drewm3i

It's about 2-3 hours (depends on sea state) from Haulover (where Jeff keeps his boat) to Key Largo by boat. I think it's about 60 miles. Last time we were inside through Miami and then popped out at Stiltsville, ran to Cape Florida light, and then popped out 6 miles to Fowey Rocks before running back in to Hawk's Channel down to the keys. You could also run outside the reef line. Jeff, how was the reef condition? Prior to Irma, key largo dry rocks was making a huge comeback at least on the forereef on top of the coral spurs. Unfortunately Irma blasted my favorite reef (Horseshoe) and it is basically gone now.

It's not ideal, but it will be better than your jetboat.

It's pretty simple, they keep building bigger and more expensive boats that no one can afford.

+1

Hey guys, hope everyone is doing well. Unfortunately, the reefs took an absolute beating in Irma. News reports were very positive to not scare off tourists, but I've heard/seen from some local footage that a few of the reefs that were still relatively healthy before Irma, are now all but gone. I would still be happy to help plan and provide some Intel though, but realize the keys aren't the same this year as they were last year because of the storm.

That's false. Chaparral's show false positives.

Try on off. Works great for orange stains. Whatever you do, follow up with some wax.

Could be leaking tank, loose sender gasket, fuel filter spill from a change, old fuel lines that have had the lining eaten through, or any combination of these. Get an expert to take a look and don't run the boat in the meantime. Also turn off all electrical.

Need a closer picture. Also realize that the housing of the outdrive is not a cause to replace the whole thing...

Pics. Yamaha's are great drives. If you need a new one, call captain Ken or look on eBay. Google captain ken Nelson marine service

It's normal to turn the prop by hand and hear clicking.

His boat doesn't have blisters because it is newer and it probably has vinylester resin in the exterior glass layup for the hull. Your boat does not have this, I think they started adding it around '94. I was not implying this was all your fault, however every boat that stays in the water should have a proper barrier coat and an antifouling paint or be on a lift or one of those new airdock things. A boat with vinylester can still blister and blisters can lead to hull delamination.

For anyone reading this thread and intending to keep your boat in the water: don't be stubborn, use bottom paint. The OP has a bunch of blisters on his hull from not using bottom paint.

Hard to say. The crack will have to be grinded down and filled back in with gel coat, though it looks to be on a chine? Maybe a stress crack due to hull flexing at that point because of delamination? It's hard to say. The spots may be water intrusion into the underlying laminate, but it's hard to say online. Where are you located?