David Hoff
Jet Boat Addict
- Messages
- 31
- Reaction score
- 58
- Points
- 102
- Location
- Decatur, GA
- Boat Make
- Yamaha
- Year
- 2015
- Boat Model
- Limited S
- Boat Length
- 24
In preparation for Bimini, I wanted to post a few of my favorite mods. I've learned so much from everyone's experiences here, so I'm sharing some of them more useful mods and hacks that I haven't seen posted before. I've included pictures to help, but let me know if you'd like more details.
1. Cooler Mount: I've always struggled with the best place to put the cooler; especially on bigger trips where we might have two coolers (one for drinks, on for food). As it turns out, I found a place that works really well, and I've not seen anyone post it here. I installed the Hydroturf Engine Step Over Port/Starboard kit on the area above the swim deck, and then just added two stainless strap brackets. I used an Attwood gas tank hold down kit from Amazon for less than $10 and it included two steps and the stainless strap brackets. I figure if it's good enough for a fuel tank, it will work for a beer cooler. It is nice that the coolers are easily accessible from both the seats and swim deck. They even provide an extra set of seats when we've got lots of people.
2. Fishing Seats: As I get older, I like a place to sit when I'm fishing, and there isn't an easy spot in either the front or back of the boat (AR210) that works well for me. So, I bought two basic padded fishing seats (about $40 on Amazon here http://goo.gl/IvSfaS ) bolted to an Atwood seat swivel ( http://goo.gl/xOVm8L ). I bolted this assembly to the same OEM bracket that is used for the boat’s table (Yamaha Part # F2A-U4826-00-00 BRKT $38.97). To mount the seat, it just put the table lag into the back deck and set the seat on top of it. It worked so well that I decided I needed another one in the front of the boat, so I drilled a new hole and mounted an additional "cup" (F2A-U4825-00-00 BRACKET, $37.65) in the front bow step. The height of the seats makes it nice when you have to play life-guard keeping the eyes on the kids.
3. Grill box: This one was lot more work than the first two, but it was well worth it. I was trying to find the a good place to grill on the boat. The back of our boat is too high traffic with people coming and going from the swim deck and coolers, so the front of the boat seemed a better place for a hot grill. After my success with the fishing seats above, I decided that I could make a basic plywood chuck-box (like we used in Boy Scouts) that would hold the grill, propane and all the related pots, utensils and gadgets. I put a slide-out drawer and drop down door that doubles as a food prep area. The whole thing uses the same mounting system of OEM table legs (I used the shorter one for the grill) and aluminum mounting cups as the fishing seats above. I'm very happy with the results, and everything stores nicely in the helm closet.
4. Towable Storage: Not really a mod, but I don't like inflating and deflating towables each time we go out. We have a 3-seater Big Mable, and it takes far too long to deflate and store this thing. It's so big, it can't really fit anywhere on the boat. It turns out that you can put it on top of the bimini top and keep it there. We've been using it like this for the last two years (it stays up there pretty much all summer) without any problem even cruising wide open across the lake. I have three nylon straps that attach it on either side and front to the ski tower, and other than a lot of extra wind resistance, it works fine.
Enjoy and if you have any questions, let me know.
1. Cooler Mount: I've always struggled with the best place to put the cooler; especially on bigger trips where we might have two coolers (one for drinks, on for food). As it turns out, I found a place that works really well, and I've not seen anyone post it here. I installed the Hydroturf Engine Step Over Port/Starboard kit on the area above the swim deck, and then just added two stainless strap brackets. I used an Attwood gas tank hold down kit from Amazon for less than $10 and it included two steps and the stainless strap brackets. I figure if it's good enough for a fuel tank, it will work for a beer cooler. It is nice that the coolers are easily accessible from both the seats and swim deck. They even provide an extra set of seats when we've got lots of people.
2. Fishing Seats: As I get older, I like a place to sit when I'm fishing, and there isn't an easy spot in either the front or back of the boat (AR210) that works well for me. So, I bought two basic padded fishing seats (about $40 on Amazon here http://goo.gl/IvSfaS ) bolted to an Atwood seat swivel ( http://goo.gl/xOVm8L ). I bolted this assembly to the same OEM bracket that is used for the boat’s table (Yamaha Part # F2A-U4826-00-00 BRKT $38.97). To mount the seat, it just put the table lag into the back deck and set the seat on top of it. It worked so well that I decided I needed another one in the front of the boat, so I drilled a new hole and mounted an additional "cup" (F2A-U4825-00-00 BRACKET, $37.65) in the front bow step. The height of the seats makes it nice when you have to play life-guard keeping the eyes on the kids.
3. Grill box: This one was lot more work than the first two, but it was well worth it. I was trying to find the a good place to grill on the boat. The back of our boat is too high traffic with people coming and going from the swim deck and coolers, so the front of the boat seemed a better place for a hot grill. After my success with the fishing seats above, I decided that I could make a basic plywood chuck-box (like we used in Boy Scouts) that would hold the grill, propane and all the related pots, utensils and gadgets. I put a slide-out drawer and drop down door that doubles as a food prep area. The whole thing uses the same mounting system of OEM table legs (I used the shorter one for the grill) and aluminum mounting cups as the fishing seats above. I'm very happy with the results, and everything stores nicely in the helm closet.
4. Towable Storage: Not really a mod, but I don't like inflating and deflating towables each time we go out. We have a 3-seater Big Mable, and it takes far too long to deflate and store this thing. It's so big, it can't really fit anywhere on the boat. It turns out that you can put it on top of the bimini top and keep it there. We've been using it like this for the last two years (it stays up there pretty much all summer) without any problem even cruising wide open across the lake. I have three nylon straps that attach it on either side and front to the ski tower, and other than a lot of extra wind resistance, it works fine.
Enjoy and if you have any questions, let me know.
