Functional Keel Cooler: When I got this boat, it would overheat because of the poorly designed cooling system. I fixed that by installing another keel/skin cooler along the outer edge of the boat; I believe this actually helps with the lift of the boat when getting up on step. One keel cooling circuit runs the “hot” side of the engine water jacket system (installed by Alfa Fab 2021); the other keel cooler (Fernstrum, original equipment) runs the “cool” side, the aftercooler, then gear and engine oil coolers. The wet exhaust is drawn from the “jet squirt” when the jet is in gear. This boat is 100% keel cooled, and it works flawlessly. There is ample cooling capacity in both circuits so you don’t have to change the antifreeze mixture at the end of the season. It is always perfect. Proportionate Bucket Controls: I dramatically improved the maneuverability and control of this boat with the installation of Glendenning proportionate controls for the buckets, instead of the “bang-bang” bucket controls the boat came with. I’m sure many guys can drive their jet boats just fine with the bang-bangs, but after using both control types, I can say there is no comparison. I can now drive this boat like I knew how to drive a jet boat before I could walk; throughout my first year with bang-bang controls, I was smashing into everything, bending net clips, and was a general hazard to anyone unfortunate enough to be too close to me. Autopilot that works: Another incredible improvement is the Garmin autopilot, which runs off of the Glendenning steering system. I use this all the time; to travel, when I tow the net, or in the middle of fishing when I just want to leave the helm to take a piss—I just push “engage” on the pilot and it holds the course so you can go hands-free. Even when I’m not making way through the water—I put the jets in “jet neutral” (which is instantly accomplished without guesswork with proportionate controls) and push “engage” on the autopilot, and it holds me in one spot for as long as needed. After three years without it, it was so incredible to have the ability to not have my hand on the wheel every second the boat is in gear. Flying Bridge: My fully-functional and totally awesome flying bridge is also an incredible feature of this boat. After my first year of being stuck in the wheelhouse 100% of the time, I knew I couldn’t function without a flying bridge. Like I said—I’m not interested in changing my fishing style—I like to sit on top and see/hear/feel everything. I notice my “fishability’ improves dramatically when I am up on the flying bridge. And the view way up there from this flying bridge is absolutely incredible! You can see everything so well it will blow your mind—it is so much fun up there—I just love it. To access the flying bridge, I put a ladder in the wheelhouse, leading up to the flying bridge through a trap-door in the floor. It is a super-quick transition to the command position up on top. The auto pilot gives you plenty of time to “settle in” up top, taking command with the Glendenning controls. The full electronic complement is up top, including engine readout panels, as well as access to the loudhailer mic, group and VHF radios, Hawe (Hav-a) drum control, plus all the headlights/decklights for operating at night. I don’t have to go downstairs for anything! This flying bride is small and tight, because it is windy and cold up there! But the design of this flying bridge keeps the wind off, and swirling air-space to a minimum; It has an effective “sneeze shield” forward, and smaller wind breaks all around. It is all business up there, and the pumped in heat from the Red Dot heater really makes it a pleasant fishing experience for whoever may be operating this boat for the 2026 season… Webasto heater that works 100% flawlessly (and is vented correctly): Another great feature about this boat is how comfortable and cozy we made the living spaces. Our first and greatest challenge was getting the Wabasto heater to work properly. This heating system was not properly installed when the boat was built—it drew in the damp air from within the cabin and spit it right back in, so the cabin never dried out but instead got more humid, stinky, and damp—it was like living in a swamp. We relocated the heater, and installed fresh-air intakes from which the Webasto draws fresh air. Now the heater produces a hot, dry heat that warms the whole boat in minutes. It is really awesome. Last year I installed a 10-gallon day-tank on the roof that gravity-feeds the Wabasto. It works flawlessly. Previously, the heater would quit working after the boat fuel tank was only 2/3 full (1/3 empty). Now it never stops working, and at the start of this season all I did was