My 260ss Upgrades


andybellus

andybellus

New member
Thought I would share some info and pics of a few things I've done to my 2000 260ss over the last 6 months I've owned it. Here's a pic, cause everyone likes pics right?

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I bought the boat cause I was tired of driving 5+ hrs each way to the river when I'm 15min from the ocean. So it's primary use will be in the ocean where I'll be cruising the coast of Southern California. Entertaining family and friends, diving, waters sports, some fishing, and an occasional overnight or day trip to Catalina. So most of these upgrades revolve around the above use cases.

First thing I did was address a few preventative maintenance items for piece of mind...

- Oil change
- New SS braided hydro trim lines(3 of four were frayed)
- Props tuned up and polished (had some minor issues)
- All bellows replaced (had never been done)
- New lower shift linkage
- New trim limiter and sender
- New gimbal bearing
- B3 drive service
- New anodes for saltwater use
- Installed a VHF Radio and antenna
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And hit the water(Dana Point)for the first time!
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Having gone out a few times now, I knew I needed to address a few things:

Added this for more storage at the helm and another cup holder
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First time someone put a beer in this "cup holder" it spilt and went everywhere, so added this SS ring which works great
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Needed something to charge phones and plug 110v stuff into, so added this small 400w inverter. Just used some nice 20lbs 3M double sided tape to mount it and just plugs into 12v outlet. Can't even see it unless you look for it and it's worked great so far.
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I also needed a way to keep the batteries fresh so I added a ProSport12 on board charger. Used some 3M 5200 to secure an old cutting board I swiped from the kitchen, then mounted the charger to that.
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The boat came this way so, I'm not sure if this is stock but most pics I see have a cooler and a trash can up top. I've got two coolers up top
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And a trash can under the sink
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Anyone else's setup this way?


Boat also came with this upgraded swim platform, which is AWSOME, highly recommended!

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So having added all that, we made several more trips including a run to Catalina without issue. However when I got home from one of the trips during cleanup I noticed some rusty stains on the side of the engine block and low and behold the port manifold was leaking :(

So I took it in and had new OEM manifolds and risers installed. Also put a new raw water impeller/housing in it once I got it back which was a good thing, the one that came out wasn't in very good shape(sorry no pic)
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So we took it out again and everything ran great. This trip was great cause before we left my daughter said she wanted to go fishing! Oh yeah, so I grabbed a 10y/o freshwater set up thinking we would just go through the motions make a few casts and move on. Well look what she found lol

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So with the boat now having caught it's first fish it was time to get it better equipped for some real fishing, but I didn't want it to be permanent, so everything is quickly removable to keep it clean for other water sports.

I ended up going with a Kodiac PF-22 bait tank w/the 4-rod holder option and mounted it with their quick mount kit which worked out great!
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I used a Rule 500gph transom mount setup and mounted it using a piece of cutting board glued to the transom with 3M 5200, then screws into cutting board to mount the base plate. So I didn't have to screw anything into the transom. Works on plane as well.
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Plumed it up and gave myself a raw water wash option as well. Just used zip ties to attach power cable to hose and Velcro to attach that to swim platform support.

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Used this power outlet to get power to the pump, just ran it directly to the battery(with a fuse) so it's always hot. I just pull the leads to battery when I'm not using it.
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Added a couple more rod holders
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A place to prep some bait
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How about some Chrome speaker grills to replace those white ones!

I really like the upgardes you've done. I loved my 260 when I had it, but our boating habits changed and we needed a boat with more amenities.
 
Post #4 continued here due to 15 pic per single post limit of new forum


Needed a place to keep tackle so I installed this hatch to access the storage below the coolers and make it more useful.
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I was going to go with one that had dedicated plano box storage, but it would only allow for 3x 3600 size boxes, didn't allow complete use of the space and were much more ($200-300 vs $40)This hatch allows me to use the larger Plano 3700 up to 4 of them fit and still have additional space for oils, rags, and some cleaning supplies.
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The 3700 series boxes fit perfect on top of the "bar", I ended up putting 2" Velcro on the bottom of the plano boxes and on top of the bar top and it keeps them put while rocking and rolling.
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Needed a place to put the catch so I had a custom cooler/fish kill bag made for the ski locker storage. It's
66"Long x 13"Wide x 7"Tall also bought another kill bag that will handle the bigger stuff. Everything fits in the ski locker really well, bait prep table, gaff, wash down hose....
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And four rods 6ft fit really well down below, two on each side and nicely out of the way.
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Lastly needed to see the fish so I installed a HDS5 chartplotter/fishfinder with a p73 thru-hull transducer. I ended up using some 20lb 3M double sided tape to secure the mount to the dash so I didn't have to drill any holes in the fiberglass and has worked great so far. Only had to drill one small hole in the dash face plate to run the cables.
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Mounted the transducer(left) across from the stock depth finder sender. Works great and will hold bottom on plane without issue.
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I also updated the dash cause I thought it looked really blah....

