Best MALIBU BOAT modification EVER + first time on the water this summer.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ย. 2024
- Getting our 2003 Malibu Sunsetter back on the water was SO NICE! She seriously feels like a NEW BOAT with this fresh upholstery!
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That 20 year old boat looks brand new. I like the older stuff when it's well taken care of, that upholstery is awesome.
I suggest to every one of my customers to also include a battery isolator in their dual battery system. The bi-directional ones are best. That way if you run the boat with the switch set to 1, it still charges battery 2 when the alternator is spinning, and if you run it with the switch set to 2, it still charges battery 1 when the alternator is spinning, that way you always have a spare in case you forget to switch to both batteries on the switch.
I love battery switches, every boat should come with one from the factory.
Not sure how common they are in the states.
In Australia a lot of the old school over landing rigs run a voltage sensitive relay. Run all the accessories off the aux battery, then you always have a charged start battery.
@agentcrm I am from the states and in boats I know it is not common here but I went ahead and installed the voltage sensitive relay/battery isolator in my boat and run my accessory on seperat battery from start battery and best upgrade I have made and definitely suggest for everyone to do that upgrade and I plan on installing one in my motor home as well it's from 1972 I don't know if newer ones In the states already have them or not but the one I have does not
A VSR is designed to automatically do what you will now have to remember to do manually. Would have cost just a few $'s extra and a better solution. Pretty much a ubiquitous setup for twin battery systems outside the US other than large outboard systems which often have a similar twin charge facility built into the outboard. The part you used looks like a BEP part. BEP are a large manufacturer of marine electrics based out of New Zealand
@@DavidM-g9d Yes, Voltage sensitive relay! thats the other term for them! Switches on when it detects the battery being charged, switches off when voltage drops. Awesome little devices and an absolute must have in my opinion for a dual battery setup!
Love to see you two working together. That is something special you have.
The shark fin on your dog is an absolute riot!! ROLMAO!!
There is nothing like being in the water. The new interior really pops. I like it.
Hey you guys, just finished the boat vid, as always great work. That new interior is fantastic. I’ve had about 10 boats throughout my life (just turned 62) my latest is a 30’SeaRay Sundancer with twin engines so I know a little. Here’s my .02 on both boats. When doing your maintenance try to double up clamps on any hose that has enough room. The transom on the big boat, take the out drive off then the outer transom assembly that will let you look at the transom, get a moisture meter or borrow one (the good ones are pricey) and take readings all along the transom. Anything over 30% means time to cut and replace. If it still has some strength to it there are numerous products that you can inject into it to get you one-two more season’s out of it. Don’t let the engine transom assembly rattle you, it’s much less complicated than the vette trans. Glad you’re feeling better Aaron, you guys are the best!
If you bite the bullet and rebuild the transom on the Bayliner, I would suggest using Coosa board (a composite) that won't rot and will add some strength so you can BOOST IT! LOL. Those boats were notoriously underpowered from the factory.
I Second the Coosa Board
Rebuilding/Replacing the Transom. I replaced the transom and the floor on a boat that I owned with another guy. It turned into a large project.
Before we even started we talked with some reputable boat mechanic/rebuilders and the best advice that we got from a couple of them was to take the rotted wood back to solid wood before rebuilding the boat. This made the boat very sound and stable, don't regret it a bit. It was a long process because we wound up replacing all of the floor as well as the transom. We upgraded the transom so that we could run a more powerful engine.
It turned out to be all good because we did the work from late fall through the winter, into the spring. We decided to rebuild the controls and reupholster the interior also. Rewiring the boat and trailer turned out to be the biggest headache.
The boat was an old Missouri Department of Wildlife and Fishery that we purchased through an auction. This was the late '80's so the internet wasn't much more than a thought. And you probably figured it out by now, we bought it sight unseen as is. We had no idea that it had sat outside under some trees for several years. Thankfully we didn't pay much for it to start with.
The money wasn't much of an investment because we knew various people in various industries that made it so that we could get materials for not much money. A boat like a house always takes more time than you think, and that was our biggest investment. 8 months of most nights and weekends.
