|
7/1/07
Found out the 8 rod holder on the
hardtop needs to be drilled, cuz after loading all the rods, it tilted
backwards. Cut a large piece of rubber to go over the motor
box. This will protect the upholstered cushion and serve as a place
to work on removing hooks from fish and taking photos without getting
slime/blood all over the cushion. Had to push plans back a day or so
for the true test of this rig.
7/2/07 Finished up with web work late last night and this part will
be further updated when time allows. This I can say, this boat
fishes like a dream. Kinda nice to see a total plan come
together.......right?
7/8/07
Found some gremlins I didn't like on a recent overnight trip to
Leland. While the boat fished just fine, the trolling bracket that
holds the 15 hp. kicker needs to be lowered about 3 inches. Also,
the radio has issues with the squelch knob and the onboard battery charger
110 AC to 12 volt is not working. This charger issue wouldn't bother
me, but every boat (I've seen with a refrigerator) ends up with dead
batteries.
Things I was happy about was the great charge
(13.4 volts) the kicker was putting back into the dual battery set-up
(w/main engine shut off).
Scrubbed the grime and started working on some of
the cosmetic issues that plague all older boats. Have to put a
plumbers trap (loop/elbow) in the rear bilge pump to check a gravity
fed back-flow thru the bilge hose, as the thru-hull bilge outlet is close
to the water line of the boat.
7/14/07
Busy week in the shop building/shipping tackle prevented me from doing
much until today. I installed a 12 amp battery charger/maintenance
system for the dual battery set-up. This was for more peace of
mind, as time to use Project SR 1979 is very limited at best.
Having fully charged batteries is one more fly out of the ointment that
could derail a fishing trip. Plus, having batteries fully charged
when I'm at home, or plugged into dockside power is a good
thing. There's 3 stages of charge with this system, being
full, medium & maintenance.
Put in a new VHS marine radio, cuz the
radio that came with the boat had squelch issues and a static radio
noise is a not! This new radio came with a feature to display
lat/lons and a clock for about 130 bucks shipped to my place.
Living in the boonies (like I do) has it's disadvantages (no access to
stores) and makes shopping
from the internet the only choice. You can Google your way to
the best prices and most features for the buck if you click on enough
websites. Just pay attention to the shipping rates to see the
reel-deal!
The coup de grace (pronounced graw) is the
Navionics Lake Michigan LKPM -MI chart card for my GPS. What used
to take years of exploring the lake floor for special structure, nooks
and crannies on bottom is simple as plugging in a bathymetry
chart. This just wows me having done it the hard way for 39
years. Nowadays, the road to success on the Great Lakes is more
like a 16 lane superhighway, compared to a one lane lumpy dirt trail
back in
1968 when I proudly caught my very 1st Coho Salmon.
7/17/07
Washed and thoroughly scrubbed the boat, all the grim is gone! All
electrical connections were soldered and wires routed with support every 6
inches. Stripped the paint of the teak bow grab rails and reinstalled
same. Cosmetically, this boat is looking better all the time. Gel
coat could stand some more buffing, but it's fishing season and there's plenty
of time for that this fall. Painted cannon balls black (personal preference).
7/19/07
Fished yesterday and found some holes in my flasher selections.
Shortened chute rigger one foot to
tighten up the spread to avoid tangles. Fished for about 4 hours on
7/18/07 and hit 3 fish and boated 2. Boat fished just fine, but more
water time on my part is needed
before Project SR 1979 lives up to it's full potential.
7/30/07 After a hectic past week ,or
so in the tackle business, finally got a chance to wrap up all the loose ends
on the stuff I did not like. Due to the trolling motor, this boat was
out of balance, requiring the starboard rear battery to be moved to the
portside underneath the rear dinette cushion. This was a big job as new
battery cables had to be made and wiring re-routed back to the battery switch.
