wow!.....what a story!!......keep diggin' bro.......you'll have that thing up and running soon and it WILL be a sweet day!

Oh I'm diggin bro....Trying to dig up some buried treasure for all my upgrades!!!:drink: Thanks man:D

Id be absolutley devestated if some effing storm destroyed everything I owned......Id lose it......I dont know how you guys do it.....I'll take a little snow anyday:D

After partying at the Jazz Fest all day yesterday I didn't really feel like doing much today but I made myself get to work early this morning and I first tackled the drive. It was a PITA to get out by myself but after a bit of cursing and throwing tools I finally succeeded. My first thought was it really looked bad but after I cleaned away the corrosion and grease it didn't look all that bad. I guess anyone can tell me if I'm wrong by looking at the pics. I took off the swin platform as well as the rubrail all the way around. I then emptied the fuel tank so I can pull it and have it flushed and cleaned. Then I decided to pretty much strip the inside bare. I have a few ideas of a custom redesign. I am going for a theater look in the cuddy as opposed to the 2 seats and a bed that was in it before. I am going to put in two 15" lcd screens on the wall seperating the cuddy and the cockpit. I am going to make a horseshoe seating area for entertainment purposes, maybe a mini stripper pole!!!!:drink: I guess what I am really trying to do it bring the overall weight down a few pounds. Does anybody know if this will affect the ride and/or stability??? When I am done this is going to be a totally customized Outlaw. I know I could prob. get a newer boat for the money I am putting into this one but I say I want to design it my way and not the way the generic OEM way. I must say I got one hell of a sunburn as well !!!! More later....

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...w/100_1442.jpg

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...w/100_1460.jpg

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Capt:
Before you rebuild that cabin check the frame and stringer system with a moisture meter to make certain they do not have any trapped moisture. When you are finished with this project you will be so attached to this boat, you'll never part with it!
The photos of the drive and outer transom plate may not be as bad as they look. Flush all that salt away with fresh water and spray heavily with WD-40 or CRC. A wire brush could become a great friend.
You'll find that replacing any wood in the upholstery with Starboard, or similar product, will be a good thing.
I wish you the very best of luck with this and I am always available to you. (954) 895-4633.

Thanks for your advice and kind words good sir....I think I am already to attached to it a bit to much, if you ask my girlfriend:drink: I am pretty sure the stringers and the frame are still sealed up tight but I will definately check it out just to be certain. I am heading out now to have the OEM 454mag pulled and next it's paint prep time....WOOO HOOO!!!!
Thanks again bro.

Chuck

THE ENGINE IS OUT!!!! My buddy has a bobcat machine and we pulled the 454 in about 10 mins. Now it's time for cleaning and prepping for paint.......

What a mess......Engine out and the bilge is horrendous !!!

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...w/100_1473.jpg

Take it all out and start over. The harness is available from Mercuiser for under $300.00. It's not worth trying to do it any other way. You'll be much happier with the finished product.

I have officially thrown in the towel.... After countless hours of deliberation I have come to the realization that I cannot possibly complete my project without spending ALOT more money than my boat will ultimately be worth. I have decided to scrap the project and wait until next year when I can hopefully afford another boat. My major problem with my Baja is I have had to move it to my aunts house due to bullsh!t "Condo bylaws" and it is now 30 minutes away. Another factor is I simply do not have anyone to help me work on it. I realized there is no possible way for me to get this boat back together by myself & so far away. So now I have a gutted 1994 Baja Outlaw hull, locked up 454 mag engine, and a 1994 Bravo 1 outdrive for sale.....any takers???? I am really depressed with my sudden reality check and I am not going to be happy until I am back out on the water doing what I love most. Until next year I guess I will sit and watch all of you lucky guys roaring past as I sit on the dock with a cold beer.:(

My title is still good I guess because it says "It's gonna be a long year" but now it's going to be a long year with nothing to do........


Chuck:(

I'm really sorry for what you're going through and have gone through.

Totally sucks. Maybe someone in your area can get you a boat ride every now and then.

Good luck!

Thanks bro.....
There is a guy that just moved in a few houses away with a 29' Velocity:D
Gonna have to go see what he's all about.

Put it on ebay. Do a few more hitches and save a few bucks for another boat.
Or leave the boat in storage until the right engine comes up at the right price. Watch for non performance hulls with solid power to come up for sale locally. Buy the boat,use the parts you need and sell the leftovers.
I bought a boat from Texas when I lived in Louisiana and I'm shooting for 7500.00 max into the boat. Its taken 2 years of shopping good deals and wheeling and dealing with the shop to wait for when they are slow to do any work for a reduced rate.
Its not done yet but I have a small fishboat we use and have made friends with a couple of guys that take my wife and I out from time to time on performance boats.
We offer to help with gas, clean,wash,wax etc.I always get turned down but manage to make it feel right to me by providing food,beer,oil for oil changes,sunglasses etc. as gifts.
There are a lot of cool boaters down your way!
On a side note which company do you work for? I worked for Tidewater,Ensco, and Seacor from 95 through 06 as a 100 ton Captain and AB Unlimited.

