My 2014 upgrades

[JC6275]

Have fun with all of the upgrades, that said, the air bag system is not hard at all to install, I have done several of them, from manual to the auto systems. The most time consuming of it all is running the lines, wires, and mounting the compressor for a nice clean install. The trickiest part I found was finding somewhere to mount the gauge so it was visible but out of the way.

 

[Ronnie]

I was able to start templates for the rear deck hydro turf and peel the stock stuff off. It may not sound like much but it took a while in the sun.

 

[Ronnie]

Not sure where the text went but I bought some more stuff this weekend. Most notably two new locking latches for the clean out hatch (the handles on these protect the locking mechanism unlike my current latches). Also got a new agm battery for my electric water gun and a wind/water proof lighter.

 

[cane.mba]

Damn, just when I thought it was safe to join another Jetboat Forum, along comes Ronnie and starts costing me more and more money!

 

[Ronnie]

Damn, just when I thought it was safe to join another Jetboat Forum, along comes Ronnie and starts costing me more and more money!

Mike, funny you should say that. My wife was happy when I got into quad copters because she thought I would spend less on them than I do on upgrading the boat annually. Thankfully she was wrong, although my quad copter interest has caused me to delay this years boat mods.

 

[GiddYupJoe]

@Ronnie where did you get the locking latches? I was talking to you about this mod last fall and ended up finding the perko ones but they were about $40-45 each after shipping (so I just replaced the ski locker latch) You have any luck finding them any cheeper than that? I would like to do the transom and the anchor box.

 

[Ronnie]

@Ronnie where did you get the locking latches? I was talking to you about this mod last fall and ended up finding the perko ones but they were about $40-45 each after shipping (so I just replaced the ski locker latch) You have any luck finding them any cheeper than that? I would like to do the transom and the anchor box.

I got the newest set from my local West Marine, this is the first time I've ever seen them there. They were $32 each. I thought I got a great deal since when I bought them before they were closer to $50. Well, apparently the price on these has come down since Great Lakes skipper has a variety of them starting at $14 and going up to $34.

http://greatlakesskipper.com/catalogsearch/result/index/?dir=desc&order=relevance&p=3&q=locking+latches&x=0&y=0

I recommend the ones that have the lock hidden by the handle when the handle is down and which have a seal in the bottom of the handle that keeps water from getting into the lock itself. I have Perkos which do this but I couldn't find them in white, so I went with a black set Atwoods with exposed locks initially, never again, that was probably an $80 to $100 lesson. If anyone wants them for the color or to replace a broken one, they are free plus actual shipping costs. They still operate but the lock no longer does/they are frozen. The newest set are by Whitecap. Don't forget that you will likely need the cam/bar from your stock latch.

 

[Ronnie]

Ended up at Costco tonight with my wife (no I didn't buy and Cod or even walk down that isle, here is a link to what I'm referencing: https://jetboaters.net/threads/cod-worm.1293/#post-18537 ). Anyway, I did buy another set of water shoes, this time by Speedo (this is the only product that Speedo makes which I own/wear). My wife picked up a new vest as well. Funny, but my local Costco hasn't put out any towables yet or even men's vests. Lastly, I got two Yamaha oil filters from a local bike shop, "only" $15 each instead of $25 at the dealer.

 

[Ronnie]

I finished the install of the new hydro turf on the swim deck. Last year I added a lot of turf but didn't replace the lower swim deck's stock material. This year I replaced it as well as added turf under the seat cushion bottoms. I recall not having the cushions in my SX230 and the swim deck seemed to be a lot more functional for water sports, I'd rather have hydro turf there than nothing at all. I also replaced my initial set of locking latches with those in the pics. Incidentally, the tool (other than the exacto knife is a punch that Will at JetBoat Pilot sent me along with my order for aftermarket swim deck cushions, for the SX230).

Next up sound deadening.

 

[Ronnie]

More retail therapy, the new hydro turf kit for the trailer came in and I bought a folding as well as extendable lug nut wrenches and a flashlight that got good reviews on YJB.

