TOPIC: Maiden Voyage

I finally got all the little stuff wrapped up and got the 1973 Chaparral tri hull out on the water yesterday. Happily it floated and ran. Actually, it ran really well and was a ton of fun. Found a few more things that really need addressed from a function point of view like throttle cable adjustment and trailer bunk adjustment, but it's completely usable. After those few tidbits it's on to making it more comfortable and more pretty!

I love it when a boat plan comes together! Congrats

What size Evinrude Triumph motor is that? lOOKIN GOOD!

Not a Triumph actually, it's an 85 HP Starflite V4. The boat sits low with that beast on the back but it comes up out of the hole in a hurry!

and it's only 15hp over the max rating...

Well done!

Bob

Got out again this past weekend, took the dog out for his first trip. We had a great time despite having a motor issue that left us stranded until a good samaritan charged our battery for a bit. That's detailed in the JEGO forum if you want the details, but everything worked out ok.

First beaching:



and a trailer shot:



Just got a nice 6' beige bimini top in from Amazon that I'll be installing this weekend. Bring on the shade!

Very nice

Others can tell you better and professional (and correct ways) to make that boat shine. I am a novice and was afraid I could not do all of the processes right. I then found the product "Flitz". You can look it up and also find places that may sell it locally. I used it on a 50 year old boat that had heavy cloudy hazing (but the gelcoat was not cracked in any way). Following the directions was easy and I could not believe how nice it turned out. I started to experiment with a tiny free sample pack I got at a sports trade show and once I saw how well and easy it worked, I ordered enough to do a few projects. It even cleaned up my hazy plastic windshield and also worked on making my Jeeps plastic headlights clear again.

This is just my own experience. Please get other advice and pick the best that works for you. Nice boat...you can fish and cruise and ski or whatever. Looks like a nice size to handle at the dock and trailer and also looks powerful with that V-4.
Happy Boating,
Mark