1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

[md-lucky]

Hello all! I've been posting some pictures and information in another thread. I thought I would start over in this section, as it is more pertinent to what I'm doing with this boat.

For a little background, my grandparents purchased this boat in 1998. It spent every summer out on the lake tied to the dock. Unfortunately, it was almost never covered, and was open to the elements.

About 3 years ago, they got the boat ready for the summer and pulled it up to the lake. They took it off the trailer and started across the water. Half way, the steering locked up. They paddled back to the trailer and pulled it home. There it has sat since.

About 2 weeks ago, I decided I wanted to go boating again. We wanted a boat for skiing and tubing, and I made a call back home to find out what the fate of the old boat was. It was in rough shape, but the price was right, so I decided to drive back and retrieve it.

When I got to it, I finally started to see the scope of this project. The boat was neglected for the past 3 years. The vinyl is ruined, the carpet needs to be replaced, and the steering was completely locked. The trailer was solid, but the tires were shot, the bearings needed to be re-packed, and there were no lights anywhere on it. Before I could even get the thing home, it needed some attention!

I figured that if I could at least get the trailer moving again, I could get it home and tear into the rest of it. I found a nice set of LED lights at NAPA and fabbed up a set of brackets for them:

The original lights looked like they were bolted under the fender. I decided to get them on top of the fender and out of the road grime. I'm thinking about adding a bracket over them in the future though.. They bend a little easier then I like when stepped on.

Here are the lights on the trailer itself:

In this picture you can see the new lights, plus the over-all condition of the boat. Yikes!

 

[md-lucky]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

Once the lights were finished, it was time to tackle the rest of the trailer. The tires were completely shot, so I replaced them. I also re-packed the wheel bearings while I had the tires off. There were no safety chains on the front of the trailer, so I replaced them with a new set. Here is a great picture.. I just stood back and took in the entire scene.. Well, a project is a project, and some take a little more attention than others!

Things above the trailer didn't look much better. Once again, many seasons out on the water in the elements, plus several seasons of complete neglect have taken the toll on the entire boat. The vinyl is shot, and most of the carpet is ruined. Mechanically, the boat is supposed to be in good shape.. Cosmetically, Yikes!!

After spending about 8 hours getting the thing ready for travel, I was off for home with boat in tow! Lucky me!

 

[md-lucky]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

I finally got the thing home and decided to tear into it a little more. My biggest concern was the steering. I decided to start pulling it apart and see if I could spot the culprit. BINGO. A rusted out steering cable. I pulled it apart and get it out on the bench:

The rust had locked the steering. Years of abuse with little grease was probably the culprit there. I was able to break the rust bond, and get everything freed up. The shaft was a little pitted, but looked to be in good shape. I decided I would probably need a replacement sometime in the future, so I'll keep this one around as a spare.

The next big concern was the paint. I had no idea how the 20 year old gel-coat was going to look after I buffed it out a few times, so I decided to just go straight at it with a fairly aggressive cut. WOW! The grime just peeled off, and the shine really started to come back:

Before:

After:

 

[md-lucky]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

With the steering figured out and the paint coming back to life, I figured it was time to dive into the engine. The boat had always ran well, and they had recently done work to the engine and drive before the steering failed. I decided to go through and check all of the wiring, replace the battery, check the wires/plugs/cap, and get rid of the old fuel.

With everything checking out, it was time to hook up the hose and see if she would fire!!

 

[md-lucky]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

And she fired right up! I was really happy with how quick it fired, and how well it idle after. I'm planning on replacing the fuel filter after a tank or 2.. Hopefully it will get any gunk left in the tank out, and hopefully the filter catches it before it makes it to the carb!

Sorry for the narration of the video.. Needless to say, I was a little excited when it fired so easily. One less problem to worry about!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UrPllra_oU


That is where the project stands so far. I'm taking it out this weekend to see how it does on the waves. Over the winter, I plan to pull all of the old vinyl and carpet. I may even pull the entire floor, as I'm figuring it might be easier than removing the old carpet from the wood. I have a few small wiring issues to figure out (lights), and I'm ready to hit the water! I will keep updates as they come, and should have new pictures ready in a few months!

 

[md-lucky]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

Made further progress today. The boat is officially water ready!!

I syphoned out the 3 year old fuel. I figured that the $50 I might save by burning the old fuel off wasn't worth the potential fuel system problems bad fuel could cause in the long run. So, it's all out and ready for some new stuff!