push the start button (just once) and it fired right up—it was so gratifying to have instant heat at the touch of a button! Hot water fast… and a deck shower: A great improvement was moving the hot water heater from way back in the engine room to up in the cabin, right next to the sink. This boat was built with the hot water heater way back in the engine room, and it would take more than a minute of running the water for the “hot” water to reach the sink, and by that time is was lukewarm. Now hot water comes out right away, like it should! It is also nice and hot when it feeds the deck shower I installed… Red Dot window defroster and Flying Bridge heat: Since we brought the engine hot water lines up for the water heater, we also hooked up a Red Dot blower-type heater to push warm air to the wheelhouse windows. Now the windows don’t steam up if the crew chooses to enjoy a cup of tea (but when the stove-fume blower is on, that reduces steamy-window dramatically). It is your choice to either heat the wheelhouse windows, or pump heat to the flying bridge (you can do both but it works better if you commit to one). The flybridge heat is pumped through a durable dryer tube, that I like to put at my feet, then I cover my legs with a cozy wool blanket. I’m never cold on my flying bridge! . Stove blower-fan (vented to the outside) is a game changer: We installed another vent to accommodate a high-capacity cooking blower over the stove, so all of those greasy cooking fumes are quickly and efficiently evacuated from the living space—total game changer for happy-gally existence. Creature-features in the cabin: We put that expensive black deck mat down on the floor, and it is so nice to walk upon, whether in your boots or in your stocking feet—it is totally comfortable. To make the overall space more livable we added shelves, and split the access boards to the void bins so it is easier to access all the stuff that is stored on the boat. We even extended two of the bunks to accommodate fishermen who are not descendants of Sicilians. Super-comfy bunk in the wheelhouse: I fish four crew on deck, plus myself. Since I don’t want to snuggle-bunk with any of them, I built a super-comfy bunk in the wheelhouse. This bunk is compact, but I honestly think it is the best bunk on the boat. The mattress (included with purchase) is a deluxe camping air-pad that is off-the-charts comfortable. It fits the spot perfectly, and the bunk does not encroach into the working wheelhouse space. There is still plenty of visibility to run the drum from the wheelhouse Hawe (Hav-a) control. The bunk also subs as great storage for stuff during fishing time. The bottom “master” bunk downstairs is so huge it can easily fit two people in there (we call it the “marriage bunk”), so I store my seabag in there with the crewman who is occupying the deluxe cabin bunk. I truly believe the best bunk is the wheelhouse bunk. Watch Alarm: The Mo’Fish has a “Last Watch” watch alarm. It works great, and is even hooked up to a secondary super-siren in case you are really sleepy. I installed this for the purpose of taking “sneaky snoozes” during periods of wide-open fishing, so if I want to catch a 20 minute nap, I don’t have to rely on the crew (who would love an 8-hour nap) to wake me up. It works GREAT and I’ve had this set up on any boat I’ve run in Bristol Bay. Engines and Jets: I haven’t been talking too much about the engine room and all that, because the engines/jets work great. The Ultra-Jet 340 HT jets work really good—they are the gold standard of jets, as far as I can tell, and I’m super-happy to have them pushing this boat around. Like I said, I haven’t changed my fishing style, so I haven’t gotten all gritty in the mud too much, and therefore I haven’t beat the shit out of my jets. I’ve had Chris MacDonald build-up/turn the impellers a couple of times, but each time they hardly needed it. These jets are in top shape. The engines are also in really good shape. There they are, 5.7 liters each, and I press up the throttle and the boat goes fast. I don’t know what else to say—the equipment is doing what it is supposed to do, and I do all the maintenance I’m supposed to do, so here is a great set of engine and jets that have been treated very gently, and are ready to serve your fishing needs to any extent you would like to push them. Go for it! Winterization Procedures: I put this boat away very well. Everything gets a fresh-water scrub and a rinse. I change all fluids and filters, winterize the refer, etc. Then I give all of the aluminum a corrosion-block spray, being careful to not hit the electronic components. I have no oil stain under the boat from leaking fluids through the winter—everything is tight here.