Was it worth it? Without a doubt. Not only the enjoyment of being on the water, but also doing it in a boat that wasn't going to float again without some serious help.
I encourage you to go farther with the work than you want to, not having to wonder is so worth it.
BTW, mine was only a 18 foot Tri-hull. That thing would go through some rough water. It's never about how much that you dream about getting what you think it's worth in dollars and sense. It's about the memories that you make with the boat, priceless!
For an I/O on a fiberglass boat you are looking at a massive project.
Pulling entire outdrive, gimbal bearing helmet. Pulling out all rigging and engine. Then go with coosa board. Thats when you will want to make your decision about new power plant and out drive options. If you keep the old outdrive this would be time to replace the gimbal bearing and the gimbal bellows. New outdive upper and lower can be purchased cheaper from SEI than the cost of rebuilding them.
Speaking of bellows, that is very likely the source of your water intrusion. Fill the bilge with water and see where it leaks before tearing out the transom.
Love y’all work . Aaron glad to see your moving and working like the old days. Great family fun.
Y'all's videos always make me smile . I just want to say thanks , and keep em coming when you can .
First - thank you! There’s a lot to unpack here, so in no particular order: To answer your question - truly like the boat content, the same way I like all your content. That is one sweet boat! And the life jacket - too cute! Looking forward to watching the Jeep fix (ok, I love Jeeps, just being honest) and the transom rebuild. Thanks for the education, the memories of my old boat, and several laugh out loud moments. You two take care ~ Chuck
It's all what you enjoy. I have a 1986 Tiara 2700 Open and she is built like a TANK. I don't think they put as much glass in them as they did when she was built. Powered by twin 270 Crusaders which are originals. Can't beat those small blocks. Love the channel and enjoy your boating.
OHHH my god.. All the years in the marine mechanic biz and never saw the filter trick... Just great and thanks.. I really like the ski boat as well
There's nothing better than being on the water. I wanted to say that seeing Emily have the small mishaps with the oil made me smile. At 66 y.o., I still change the oil in our 3 vehicles and inevitably will spill a little ( and sometimes a lot!), but I'm going to keep on until I am no longer able to. My wife has started to watch your videos with me and is enjoying them. Thanks so much for keeping it family friendly.
No doubt ,bro!
Killer boat. Great vid! You guys look like you'd be a lot of fun to hang out with. My lady and our Girls did not run our boat this year at all. Long story. Lots of family stuff - on both sides. But we are looking forward to working on her in the spring - and bringing her back to life again. A real deep clean, and some TLC, and we'll be ready to run again. Congrats on what you did here. Great job. Great boat!
Nice Malibu. I had my stringers and transom replaced by a very talented boat glass repair person. He separated the deck from the hull and hung the deck from the ceiling of his shop. One of his employees spent two days removing all the rot from the inside with grinders. The original gelcoat wasn't all cracked out and you can't tell that everything is twice as good as new. He used what he called Boeing space foam to redo the transom. Should outlast me now.
PS, all the new boats running dual batteries use an Automatic Control Relay. Blue Sea has a nice one with a special switch. Keeps me from getting stranded when I play the stereo too long. Also hardwired a 20 amp genius battery charger.
🤘😎
The Malibu looks good 20-year-old vote. I love the interior runs good great job Aaron Emily did some work on it too. That’s great.
I've chatted with a few of my boat remodel experts and they tell me a product called coosa is the best for redoing transoms. It's a honeycomb type structure that's very strong and will not rot in time. It's good to see you guys getting back on the water again!
I bought a 2016 Z06, 3LZ convertible in Daytona Sunrise Orang Metallic on May 22, 2023. I only throw that out there because of Aaron's hat. Thanks for the video and letting me comment so much!
I replaced my transom and used Coosa board. Stronger than wood and easy to work with! Try to keep the outside gel coat intact and I just screwed and bolted plywood on the outside sandwiching the gel coat and Coosa board with fiberglass resin. It is strong and durable! I’m very pleased with my results. Good luck!
