It's here, it's here, it's here!

R

rogerbum

New member
So, my new to me Tomcat arrived this afternoon. Other than the minor glitch of the bird taking out the front window, the trailer also had a minor glitch. The FloatOn factory didn't put on the electric over hydraulic brake system that both I and Marc at Wefing's ordered. They did rush like heck to get the trailer built on fairly short notice so it's not too surprising that someone in the chain made an error. No big deal, I talked to Marc and he and FloatOn will (of course) make it right. They'll probably wind up shipping the parts out here and I'll have a local shop (maybe Gary Estes) install the system.

Joyce and I spent some time climbing around and sitting in the boat this evening. Roy did some fairly nice things with this boat so I'm pleased to have it. It barely fits in the driveway so the long term storage plan will probably be to store it in Everett. I'll probably need to do a solar panel like Pat's to run the airhead and keep the batteries topped off but I'll likely want a panel that's easily removed as opposed to permanently installed. My guess is that the panels won't do so well if they get a lot of mechanical shock during cruising to the fishing grounds.
 
Congrats on the new arrival, Roger! That should be a great vessel for your use. We'll look forward to hearing all about it. :D

Best wishes,
Jim & Joan
 
:thup Happy for you !!! Now get to the Marine store and start spending like mad on new lines, fenders and anything you can think of. Get our economy turned around :lol:
Love those Cats
 
Jeff,

First I have to get the trailer and boat registered with the state AND pay the sales taxes on both. That won't turn the economy around but it will help plug a little of the hole in the state budget. After that, there will be some purchases to be made though. It came with fenders and I have spares from my 22 (I've gone through a few iterations of fenders on that boat). I will definitely need to get a radar for it and a good depth finder. So Capt. Matt will probably be hearing from me on those items.
 
Great news Roger! Congratulations on the new addition. Getting out to open ocean out of Neah Bay should now be lots of fun. The TomCat is a bonafide fishing machine. Have fun buying new toys for her!

Peter
 
Congrats on the boat, Roger. On the solar, check out the links from Greg on Aurelia in my thread on solar powering the Airhead, or do a little Google research. There are a LOT better options out there than the Harbor Freight panels - their main attraction for me was that I had their ad and it was cheap. WHEN (not IF) I upgrade, I will probably go with something like the Solartech poly-crystalline panels that output twice the power for the same footprint compared to the Harbor Freight panels. Then you might consider waterproof flexible panels, those would probably be easier to mount temporarily and then remove, I really don't know, but there is a world of panels to research before you jump!
 
Congratulations, Roger. Looking forward to the pictures.

How about that Float-On trailer? I am really impressed with mine. Sorry to hear about the mixup on the brakes, but I am sure that Tim will make it right. He is very customer focused, and stands behind his product 100%.
---
mike
 
Will-C":3e15n86r said:
Thanks for sharing all this, :o check for broken U-Bolts on your trailer.
D.D.
Click to expand...
Not many U-bolts on this trailer and the trailer wasn't even towed on the way here. It rode on the top of Corey's truck while he towed the boat on a different trailer. So my trailer only has about 30 miles on it and there's nothing broken on it. Nonetheless, I too would be interested in what your experience was with broken U-Bolts.
 
Roger,

Congrats on the new Cat. Hope the brake thing goes well for stopping great later. So when does tuna season open :wink

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Mike,
On mine after the 1100 mile ride from Florida to Pa. I ended up with three broken u-bolts. The forward cross member where it secures to the frame had 3/8" Ubolts where as the others cross members to the rear of it had 1/2" Ubolts going to the frame. I drilled out the holes a little and replaced all the 3/8" ones with 1/2 inch. Float On replaced the broken ones. Their explanation was that someone must have over tightened them. I think my trailer was built in April of 09 maybe they had a bad run of Ubolts. One of the two that hold the spare tire also popped later for no apparent reason. I don't travel particularly rough roads and was surprised to see numerous incidences of broken u-bolts. I keep an eye on them. I bought spares to carry along from the Trailer Parts Super Store www.TrailerPartsSuperstore.com
None of the replacements from them have broken, just a heads up.
D.D.
 
Lots to do on the boat today. I need to wash it down and put a couple of coat of wax on it (assuming I can get a dry enough portion of the day for waxing it). I definitely need to buy a bigger, industrial style buffer as there's a LOT of surface area to clean and wax on this boat. I also need to:
1) Go through all the systems and read the manuals etc. to make sure I understand how everything operates. Test the systems I can while on dry land.
2) Check out the bilge pumps for proper operation - one seems to have a stuck float switch.
3) Go through the electrical system and label all the wires and runs.
4) Rip out the thread that joins the V-berth cushions together.
5) Put a screw or two that rattled out back into the door frame.
6) Begin to make plans for modifications including:
a) Modifying the hatches in the berth area for easier access to the sponson storage compartments
b) Building a shelf and drawer compartment for permanently mounting the microwave (I may replace this with a toaster oven).
c) Looking at various storage options - probably want a rack or two to mount on the inside of the cabinet doors. May want drawers or sliding shelves in the hanging lockers.
d) Where and how to mount down riggers, the associated electric connections and pole holders.
e) Settle on the radar/gps/fish finder plans (or at least do more exploring).
f) Modify a hatch in front of the front most passenger seat - it's too small to allow the hatch below it to the fresh water tank to open properly.
Many of these things can wait until I gather info on the mods done by others. I'll probably start a few separate threads related to mods done on different styles of out boats since finding the mods takes a lot of time.
7) Figure out how to best strap this boat to this trailer and purchase the necessary gear for that.
8) Figure out the best plan to secure the anchor while towing.
9) Check in with Gary Estes to make him aware that the electric over hydraulic controller for the trailer will be shipped to him for install.
10) Register the boat with the state.
11) Other things that I haven't yet thought about.
 
I haven't seen this much excitement since that first car date in high school! You really are having fun!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

(and don't tell me "not even then")

Charlie
 
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