Another Outing

Finally I found some time to take the boat out again, this time with the digital camera!

The first thing I noticed was there was very few people out, and it was truly a beautiful warm summer evening last night. Not quite sure why there weren't more boats out, but it was a Monday night.
View up river.
As I headed up river, I began to notice the water level is much lower than before.

AND, the drift was extremely heavy. Everything from empty Gatorade bottles, to Styrofoam (from docks maybe?), Basketballs, plastic bags, etc. And the infamous "Outdrive Killers", as I like to call them, the hidden trees. Ranging in size from little twigs to full blown trees. Here's some examples! And you can see the visibilty of them off the bow. They're incredibly hard to see when driving into the sun.

So with the cost of gas right now, and the amount of drift in the river, I decided to take a casual stroll and plot out the marker buoys on my GPS. It's something I've always meant to do, because at night, they are virtually impossible to see until you're right up on them. So I traveled about 10-15 miles up and plotted their locations. Now I feel better for those late night rides back from the fireworks at New Richmond. Here's a shot of the buoy. Definitely wouldn't want to hit that at cruising speed, something about solid steel, fiberglass and 30mph doesn't sound healthy!

Now the sun was beginning to set. I started heading back, and this is the view on the way back. Can't beat a sunset on the water!
And since my first mate decided to ditch me for the Fall Out Boy concert at Riverbend, I decided to tie up behind there just to see if I was missing anything. Kicked back, had a beer, and listened to the music. Darkness grew over the water, and I ended up leaving about 10:00. I was headed back at idle speed, due to the drift. Right off Coney Island I noticed this, which was a great reminder of why I like to drive slow at night!


Memorial Day weekend's approaching quickly, so there'll be lots of stories to tell after that! Stay tuned.

First Run

So Saturday evening I decided it was time to fire her up and make the first run. I prepped the boat, removed transom straps, put the drain plug in, and was ready to be launched at the harbor. She started right up, and came off the trailer with ease. The harbor was a little crowded, and for some reason they decided to launch 2 boats simultaneously on the same ramp. This is typical of the "first of the season" behavior of my harbor. Not to mention the ramp was crowded enough with 6 boats on each side of the docks. I'll post a pic of the harbor so you can understand my concern.

But the boat ran good, it was fairly obvious the engine had been sitting a while. I'll run some fuel injector cleaner through it and clear it all out. Kept a decent clip at 2800rpm, about 25mph. Without trim tabs, it's hard to get the boat to plane at lower speeds. And I think this year's going to bring much lower speeds due to rising gas prices. So some Lenco Electric tabs might be added later this year if funds permit.

Ran through downtown Cincinnati, and then anchored up beyond Coney Island & River Downs for some sun! I dropped the ladder, took a few steps down, and realized, NO WAY. Water's only 62 degrees!

Anyway, being the first launch of the season, no one seemed to be observing the given "boater laws of courtesy", some people cut me off on the way out, and then another one damn near backed over me and caused me to nearly run into another boat on the way back in. Apparently May 12 must have been stupid boater day on the Ohio.

Lesson learned: Bring camera next time.

All shined up and ready to go!

So this past weekend I had some help from my friend Joe, for the exterior cleaning and waxing. I used the Meguiar's Flagship boat wash, cleaned it from head to toe.

Then came the 3 step Meguiar's Fiberglass Restoration Kit.

For $25, you can't go wrong!! Each of these bottles is in the neighborhood of $10-15 each. The initial step (Oxidation Remover) is a heavy duty gritty wax. During the waxing, I could already tell an immediate difference between the treated and non-treated areas. Step 2 was the High Gloss Polish, which I had done the previous year before, brought out the color in the gelcoat. Step 3 was a caranuba wax, that smelled like bananas, and was just about the same color as a banana smoothie! Here's the end result. I highly recommend this kit to anyone with oxidation, or anyone who just wants their boat to look brand new!!



So then I made a phone call to my dad to borrow his Escalade to tow it to the harbor. I'll be using this to tow to Lake Norris in a few weeks, so I wanted to get a feel for it. Tows great, but I think at some point I'll step up and buy myself a 3/4 Ton Diesel Suburban or truck to pull it. I just feel a little safer with heavier duty parts. Plus at the price of gas these days, a diesel might offer a little relief on the pocketbook. But that's a while away.