Love boats bust out and all
Best years of my life were when our children learned all kinds of water sports 💙 on our boats and they are now your age. The tradition continues. NC USA 🇺🇸
The first time you came across my feed, you were working on your cabin cruiser. Been watching and enjoying you guys ever since.
Great older boat. Good for another 20 years.
nice work on the boat. Love the life vest for the shop dog! We lost our little yorkie this summer. She had a good life, but I do miss my little buddy. She was technically my wife's dog, but adopted me as her person a lot of the time.
that new interior is amazing! Perfect colors for your boat!
You should print that on a shirt, "Nobody Likes A Dry O-Ring"
😆
Thanks for the video! Good to see these old boats back on the water. I'm currently working on getting a '98 Ski Nautique back on the water. We had to get the shaft straightened and the prop is currently at a shop to be repaired after the previous owners ran it aground hard enough to put a crack in the hull right next to where the strut mounts. But we might be on the water for about $350 instead of $1200 had we gone with a new shaft and ACME prop. It needs glasswork, a windshield, a dash, and a couple not so important gauges since it got run over by a small yacht while docked to be right, but we're hoping to have it on the lake before the season ends to make sure it's still worthy of another $1500-$2000 in parts and glass supplies to fix the bow, the strut, and the dash. Fingers crossed because this era of ski boats are hard to beat in terms of hull design, and the nostalgia is pretty cool as well.
That hose clamp trick is pretty slick! Gunna steal that one
Lake living rocks!! Very fortunate to have your grandparents living on the lake! The boat is awesome! So nice to get out on the water! Maintenance is what keeps them going! Thanks for sharing!!!
Great ! You all are down to earth, honest people (got the cheapest batteries). Wish you were my neighbors!
Interior turned out great! Really sets off the boat now, good choice of colors.
Smart idea installing the dual batteries, did the same on my old boat.
I feel the pain when the water is low, we drove 3 hours one way to a ramp and couldn’t launch the boat 😂
Love the VW sticker on the water bottle!!
You two are so much fun. You remind me of my neighbors , I don't get to loud late anymore but all three houses used to I don't mind.
Thanks guys.
Central California watching
Twin battery system is a great idea. The boat looks amazing. Hopefully this means we get more content from y'all.❤ and hug's from Waco.😁
Alwsys enjoy your videos workmanship and problem solving and wholesomeness about you both great job enjoy the water StaySafe
Replacing the transom is a big job, not necessarily hard, but fiddily. Lots of good Utube videos on that kind of work. It’s well within your capabilities. Will love to watch that series.
Wow guys what a great vid. Aaron ,great dual battery tutorial! I added an isolator to ours so the batteries are always charging. That interior is beyond the BOMB!! Looks so good! My Mastercraft is a 1998 and has been through what your doing. Well worth it!!. Thanks for doing this stuff. Your stuff just makes me smile!!
I had just enough Teak on my boat that I really enjoyed taking care of it and making it pop.
I bought a project boat in 2018 to "take my mind off of things". I knew it was totally rotten, and needed a gut job. After watching several TH-cam videos, I found "Frisco Boater's Garage" , and "jmink". These videos were a tremendous help. Instead of using marine grade plywood, I chose to use a composite material called "Coosa Board", that I found at a company specializing in composite and plastic materials. My boat is a 1985 Wellcraft 170 American with a 3.0 iron duke engine and Mercruiser Alpha one Gen 1 stern drive. Since Coosa Board is lighter than marine grade plywood, after putting a Pertronics ignition and Weber carb on the engine, the boat is capable of 40 MPH. Coosa board is expensive, but it's very advantageous with saving weight, and it's a composite. I completely covered the Coosa board with what is called 1708 biaxial fiberglass cloth. I learned a lot with the TH-cam videos and just thinking through my next process before I did it. Just thought I'd share my experience.
