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New Toy/ Project

4K views 34 replies 9 participants last post by  Carrolls Ram 
#1 · (Edited)
So last Saturday I picked up a new toy. Huge thanks to Josh for coming along for the ride to keep my *** awake.

It's a 1988 Mako 261 with twin Yamaha 200s. Needs some cosmetic stuff, but overall feels solid. Picked it up in Mobile Alabama and drove back with it on the same day. The cummins pulled it easily. Once you got moving youd forget its back there. We did have a couple moments where it would downshift on a wet hill to maintain speed and spin the tires/ fishtail on the soaked roads. That definitely wakes you up. Boat unloaded is around 6000lbs and this has a 200 gallon tank that's almost full. And yes i plan on stripping that blue paint off and doing something different
 

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#2 ·
That"s a lot of boat!....
 
#5 ·
#7 ·
So couple updates. Been working on cleaning her up. Wet sanded with 600 grit and hit with the buffer. Also started blasting the old bottom paint off. Looks like crap, but once it's all 1 color itll look amazing. Also had to get a new trailer, didnt know Florida required brakes and adding them to the old trailer would cost about the same as a new trailer.

Took her out 2 weeks ago for the 1st real trip and she runs great.

Couple pics
 

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#8 ·
always wanted a boat...just not sure if the neighbor's would complain if I put it in their pool
 
#10 ·
That looks like a lot of work.
 
#12 ·
Haha I think everyone does at least one boat. Mine was a 19' Hallet river jet boat with a modified 460 ford with a pair of turbo's. I rebuilt the engine, tossed the turbos and ran 2 660's on a tunnel. Wet exhuast manifolds. I could empty the two 14 gallon tanks in less than an hour.. being very low profile it would occassionally go through a wave instead of over. Really unpredictable. A true death trap...
 
#13 ·
Only boat I ever re did was a 70 Fury GT. ....505ci Indy head and 2 stages of go-go juice
 
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#14 ·
Those both sound like wild rides lol. This one will be significantly slower and probably just as bad on gas with twin 2 stroke 200s lol.

I have a new 200 gallon tank for it, ripped all the wet foam out, found about 8-10 gallons of standing water in the bottom of the hull, broken drains from the front, and putting a new transom in. Getting a complete rewire too
 
#16 ·
New transom is in, outside hull is complete with new gelcoat and clear coated. On the inside it's been completely sanded down and old holes filled. Theres 1 soft spot in the floor that needs to be fixed and a drain that needs repair before the inside can be sprayed and put back together. The amount of parts laying around waiting for install keeps growing
 

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#19 ·
There is Nothing like spending a day on the water soaking up the sun breathing the fresh air to clear your head from all worries and woes & forget about the rest of the world! Enjoy my friend.
 
#21 ·
It's gonna be 2-3 years to get this damn thing finished at the rate that the fiberglass guy is going. Last I checked, it hasn't been touched since he got the outside painted. It's beyond frustrating. Does fantastic work but holy christmas is he slow.

he works on anything that will make him money lol. he can deff work on a T top for a boat i assume.
Can you either ask him or send me his number and I can call and ask? lol

I raised my console up 3 inches and need to cut and move all the bracing up to match. I don't want the top itself to be any taller as i'm already pretty close to bridges. Just need the front legs trimmed 3 inches and pads welded back on and the cross brackets moved up the same distance (these pieces have cracked welds, so they need to be fixed regardless). I'll also have the console in hand so no need to guess on measurements.
 
#25 ·
So latest news. Its STILL not done.... Also found out the whole bottom needs to be redone because the gelcoat is still tacky. I took it to the place I bought the trailer from because the trailer wasn't setup correctly for the boat and they called the next day saying they wouldn't touch it because they don't want the liability of messing it up. So I've hired a new shop to redo the bottom. The shop that did it originally said they would fix it, but it took 9 months to get it done the 1st time and it looks like crap. Somehow I need to get my money back and I seriously doubt he's going to give it back.

Also the wiring still isn't done, I was told it would take 2 weeks and 2 months later it still isn't done. It looks better than it did but its absolutely ridiculous how long these people take..... Here's a pic from the other day before taking it to the trailer shop as well as a before and after of wiring.
 

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#29 ·
I feel your pain. I've been there and done that after my boat guy quit his business. The one I took mine to was a big mistake, and I took it to him only because he was an authorized Skeeter dealer. In my case, I just got pissed and went and got my boat... half done after several months. I recommend you talk to other boat owners and get recommendations from them. Nothing else seems to work with so many crooks around.
 
#26 ·
I'm sorry to hear your new toy is not going as planned..... unfortunately I know exactly what you're going through it basically happened to me when I first bought the black truck..... but I have a feeling it will all work out in the end keep your head up.:thumb:
 
#28 ·
It'll eventually get done, i'm just worried at what else this guy screwed up, guess we'll find out

Sometimes projects don't go as planned. These days, it seems like it easier to buy a new toy than is is to get an older toy fixed correctly. And if you do find a good quality shop. It's usually expensive one way or the other.
Nothing on this one has gone as planned. I just had a long rant typed out, but will save you all the trouble lol. All I can say is I have a lot of money invested and have not gotten the expected outcome and so far am a year past the deadline...
 
#30 ·
So as of right now (7/10/2020 @ 11:04am) I will be picking the boat up tomorrow as a finished product.

New shop that redid the bottom did a fantastic job. I have some pics of the way the bottom was before and it was horrid.. The past 2 weeks its been getting all the wiring finished up and as of now just need to get the trim tabs plumbed and primed and the anchor windlass hooked up. Everything else is in and hooked up. Speakers, GPS, switch panel, steering and motors all work. Oh I forgot to mention the guy doing all the rigging threaded the wrong fittings into my hydraulic cylinder completely destroying the threads so I installed a brand new one that he's paying for..

Once I pick it up, the only thing that i'll need to do is tie the new canvas top on and then make new trim pieces/ storage boxes out of starboard that my cousin said he would help with.

Pics of the new bottom
 

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#31 ·
Glad this is finally working out for you.. well done..
 
#32 ·
looking good. when we going to try it out on the water?
 
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