1987 Ski Centurion Tru Trac II - First Time Rebuild - Floor, Engine, Dash, etc.

[ACon977]

So what have you been doing in your spare time? :laugh:

haha Rem, believe it or not, the Admirals to-do list has been growing!

My goal is to finish up the yard, and then start back on the boat. Would love to get a splash this summer, but with the progress over the past 6 months... it makes me a tad nervous lol

 

[kcassells]

it will always be there...……..But it is exciting getting close to the end!

 

[Timr71]

Wow! Great update. I'm tried just reading that. I too have been delinquent, haven't been to the lake, haven't even been to the marina to get my boat so I can do the handful of things that I want to to get ready for the season. My son has been playing a lot of travel baseball. So...

Post some pics whenever you can. Sounds like things are going well.

 

[ACon977]

Here is the new home for the boat! Not quite as expansive as the last place, but itll get the job done! Still surrounded by a lot of crap that doesnt have a place in the new house.

 

[dezmond]

Nice to have somewhere inside to store it no matter how tight it is. Looking forward to seeing some progress.

 

[strokendiesel002]

Just logged on for the first time in quite a while and read through updates from September. Awesome progress and work and congrats on having a fun and safe winter, new house, etc!

 

[ACon977]

Just logged on for the first time in quite a while and read through updates from September. Awesome progress and work and congrats on having a fun and safe winter, new house, etc!

Thanks man! I always wish for more progress, which requires more time, and less other projects.. but its all rewarding in the end. Last weekend I shoveled 300 sq ft of gravel, laid 800 sq ft of sod, and built a patio sectional and concrete fire pit on the patio. The yard and house are finally coming together so I'm starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel in the shape of boat work.

 

[strokendiesel002]

Hahaha, I feel ya on the gravel and sod. Been working on the admirals to do list for 2 years... Since we moved in! Few weeks D's ago laid down 9 pallets of sod to have instant lawn for the following weekend (3 year old birthday party) just 3 days down and it had bounce house, water slides and a small army of children running wild. Luckily it held up. Now I have to go get a few yards of top soil and feather in around all the edges. I just want to get my tractor running and the boats ready lol!

 

[ACon977]

Ha no kidding! Yea we only had 2 pallets, wasnt too bad to get done. When we bought the house they had just put 4in of pea gravel over half the yard with a weed tarp underneath.. that was the 800 sq ft that we had to sod. I dont mind growing grass, but with 2 dogs and us traveling so much, it doesnt always go as planned. Thankfully the sod seems to have all taken so check if off the list and keep chugging along.

 

[Timr71]

4th of July update? going to the lake, or working on the boat...or both?

 

[ACon977]

Tim, bless you for keeping me active. The yard is mostly done, so the plans for the weekend are to get the unnecessary stuff moved out, build a workbench, empty the boat stuff from the move (tower, windshield, tools, life jackets, etc) out of the boat and get to buffing the hull.

I plan on using a cutting compound to get through the oxidized layer, then polish to get her all shiny. Timr71 you did a phenomenal job on your hull, what product did you use?

 

[ACon977]

Some pics of the backyard projects. of course the pics dont do it justice, but we are very happy with the end result.

 

[ACon977]

What the yard looked like before.

 

[steve_h7]

Wow, I love the sectional and firepit! :thumb: Did you have plans or make them on your own?

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Nice yard to relax in after a long day of boating!!!

 

[ACon977]

Wow, I love the sectional and firepit! :thumb: Did you have plans or make them on your own?

Thanks! Ive looked up a few other people doing it, but didnt use any plans or whatnot, just built the piping first, then did the table top dimensions based off of the recess I needed, and then built the base to fit that.

 

[Timr71]

I can't take credit for all of the buffing and waxing that was done on my boat. But my cousin users all of the 3M products, compound and stuff. I've also looked at the McGuier's oxidation remover.

 

[ACon977]

Cool thanks!

 

[strokendiesel002]

Great job on the yard!

how did pouring the concrete firepit go? I am planning to do 2 counter tops for my patio

 

[ACon977]

Great job on the yard!

how did pouring the concrete firepit go? I am planning to do 2 counter tops for my patio

Thanks! The concrete wasnt too bad, made the forum out of Melamine, and used caulk to fillet the corners and edges. I did the upside down pour, rather than the pour in place.

Overall it came out good, but I didnt vibrate the first few layers enough so there were quite a few air bubble holes after it was done curing. I was using my orbital palm sander without any paper on it as a vibrator, and it worked ok, but didnt get all the air worked free. I definitely recommend spending extra time vibrating. after 48 hours I pulled it out of the mold and flipped it in to place (easier done than said! it weighs ~300 lbs lol).

I used sand paper to smooth out the few high spots and smooth over the corners and edges even more. then used a fine filler concrete mix to fill the air holes. I tried all sorts of methods to work the slurry into the surface, ended up using my fingers as the best method, then used a hard scraper to remove the excess. Definitely worth the effort, its super smooth and "soft" now. definitely make the slurry very watery, easier to work with and the concrete will absorb most of the water out of it.

Finally got a generic waterproofing concrete sealer. It wasnt food grade because I wasnt expecting to do anything like that out here. just wanted to keep the water off and whatnot.