Hein

Ordered a prop. They said it was in stock. Didn't arrive and no shipping information was available via my account. Called and found out they drop ship props from ACME which causes processing and shipping delays. If you want your prop to arrive in a timely manner then don't go through Wakemakers. They don't stock anything. Order props direct from ACME. They actually know something about props too.

Tempting. We are waiting on a prop. Wakemakers let us down. Where do you splash? I'm old and broken but have thick suit. Flow is high so be aware that there is a lot of debris in the river right now - if that's where you are going. Bent our prop on last outing. Would love to session a Ri257 and Glad to pay for fuel.

Believe this is the part: https://www.amazon.com/Engine-Temperature-Sensor-coolant-Mercruiser/dp/B00BFJL8JM/ Your temp seems a little low which could throw off timing and air/fuel ratio. Our '08 runs at about 175F according to the gauge. I would consider that a bit on the cool side also. When our boat starts running rough it's time to clean or replace the cap/rotor. Presuming there are no new issues.

coolant temperature sensor?

Justin at Sewlong suggested I pinch off and mark the top, send it to them and they'll quickly rework it to improve the fit. They also are willing to refund the cost of the brackets we did not use. Thank you, Sewlong. You are the greatest.

We purchased a new one (with more cup) and will contact Nettle about fixing the bent one. Thanks for the referral. I did call Acme for an explanation of cup which was helpful. Based on my understanding, I think it equates to thickening an airfoil to create more lift so more better hole shot and more top end. There will be more load on the engine at a given RPM. So the question is which prop will better fit the torque curve. - I guess. Main reason to go with the slightly different prop is to experience the difference first hand. I'll be sure to report back.

Bimini worked great but unfortunately hit a small log and bent the prop which threw it out of balance. We are limited to 13.5" diameter prop and were running a 16" pitch with .110 cup with great results. I'm going to try the same prop with more cup (.150) to give us a little better hole shot and maybe drive the RPMs at surfing speed down just a tad.

Nice to have some shade on a sunny day. Got a little wrinkle but probably can tighten that up with a couple velcro straps to the sides.

Nice. Did they use MDF to make the box? Is that frame piece a template or part of the finished box? Curious about the ball park cost.

Looks like a boating day tomorrow so decided to run some plates out of some 1/4" poly-carbonate that I had on hand. Added a bar to link between the two pole brackets. They are clevises and the plate is attached to the back so the bar fills the space between the ears. <-that probably makes no sense. Photo of link bar and plate with peel & stick EDPM rubber pad applied to protect tower finish.

Cut a bracket test piece out of 1/4" ABS. Easy to drill in order to finalize hole locations. Now back to make updates in CAD and then run another pair of test pieces for final fit check.

Scrounged some poster board. Climbed the ladder. Made a template. Measured and labeled it. Recreated in CAD and added some swoopy-ness. My plate will use the existing holes (one with nut and other visible below bimini frame on tower - photo above) plus another that I'll drill and tap in the tower once the shape and location is final. 3 points make a plane, not 2. Programming and plastic test parts coming up. Then final part in black anodized aluminum.

I just can't get over what they get for a wedge. So to keep it real we are using our CNC machine to make wedge kits. We've been using it on our Enzo for two seasons. https://portland.craigslist.org/grg/bpo/d/wakesurf-wedge-device/6570454425.html

Not ruling out a new boat but want to take the time to get the bimini mounted and everything dialed in for the summer whether we keep it or not. Our tower already had tapped holes for mounting a bimini bracket so I've decide to fabricate some custom mounting plates instead of using the Sewlong system. I temporarily used the Sewlong plates upside down to get the top aligned and looking pretty good. We also already had strut connections on the forward tubes so using those to support the front of the bimini frame. Sewlong provided extra long tubes with the intent of me cutting them down to fit. Two cuts and I have them where they fit really good and will be great when the wind picks up. Overall look from rear: Side view (bracket is upside down for mock-up only) Front view Pylon cutout: Below. Upside down bracket for test fitting. Glad I was able to make it work temporarily because that will save a bunch of time coming up with a custom plate. Also considering some other minor upgrades so check back in a week or two. Overall, very happy with the Sewlong product.

Would work great but suggest a decent sized panel. Are you mounting it on the dock or does it need to be more portable or on the boat? Watts = volts x amps so to get 5-8 amps of charging current you'll need a 60-100 watt panel in ideal conditions. A flexible panel with mppt controller would work nicely. A lot of the solar maintainers are expensive and relatively low wattage. Probably OK as a maintainer but sometimes nice to be able to get more charger current when the batteries are low. Renogy panels and controllers are nice. We recommend them on vans so quite durable.

We just replaced two 12v wet cell batteries (one had a shorted cell) with two group 24 FullRiver AGMs from NWbattery Supply in Portland. We use and recommend Full River batteries in our van builds. Guessing the AGMs were 15 lbs heavier each. I do like that fact that an AGM can be turned upside down or the case punctured (not recommended) and no significant amount of acid will leak out. They do require a more sophisticated 4-stage maintenance charger. We like Ctek for those. Price was considerably more than what I could have scored at my favorite warehouse store. The previous owner relocated the batteries to in front of the kick panel and added a Perko switch. The cables were a joke so replaced those with 2 gauge welding cable with hydraulically crimped lugs. (say no to hammer crimper.) We carry another fully charged AGM (larger size) on the opposite side for emergency use (jump start, trolling motor) and weight.

engine parts: http://www.marineengine.com/parts/mercruiser-stern-drive/index.php

Water separator, oil change, poly-V belt, water pump impeller, check shaft seal, change distributor cap/rotor, clean bilge, check bilge pump and fan and related plumbing. Check oil levels in v-drive and transmission while running(trans) or shortly after (v-drive) to get accurate reading. If there are problems (leaking) with the shaft seal (not uncommon) then you'll need to do an alignment after replacing that. Suggest checking all wiring and tying up any that is loose. Check propeller shaft coupler bolts make sure they are all tight.

I would use 3M VHB tape between the bracket and underside of platform in addition to the screws.

Those vent hoses will fill up with water spraying into the Enzo vents when your boat is lower with the extra ballast. Especially if you get around to trying a surf wedge. You can get raised covers but we just blocked the back hole with a CNC'd plastic disc and added a drain for in the enclosure behind the vent. Has worked well. Water in the air vent hose will short and ruin your bilge fan. photos in this post:

That's the bag we have in the front on our SV230. Our fill pump is in the back and I added two through hull fittings to vent and drain it. We run all our bags mostly full.

I designed those and have them installed on our 2008 Enzo. They do make it quieter. Please be aware that there are some little brackets inside that you'll have to DIY. And important to bond the edge of the cowl to the side of the boat around the side swipe plate with urethane adhesive or the water rushing past will peel it off. Ours have been on for two seasons and I did have to reseal one where the adhesive came loose. I did also coat the parts with Rustoleum Bedliner spray before installing them. I would be happy to offer support if you decide to install them. My contact info is at DIYvan.com

Thinking about selling this boat and getting a Ri 257 We just picked up a new Bimini from Sewlong.

Yes, but the Thinsulate behind it acts sort of like a baffle.

I mounted a 12" sub in the kick panel. Considered an enclosure (tricky to fit along the hull line) but decided instead just to cover the back of the speaker with a few layers of 1.75" thick 3M Thinsulate(TM) SM600L acoustic insulation which we sell for van up-fitting. It sounds great and we rarely run it super loud so it's not boomy. I ended up cutting the OEM panel in half to maintain easier access to the batteries and electrical behind and under the dash with out having to remove the woofer.