What Did You Do To Your Boat This Week?

Annual remove and replacement of the internal zincs as well as spark plugs - not too exciting, but a lot cheaper for me to do this task than my marine mechanics.

Pretty simple job, just unbolt the zinc holder and carefully pull it out - care taken not to damage the "o" ring seal. Then swap out the old for the new zinc. Photo of the old zinc to show one season of wear - totally a worthwhile preventive task. I also ensure to put grease on the bolt threads to make removal next season a whole lot easier.

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Well the rain finally stopped, so I pulled her out to prepare the surfaces for the annual reapplication of Poli Glow. That involves scrubbing down all the surfaces with Poli Strip and removing any stains (rust or other marks). Important to ensure there are no marks etc before applying the Poly Glow because its a polymer product that will cover over anything you apply it on. Once a mark is covered by Poli Glow, its locked under the coating - sort of like Ceramic coating.

Works really well - totally protects my boat which is outside on the water all summer. The boat always has the wet look as if it was just waxed - no more chaulky fading from sun. They do recommend that you reapply once a season - but its a lot less work than waxing. Easy to apply with a wool glove - pour a small amount, do a small section - repeat and move around the boat. No buffing, just gently swipe the wood glove to slowly apply the product. You definitely want to move slowly, otherwise if you drag the glove too fast it can leave small bubbles. Once dry (in about 30 minutes) you can apply additional coats.

While I was preparing the surface, I did notice some of my stainless rails had some rust stains from multiple seasons. Poli Glow has a scrubber product ( Poli Ox Heavy Duty Oxidization remover) that you can use to clean the stainless which also removes any rust stains. A bit of scrubbing, but the rails look great again.

Next step, she's back in the shop and I'll get it warm in there to get going on applying the final Poli Glow product and the boat will be ready for the Sprout Loggers Derby!



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Took advantage of the warm weather to change the crankcase oil in my twin DF300’s and my T-25 Yamaha but more to the point, I finally got a bead of epoxy resin around the base of my Garmin T51 thru-hull transducer….I’m hoping to avoid having my mainline snag the stainless steel retaining band that holds the transducer to its base….I’ve had multiple springs go under the boat and leave my mainline snagged against the stainless band which not only broke off the fish but left big blossoms of braid line stuck in the base of the transducer that eventually spun up into my props

Time will tell how long that epoxy with stay in place to continue fighting the good fightIMG_6955.jpeg
 
Super fortunate to have @wolf and @tigerprawn fit in my annual retrofit, so mostly what i did was clean up the boat so it was in good enough shape to work on and deliver it. Tiger did all the work and Roy allowed it to be done comfortably with a chuckle! Almost caught up on the deficiency list and years of buying stuff and not installing it.

New "warranty" antenna from Shakespeare that lights up, relocated from the spot along the gunnel, that made it tough to get to the front of the boat on the starboard side and contributed to my 7 year old falling in, giving me the biggest scare of my life. It will likely be better than the 8 footer due to the higher mounting point and it may look cool at anchor listen to country music, and provide a little extra safety when sleeping offshore, if I ever go down south for tuna like I plan too. I'll try to shoot some video Saturday night, as I promised one to Shakespeare. https://amzn.to/4pETsFJ #ad

2x110 Watt Sunpower Solar Pannels similar to these https://amzn.to/4qqwiEr #ad and this Victron solar mppt charge controller https://amzn.to/3LyaiIC #ad . I chose flexible solar panels after breaking on smaller rigid one on my boat and seeing others break big rigid panels and knowing my kids and their friends are going to be whipping jigs around for the next 10 years, not that I ever break things. 220W should be enough to keep the house and start battery topped up in the summer as I have no plans for an inverter kurig/tv....just 12v stuff and an ipad. The controller is big enough to add a third panel on the bimini/canvas or two small ones on the radar arch if I switch the 100ah agm for a big lifepo4 in the future.

Added a cockpit blue seas 12v socket for the 12v portable fridge/freezer that's too big to keep in the cabin, that I bought from @Rain City 2-3 boats ago. Moving it around on the Rivers Inlet trip was a pain, I'd love to trade it for a smaller one but love that it's paid for and kept our bait frozen for that trip, so it should do for ice cream for the family.

Finally mounted my second Lowrance gimbal on the dash so I can bring my cockpit screen in while on longer trips.

Switched from very slow and low heat 19 year old Wallas heater/cooktop to a Planar Autoterm 4D heater which should allow window defogging and to also heat my canvas sun room enclosure over the back cockpit for family cruising. Had a long debate over the Amazon and HLN heaters but after getting 19 years out of the Wallas I'll stick with marine "certified" ones where you can get parts for and will hopefully outlive me.

Someone might have bought a Victron DC/DC charger of facebook marketplace last night, and I have another appointment out in sooke to deal with a deficiency the retrofit discovered so I guess I'll be done when I'm dead.

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Super fortunate to have @wolf and @tigerprawn fit in my annual retrofit, so mostly what i did was clean up the boat so it was in good enough shape to work on and deliver it. Tiger did all the work and Roy allowed it to be done comfortably with a chuckle! Almost caught up on the deficiency list and years of buying stuff and not installing it.

