What I did to my 4-tec boat today...

[JPass]

Ouch... I think someone's car is sporting some new racing stripes, unless it was at the boat ramp and you were hit by another trailer... they probably had no idea... stupid person is probably trying to figure out who hit them!

I love the old BFH... sits right between my Bastard File and Spud Wrench

It was at the public ramp (we usually use a friend's private ramp, but were unable to yesterday). More than likely hit by the trailer next to me. His trailer was shorter and slightly cock-eyed in it's spot. There's no way he didn't feel the hit. It just pisses me off that people damage another person's stuff and don't bat an eye at simply driving away. I'm hoping karma finds this person.

Last week it was super windy out and several boats kept getting blown into our boat while anchored at the local sandbar. I was able to save 2 of the boats from hitting us, but the 3rd made contact and put a large scrape through the black gelcoat of our boat. He was cool about it and paid to have it fixed. $200 for a little over 1" gouge in the gel. We lucked out on that one. This one........not so much. Should have it all fixed later today.

 

[Carboncow]

Following along with the what didn't do to my boat. While my trailer was sitting all weekend at our gated marine someone took my rear tie down straps. Bad boat karma for sure!

 

[Nosnibor]

I purchased a vexilar sonar phone a few weeks ago and installed it this past weekend in my challenger 180. I mounted the transducer inside the boat behind where the factory battery sits using 1200lb epoxy. I also purchased a cheap phone case and a life proof mount to complete the package. The picture is hard to make out but it's a nice little system and worked well on the lake today. Not bad for about $175 all in, and no wires running all over the place!

That's pretty cool, is it blue tooth?

 

[Nosnibor]

Wow, seems like a bad weekend. Hopefully the weather holds up and we can all get some nice boating done.

 

[Mike Barton]

The set up comes with a wifi-box that takes the signal from the transducer and sends it wirelessly to any device (phone/tablet/laptop) you just find the wifi network on your device and open the vexilar sonarphone app and you're good to go.

 

[go_panthers]

It was at the public ramp (we usually use a friend's private ramp, but were unable to yesterday). More than likely hit by the trailer next to me. His trailer was shorter and slightly cock-eyed in it's spot. There's no way he didn't feel the hit. It just pisses me off that people damage another person's stuff and don't bat an eye at simply driving away. I'm hoping karma finds this person.

Last week it was super windy out and several boats kept getting blown into our boat while anchored at the local sandbar. I was able to save 2 of the boats from hitting us, but the 3rd made contact and put a large scrape through the black gelcoat of our boat. He was cool about it and paid to have it fixed. $200 for a little over 1" gouge in the gel. We lucked out on that one. This one........not so much. Should have it all fixed later today.

I had a similar experience at the boat ramp on Holden Beach island in NC about 10 years ago, back when I had a PWC. Walking up from a great day on the ICW and in the ocean, I saw the front bumper on my Jeep Liberty gone. Not dinged, not dented - gone. We looked around and found it several yards away. I was about to call the police when a guy pulled back up in a truck, explaining that he had forgotten that he was pulling a trailer and it caught my bumper and yanked it off. He gave me his insurance information and they handled the claim just fine, but I believe to this day that somebody else was driving and that he decided to come back and make it right.

 

[maddagascar]

Installed some hydro turf on the swim deck. Went out this past weekend and it was awesome.

Those quantum coolers, are you guys placing them under the seats that house the engine or the rear seats behind the driver? Sorry, didn't know if it was a specific boat model. Because the seats behind the driver are waaaay to small for the cooler itself. It does fit above the engine underneath those seats though. But even then, i actually found a bigger cooler that will fit perfect. Just not sure about the weight w/ice and drinks.

 

[Mike Barton]

The quantum cooler fits in the rear seats on the challenger 180 model, not sure about others. It'll probably fit into the rear storage compartment on the challenger also, since I put my battery jumper in there and it's about the same size. I have hydro turf on the rear swim platform of the challenger and it's amazing, I wouldn't want the boat without it

 

[maddagascar]

The quantum cooler fits in the rear seats on the challenger 180 model, not sure about others. It'll probably fit into the rear storage compartment on the challenger also, since I put my battery jumper in there and it's about the same size. I have hydro turf on the rear swim platform of the challenger and it's amazing, I wouldn't want the boat without it

Ahhh i gotcha. Yeah, i have a speedster 200, so I was wondering if it was a diff model. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[go_panthers]

Yesterday evening, I replaced the electrical connector that connects the anchor light on the Bimini top to the electrical system. I'd never disconnected it until I took the Bimini cover off to wash the Bimini in the washing machine. It was quite corroded, and was causing some intermittent outages with the anchor light.

