what i did today....

[guitarsjm]

after reading some great and interesting threads.... i took the 'advice' of a few and got a few additions. mounted and wired an attwood continuous use battery charge/trickle charge unit.. 24bucks at walmart as well as the purolator gas filter i think Lou mentioned. will put that in tomorrow. got the new cup holders, bumper floats, dock lines, anchor setup... thats all for today... oh yeah... waiting on the fuel float and serious wheel lock to come. but for now, installed decent motion sens driveway light with excellent sensitivity and range... you can walk by our driveway just before the street and it goes off... good... lock should be here soon and an ip ir cam as well. not taking any chances with idiots who have stupid ideas... well.. they will definitely notice the 2 cop cars on either side of our home.... and one is a k-9. next check we order hrydo turf, sound system, put aside half money for reupholstery and engine cover (got one for a killer price)... next check bills & bimini, after that, remaining for either upholstery, then engine cover... then maiden voyage! oh.. and for trailer, gonna get a nice led setup they have on sale at HF... damn.. under $50. gotta take some b4 and after pics for all to see... will take the befores tomorrow. thanks to all for the great help.

 

[bigtexan99]

Nice, you had a busy day.

I rewired my bilge pump. Added a new fused line to my battery switch with marine grade 12AWG wire. Running it up to the dashboard where I installed my 12v accessory port. While I had the battery switch apart, I sanded all the connectors clean with the dremel tool. Also Ordered a full set of HydroTurf (dark grey, molded diamond).

 

[Spimothy Leary]

might as well drop another $10 and throw in a couple LED's inside the cupholders, connect them to the nav light leads
not sure where you got the cupholders, i got mine from wallyworld and they were a VERY SNUG fit, reminded me of prom night, 1984.
So i sanded down the edges of the fiberglass so they will come out easier.

and ps you were much busier than me, all i did was take my boat to the car wash and spray it down

 

[RFoster130]

Sounds like a good start. Be sure to post up pics of what you do. Pics are always fun and it helps other people who may wanna do the same stuff. Dont hesitate to ask any questions. My boat is different, but ive done all the mods you wanna do plus a few more.

FYI, you can get the cupholders on ebay for about a buck fifty each, they are universal fit.

 

[guitarsjm]

ok... wow... 20% off coupon, plus insidetrack club price... got entire led trailor light set for 24 and change!! looks great too! took me a bit over an hour; didnt have to re wire entire trailer, just used watertight connectors and some nice new self tap screws and done. would love to put pics up here but... sorry... dont know how to get pics into here. took some nice shots for all to see, so could someone let me know how to get them in here. sure you would all like to see what we got and i sure would love to show ya... thanks again!

 

[RFoster130]

When you reply to a thread....on the bottom right of the box there is another little box you can click on that says go advanced. Click that. Then when you reply, it gives you the option to add an attachment.

That way includes small pictures. I prefer to make have them full size. If you wanna put the pictures actually in your post full size, you can hose them somewhere else. Create an account at a hosting site. I use photobucket, its free. Create an account there. Upload your pictures. Then just copy and paste the image tag into the body of your post here and you get nize big pictures.

 

[guitarsjm]

hey foster.... tried doing what you said, as an attachment.... tried 3x... it goes thru the motions, but nothing shows in any pane, so, nothing shows.... darnit.. really wanna show what we got... ok...already have a bucket acct, made new album will post whatever..here...

 

[guitarsjm]

here is link.... i hope... http://photobucket.com/our97seadoosportster

and i'm a digital photog too... hey.. u dont have to, and cant, know everything about everything! but it just takes me a moment or 2 and a bit of help... and voila`!! the BIG pics are down the thread! now.. about that fuel filter and where it goes... you can see my setup and HELP figure out where to put the darn thing! talk about no room to work! honestly, is it necessary to take off the 'hood' in order to get down in there? and when/if you do... how the heck do you work in there?? i am freaking just thinking what a nightmare its gonna be to get to the bench seat bolts.... does the tank have to come out...i have no clue how much i have to remove to get to them...yet that is... let alone HOW to get IN THERE! then, looking to find the fuel line going into carb... which one is it..there seem to be so many and from the top, its hard to tell which line it actually is... point it out to me fellas and i will cut that sucker and put this filter right in... then.. when my float comes... can i just loosen the clamps on the neck and pull the unit UP without cutting all the lines... cause, if i have to cut them all, now i have to cut off the crimped on clamps and get new ones.... yada yada yada... hey.. its not that i am fearful of doing anything.. i just cant see HOW to get to anything... well... easily.. that is.. i guess... 'welcome to the world of working on engines in tight...very tight places..' i flushed the engine today and ran her for a few... just a few. oh! when i read in threads of people 'fogging' their engines... is that like siliconing it for protecting against water?? if so, whats anyone using? if i'm wrong, what does 'fogging' mean or refer too? i am learning and eating it all up fellas so be understanding.

 

[RFoster130]

When you respond and click go advanced, the box open that you type in. Just above the box, you see the stuff to change the font and alignment and size and stuff like that. Click the paper clip looking thing. Then when the new box opens, click on the box that says add files. Then click on select files, then find where they are on your computer.

I think it is much easier to just upload them to photobucket and you get bigger pictures on here.

 

[guitarsjm]

THERE!!! that should do it now! well.. for now as far as pics! thanks guys for helpn me get them up here

 

[RFoster130]

Looks good. Clean boat. Your seats look like they are in pretty good shape. I think i would leave them for now and spend the money on other stuff. I would pull the bilge pump out and make sure it isnt jammed up. Try hooking it directly to the battery and see what. I dont think the battery switch was original in yours, so make sure everything got wired to it correctly. It appears to be a switch for a system with 2 batteries.

