Rebirth of a Baja
11-18-2008, 11:50 AM
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Rebirth of a Baja
Rebirth of a Baja
When the wife and I ordered the 36 Outlaw back in 2002 we were very excited and looking forward to many good years of boating but never thought the boat would deliver as much enjoyment as it has. We did consider selling it and we also considered going with another brand but we simply have Baja in our blood and made a decision to upgrade our boat and keep enjoying it hopefully for many more years God willing.
This has been a long time coming now and it is hard to believe that next week before Thanksgiving we should finally be water testing the finished product. Our boat has not seen the water since October 2007 when we made our last run on Lake Hartwell before pulling the 500’s out.
I have so many people to thank and without these folks this project simply would not have been possible.
Ed Sherrard – Boat Menders - [email protected]
Mark Boos – Precision Marine - http://www.pmefi.com/
Dick Tryce – aka “Mr. Gadgets” – Dick’s Performance Marine
Dustin Whipple – Whipple Superchargers - http://www.whipplesuperchargers.com/
Kevin Brown – Lakeway Boat Repair – [email protected]
Stephanie McLeod Lee – McLeod Design Group - http://www.mcleoddesign.com/
Mike McLeod – McLeod Design Group - http://www.mcleoddesign.com/
Dave Leonhardt – XT Innovations - http://www.xt-innovations.com/
Lane Carlisle – XT Innovations - http://www.xt-innovations.com/
Adam Shook – XT Innovations - http://www.xt-innovations.com/
Doug Smith – Checkmate Marine, Inc. - http://www.checkmatepowerboats.net/
Dean Reynolds – Checkmate Marine, Inc - http://www.checkmatepowerboats.net/
Myco Trailers - http://www.mycotrailers.com
Kustom Kolors - Clayton Tackett - www.kustomkolors.us
CP Performance - Mike Mayes - http://www.cpperformance.com/default.aspx
Everyone listed above has been wonderful to work with and I’m proud to call them all friends and owe them all a deep amount of gratitude. I must give a very special thank you to Dave Leonhardt because without him this would not be. He took this project by the horns and made it happen.
Dave is one of the many good folks that lost their jobs at Baja when Brunswick shut them down. He had been with the company many years and I learned sometime back that you could ask Dave any question about any Baja boat and he had the answer. Dave and many of the good folks started up businesses doing what they know best and that is working on boats. When we were talking about my project this summer at the Lake Erie Poker Run it was not long into the conversation that we saw an opportunity to help each other. He had a young business to grow and I was dead in the water with my project and needed some major help. Dave took the “Dock Holiday” project by the horns and has not only done everything that he promised but has exceeded my highest expectations. When he said “Mark I will treat your boat just as if it were mine” he was being 100% honest and has delivered perfection at a very fair price.
Alright let’s get into the project which included new supercharged power, new custom outdrives, fiberglass work, stereo work, a complete new beautiful interior, tons of LED lights and much more.
Enjoy please ask questions and I hope Dave, Adam, Mark, Dick and others will jump in.
When the wife and I ordered the 36 Outlaw back in 2002 we were very excited and looking forward to many good years of boating but never thought the boat would deliver as much enjoyment as it has. We did consider selling it and we also considered going with another brand but we simply have Baja in our blood and made a decision to upgrade our boat and keep enjoying it hopefully for many more years God willing.
This has been a long time coming now and it is hard to believe that next week before Thanksgiving we should finally be water testing the finished product. Our boat has not seen the water since October 2007 when we made our last run on Lake Hartwell before pulling the 500’s out.
I have so many people to thank and without these folks this project simply would not have been possible.
Ed Sherrard – Boat Menders - [email protected]
Mark Boos – Precision Marine - http://www.pmefi.com/
Dick Tryce – aka “Mr. Gadgets” – Dick’s Performance Marine
Dustin Whipple – Whipple Superchargers - http://www.whipplesuperchargers.com/
Kevin Brown – Lakeway Boat Repair – [email protected]
Stephanie McLeod Lee – McLeod Design Group - http://www.mcleoddesign.com/
Mike McLeod – McLeod Design Group - http://www.mcleoddesign.com/
Dave Leonhardt – XT Innovations - http://www.xt-innovations.com/
Lane Carlisle – XT Innovations - http://www.xt-innovations.com/
Adam Shook – XT Innovations - http://www.xt-innovations.com/
Doug Smith – Checkmate Marine, Inc. - http://www.checkmatepowerboats.net/
Dean Reynolds – Checkmate Marine, Inc - http://www.checkmatepowerboats.net/
Myco Trailers - http://www.mycotrailers.com
Kustom Kolors - Clayton Tackett - www.kustomkolors.us
CP Performance - Mike Mayes - http://www.cpperformance.com/default.aspx
Everyone listed above has been wonderful to work with and I’m proud to call them all friends and owe them all a deep amount of gratitude. I must give a very special thank you to Dave Leonhardt because without him this would not be. He took this project by the horns and made it happen.
Dave is one of the many good folks that lost their jobs at Baja when Brunswick shut them down. He had been with the company many years and I learned sometime back that you could ask Dave any question about any Baja boat and he had the answer. Dave and many of the good folks started up businesses doing what they know best and that is working on boats. When we were talking about my project this summer at the Lake Erie Poker Run it was not long into the conversation that we saw an opportunity to help each other. He had a young business to grow and I was dead in the water with my project and needed some major help. Dave took the “Dock Holiday” project by the horns and has not only done everything that he promised but has exceeded my highest expectations. When he said “Mark I will treat your boat just as if it were mine” he was being 100% honest and has delivered perfection at a very fair price.
Alright let’s get into the project which included new supercharged power, new custom outdrives, fiberglass work, stereo work, a complete new beautiful interior, tons of LED lights and much more.
Enjoy please ask questions and I hope Dave, Adam, Mark, Dick and others will jump in.
Last edited by Dock Holiday; 11-19-2008 at 02:28 PM.
11-18-2008, 11:54 AM
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It started last October when we updated to a new 2008 model Myco trailer with electric over hydraulic brakes and a drive guard.
Tim and the folks at Myco did a wonderful job and we made a trip down to pick it up and tour the plant.
Tim and the folks at Myco did a wonderful job and we made a trip down to pick it up and tour the plant.
11-18-2008, 12:09 PM
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Ed also helped me to pull the 500 EFI motor out of the boat, completely strip the bilge and he relocated the stereo into the cuddy for me where the microwave used to be.
He built this enclosure for the stereo, DVD and CD changer and installed it.
Ed Sherrard - Boat Menders LKN
He built this enclosure for the stereo, DVD and CD changer and installed it.
Ed Sherrard - Boat Menders LKN
Last edited by Dock Holiday; 11-18-2008 at 12:17 PM.
11-18-2008, 12:16 PM
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Ed built some really nice speaker mounts for the cuddy with some blue LED lights which were a nice improvement over the sound and look of the speakers Baja had hanging with brackets that always dropped down in rough water.
11-18-2008, 12:27 PM
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