After much searching, I found the replacement part. It is a Sea Dog 426162-1 Polarized Molded Electrical Connectors 2 Pin

I found the replacement part here: http://www.wholesalemarine.com/polarized-cable-outlet.html

 

[scottbruns]

Polished my boat and took it out for the first time this season. It was 100 here in Phoenix and the water was still pretty cold. The rebuilt superchargers worked the same as before rebuilding. Looks like I got everything back together correctly. Another day of fun in the sun.

 

[go_panthers]

Been enjoying the boat too much to do any work on it. Finally got time to put the second stereo remote in. My wife always sits on the rear starboard seat, and likes to control the music, so I put a remote in there for her. Found one online for about $40, plus a "Y" cable at about $15. Now she can control the volume and I don't have to worry about it...

 

[speedy95]

updates for this season

just finished a couple of updates to my 2012 Challenger 180SE, first a dual battery setup which included a blue seas dual battery system including onboard charging, dock charging and battery isolator, makes it very easy to maintain the batteries on and off the water. they moved on the the sound system, kept the OE Jensen head unit and added a 6 channel amp and six new speakers all Polk Audio, 4 6.5's to replace the originals and 2 4"er's to put into the swim platform, finally got it on the water for the 4th of July weekend and all i can say is Wow!, very pleased with this setup and spent less than $550 for the setup. Oh yeah almost forgot, also added a second remote on the swim deck.

 

[Carboncow]

just finished a couple of updates to my 2012 Challenger 180SE, first a dual battery setup which included a blue seas dual battery system including onboard charging, dock charging and battery isolator, makes it very easy to maintain the batteries on and off the water. they moved on the the sound system, kept the OE Jensen head unit and added a 6 channel amp and six new speakers all Polk Audio, 4 6.5's to replace the originals and 2 4"er's to put into the swim platform, finally got it on the water for the 4th of July weekend and all i can say is Wow!, very pleased with this setup and spent less than $550 for the setup. Oh yeah almost forgot, also added a second remote on the swim deck.

Great write up and photos. Good luck with that battery switch...I've had two of those minis go bad...the intervals just fall apart. Was your OEM battery turned sideways 90 degrees to the stringer or did you rotate it when you added the 2nd battery. My 2007 rand parallel to the stringer and thus tight fit on the 2nd battery. Lots of blow in fiberglass on knuckles during install.

 

[speedy95]

yes the original battery was in the same position, just moved it forward about 2-3 inches and added a second tray behind it. Hopefully the blue seas switch holds up because i really like the ease of operation and charging. Yes i picked up many fiberglass splinters during both installs (battery and speakers.

 

[Carboncow]

yes the original battery was in the same position, just moved it forward about 2-3 inches and added a second tray behind it. Hopefully the blue seas switch holds up because i really like the ease of operation and charging. Yes i picked up many fiberglass splinters during both installs (battery and speakers.

I worked the OEM switch into my equation since my battery combiner has a manual switch if I need a "jump" but I may go back to a full size 1-2-both switch in the future.

Did you get to push those 4" speakers hard by chance...wondering how you liked them? or if you feel 6.5" back there would have a huge impact. I don't want to put mine in the obvious area that would take the 6.5 and thing the 4" is pretty cool. Move my 6.5" Polk...have them in two boats now.

Lastly, which amp did you go?

 

[speedy95]

Yes i did push them a bit but to be honest i don't have a much power going to them as i do the 6.5's, they perform well but of course don't produce the base that the 6.5's do but they sound really good when your floating 10-15 feet & further off of the back of the boat (at about 75% volume), i was impressed because you hear the base coming off of the speakers in the boat, i split channel's 1 & 2 off the Jensen head to run channel's 5 & 6 on the amp, actually thought i might have to put 6.5's back there as well but after this weekend I'm happy with the performance. The amp is an MQuart that i got from sonicelectronix.com along with the speakers and cables, also needed a RCA converter for the Jensen head. Went with the MQuart due to price and great reviews. It was nice being able to jam will crusing 25-30 mph.

I worked the OEM switch into my equation since my battery combiner has a manual switch if I need a "jump" but I may go back to a full size 1-2-both switch in the future.

Did you get to push those 4" speakers hard by chance...wondering how you liked them? or if you feel 6.5" back there would have a huge impact. I don't want to put mine in the obvious area that would take the 6.5 and thing the 4" is pretty cool. Move my 6.5" Polk...have them in two boats now.

