Our season began, finally!

[Bryden24shp]

I finally got the end caps polished and Sharkhide applied. Been trying to get them done for 4 years now. As soon as the Sharkhide cured, out we went. First cruise of the year. 67 degrees out, but sitting in the sun felt like it was 80. Boat ran great, even with 52 gallons of last years gas in it. Don't think the flywheel spun a whole revolution and she was running. After a 108 hour stretch at work, I was ready to go. And Denise was too! All that is left to polish is the transom, when the motor comes off for the jackplate, we'll get it done. Now, back to work for a quick 48 hours in 4 days and off for a couple more. Hope to get wet again next Tuesday.
What a stress reliever!

[Littlehoe]

wow thats shiney!!! Looks great!

[jrolin1]

Looks great!
http://youtu.be/DYSB2IPZ0bY?t=40s

[UPTHECREEK]

Looks GREAT !!! Can't wait to get my new toon so I can shine and polish...........

[BobG]

OMGs!

That's Oh My Goddess! She's sure shiny! Awesome job!

[OK Toon]

WOW, that's one shiny toon! Glad you finally found some time to get out and enjoy the boat. Our boating season is over for awhile till the lake level comes down -- can't even get out to our dock right now and the power is off due to water being over the meter on the pole. The boat is being held hostage on the lift right now. More rain expected over the next 10 days as well.

[Bryden24shp]

While I was polishing it, I saw the reflection of a deer running through the back yard. That was perty cool. I figured it was getting close to done, after that.
I got them both done in under an hour. From removing the coating that Premier put on them to Sharkhiding. I'm finally getting it down to a science. After doing 8 boats, I should be figuring out the shortcuts...

[woolznaz]

Looks great! I still LOVE that boat. I've not seen one in person, but I really like those dual windshields.

[Bamaman]

Bryan: What polish did you use to get that mirror finish? And what kind of polisher are you using?

I finally took the mooring cover off my boat today. It sure is dirty since I didn't have time to clean it last year. We only burned about 15 gallons of gas last Summer, so I don't even need to change the oil and lower unit grease.

I got a new 14 gallon Gas Buddy, and am stopping at our local Indian drive in market that sells 100% gasoline (+$.40 more).

Bryan, you gotta stop working so hard. It's getting into your boating time. I had a great friend that was a car dealer in NE Arkansas that once told me "Nothing worthwhile ever gets done before 10:00 a.m." Yea, he's probably right.

[Bryden24shp]

I use rouge bars. Tripoli for the rough cut and white rouge for the final. I use 3 different wheels, spiral and loose section buffing wheels and a lambs wool buffing pad. The secret is to use a D/A first. I use 320 for the first cut IF IT HAS NOT BEEN polished and is has small abrasions in the surface and then go to 600. Or if its smooth, I'll hit it with 600 to open up the aluminum. 600 won't leave any sand scratches. I use 3 polishers. A DeWalt, a Wen and a cheapo Drill Master from Harbor Freight. I use the cheapo the most. $40 bucks. Why? The Dewalt is too uncontrollable. I don't even use it. I paid close to $200 for it 3 years ago. The Drill Master winds up slow and has 6 speed ranges. Also has spare brushes with it. The Wen is my rough cut polisher. I've had it for over 20 years! Use a ton of lacquer thinner to keep the black build up off between buffs. I buy my pads at Harbor Freight. 3 different wheels for 10 bucks. They work good if you use some 4" grinder discs on the sides when you put the wheels on. Wish I could show you how I do it. I need to buy a Go-Pro some day. But the movie Sex Tape kinda scared me away from it.
The best canned polish I found is actually Mothers Mag and Aluminum polish. I tried Flitz. No way... Burns too fast. Mequires Heavy and Medium cut is too runny, flies off the pad. The Sharkhide polish is good! But the bars work best, for me!

Woolnaz, I may have a deal for you! I'm going to be working on a competitors introductory "Dual Windshield" model, soon. The Premier may be up for sale, if all goes good... Not saying who it is, but I think you can guess!

[woolznaz]

.....Woolnaz, I may have a deal for you! I'm going to be working on a competitors introductory "Dual Windshield" model, soon. The Premier may be up for sale, if all goes good... Not saying who it is, but I think you can guess!

Yep, I'm pretty sure I would only need one guess. That's cool to hear and I look forward to hearing how that goes. Please share what you can, when you can about that. I really do like that dual windshield. It seems like there is no perfect combination. I would love to blend the dual windshield layout with the huge rear sun pad area we have on our boat. I also love the rear swim platform and traditional boat feel/look that only comes with an I/O on a toon, but I would like an outboard as well. In AZ I'm happy with the I/O. In other places (like LOTO) I would lean toward the outboard. It's all give and take to find the right layout/options/etc.

Hmmmm, so the Premier may hit the market? Well, we have a place at LOTO and I sure would like to leave a boat there.... hmmm? Now, just which rock do I look under to find that big pot of money?

[Bamaman]

Bryan: I figured you went to the rouges and a high speed buffer.

I've got the high speed buffer, but not the desire to manhandle that monster. I'll be using the D/A and the White Diamond metal polish tomorrow if the weather holds out.

I went to get my toon out of the water Sunday p.m., but the yo yo's had the ramps tied up. They couldn't figure out how to power load a small pontoon, and the wind was pushing them 45 degrees sideways. I went back to the lake house and spent the night there without any food or car. I got up early yesterday and braved the storms to get my boat on the trailer and home.

Put a 24' tritoon on a trailer and hook it up to a F250 crewcab, and it's pushing 50' long. Parking one of these things in your driveway is about like having a tractor trailer taking up massive space.

[Bryden24shp]

Let me know how the White Diamond works. I've been having the best luck with the bars. The canned compounds work good, but the bars seem to last a lot longer after you load up the pad. I was kind of thinking of making my own mix, breaking up some brown and white bars into some old plastic containers and diluting them with some mineral spirits and carnuba wax. I could make them thick enough to paste onto the pad. I have to go buy some pool filter sand this morning, I'm gonna stop off and buy some new bars and do it. I'll let you know how it works.
Gonna get the boat wet again, tomorrow. Our ramp should be good. The wife is really a pro at backing ours around. She was used to yanking the Baja around before we went pontoons. The last Truck/Baja combo was 65 plus foot long. My truck/Premier is 58 feet. My shed is 56' long. The city ordinance would only allow me to go 54, but I snuck that extra 2 foot in. City inspector never came back out after it was built. I should have gone 64!
Woolnaz........ You got me thinking!

[tuned]

Looking great, mate!
I think you beat me to the water by an hour or two