The electrical was much easier than I was expecting. I was afraid it would require me to run all new wires front to back. Which, in all honesty, isn't a big deal: just more time consuming than anything. I was able to track all the problems down to a switch that was giving me fits. Fixed the switch connections, and the lights are working great! Sure is nice when it's easy!

Dash lights:

Bow light:

My goal of hitting the water by September 7th is here. I'm water ready with new life jackets, new fire extinguisher, new rope, and good lights. The cosmetic stuff will all be taken care of this winter.. I will post pictures as I tear up the old carpet, pull out the old vinyl, and try to spure the ole gal up a little bit.

 

[md-lucky]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

More progress today:

This time tomorrow (on September 7th, 2008) it will be in the water. Going to see how it runs, get a few pictures of it in the water, and then bring her back home. Going to have to start thinking about winter storage here soon.. Which makes me sad that I didn't get to use it a little more, but happy that I will be tearing it apart and fixing the interior soon.

 

[oops!]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

what a keeper !

volvo with a 8 cyl (?)

the boat is less than ten years old so the gellcoat should have shined right up no problems.....

as far as taking out the floor.......it might not have to be done....search core sample and try it.....(unless theres soft spots)

the ups is allways an expencive pain.....but that boat will serve you well !

good luck tomm.....have fun

 

[zach103]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

what did you use when you buffed it???

 

[md-lucky]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

Thanks for the kind words oops.

It is a 4.3 V6 with a Cobra drive. I've been told this is the same drive as the Volvo. I'm new to this, so I'm learning. I plan on pulling the id numbers off the engine and drive to get a few manuals. The engine side is no problem for me (because of my automotive background) but the drive is greek to me. I'm sure I will figure it out.

I've gone over the entire floor with a pick hammer.. No soft spots, feels very solid all around. I'm thinking that I will just replace the carpet and not worry about it.

Zach: I used several different products to buff it out. I started with a Meguier's cut, which was more on the aggressive side. After I got through the oxidation, I switched to Meguier's Color X. This did a really good job of bringing back the faded color. After that I used my first true wax, Pro Gold. It does a decent job of removing swirl (had almost non, this gel coat stuff is weird) and gives a decent shine. Finally, I locked in everything with a product called Resist All. The first 3 were done with the buffer, and the final coat was done by hand. Overkill? Probably. I think there are plenty of products that may have done just as good of a job with 1 coat. But, I was expecting a battle to get through the oxidation, and didn't expect it to come back to life so fast. I will try to get some pictures outside tomorrow in the sun. It should really shine then!

 

[md-lucky]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

Got the boat on the water!!

Loaded up and headed out:

Boat sitting in the water, ready to play!

I didn't take very many pictures.. We were too busy having fun! Boat pulls fantastic. We had people tubing behind it, skiing, wake boarding, and knee boarding. Pulled all day long, not a single problem. It was the oldest boat in our group, but by the end of the day, it was the one everyone wanted to be behind. As big as I am, I was extremely happy that it was able to pull me out so fast - it even yanked me up on 1 ski!

It also flat moves when you are running wide open. Here are a few pictures of us zipping along. The RPM picture is terrible. I think it was at about 4400 rpm. The speed pictures turned out though! Not bad for a 21 year old boat that looks like hell.

RPM:

Speed:

 

[md-lucky]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

Another speed picture, just because.

This was with 4 people and all of our gear. I would be interested in seeing how fast it would move with just me, but taking a picture might be a heck of a lot harder.

 

[TommyA]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

I always pull for the resurrections. Great job you have done so far. Not knowing where you are located maybe you can get out a few more times before the weather turns to cold. Keep up with the updates please!

 

[md-lucky]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

Completely finished the interior!!!



Okay, not really. But, out of sight, out of mind?? I figured that if I was going to spend all this time and money fixing the interior, I should probably invest in a decent cover. So, I present, for the first time in 3 years: my boat, with a cover.

I picked up the cover at Cabela's. It is a ratchet lock, 600-denier, "semi-custom" cover. For a generic cover that fits hundreds of different types of boats, I'm satisfied with the fit. I actually think it is 1 size too big. My boat is an 18', and the cover is for an 18', but I think a 17' cover may have worked better. Oh well, would rather it be 1' too long than 6" too short.

