Pre Crystal River 4th Trip

[stefa70 205]

There are so many good trip reports going on right now, and I am hoping there will a lot more to come after the holiday weekend. I thought I would start a pre-report so I could get through the "little" preparation stuff. This will save me a lot of time doing the actual TR when I get home.

Most of you know, I met some great fiends back in April when they came to Crystal River, which is about 15 minutes from my house. My DS went along with us and brought his little boat that he takes out fishing almost daily. It's a great little boat that he has cleaned up, painted, and put a bigger motor on. It is small enough to fit in small spaces, get into our lakes (which can dry up pretty fast this time of the year) great for the springs, and all the canals off of Kings Bay (which can also be a challenge at low tide)

While we were out enjoying the water, Trevor (hubby) casually says:

"Maybe we should buy our own little boat, as Nathen won't live at home forever, and he uses his A LOT"

And so it began........ :rofl2: Here it was April 30th, we were booked to stay at Crystal Isles RV for the fourth of July, so why not see if we can make the boat thing happen before the 4th?

The search began! We weren't sure what kind or type we wanted, just looking for a decent deal on something small enough to do all the things I already mentioned, but with a bit more comfort than Nathen's fishing boat.

We looked around our area, we looked on boat trader, I bid on a couple local ones on Ebay, we looked at brand new ones. I never got that "feeling" that said "This is the one"

I rely a lot on gut feelings!

I really liked a brand new Bayliner we looked at, but didn't want to spend that kind of money. Also, the dealer said that if we were interested in kneeboarding or skiing, we would want to upgrade from the standard 60hp motor, to the 90 hp motor, which is about another $4,000.00. Of course, buying new means that you get boat, motor & trailer. No ropes, life jackets, paddles....stuff that a previous owner may have bought and left in it. Tack on that cost, on top of the motor upgrade, and the cost of the boat and CHING CHING $$

I wasn't loving this boat so much any more.

So our search continued. About 3 weeks ago, I found one on the boat trader. It is the exact same boat as the brand new one, except it was a 2000, and had the 90hp upgrade. Being 11 years old, the price was much easier to swallow! They had just taken it in, so we planned a trip to Holiday, FL. (about 2 hours south) to take a look at it.

It was PLAIN. All white, white seats, teal (yuck) carpet and teal (yuck) bimini top. We crawled around and checked it out. It was in great shape, no soft spots in the floor, and the salesman said the motor ran great. We scheduled a water test for that Saturday. Another trip to Holiday!

So, yes it was well taken care of, and the price was ok, but I wasn't in love with it. On the way home, Trevor was telling me all of the things I didn't like could be changed, as the "base" color was white. Then I got a little more excited.

Saturday we head down south and take the boat out on Lake Tarpon. They had cleaned it all up, it fired right up on the first try, and ran like a champ! The whole time the salesman was "selling"

SM: "look at the nice top already on it!"

ME(in my head): yeah, that teal has gotta go!

SM: "a good waxing will bring the shine right back!"

Me(in my head): Great, but it's so boring, it needs different graphics"

The whole ride I spent looking at all the things I would change to make it "mine"

We told him we wanted it, but of course, being Saturday the banks were closed. We would handle finances on Monday and pick it up Tuesday. That would give him time to fix the few things that I had put into the contract to be done. Nothing major, a piece of trim needed to be re-glued, a bolt was missing off the fuel separator...just little stuff.

Tuesday we headed BACK to Holiday to pick up the boat.

Now before I show you pictures, I should give you an idea of how we roll.....We love to buy things, then tear 'em up and change 'em!

My jeep had less than 1,000 miles on it before we put a 3 inch lift on it, with bigger wheels and tires.

We bought our golf cart a few years ago, 3 weeks before our annual Memorial Day at the Fort, and did this.

Before:

After:

Coincidentally, it is 3 weeks before our Crystal River 4th trip! We like to say we work well under pressure.

So if your eyes aren't glazed over by all the blah, blah.....I will post pics in the next post!

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Can't wait!!!

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

You guys are so much like Mike and me. I don't call anything mine until we tear it apart and make changes. I can feel already that this is going to be another great trip report :popcorn:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Whoa.

Whoa.

Whoa.

Did you say Lake Tarpon?

That's in my neck of the woods!

Back when I was young and single, a friend and I bought a boat together and used the heck out of that thing all summer.

On Lake Tarpon.

We used to water ski almost every weekend.

Good times!

Based on how well your golf cart turned out, I can't wait to see the boat project.

I guess you will have to take two vehicles with you on this trip?

TCD

[stefa70 205]

So this is it when we got it home:

Notice the plain-ness. Small Bayliner letters on the side.

