First class all the way!

Question! If you were charging a customer say $10.00 an hour for your services, what would their current bill read on this boat?

Or, are you like me on your own projects, and just empty trash cans of beer bottles?

XT

Interesting question, I was asking myself something similar last week when I was trying to figure out why my oil filter adapter was spilling oil all over my spotless bilge (cheap temporary filter left its seal and I didn't notice it at first when I stripped the motor down for placement)...for the first year I could only really work on it on the weekends...so I would guess about 400-500 hours. Since New Years of this year when I picked back up on the project I would say I've averaged about 25-30 hours a week X's 40 weeks or so....let's just say there is no way I could have afforded to pay somebody to do it for me...and that's why I'm still working on it.

I also questioned if I could go back in time, would I go through it again or just take a chainsaw to it and sell the good stuff. That question was answered on the way to the ramp for some pre-lim water testing Sunday night when two different people gave me positive compliments on the boat. Seems where ever I go, it draws a lot of attention for a little old Baja. Didn't look quite as good as I remembered it after I peeled all the masking off of it, but a little wet sand and buffing should take care of that.

Last Friday's work, wiring prior to firing. Still needs cleaned up a bit and the white ty-wraps replaced with black but for now it works. All of my wiring/switches are working as they should from the helm:

Managed to get it fired up Saturday in the driveway, sounded horrible and wouldn't idle for ****. But I had another wedding to go to so I put it away and said I would pick up on it Sunday, at least it fired. I had pulled the distributor out to prime the motor and didn't have a chance to really set the timing.

Sunday - Hungover as hell...ran motor on hose again and sounded like I had a horrible noise coming from the drive. Removed drive, ran motor and still sounded like ****, so issue not in drive. Checked the plug wires, timed the motor, cleaned up the bilge and cockpit from all the cut ty-wraps, wiring strippings, tools, etc and decided to make a run to the local ramp to at least see if I had any leaks. After getting gas, and making it to the local ramp, found it busy with the usual grab-assigans parked right in front of it talking like retards looking at me like I'm the ******* because I want to try to put my boat in the water. Water was down and I didn't want to block a ramp from the people actually trying to get their boats out so I went down the road to the other ramp. It was busy too but I took the ramp next to the wall nobody uses. Managed to get it started, still wouldn't idle and now its dark so I called it a night. Pulled the drain plug and a ton of water came out, a lot more than was left from when I tested the bilge pumps. Put the boat away and went home to go to work (I work nights).

Monday - After thinking about it, decided I should probably replace the spark plugs from them sitting for almost two years with fogging oil on them. While I was re-installing the new plugs, checked my plug wires AGAIN and found I had 5 and 7 flip-flopped at the distributor! So after I put the new plugs in, fired it in the driveway. Motor was slow to turn over but still fired and idled just like it should, purring like a kitten.

So I started out for the ramp again...usual grab-assigans at the local ramp again so went to the one down the road, again. Somehow from the driveway to the ramp, my batteries drained down enough they wouldn't spin the motor over quick enough to start (these phucking Blue-tops will be the end of me!), I had to steal my Red Top for my truck a couple weeks ago after I killed the second factory battery, so I'm stuck with the Blue's in the boat.

For some reason I have the worst luck with batteries, I am the battery killer. It all stems from about 3 years ago, at 2am at a waterfront bar, when I decided to 'charge my batteries' by revving the motor at said time, like a TFI (Total F.ucking Idiot). Ever since, I can't keep a battery charged...


The trip wasn't a total waste, I saw where the water was leaking in from. I am not re-using the speedo pitot pickup but forgot to plug it where it comes through the transom assembly so I had a nice 1/4" stream of water coming in.

So called it a night, took the boat home, put the batteries on a charger and plugged the pitot. Will give it another shot on Tuesday...

Looks great! So are we water testing soon????

With a quarter tank of gas...one bolster...charged batteries...and barely anything else...


The Menace is back

Little chilly but nice night for a boat ride. Everything worked as it should, moved pretty good. Didn't have enough hands to carry my GPS down, hope to get some speed numbers with the raised drive height later this week.

c deezy is that the silo's in the back ground that caught fire a couple of weeks ago