I finally got my shop finished and got the boat put inside. I'd already removed much of the interior and rear parts and the motor so I got busy on the floor. Whoever did the job before me should be ran out back and strung up. There was NO glass or resin used in the repair except for a layer of resin poured over the top under the carpet. No mat. No cloth at all of any kind. Just wood and some screws held it together. Needless to say it wasn't that hard to tear out that part. Now, there's the old stuff that this person just left in there. Rotten to the core. They just screwed a couple 2x4's along the outside of the stringers and screwed the floor boards to it. I hurt my back recently so for now work will progress slowly, but I'll get it done!
Attachments
__________________
A bad day in my boat is better than any other day!
Well, you've almost got the hard part out of the way. used 1/4" mdf for my templates for the deck. May not be available at home depot but they have 1/8" masonite. If you do your layout right you will only have to make templates for one side and they should work for both sides. Just remember to upside down and backwards on your bevel cuts or you will have two for one side,,,no good.
Almost, that's for sure. I'm still a little apprehensive about removing all the parts and wiring. The big question and in jest but, "CAN I PUT IT BACK TOGETHER?"
This is my first sterndrive/MCM. There are a few differences between the 3 outboards I've restored and this boat to say the least. Luckily we have resources available through our on line experts. I'll be asking plenty of questions when the time comes.
Is it cold down there in TX yet Glenn?
__________________
A bad day in my boat is better than any other day!
I'm sure it will be similar, but a lot different. Much more wiring and stuff to contend with. The outboards are so much more compact and really require little rigging compared to the sterndrive. Removing all that transom stuff, steering, tilt and trim and exhaust is intimidating even for me. I took lots of before pictures to refer back to and have a manual and I have you guys to call on if needed so I'm sure it's gonna work out.
The fuel tank is stinkin up the place something fierce. I gotta get it out of there and soon!!!
Come about - Full steam ahead!!
-- Edited by Thunderjet at 12:34, 2008-12-02
__________________
A bad day in my boat is better than any other day!
I managed to get my fuel tank out of the boat and out of the shop. Problem is, seems I have a leaking fuel tank. BUMMER This thing is about 6'x2'x6". It's not that easy to work with. How do you find out where it's leaking? I guess I could plug up all the holes and fill it with air and see where it comes out, kinda like a flat tire. Fix it with JB Weld? Anyone done that?
__________________
A bad day in my boat is better than any other day!
Most likely the leak is on a joint or corner, I would just fill it with colored water so you will be able to tell a leak from just condensation.(Humidity) Making it air tight would be difficult. I have used JB Weld on a Toyota Cressida's oil pan, it stuck and lasted. Never went around that curb again, and I think it was thye last time Debra let me drive it!
I've been through the leaky tank thing before. I put the tank on a couple of saw horses and added a gallon of alcohol, showed right up. I marked the spot with a magic marker, drained out the tank and scratched it up really good with a New wire brush, and then I put the two part epoxy stuff for Gas Tank repair, kinda looked like jb weld , but it set up in just a few minutes. I let it set till the next day, then I sanded it with 80 grit and overlayed it again , a little larger area. When I put it back in the boat I always wondered if it was still holding. When I sold the boat, I told the fellow that bought it what I did because I was still not comfortable with the patch job, I believe you'd feel better taking the tank to Tom and having him weld it for ya. Some folks wont weld a tank at all.
Good information. Thanks GW, Red. Preciate the good ideas. At least the shop is habitable again and I can continue working. With that gas tank in there I couldn't stand to be in there very long. It's not a real big building. The beat goes On!
__________________
A bad day in my boat is better than any other day!
I'm sure it would Mark, I would just hit the area with some 80 grit to give it something to grab on to. Just knead it into the leak spot and you should be good.
I've been doing some work on "JADED". I've managed to get all the floor and transom out. I've got the bow area keel stringer and a little of the kick panel left then it's time to get to the glass part. I'm looking forward to the construction of a "new" interior. I'm thinking some upgrades to the design are in order. Not exactly sure what I'll do, but NO foam boxes leaves room for storage and easier access to the engine. I'm making the side panels of the engine compartment removable to make it easier to work on the motor.