They claim it is trailerable... Would be very interested to see how it does. I doubt I will ever run it down the road: I usually have to pack too much stuff into the boat before we leave.

I've decided that I have 2-3 more weekends of decent weather, and then the interior comes apart. I figured I can do it sometime after summer, but before the snow falls.. Which, in North Idaho means I have until about mid October before we have 6' of snow!

 

[zach103]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

get some suppport poles.. youll need them. ive seen those $200 covers get water pooled up on them. and if that cover is anything like my walmart cover. itll leak when water puddles up.. a couple tarps and a good support system will help when the snow comes too.

 

[zach103]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

oh and i tried the method with the oxidation.. it works great. THANKS

 

[mr eye]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

Md, I have the exact same boat as you only I have a bench seat in back. I am having the same steering problems you had. Would you please go into a little more detail on how you repaired yours. I would also be interested to know if you found a source for a new one.

thank you
mr eye

 

[md-lucky]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

Md, I have the exact same boat as you only I have a bench seat in back. I am having the same steering problems you had. Would you please go into a little more detail on how you repaired yours. I would also be interested to know if you found a source for a new one.

thank you
mr eye

Hello Mr Eye,

I would love to know more about your boat! There is almost no information available out there about these old Thundercrafts. It is a little exciting to hear that someone else has the same boat. I've not seen many.


The steering repair was actually very easy. The only part that was locked up was at the very back, near the engine. If you want to do it the easiest way, you can just replace the cable. http://www.berkeleyjet.com/steering.aspx

However, if you don't want to spend the money on a replacement cable, you can probably break the one you have loose and reuse it.

To pull the cable, start up front under the steering wheel. There are 4 bolts that hold the rack to the steering wheel. The top of the bolts are allen head screws, and the nuts are held in place by design. Remove those 4 bolts, and it will fall away from the steering wheel.

Trace it back to the engine compartment. It should just be zipped tied up in place, with maybe a few cable holders along the way. Once you get back to the engine, you will see where it connects to the drive. There is a large "tube" that the cable slides through, and then connects to the drive using a pin. On the steering cable itself, there is a large nut that holds the cable inside that tube. You will need to bend out a locking tab, then loosen the nut off the tube. There is a codder pin that goes through the bottom of the pin that holds the steering cable to the drive. It is difficult to describe in words, but you will see exactly what I'm talking about when you are back there. Pull the pin out, and work the steering cable out of the fork on the drive. Pull it out through the tube where you loosened the nut connecting the steering cable to the tube. That free's up cable so you can remove it from the boat.

Once out of the boat, you can actually start to work on the thing. Once again, this is difficult to describe in words, but you will see exactly what I'm talking about. These things always lock up back at the engine, where you pulled the cable out of the tube. You will see rust. Start soaking that sucker in JB-80 for about 3 or 4 hours.

I was able to break mine lose by soaking it, then putting it in a vice and pulling it. It took a little while, but it eventually let lose. I had a torch ready to apply heat if I wasn't able to get it loose with the JB-80 alone.. (If you need to do that, make SURE you clean off all the JB-80, or you will have a heck of a fire).

Break it loose one way or the other, then just follow those steps to put the thing back in. make SURE you keep it lubed up after you get it fixed. Mine is now coated in grease, and I check it after every outing. This is a common problem, but you can make sure it never happens again if you keep your eyes on the cable. You need to make sure you align the steering, with the drive in the center, the cable in the center, and the steering wheel in the center before you bolt the cable back to the steering wheel.

If you have any questions along the way, please feel free to ask. I can take a few pictures this weekend if they will help.

 

[mr eye]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

Wow that was fast! Thank you that was helpful. I will pull my cable out on monday, i'll let you know how i make out. I bought my boat a few years ago, have the same paint job and oxidation you do. Mine has a alpha outdrive. Runs great. I have the 205hp v6 motor runs about 45 mph. Sorry i don't have any real info on the boat like you i was not able o find much. Thanks again.

mr eye

 

[md-lucky]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

I completely forgot to mention that you will need a good wire-wheel to clean the rust off the cable. I used a standing grinder with the wire-wheel, but you could probably get away with a hand held version too. I used a dremel tool at the end to clean up a few really nasty spots. Mine is still pitted, but it should work just fine.

What RPMs are you running at 45? I've had mine up to 43mph at 4400 rpm. I'm thinking I could get a few more revs out of it, and maybe break that magic 50mph number!