Getting the boat ready

Anchored at Brazier's Point on the St. Johns near Geneva

ABOUT THE BOAT.

It is a Contender 35 Side Console Express that is normally this time of year heading over to Cape Canaveral for the fishing season. Instead, as of today, is torn into several pieces undergoing a refit to begin the Great Loop in 2014. New electronics, newer engines, new cushions, top and more. It has not let us down since we purchased itin 2005 and we are sure it will get us around the Loop just fine. We are currently trying to make all the preparations to begin the trip about the beginning of May.

This is some of the stuff that needs to be put back in the boat when we get it back from getting the new top. All the new stuff, 2 chart plotters, radar, Mercury vessel view system, lights and much more was all prefit in to the boat along with making a new dash that would accommodate the new electronics. When we get it back, just need to get it installed where it belongs.

                                          3-21-14

Went by and checked on the new top(canvas) progress which was done and installed and the new side curtains were almost finished. They just have to make a new rear curtain so we can have a full enclosure for those rainy days.

Old dash

Anybody familiar with a 35 Contender will know that it has the smallest dash possible for a 35' boat. I have never liked it. There was absolutely no room for updated electronics so out came the sawzall and I took care of that problem.

New dash

Invited some friends over, wood and fiberglass guys, and we managed to get 2 12" screen Garmin chartplotters in there along with the Mercury vessel view system and the VHF. The dash is being glassed up and gelcoated to match the boat and then glassed into the current console when the boat returns to the house. When we test ran the boat with the new stuff in it, it was a lot more user friendly than the old setup. Going to be a nice addition.

                                              4-20-14

The new dash all glassed in and ready to go.

Under our center deck, which raises up on rams, there is a huge storage area. We added a 90gal. fuel tank for a back up in case we have a problem with one of the other 3. It holds 420 gallons of fuel now. We had plenty of range before but decided it would be a good thing to add just for back up and in the future we plan on removing the 80gal tank that is under the back deck currently. All 3 of the original tanks are in the rear of the boat so when you fill it up, it gets a little stern heavy. Even with the tank added, there is plenty of room for extra stuff. 

Also added a 3000 watt inverter to run the 110v stuff when not hooked to shore power.

I removed the fish box, which by the way is the dumbest fish box in a fishing boat I have ever seen, and made a temporary sub floor to hold the batteries for the inverter. That area will also hold the dinghy outboard. Apparently Contender does not know how to properly gel-coat the interior areas of a boat. The whole bilge area gel-coat is flaking off in big chunks and this boat is not the only Contender to do so.

The fridge is small in the cabin so we got a 62qt fridge/freezer that runs on 110v/12v. Where to set it for the trip is still being debated.

The old light in the center of the boat was pretty worn out so it had to go. I made this track lighting set up to run down the middle of the seating area to get a lot more light and it doubles as a wire chase for the Radar wires which had to come from the front of the top to one of the rear cross bars to get to the dash. Has 3 dim LED lights for soft lighting and 2 LED flood lights for when you need to actually see.

We have been very busy with other stuff like staining the wood, fixing all the nicks on the bottom of the hull, tightening the windshield and replacing the moulding, and many other things. We have 2 and a half weeks till we shove off.


                                              4-27-14

Went to Monroe Harbor Marina, where some loopers stay on the St. Johns River side trip, and hauled the boat out to clean and wax the bottom. Had a few dings to repair also. 4 people and 7 hours later, it was back in the water. Thank goodness for great friends!

Wendy decided to get a shot of one of the holes I have been living in for the last 4 months. We have the cabin mostly put back together and we are in the process of buffing and waxing the top side.

We took a little test run out in Lake Monroe to make sure the dinghy riding on the bow would be ok. It was hard to see around while sitting in the boat so we decided to move it to the rear. We are going to make a pair of custom brackets to put it over the cockpit area of the boat. It will be overhead and will provide a little shade in the back. Going to add a little extra work to make it all but should be an out of the way spot and not hard to get up and down.


                                               4-28-14

Went to my friends fabrication shop this morning and made the brackets to hold the dinghy up over the cockpit. We took it down this afternoon and it is actually not hard to do. We have about 4 inches of clearance over our heads to the rail and it does not block access through the transom door. It also provides some shade in the back. It just blocked to much of our vision while up on plane and running when it sat on the bow area. Taking the brackets to the powder coating place tomorrow and I am going to take our 2nd set of props to a prop guy to have them tweaked. That should about take care of all the big jobs, now we just have to do a bunch of little things to get it all ready. 8 more days! 


                                       

5-6-14

We finally got the boat done and in water at Monroe Harbor Marina and had everybody come down for a dock party. Probably not a good idea if you need to get up early the next morning and finish packing. 

Many thanks to everyone that helped us get everything ready for such a trip. It is great to have such great friends! It would not have happened if not for everyone's help. Now if someone could please help me figure out this new tablet thingy, updating the sight might be easier.