[Brian Belcher]

First day out with our new (to us) Z276. A couple of little hiccups but got those straightened out. One of the exhaust hose clamps was lose and I had to pull part of carb off to get to the screw clamp to stop the water from spewing. Also turned the clamp so I can get a nut driver on it in the future.
So, we couldn't sleep last night and had planned on getting in the truck at 6:30 this morning but since we were already awake, we pulled out at 4:30. Won't do that again.
The morning fog was intense. Used my Navionics app on my phone to get us to a quiet cove.
After the fog cleared, I hit the main lake to open this 454 up. I'm mildly disappointed that my top speed is 30kts. I did monkey with the trim tabs and that took a while to figure out !! The left button controls the right plane and vise versa for other side. Trimming the motor much past "level" will cavitate the prop. I got some learning to do.
The steering has a lot of slop. Fairly certain it's in the steering wheel head and that will have to wait till I get home. Some access ports would have been nice Mariah !
But, we are doing what we intended to do with boat now.
Sitting the A/C watching movies with the cell phones turned off.

PS. The mofo is TOUGH to park. I've owned many many many bass boats and most I could make you scream SLOW DOWN. But this monster is apples to oranges if you are wanting to compare.
Loving it so far

PSS Sorry for grammar, spelling, etc, but I don't proof read.

[ShabahZ280]

Yes, getting used to your boat will take a little time, and once you figure it out one way, it all goes out the window when the wind & water conditions change! Needless to say you'll always be tinkering and figuring out how to best optimize the ride for the conditions. Someone told me once this isn't a point-and-go boat, you'll constantly be adjusting trim tabs, sterndrive trim, and steering to get the smoothest ride. It all just takes practice.

There are access panels for the back of the dashboard dashboard in the head. Those padded upholstered panels on the back wall of the head have four round pieces in the corners. Pop them of and you'll find the screws that attach the panels. Unscrew and that gives you full access to everything behind the dash from inside the head.

[Brian Belcher]

Thanks ShabahZ280.
I accidently discovered the secret panel whilst the wife was cleaning the head.
The other thing I discovered was the problem was not in the rack&pinion. I'm going to start another thread on the gimble rebuild with JR Marine.