What I did to my 4-tec boat today...

[James.Moon]

Put my 2009 180SE into the water this week. It runs great. On plane and 7500-8000 RPM in seconds. I have never been disappointed in the boat, however I have been disappointed in the performance of more than one dealer mechanic. Fortunately I have found a very experienced mechanic in a one man shop close to my Marina who knows these boats better than the dealer mechanics I have experienced- the good news is that my extended warrantee period is over, so I never again will have to take my boat to a dealer shop.

 

[Raffa1024]

Went out first time yesterday had a blast!

 

[gti 130 wow]

When ever I park my boat in the corner of the garage ,I sometimes hit a corner so I installed a dock corner rubber to protect that area of the house .I know from past boats for awhile I was going to be nickel and dimed to death since I bought it in 9/2015 . I think this purchase is finally the last of the new boat got to have stuff. Next is a oil change in 40 more hours and some other stuff 9/2016 so what a relief.

 

[Carboncow]

Some of the items referenced in this post are no longer available. Does anyone have much an opinion on these inexpensive eBay units?

Primary I want to know should I buy the 6 or 12 LEDs? Not seeing an 8 option for the 31mm so I don't want to go to dim or to bright!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-BBT-Brand...ash=item46422ae544:g:Ry4AAOSwsB9WEBWD&vxp=mtr

http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-BBT-Brand...ash=item464517b25e:g:zaEAAOSwgyxWU3tN&vxp=mtr

Also...how many do we have on the C180? Got mine covered and ordering from work. Are there 4 lights or more on the floor?

 

[go_panthers]

I did some trailer work yesterday evening/this morning. Tire pressure checked/filled. Trailer lights checked. My passenger side light seemed dimmer than the driver side light, so i took a closer look and discovered rust/corrosion on the ground (white) wire terminal. Used a dremmel w/ a grinding wheel to get back to bare metal. I was kinda hoping that wouldn't work so I'd have an excuse to buy some LED lights. But, it worked great and I now have light again.

 

[scottbruns]

I put LED lights on my trailer 2 years ago. I did it because my lights were not sealed and were filling with water. The LED lights are totally sealed and waterproof.

The first time I put the trailer in the lake the left LED light filled with water. So much for being sealed. I drilled a couple of small holes in the housing and now the water drains out quickly. At least they appear to be waterproof, if not actually sealed.

I could have returned them, but I spent a lot of time mounting them and wiring them properly. Seemed like drilling holes was a better solution than redoing all that work.

 

[go_panthers]

Ok - my OCD got the best of me, so I took the other tail light off to check it and found some (but less than the other one) rust/corrosion and cleaned it up w/ the dremel. So, both tail lights are in good shape now.

Here's a better picture of what I found:

 

[JPass]

Throw some petroleum jelly, dielectric grease or corrosion-X on those connectors for a little added protection from corrosion.

 

[scottbruns]

I glued the port air intake back onto my boat. See my other thread for some photos.

I replaced the front anchor cover bumpers. My cover did not site well on the bumpers and the front edge was hitting the hull and chipping. I bought some larger bumpers from the hardware store, drilled some larger holes and installed them.



I also added some large bumpers for the ladder. The old clear bumpers did not hold up at all. I pop riveted in the new large bumpers. Maybe they will last longer.



Finally, since I had replaced 2 of the small bumpers, I installed one of them on the port side to help support the anchor cover when it is closed. The one on the lower right is new.

 

[go_panthers]

I glued the port air intake back onto my boat. See my other thread for some photos.

I replaced the front anchor cover bumpers. My cover did not site well on the bumpers and the front edge was hitting the hull and chipping. I bought some larger bumpers from the hardware store, drilled some larger holes and installed them.

View attachment 34944

I also added some large bumpers for the ladder. The old clear bumpers did not hold up at all. I pop riveted in the new large bumpers. Maybe they will last longer.

View attachment 34945

Finally, since I had replaced 2 of the small bumpers, I installed one of them on the port side to help support the anchor cover when it is closed. The one on the lower right is new.

View attachment 34946

Cool project! Where did you find the bumpers? I need to replace the bumpers that you did on the front, where the ladder rests when it is deployed.

As for me, I washed the interior completely, used a vinyl conditioner on the seats. I also cleaned out the anchor compartment, ski locker, and engine compartment. Then, we headed to the lake. Boat ran well and the weather was awesome.

Oh, and I also used the candoo to reset the service hours. There was a bug with the software that would not reset the port engine maintenance date/hours last year when I winterized the boat. That was fixed in the latest update. Love the candoo

Earlier this week, I washed the mooring covers on the washing machine. I need to do a waterproofing treatment on them now.

 

[scottbruns]

I got the bumpers at Ace Hardware. I cut the insert off the bottom and drilled a hole through them and them pop riveted them in place. I did not think they would stay in place with just the rubber insert holding them in place.