-- Edited by Thunderjet at 08:24, 2009-01-23
-- Edited by Thunderjet at 12:04, 2009-01-23
Attachments
__________________
A bad day in my boat is better than any other day!
Looks like your gettin with it! Pretty clean too, I don't know how I missed the previous post. I'll click subscribe to this post so it will email me so I can follow it.
you doing good, but I got a challenge for ya, that way you can see if it works before I do it to my Scimitar ... cut the transom loose from the boat at the bottom edge, kick it back 8 degree's then glass the whole transom in, good and solid, cut a new drive hole just like the old one except 2 inches higher than the original. Lower the motor mounts 1 inch with ya build them back to confensate for the new angle of the motor.
Now .... you'll be throwin a roostertail and the input shaft/u-joints will be runnin true to the coupler ... more speed, longer life for the drive thru assy. and u-joints and you'll still have enough trim down to get it on plane with-out much bow lift.
I just sold the motor out of my boat, and thats my plans to go back in with a new motor, I got everything to build another vortec now, but I'll be running a flexplate rather than a flywheel, and aluminum exhaust manifolds, knocking off another 135 pounds back there, Oh ... I almost forgot, I also have another Gen II drive to build for it with 1.47 ratio.
Mark, I think Red is just being polite by not telling you that you can't do it and he is offering his services to come up and finish it for you, at least thats what I gathered from it.
You better get your Thinker fixed, the only thing I'm gonna be workin on for the next few weeks is my man cave project ... Sheeze, this sucker has got bigger than me, when I got all the decking up I was amazed how big this project looked. I got the roof almost completely finished today, I ran out of shingles and it was gettin dark anyway, but Let er rain, I only need about 10 shingles and that part is Finished, I still got to frame in the south end for the 16ft overhead door, and there is going to be about an 8ft wall with a walkin door beside the overhead door, the west side is all bricked and I put in a couple of 3ft X 4ft windows in that wall. I'll start up with the siding on the other wall when I get the south end ready for the door .... Whew, I'm looking forward to getting back on the Boats.
Alrighty then Red. I'm thinking and this is just me but.... NO! I can not do that.... I'm barely going to get this thing back together in a stock fashion let alone custom hull work. Course I know you're just pulling my leg cause you know I won't do that anyway. You're just trying to get someone to test your theories about going fast.
Thanks Glenn, Captain! I'll get it done some time next year. Maybe! :)
I'm shooting for one that looks this nice. Erics boat is a thing of beauty. Mine won't be this nice, but nice just the same.
-- Edited by Thunderjet at 14:25, 2009-02-09
Attachments
__________________
A bad day in my boat is better than any other day!
Aw, come on Mark ... all ya need is a sawz-all, epoxy resin, a little kevlar and ya gotta cut a new hole anyway.
However, I am anxious to get that started on the Scimitar, I'll be pullin the motor out for the guy in a couple weeks, thats when I plan on doing that job I described to ya, really.
The Alpha SS drive is a definate 5 to 7 mph speed increase, and thats one of it's two difference's from a stock drive, it's 2 1/2 or 3 inches shorter, and the other difference in it has a lower water pick-up. I don't think I'll have to modify the water pick-up, but if I do I got a plan for that too ...
I have all that but the kevlar, oh and the confidence to do it right!, so I guess I'll just go back original. :)
I'd like to come visit ya though and check out the new digs and see your plans for the Scimitar. That's an aggressive approach for sure. Can you say SPEED! I think it's cool for sure.
I have that picture of the one at Draper. It's exactly like mine. Well, mines not that pretty but same model. Mines gonna be close to that though. I still struggling on an interior scheme. I've got some old material and could use it exclusivily, but I think I'll try a pattern. I'll have to buy some material. Maybe not. I used the same stuff to do my CVX-16 but there wasn't so much. That's a ways off anyway.
