Ready to go!

[mlines]

After a winter of work we are ready to go. The list this winter was:

1. Full engine service with all belts etc. changed

2. Winterise the engine and boat

3. Full sterndrive service with new Gimbal bearing and regreased UJs

4. New manifolds and risers fitted.

5. LED underwater lights fitted

6. Full trailer service with new brake cables and jockey wheel

7. De-winterise

8. Full polish and clean

Therefore we are READY TO GO!





Ready to unleash the beast!

[BruceK]

And may it be the best season yet!

[Ianfs]

Looks lovely as always Martin. Out of interest are they Mercruiser manifolds elbows and risers?

[mlines]

They are standard aftermarket, a combination of Barr and HGE.

I looked into it and they were much cheaper than Mercruiser and for a part that will have sea water through it and corrode away after a number of years I could see no advantage. If there was a power advantage or other performance change then that would have been different but the manifolds that do deliver performance upgrades were in a different price bracket again. The American consensus is that it takes about +15HP to gain +1MPH and that the real gains come through torque increases. Lots of adverts claim performance increases but none seem to provide evidence

We could have gone for looks.....

[shibbs]

Wow, that's quite a work package!

Bet your both eager to get going now, when is your Poole run out planned for?

Those shiny stainless manifolds look nice, dread to think of the price tag that is attached though..., next time?

[mlines]

Well we decided to go for everything this year to put a firm stake in the ground for a maintenance plan.

Still to do is a replacement roller for the trailer (once the boat is afloat!) and replace two of the trailer tyres (it has 4 so we are planning 2 this year and 2 next year on the basis that the current tyres are dated 2008)

Poole was supposed to be this coming weekend but the advance weather forecast is not looking too good. It may come down to a run on the Thames just as a shakedown cruise.

[BruceK]

Stake in the ground, scheduled maintenance plan? Sounds like tempting fate to me. Everytime I plan scheduled maintenance something else on the boat goes awry taking precedence. What I have is a budget, not that I keep to it, not even close

[shibbs]

I serviced my drive leg and re-built the engine at the weekend and then ran up to confirm all was well, this followed with having a general tidy up and clean whilst fiddling and getting some of the minor jobs done.
I'm pretty much ready to anti-foul then launch. I think i am going to have a shake down run out first though prior to putting on her berth (just to confirm the work i've done is all good). I think i am going to tow her down and launch at Northney Marina on Hayling and go for a run up towards Witterings and maybe down to Chichester for a day out. Have 2 weeks off from Friday so hope that there will be a few decent days? Fingers crossed..

[ColinR]

Still nowhere near ready. I'm planning on sorting the electrics over Easter but that's as far as I've got although we're almost ready to go after that. Just a de-winterise and scrub up.

Anyone want a free family. Guaranteed to save you a fortune in boat fuel costs.

[shibbs]

Still nowhere near ready. I'm planning on sorting the electrics over Easter but that's as far as I've got although we're almost ready to go after that. Just a de-winterise and scrub up.

Anyone want a free family. Guaranteed to save you a fortune in boat fuel costs.

What electrical issues have you had?