I debated doing anything at all. We never use the front ladder as we don't really have beaches at the lakes we go to around Phoenix. I could have just put in a rivet and called it a day, or just filled the holes. I bought 2 sizes of bumpers and used the thinner ones for the anchor cover, so I had the thicker ones just sitting there so I used them. We'll see how they hold up.

You can buy original bumpers from SeaDoo. I bought a few 2 years ago and they did not last any longer than the originals did.

 

[xintersecty]

I took the boat out last night for a sunset chilling adult beverage (within limits of course). Enjoy beautiful lake keowee

 

[go_panthers]

How's that new engine?

 

[xintersecty]

How's that new engine?

Everytime I run it, it get's better. I still think I have a bit work to do around cavitation around the pump area. At lower RPMs you can see the motor unload/load and trying to find a balance. I also need a way to lock down the intake grate. I took out the useless ICS (whatever they called it) system. I think that's bouncing around too not helping the motor load.

 

[go_panthers]

That's awesome. Quite a project!

 

[Carboncow]

OK...kids. My 2007 C180 is new to me so I've knocked out about a dozen projects in the last couple of weeks with only a few more togo. Rather then bomb it all in one post I'll bomb each project over the next few nights.

For the first one we'll start with the non-sexy stuff. I got a full size spare for $80 at Wally-Mart and mounted it to the trailer frame with 3 heavy duty zip ties. It ain't going no were and it's a great place as these little trailers don't have much room.



I'll throw a 2nd one on this post.

I needed a cover and I couldn't help buy a used OEM cover on eBay for $200. At first I wasn't thrilled because it has the holes for the OEM waker tower and I was worried about water and dirt getting in those holes...then I realized I wanted the bimini top ridged as much as possible so I ordered and extra pole to hold it in position. I got an adjustable pole but I would recommend you get a fixed one and cut the pipes to size. I'm afraid it just won't get tight enough in the adjustment clamp and with the pressure of the top at high speed on the lake it may pull out...we'll see! I added quick removal keys to remove the pole from the deck mount so I can fit in the garage. About $75 and it's good quality for plastic (matching OEM) hardware. Make note your bimini boot will be hard to start as the zipper is very close together and that 3rd pole added some girth.

 

[JPass]

First day in the salt. She ran like a champ and handled the chop quite nicely. Took forever to clean her up though. Salt Away seems to have worked well.

 

[Carboncow]

What mirror do you have?

 

[JPass]

What mirror do you have?

Our previous boat ('92 Ski Nautique) had multiple mirrors on it and I got very accustomed to having a mirror on our boat. I picked up this one and have been very happy with it. It doesn't budge and is easy to remove and install (has to come off when I put the cover on).

http://www.amazon.com/CIPA-02000-Universal-Marine-Mirror/dp/B0009PSA4O/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1462067274&sr=1-1&keywords=CIPA+02000+COMP+Universal+7%22+x+14%22+Marine+Mirror

 

[go_panthers]

I just ordered one. Carboncow beat me to the question. Boat looks awesome in the water. In three weeks, I'll be in the salt, too

 

[JPass]

Thanks guys. Here's a better pic of how it's mounted. The only other thing I did was add some felt to the clamp so as not to scratch anything when constantly installing and removing it. If you need any better pics of it mounted, just let me know.

 

[Carboncow]

I'll assume my C180 has about the same width. Think I'll order one today. Thanks for the close up photo.

 

[scottbruns]

I have that same mirror. It works really well. I was worried about scratching the mirror when stowed so I keep it in a padded bag inside a shoe bag. This seems to protect it well.

 

[scottbruns]

I replaced my Bimini straps. I bought Taylor Made 6' Adjustable Straps. I replaced the straps because the hooks on my original straps were not up to the task. I've bent them back into shape a few times. The hooks on the new straps are a bit beefier. We'll see if they hold up.

Here you can see the old hook on the left. The new one is better. Visually they look very similar, but the new hook feels much stronger.



The old hook (bottom) it is a bit bent after I straightened it a few times.



They attach to the Bimini by just looping around the frame.

 

[go_panthers]

Completed some trailer maintenance today. First, I noticed some metal fatigue in my winch. While under load, I could see a small crack forming in the bend on the base plate. I guess I could have welded it, but I decided to replace it (1600 lbs load rating) with a 2500 lbs load rated winch. Got it at Northern Tool, w/ a $10 off coupon. So, for about $55, I have a new, stronger winch.



While at Northern Tool, I picked up a 7-pin harness to replace my worn our 5-pin flat plug. This allows me to get rid of the 5-pin to 7-pin adapter I had to keep track of.



I didn't realize the 5-pin plug was this bad until I cut it off to replace it.