So it's not the slick boat some of our other features are going to be, but it is still a pretty sweet refirb.  On the water shots still to come.

When I purchased this boat in 2006, it had things I was looking for.  The integrity of the boat was in great shape, it had the laminated stringer with no failures to date, and the price was right.  I looked around for a very long time, and eventually drove all the way to Georgia to pick this one up.  It needed some serious TLC.  The teak looked like it never been treated.  The gelcoat was so faded and chalky that you could not make out the color stripes on the bottom.  The interior was ok in some spots, but others looked like a cat had won an epic battle several times over on it.  After some research and a few test drives, I knew I could buy this boat, enjoy it, refirb it, and possibly even get my money back out of it when the time came.

The proof is in the pudding

Or in this case, the gelcoat.  Upon inspection, you can see how rough the boat was.  TLC was long ago forgotten.  Pulling back the bow strap for the extended pylon revealed that the gel was not quite as bad as it looked, and keep in mind, pictures of gel always look better than they really are.  The teak I thought was not going to be repairable.  I fully expected to be finding a solution to replacing it.

Shining the shoes

I put alot of work in here; more than I like to admit.  The gel was bad.  I probably removed 5-6 mil from the depth of it to get it back glassy.  Still there are some spots that I need to treat.  Maybe next season.  If you need to know more about how I did this, please register and ask me.  I can let you in on my technique.  Shined right up.  I also applied new vinyl that I got from RPM Graphics in New Orleans.  He did a great job and the pricing was perfect.

Misc updates

Prop change, teak treatment and some misc. painting of the louvres.  BTW the teak is the original teak.  After a good sanding and some serious soaking in teak oil, it came back to life.....try that with fiberglass.

Monster Invasion

So a tower was in order, and as much as I wanted to get one of the custom fitted ones, the financial advisor didn't see it as a beneficial investment.  So I shopped universal; I am glad I did.  Going with Monster Tower is probably one of the best decisions I made on aftermarket purchasing.  Top notch support, easy install, and best of all.....it looks awesome.

Stereo City

It is very hard to chill all day with crappy stock 10 year old Sony interior speakers.  Upgrades were in order.  Brands are one of those touchy subjects where there are always fanboys.  I have been using Rockford Fosgate since the 80's so maybe that's why I am hooked.  I still really like their power line, and the marine audio is doing well.  Nice sound, nice looks.  The gain knob is right by the driver so he can adjust the sub as required.  No pic of the amps, but they are in there, mounted in the dry storage behind the electronics.  I went with Rockford Fosgate there as well.  Level control is handled by the head unit as well as having a built in volt warning.....let's me know when it is getting low.  Other goodies during this time were a new alternator from DB Electrical (contact me about them), and a second Exide battery on a battery combiner; no isolators in here.

For tower and rider sounds, I found an awesome deal (I always do.....shop around) on a couple year old Skylon Phantom 69 from Skylon on ebay.com.  I'll take it k'thx.

VD-who??

The original VDO instruments in this boat had seen way better days.  Half worked, and all looked like Ausin Powers' teeth.  I found a line from Faria, and save the TAPs instrument, was able to order them all from an online merchant at beaucoup savings over the dealer.  I can get anyone part numbers, just send me a message.  For the most part these were plug and play, but some wiring rework was in order.  The new ones needed adaptation made to the power and ground counts to have a nice tidy wiring plan.

At this same time, the rockers were looking bad as well....see the original photos for proof.  I found some new ones I liked from Carling, a quick visit to mouser.com and I had this line and some new thermal breakers on the way.

Final stop

Ask any boat owner when it ends, and they will tell you when you're broke.  Luckily, I stopped a tad before then and spent some leftovers on the interior.  Let me tell you this......SHOP AROUND.  I did some shopping and from the original quote of 5k (lol) I was able to get 80% of my interior recovered with built skins (no more seat seams to rip) for less than $1500.  I pulled all the interior out myself and carried it to the person you never see; the lady that actually does the interior at her house for the companies you pay.  She did an awesome job, and she will be redoing the rest of mine this winter.

All done

So for the most part, I have taken this boat to a much better version of its former self.  I have seen every square inch, and absolutely could not be happier.  Check back for more pictures.....here's the only overall for now.