Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

pond tuuunes wrote:Hope this isnt hyjacking Todd, I won the bet at work $1800. So I called tge welder, he said to call him back end of august or september. So good news is I lost 51 lbs, and won $1800, bad news is boat will probably wait till next year. JT


Hope you get out soon!

Congrats on win! Maybe you should find a new tig guy. Surely there are lots in your area. Not actually sure what you need welded.
As a victim of 'The Flood That Never Ends', I'm trying to practice the fine art of patience, with little success. Going on four weeks now with several to go....AAAUUUGGGHHH|

Hey Todd, whats the good word? Ya been rather quiet. JT

I talked with Todd last night briefly...all is well just taking a much deserved break

OK ya got me. Sometimes it takes a little nudge from a friend...thx Ty

So here's the rest of the story...the good...the bad...the ugly. I didn't take enough pics, but I assure you that it all happened. You couldn't make this shite up.

About two weeks ago, after waiting out the flood of the century, I decided it was time to launch-even with no dock and weeks of high water still to go. Here's my dock:


Facilities in general were a little lacking:

Launch day did indeed suck, just like every other attempt that I have made this summer (8 by my best count).
Pulled the boat towards lake with my truck with the brand new semi-reliable starter (another story). Stopped at gas station and parked at the side to stock up on essentials (beer & ice). Climb back in truck and click....no starter. P'd off now. Lot's of tools on boat because of all my earlier problems. Damn starter is gonna get r&r'd right in the parking lot. Missing one extension. A friend had stopped by, so I had her give me a ride to town and buy ANOTHER brand new starter (and an extension).
An hour later, arrive back to boat to find a nice crease down the side of my port tube. Some of it will prolly sand out. Some not so much. Gas station cameras are only aimed at the pumps. I only have liability insurance so screwed. The day is only getting better.
On a hunch that truck starter issues were heat related, I tried it again and ....it starts. I'm already twenty miles from house, so I decide to go for it. Just don't shut the truck off.
Most ramps are flooded and closed, so I had to go to a National Park Service ramp, because Uncle Sam always gets the good stuff. Launch goes OK and boat runs without leaks. No pleasure cruise this day because truck is still running.
I ease the boat a few miles to my marina and lash it to a couple of poles because there are still no docks available. Then wade a couple of blocks through swamp and mosquitos to the highway where my friend is waiting in my still running truck.
Back home I make the mistake of thinking my yard is firm enough to drive truck and trailer through so I can put trailer in shed. BAD idea. You can guess how the rest of the day went. All in all, truck ran for about six hours in high temps that day...mostly at idle.
Breathe for a day.
Time for a pleasure cruise? I think not. Took boat out and it ran pretty good (still tuning). After a few hours and a bit of hope, heading back towards dock aaaaand......kerpow.......massive cloud of steam and smoke out of engine compartment. Pulled all the lids and there is glycol everywhere. Too much water in bilge. Bilge pumps (2) not keeping up. After jumping in lake and using my washdown hose to backflush my pumps (the pumps are hard to access), I get the water out of the bilge.
Check engine oil-OK. Suspect seawater pump. Found a blown glycol hose in my half-closed cooling system. After a five mile tow to dock, I am beyond consolable.
To summarize to this point: Eight or so trips out without EVER returning to dock with a smile on my face. And now you know why I haven't been posting. Too damn depressed.

As it turns out, it could have been worse. After spending several days wrenching and troubleshooting, my best guess (and only a guess) as to what happened is:
1. Bilge pumps both plugged up. I found electrical tape in one of them. I have since rigged up a backflush attachment so I can do it from my swim platform.
2. Rising water got to the point where my seawater pump was slipping on the belt, which in turn overheated my motor. Seawater pump (and starter both lived somehow)
3. Audio alarm buzzer had died. Indicator light was still working but I hadn't noticed it. I have since moved the light to a more eye-catching spot, fixed buzzer, and even tied in the digital engine control to the circuit (I basically have TWO separate heat sensors now)
4. A cheap plastic fitting (it came with my closed cooling kit) is what let loose from the pressure. I have replaced it with a brass one. Because I had dumped lakewater in during the crisis, I get to drain the motor again this fall and re-glycol it.
5. As a result of all the steam in the engine compartment, my clean-agent automatic fire extinguisher had let loose (that was prolly the boom I heard). Good to know that it worked. Bad to find out that I can't refill it. New ones about $350. Fireboy/Xintex has a stranglehold on the market and gouge everybody mercilessly.

Since then, things have been better although I missed my beloved Kettle Falls Hotel run because I'm still not too trusting of the boat.
Several successful runs finally yielded:
As 'the old gaffer' used to say: "All's well as ends better"
Ummm I hope

Dang Todd! you're getting closer....Dang Todd! you're getting closer....

Wow!! Holy crap! You have way more persistance than I do Todd. Glad to hear your getting out. im hoping to launch Saturday sometime. JT

pond tuuunes wrote:Wow!! Holy crap! You have way more persistance than I do Todd. Glad to hear your getting out. im hoping to launch Saturday sometime. JT

Well there's the boys of October, and then there's us...the boys of August. In the north too, I guess we gotta enjoy our one month season and pack all the fun in that we can.

Suddenly I don't feel so bad...

pond tuuunes wrote:I spoke with a guy that has the same toon as me, but bigger engine (1350hp). He says I need to have a support plate welded to the center toon under the engine.

1350hp!! I'd say you need a pretty damned large support plate!

Just a nice sunrise shot of my newly finished rear end. Did I say that right? I call it....
'MASSIVE HANGOVER'

Beautiful Todd!

That looks awsome bud!

Great Boat! Great Job! I like it! Enjoyed the read.... thanks for taking the time to post everything... I hope you have many many many many many trouble free enjoyable trips with it!

Impressive willpower! Not only did you fight the project tooth and nail... you fought some extreme weather and elements too! Great job!

Thanks Blessed. Thinking that hard helps to calm my feverish mind.

Here's the latest:
Finally finished my Red Green pop-up change room/bathroom/shower room. I love the spring stay I put in. It goes up and down with 1 finger.




After deciding that my washdown hose was a bit too unwieldy to shower with, I broke down and just put a regular shower head in. I've already used it a couple of times, awesome. The lake is getting cold, but the surface water (where my pump intake is) is usually 5 or 10 degrees warmer. Next up in this area: Red Green water heater


I also built a bilge pump backflush wand. On a quick connector, I can flush both my bilge pumps from the swim platform now.


I leave you now with a little action shot. I spared no expense on the quality of my washdown pump, tons of pressure for when I 'weaponize' the boat over the winter hee hee hee.

Awesome Todd!