For the transom. They cut the outside fiberglass all skin off leaving a 2" border all the way around, save the skin to put back on. Dig out the rotten wood , replace with Coosa Board and fiberglass it all in. After all the layers of fiberglass just duroglass in the fiberglass skin you saved, fill the cut, sand it a match the gelcoat.
Just gotta love the Malibu. Had me one for around 7 yrs as my kids were growing up. Very nice setup, and that engine is all but bulletproof. I would make one suggestion and is to always carry a replacement impellor and jar of vasoline. The failure rate whether running dry or just wore out will ruin a day having to get towed in. Next you guys need to put a tower on it with a bad-ass sound system. I put a Monster Tower on mine and had zero issues with it. Custom cover with another one on the top of the tower to cover speakers and lights. You'll have some good times on the water. Sort of wish I had another, but kiddies all grown up now. We'd go the the Marina have some dinner, then come back out... Turn the motor off and just float watching the skies. Good times!
The shark fin life jacket is awesome
Brings back so many memoirs of boating with my kids, I wish I still owned it
That Upholstery Is beautiful!!!❤ 🎉😊❤
That new upholstery is beautiful. It suits the boat nicely.
I feel ya Aaron. I raced motorcycles for close to 20 years. Then got married. A couple years into the marriage, we started talking about kids. It hit me coming out of turn 1 at Mid-O heading towards the Keyhole during practice. If I screw this up, who’s gonna pay the mortgage? Car payment? Etc. Etc.. I pulled into the pits. Got off the bike. I just started packing up my gear. I knew if my head wasn’t in the game I was a danger to myself and everyone around me. I miss it every freaking day. But it was the right/grownup decision.
You did good man. Growing up sucks.
Keep up what y’all do. We’ll keep watching.
Glad to see you two. I so enjoy your videos. The Malibu looks great. The two battery system is genius. See you soon.
The bronco pulling that Malibu is one cool set up
Malibu's are good boats. I turned my batteries a quarter turn and reposition the blocks. They set nice and tidy. Absorbent pads under oil filter has kept things clean for me. Happy boating!
Y'all should just do boats! Emily is a 10 and you two make a terrific pair!
I have a 1978 27' Apollo fiberglass boat and yes I had to replace the transom on this boat, It isn't really a hard job but it does take time. I opened my back transom up and started taking the rot out and followed it up under the fuel tanks all the way up in to the cabin. Not a expensive job but lots of labor. My cousin showed me how to fiberglass it back in and that process is really easy as it turned out. You cut the fiberglass off the inside the inside but leave the about at least 6" around the perimeter on the outside to glass to for strength. The sooner you open it up the quicker you can stop the rot creeping up in to the rest of the boat,
Loved the shark life jacket for the pooch.. very nice.
Great job of keeping this older boat looking brand new. Engine has a wonderful roar when you wind it up. I would suggest when you remove the engine drain plugs replace them with a petcock valve. This way whenever you pull the boat out of the water you can drain the water to reduce rust build up.
Emaly is such a stud! Love yalls videos!
What a hoot seeing your pup paddle around!
Job well done. Love the Malibu and well worth the work. I’ve lived around older boats in the family but had allot of fun. Love that you guys are carrying the heritage. Emily, you’re a badass mamma jamma
Your boat looks great. The upholstery is sharp. I'm glad you got it out for some fun!
Always love seeing Finley.
Pro tip...it's an old mechanic's tale that you have to fill the new oil filter before you install it....there manufacturers that actually tell you not to if you read the service manuals. It takes away the chance of dropping the oil filter full of oil wasting oil and making a mess. I worked in the trucking and excavating business for over 40 years and never once prefilled and oil filter and NEVER had an issue with any of the engines...cars, light trucks, medium and heavy trucks and excavating equipment.
I feel you ....when you said ....I never work so hard not to make a mess. Watching your channel for a couple of years and must say that color green at 32 minutes makes your eye color just pop.
She's a beauty! And so is the boat!! lol! Enjoy the water. Hope to see the big boat soon.
The upholstery is beautiful.
I never would have guessed that the space under a boat could look "SO BEAUTFUL"!!!!!!
