penguin
Member
My 2010 photo recap of my visible projects after acquiring this 2000 240DA in January 2010.
Here she arrives on 1/28/2010. I had first looked at the boat in late October 2009; however, owner was asking too much and wouldn't budge. His tune changed after the first of the year and then a deal came together. The boat had basically sat unused, in the water, the entire 2009 season. No records of maintenance or use prior to that. The first time it had run was when we sea trialed it in mid January. Everything checked during the sea trial and with inspector.
First visible project was to get the camper top back on the boat and the old name removed from the transom. The icing glass pieces were stacked in the cabin and the all-canvas bits were in a box for at least one year (possibly longer). A nice surprise was that there was a cockpit cover in the box too. Upon buying the boat, I was unaware that the cockpit cover existed. Score! There was some light mildew with the pieces in the box; however, it easily scrubbed clean. Photo taken on 3/20/2010.
Got my name on the boat in May. I bought a sheet of gold and a sheet of black off the Internet and then used a laser cutter at work to get the custom look. We also cut a "reverse template" out of paper to make sure we got it square and proper spacing. A friend helped me get it on the transom. It was impressive to watch him work his magic. Note the white space between the letters and the black drop shadow. Most just overlap matching letters. Total cost was $15 in vinyl and time. Photo taken on 5/1/2010
And a closer shot taken later in the season...
When it finally warmed enough, it was time to get rid of the cheap-ass blue bottom paint and get the Hydrocoat black on the bottom. The blue looked like it was painted on with a broom. This project took approximately 36hrs of labor. I started with power sander; however, the marina said I was making too big of a mess and asked me to stop. I had to switch to a block and sand by hand which reduced the mess blowing through the air; however, put more work on me. Then, painted as much as I could one day, shifted the boat the next, and painted the remainder.
Here is what I started with...
And here it is almost done after the second full day (minus the part where it is sitting on the rack).
Right before season end, I finished with a sealer. I've taken a lot of heat on the board for this one; however, I have a weak right-arm after a bad break and there is no way I can run the buffer long enough to bring oxidized surfaces back. I can apply sealer easy enough. So, I decided to try in an effort to remain DIY. If it fails, I'll strip it and then have to hire someone to buff the boat for me. So far, it still looks great and I am optimistic of it holding up well in my sea conditions (fresh water, boat in covered slip). In this photo, the hull is complete and the top decks are prepped awaiting the sealer. Photo taken on 10/30/2010
Other projects done that I didn't photograph was a major engine tune-up in April. We covered everything from plugs, wires, water pump impeller, stern-drive oil, etc. One new raw water pump was installed too as the existing one was weeping water out the weep hole.
I wasn't taking any chances with the engine and my anal ways proved right. As we went through the engine, we found where previous owner(s) had taken shortcuts. For example, we could tell that a new distributor cap had been installed along the way; however, the boat still had the original (10yo) rotor. Another nice one was finding a missing blade off the impeller. We luckly found it caught at the power steering cooler and fished it out. Engine ran fine before; however, it now starts on first try and runs much smoother with everything back to spec.
Then, a new prop on the first weekend of November. I picked up a used SS from a friend that was a perfect match. It was dumb luck really and I had no intent to put a SS prop on this boat; however, the price was right and I can either enjoy 2 extra knots of cruise or back the throttle off 200rpm. I'm probably going to enjoy the extra speed.
Then, it was completely winterized Thanksgiving weekend. Just as it was all coming together, the season was over
However, I'm finally well positioned for the 2011 and ready to go.
Here she arrives on 1/28/2010. I had first looked at the boat in late October 2009; however, owner was asking too much and wouldn't budge. His tune changed after the first of the year and then a deal came together. The boat had basically sat unused, in the water, the entire 2009 season. No records of maintenance or use prior to that. The first time it had run was when we sea trialed it in mid January. Everything checked during the sea trial and with inspector.
First visible project was to get the camper top back on the boat and the old name removed from the transom. The icing glass pieces were stacked in the cabin and the all-canvas bits were in a box for at least one year (possibly longer). A nice surprise was that there was a cockpit cover in the box too. Upon buying the boat, I was unaware that the cockpit cover existed. Score! There was some light mildew with the pieces in the box; however, it easily scrubbed clean. Photo taken on 3/20/2010.
Got my name on the boat in May. I bought a sheet of gold and a sheet of black off the Internet and then used a laser cutter at work to get the custom look. We also cut a "reverse template" out of paper to make sure we got it square and proper spacing. A friend helped me get it on the transom. It was impressive to watch him work his magic. Note the white space between the letters and the black drop shadow. Most just overlap matching letters. Total cost was $15 in vinyl and time. Photo taken on 5/1/2010
And a closer shot taken later in the season...
When it finally warmed enough, it was time to get rid of the cheap-ass blue bottom paint and get the Hydrocoat black on the bottom. The blue looked like it was painted on with a broom. This project took approximately 36hrs of labor. I started with power sander; however, the marina said I was making too big of a mess and asked me to stop. I had to switch to a block and sand by hand which reduced the mess blowing through the air; however, put more work on me. Then, painted as much as I could one day, shifted the boat the next, and painted the remainder.
Here is what I started with...
And here it is almost done after the second full day (minus the part where it is sitting on the rack).
Right before season end, I finished with a sealer. I've taken a lot of heat on the board for this one; however, I have a weak right-arm after a bad break and there is no way I can run the buffer long enough to bring oxidized surfaces back. I can apply sealer easy enough. So, I decided to try in an effort to remain DIY. If it fails, I'll strip it and then have to hire someone to buff the boat for me. So far, it still looks great and I am optimistic of it holding up well in my sea conditions (fresh water, boat in covered slip). In this photo, the hull is complete and the top decks are prepped awaiting the sealer. Photo taken on 10/30/2010
Other projects done that I didn't photograph was a major engine tune-up in April. We covered everything from plugs, wires, water pump impeller, stern-drive oil, etc. One new raw water pump was installed too as the existing one was weeping water out the weep hole.
I wasn't taking any chances with the engine and my anal ways proved right. As we went through the engine, we found where previous owner(s) had taken shortcuts. For example, we could tell that a new distributor cap had been installed along the way; however, the boat still had the original (10yo) rotor. Another nice one was finding a missing blade off the impeller. We luckly found it caught at the power steering cooler and fished it out. Engine ran fine before; however, it now starts on first try and runs much smoother with everything back to spec.
Then, a new prop on the first weekend of November. I picked up a used SS from a friend that was a perfect match. It was dumb luck really and I had no intent to put a SS prop on this boat; however, the price was right and I can either enjoy 2 extra knots of cruise or back the throttle off 200rpm. I'm probably going to enjoy the extra speed.
Then, it was completely winterized Thanksgiving weekend. Just as it was all coming together, the season was over
However, I'm finally well positioned for the 2011 and ready to go.
