Hopefully everyone is doing okay with all this heat and here in Iowa, the humidity!!
I thought I would share my current priority project as it is getting to a point where I’m going to put the finishing touches to it lower on the priority list.
I got this boat a couple years before I met Emily and had it in the water a couple of times. It was in need of a new floor and the original motor was having problems so I switched motors and used it a couple more times. It was in need of tires when I parked it and was thinking I would replace the floor the next year. Well it took about 6.
This was the year, my schedule and money allowed the two things you need to be a boat owner, time and money.
I was assisted in removing the floor and replacing it from My friend Hannah who was my partner when we both worked in Cedar Falls. She is now on Waterloo Fire and I’m working for AMR in Independence.
The removal of the floor revealed that the styrofoam underneath the floor had been saturated with water and was the reason for the worse damage. I was able to use what was left of the floor as a template to get the new floor cut. One corner we had to guesstimate as there wasn’t much left.
New closed cell foam and marine grade plywood coated in two coats of waterproof paint, it was time to work out the seating. I started out thinking I would reuse one of the back to back seats that pull out into a bench and a captain’s seat for the driver. Captain’s seat didn’t work with this boat without some extra work. Maybe one day I will find someone who can make a mount for it or I will build one. I added a little bench to the back that I built for added seating and a little extra storage space.
Next up was the addition of a sun shade. The boat had come with a vinyl top that was short and hot, it had to go. I’mon the fence about the look but it definitely is nice to have out on the water.
I probably should have started with making sure the motor still ran, it did not. But I replaced the starter and solenoid and we were in business, until no water came out of the drain. So a new water pump became a learning experience for myself and the neighbor Jeff who was interested in what I was up to when I dropped the lower end off the motor. He just recently bought himself a boat. He ended up helping me for about 3 hours and his help was very welcome.
I did rebuild the fuel pump and replaced the spark plugs. I think it needs some tuning but I’m currently looking for a mechanic for that, I’m not good with carburetors and this has 2. It does run and has been reliable but, I want to see about a little more power and smoothness from the motor. I think it is running a little rich as well and I wouldn’t mind a little more fuel efficiency. It will use about 10 gallons running it almost wide open for about 2 1/2 hours. My friend Mike from High School and I took it out for a test.
With everything working and reliable we took it out July 26th for a bit of fun on the water. We did some tubing and swimming out at George Wyth State Park on Brinker Lake. During the day, during the week is a wonderful time to be at the lake, not much traffic since most people have Monday through Friday jobs. It did start getting busy when we were getting off the lake.
I changed up the trailer some and rattle canned some paint on it, I am not a painter! But it will help with keeping the rust to a minimum.
Tubing was fun, we did learn that we need a booster ball due to the set up for towing I have. I have one coming and I ordered a Knee board, Emily and I tried that when we went to Jamaica. I’m looking forward to getting some more days in on the lake.
All that is really left is repainting the boat itself and recovering the seats with a matching color. That may be next year…
Stay cool, be safe, drink plenty of water!
Traveling with Emily! 