Glad you are getting to have some fun. You forgot about to mentionthe best part of the battery, they have go handles on them. Lol.
Emily, I have told alot of women to me that are 10s in my book. Your the kind of lady,women, girlfriend & WIFE all most every man's dream of. You are a 10 in every area of your life !!!!! And yet you are down to earth. So keep up the great videos you three,three means the kid !!!!! GOD BLESS you all !!!!!!!!❤❤❤❤❤
Boat looks awesome. Watch born again boating. The guys have done a few transoms with different materials. They are awesome!
We are glad that Aaron is healing well. God bless you.
When you go to replace the carpet on the trailer, a friend of mine replaced the carpet on his pontoon trailer with some ribbed rubberized material that works great for the aluminum pontoons. Not sure how it would work with fiberglass, but if it will not leave marks it would be worth looking at, the pontoon glided right up the trailer now.
Maybe convert your Malibu trailer to roller bunks, ad an electric winch to the tongue and then you won't have to worry quite as much about water depth at the ramp when launching and recovering. Just a thought. Looks fun, and Finley looks adorable in his shark life jacket 🙂
Rollers are not as nice on the hull as bunks. With bunks the weight of the boat spreads evenly over the length of the fiberglass hull.
I wouldn't use roller bunks but I would upgrade the bunks to plastic bunks
I dunno... I thought Finley was more like Bilge Rat. LOL JK Em and Aaron. 😂
It maybe bust out another thousand but the enjoyment you get out of them is priceless
Glad to see ya back on the water. Hopefully here soon I will be. I love the interior on the boat looks awesome. Now to add the trailer to make it match. Love y'all b safe
Glad to see you guys posting videos again! Love all your content across all of your channels (and whenever you’re on others as well) lol. Love the boat, it looks great! Check out some older videos on TH-cam from a channel that I believe was Frisco Boater. He was from Texas as well and I believe his name was Jay. He had many different boat rebuilds but I believe the one you’ll benefit from the most was a 20 or 22ft sea ray that he did transom and stringers in. It also had a 454 Merc with a bravo III. He went very in-depth with the entire process and procedures. With product listings and full length videos. I hope you guy tear into it. It looks daunting and I’m not saying that it isn’t but I know that you guys seem to do anything that you set your mind to, and remember there’s more than one way to do everything. If you decide to do it, do it your way and don’t worry about making mistakes or apologizing for it!!! You guys are great and we really appreciate the entertainment your family provides everyone. Thanks!
totally love the boat content and I would love to see you guys dive into the transom project you have 90% of the tools you will need to do it! I would totally recommend seeing if you can do a collab with Boatworks today he has fantastic fiberglass boat how-to videos and I think is a distributor now for Total Boat and alexseal both of which you are going to need to get the project done. It's a ton of work but you guys have never shied away from a little hard work 🙂
That's Great Pulling the Oil Filter! Make It Work!
Am glad use gad a fun day after ur hard work of getting boat ready, cheer from Seagrave Ont
Welcome to my world Emily. Seems the harder I try to not make a mess, the bigger the mess I make. Just is what it is.
The two happiest days of boat ownership....the day you buy it....the day you sell it! 😉
I admire y you at Aaron’s relationship! I wish my wife wrenched on stuff!!!! I haven’t been following you guys as of late, so I got a lot of catching up to do
Great to see "JAWS" having a good swim with you!
You two are so "blessed "to have each other awesome!
Bayliner had a class action lawsuit over their transom failures, check with the manufacturer if their is any help they will provide. Thanks for the boat stuff, love you guys, whatever you do.
I used teak oil on my boarding ladder and grab rails on the deck and it needed doing every season here in the UK there is a product by International paints it’s called “Wood Skin” it’s like a varnish but better used it 2 seasons ago 2 coats looks like I did it last week brilliant on teak.
I enjoyed your video getting the boat ready. I have a cousin who did barefoot skiing. He does not do that anymore. You already know the reason. 😮
You can always use heat shrink to cover the metal up to the I-let on the cables.