 

[LouDoo]

Nice looking boat. I was ready to reply to another thread about fixing the gas gauge, but Dr Honda already has and gave you better advice than I could have. I did notice from your pictures that the grey tempo fuel lines have been replaced by black ones, so that's one less thing you need to do.

Lou

 

[guitarsjm]

the pump...pull it..omg!! i know it 'works'.... i hear it... the fan works too... the switch, yes, i thought it was added after as a way to keep the battery OFF... but everything, lights and all... except the damn fuel gauge... works. hopefully, when i get the float, i wont have to go thru 7 hells to change it. back to the bilge pump, i was thinking of 'pulling it'... stared down sadly at it... wondering.. HOW can i possibly even get to it?? any and ALL help with that will surely be of use. gonna screw in the drain plugs tomorrow and slowly fill the bottom with hopes that the pump will go on by itself as it should. if it does, and the flow is decent... then i would think that for now, pulling it could wait.(?) but, if you suggest otherwise, i will give pulling it a whirl.... as long as i know how to get to it without destroying and dismantling like the entire engine compartment to remove a bolt... that would just seem insane... then again... things made in canada.....(a nod to south park the movie)... gosh i love this forum! i have, we have... learned so much in the short time here....

 

[RFoster130]

nevermind on the pump....i thought for sure in one of your other posts that you said it wasnt working....i guess maybe i got you confused with someone else....if it works...then dont worry about it. Its funny you talk about how cramped it is. I was going to say wow it must be nice to have all that space to work on. My boat is basically the same size in the engine compartment, but it has 2 engines in it.

 

[RFoster130]

That boat is really clean. I think a set of new hydroturf would really set it off nicely.

 

[LouDoo]

What you need to do is buy a SeaDoo ski, like a XP or GSX then you'll see how much room you have to work in your boat. Hell I could camp out down there.

Lou

 

[guitarsjm]

to me... its like working on my old cadillacs and lincolns then.... getting under the hood of something newer.... like an acura or mitsu... and you wonder how the heck you are going to tackle this.... (then you realize why the newer mechanics gets sooooo much more money than in the olden days!)

 

[guitarsjm]

That boat is really clean. I think a set of new hydroturf would really set it off nicely.

you yup!! its already in our one-click-away online store... next check or the one after, gonna be the turf and the top as well as a very cool, but not outrageous sound pyle sound system... guess extra gauges and the mirrors..ala sport hood, could wait.. though a price on getting one with said gauges and mirrors may help in planning. but the next few things are the turf, top, radio...engine cover, seats.... (yeah..and an upgraded tow vehicle... but that one has to wait the longest...little honda will have to do for a while----no more comments on that please... i know what everyone thinks on that one...lol )

 

[guitarsjm]

What you need to do is buy a SeaDoo ski, like a XP or GSX then you'll see how much room you have to work in your boat. Hell I could camp out down there.

Lou

funny... we were at first looking into skis.... couldnt pass this up!

 

[guitarsjm]

El Toro and his son stopped by our home today to meet me and my wife... what a nice guy with loads of know how with these boats/engines. his son is a real hands on kid with a load of knowledge with these watercraft and their inner workings. surely taught me a thing or two!

looking forward to meeting SDB in the upcoming months as well. may be hitting the water soon with the boat. Toro's and his son did a compression test and it passed with flying colors. changed out the plugs too. next week, getting my engine cover.... next up will be the hydro turf and sound system, then the top. also, changed the hand winch that was on the trailer to a new higher weight capable one. looking forward to taking her out on lake within the next week or 2.

 

[tekeyman]

Looks very clean and well kept

 

[bigtexan99]

If the bilge pump works no need to remove it, but if you do, I believe all you have to do is press in the 2 red 'snaps' on either side and lift up. The pump should detach from the strainer basket. Then just remove the hose clamps and pull off the lines.

 

[guitarsjm]

ok.. please no NASTY comments... i took the advice of all my new found honest seadoo friends and decided AGAINST using our car as tow vehicle. we thought we would give it a try today, and me, who does NOT scare easy or give up or back down.. did so in the name of simple common sense. funny... we took our new baby, to the lake.... at least she got to 'look at it' and my wife and i both laughed when did that after the funny comment from one of you guys saying we should at least take to the lake to look at the water.

had it lined back up perfectly on the ramp.... and as i started to slowly back down the ramp.. like a PUNCH in my head.. i stopped dead and said no no no.. this could be really bad and not for the boat or trailer.... i couldnt do this to the only vehicle we have... what an IDIOT i would have been (like i said fellas.. please no verbal assault). so we got her, and car, safely back home. thats that. until we get a vehicle we CAN tow this with... looking at a nice 97 dodge ram p/u and a 97 jeep laredo... things along those lines, she'll stay safe in our driveway.

we have a neighbor or 2 with boats who offered to tow it for us to ramp, get her in, and then we could call them or set a time to come back for us. lake isnt too far away, so for now, thatll work fine...

so, i owe you guys a big THANKS for all the 'advice'. in the meantime, we will just fix her up more with no rush.. HECK!! we live in vacation land! better safe than sorry!

 

[ocod]

:thumbsup:

priceless

jik you forgot. look at my sig.

Thats a nice neighbor.

 

[tater salad]

you just make it way too easy