Removing plastic cup holders and through hulls

[s_kelley2000]

I recently picked up a 99 Super Sport and one of the first things on my upgrade list is to swap out the original plastic cup holders and through hulls for the bilge pumps and cooler drain to stainless steel. I assume quite a few people have made similar upgrades on these era boats before so any tips or advice would be great. Is there any marine adhesive used on the cup holders or through hulls? Are there any hidden screws under the deck that are holding the cup holders in place? I keep forgetting to take a good look at these and won’t get a chance to look at my boat for a few days but I would like to place an order with White Lakes soon so if anybody has any info for me that would be great.

Also has anybody tried using the cup holders with the LED rings? My wife likes them but we have never seen them installed on a boat and I get the feeling they will look sort of cheap and chunky during the day but pretty cool at night. Since 99% of our boating is done in the day I think the stainless steel will look much classier but would love to hear from anybody that has installed or seen the LED ones in person.

Thanks,
Shawn

[crobi2]

Yeah, the plastic cup holders are held in with something like silicone but they will come out. The problem is that the holes in the deck are smaller than the stainless cup holders I got. It worked out for me though - I dug all of the crappy shelves out from the gunnel areas (shoe storage?) and used the stainless cup holders inside the gunnels (pockets?) - one on the port and two on the drivers side (sort of like the newer boats have).

Oh, The drivers plastic cup may be through the pod material on your boat - if it is, you can cram a stainless one in there (I love mine).

The through hulls came out easy...except for the cooler drain which was held in with 5200 or something I guess because it is so close to the water line. I had to break it in pieces. Solid stainless through hulls look gorgeous in my opinion. I used atwoods that I got a smokin deal on. Shop around, you might be amazed at the price differences.

[SkiTower]

might want to check on this light up cup holders...I understand they are battery powered. WL has wired a few into the boat but that is a pretty big job. Might be cool but not worth the trouble to me (changing batteries or wiring). Also, you might like them (which really is all that matters) but others will have mixed opinions (resale?). SS would look good to about anybody.

Just my 0.02

[s_kelley2000]

Thanks guys, this is great information! I had a feeling that the cooler through hull might have some marine adhesive on it but it doesn’t sound like it was too bad to bust up and get out? There’s no way it can be worse than removing the rudder port on my old sport and it will really freshen up the look so any pains will be well worth it. Did you use any adhesive when you put the stainless cooler through hull in? If not, any issues with water seeping in? I’m regular so I will be doing some surfing on that side and I currently have a sub in that storage area so I will probably seal it for peace of mind. Please PM me if you found those Attwood through hulls for much under $15 but I think I am going to use one of the site sponsors since I need some new sacs as well. Speaking of sacs, does anybody know if there is enough room for 750s in rear the compartments beside a Python 502? I know there is room with the GT40 or Excal but not sure about the big block. And is it the rear seat bag that comes close to filling up the in floor locker?

It sounds like I have the same side compartments in the gunwale area as you and I was trying to figure out what the purpose of that little divider wall was but your shoe/sandal theory is better than anything I could think of. Whatever it was intended for I was already thinking of adding some cup holders there as well so if you could get me some pics of your setup and a brief description of how you did it at some point that would be great! Did you get your stainless cup holders from White Lakes? The description on Item 90307 says they are the ones used on newer Nautiques but can also be used to replace the plastic ones in some older boats but maybe that description is wrong or does not apply to my boat. My driver’s cup holder is cut into the deck like the other 3 and not part of the dash pod like yours.

I was pretty sure I was going with the stainless cup holders but wanted to do my due diligence on the LED ones before ruling them out since my wife was pushing for them. The more I think about it the more I like the stainless look so hopefully I can get them to fit into the factory holes.

[crobi2]

Yes, I did use 5200 on all of the thru hulls so they are probably never coming out. It was easy to bust up the plastic cooler one and get it out.

$9.75 off amazon Jan '11. Price varies wildly.

Wait... You've got a Python? Wowww. Pictures please! Should be room for the 750s. Probably won't have to wait long for the other Python guys to get on this thread to confirm.

I'll try to snap some pictures, but it will take me a while (going riding on a friends boat after work today) (2004 SANTE - he HAS the cupholders built in). The shelf thing is just held in by 2 screws - undo those and it will slide out the back toward the rear storage locker. The area is a tight fit for drinks because of the shape of the seats and the small hole in the side panel. I just cut out a hole for the cup holder in the storage bin/seat bottom as far to the outside as I could and put the cupholder in it.

On the right side I am still experimenting but I have made a cutout with the two cup holes in it and placed it in the pocket with that shelf thing pulled out. I will probably make it permanent using a sheet of aluminum or plastic. It looks like you could put 3 cupholders on the right side and there is more room to get drinks in and out.

Got the cupholders at academy $8 each. Look the same as the $15 ones to me but this may be the reason they don't fit (cheap). If you get the Whitelake ones to work in the deck holes, let us know and I might get some more from them.

Python - Wow!

[s_kelley2000]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge C-rob it's much appreciated. I am going to order those white lakes stainless cup holders today so I will let you know if they fit the deck holes. It sounds like your gunwale compartments are a little different than mine, does your boat have the full wrap around seating? I believe my openings are identical on both sides and seem big enough to get drinks in and out. Pretty sure I could easily get 3 cup holders in each one. More than anything it would be nice to have spots for people to stash there phones and stuff while they are riding.*

Yes it's a python and I love it. Most of the main lounge seat bottoms were pretty cracked, the gel coat has some oxidation and it has the original FCT so i was able to get a great deal on a low hour boat with a legendary wake. The deal and the lack of "old 210s" for sale in the north east was enough to convince me to drive 2000 miles round trip to SC to drag her home. I am pretty sure some compound, buffing and wax will bring the gel coat back pretty nicely but I am prepared to strip off the graphics and give her a good wet sanding this winter if necessary. Once I get her cleaned up and my seats redone I will be sure to post plenty of pics. It should be ready to go for memorial day so hopefully my favorite lake will have some more water in it by then. I'm not sure how to post pics from my phone but when I'm back on a computer I will post a couple shots. The main color is black and the stripe above that is tan(zephyr I think they call it?).*

[crobi2]

I can't believe the other Python guys haven't been on here yet asking questions about your boat. Apparently the Pythons are rare enough that you can keep track of them and who owns them.

Here are my attempts at pics after riding yesterday.

[s_kelley2000]

Good news those white lakes stainless cup holders dropped right into the factory gunwales on my 99 and they look great. The only slight issue was that the one for the spotter seat had a real tight fit to clear the windshield before it popped into place. I was able get it to clear with a little force and now it sits in there perfectly and I didn't scratch the windshield or cup holder in the process.



Thanks for the pics of your gunwale cup holders. I am defintely going to do something similar to my boat soon.