The inside (besides the ugly teal carpet) had brownish, faded accents. The dash panel was woodgrain, the passenger side has a small dry storage with the same brownish cover.

Front bow:

Bench seat across the back. The previous owner had put cooler stops right in the middle of the floor which we took out, so you can see those carpet marks.

From the back: (ugly teal top)

The existing molding that didn't want to stay put was half faded & half stained from previous gluing, so that was the first to go. We replaced it with a black, sleeker molding:

Then we stripped the name off: NAKED!

The whole time Trevor was doing these things, I was ordering all the new goodies I wanted.

New graphics:

New lettering. (this is where the letters are on the new ones)

While Trevor stripped the carpet out, I had all the "plastics" out, repainting them grey:

New carpet:

We tore the dash apart. I repainted all the dials and buttons black:

I found some cool carbon fiber vinyl at Auto Zone, and recovered the dash and dry storage, after I painted them grey. Used a label maker and made new tags so we would know what was what.

New steering wheel:

We were still waiting on the new top, but it was buffed out and waxed, so we had to take it for a test ride:

Had a great time, threw Nate off the kneeboard....Full faceplant! ;D

Mason got to go with us (golden retriever) and we found he didn't like the getting in and out part. Too slick (doesn't like the bath tub for that same reason) So, we had to remedy that!

This is called Seadek, and it's a thin foam with a very sticky back on it.

In the last picture you can see that the black top arrived and was put on.

I did find some really cool stickers for the registration numbers that are yellow and black to match the graphics. BUT....I need three #5's (6 total) and there was only 4 in that pack of decals. Went back yesterday to get another pack and they're sold out. So I may have to live with the plain black numbers until I get back, but that's ok. We got a lot done in a few weeks and I'm ready to go.

Now that that's done, maybe I ought to get the RV ready to go!

[stefa70 205]

Can't wait!!!

I'm just happy that I'm not boring you to death, but I promised a couple fiends that I would post some pics, so I figured I'd share it with anybody else that cared to look.

You guys are so much like Mike and me. I don't call anything mine until we tear it apart and make changes. I can feel already that this is going to be another great trip report :popcorn:

Thanks doodle, you know first hand what I've been going through with this project. Just hope the weather gets better than it has been, to truly enjoy a few days on the gulf.

I like to make things mine! Anybody that sees a glimpse of my jeep knows instantly that it's me. It's the only lifted Liberty in town. I don't want to be like everyone else.

Whoa.

Whoa.

Whoa.

Did you say Lake Tarpon?

That's in my neck of the woods!

Back when I was young and single, a friend and I bought a boat together and used the heck out of that thing all summer.

On Lake Tarpon.

We used to water ski almost every weekend.

Good times!

Based on how well your golf cart turned out, I can't wait to see the boat project.

I guess you will have to take two vehicles with you on this trip?

TCD

Oh bummer, I wish I had known that! Maybe we could have met up for lunch or something. It would have made that trip much more enjoyable for us. Lake Tarpon was very pretty, with some very nice houses!

Yes, we will take two vehicles. Trevor will tow the RV with the big boy truck and I wll pull the boat with my baby Libby. That was another deciding factor in finding a small boat.

Thanks all for reading along. I hesitated posting this, because "Who really cares" right? But I should have known, you fiends are such good sports!

Reminds me of a plaque that I bought for a good friend:

A good friend will bail you out of jail, a great friend will be sitting beside you saying "damn that was fun!" ;D

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Wow, S70, that boat looks great!

Y'all do great work.

That boat my friend and I bought back in the day was a Bayliner bow-rider, similar in design to yours. We didn't change a thing on it. We used it all Summer, and then sold it the next Spring for a couple of hundred dollars more than we paid for it!

It is a perfect boat for lakes, and even out in the Gulf.

I know you will have a lot of fun with it!

TCD

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

I LOVE IT!!!!!! You did a great job and are now forgiven for being busy and tired. You guys could start a side business revamping tired boats, yours looks brand new :banana:

[stefa70 205]

Wow, S70, that boat looks great!

Y'all do great work.

That boat my friend and I bought back in the day was a Bayliner bow-rider, similar in design to yours. We didn't change a thing on it. We used it all Summer, and then sold it the next Spring for a couple of hundred dollars more than we paid for it!

It is a perfect boat for lakes, and even out in the Gulf.

I know you will have a lot of fun with it!

TCD

Thanks so much! It's funny how they have not changed that design in many years. The hull design is exactly the same as the 2011. When we first looked, everyone snubbed their nose at Bayliner as I guess their reputation was not so great. Trevors brother has worked at Lake Chataqua Marine for 30 years, and told us that Bayliner has really worked on their rep in the last 15 years or so, and they are the #1 entry level boat sold now.

