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Aft door safety switch for hydraulic hatch I still have my 2013 Formula 31PC. The door apparently wiggles loose and the safety switch doesn't work. The door opens but doesn't actuate the mechanism to allow the hatch to open. I've pulled the pin on the hydraulic lift. What do I need to do to...

I accidentally sucked up water into my built-in vacuum system on my boat. Honestly I didn't even know it was there. I thought I was just picking up garbage that was behind my cabin door but apparently there was water blocked by all the garbage I was trying to suck up. As such, I tripped my...

Mercruiser replaced my Bravo 3 outdrives on my 31PC which used to run about 50mph (+/-) on a calm day on the lake and about 55mph on the sound. After replacing my outdrives, I'm running a good 10mph slower in both situations. Any thoughts on what may be the cause?

When I first got my boat, I just used the sheets and left the comforter off the bed. I just started using the comforter but wondered if I can just wash it or if I should dry clean it. Same with the matching pillow cases. Anyone have thoughts? Thanks.

Interestingly, my starboard drive trim gauge and my starboard fuel gauge both stopped working yesterday. I cranked the boat and got nothing from either side. My SmartCraft device displays everything just fine. If I raise the starboard drive trim, the SmartCraft shows the correct level. The fuel...

I need a dinghy for my boat. My emergency tender is currently a kayak. It’s better than nothing, but not exactly the best idea. Consider cruise speeds for Formulas, I’m worried that any davit system I get is going to have my dinghy bouncing around while under way and will be in the way when...

The admin was kind enough to give us a spot to talk. Granted, we have Facebook, but at least here we can participate in the larger Formula community and get advice all in one spot. I'm working on details of our first rendezvous. I'm evaluating Gig Harbor, Poulsbo, or some place on Lake...

I'm trying to get Formula Owners in Washington together. I have a Facebook page for them and I have about 20ish contacts for Formula owners in the area. I'd like to start organizing them here for rendezvous. Any chance we can get a group started here for us to discuss? Not sure how large or...

I'm in a marina and, as I said before, I'm trying to rid myself of concern over drive corrosion and bottom paint. Despite being in fresh water, these still seem to be significant enough that it's costly to correct. So, I'm thinking about buying a float lift of some sort to put in my slip. I'm...

I hated my isinglass windows. They looked warped and they sagged a bit. They were the worst looking part of my boat outside, and they were extremely difficult to see out of at key times from inside the boat. Because they were so terrible, when weather was rough, rather than putting them...

I got my boat back from detailing and it still had mildew on the caulking on the deck. I had already tried everything including straight up bleach gel pens. The problem was, that even gels wouldn't stay in place over the mildew as they would drip down the line and wouldn't stay long enough to...

I finally have my boat back and it's in my slip, looking pretty damn snazzy from the detail I just had done. I'm still a little peeved that I found corrosion on the drives and I am working with the marina to find the cause, but I'm pretty happy despite spending about $7K in services ($11K once I...

OK, so I'm back to a discussion of bottom paint. I had my boat pulled from the water today for it's regular clean-up and it was looking pretty gnarly from three months of fresh-water algae. While Formula has said that they think I should just be able to clean it and wax it, I'm starting to...

Great to see this feature added to the site. With Leonard Nimoy passing this week, I couldn't help but start with the Captains Blog statement. In any case, this is a great location to share personal info about my adventures and I am looking forward to using it.

my oil pressure on my starboard side engine is extremely low. Before the end of summer, I asked Formula about my oil pressure being around 40psi. They said that was within range. I have notice a steady drop over winter. The pressure was about 25psi with an occasional dip on my short mile and a...

is it quiet in the forums here? I miss the regular banter. Also, if people aren't commenting, how will I know what I am supposed to do with my boat? :)

While most of the midwest / northeast have been getting pounded this winter, the Pacific Northwest has been extremely mild. My bilge pump hasn't even kicked on this year (I built a sensor to log and text me when the heater kicks on). I was crabbing in December. I took my boat out a couple days...

I was getting a strange warning on my SmartCraft VesselView every time I fired her up that said my port-side oxygen sensor wasn't working properly. As it turns out one of my spark plug wires was disconnected, causing a misfire which was being reported as an oxygen sensor. That sounded strange to...

SO, I'm docked at a public marina in Kirkland, sitting in my captains chair, kicking back. My blue interior lights were on, the night was pretty calm. I had just enjoyed the day on my boat and was ready to call it an evening soon thereafter. Down the dock, some people were partying. I could...

My port side has not had a lot of luck: 1) Port side engine replaced due to leaking coolant: Replaced 2) Port side drive shift cable broken: fixed 3) Port side oxygen sensor failing: needs to be fixed 4) Port side engine - noticed paint on replaced engine is gone in one location: need to alert...