Thanks for your support JnT. I really wish I could keep the Baja but there is no way i could finish it anytime soon. I need to get back on the water bro...it's killing me. I already bought a 540ci bowtie motor for the Baja but now I guess it will just sit in storage and wait for a new home. On your side note, I am self employed. I am a "trip" pilot for a few different companies. I pimp myself out to the highest bidder...:D I have been doing alot of work for Florida Marine and Eckstein Marine. I make my own schedule and the money is much better than working permanently for one company. I have a unlimited master of towing as well as a 200 ton master. I see you were a supply boat Capt. Why did you give it up?

Take care,
Chuck

I wanted to spend more time at home.... But it bit me in the a$$. I had more time doing the things I wanted to do, (boat races, poker runs, hunting, fishing) when I was gone half the year than when I'm home every night.
Now its a struggle to take Sunday off to get to the lake. More money but less fun.
I'm current til 2010 with my license,documents, and STCW certificate.
I'll take another year off but will probably rejoin the workboat community. It gets in your blood and I miss it bad. Hated it while I was there but its a dam good job.
I've seen most of the chit on the Discovery Channel (boat and fish related) in person. Took a few pics to prove it !
Friends here in GA could not fathom taking a helicopter ride to work and fishing every day after my watch was over.
I get to the marina here and people are griping about the 3-5 foot wakes bouncing off the banks of the lake. They are strong 1-2s with an occasional 3 thrown in from the idiot in the Viking doing his idle zone thing.
I've seen 22+ foot seas with some real big rogues evacuating during big storms.
I'll PM ya later to pick your brain over some boat companies to apply for.
What range boat are you looking to get into ?
I'll keep an eye out around ATL.
Jim

You can always half-ass it back together. A bare-hull baja with a 540, a bravo drive, and a plastic deck chair at the helm would be kind of interesting. You can get back out on the water with a couple of used seats, a little bit of exterior hull work, a motor and a drive.

I don't think it's worth it to go crazy with the rebuild, you're better off financially, long term, to throw in the towel. But if the hull is sound, you can make it float and go for a lot cheaper than fixing it all the right way and making it nice. Then you might be able to get a few more $$ out of it when you're ready to move up to something else.

I went down to New Orleans to help cleanup right after the storm. This was about 5-7 days after the storm when the military moved in. We set up camp in Algiers in Berman Park, and was assigned to the Mid City/City Park/Lakeview area. Our instructions were to use heavy equipment to open up all streets in a certain grid. We opened up at least one lane on every street in the grid by pushing debris to each side of the road.

We pushed branches, and other debris out of the street with backhoes, and skid steers, and pulled cars out of the way with chains. I left all boats i found. I didn't move any. I saw several cruiser boats just sitting in the middle of Canal St, and other streets. I couldn't bring myself to shove someone's boat down an asphalt street, breaking the drives off.

All of the boats that my crews left, were moved by others that didn't care. Some of the crews were using equipment too small to push the boats and cars, so they would flip them over end over end until the street was clear. That was the worse thing I had ever wittnessed. The smell was undescribeable. Heat Index was 105,

At the time I was there, for 14 consecutive days, the only people in N.O were the military, and a few contractors. Toward the end of my 14 day stay, several homeowners were sneaking into the city to sheck on their homes. We left N.O the day before Hurricane Rita passed and missed the city. We were evacuated because they were not sure that Rita wouldn't hit N.O again.

Your boat was probably stolen by some cleanup crew. There was no one else in the city at that time, as far as I saw.

Worse part is that i was not paid all of the money i was owed!

Don't give it up just yet!!!
I'm about to buy a basket case with only the intention of bringing her back.
I'll never be the fastest, I'm looking for a little old school class, and I'm not in a hurry.
I've been out of the water for 6 years now.
The first three years, it felt like my arms had fallen off.
The next three, it just gave me the drive to put my arms back on.
What I'm buying is going to take me two years (hopefully only that) to put back together on my budget.
If you love it, don't give it up.
It's a hobby, a labor of love. Most every hardcore performance boater I have ever met only spends 10% of thier boating time on the water running, 80%working on it, and another 10% partying with other boaters.
So, you can still spend 90% of your time boating without ever hitting the water.:D

Man, your heart is in the right place................wise desicion, you will be happier in the long run and money ahead. If there is such a thing! Dave

Got any clue what you want for that thing?