Hey folks,

I just have a few questions regarding a new aluminum CC boat i got. Do any of you dry your boat out after you've used it? I had some water in the boat and drained it but i'm sure there is stil some mosture between the floor and bottom of the boat.

Has anyone added storage to CC aluminum boats before? If so, what did you do? I'm not starved for storage since i used the live well as storage right now but will need more one day.

I seem to be having trouble shifting from neutral to forward, neutral to reverse and vise versa. Also the throttle has to go forward 80% before it will speed up from idle speed, someone told me its because my cable is stiff and needs to be replaced. How do i begin to troubleshoot these problems? (if you are near college station, please let me know, i'd like to fix these problems)

I would start by injecting a very light weight oil lube in the cables. There is a small hand pump device that is sole on line very inexpensive. It come with instructions. Works something like this. remove both ends of the cable. From the back of the boat connect the small hand pump. At the console position the end of the cable in some kine of catch pan or bucket. force the lube through the cable and as it comes out the other end pay close attention of how much rust and corrosion comes out. This will tell you if you would like to go ahead and replace it or let the lube do its job until the cable breaks completely. This is a process that I did every two years to avoid the replacement problem. Keeping them lubed is very inexpensive when you go in to have other maintenance done on the boat. Service departments usually charge about $25 to $40 per cable to lube at their shop.

For storage get a truck tool box that will fit up against the front casting deck. Gives you a ton of storage and a bigger casting deck.

Open the lids every now and then and let air circulate to aid in drying. Take a piece of cloth and a screw driver. Use the screw driver to poke one end of the cloth in your drain hole and let the other end hang down. It will act as a wick and help pull water out if there is any and will answer your question. I personally don't get too concerned if there is a very small amount of water down there. It will dry fairly quickly

I second the suggestion for an outside storage box; using the live well means water going back and fort sometimes. Things will get moisture and mold. I keep my livewell, and all other lids open when I'm not on the water.