Finally Got Some Pictures!

[Mr. Osprey]

Finally figured out how to post some pictures. Still needs some work but it's gettin' there.

[JimCt]

Pix look great.  Nice set-up with the fuel filter off to one side.  Does the battery mount under the console?

Item of big concern I noticed is the transom.  Looks like some of those cracks are being displaced with the weight of the motor.  Are you going to be rebuilding the transom this winter?

[RickK]

Nice looking boat!!  
The crack in the transom definitely looks dangerous though.  I did notice that the transom curves out toward the motor a bit.  Mine is flat. Does anyone else have this curve?
Is the rubrail actually blue?  I remember the one I used to have was green, which was common, but didn't realize they did it in blue also.

[Mr. Osprey]

I really didn't plan on rebiulding the transom this winter since I used it all year long without problem.  When the merc goes, I might reinforce it with a steel plate and add a transom tuffner to the motor when it's mounted. Right now the battery is mounted in the stern right next to gas filter but I'm working on mounting the battery in the back. The rubrail is actually blue but is so dirty that it's almost immpossible to clean it up. Some of it is the nice blue color but in other areas it looks black because of the moss and mildew and dirt.

[RickK]

I really didn't plan on rebiulding the transom this winter since I used it all year long without problem.  When the merc goes, I might reinforce it with a steel plate and add a transom tuffner to the motor when it's mounted.

Looks pretty scary to me - I think I might reconsider.

The rubrail is actually blue but is so dirty that it's almost immpossible to clean it up. Some of it is the nice blue color but in other areas it looks black because of the moss and mildew and dirt.

50-50 bleach and water, spray it on and it does wonders  :)

[Miguel]

Hello.....
I posted a couple of new pictures on my gallery (and rebuilds gallery).  One of them shows the battery location inside the center console, just in case any of you are interested.  It is actually pretty easy to route the battery cables from the engine, if you are willing to lift the part of the deck on top of the cable tray.  I´ve been told that using a plumbers tape works, but I haven´t personaly tried it.  I need to install a new battery tie-down, because I got a larger battery box.
The other one shows the cockpit.  It only has the fuel filter mounted on the transom.  Otherwise, it is very clean.  
Sorry about the dirty boat, but with a new kid at home, I´ve had no time to clean, let alone, use it.

[JimCt]

What's the flex tube with the clamp ahead of the battery connected to?

[Miguel]

I tought someone would ask.  It is a recirculating pump (Rule 500gph).  It draws water from the bottom of the box in front of the console (dry storage, converted to recirculating livewell) and sends it up the tube (which needs to be shortened about 1/2 inch) to a spray bar.  
I´ve tinkered with the idea of puting a raw water intake on the transom, but this setup works just as well to keep 5 or 6 peacock bass, or a whole bunch of sardines or shrimp, alive for the day.  I just change about 5 gallons of water at midday..... No sweat.....  I´m afraid of opening large holes under the waterline, therefore, the raw water intake may have to wait a bit longer.  This well is not very large, and I would also need a large drain.  Routing this gravity drain line to the exterior woud pose a large problem.....

[JimCt]

Nice simple & sweet arrangement.  Fewer holes in the hull.

BTW, am reading a book written about 1912 or so about construction of the canal.  Absolutely amazing feat of engineering & manpower!

[Miguel]

I should know..... I´m a structural engineer with the Panama Canal Authority.  (Probably a new thread:  "What do you do for a living" is on order)
I´m a Panamanian, but the canal sure is a great show of American might and talent. No one single word best describes it, but it sure is an amazing work of engineering, which was only possible because the US took a part of it.  I don´t know which book your are reading, but I recommend "The Path between the Seas" by McCullough.

[JimCt]

Book is The Panama Canal written by Fredric J. Haskin, Doubleday, 1913.  Good account of enginering, logistical & political problems & their solutions.  I'd guess no engineering & earthmoving project since has matched it.

[JimCt]

To get back on topic, are you using the Rule-Mate pump, the one with the float switch built in?  I'm looking to finally put one in the bilge and the Rule-Mate 500 looks the simplest.

[warthog5]

This is something that I've never understood?

Why aren't the pix's posted on this thread?
Now I have to go and serch for them and I'm not sure what I'm looking for.

[JimCt]

Mr. Osprey, for some reason I'm having a hard time re-locating your transom pictures too.  Please insert the pix in the thread or include a direct link to the pictures.  Helps to keep confusion down.

[JimCt]

OK, found the picture which started the transom discussion.

http://www.classicaquasport.com/gallery ... all/page/1