Bought myself a project '99 LS2000

[dabomb6608]

Season is basically here and I've not done much to the boat since the audio work. Had it out a few times since then and very happy with the sub and amp.

I just finished carb/crank seal work on @Eloy2 boat and took it for a test run last night. I was very impressed with how well his hooks up compared to mine. I knew I was overdue for impellers but I never had a baseline to really compare to until now...so without further ado...I've got 2 new Solas impellers heading to GroupK for their repitch service and hope to be installing them in a couple weeks once I receive them. Pretty excited to get them installed, it truly was night and day difference driving his boat compared to mine. I'm glad I had my wife with me, when she said "is this how our boat is supposed to run" I knew it would be easy to get the "okay" to make the purchase.

We have a mini-"honeymoon" planned the weekend of June 4th down on Kentucky Lake. Renting a cabin and slip at a marina and bringing the boat and our dog with us. We are both very excited for a long work-free weekend to relax. I would be stoked to receive the new impellers before we head out for that trip but I don't think that will happen with shipping/turn around times.

 

[Eloy2]

Took my boat out yesterday and ran a tank of gas without any issues. Very happy with the results. Thanks Dabomb.

 

[dabomb6608]

Season is basically here and I've not done much to the boat since the audio work. Had it out a few times since then and very happy with the sub and amp.

I just finished carb/crank seal work on @Eloy2 boat and took it for a test run last night. I was very impressed with how well his hooks up compared to mine. I knew I was overdue for impellers but I never had a baseline to really compare to until now...so without further ado...I've got 2 new Solas impellers heading to GroupK for their repitch service and hope to be installing them in a couple weeks once I receive them. Pretty excited to get them installed, it truly was night and day difference driving his boat compared to mine. I'm glad I had my wife with me, when she said "is this how our boat is supposed to run" I knew it would be easy to get the "okay" to make the purchase.

We have a mini-"honeymoon" planned the weekend of June 4th down on Kentucky Lake. Renting a cabin and slip at a marina and bringing the boat and our dog with us. We are both very excited for a long work-free weekend to relax. I would be stoked to receive the new impellers before we head out for that trip but I don't think that will happen with shipping/turn around times.

Had a hectic but good summer last year. Never did update how things went with the impellers. They perform great, however I ran into some major issues on my starboard engine when removing the old impeller. In the process of removal I believe I must have damaged a bearing in the pump as I now have a noise coming from that side that wasn't there before. It is just prevalent enough to make me concerned. I also need to pull that transom plate again and reseal it as I believe I have some cavitation due to air leaks around the plate.

I also have my rear seat back and engine cover pad off the boat and at a local shop getting reupholstered currently. Hope to see those back by end of the month to get the boat prepped before season kicks off. I especially want to get the pump issue sorted before we take another trip to Kentucky Lake. We are going to try making that a yearly trip.

I am already swamped with jet ski work so need to find time to address the pump issues and then reinstall those cushions once they are finished.

In other boating related news. In September we purchased 1 acre of lake front property on our local lake. It is two houses down from the friends we boat with now, and is at the end of the cove with a gas line easement on the other side of me. Shouldn't ever have neighbors against me on that side. Very fortunate we were able to make that happen and are hoping to start construction on our first home this July. I worked a little bit on clearing the land over the winter. I've got a company coming in to finish up removing the larger trees this month. With my schedule I just don't have the time anymore to spend down there getting that done. Here is a shot of our view. Will be even better once the clearing is finished. We couldn't be anymore excited to be full time lake residents. This also means I will have a garage to store the boat in during the off season, which is great because several years of outdoor storage (even with a boat cover) has done a number on the boat cosmetically.

 

[dabomb6608]

Had the boat out for the first time Memorial Day weekend. Prior to that I was able to rebuild the stbd side jet pump. The noise is no longer there so that solved that issue. I left the boat in the water Saturday-Monday and after sitting over 24hrs (we didnt make it to the water Sunday) the bilge pump didnt pump out anything when I returned Monday and flipped it on. My slow leak must have been around the transom plate on that stbd side from back when I replaced it. Glad to have that sorted issue as well, makes me a bit more relaxed with the idea of leaving the boat in the water for longer periods when needed.

The boat shop who was doing my seats "finished" the rear seat back and engine cover just in time for me to pick them up that Saturday morning. The engine cover turned out fantastic. The back seat section not so much. As many who have gone through this know, that rear seat is very difficult to recover. From the factory it is heat pressed/stretched in a large form machine onto the foam. They thought their material would be able to stretch, but it didn't and ripped. They were able to cover the seat with leftover material to get it on the water for the holiday weekend with a promise to make it right once new material comes in. I'm happy with that, they've been good to work with and were very apologetic about the whole thing. I will try to remember to get some photos once that is finished up.

Still waiting on a contractor to remove trees on my property and house construction is currently pushed to late summer. A wet spring has everyone behind schedule. Nothing to do there but hurry up and wait.

 

[Welder]

Thanks for reporting all the issues you had and how you fixed them.
I am south of you in Gilbertsville, Ky. I just bought a 2001 LS2000. The boat came with two SJ650D 50hp engines.
Looking for 2 gp1200 engines, if you run across any in any condition please let me know

 

[dabomb6608]

No real boat updates to speak of. It was used with no issues all last season. Actually got it wrapped this winter for its last winter being stored outside.

Only real updates are property/house updates. Land is cleared and construction started last week. Basement walls are poured as of Wednesday. Still a long way to go, but we are beyond excited.