I spent all day Saturday on the boat and I never got wet (not counting a little sweat and blood).
A little over a month ago I put the boat in the water for a pre season wakeboard run. Before heading out, I checked the oil, made sure the batteries still had enough charge to get the engine started, gave the whole thing a good coat of wax and off to the lake we went. About 10 seconds after the prop hit the water I became aware of the fact that something with my steering was not working exactly as it should be. I was still able to steer, but it took two hands and all of my strength to turn the wheel.
After a couple hours of great wakeboarding and a little worrying that I was going to crack my dash by pulling so hard on the wheel, we put the boat back on the trailer and pulled the plugs. This was when I got my first clue that my bilge pump had also stopped working over the winter.
As soon as I got home I hopped on this site and learned that my steering problem was due to a corroded steering cable. I took the boat into my local marine shop the following week and was quoted almost $1,000 to replace the steering cable, the bilge pump and put in a new impeller. So I decided to do the work myself. I am a pretty mechanically inclined guy, but have zero experience working on boats. But thanks to everyone on here (especially SPBFAN for getting me the cable and Lee for his step by step instructions on changing a steering cable and an impeller) I felt like I could handle the job on my own.
After a long but enjoyable day parked in the driveway, I can turn my steering wheel with one finger, my bilge pump hums like a swarm of bees and the water pump now houses a fresh impeller. Along the way I realized that my blower vent tube was full of holes, and got that replaced as well. I even took a couple minutes to do the most important job of all, and mounted a bottle opener under the dash.
The total cost of all my parts was under $300, including a box of 14 gauge quick connects, a bunch of shrink tubing and a can of marine grease. Obviously a big part of the cost of having the work done at the shop is in the labor, but to be honest, I enjoyed spending the day on the boat working just as much as I do being on the water. I know this sounds kind of hokey, but I really got to know my boat by doing this work myself, and I now feel confident that if I ever had some issue on the water, I might be able to fix it on the fly and not let it ruin anyone’s day.
Without the people and the info on this forum I don’t know how long this project would have taken, and to be honest, I don’t know if I would have even attempted it. It would have cost me $700 for somebody else to do what I absolutely enjoyed doing myself, and I would have learned nothing about my boat.
Thanks so much to everyone on here.
A little over a month ago I put the boat in the water for a pre season wakeboard run. Before heading out, I checked the oil, made sure the batteries still had enough charge to get the engine started, gave the whole thing a good coat of wax and off to the lake we went. About 10 seconds after the prop hit the water I became aware of the fact that something with my steering was not working exactly as it should be. I was still able to steer, but it took two hands and all of my strength to turn the wheel.
After a couple hours of great wakeboarding and a little worrying that I was going to crack my dash by pulling so hard on the wheel, we put the boat back on the trailer and pulled the plugs. This was when I got my first clue that my bilge pump had also stopped working over the winter.
As soon as I got home I hopped on this site and learned that my steering problem was due to a corroded steering cable. I took the boat into my local marine shop the following week and was quoted almost $1,000 to replace the steering cable, the bilge pump and put in a new impeller. So I decided to do the work myself. I am a pretty mechanically inclined guy, but have zero experience working on boats. But thanks to everyone on here (especially SPBFAN for getting me the cable and Lee for his step by step instructions on changing a steering cable and an impeller) I felt like I could handle the job on my own.
After a long but enjoyable day parked in the driveway, I can turn my steering wheel with one finger, my bilge pump hums like a swarm of bees and the water pump now houses a fresh impeller. Along the way I realized that my blower vent tube was full of holes, and got that replaced as well. I even took a couple minutes to do the most important job of all, and mounted a bottle opener under the dash.
The total cost of all my parts was under $300, including a box of 14 gauge quick connects, a bunch of shrink tubing and a can of marine grease. Obviously a big part of the cost of having the work done at the shop is in the labor, but to be honest, I enjoyed spending the day on the boat working just as much as I do being on the water. I know this sounds kind of hokey, but I really got to know my boat by doing this work myself, and I now feel confident that if I ever had some issue on the water, I might be able to fix it on the fly and not let it ruin anyone’s day.
Without the people and the info on this forum I don’t know how long this project would have taken, and to be honest, I don’t know if I would have even attempted it. It would have cost me $700 for somebody else to do what I absolutely enjoyed doing myself, and I would have learned nothing about my boat.
Thanks so much to everyone on here.
THANK YOU TIGEOWNERS!!!
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