Adding in all together, this is a good 100
pound weight shift to counteract the 15 hp. 4 stroke kicker. Installed
the new dinette table/cushions for a new dressy look. This vessel had no
tunes, a CD player with a 4 speaker system is now in. Mounted a safety
push-pull switch to control 12 DC fused panel for the electronics/CD
player. This boat is now ultra ready and something I can be proud
up. There's only two things left for this project being: radar and a
good reliable autopilot to be added this fall when the floor is redone!
This July energy into Project SR 1979 is from
needing a break from the tackle business. Boat rigging requires thought
and lessens the burden of our normal daily routine.
7/31/07 A new
prop is in order and will arrive 8/1/07 This boat carries a lot more
transom weight and is over propped as far as I'm concerned.
Took the plunge and ordered a auto pilot.
Raymarine S1000 Wireless Autopilot system is what I went with. It's
still a crap shoot to see if this autopilot will steer thru the EZ Steer
connecting arm, but I think it will. Might have caught this at the
right time, as there's a 100 buck rebate that expires today.
Prices have came down on auto pilots, if
the rebate works out, the end cost, shipped to my house will be $778,
approx 1/3 of what I spent on my Cherokee's C-Trek autopilot. This
boat will see a lot of 2 person fishing trips and having hands off
steering will aid in landing fish, when no one is at the wheel. The
entire hydraulic steer change over from the original Mercruiser steering
that was scrapped, meant this was always in the works from day ONE!
Was gonna wait and do this in the fall, but.... man, adult King fishing
season is here!!
8/1/07
As to leave no stone unturned I check the timing and it was right on at 8
degree before TDC. Started on the install of the new 18 pitch prop,
but the continuity washer was missing. The old prop was a rebuilt
jobbie and who ever fixed it, or was supposed to fix it.... did a cobbled
up job. New autopilot arrives tomorrow, and that's the next project
in line.
|
8/9/07 Manistee, MI
|
Auto Pilot |
SR 1979 Backdrop
|
SR 1979
|
8/10/07
Finally starting to put all the pieces of this project into fish catching
action. Installing an autopilot earlier this week. Raymarine
has their act together on the S1000 hand held unit I put in. It's a
hydraulic auto pilot and drives the boat straight as an arrow on plane.
Didn't get a chance to test the troll with auto course, as there was some
air still in the hydraulic lines. I am happy with this purchase
either way. EZ set up and install.
Fished from 5 until about 9pm and had
what's most important?....a good time. 8/11/07
Gonna bleed the hydraulic lines today before leaving to check out a new
port, being Arcadia, MI. Been spending time in getting all the rod
& reel in top notch order.
9/13/07
Had a new backdrop made with new side curtains. Having an enclosed
cabin ranks high on my list to stay comfortable. Keeping the wind
off is 90% of the battle of being warm. This new enclosure will make
early and late season fishing far more enjoyable.
As a side not to all the work put in this project, for the most part
everything was a gain. No steps backwards, or redo's after I figured
out stock Mercruiser power steering was not going to work for me.
Having a kicker is a bonus, that will add years to the life of your
boat. Beware of the problems I went thru with MerCruiser power
steering issues with outdrive and you'll be all set.
I consider this boat (for the money) a top notch fishing machine, but
there's more improvements still needed. Kicker motor will get it's
own independent autopilot and radar will be installed during 2008.
Then it will be an ultimate fishing machine in the 22' boat range, as
nothing more can be added, with the exception of electric planer board
reels! Here's a quirky thing that
needs mentioning. This is the only boat I've ever owned that can
flat out raise hell with the fish in extreme flat calm, tabletop glassy
water. There's a flip side, as in 1 to 3 footers it seems a
struggle. Learning how a boat fishes takes more time, and I'm still
learning what SR 1979 can do. The quiet kicker might provide a more
stealthy approach, but like I said, "I'm still learning what this
vessel can do!"
Page
1 2007 Page
2 2007 Page
3 2007
Page
4 2007
Page
5 2008
2008 List of to dos
1. re-do connection on marine radio
2. auto pilot for trolling motor
3. planer board reel improvement
4. flooring remodel
5. make storage compartment under seat
6. net holder
7. refinish front deck hatches
8. 5' rigger arms
|