Stock
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Updated dash
- New Faria gauges (all stock senders and wiring used)
- Changed trim tabs buttons to white
- Pulled the center cover on the steering wheel and added a formula logo center cap
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- Added new Clarion m303 head unit with a waterproof floating RF remote(works anywhere on boat)
- bought new stereo cover but it didn't fit. So I ended up painting the original with that new Krylon Fusion paint for plastic. So far so good
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I'll be updating speakers here shortly as well....
 
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Almost forgot about this one..... My 260 has a flush head but no pump out macerator so instead of having to track down a pump-out on the water and possibly have to wait in line. I put this together so I can pump-out the tank at home.

I bought this pump
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Cut the front lip off as the threads are exactly the same size needed for attaching to the waste access
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Added this fuse and clamps I cut off an old portable air compressor that no longer worked so I could power it from the boats battery. I just use a quick connect near the pump to turn on/off
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It's self priming and has worked great so far. I plan to replace the clamps with another connector that will work with the power outlet I installed for the bait pump so I don't have to keep going into the engine compartment to hook it up.
 
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That's where I'm at to date... Looking at wakeboard towers and LED lighting upgrades for my next projects.
 
Update: With the weather so nice this weekend , was able to get out Sunday for a quick ride out of Newport Beach up to Long Beach had lunch at the Yard House. first time out with the new gauges and they worked and looked great. MPH is a little off showed 31mph when I was truly running 27mph on GPS but no biggie.

On the run home my 6y/o daughter asked to "drive" so she got some wheel time and we ended up coming across a really big pod of dolphins/sealions jumping and playing. Then 5 min later a group of three EDIT: not humpback, grey whales! it was really great, I'll have to track down the pics and video
 
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Well this isn't so much a boat update, as much as a tow vehicle update...

Got rid of the 04' 1500 Tahoe that wasn't up to the task of towing this thing and got me a nice 03' 2500 Yukon XL w/8.1L. Been busy getting it up to task as the family truckster/tow rig. It now has new tires, brakes F/R, oil cooler lines, water pump/thermostat, ALL hoses/belts, idler and tensioner pulleys, ALL fluids, ac compressor, stereo/DVD and a good detail. But most importantly, representing Formula hahaha








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I guess I do have a boat update as well, I'll be swapping the older style fuel vents on my 260ss below


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out to these newer "inny" style vents so it looks a bit cleaner and won't have the chance of get caught up on something. Hope to get it done this weekend.

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Well had a little free time after work and now I have one less thing to do this weekend. Was much easier than I thought and came out great.

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I found it on ebay, it's a "STAINLESS STEEL DOUBLE DRINK HOLDER WITH STUDS FOR BOATS - FIVE OCEANS" under 30 shipped. I did have to shorten up the stud a little bit but nothing a cutoff wheel or hacksaw can't take care of in quick order.
 
Now we're cooking with gas

Wanted a place I could cook up some grub while were out for a long day on the water or overnighting and with my little 260 space is at a premium. I ended up buying a Magma A10-703 grill, pedestal mount and storage bag.

Mounted it on the extended swim platform, should work out well there and the mount is out of the way for the most part.

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The storage bag holds the BBQ and the pedestal mount without issue

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I'd measured everything prior to purchase in hopes that I could store it on the side of the engine by the table and it was going to be close. Turns out it fits great there, I used a couple straps I had to secure it so it doesn't move around to much. We'll see how well it works out this season.


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Was this bought at west marine as a unit or separate from the mount? I want one of them for my boat. I looked on the website but couldn't find it. Model for it and the mount if you have it. Thanks.
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