1983 Valco Bayrunner refirb

I used the water based spar from HD. It looks great but it's so thin I put 10 coats on. It still only looks like two coats but it's nice. I moved the side console foward and made under seat storage bins out of Walmart coolers. I could not swing the super nice FishOn brand storage covers. but I scored some clearance ones made for a Zodiac that are nice from the place I found the $25 props I posted in the motor section.
My busted power trim turned into an ordeal but I finally got it fixed tonight! I bought a used assembly from eBay. Motor on it turned out bad but I was able to make one work out of the two I had. I knew it was cheap for a reason but he said it worked. Those old trim units are tuff to work on. I was on pins and needles getting all the leaks fixed and putting the motor and brushes together was a challange. I think sanding the brushes and copper parts they ride on is what fixed it. I mounted my repaired trim motor to the eBay resivior and valve assemble because mine was bad. I think I know why aftermarket trim units are popular now....

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Got the bench seats bolted in today.

This is the modified console and the bracket I made to bolt it to the seat.
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I've come to believe that is impossible to reliably post pictures to this site from an IPad
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The extreamly deep vee on the front of this boat made a dangerously deep hole in front of the front seat so I made a floor. We did not want a full platform because when we run the shallow rocky backwaters or rivers a spotter need to be on the front while still being in the boat.

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For the inside of the storage lockers I used a $15.99 Wallmart cooler and a smaller storage tub for the front. I drilled some 1/4" holes to let it drain. Fishing is terrible in AZ but if I ever catch one I'm lining it with a trash bag. I packed around it real tight with 1" blue foam board. I used all stainless hardware but after a few screews seized I remembered that anti seize compondis your freind when using stainless (Monel) hardware.

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Looking good. I see a lot of creativity there. Is Fishing really that bad,?

richg99

richg99 said:

Looking good. I see a lot of creativity there. Is Fishing really that bad,?

richg99

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I've never cought a fish in Arizona. People will say there are plenty of fish but then they tell you that on the third new moon after the equinox you can catch them at 2AM on cut shad if you fish over a submerged light. I've never seen anybody catch a fish in this state. There is a weird looking live lizard/frog you can buy for a dollar a piece that some say work but forget about lures and such. The only catfish are a hundred feet deep at the dam and you know how finicky those big cats are to catch. They only bite big fish that you have to catch first. Catch one for me and post a pic!

One more pic of the bracket I fabed out of scrap 1/4" 2x3" angle. The sides of the seat are from two sticks of 1/16" thick angle. 10 bucks per 16' stick. Aluminum is a treat to work with. One day I'll learn to weld it. Now that I had nice clean benches the rats nest of wires hanging under the console finally got tucked up neat. It never bothered me before. That console is solid as a rock! You can see one of the patches above the bracket I added to stiffen it up. I used 5 screews to screw it to the floor. Hopefully now that it's stiff and mounted solidit won't pull the screews from the floor anymore.

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Nice build on the valco,,, have a 14' Valco that needs a lot of work,,,,some day maybe,, to many irons in the fire already and to many boats if that's possible

Dude fishing in AZ is great imo,, never have problems finding fish on the lower Colorado River last year one night landed 3 flats that added up to just short of a 110lbs 52# 27# 35#,,,Cant tell ya how many 30 and over in years past,,,, Dont know anything about fishing North of Davis Dam,,, these day do my fishing on the Topock marsh and on the river from I-40 south down to Havasu ,, if ya want the big ones need to be south of Parker down to Yuma

The local TSC had one $89 suspension seat in stocks and it followed me home. They ordered two more and will call next week if I like it. Yellow, black or blue are the choice. The suspension part pictured weighs 27lbs. The seat parts are 12lbs. My old seat without the mount was 17lbs. I believe you could knock 10 lbs off if you remove the seat slider, add a couple of lightening holes in some extra metal and tack weld the ability to tilt. The tilt or recline is a bolt down adjustment. For and aft is a nice slider.

