Break Out Another Thousand

I need to hit a lottery prize. Seriously. This boat is killing me. No matter what, it will never be outfitted.

Today I got the fish finder sonar thing in the mail. And I got the replacement bilge pump switches. So that should be it! I mean I have the sonar thing, the GPS chart plotter, a VHF radio, working bilge pumps, an anchor windlass, the rail mount stainless steel BBQ grill, and so on. What more could I get? Glad you asked!

1. Custom T-Top
2. full canvas enclosure
3. Marine radar
4. Repower - a 150 Optimax would be sweet. I could go faster.
5. 100 watt loudhailer / airhorn
6. 4 channel amp
7. separate single channel amp for some water ripple producing bass
8. Underwater LED lights and cool multi color LED courtesy lights.
9. Other shit???

Seriously, this is getting bad. I do not need ANY of the above crap. Except for the full canvas enclosure. That would rule. I could convert the open boat to a semi-cruiser in short order. Bad weather looming? Rain on the way? No problem - set up the canvas and chill in the dryness. Or what if I want to overnight? Set up the canvas and bust out with the air mattresses (AKA floats). So I will probably get the canvas enclosure one day.

The T-Top would be nice because the attachment point if the center console / deck. Nothing on the gunwale like is the case with the Bimini top. People who fish like t-tops because you can walk all around the boat while fighting a fish and nothing gets in the way of the rod. But a t-top also gives me places to mount the VHF antenna, the all around white light (keeps it from shining in my face at night and makes it easier for others to see), the red/green side lights (currently mounted on the outside of the hull on either side, getting them higher will make them visible from a further distance), and make a good strong rigid place to attach the full canvas enclosure to. Also I can get a t-top electronics box for additional overhead dry storage. So I would like to get this one of these days.

The radar I really do not need. I have no room for it now. I would need to get the t-top first. Having radar is really nice when out at night or when visibility sucks - but I am not usually out at night. And never out in fog and shit. So I will probably never get radar. UNLESS I start to do a whole lot of night boating. And I do not see that happening.

Repowering is not on the table either. The current engine runs awesome, and is super on fuel. I might use 50% of the fuel the old boat used. It is not really fair to compare fuel consumption straight up. The new boat is a catamaran, the old boat was not. The new engine is less power AND uses new technology. But the expense of getting another engine for just a little gain in horsepower (15 hp) and the little bit of top end speed - the cost is just not worth it. Not at all. This would be a HUGE expense - enough to buy all the other stuff on the list.

I already know what loud hailer I want. The "marine" hailers are a measly 30 watts and cost insane amounts of money. Oh yea, they have pre-programmed fog signals and shit - but when am I ever out in the fog? The PA I want is 100 watts and also has an airhorn. It is pretty much the same thing cop cars have - minus the siren sounds which I have no use for. I need a sound producing device anyway.

The 4 channel marine amp is not really something I need either. I still do not know how loud the 4 speakers I have will be once I get the stereo installed. It may be loud enough without an amp. The amp would just drive the speakers better and probably give a better sound. Thats all.

The separate single channel amp for thundering bass may be required. Once again, it all depends on what the current setup sounds like. I only have 6.5 inch speakers. Not really big. A single 10 or 12 inch sub with some power behind it would probably scare away fish for miles with the low frequency vibrations it would put into the water. But I never catch any fish anyway.

The underwater lights are really just a vanity thing. I think they look cool. And supposedly they attract fish. But mostly they look cool. The multi color courtesy lights are more functional. White for full vision (like when you are at the marina dock), red for night vision (red light does not screw up your night vision like white light does) and blue just because it looks cool. I will start off with the courtesy lights and maybe get the underwater lights if I feel like it.

The above listed crap that I decide to get I will try to get over the next year or two. No big rush.

And now for your viewing pleasure, this music video featuring a hot babe! You can listen with the volume turned down, but the song is pretty good so I would keep the sound on.