New pontoon in the driveway

[crookedlaker]

If i shark hide, are most people only doing the outer tubes, end caps and nose cones?
with the strakes it looks kind of tight to get between the tubes. I am a big boy 6'4" about 260 lbs
i would hate to get stuck trying to go between the tubes.

[Bryden24shp]

[quote="Bamaman"]No, the welds on my Benny are probably the best there is. There are just cracks that hold the aluminum oxide, and the stuff smudges when the Sharkhide's applied.

My polished boat looks fine for the boating season. I'm just not motivated enough to work any harder to maintain an extreme shine. If I wanted to work that hard, I'd be using a rouge and my high speed buffer to put out a near mirror image--like some diesel fuel tanks on over the road trucks.[/quote]

That's how I do them. I get them so I can shave in them. If it was worth the hassle, (and Advil expense) I would do them as a side job. I have 2 HS buffers and orbital polishers, pads and enough polish and Sharkhide to do 2 or three. Gotta save it for the next boat I buy.

crookedlaker, I just do the outside of the outer tubes, endcaps, transom and all of the 3 nosecones. I would not do the inside of the tubes. I would get stuck, too! I removed the aluminum trim that is under the rub rail and conceals where the cross members meet the floor on my first Manitou, also. Looked sweet with that polished. The 2 Manitou's, Premier and South Bay had been factory coated. The Premier was the worst boat to polish. That coating is like a poly urethane.... SUCKS to remove it. I had to use a heatgun, DA with 320 and about 5 gallons of thinner. The Bennington was the easiest, it wasn't coated and was brand new. Took about 6 hours. The Premier took 6 days!

[Bryden24shp]

I don't know why the dealers charge so much to apply the Sharkhide, it's super easy on a brand boat with uncoated tubes. They just love to rip ya off. I do 3 coats, apply the next as soon as the first cures. It dissolves the prior coat, but ensures complete coverage and lasts for years, if applied right.

[crookedlaker]

I don't think the Harris is coated, just raw aluminum
I am going to do it in the dealer lot after they close for the weekend.
I imagine a quart will be enough

Mike

[Bryden24shp]

Yep, a quart will do you. Be sure to use a lint free rag. Old baby diapers (preferably washed) work great!

[Bill S.]

My crazy daughter is already swimming.

[Bryden24shp]

Here in Iowa, we water ski as soon as the ice breaks up. Our saying is Stay on top, cause it hurts when you drop! And believe me.... It does!!!

[Radartom]

Had my first chance to drop the boat in the water this weekend, got all the mandatory items and a couple key floats so I don't drop the keys in the water. Went to put the floats on and can't find the damn keys.

Ordered a new set from amazon so have to do some more waiting.

[ron nh]

You can't make this stuff up! That sucks.

[Radartom]

Finally got a new set of keys for the boat and dropped it in the water. Put about 3 hours on it today, and was able to get it up to about 35.5 mph on the gps. Question though the rpm,s seemed a bit high to me at around 63-6400 is that too high are should I be prop shopping here soon?

[mpilot]

That RPM is a little high. On the test boat they had a 13 1/2 diameter x 15 pitch prop and it over revved a little as well. I'd think about adjusting the prop. The dealer should do this if it is a brand new boat.

Also, double check your break in procedure. I've heard Yamaha can be a little picky if something goes wrong early with the motor and the break in procedure wasn't followed. Hopefully that WOT number was after the 2nd hour, again assuming it's a new boat.

Interval Procedure
1st Hour Operate the engine at varying speeds up to 2000 rpms or approximately 1/2 throttle.
2nd Hour Increase the engine speed until the boat is on plane (but avoid full throttle operaton) and then back off on the throttle while keeping the boat at a planing speed.
Next 8 Hours Run the engine at any speed however avoid operating at full throttle for more than 5 minutes at a time.
After the 1st 10 Hours Operate the engine normally.

[Radartom]

[quote="mpilot"]That RPM is a little high. On the test boat they had a 13 1/2 diameter x 15 pitch prop and it over revved a little as well. I'd think about adjusting the prop. The dealer should do this if it is a brand new boat.

Also, double check your break in procedure. I've heard Yamaha can be a little picky if something goes wrong early with the motor and the break in procedure wasn't followed. Hopefully that WOT number was after the 2nd hour, again assuming it's a new boat.

Interval Procedure
1st Hour Operate the engine at varying speeds up to 2000 rpms or approximately 1/2 throttle.
2nd Hour Increase the engine speed until the boat is on plane (but avoid full throttle operaton) and then back off on the throttle while keeping the boat at a planing speed.
Next 8 Hours Run the engine at any speed however avoid operating at full throttle for more than 5 minutes at a time.
After the 1st 10 Hours Operate the engine normally.[/quote]

Followed to a tee. The first hour about killed me, second was at least a little better, third finally getting to open it up felt pretty good. The dealer is about an hour and a half away so that could suck.

[Radartom]

Oh and I have a 13 1/2 x 15-k prop if that helps any

[Radartom]

So I guess that box of books with all those words in them that I was given has information in them. Apparently my new Yamaha's power range is 53-6300 so I guess I'm really not that high on the rpm's. I still think I'm on the high side but a little more comfortable.