After poking around, prodding, doing my level best to imitate Rodin’s The Thinker (Down to and including sitting naked on a rock). I have finally determined what the very first thing I’m going to do is (aside from initially removing the garbage that was in the boat). That magical thing?
*Fanfare* Removing the Swim Platform!
Thank You, Thank You, I’ll be here until I kick over and die. Hold your applause, no, really… You’re too much. My cheeks are red from all the blushing.
Anyhow, as it sits right now the boat’s stern drive is resting directly on the ground. This is due to the fact that none of the hydraulics work and the cylinders that control the ability to move the drive up and down don’t work without the hydraulics.
What this means is that I can’t move the boat without having an anxiety attack about screwing up the drive assembly. The overly expensive drive assembly. The drive assembly that probably hasn’t been removed in 20 years… maybe. Regardless, I need to get this either off the ground or somehow make the boat levitate.
To get the stern drive off the ground, I’m going to remove it. To remove it: the swim platform is in the way. Following this incredibly convoluted logic, the swim platform is going to have to come off. And off it shall come.
This will make getting into and out of the boat a little bit more of a pain in the butt, but it is what it is. It will also allow me to take a look at the swim platform in more detail to figure out how I’m going to restore it. Right now, it looks like most of the work involved is simple enough. Replace all the screws, rebung, sand, and refinish.
Enjoy some pictures of the swim platform. Maybe next week I’ll actually do the work.
