cowwboy

I have been wanting to enlarge the interior speakers for a while and decided the new skars were a good reason to kick it off. I measured the available space and figured out I could barely fit the 8's where the 6.5's fit. I removed the seat base from the boat and used the template for the new speakers to mark a new cut out path. I cut the carpet along the line I drew and then used a router to trace that path. I had to move the aluminum braces on the back of the seat base the the furthermost top and bottom. But was able to retain them. Sadly I was kind of in a hurry to get the project done so didn't take many pictures. This was a fairly easy project since I have had to remove that seat base piece before and finding the screws hidden by carpet is not fun at all. Please excuse how dirty the carpet is.

Well after years of using the fenders as the step into the boat. And fighting the flimsy fender mounts cracking from vibration. I decided to build a nice strong step / fender mount. I started with two cardboard templates and decided to go with the larger design. I still prefer the sleeker look of the triangle shaped step though. I started with .25" thick 5" flat bar and welded it into the side of the I-beam, the fender mount portion has a slight angle to try to match the fender. I also added a piece of aluminum conduit for the guide poles. Then I welded diamond plate to the top of it all trying to weld from the bottom so as to not show off my ugly welds. I have thought of trying to do something on the side plates to be more decorative. Like a light up Malibu emblem or something like that. I don't have completed pics, but this is some of the damage done from how flexible the I-beams are currently. I have had to repair two of the other cross braces before. I welded the crack from both sides, welded the cross support to the frame, and then added gussets under the boat that are welded to the top/side of the cross tube and into the bottom and web of the I-beam. I will be adding quite a few more gussets and supports to the I-beams to stop the flex. Looking online it appears it is not uncommon to have flex crack failures on these I-beam trailers.

Here is the video my buddy did of the install of my FAE on my boat.

So in the constant search of making maintenance easier. I decided to join the club and do a muffle delete since I have A FAE installed. I got the Mandrel bent 60 degree bends from amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002UO49QA?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details I then removed the existing muffler by loosening the clamps and using lots of silicone spray between the rubber and the riders/ muffler. I used a flathead screw driver to make a gap so I could get the lubricant to soak in. It was a slow process of creating the gap, then removing the screw driver and trying to wiggle it to get the lubricant spread around. Then repeating that to get it loose. I then pushed the screw driver far enough in the tip was past the end of the riser. This allowed me to use it as a pry bar to pry the rubber tubing off the riser. Repeat the process to remove the rubber tubing from the muffler outlet. I can actually see my water pump now. I had to trim mine up the bend to fit. The first bend I ordered did not have long enough legs. So when I ordered the second one I got one with much longer legs. I had to assemble mine outside the boat and install it as a whole to get all of the hoses on. I would recommend leaving the clamps loose till you have everything aligned. Now look at how much more room there is!!! One thing I did notice was that the muffler was hollow. I figured it would have some packing or baffles of some kind in it. Or maybe after 1k hours mine was burnt out. I haven't had a chance to take it out to see if there is much of a sound difference yet.