That teak came out great Arron !.
Emily, OMGosh you must remember , "What happens under the boat, stays under the boat" LOL. A little leather or rubber between the clamb and the oil filter will help. Maybe buy a dedicated wrench for the bottom of the filter..
You have the skills to stitch up your own upholstery .
Emily, you poured the first qt. correctly but failed on the secound. Do you know why? Containers have offset openings so you can tip the container over further before fluid starts to come out thereby having more control with no burping and get the spout closer to the funnel.
That's a coffee table finish !
Oh, His & Her batteries !
You guys just bring a smile to me having fun on the lake. Thankd for sharing !😊😊😊😊😊😊
Aaron's laugh was the best... he tried not to, but you caught him off guard with the 2nd spill.
Really enjoyed getting some boat content again. The dual battery project was cool and the boat is looking awesome! The upholstery job is amazing! Finley looks so tough in his shark fin life jacket! Good luck with the Bayliner, wish I could offer some words of wisdom to help guide you with the project but transom work is one area I have been lucky enough to have been able to avoid so far!
Transom work wow. That's a specialty type of work. I have faith in your abilities.
A short little piece of old rubber fuel/vacuum line slipped over the end of those battery cables before hooking them to the isolator switch works a lot better than black tape for an insulator, especially if one of the cables moves a fraction of an inch in that boat bouncing on the waves.
Great to see you back on the water. That Malibu sure looks good and is definitely worth keeping in top shape. The upholstery looks fantastic. It looks like its Finley approved. Have fun and stay well.
Boat looks great!! And I love the interior redo sounds badass also. Stay safe and enjoy that sure will help with the heat I need it here in FL. 🔥✌️👍
35:57 how cute, dog food and water bowls built in. ❤
I LOVE those older Malibu boats!!! They used to build them about 30 miles south of me here in the Central Valley of CA! Fantastic day and vid guys!!! Got ideas on your Bayliner, but boy is it a LOT of work to replace a transom!!! Took about a year and a half for a cuddy cabin to do the transom and the glass work, to make it come out right...yours is a lot bigger!!! UGH!!!
One more comment, maybe. Emily is so cute, any you sir are overchicked. I mean that in the most compassionate way. Love you guys!
Awesome boat, love you guys. Replacing the transom on your Bayliner is a huge job. I am a boat owner myself repowering might I suggest a transom bracket and going to twin outboards.
As usual, great job, love those Malibu sunsetters for skiing, maybe you can rig up a phat sack and Aaron can just surf and not risk issue with shoulders
Love the shark-fin life jacket.
You could also use an old trucker's trick to remove old filters is to use a belt or old fan belt
We also had the interior done in our 04 nautique. Cost was high but looks like a brand new boat. Definitely worth it, yours looks amazing
Battery cutoff switch will last longer if you connect negative cable to the disconnect side. And positive’s on bottom lug.
And it’s safer for for all DC components too. Especially anything digital. That’s why we remove neg side first when changing battery in cars.
My Seaswril has as San Juan after market Cooling system on my Chev engine which uses antifreeze in the engine and a heat exchanger to cool the coolant which makes it simple to winterize
Best practice:
Use the highest quality full synthetic oil& filters u can find. I buy 5qt jugs of Mobil1 full synthetic oils, matched w/Mobil1 or K&N filters.
Glad 2c that u prime your filter2 prevent dry startup oiling delay damages. I’m sure that u finger lubed the seal& wiped clean the filter seal seat on the block.
Consider upgrading to LiON batteries in all your motor vehicles as the PB’s age out. I use DUHON from China. They’re 13.8v, less than 1/3 the weight of AGM’s, waterproof, high quality, long life. But I paid about $480 ea. shipped.
A long flat shovel &a wide garage brush is handy4 prelaunch ramp cleaning &slippery algae removal. A bucket of dry bank sand helps too.
Happy to see you again. Engine(s)? Diesel. There are even diesel outboards. But Diesel. It would have to be geared right, but there's your torque. Yes, Wix!