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We bought this boat over 7 years ago, and it is starting to show it age. Here is the original selling video of the boat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW-KPim ... L&index=44

I figure I will share what I did, what I’m working on, and what I plan to do.

Electrical panel – complete
Main switch panel – complete
Paint the boat -complete
New motors – complete
New Garmin system – In process
Engine flush kit – In process.
Autopilot, VHF, and multi sensor – future

Nice boat!

Agree, nice boat!!! Jeff

First Major project - Electrical switch panel
This boat had key pad switches. They are horrible. The circuit boards have no place in a saltwater environment. I went through 2 live well pumps, 2 bilge pumps, and numerous electrical short where things wouldn’t work. I went with new wire marine printed switches. Then build my own panel out of Lexan and painted it from behind. I hand cut all the holes with a jigsaw, very tedious. I used the old aluminum plate as a temple and the switch area has some unique shapes for the yamaha gauges. In the hull where all those now labeled wires are located was the original curcuit boards where nothing was labeled. I called everglades and back then they didn't keep wire color records. Needs less to say it took me about 2 days just to figure out what all the wires went to. 1 days to terminate wires into the block. 1 days to wire up the switches. Total pain in the butt. However everything it super simple now and I have had no issues.

Really well done!!! Jeff

Nice clean lay out, Cbuf. Tom

next project was the main switch system
The original BEP switches had some corrosion, and I figured since I’m doing the panel I might as well do the main power switch for the boat. I went with blue sea systems remote switch, with switchable automatic control relays. So when either motor reach 13.5 volts and the motor batteries are charge the relays kick in and charge the house bank.

Your work looks great. I wish they made covers for those terminal blocks.

Me too fall guy, I wish all the connections were on the other side of the wall to keep things neat. However the plus of all the connections in the front means I don't have to take out the tackle drawer unit (16 screws) to work on something. I thought about putting wire caps on everything, but then having the bus bars exposed I feel I wasn't gaining anything.

The next project was paint. The boat sits on a lift outside in the salty air and goes unused for several months at a time. We had the boat compounded several times over the years to bring back the factory finish, but the gel coat was getting thin. I decided to have the boat painted. We decided to go with imron paint. This is what they paint aircraft with, it is expensive, but then there is no buffing waxing or fading. You just wash it, no polish or wax. The formulation for boats is great, this is the second boat I painted with it. The first is still in prefect condition after 8 years without even cleaning it. I lost my pictures of this process. I had some great before and after shots. I'll go out and take some close up pics.

You mean like these?

8pcs (4 Sets) 8 Positions Dual Row 600V 25A Screw Terminal Strip Blocks with Cover + 400V 25A 8 Positions Pre-Insulated Terminals Barrier Strip (Black & Red) by MILAPEAK https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CM1JQCR/re ... 57PZQK153H

Cbuf wrote: ↑Fri Mar 11, 2022 9:48 am Me too fall guy, I wish all the connections were on the other side of the wall to keep things neat. However the plus of all the connections in the front means I don't have to take out the tackle drawer unit (16 screws) to work on something. I thought about putting wire caps on everything, but then having the bus bars exposed I feel I wasn't gaining anything.

Nice work.
Try Boeshield T-9 on your buss bars, multiple coats. The stuff works fantastic, fog it under your cowlings as well, battery connections, etc.

The thing that happens often is a person uses a lot of Bluesea stuff and then start to just use all Bluesea and find out they don't make an optional cover after all ordered.

I might follow the advice in one area and liquid vinyl all the connections because open to people. Or maybe try the T9.

Those picks were from before I worked out all the bugs. After I had everything working correctly. I used terminal grease on every connection, and then sprayed it all with the battery terminal protector spray. The stuff that puts a red coat of thick greasy like paint.

Next project - new to me motors.

The Yamaha 350 were running good, until…. I had a crack in a thermostat housing, but didn’t know it. I’m not even sure how long it was there. I happened to be peeing off the back of the boat when I noticed water running out of the wire chase. I opened the hood and holy crap, the parts of the motor were rusted and nasty. Turns out the hole was right next to one of the belt tensioners that flung water on the inside of the motor. The inside was getting dosed with saltwater and mixing with the air causing the motor to ingest saltwater. I had the belts and idler pulleys replaced, but then it was still having problems so I decided to find a new pair. I was lucky and the first caller to a new add on craigslist and picked up 2019 350s in white with 3 years remaining on the warranty. My mechanic lost some people due to the government paying people to stay home, so I had to pick them up myself. I flew down to florida where I rented a uhaul and a trailer and picked up the motors. Next we got the motors off the boat and I crated them up for the next owner. He bought the 2 motors for the price of one, and Yes I told him the motor had issues. It took a month due to labor shortages to get the motors on the boat.

