Splash!

CJ Martin

CJ Martin

Member
Oct 4, 2006
762
Great Mills, MD
Boat Info
2002 320DA
Engines
350MAG Horizons / V-drives
Saturday afternoon we finally splashed Full Circle II and she now rests in her slip. Thanks to cold and wet weekends this spring we are a bit behind schedule. Managed to get the coolant changed in the mains and genset, re-routed some wiring in the engine compartment, cleaned the bilge as much as I could reach, and inspected all belts/hoses. I'm still undecided on changing the plugs - it's time according to the service manual but the boat is running great, and we're likely to be pulling the manifolds for inspection at the end of this season, so I may wait until then.

Ran for a bit after we went in and wow how good a clean bottom and running gear feels! Had some belt squeal which I was expecting - changing the coolant is a messy job, and try as I might, the pulleys got some antifreeze on them. It should quiet down in a bit. No alarms, smoke, or in-rushing water and we got back into the slip with no problems so it was a good day.

Still have to compound the topsides, got the hull done on the hard. Also removed the torn up side stripes that angled down into the water from the factory. Go figure, though I notice that the later year 320's have different stripes. We're running nekkid this year, and may have something new painted on for next year. Or not. We'll see. With the stripes off, we corrected the bottom paint line - it dipped down in the middle in an attempt to follow the stripes. Now we have a nice straight line of paint from bow to stern.

Got rained out yesterday, only had time to mount a (new to me) dockbox on the dock that a former slip mate sold to me for cheap...probably the only cheap thing I buy for the boat this year...

Rain or shine, it's great to be back in the water.

-CJ
 
CJ,

I went in Friday, what a perfect day on the Chesapeake.

After a few years of power washing the bottom, my boot stripes were looking bad. Last year I removed them and had new ones installed before I launched. They are 2" wide, same as the old ones but I did change the colors. The one closet to the water line is black (so is the bottom) and the one above it is blue, same color blue as the name on the back of the boat he did a few years ago. Check it out at BIH.

John
 
Hey CJ what took you so long? You alway's beat me in. I wish you and your family a safe and fun-filled Summer. Sincerely, Brian
 
Got to splash in Saturday.. ok maybe it was more like an easing slowly into it. We are still 21' above normal so had to find the right road into the lake. Luckily the marina had a kid on a jet ski clearing out logs near where we thought would be the safest option. He took a stick and poked around for depths and fortunately we were just able to make it. Engine started right up and we had a nice warm, sunny afternoon on the lake. And man did it feel good! :smt001 Found our new slip, learned how to operate a lift, got together with some of our friends at the marina we hadn't seen all winter and popped a couple of cold ones. Summer is here!
 
" Rain or shine, it's great to be back in the water."

We were on the water 10+ hours on Saturday. What a beautiful day. It's been raining since though....
 
Great to hear yoyr in CL Martin, have a GREAT!! season.
 
Splashed last week and took a short run on Saturday at Algonac, Lake St. Clair. Blew the cobwebs out of the big Cummins beasts. Still grinning.
 
Got to op-check the bilge pumps yesterday while recomissioning the fresh water system...I had bypassed the hot water heater last fall and drained the tank. (Can you see where this is going?) I flushed the system a bit before shutting off the pump to reconnect the hot water heater. Closed the hatch to turn the dockside water back on, got a bit distracted by a slip mate testing his genset, and finally got back to my boat and popped the hatch...only to see water running into the bilge. Right then the forward pump came on, and I knew at once what it was...the water heater drain was still open.

D'oh!

No harm though, got the shutoff closed and the flushed the whole system before filling the tank. Genset started after 5 seconds of cranking and ran like a watch. Put it under load and ran it for about 15 minutes. Got a lot of cleaning done in the cockpit. Spent today moving stuff back onboard - got a late start due to a scouting function for the boy.

Most importantly - stocked the cockpit fridge with beer.

-CJ
 
We splashed our new 320 DA yesterday in Prescott WI. 45 degrees/rain, high water, wind and fast currents. Did I mention this is my first boat?

I was with the MarineMax Captain and he was very helpful. Getting in the slip was interesting, but I managed to get in the second attempt without a scratch.

This morning I woke up to 30mph winds and an inch of snow on the ground.
 
CJ,
I'm glad you had a reason to get the hatch opened again. I can't imagine what could of happen if you didn't. Those distructions, man they alwys come with price. Good thing all turned out just fine.

Alex.
 
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