So she's down at the harbor now. The cockpit cover is getting measured today or tomorrow to see about replacement. I plan on taking her out this weekend!

She Gets New Eyes

So I conjured up this idea about swapping all my lights to LED's after an episode on the river last year that almost drained my batteries. I know LED's only use a fraction of what regular bulbs use, and put off much less heat. So I figured what the hell, it'd be worth a try.

I did some searching on the net, came up with a few limited resources. I found SuperBright LED's based out of Florissant, MO. I used to visit that town quite frequently and figured it'd be the place to order from, since it's only about 8hrs away.

The lights I needed to replace were the Nav Light, and one of the courtesy lamps. However, I went a little haywire, and bought a bunch of bulbs since they were pretty cheap, and I wanted to try a couple different options. I bought the following ones.

My nav light burned out during last year's Riverfest (probably the most important time to have a nav light), so it was first on my list to replace. I purchased the two styles as shown just to see which would be brighter. One has 9 LED's, and the other has 4. I tried the 9 LED one first, but once mounted in the fixture, the bulb became very dim on the port side behind the red glass. This fixture was extremely directional, so I figure that's why it wouldn't work as well. So I mounted the 4 LED bulb, and wow, what a difference! I was concerned about the brightness originally when the idea came up about swapping, but after seeing this, I have no concern whatsoever that my nav light could be the brightest one on the river!

Next were the engine lights. I wanted to use something bright, as it's a pretty important spot to have a bunch of light, just in case. So I found these 5 LED fixtures that seemed to be good for projecting light in all directions. I bought the "Bright White" . They worked great, and I decided that I'd purchase two LED "strips" (like neon tubes) for the engine bay itself just so I could project light in there. I found a great deal on ebay, so I couldn't pass them up. Here's the final outcome of the engine lights, both the 5 LED fixtures (mounted in the transom), and the LED strips in the engine bay.

So then came the courtesy lights. I used the same 5 LED fixtures as the engine lights to project light in a wide angle. I bought both Bright White, and Red. The white is a little harsh in complete darkness, so I went with the Red instead. It's definitely easier on the eyes. Plus it looks pretty cool. I kept the whites onboard just in case I decide to swap.

I tried to replace the transom light in the rear with an LED, but for some reason it didn't work. Maybe I got a defective bulb, or maybe it just doesn't like LED's. At any rate, i put the standard bulb back in, and moved on.

Finally, out of curiosity, I took apart my anchor light just to see what size it took. Just my luck, it took the same size as the courtesy lamps, so I popped in one of those Bright White 5 LED bulbs and WHOA! Brightness in all directions and it's really WHITE!

Moving Right Along...

Well, Friday at 2:00pm, all I can think about is boating. Yet she's not ready for the water just yet.

Cleaning Update:
As a precautionary measure, I hit everything in the boat with mold & mildew preventative. All vinyl surfaces got a hefty 4-step cleaning.



Step 1 is the Bass Pro Mold & Mildew spray for the initial removal (see below)
Step 2 is a 1:20 ratio mixture of clorox and water.
Step 3 is a heavy solution of StarBrite Vinyl Shampoo & Water with a strong bristled brush along with a thorough scrubbing.
Step 4 is the 3M Marine Outdoor Vinyl Cleaner, Conditioner & Protector.

Everything vinyl got this treatment, including the cuddy cushions, and for the most part removed just about all the stains, and the vinyl has never looked so good! All it needs is a coating of 303 Protectant or other Vinyl Protector and I'll be set for a while.

I've been on the phone today with some canvas shops getting quotes for a new cockpit cover. Who knew a piece of fabric could be so much? I'm getting quotes in the neighborhood of $800+. Oh well, I'll suck it up, i guess, it needs to be done. I'm tired of the ratty-ass vinyl one I've got. Been thinking about going with a black sunbrella cover. Saw a pic of another Mariah 250 with a black one, and i fell in love. Looks great.



So, she's tentatively getting her big bath and shiny treatment tomorrow. Joe's coming over to help. It's a complete bitch to wash, polish, and then wax it with only one person! I'll post an update later this weekend. Until then, SOMEBODY get out on the water and tell me how it is!