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Winter Projects


jd8181

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At the end of 2021 we sold our 2012 20' Hurricane deck boat and bought our 2001 Malibu Wakesetter VLX. We only got to take the Wakesetter out 2 times last year before winter, but I knew there was a few things I wanted to do to the boat over the winter.

1. Move the single battery from the rear locker with the ballast bag to the observers compartment and install a charger and switch

2. Upgrade the rear 400# ballast bags to 750# bags and install quick release connectors

3. Upgrade speakers and add sub

4. Replace the 2x4 seat riser with a metal riser

5. Remove the Wakesetter decal and compound and polish the gel coat

6. Switch the stock prop to a Acme 1235

7. Clean up some wiring

8. Miscellaneous fluid changes, spark plugs, fuel filter, impeller, repack wheel bearings, new tire, etc. 

Now if we can just get some nicer and warmer weather to get the boat out on the water! 

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Here are pictures of of the battery upgrade. 

D0E1205C-2083-4B33-8F9A-D69EFE6B0F67.jpeg

OEM single battery location

482D2BCF-B1F8-4C00-B07C-791622170CD5.jpeg

I had to pull all of the wires from the back up to the helm and then run them through the ski locker to the observers compartment.

2C1AE826-8625-479C-8567-8452F71C68CA.jpeg

Start of the lay out for the Blue Seas Add-A-Battery switch and ARC.

43988964-44E2-4DA7-A900-AC253FCF7B07.jpeg

220D21E2-A866-4308-B6EB-CFAF8B4E2453.jpeg

i upgraded the wiring to 1/0 since it's a longer run and if i ever wanted to install a bigger alternator. Also installed a Noco 2 bank battery charger. 

Edited by jd8181
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Replace the 4 blown speakers with new Kicker speakers and going to give this sub/amp combo a try since the price was right. I had to remove the windshield to get to the front 2 in the dash. 

B495692B-C1F4-4E1A-A388-9CB101292838.jpeg

01B2A98E-0B44-40C5-9B61-6DE801648C63.jpeg

Edited by jd8181
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Prop wiring and miscellaneous 

5484AE93-FDFE-4989-9AA5-81B1AE889F7B.jpeg

1235 Prop

2D370F7B-1C12-4E64-AD22-5FF66E3F613D.jpeg

New to me 750# Fly High bags with quick connector

47EFD27F-5644-4C21-B81B-31FFF6F04D7E.jpeg

ADC2B133-1EBA-4DF0-9EF5-3C0E770A7BA9.jpeg

wiring before

DD0E1223-84B7-483F-9C80-EB3858BB266C.jpeg

wiring after

78504D8B-BA29-46E6-8194-38041FBDD3E6.jpeg

teak swim platform re-varnished

3C161FEC-3D7D-4EFA-87FD-67F8E6C1742B.jpeg

old 450# bag and single battery in the locker with it. 

Edited by jd8181
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98169FC4-FDAE-4F01-901C-CEECC0D1DBD6.jpeg

The bilge pump had seen better days. I'm glad i tested it before the season to find out it was bad and the impeller wasn't even attached to the shaft. 

CDBC59F7-3AFD-44DF-9D19-BDCDD018F8B3.jpeg

Carpet inside the boat when i got it.

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Carpet inside the boat after i finished cleaning it. 

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refinishing the teak swim platform. 

Edited by jd8181
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3 hours ago, Murphys said:

Nice work.  And great looking welds.:)

I wish I could take credit for the welds, but one of the welders at my work did them. He does a great job!

 

 

57 minutes ago, amartin said:

That is a fantastic looking Boilermaker boat - confirmed by the reflection of the hat in the gel coat!  Great Work all around.  Boiler Up!

Greatest school in America!!!!

 

 

33 minutes ago, Hemmy said:

@jd8181 Nice work on the boat.  What lake(s) do you go to?

We go to Mississinewa Reservoir mostly. 

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21 hours ago, dspilot said:

Great writeup. I'm in almost the same boat (see what I did there 😎)......

We bought a '99 sunsetter in September of last year and took it out enough to know what we wanted to get done over the winter. Like you, I moved the batteries from that spot to the observer's compartment and added a subwoofer in there. I had the local Malibu place change/inspect all fluids, change the impeller and spark plugs and take care of some other little things that were bothering me. 

Batteries before:

 IMG_6263.thumb.jpeg.5546b3e1899e0463ebdd22542ab63e13.jpeg

Batteries now before I put the new sub in....

IMG_6348.thumb.jpeg.9e6cd6ea2075b6aa0ba53b4cdcb2cbb7.jpeg

Swim platform:

40D2E154-A039-48E7-9F41-354287B7BA17.thumb.JPG.ffbf29e6ba1048dd56e23adc9da39e0b.JPG

 

I still need to give it a good wash/sand/polish/wax job, and think I'm going to get rid of the decal thats on it now (it's not a wakesetter) and get a new Malibu decal to go on the rear sides of the boat. Just ran out of time this spring and couldn't wait any longer to get her on the water. 

IMG_1197.thumb.jpeg.70d6eaf6db629d9d95283d186c5725d3.jpeg

Still need to replace the speakers under the rear seat, but our system is plenty loud the way it is-it just bothers me that they don't work. I think this next winter I'm going to get my rear ballast plumbed to dedicated pumps so that all I have to do is flip a switch to fill/drain. 

Its a great first boat for our family. We are learning a ton as we go and having a blast the whole way!