__________________
A bad day in my boat is better than any other day!
Well, got new louvers and some hose coming. Getting close to flooring it up. Close. Still lots of prep work to do. Dirty job but I'm the one doing it! Here's a few pics of progress.
-- Edited by Thunderjet at 12:21, 2009-02-23
Attachments
__________________
A bad day in my boat is better than any other day!
Lookin Good Mark, and the weather is lookin good too. I took a break from my building a couple of days and give Tom a hand with the boats ... That Felt Good, but messin around with boats made it kinda hard to go back to work on the building today.
I'm anxious to get back to work on my boat, I'm gonna be pulling the motor out in a couple of days, and I don't like seeing it out of commission so I'll be hooked up on it for a couple weeks, I want it running good for the Muscatine show.
I hear ya. I'm considering putting in a little garden, but I know it will take valuable shop time to tend. I sure like the fresh stuff though. It's harder on me to work in the garden than it is to work on the boat, so we'll see.
Consistent we must be cause stuff's gettin done!
__________________
A bad day in my boat is better than any other day!
Hey Mark ... I used to have a little garden , I loved it, it didn't require much maintainance, until it was time to harvest it, then had to put it all up in attic of the barn on some old screen doors to let it dry out real good, and it was pretty time consuming picking all the right leaves, and seperating them, we left some for seed. It woulda been a pretty proffitable garden too, but some of the Good Guy's came and took it all away, threatened to take me and Pete too if we weren't nice about lettin em have it, but we didn't raise any stink, after all, they were the ones with the guns, we just let em have it, sittin there on that sack of seeds.
We don't have any seeds now, Pete left that sack of seeds we had sittin out there in the barn and the squirls started eating them, from what we could tell, those squirels ran through that barn like a bunch of little chain saw's, eating every thing in sight, the west side fell down first, squashing several of the squirls, and when the east side fell it got the rest of them, kinda funny though, it looked like they were all trying to carry what was left of those seeds away from the barn.
Pete just sit the barn on fire after that, rather than rebuild it, that was a few years back, ya know ... that was a funny thing though, Pete didn't call the volunteer fire dept to let em know he was burning it, so they showed up to do their duty, those guy's were So Funny, they seemed to be normal folk when they got there, but when they got a whiff of that smoke, they went in to a frenzy, they were running in and out of that smoke like they never smelled smoke before, jabbering funny like, grinning, having the best time of their life it seemed to me and Pete, those guy's stayed there untill the last little puff of smoke was gone and never put a drop of water on that fire, they even had a few of their friends come out to watch, and brought a Bunch of snacks, mostly potatoe chips.
Mark, as with most of my little stories, there is some truth, and some humor I've related from another source ... this one is one of my Favorites, check it out
Well, got new louvers and some hose coming. Getting close to flooring it up. Close. Still lots of prep work to do. Dirty job but I'm the one doing it! Here's a few pics of progress.
-- Edited by Thunderjet at 12:21, 2009-02-23
It looks like you got your louvers? Nice bling!
The floor is looking good. Are you adding access holes front and back? I have 2 vents left over from another project I'll be adding to mine to help the subfloor air out.
I'm making sure there is a lot of air flow under the floor and no water will be left standing. There is an access that's 6" round and threaded forward for access to the fuel sending unit and one under the back seat for access to fuel lines. I'm leaving a hole up front behind the front storage where I'm going to store my anchor so water can drain down and out.
__________________
A bad day in my boat is better than any other day!
I think it was Walt that gave us the idea of letting the subfloor air out? Rather than solid access covers I have a pair of 3" round louvers that I'll put up front in the bow storage area (ski locker?). I'm not sure what to do in the back? There's no back seat for me. Maybe I'll use the solid access covers there.
Well, Walt would like to take credit for it anyway. I put holes along the outer strakes and in the cross pieces in the substructure too. I want it all to drain out. Water and sun are a boats worst enemies. Oh, and some owners, Imagine that!
__________________
A bad day in my boat is better than any other day!
