Prepping / refurbishing the boat for next season

[Ronnie]

Well it’s that time of year that I need to start thinking about what to do to the boat to prep it for next year and this has always been a great place to create my list of things to do and buy, for myself and for feedback purposes. Aside from the usual things (change the oil, inspect the wheel hubs on the trailer, etc.), I plan to install a few upgrades and generally refurbish the boat probably for the last time. I say this because it’s clear that this is the last run about I will ever own, my next boat is going to be something I don’t have to / can’t tow and something I can comfortably stay on for a few days/nights at a time. That stated:

Repairs:
-Hull Damage to the bow and stern (that I caused on my last trip out) along with any smaller reminders that have occurred since the boat was put in service.
-If i can’t repair I will replace the fresh water wash down nozzle (the tip of the nozzle spun off on my last trip out).
-resecure and loose electrical wiring as some of the stuff I’ve installed is hanging down.

Upgrades/Replacements:
-All of the hydro turf with either new turf or sea deck.
-The stock Bimini with a black one, along with having an extension, boot and side panels made in black.
-Lateral thrust enhancers (?) from jetboat pilot for each pump.
-Possibly relocating the xm antennae to the top of the tower’s rope mounting point.

 

[Ronnie]

So i started with good intentions and first emptied the boat completely. In prepping for seadeck i have to remove the hydro turf i previously installed. Here is a pic of all the tools and itmes i think i will need.

However, after stripping off just two small parts (three if i count the small one my son took off, in about 10 minutes).


i decided to hire my son and four of his friends to do the job next weekend. So the cost just increased $200 to $250.


Given the extent of this current mod, the additional spend is worth every penny as far as i am concnerned.

 

[Ronnie]

Had 5 sophmores armed with heat guns and plastic putty knives on the boat removing old hydroturf yesterday. It rained on and off so they toughed it out under a pop up. They got about 1/2 way done in 4.5 hours and should be done by sun down tonight.

 

[zipper]

@Ronnie That is a lot of hydroturf, holy cow.

 

[robert843]

Best money you will ever spend is hiring them to do it lol. I will hire someone if I ever have to remove this stuff again. Curious about your bimini top plans how do plan to do an extension?

 

[Ronnie]

I did the extension a few years ago. My friend is a sewing and embroidery hobbyists. She added zippers to the trailing edge of the stock top, custom built the matching extension to fit hardware from an 06 sx 230 as well as a boot.
The boot allows the stock top and extension to be stowed without first detaching the stock top from the tower (the top on my model attaches to the tower via 4 zippers, what a PITA sometimes).

I plan to have the boot’s sides rebuilt/reinforced amd also have another boot made that will allow just the stock top to be stowed without being detached from the tower, maybe in black.

 

[Ronnie]

Well $460 later, i still need to remove left over adhesive but feel it was worth the cost. Got to oove that eraser wheel, i need at least one more. They also removed the 9’ keel gaurd for me (because i want a different color). Things ate coming along slowly but surely. After the boat is prepped it goes in for some gelcoat work. Then off to the marine upholsterer followed by more driveway boating.

 

[Speedling]

I like how you actually post before i wake up! 1:13 am! Wow i thought i was bad with a 4:30 alarm!
How was the keel guard to take off?
My boat had one when i bought it used but wasn't installed well and i ripped it off.
Thought about putting another on so as to not worry as much about hitting bottom

 

[Ronnie]

Thanks to the extra hour of daylight that daylight savings time gave me I was able to try out my new eraser wheel on some of the residual hydro turf. Here are before and after pics. Got a few hours to go but it’s looking a lot better now.

 

[Ronnie]

Thanks to the extra hour of daylight that daylight savings time gave me I was able to try out my new eraser wheel on some of the residual hydro turf. Here are before and after pics. Got a few hours to go but it’s looking a lot better now.

 

[Ronnie]

Got another hour in today after work and was able to get the rest of the thick black material off. I still have a lot of adhesive to remove but have a new eraser wheel (my third for this project) and at least two commercial products to do that with. Boating season is coming to fast.

 

[adrianp89]

That looks so miserable to do lol. What made you rip it all out?