New "warranty" antenna from Shakespeare that lights up, relocated from the spot along the gunnel, that made it tough to get to the front of the boat on the starboard side and contributed to my 7 year old falling in, giving me the biggest scare of my life. It will likely be better than the 8 footer due to the higher mounting point and it may look cool at anchor listen to country music, and provide a little extra safety when sleeping offshore, if I ever go down south for tuna like I plan too. I'll try to shoot some video Saturday night, as I promised one to Shakespeare. https://amzn.to/4pETsFJ #ad

2x110 Watt Sunpower Solar Pannels similar to these https://amzn.to/4qqwiEr #ad and this Victron solar mppt charge controller https://amzn.to/3LyaiIC #ad . I chose flexible solar panels after breaking on smaller rigid one on my boat and seeing others break big rigid panels and knowing my kids and their friends are going to be whipping jigs around for the next 10 years, not that I ever break things. 220W should be enough to keep the house and start battery topped up in the summer as I have no plans for an inverter kurig/tv....just 12v stuff and an ipad. The controller is big enough to add a third panel on the bimini/canvas or two small ones on the radar arch if I switch the 100ah agm for a big lifepo4 in the future.

Added a cockpit blue seas 12v socket for the 12v portable fridge/freezer that's too big to keep in the cabin, that I bought from @Rain City 2-3 boats ago. Moving it around on the Rivers Inlet trip was a pain, I'd love to trade it for a smaller one but love that it's paid for and kept our bait frozen for that trip, so it should do for ice cream for the family.

Finally mounted my second Lowrance gimbal on the dash so I can bring my cockpit screen in while on longer trips.

Switched from very slow and low heat 19 year old Wallas heater/cooktop to a Planar Autoterm 4D heater which should allow window defogging and to also heat my canvas sun room enclosure over the back cockpit for family cruising. Had a long debate over the Amazon and HLN heaters but after getting 19 years out of the Wallas I'll stick with marine "certified" ones where you can get parts for and will hopefully outlive me.

Someone might have bought a Victron DC/DC charger of facebook marketplace last night, and I have another appointment out in sooke to deal with a deficiency the retrofit discovered so I guess I'll be done when I'm dead.

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What did you put those panels down with? We put a couple 220w ones on a work trailer and it was recommended to use double sided tape which we did and seems fine. Didn't use victron controller at work but did at our cabin and they are really nice, looking at the shunt with BT for the boat to check charging on the app.
 
I was going to go with Shockwave bases, but I just cannot stomach prices for their accessories. I dont have a problem spending $1200-$1500 for the base, but $1200 slide/ swivel attachment is just too pricey for me. The mid grade package with swivel and slide option for two seats would cost me just over $6K with tax or $7K with upgraded tempress seats. Instead, I went with the Scandinavian Seat System out of Vietnam. There is not a lot of reviews out there , but I am willing to take a chance . Height adjustable base with included swivel and slide option runs just under $1000 CDN for RRW system, including UPS delivery to Canada. Goods made in Vietnam are supposedly duty free when imported to Canada,so that's always a bonus. When my package arrives, I will post initial review.


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The bases have arrived, couriered by FedEx directly from Vietnam. There was no duty charged—just taxes. The total cost was $2,000 all in, including shipping, two bases and all taxes.

Scandinavian is a great company to deal with. They even modified the floor plates to my specifications at no extra charge. Overall, the quality seems outstanding. They may not be as “sexy” as Shockwave bases, but at this price point and included options , I’m not complaining: adjustable height , slide and 360 deg swivel.
Paired with the new Probax seats, the whole package looks and feels amazing. I’ll post real-world feedback once everything is mounted in the spring.
Ps. Scandinavian only accepts direct bank transfer for payment option.
 

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Ran to Nelson island for work today. Lots of wood in the water but the zip wakes made the ride awesome. Averaged 28mph 84.6 nautical miles 132 litres of gas. Right around 2.4mpg. Not bad as I was around 2.1 ish

I think you just cost me 4 thousand bucks. You did the 300S kit Im guessing? Cheers
 
Just completed some regular winter maintenance, trailer bearings and seals, cleaned thermostats and zincs and then replaced the water pressure valve on my 2012 Suzuki DF250 for the first time in 6 years owning the motor. It was a pain in the butt to get out, lots of heat gun and Sea Foam Deep Creep but finally got it out and replaced with new valve and o ring.
 

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450s on mine they are about 18” wide. The were on sale a harbour chandler in November

Beauty, I thought those would be too large for our hills? How painful was the install? I gotta make a decision pretty fast I figure. Glass shop can install which is a way better outcome than redneck me at home.
 
Just completed some regular winter maintenance, trailer bearings and seals, cleaned thermostats and zincs and then replaced the water pressure valve on my 2012 Suzuki DF250 for the first time in 6 years owning the motor. It was a pain in the butt to get out, lots of heat gun and Sea Foam Deep Creep but finally got it out and replaced with new valve and o ring.
I had one fail on me - first ever. Advice from the guys at Breakers was replace those every 200 - 300 hours (basically that is every season for me). They never used to be a problem, however in recent years the manufacturers must be cutting corners and these creatures seize up via corrosion a lot faster than the old ones.
 
Beauty, I thought those would be too large for our hills? How painful was the install? I gotta make a decision pretty fast I figure. Glass shop can install which is a way better outcome than redneck me at home.
Pretty easy. Pull trim tabs, glass up all holes, gelcoat holes. Follow install instructions and use provided template.
I had existing holes above waterline for the wiring to go thru transom. They come with all the wiring and connectors. Turn on and go thru set up and done.

The larger the better apparently on these. 450 would be perfect on your hull
 
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