Project 'Bad Habits' Build

[Finished Business]

And the boat project rolls on....

Mounted my side windows, the AJR's...man are these thing purdy!! I'm already in love with the sliding window at the helm...so glad I went that route. As far as passengers getting a slider, screw em! lol. The visibility is so good in this boat, it's laughable!

Also busted out the hole saws and cut out my helm station for all the gauges, hydraulic pump, and 8-switch panel.

I will have my 2 3.5" RPM and Speedo Etec ICON gauges (analog/digital) on top, followed by my independent fuel gauges for both gas tanks underneath. I am mounting my HDS7 in the center of the window, just behind the cuddy opening. I got a little creative as I didn't like a fixed position for the HDS. so I glued a standard 1-1/8" plastic thru-hull to the HDS base, it fit perfectly with no cutting required and cut a whole through the dash. I can access the threads from inside the cuddy so if I want to swivel the screen towards the captains chair, or swivel it square to the back so it is easily visable from the back of the boat. And since it is in the middle of the cabin there is no obstructions such as seats or people when viewing from the fishing deck. A sweet $3 upgrade me thinks. Check below for the photo details.

Lowrance HDS bracket detail:

Cheers

 

[JAC]

Looking sweet need some cup holders in there. Sure like the windows are they tinted a little?

 

[Finished Business]

Ya I had the windows done with green laminated glass. A light coloring hardly noticeable when looking through the windows. But if you look from one side of the cabin through to the other, it has a definite green hue.

And YA, i DO need some cupholders. thanks for the reminder!!

A minor setback...I ordered the wrong hydraulic steering cylinder. The pivot arm has a slight bend for the Etec motors. UFLEX makes 3 different arms for the various sizes of engines and manufacturers...and it looks like I ordered wrong. UFlex needs to make the application guide easier to find on their website!! Hopefully I can get the right one in ASAP because if not, that will likely be the holdup for sea trials!

 

[Finished Business]

Couple more mods worth noting...

Got the rear steer and throttle mounted. In a very fishy spot, within an arms reach of either the forward or rear downrigger. Should be a hoot!

After spending the day on Blue Wolf Charters, I really liked the soft rubber-like material he had on his dash board...it makes for a good place to put small items like keys, phone, camera, lures, tools ect, but is useless if it all slides around. The rubber matting Wolf had seemed to eliminate that problem. Long story short, I modified a yoga mat for something useful, my dash pad! Turned out pretty sweet, and I had some left over to add some padding to the arm rests. I also fit up the cuddy door and hatch...

aside from these updates, a bunch of wiring has been ran (about 80%) and I'm thinking I am in the final week of this project before it hits the water.

1 year to the week and this thing should be all wrapped up!

 

[JAC]

What did it cost you to add the second steering station for the parts?

 

[JAC]

How is the boat coming along?

 

[Finished Business]

Over the course of the last 31 pages, I've done plenty of talkin...I think its time for the boat to command the conversation...

[fu2s6r2zmkA] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu2s6r2zmkA

before anyone jumps on the excessive exhaust smoke, it was just for priming the oil system to the engine...otherwise she runs basically smoke free!

....continued

 

[Finished Business]

after a quick day at Lordship Marine...the mechanics, Doug and Sean, set aside basically the day to get it all dialed in and ready for the water. In much less than a day, they had the boat ready go. Doug really knew his stuff about these engines and basically walked me through anything I questioned. A great job and fantastic service.

Soon after we were at the launch, ready to see if she floats :| haha

With little effort the boat slips off the trailer...

And comes to rest dockside, striking a rather menacing pose...fish beware

......continued

 

[trophywife]

looks fawesome,,,, good on ya fb!!!.. that pod sure adds some buoyancy. will sit nice with full fuel and buddies on board.

 

[Finished Business]

Finally after an hour afloat, a dry bilge and fully functioning electronics...it was time to take Bad Habits for its maiden voyage.
The engine performed and sounded AWESOME! The torque....ooooh the TORQUE!!...damn near hopped tha son '***** right out of the water!! She ran WOT right on point at around 5800 RPM.

