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FINALLY took her out last evening for a shakedown with a couple of friends.
After replacing the two small pipes at the rear of the port tranny (did the STBD last year when it started leaking and bought the parts for both but didn't get to it) we took off, literally. Some time back when I told a friend about the power and props he said, "when you slip her in gear she's gonna step off smartly." Damn, now I know what that meant.
For the most part all went very well. Very quiet, Thanks Soundown. Very smooth, thanks to a exemplary job done by the mechanic on installation. He and I lined up both engines in less than three hours. She runs like a scalded dog.
Not all was perfect. First, how do I adjust the idle on 6BTA's? One is at about 850 and the other about 1000.
Roaring out of Carter's Creek the port engine started to over heat. Dropped back to idle and temp dropped to 100. Appears to be a sticking thermostat problem. Check that this a.m. One tach quit, probably a lose wire.
On the way up the creek stopped at a day marker and did a few pirouettes, backing straight, figuring out the very tender throttles then off to the boat house for a fitting. Doesn't fit like Rawleigh's which was custom built for Miss M. Do I sound jealous? Could is. She fits better than I thought she would. Hard to visualize a boat in a boat house which I have been looking at for seven f#*ing years on the hard. Wow!
Went out to din-din with the same crowd and the Bride to celebrate. A few clears and soft-shell crabs and off to bed. Lay there for about ten minutes and my radar started to twang. Went down for a final check and discovered one of the shaft stuffing boxes had backed off and was shipping water. Whew! If, after all of that, she had sunk in the boat house the very first night I would never live that down. Thudddd would have a field day with Mikey's small brain.
All in all a most satisfactory evening. Years ago I discovered that over-the-road truckers will never leave their rigs without turning a head to give her one more look. Are we all like those truckers? I sure am.
I feel like the octogenarian who died in the saddle. Took three days to get the smile off his face and a week to close the coffin. I think the grin is permanent.

Congrats again Mike,
I bought a boat lift (Viking / much different from the standard fare up here) atleast 5yrs ago.
Been sitting on the beach all this time, .
For too many years was dubbed as the only oil rig on the shore of Georgian Bay.
It's going in the water today.
You got a receipe you want to share for servin' up crow.
Have a great weekend.
Cheers,
John.

Good deal Mikey....congrats. To set the idle, find the screw on the injector pump throttle arm - the one the throttle cable attaches to - and get some tiny metric wrenches and first loosen the little lock nut, then back the screw out to reduce throttle, run it in to increase, then lock the nut back. Very tedious, but you will get the hang of it. Its just a mechanical stop, but those damn nuts are tiny.

UV

Mikey- Have someone push the throttle while you look at the engine. Youll see the cable arm push a lever back and forth. There's a set screw on it that acts as a stop. Backing off or tightening adjusts the idle. You can set your engines to 650-700 rpm at idle. You'll like it a lot better when docking and trolling. You might find that when the engines have really warmed up, that idle may drop to 600. You can adjust manually at the throttles if you wish. When colder, she'll go back to 650. Enjoy! Walter

Mikey......Next trip out let us all know the numbers. Speed/RPM, Gear ratio,prop size etc.... Good luck and very nice boat. Troy

Good news Mikey!! If you need any help adjusting the throttle let me know!

Mikey,
I'm sorry I could not be there to witness the grand event. Congrats to you for all the hard work you put into her. I bet you are glad you filled the tanks last year when the fuel was that much cheaper.

-Chiles