Next up sound deadening the entire engine compartment, the sides and top of the fuel tank compartment and possibly some on the forward wall under the clean out hatch (the one that separates the water boxes from the engines).

 

[Ronnie]

So I went to get some rust inhibitor and spray on plasti dip at Home Depot last night and found a deal on Ryobi Lithium Ion power tools that I couldn't pass up, so I didn't. $300 for the kit (no additional mark down but I thought it was $400 so the actual price seemed like a deal too me), of course I found a way to justify needing every tool included for boat / pwc and general work around the house and cars.

 

[GiddYupJoe]

@Ronnie don't leave us hanging.... What's your intended use for the plastidip and rust inhibitor?

 

[BoaterGuy]

Is the ski locker latch 2 1/2" too?

 

[GiddYupJoe]

@RobA I just installed this one in my ski locker hatch. After a lot if searching this was about all I could find that locks and was in white.

http://www.boatstoreusa.com/hardware-hatches/latches-handles/perko-1091dp1wht-hatch-pulls-flush-lock-white/

 

[BoaterGuy]

@RobA I just installed this one in my ski locker hatch. After a lot if searching this was about all I could find that locks and was in white.

http://www.boatstoreusa.com/hardware-hatches/latches-handles/perko-1091dp1wht-hatch-pulls-flush-lock-white/

Perfect! Thanks! Just ordered one. Need it for my Bimini trip

 

[Ronnie]

Funny, I was starting to wonder if anyone was watching this thread.

I'm planning to paint the boat trailer and rims (galvanized isn't doing it for me) but before I do I'm going to practice on my pwc trailer and rims first. The rust inhibitor will be sprayed on any rusty spots I see. I used a can of it this morning on the pwc trailer, so I bought 2 more for the boat trailer even though it's a lot younger/newer. The plastic dip I plan to try as an alternative to the spray on bed liner or undercoating that I was going to use on the rims (under the wheel covers and in case I don't like the wheel covers or can't keep them on).

As I recall, all the hatch latch openings are the same size. If the locking latch you buy comes with an adapter/spacer it doesn't really matter since I thing there are only two common sizes.

If you want to good selection of locking latches and sometimes shipping covers check out greatlakesskipper . com (I think) and search for "locking latches". McCarr McMaster is another good site for anything from cheap cam locks to expensive sound deadening materials.

 

[Ronnie]

I took today off and ended up working on my waverunners. Specifically, I finished painting the galvanized trailer with truck bedliner paint, installing new wiring and hydro turf on it an topping off the bearing buddies. This is meant to be practice for my boat's trailer. I also did the annual maintenance (i.e., oil, lube and filter) on the waverunners and installed modified wheel covers on the PWC trailer, topped off the bearing buddies in the same as well as test fitted the covers on the boat trailer. Lastly, I cut the new safety chains down a little and broke out the new pwc covers fron overtons.

 

[Ronnie]

Slowly but surely it's coming together this year. I took a dremel and cut the back off of a stripped lug bolt on the boat trailer I also had to cut the nuts used to mount the license plate to the trailer. The lug bolt took over an hour to do, probably closer to two, I didn't time it as I knew it would be depressing to know with certainty. In retrospect, it may have been easier for me to pull the trailer out to access the lug nut and cut that instead but than I probably would have damaged that rims face plus I'd have the task of hooking up the trailer and well as backing into the storage spot afterwards.

I took some pics but there isn't much to see other than my workspace the cut lug bolt. It was a humbling task, on my back under a trailer working with powered cutting tools sparks flying, etc. For anyone who thinks they are getting ripped off when someone quotes them $100 per hour for similar work (e.g. installing a stereo system, contorted and working with / against unfinished fiberglass ), I say give it a try, it may change your perspective.

 

[JC6275]

@Ronnie sometimes the simplest tasks are the ones that test our patience the most, everything is looking good. Thanks for posting your progress...

 

[mtnv900]

Ronnie are you going to take some decibel readings before and after the sound deadening project?