How fast you ask? Well, it wasn't the rocket sled my younger self had hoped for, but at 24.5 feet of hull, and 4 feet of pod and engine...she topped out against the tide at 45 MPH

We opened er up, there was 3 of us onboard, with a little less than a quarter tank, at the mouth of the North Arm of the Fraser River. It was pretty calm but we were able to find some decent chop at a 1-2 feet. I didn't let up and went hard into them at 45 mph. We all braced for what was expected to be a rough first outing. To ALL of our surprise the boat handled the waves near feathery as I would call it. It didn't pound the waves, nor did it dive or slice into them either....it was a soft cushiony ride, nothing of what I expected.

Time conflicted, we didn't have much time to dial in anything and still have some programming to do with the gauges. was able to achieve a cruising burn of 3.2 MPG at 10.2 GPH at approx 33 MPH. I could be slightly off on MPH, I will confirm numbers after a few more runs on the pond.

Here is a short clip of the boat in action at approx 40 MPH. (these were the first videos with my new phone, *note to self, turn the phone sideways for videos.)

[Ss804jP5LQs] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss804jP5LQs


.............continued

 

[Finished Business]

What else can be left to say?? It was a great build. I don't think it will ever be "done" but at this point I would call it done with minor mods or additions to come after the season. Would I do something of this scale again, or go the route of buying new or slightly used? I probably would! After a year working on it I know the boat intimately. In short time I have seen the benefits of putting together a design that I felt was best suited to my application.

I will be the FIRST to say it. Fine lines, smooth corners and a refined taste is not in this boats vocabulary. It was built with the intention of getting scratched, being well used, and put away wet!! The welds are nice, if I point you to the right ones there are sharp edges, rough corners, and a Rough Captain! Will I paint it? No. Will I wax it?? No! Will I fish it...Helllllllll Yeaaaaa!!!



FUNCTION NOT FASHION GUYS, CUZ CHROME DON'T GET YOU HOME!!

Before I wrap this saga up....


One last BIG F'N THANK YOU!! to ALL the people that helped out with this build. Many people lent their time, skills, tools, machines, vehicles, storage space, and even spare and needed parts!!! A large number of forum members contributed both physically and with their advice and ideas as the project moved along over this last year. Thank You to them.
To the moderators and folks who own this site, thank you for a place to post a thread like this. The exchange of information and ideas never ceases here and it has been nothing but helpful. I'd wager a fair bet to say I wouldn't have gone after a project like this if not for this kind of website and forum. and Schmanks to the nearly 28,000 viewers who have poked in to check out the build to date. Hopefully you'll give me a wave out on the water because by now it feels like everyone knows this boat, judging by the views!! And here I thought I was just talking to myself...

Aaaaaaaand one more...thanks to ME!! haha. Many many MANY hours have come and gone into this boat long before it saw a drop of water under my ownership. It is pretty damn rewarding!! I encourage anyone with lingering projects, or hesitant ideas, to keep on it. Getting there is well worth the effort.

THANKS FOR TUNING IN

-Finished Business aka Bad Habits

 

[CrabbyChris]

Good job Nick,sits nice in the water!

 

[Hit em Hard]

Hello Nick
Congratulations on finishing your project. That looks to be one mean boat. If I were a fish I would be mighty nervous right about now. Any plans for fishing WCVI this summer?
h.e.h.

 

[JAC]

Wow looks sweet 45mph plenty fast!! Great job on the thread and the build!

 

[firelight]

way to go Nick, nice to see her in the water

 

[spring fever]

Very nice build-good Job!!Couldn't access the vid's-said it was private but the pics were great!!! Tight Lines. Mike

 

[ComfortZone]

she looks awesome, a machine with a purpose!! weight distribution looks perfect, thats prob. why you have a suprisingly smooth ride, keeps the nose down into the chop, that and i think you are heavier then you thought, but I could be wrong...thats just what the numbers suggest...a beauty, cant wait to get out on her!

 

[Lank Thompson]

Just looked over the whole process. Very nice job. Also, you will be very happy with the e-tec. I had one and they are awesome in every way.

Good fishing!

 

[Sculpin]

Outstanding!!!

Thank you sir for recording and posting the progress for everyone to see and follow on here.
I guess your not a boat ho anymore and we can expect some killer reports from you and your new ride now.
I can't wait to read about the first blood on her decks.

Congratulations my friend. Well deserved.

Cheers,
John

 

[salmonkiller01]

Great build, and now the reward of a true offshore fishing machine. Congrats