Man that is a lot of power you will be feeding
Did they ever get the flywheel problem sorted out?

Those white Yamaha's sure are pretty on a white boat. Tom

Agree, the white motors look way better than the standard Yamaha.

Next project: Individual Flush kits
Flushing these motors is a pain in a butt. You need long arms and be nimble in a tight space. I had added a jabsco flush kit you my moms deck boat last year. She said it was the best thing I ever did. She is 76 and still taking the boat out regularly, she dreaded flushing the motor. I added the same kit to the 350's and wow. I have had this boat for like 7 years, and have not idea why I didn't do it sooner.

The boat came with garmin 5312’s they were aged the new stuff is leaps and bounds better. I had the dreaded error code 6 on my radar that pretty much means it was toast. I picked up 2 1243XSV. With a kit from Garmin I could still use my airmar B160 transducer (through hull), and added a gtm56 tri beam transducer. It is the latest and greatest from Garmin.
2 X 1243 XSV
1 gtm56 UHD
1 airmar B160 with garmin black box splice kit. 6-pin Transducer to 8-pin Sounder Adapter Wire Block
1 GPS 24 XD GPS antenna with heading sensor
4 open array Xhd radar.
NMEA 2000 for VHFs x 2, motors, existing raymarine auto pilot.

Unfortunately, the old unit were bigger than the new units by about .5 in height. So I had to make a replacement panel out of 1/4 HDPE plastic.

Wow that is a lot of wiring. Tom

Fuzz wrote: ↑Fri Mar 18, 2022 3:36 pm Man that is a lot of power you will be feeding
Did they ever get the flywheel problem sorted out?

These motors are the model C 350's I had the original model A, the model A and B had flywheel issues apparently the model C's still do, but there is a flywheel counter for service hours at a certain RPM. The “C” designation denotes a third generation of the motor with a number of incremental changes Yamaha has incorporated in recent years, including improved gearcase lubricity and corrosion resistance, reduced weight, and the extension of the standard warranty to five years.
from the website:
The F350C is fitted with an ECU (Engine Control Unit) that monitors time of use in specific RPM bands and then gives the owner an alert when regularly-scheduled service is due. The ECU specifically clocks the time the motor spends between 3500 and 4200 RPM to address an issue with the flywheel design of the F350. A few years after the F350 was introduced it was discovered that a “harmonic event” takes place within the engine between 3500 and 4200 RPM that over time could cause the flywheel to fracture, leading to major engine damage. With no apparent fix for this issue short of redesigning the engine, Yamaha has a policy of simply replacing the flywheel after the engine has run for 80 hours within that 3500-to-4200 window, and set up the new ECU to count those hours. Note that this interval is not for 80 total hours of operation, rather only the hours in that RPM range, which is likely below the best cruising range for most boats. The performance of each boat will determine how much time the motor spends in this state of harmonic dissonance. This ECU has been retrofitted to earlier F350 models at no charge for a few years, and Yamaha also picks up the cost of replacing the flywheel. Perhaps to boost consumer confidence, Yamaha has also extended the base warranty of the F350C from three years to five years, with an additional two years of coverage available at extra cost.

The last thing I did prior to leaving florida on my second to last trip out, my raw water washdown pump failed. It was the original, I think getting 14 years out of a salt water washdown pump was get. Hopefully the new ones lasts as long.

Future projects:
build a removable cutting board that sits above the fish box, so that I can still open the box.
Replace the raymarine auto pilot with a garmin ones that integrates with the new GPS.
Replace a broken SS rod holder.
Add more rode holders to the t top
build a tee top bag for storage
replace the side bolster cushions and make covers for them.
replace the vinyl on the front seats.
more to come......
I did pickup a heavy duty sewing machine, and will be practicing making covers for people.

I got a nice side shot of the new white motors when I was down tarpon fishing. Also built a new removable high mounted cutting board for bait welded up some scrap 1.5 in aluminum tubing. The top separates from the field goal shaped stand, and the pole is also removeable. I made it in wisconsin, and stuck it in my carry on. The airport made me check it, costing me an additional 50 dollars, because they said it was a club like object. We had a great trip, no official catches of tarpon, but we had a few on, and we caught a ton of big shark. I like to keep the boat full when I leave it. I just got the fuel bill, and just wanted to say thanks Joe Biden, I didn't have a need for that $1800.

Good looking boat!!! Jeff

Pretty White Yamahas on a beautiful boat. Sounds like you have a nice list to make her bett3r.

Tom