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Had another great weekend trip up to the Rockies in "Snowmelt" — the last time at high elevation for the season. This time was Grand Lake, Colorado. It is the largest natural lake in the state despite being only 1.5 x 1 miles across. Probably the deepest lake I've ever ridden in at a max of 389 feet.
Fast facts:
Riding: The boat was able to plane with full ballast even at the extremely high altitude.
Night time operation: First time I've been able to keep my boat in the water overnight and use it at night to watch some fireworks. I didn't leave the bilge on because I wasn't sure how to do that without having the ignition on all night—the Bilge switch setup is a bit confusing to me on these boats. But my prop shaft seal and rudder seal barely leak so there was still no water in the bilge in the AM.
What went wrong:
Trailer: Had a rattle that I didn't like coming up so we checked it out—it sounded exactly like a cooked bearing. On the bright side, all of the bearings were silent and smooth when spinning each tire when jacked up and hubs were barely warm in either direction. It turns out the main caliper bolt on the right disc had fallen out and the caliper itself was rubbing on the inside of the wheel. We removed the caliper and I made it home with no brakes (fortunately it wasn't an issue on the mountain passes with engine braking). Will have to go on the hunt to find the parts. Not sure if "Trail Rite" is even in business anymore.
V-Drive: Checked all fluids and noticed v-drive oil was pretty low so had to top it off. Not sure where or why it's leaking.
Depth finder: Turns out the stock depth finder doesn't do very well at extreme depths. At 20+ mph it was reading blank most of the time. At idle speed, I tried to find the deepest part of the lake. Best I could get was occasional readings in the 270' range. Works fine at more typical depths (<100 ft).
Pics below!
Fast facts:
- 200 miles towing round trip (including another 11,000+ ft elevation mountain pass)
- 8400 feet elevation
- Air temps: 40F (night)-60s F degrees (day)
- Water temp: ~53-55F
- About 8-10 engine hours put on the boat (up to 835 total)
- 0 break downs
- 0 injuries
Riding: The boat was able to plane with full ballast even at the extremely high altitude.
Night time operation: First time I've been able to keep my boat in the water overnight and use it at night to watch some fireworks. I didn't leave the bilge on because I wasn't sure how to do that without having the ignition on all night—the Bilge switch setup is a bit confusing to me on these boats. But my prop shaft seal and rudder seal barely leak so there was still no water in the bilge in the AM.
What went wrong:
Trailer: Had a rattle that I didn't like coming up so we checked it out—it sounded exactly like a cooked bearing. On the bright side, all of the bearings were silent and smooth when spinning each tire when jacked up and hubs were barely warm in either direction. It turns out the main caliper bolt on the right disc had fallen out and the caliper itself was rubbing on the inside of the wheel. We removed the caliper and I made it home with no brakes (fortunately it wasn't an issue on the mountain passes with engine braking). Will have to go on the hunt to find the parts. Not sure if "Trail Rite" is even in business anymore.
V-Drive: Checked all fluids and noticed v-drive oil was pretty low so had to top it off. Not sure where or why it's leaking.
Depth finder: Turns out the stock depth finder doesn't do very well at extreme depths. At 20+ mph it was reading blank most of the time. At idle speed, I tried to find the deepest part of the lake. Best I could get was occasional readings in the 270' range. Works fine at more typical depths (<100 ft).
Pics below!
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