25 Sportbridge Outriggers

[ROBERTH]

Hi folks, I have made an offer on a 92 Sportbridge. Extremely excited, but reserved for now until it is in my hands. I have a very curious question for you at this point as my mind is running.

Outriggers: This boat has never had any installed. I prefer hardtop mounted riggers so no restriction to get around walk path to front. With that, has anyone mounted riggers on the hardtop on this type of model? Is a small aluminum backing plate enough? Assume the fiberglass is strong enough or do the plates have to be welded to tower?

Also, this boat was repowered in '06 with 200 HPDI's. From what I read, the major concern with these motors is dirt in fuel causes havoc. Need to install 2 micron filters and change religiously is what I get from reading. Any experiences you can share with your 200 HPDI's?

Thanks for any assistance here as I have been trying to find a way to get into a bigger boat for over 6 years now and looks like it is very possible my dream could come true. Fingers crossed, toes crossed, etc.

 

[ROBERTH]

Anyone? I have firmed the deal. Should take delivery this weekend if all goes as planned.

Looks like the Lee Outrigger holders are really nice and are easy to put up and down. I see they have a 4" X 6" mounting plate. Seems it would be much better if I fabricated a nice larger piece of heavy aluminum to help distribute the stress on the hardtop. I am thinking this hardtop is solid layered glass and not balsa cored. Anyone know for sure? Seemed to me as it was fairly thin compared to some I have seen which I presume is cored (Cored being thicker due to thickness of the coring material).

 

[gw204]

It's balsa cored.

Send an email to GW's customer service dept. They can tell you for sure what you will need to do.

 

[Grog]

Definitely cored. I'd run a piece of 1/4" Aluminum at least the same width as the base across the top and through bolt it to the frame. Weld an extra Aluminum plate (1/2" total) where you want the mounting plates and drill/tap holes.

 

[ROBERTH]

Great ideas. so Grog, good idea to maybe put a plate on top and extend it so I can drill/bolt through plate/hardtop and through pipe which will greatly strengthen the plate. Maybe no need to find a welder then? I will check with the dealer on opportunity to help with this and maybe has a local welder. Do want to weld for sure if easy enough to arrange it.

Also good idea to contact Grady service. New to Grady and heard great thing about their support, so will give that a try also.

Very happy to be joining the Grady bunch!

 

[Gary M]

I checked with my buddy who has 200 HPDIs on his Contender........ keep in mind that he put over 4,000 hours on his 1987 G-W befor he bought his Contender! Hope this helps.......

"We have not had any fuel related issues - with 10 Micron filters and using RingFree every time we add gas. We always get fresh gas and don't let it sit too long. I have heard of some problems with VSR filters getting clogged and there are some internal filters on the HP pump that can be a problem if they get clogged. I think a lot of the fuel problems are problems with fuel systems (tanks, hoses etc as much as engine problems). Over 1300 hours on ours with only minor problems (pumps on oil reservoir, voltage regulator)."

 

[ROBERTH]

Thanks Gary M.....good to hear and along line of what I have been hearing also.

What happens when there is a problem on the oil reservoir pump? Does engine shut down or go to safe mode?