Ranger Updates

[Matt Sells]

With all the work being done on the Ranger recently as well as all the work planned for this summer, I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread and keep you guys updated on the mild transformation that will be taking place.

First off, the 6 year old NAPA trolling motor batteries were replaced with Optima Blue Tops which were donated to our club. The NAPA batteries are still good, which is unbelievable for their age, and will be used as backups for both boats.

Secondly, the Ranger was at Lake Sara Marine for the last 2 weeks of the semester where it received quite a bit of attention. It originally went in to get the reverse gear repaired but left with a pretty long list of other repairs. It received an oil change, got new oil and fuel filters, the lower unit was lubed, the leaking seal on the lower unit was replaced, hydraulic and lower unit oil was replaced, a new pitot tube for the speedometer was installed, and the broken thru-hull fitting for the transom was replaced, in addition to the reverse gear being repaired. After all of that work, we now have a boat that is completely repaired (except for the coolant leak, which the tech at Lake Sara said not to worry too much about).

After picking the Ranger up from Lake Sara we took it out to Shelbyville for our tournament where it started up and ran like a champ in the morning. We ran into some problems with the ignition switch and then the power for the accessories later in the day. The ignition switch was repaired before we left and the boat ran perfect following. For those of you that were there, I have solved the accessories issues. After hours of going through wiring and connections I found that the wire supplying power to the fuse block (which then distributes power to all of the accessories) was not completely secure.

Now on to the fun stuff and the installation of our new electronics.

We started and got most of the installation done for the front unit (Lowrance X52) at Lake Shelbyville. We were unable to test it because of the accessory power issue. I solved the power issue right before I left the boat yesterday so this weekend I will finally test it out.

I also got a lot of work done for the console unit (Lowrance LMS-520C) yesterday and I am very close to being done. I started off by installing and running the transducer and wiring for it. I had to remove the transducer for the Humminbird flasher in order to install the Lowrance one. The mounting locations on the back of the boat are very limited and there were only two locations where a transducer could be mounted without interference problems while running. One of the locations was taken up by the pitot tube for the speedometer and that left only one other location so the flasher had to be removed. I sealed those holes and mounted the Lowrance transducer in the same location. The plug for the transducer is fairly large which required a larger hole to be drilled in the transom to run the wire. After running the wire, I secured it to the back of the boat and then filled in the hole in the transom with expanding foam. While the hole is above the water line I still wanted it to be sealed and I think the water resistant foam will do a great job of keeping it sealed. I will put a cover over the hole too this weekend. I then ran the transducer cable and the GPS cable from the rear of the boat to the console. The GPS receiver will be mounted on the rear of the boat, I am just waiting to receive the mounting bracket which was missing from the unit when we bought it. After running the wires, I drilled the hole in the console for the wires. All that remains is to install the GPS receiver, wire power to both units and install both mounting brackets. I hope to have all of that done next weekend and will update you when it's done with. Until then, enjoy some pictures from yesterday.

Transducer and wiring on transom (foam still expanding and not hardened)


Transducer mounted (sealant still drying)


Hole in transom from inside engine compartment (foam still expanding and not hardened)


Marking hole to be drilled in console


Hole drilled


Wires run through hole

[jkaszuba]

Fun stuff isn't it Sells? lol looks great man can't wait to see it all

[Matt Sells]

Another weekend, another update. I wasn't able to get too much done due to the weather this weekend but I did make some progress.

I was able to mount the GPS receiver. I mounted on the edge of the rear deck directly behind the driver. This was really the only area on the entire driver's side of the boat that had enough surface area for the mount and wasn't obstructed by, or obstructing, anything.

Next I was able to install the mount for the 520c unit at the console. Due to the windshield and the wide mount that Lowrance uses there was not enough room to directly mount the unit to the console. Because of this, I picked up a 1.5" RAM mount to use to mount the unit on the console (the RAM mount and the GPS quick mount were both my donations to the club and no club funds were used). The result, as you will see in the pictures, is a pretty sweet console set up that gives a lot of flexibility with viewing angles. This is good since the boat always has different people taking it out.

This will be my last update for a while as work and other things will prevent me from going up and getting work done on the boat. All that is left is to wire power to everything and clean up the wiring a little bit. Hopefully I'll be able to give you guys some pictures of a working unit in a few weeks.

GPS Receiver Mounted


RAM and Gimbal Mounts on Console


Mount with 520c Unit


520c Unit Close Up


And of course, what kind of member would I be if I didn't post fish picture?

[fishinazn]

the ole ranger's finally getting some tech put in her now!!!!!