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Sam Adams wrote: Thu May 18, 2023 12:07 pm Sunset last night on Lake Allatoona.

Great shots!

Cobalt out of storage.
Installed batteries.
New bellows and gimbal bearing.

Sea trial day…..

She passed with flying colors!

Let the boating season begin in the North East

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AsLan7... how does that X7 (assuming that's what it is, by the looks) handle the 263?
I'm trying to get my wife to upgrade from her Atlas Cross Sport to something a little more capable, that can pull our 242, so I don't have to double drive every time we go camping. It looks like an X5 would maybe pull the 242 on paper, but I'm sure the X7 would perform better simply because of weight of the vehicle.

Sorry to hijack the pictures thread everybody. A7, you can PM me your response if you wish.

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NW...she pulls and stops it better than any other tow vehicle we've used to tow in the past (Mercedes GL550, Chrysler Aspen Hybrid 5.7L Hemi, Dodge Durango's w/ 5.7L Hemi, Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7L).
We have the X7 M50i with 523Hp and 563 ft-lbs @1800rpm. It's overkill really. Honestly, the 375hp (384 ft-lb) six cylinder 40i or used 50i with 456HP (479 ft-lb) X7's would work just fine. These days the GCWR is usually your limfac.

AsLan7 wrote: Thu May 18, 2023 4:27 pm .
NW...she pulls and stops it better than any other tow vehicle we've used to tow in the past (Mercedes GL550, Chrysler Aspen Hybrid 5.7L Hemi, Dodge Durango's w/ 5.7L Hemi, Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7L).
We have the X7 M50i with 523Hp and 563 ft-lbs @1800rpm. It's overkill really. Honestly, the 375hp (384 ft-lb) six cylinder 40i or used 50i with 456HP (479 ft-lb) X7's would work just fine. These days the GCWR is usually your limfac.

A7 took a part time job selling BMW's. LOL. It is my favorite tow vehicle that I've seen on the group though.

Krob1114 wrote: Fri May 19, 2023 5:32 am

AsLan7 wrote: Thu May 18, 2023 4:27 pm .
NW...she pulls and stops it better than any other tow vehicle we've used to tow in the past (Mercedes GL550, Chrysler Aspen Hybrid 5.7L Hemi, Dodge Durango's w/ 5.7L Hemi, Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7L).
We have the X7 M50i with 523Hp and 563 ft-lbs @1800rpm. It's overkill really. Honestly, the 375hp (384 ft-lb) six cylinder 40i or used 50i with 456HP (479 ft-lb) X7's would work just fine. These days the GCWR is usually your limfac.

A7 took a part time job selling BMW's. LOL. It is my favorite tow vehicle that I've seen on the group though.

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You’re right K. That does sound like a Bimmer advertisement.

Got the boat launched 2 days ago and on the lift. I noticed I have a small drip coming from on of my captains call diverter o-rings I have to tend to, but otherwise it felt good and strong.

Some notable winter upgrades this year outside of normal maintenance were -

* Install Skeg Guard
* Install Anode kit
* Add Port Side Fusion Bluetooth Remote
* New Bennett Trim Tab controller with indicator
* Added overhead lighting on tower

Looking sharp kbloom72!

I’ve got a small drip as well from my CC port side O ring.
I bought the new ones from Corsa two years ago and still haven’t replaced them.


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AsLan7 wrote: Fri May 19, 2023 11:43 am Looking sharp kbloom72!

I’ve got a small drip as well from my CC port side O ring.
I bought the new ones from Corsa two years ago and still haven’t replaced them.


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Funny you say that... I can't guarantee this hasn't been dripping for the last few seasons.

I'll join in with the launch day photos..
Had to stop at the local Bass Pro to do some preventative repairs on the trailer. Took the opportunity to get the tow-rig shot.
Here she is in the water. This year's upgrade was either the addition of the large and static swim platform, or the removal of the slow, small, deployable swim deck. Take your pick of which direction you view that particular coin from.

The admiral was strangely patient with me through the course of getting things ready for this season. I had to do all the work myself, so it took longer [and I'm going to ache for days yet].

This year I...

• R/R swim deck (with atleast two trips to hardware store)
• R/R starter slave solenoid (she'll start on the first try now!)
• Fixed horn (no beep == no good)
• NMEA2k networked the fusion head unit and the garmin echomap
• Ran speaker wires for future upgrade when doing the NMEA cabling
• Replaced a dead battery
• Retired the OEM depth finder ('twas a useless thing anyway)
• Cleaned the bilge
• Scrubbed the bottom. Finally got all (eh, 90+%?) the scum from the 2021 season off the bottom
• Bleached the recessed area where the fold-in bench goes. It's not perfect, but it looks 10 years younger
• Took her on a top-speed run.. hit 42.6mph with a full tank before I wussed out.

I'm looking forward to not having to do any of this again in the coming years. My kids are too young to appreciate my effort, but I oh-so look forward to putting them to use when they can actually be helpful.

It'll probably be a couple weeks before we can all get out there and enjoy it, unfortunately. In the meantime, I'll live vicariously through some of your photos.

Edit to add: She looks pretty good in these photos! She's got her dings, gel coat cracks, dock impact damage, scratches (er, gouges!), etc.. Up close, she may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts!

Looks good capn272. The matching boats/tow rigs are some great pictures!

After a late ice out and my dock installer being way behind schedule, the lifts and dock finally went in yesterday just in time for the long Memorial Day weekend. The forecast is for high temps in the low 80’s and zero rain for the entire weekend.

The R5 Surf and SeaDoos will be in the water this afternoon. I’m so happy that our 2023 MN boating season has begun!

The whole process of setting up docks in Minnesota amazes me. My in-laws live on East Lake near Cold Spring and that whole process looks like a recurrent headache. Hopefully your lake doesn't have the vegetation issues theirs does! I can't imagine having to unclog the intake constantly.

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone!

God Bless all who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. You are heroes for eternity!