Glad to hear that you used yours that much with no problems.

I LOVE IT!!!!!! You did a great job and are now forgiven for being busy and tired. You guys could start a side business revamping tired boats, yours looks brand new :banana:

Thanks! Someone else told me that this morning. While I loved doing it, it might not be as much fun if it wasn't mine. There are some great deals to be found out there now, but I can't afford to sit on one for as long as it would take to sell these days. No one has any money.....including me now! :rofl2:

[anolefan 8]

Nice job!

I gotta say, I thought the original product looked good. That was until I saw the refinished product! Wow, that looks awesome!

Great job!

And, we live about 10 minutes from Holiday in New Port Richey, very close to SR 54.

[stefa70 205]

Nice job!

I gotta say, I thought the original product looked good. That was until I saw the refinished product! Wow, that looks awesome!

Great job!

And, we live about 10 minutes from Holiday in New Port Richey, very close to SR 54.

Thanks Tom! I didn't realize that you lived down that way too. We could have had a mini GG! It's a bit of a drive for us, especially when you do it 3 times in one week!

[LORNADUCK 261]

Great job on the boat. Love it, I love boating on Crystal & Homasassa? Rivers. Ours is old and has the teal top and it still is old and faded and has the teal top. And it's not running But hope it is running sometime this summer. Have a great time at Crystal Isles, it is going to be crazy there, last time we were there for the 4th we ran into the Smolinskys, maybe they will be there.

We are talking about going for a long weekend Aug 5,6,7 (either coming Thurs or staying till Tues.) - can you make it??? Please :heart:

[stacktester 78]

Take Jimmie for a ride and forget the plug. :banana:

[PureTcrazy...rita 380]

Wow, I agree with Tom, I thought it was a nice boat to begin with, but now it looks brand new! Y'all do great work!

[stefa70 205]

Great job on the boat. Love it, I love boating on Crystal & Homasassa? Rivers. Ours is old and has the teal top and it still is old and faded and has the teal top. And it's not running But hope it is running sometime this summer. Have a great time at Crystal Isles, it is going to be crazy there, last time we were there for the 4th we ran into the Smolinskys, maybe they will be there.

We are talking about going for a long weekend Aug 5,6,7 (either coming Thurs or staying till Tues.) - can you make it??? Please :heart:

Thank You Lorna! Get that boat running, we could have a heck of a party on the water! >:D Yes, Crystal River is a madhouse on the fourth, but I'm just happy to be going. Normally we can't get away this time of the year. It's very possible that we could come over in August. Let me know when you know for sure!

Take Jimmie for a ride and forget the plug. :banana:

That's one ship I wouldn't mind going down on! I MEANT going down, as in sinking, that didn't sound quite right!

Wow, I agree with Tom, I thought it was a nice boat to begin with, but now it looks brand new! Y'all do great work!

Thanks Rita! It was in great shape when we got it for being a 2000, we just purdied it up some!

[stefa70 205]

Friday is here! I'm almost ready to go, but the weather still stinks in Florida. I'm about to go out in the yard and do my anti-rain dance. I hope everyone has a great and safe holiday weekend! Looking forward to all the trip reports next week.

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Have fun Stef, I will be here feeling jealous of everybody :banana:

[Roller ... aka Ed 351]

Friday is here! I'm almost ready to go, but the weather still stinks in Florida. I'm about to go out in the yard and do my anti-rain dance. I hope everyone has a great and safe holiday weekend! Looking forward to all the trip reports next week.

Every day we start out hazy and humid ... then it goes to overcast, thunder, lightning and rain by the afternoon. I'm tired of this, too.

[Total Joker ... TJ 203]

Looks Good! Have a blast this weekend! :banana:

[stefa70 205]

Every day we start out hazy and humid ... then it goes to overcast, thunder, lightning and rain by the afternoon. I'm tired of this, too.

Than you've been lucky Ed! We've been waking up to thunder and rain. I hate to complain because we really need it. Our lakes look really bad, but couldn't it just wait until after the weekend? :worship:

Looks Good! Have a blast this weekend! :banana:

Thanks TJ! I'm going to hit that ice cream stand where I found you guys back in April!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Than you've been lucky Ed! We've been waking up to thunder and rain. I hate to complain because we really need it. Our lakes look really bad, but couldn't it just wait until after the weekend? :worship:

Yeah, it's been very rainy here to the South and West of you too.

But, please go ahead with that anti-rain dance (just for the weekend).

The weatherman here says there will be less rain on the 3rd and 4th.

Have fun.

TCD