the weather is horrendous, so no time to spend doing those tinkering jobs, more concerned about stopping flood water......
But the new Donk is on and I might even go down the river to put a few hours on the engine when the weather improves, just to give me the final motivation to finish those pesky little jobs on her..

[milne]

well, wouldn't you believe it, had the new 4 stroke and the boat in a ready state, for near 6 weeks and still haven't managed to put her in the water !!!!.
We've been experiencing un seasonal rain fall, causing major flooding and local boat ramps closed, with the odd day that has been good weather wise, the planets have not aligned.
So, I have about 2 1/2 weeks, before the mandatory 2 months Warrantee service, where I'm expected to have 20 hours on the motor  ....
So, she is getting dipped tomorrow morning, I've roped in one of the old blokes up the road, who has fished our large river nearby for bass, since Adam was a kid  ... Kind of happy with that, going into Virgin waterways has never been one of my favourite things, nothing better than having an experienced bloke sitting next to you, pointing out any issues along the way. They have only just re installed most of the marker bouys along the river, most were swept away during our storms over the last 2 months.
So we will be heading up stream, its about 10-15 kilometers up to the head water, then we have a tributary of our main river to explore as well, hopefully that should clock up 4-5 hours on the engine, as well as old mate pointing me out some hot bream locations along the way.
The weekend also brings an opportunity to head out of the river and go out wide, another neighbour regular on the game fishing scene has offered for me to follow him out, through the headland bar..  Again, I've crossed many a bar over my time, but never to proud to be shown through for the first time by an experienced local. From there it's only about 10 miles out to the  shelf, which is the closest on Australia's whole east coast. At the minute the black Marlin are still hanging around due to out unusually warm waters and the tuna are starting to make an appearance, so hopefully I kill two birds with one stone over the next week or so.
will try and get some decent Pic's...

Col

[Crow]

Well, good luck with the fish...and great job on the boat!!