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Installation is as simple as bolting it down to a flat surface and installing the cushions. The orange warning sticker tells you to install the slider stop bolt if you remove it. I did not but with one bolt removed the very bottom would slide right off or remove the 1/2" bolt and you could pull the seat out for winter.

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This how far it can recline before you bolt it in place.

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It sits 5" taller than the old seat.

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Interesting. Keep us informed. I don't sit down much on the boat.

richg99

I jumped down on it as hard as I could on a light setting and could not bottom it out. It feels like it will work great but a water test is needed this weekend. I did not think I wanted those arm rests but they are great. Looking how it's made one could easily cut them off, tuck the vinyl and reinstall the rubber molding to hide the cut or you can spend a little more elseware and get seats without them. So far I'm delighted!

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Looks like a space commander's seat. Ha... Don't get too comfortable and fall asleep. richg99

richg99 said:

Looks like a space commander's seat. Ha... Don't get too comfortable and fall asleep. richg99

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I stand most of the time but when I sit I seem to find the rouge rollers from a distant wake board boat. They drive in circles and you never know when you may come up on a big one. On the list is a pad for the floor. These AZ lakes can get rough.

Loaded up for a trip to lake Sajoro today. Tow rig is a 2002 V10 E350 with a 4x4 conversion. Goverment surplus rig that I turned into my camper and tow rig. [ ]

I finished the trailer last month. Welded two small cracks and covered it with a coat of oil based Rustpleum primer and two coats of paint. Soldered in LED lights, new bunks and some rubber parts. I spent way to much time on it but should be good for a long time. I even painted the hub caps.

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I even added side marker lights and the 3 clearance lights on the rear. If I venture into California I'll be glad it's got all the required DOT lighting and reflectors plus it's safe.

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Buddy and the wife approve of the new interior but I still need to replace that rear wood and install the second suspension seat.

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Here is a picture of me showing how high the suspension seat makes me sit. When set right it sags an inch or about 4" higher than a regular boat seat.

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How do you like the lake?

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Suspension seat review:

Love it! At first it's odd rising up after hitting a wake but it goes away quick. I found I like to sit closer to the wheel for some reason so I like having a slider. I dropped the wife off to beat it over some wakeboard boat wakes. That's when it shines. Basically it made the 16 footer feel like an 18. Thumbs up, I recomend to anybody that wants to go faster in ruff water and feel less tired. Best mod I've done to the boat. The harder the hit the more I liked it. I got used to it so fast. It feels like ridding a 80cc motocross bike. You really feel the suspension doing its job. Not like a 450 where the suspension is majic but it sure beats a mini bike with no suspension. Second seat will be installed!

Well done. It's great when it all comes together. You've put a lot of work into that boat and trailer. Now, use it!

richg99

With a new water pump, gear lube and intake water screen finished up it was time to grease all the motor fittings and linkage. Then it got a good scrub down including the battery and cables. Next was long overdue mod of doing some cutting. The trim tab on small motors is sometimes as big as the ones on motors 5 times the size. It's just not needed to have that large of a fin directly in the prop wash.

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I cut about half off but if a motor runs real straight I have cut off more. I tend to do the things that people say won't help because they add up but removing some of that drag right in line with the prop thrust is a no brainier.

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Next on the chopping block was the hydro fin. I made it when I got the boat. Some say you don't need one but it helps to see over the bow while going slow. It's like a shock absorber as well because it slows the bow drop down when it pops up high on a wake. The main reason to have one if you think you don't is because 50% of recovered male drowning victims have their fly down. They fell in while peeing. If you blow your shoulder, hit your head or are in some way incapacitated like freezing then stepping on the fin allows you to get back in the boat very easy. That's mandatory for me but I've seen a dead floater.
I made this out of 1/8" aluminum and bolted it on. You don't want it any bigger than trial and error dictates. This is what it looked like after the trim I gave it. I've cut the store bought plastic ones with great results but it's way more fun and cheap to make your own.

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It does not take much to make a big difference.

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