Lastly, which amp did you go?

 

[Carboncow]

Yes i did push them a bit but to be honest i don't have a much power going to them as i do the 6.5's, they perform well but of course don't produce the base that the 6.5's do but they sound really good when your floating 10-15 feet & further off of the back of the boat (at about 75% volume), i was impressed because you hear the base coming off of the speakers in the boat, i split channel's 1 & 2 off the Jensen head to run channel's 5 & 6 on the amp, actually thought i might have to put 6.5's back there as well but after this weekend I'm happy with the performance. The amp is an MQuart that i got from sonicelectronix.com along with the speakers and cables, also needed a RCA converter for the Jensen head. Went with the MQuart due to price and great reviews. It was nice being able to jam will crusing 25-30 mph.

Thanks again...just orders the MB-Quartz 5 channel (10" Polk Sub on my boat). Did you mount the amp in the glove box? I currently have my sub amp (junk Dual unit) in the rear electrical hatch to make the run of heavy gauge wires shorter, cheap and simple.

 

[moochy]

Behind the front passenger cushion in the bow section is a great place for an amp install. I have 2 x amps installed there and still have heaps of room in the glovebox

 

[speedy95]

Thanks again...just orders the MB-Quartz 5 channel (10" Polk Sub on my boat). Did you mount the amp in the glove box? I currently have my sub amp (junk Dual unit) in the rear electrical hatch to make the run of heavy gauge wires shorter, cheap and simple.

Mounted it behind the bow passenger set back between the seat back and the glove box, because of the size of the amp i mounted it flat and on an angle by framing up a support to attach it to. took a little ingenuity and patience but it turned out good and solid.

 

[SLOW 91]

Well I did some upgrades to my 2008 Challenger 230 over the last few weeks/month. Came from a C180 last year, this boat was very impressive first time out. But it wasn't long before I needed more power. Along with power I needed a kick ass sound system. Did a FULL Wet Sounds stereo upgrade with Rev10 wake tower speakers. For power adders I replace the 215 chargers with a freshly built set of 255 X chargers built by me. With the upgraded boost, I knew I would need to get the pumps in check so I installed Solas props, stainless steel wear rings. I also decided since the boat was all torn apart, now would be a good time to replace the carbon seals and bellows. After all was done, it was time to get the boat buffed and SHINE. At the end, I added a Hydro Turf rear platform mat:

 

[JPass]

My trailer bunks lag bolts kept coming loose.At one point, they came off completely and when I pulled the boat out, the rear of the starboard bunk was laying on the trailer frame, luckily the bottom of the boat never made contact with the trailer bracket. I replaced them with new ones, but they didn't bite very well. We have some long distance trips coming up,so I decided to replace the bunks today and instead of using lag bolts, I used galvanized bolts and through bolted everything. I counter sunk the bolt heads and I'm pretty happy with the results:





Wood is pressure treated ground contact 2x6x10 and I used outdoor carpet to cover the bunks. I've used this carpet numerous times before with great results. Whole thing was about $60.

 

[rcguy]

You guys and gals, you know what I did to my Sea-Doo today... I ran the piss off it and had a great time. Anchored off a beautiful beach and had a wonderful time with my girlfriend. Ate, drank and we were merry. Could not have asked for a better day. Will sleep well tonight.

 

[go_panthers]

I organized mine a little bit. I carry 8 standard type II life jackets, in addition to the sport vests sized to the people on board who are tubing, boarding, etc... I've wanted to get 2 of the 4-packs that come in a bag in order to make getting them on and off the boat easier, and to keep them from falling off the shelf on which I store them.

But, I have 8 perfectly good life vests, so I hated to spend $80-100 to get two bags. So, after racking my brain to figure something out that was relatively cheap, here's what I did:

Bought two of these mesh laundry bags at Walmart.



Inserted 4 PFDs in each bag. Almost a perfect fit. They are mesh, so I have great air circulation (as opposed to the 4-packs that are mostly plastic, with a mesh strip around the top.


Now, they are organized and easier to get in and out of the boat. And, in an emergency, someone can get their hands on 4 vests in a hurry and distribute them.

Worked out better than expected. Total investment: $4.15.

 

[jomamma]

Installing new aluminum ICS nuts to replace the OEM ones that leaked.

http://m.ebay.com/itm/SEADOO-STEERI...%3A0eb5d7db1560a2a4f38adb21ffff96f6%7Ciid%3A3