IMG_6682.thumb.PNG.62611fd3ab89756addf9f73194740c8c.PNG

 

Nice job. That battery set-up looks a 1000 times better. As far as a ballast set-up, it's nice to be able to just flip a switch to fill and drain the bags. We are still working to find the right set-up for a really good surf wave. 

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On 6/6/2022 at 1:12 PM, jd8181 said:

Nice job. That battery set-up looks a 1000 times better. As far as a ballast set-up, it's nice to be able to just flip a switch to fill and drain the bags. We are still working to find the right set-up for a really good surf wave. 

I know our boats are a little different, but here's our setup and I'm pretty satisfied with my wave. I've got a 750# sac in each rear locker, 225# in the ski locker in the floor, and 2 fatsac bricks (150# each) that I put in the bow on the surf side...then I get as much of the crew as possible to sit surf side as well. And finally I have a mission delta shaper as low and far back as possible. I've got a decent wave....now we've just got to figure out how to ride it 😂.

Edited by dspilot
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  • 10 months later...

Hi guys, I'm glad I found your posts. Nice job all around, and thanks for sharing. I also have a 2001 Malibu Sunsetter with Wedge and Titan tower and have been playing around with filling ballast bags from pumps hanging over the side of the boat for several years. This year I'm getting serious about adding 3 Johnson or Wakemaker reversible ballast pumps and everything that goes with it for a clean upgrade. I'm mocking everything up before I fully commit but getting really close. Hopefully, you guys can help me out with a few things I'm not sure about yet.

Like both of you I'm moving my battery from the port rear corner, but just under the rear port seat. For the short term, this is a simple move since the existing battery cables are long enough. I'll be able to use the battery box, but not the lid. I'll cover the positive and negative connections individually. Sometime in the future I'll do the nice dual battery set up that you guys have.

I'm adding photos of my crude but accurate enough mockups for hull inlet ports and pump locations. I was planning to mount all 3 pumps behind the rear seat on aluminum plates that I'll attach to the upper and lower rear seat stringers, but only 2 will fit there. I'm now considering mounting the 3rd pump on the plastic panel of the port locker but believe that would really make the panel rattle when the pump was running. I'll likely have to go with a smaller Guppy pump under the rear port seat close to the V-drive. Plumbing and wiring for the rear bags all look feasible. Plumbing to the center ski locker and then to bags under the bow seats doesn't look as simple. I have pulled my main compartment fuel tank cover and there looks to be enough room to run a 1" hose to the ski locker. Getting into the ski locker is my concern. Do either of you have a ski locker ballast line coming from the rear of the boat along the starboard side of the fuel tank? If so, is there hole in the aft wall of the ski locker? My ski locker has a drain plug in the rear, but not large enough for a hose without removing and drilling a larger hole. I'm also wanting to tie the ski locker bags into the under the seat bow bags. Determining where to drill more holes to do this is still on my list. Any suggestions are appreciated. I plan to post my entire upgrade when complete to share all of my efforts as well with the Malibu Crew community. Hopefully my reversible pump upgrade project will be helpful to you guys in the future.

A couple small things regarding stock Malibu dash switches wiring. Bakes Online has OEM "Malibu MLS" ballast switch covers, and Wakemakers has a pre-made pigtail to convert the standard DPDT rocker switches used for aerator fill & drain pumps to run reversible pumps.

Last 2 questions: I need to replace all of my black flexible blower and ventilation hoses. What I'm not sure about is where the vent hoses along the port and starboard sides are supposed to start and end. Would you guys mind posting some pictures showing the ? Regarding Perfect Pass, are there any additional holes that need to be drilled in the Hull? I'll now look into Upgrading with Perfect Pass too per your postings. 

 

 

pump inlet locations.jpg

starboard side pump location.jpg

guppy pump and battery locations.jpg

under seat bow bags.jpg

port side pump locations Y.jpg

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@Vach6

I would consider mounting the thru-hulls behind the depth or speed sender. The thru-hulls  may create turbulence that interferes with the sender at higher speed. Also if you are concerned about being able to fill at speeds >20mph, then I would stagger the thru hills so they each get clean water under the boat. 

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It’s been a few years, but as I recall there is a vent on the port side dash.  One hose should connect to it and route all the way to the engine compartment- essentially acting as a “ram” air scoop to help ventilate.  Should be similar on the starboard, but I can’t visualize where the air intake scoop is.  

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Staggered hull inlets as recommended above just past alternator on port side for clean access. 5" center to center between inlets, and offset at about 20 degrees to centerline of the hull. Thanks for the good advice. 

I'll get my bilge exhaust blower and hull ventilation squared away now too. Thanks.  

 

 

staggered hull inlet ports.jpg

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@Vach6The air intake entrance is under the windshield on either side, and those pipes run the entire length to the engine compartment. My pipes terminate right behind the rear seat. Really just to get air in that whole compartment. Here is a photo on the port side in the front storage area, the starboard is the same under the helm ... can't miss it.

IMG_0329

 

Edited by BlindSquirrel
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37 minutes ago, Vach6 said:

Staggered hull inlets as recommended above just past alternator on port side for clean access. 5" center to center between inlets, and offset at about 20 degrees to centerline of the hull. Thanks for the good advice. 

I'll get my bilge exhaust blower and hull ventilation squared away now too. Thanks.  

 

 

staggered hull inlet ports.jpg

That's the starter, but yes that spot looks good. The alternator is on the other side with the belt going to it.

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