 

[zelone]

God bless you Ronnie, that is a massive project, with all that glue. It will look great, when its done though. Good Luck!

 

[Scott E]

I resorted to mineral spirits to clean the residue from the stock pads on my SeaDoo. The wheel was to slow for me. The mineral spirits turn it into a gel, clean that up into a bucket, then cleaned with acetone, finished the small spots missed with the wheel, acetone again, the installed the SeaDek.

 

[Ronnie]

To anyone that has or is thinking about installing hydro turf, black tip or sea deck (on the swim deck, as carpet and/or the more extensive kits, it will take many, many, many hours to remove.

I installed mine between four and five seasons ago. I custom cut everything from a discounted role of hydroturf from hydroturf that came adhesive backed. Per hydro turf it came out thinner and color was not as dark as usual. The problem that I discovered is that the upper layer started to peel off in strips after year one, last year what was left was deteriorating and transferring onto my guests clothes and skin. My plan is to have some fiberglass damage and all the dock rash, etc. I’ve collected over the years fixed before putting new turf, black tip or sea deck onto the swim platform and everywhere else but the carpeted areas (my wife and son want to keep using the carpet). I still love turf/sea deck but am now very aware of what it will take to remove it.

I still need to clean up the adhesive. The wheel was great for the second phase of getting the remaining black foam off (phase one being removal of the large pieces) bu is suspect it will be too slow to remove the residual adhesive (phase 3) so I’m going to start with goof off and goo gone and will keep the eraser wheel handy for remaining tough stuff. I didn’t try to remove the thick foam with chemicals because of all of the mess I imagined it would cause (if it worked).

I also need to remove the scuff plate and clean up the area under it and the part of the keel previously covered by the keel guard. I want all this done by the end of the weekend so may recruit my son and one of his friends.

Once the fiberglass work is done I plan to take it to a marine upholstery shop to have my custom made Bimini boot/cover repaired and possible have another one made along with some side shades (similar to what @zipper has). I have a few other mods planned like mufflers and possibly lateral thrusters but anything that does not get done by June 1st won’t happen this year and cost is also being considered, my wife is surely not going to be ok with me dipping into our vacation fund to mod the boat, at least not again this year.

 

[zipper]

side shades (similar to what @zipper has).

Love the sun/privacy shades. If you are having a bimini made, make sure they put zippers on the front as well as the sides. Can be used to put up storm shield/plastic windshield if you get caught in a downpour. What am I thinking...the weather is always beautiful in California.

 

[BigN8]

Could you not use gasoline and a tough rag to get all that residual adhesive off easier? I know they sell goof off and the like but in my experience nothing works like gasoline to remove adhesive!

 

[Ronnie]

@zipper , thanks for the suggestion but if the weather is so bad that i need a windshield extension I probably won’t be in the water, on my boat anyway.

@BigN8 , I considered using gasoline but since I already have the other products I plan to use them first and revert to gas as a last resort.

So far I burned a small part of one cushion with a heat gun and damaged small part of another cushion with the eraser wheel. I am hoping to avoid causing any more damage.

 

[Ronnie]

It took about two more hours to finish removing the remaining adhesive from the swim deck area. I ended up spraying the area with goof off, wiping off the residual and using the eraser wheel to remove the remaining material. Overall not hard or as time consuming as I thought it would be.

Here are the final pics. Now I just need to clean up the keel area and remove the scuff plate so it will be ready to take to the body/fiber glass/gel coat shop. I can feel my debit card warming up.

 

[Ronnie]

My son and I removed the scuff plate and cleaned up the area under it and where the keel guard was, it only took about 2 hours.

Today an insurance rep and a guy from a local boat repair shop came out to see the damage and start the claims process.

Pics to follow shortly.

The next steps are to wait for the quote to be developed and submitted for approval by the insurance company, take the boat in when they approve the work and send me a check (assuming that is what will happen).

The shop guy said it will take only a few hours to repair the damage but will keep the boat a week to let the repairs cure properly. Once this is addressed I will be taking it to a marine upholsterer to have a new Bimini top Boot and side screens made. I plan to order some seadek a new keel guard and scuff plate soon. My debit card is just getting warmed up.