My new 2001 and my first!

[QUOTE=akabulla] Thanks Chopper. It better be special for the price! I feel kind of weird putting an Air logo on it since it is a 2001 but I really like the logo and of course I like the way your boat looks !! [QUOTE]

I don't know what they're worth over there, but mine cost me nearly $600 big ones here.

US CC dealers would not sell them to me.!

Well got her out last night and got some skiing done for the first time! Well knee boarding. Still buying all my stuff.

Few pictures:

Tower on:



Tower Collapsed



Floor in (that Lowe's carpet sures looks good!):



Raised Dog house in and carpeted:



Doing what it was built for!



Now we just need some seats - LOL!

Aka, what prop are you running and how is the boat performing?
Wot speed and rpms?? rpms at boarding speed?

It really came together amazingly nice, and it didnt take that long.

The boat is running great. I have pushed it to 4800 rpms and she still has a little left.

Critter and I went out today and he said the boat doesn't even know I am back there when he pulls me out of the water.

It is running really smooth, planes out well. It is turning much harder to the left and not backing up that well to the right so I am going to adjust the steering a little but overall there haven't been any large issues.

It is running pretty good.

There is a small leak in the left Exhaust which I need to find. I think I just need to tighten the hose clamps. The bilge was filling up with enough water to run the pump every 3-4 minutes but overall it wasn't that much!

I have the ACME 422 4 blade on it right now. With two people in it the speed matches the rpm's pretty close. I plan on getting a perfect pass eventually so I didn't cut a hole in the hull for the paddle wheel for the speedo so we have been using a gps device to track speed.

Stereo will go in tomorrow and once I get the upholstery in I will start on the seat cushions. The wood bench I have in there now is a little hard on the buttocks!

Man, you gotta be feelin' good!

Check my strut adjustment thread. I went through this with my '79 and now my '88. I'm no pro, but I am detailed and these set ups seem to run happy with everything right in line.

When you get it right on you'll be able to let go of the wheel at 45(running a straight line) and you won't feel 'odd vibes' one way or the other...even on a hard turn!

Most welcome!

This is in boat maintenance 6 or 8 posts down. Try turning your rudder straight and see if you can see the shaft on one side or the other.

In another recent post I thought I might have been talking out of my backside about this. Since, I have it from a good source that these boats were not designed with an offset. I've also seen some variation in brand new replacement struts. Also, most of the 2001 rudders I've seen have a leading edge.

As they say, the proof is in the pudding. My boat was a pig before I shimmed it to line it up. The problem I had with the shims is that I didn't have a solid joint between the foot and hull and got vibration in a hard turn. 2 itchy arms, a little cuss and fuss, and 2 tanks of carbon footprint later...smooooth!!!

I think it would pass the 'wine glass on the dash' test except for the sudden start.   

For skins - Christines, one of our site's sponsors.

Gosh you have many talents!

Well I finally got the samples for the original vinyl colors that match my interior so I should be getting the vinyl by the end of next week. I already got the 2" and 1" foam so once the vinyl gets here I can start on the seats!

Greg, I heard that you use to have trouble getting your boat on the trailer the same way every time. I am having a little trouble loading mine. It seems like when I bring it on the trailer the bow is always a little low. I almost have to have the trailer half way out of the water to get the back down so the nose is high enough.

Any pointers to get the stern lower when loading the trailer? I can't lower the tongue anymore.

Thanks!

Well since you have a trailer for a newer hull design you'll never load the boat the way you want to. It sure looks like the wishbone is wider, leaving your boat sitting lower. Also, the bow stop may be mounted higher because it was made for a bigger (probably taller too) boat.

The newer boats that the trailer was built for (196/206, presumably) are obviously longer, but definitely no taller/deeper than the 2001. I dont see why loading would be any different

Aka, are you coming in below the crash pads? If not, dont worry about it

I am not coming in below the crash pads. The issue is that it hits about 1 foot below where it rests on the crash pad when it is out of the water. So I drive it to the pad, we need to loosen the connection on the bow a fair amount for it to reach. Then when pulling it out of the water the bow rises on the crash pad and puts a lot of strain on the rub rail. The rub rail looks like it is going to be pulled off the edge.

I think your right. We will just keep on playing with locations and figure out what works best.

I have been out 4 times this week boarding and I am LOVING it!

I generally stop about an inch shy of the pad. Hook it good pull it out. Find flat ground then brake hard. The boat moves foreward and the bow rises that last little bit. Then I tighten the bow and strap the stern. Easy and I like how it rides on the trailer after brake-checking her.

That is good to know because that has started to become my process. Wasn't sure if it was a good thing to do but it seems to work! Glad I am not alone. Thanks for the tips!

I am trying to recall my electrical engineering classes from school because I want to get a GPS receiver and program it to work with my speedo. It will be a temporary solution until I get the perfect pass. I could install a paddle wheel that works with my speedo but I really don't feel like cutting a large 2" hole in the bottom for something I won't be using in a few months once the pp is installed. I found a gps receiver that puts out speedo for less than $100. Then I should be able to translate that to the correct voltage to feed the speedo.

If I figure it out I will post some specs and wiring diagrams.

Later

Well I found exactly what I was looking for. It is a GPS sender to replace your paddle wheel. It works with all electrical type speedo devices. The paddle wheel was $112 and this device is $210 after converting it from Australian currency.   So for a little more than $100 over the paddle wheel I will have GPS and get to use my matching speedo and don't have to cut a hole in my boat! Perfect pass will have to wait till next summer. Here is a link if anyone is interested:

http://www.hummingbirdelectronics.com.au/senders.html

Once I get it installed I will let you know how it works!