What did you do to your boat today

Rinker310_LI

I ran barnacle buster through my air conditioning pump and closed loop through the AC unit.  Check out the junk in the bucket that came out.  

PickleRick

rasbury said:

@PickleRick necessity is always the mother of invention isn't it? Ya figure it out!

I'm looking for a job on a Nascar pit crew as we speak 

Pat310

@Rinker310_LI make sure to follow up with a good vinyl protectant. The white sponge seems to dry out the vinyl. I like 303 protectant. Have also used the 3M vinyl protectant and liked the results. 

J3ff

Took a nap on it, after taking it out for some swimming!

rasbury

Wow, the gunk in the a/c pump....I'm in and out of the water so most of mine would drain? 

Rinker310_LI

Pat310 said:

@Rinker310_LI make sure to follow up with a good vinyl protectant. The white sponge seems to dry out the vinyl. I like 303 protectant. Have also used the 3M vinyl protectant and liked the results. 

You are 100% correct, it does dry out the vinyl.  I actually had to go back to it twice with the protectant .  Great pointing that out for everyone.  Also for anyone using the magic eraser type products, go very light on the pressure I believe it has the ability to actually shed some of the vinyl off almost like you are sanding it.  

Rinker310_LI

rasbury said:

Wow, the gunk in the a/c pump....I'm in and out of the water so most of mine would drain? 

sounds right.  Mine is in the water all season never leaves unless there is a problem so its always exposed to salt water.  Pretty cheap maintenance though overall.  I can't speak to its effectiveness for me though because I have another issue going on with the AC of mine (of course).  

Ian

Rinker310_LI said:

A little magic eraser on a new to me boat really made such a difference .  Before and after.  

303 works well but the Admiral has just started using this - and is good stuff.
West Marine has it.

Aqua_Aura

I went ahead in the dinghy and the wife took the boat from the boat house and to the floating dock on the river by herself 😃. Staying here for the night. 

More of a what did we do with the boat rather than to it. 

Corral42

Added rear facing and FLIR cameras this past weekend.

TonyG13

Almost looks like one of @aero3113's cockpits!

aero3113

TonyG13 said:

Almost looks like one of @aero3113's cockpits!

LoL!!Close!!

MarkB

Rinker310_LI said:

A little magic eraser on a new to me boat really made such a difference .  Before and after.  

It does work, but it's basically sand paper, so it takes that smooth vinyl and makes it almost like suede ... which then is harder to keep clean ... so I'd suggest stay on it now, with leather protector, to try and minimize staining.

rasbury

That is the problem with stuff that works great- it destroys the vinyl and the threads that hold it together.. mine are being re-done now...

mbnarney

Not quite as energetic but I couldn't stand the filthy steering wheel. Found one on Amazon and I think it makes a great improvement. 

YYZRC

New wheel looks great. You should do the switch actuators next!

mbnarney

I have been looking for a switch panel that holds the switches vertical vs horizontal . I may have to get something made. The gauge panel is just as ugly. 

Aqua_Aura

You can send new wire marine a template and they will make a switch panel and they have nice new switches as well. 

Liberty44140

Rinker310_LI said:

I ran barnacle buster through my air conditioning pump and closed loop through the AC unit.  Check out the junk in the bucket that came out.  

Nice! I did this in June and it has made a noticeable difference in how cold the air is coming from my units. Since then two dock mates have used my bucket and pump rig to do it and both report noticeable differences, colder air, and compressor turning off more on a hot day rather than just seemingly running all day. Well worth it!

Moose_Master

I bought it.

Dream_Inn

Congrats @Moose_Master!  Nice looking boat.

raybo3

Welcome to the RBOC and good luck with your new ride

aero3113

Very nice @Moose_Master !!
Welcome to the forum!

Pat310

Welcome @Moose_Master. Nice boat. Lots of info and loads of helpful folks here. Any problems ask away. 

PickleRick

Has anyone else played around with a dry bilge pump?

My bilge pumps don't pick up until water is a few inches deep. When I drain my cooler with 30 or more lbs of ice in it some water usually ends up in the bilge (im nose heavy when someone is in the v berth thanks to 100ft of chain)

If I'm towing in rain on the trailer or we get rain at night ill also end up with water in the bilge. Same goes with my kid/his cousins using my boats hard top as a dive platform.  

I bought a little 35 dollar Amazon 12v marine pump and a good 20 ft of 1/8  clear tubing.

I made 4 water pick ups  out of the cheap dish sponges and some cut to fit holders from a plastic sheet you'd use to make a custom instrument panel.  The sponges are zip tied onto the sponges . All tied together with cheap plastic  T fittings from the hardware store. 

I have 2 mounted under the motor and 2 mounted under the cabin floor.

I wired it into my blower motor switch (not used on my diesel)

Picks up pretty good and build for less than 75 bucks . 

Will save me from having to shop vac my bilge every Sunday. I usually have a gallon or two every weekend.

YYZRC

I have a small diaphragm pump with a pickup at the lowest point in the bilge at the garbord plug. Works great!

PickleRick

I like knowing I can keep the bilge dry. Humidity is always a battle.  Did you plumb yours into a thru hull?  I ran my discharge into the shower/ac condensation line sump.   

YYZRC

I tee’d into the cockpit sink drain. 

Pat310

@PickleRick do you have a link to the pump?  Is it self priming?

J3ff

PickleRick said:

Has anyone else played around with a dry bilge pump?

My bilge pumps don't pick up until water is a few inches deep. When I drain my cooler with 30 or more lbs of ice in it some water usually ends up in the bilge (im nose heavy when someone is in the v berth thanks to 100ft of chain)

If I'm towing in rain on the trailer or we get rain at night ill also end up with water in the bilge. Same goes with my kid/his cousins using my boats hard top as a dive platform.  

I bought a little 35 dollar Amazon 12v marine pump and a good 20 ft of 1/8  clear tubing.

I made 4 water pick ups  out of the cheap dish sponges and some cut to fit holders from a plastic sheet you'd use to make a custom instrument panel.  The sponges are zip tied onto the sponges . All tied together with cheap plastic  T fittings from the hardware store. 

I have 2 mounted under the motor and 2 mounted under the cabin floor.

I wired it into my blower motor switch (not used on my diesel)

Picks up pretty good and build for less than 75 bucks . 

Will save me from having to shop vac my bilge every Sunday. I usually have a gallon or two every weekend.

I've got the name brand one, works perfectly... Love having it