Project Fuggly - No Longer Fuggly And Splashed!!!!!!

[jbcurt00]

Plan b should be a 4.3 v6,..................

^^^ Absolutely

 

[archbuilder]

That is what I have been thinking also....I was hoping to salvage the 4 since it would make this a faster build (still have to overhaul my jeep transmission / transfer case and put a head gasket on this winter also). I have had my eye on a donor boat the last few weeks. Its a "fixer upper". looks pretty trashed. My guess is the block is toast, but it might be worth it just to get all the "little pieces" and hopefully salvage the drive. I'm leaning towards just buying a marine crate motor long block and dropping it in. For $1700, I can save a lot of brain damage trying to get a well "seasoned" donor motor to run.

 

[archbuilder]

Well I guess I can sell the drive maybe, can't see it being worth a lot however. Any thoughts on what to ask for it? I'm guessing I will need a different bell housing for an alpha? The more I think about it, the more I think finding a donor with all the bits and pieces makes the most sense.

 

[jbcurt00]

Spending the $1700 on a crate motor and getting the outdrive & all the bolt on parts & pieces off a suspect donor sounds like a great plan.

Selling the donor trailer, salvaging/scraping the donor motor, if it's toast, and this cast iron anchor would help pay for disposing of the donor hull and a bit towards the crate long block.

W/ the new hanger in service, Jeep, Fuggly & donor boat could all be side by side, so bonus. If you can afford to heat that huge arse space :watermelon: What is it there today? Middle of Nov and we were down in the low 20's Friday Carp, gonna be a long winter..

 

[archbuilder]

The hanger is only in partial operation, I still have most of my tools next door in the other shop. I put it in the hanger so that i could get the engine out easier, more floor space and overhead room (thought I might have to take it out with the tractor, but the engine puller worked find). After this it will probably move over to the other shop, otherwise I will spend the winter hauling tools back and forth (also now air compressor in the hanger yet). So far heating the hanger hasn't been bad, I have just used a 75000 BTU tube heater. about 20 minutes or so of run time and its about 60, which is a nice temp to work at for me. Its 25 and falling with sleet here. Its nice to have the hanger this year!

 

[Streffpilot]

Subscribing. What a cool vintage boat!

 

[Woodonglass]

Uhmm, Soooooo, you don't think some JB Weld can patch her up????

 

[archbuilder]

Lol, given what I saw on the bore scope....and the fact that it locked up on me when I was running compression test, I think I'm going to write this one off Wood! I can however ship it up to T-town, let me know if you want to give it a whirl

 

[archbuilder]

I did get the seats and carpet out, let me know if one of you wants the plush green astro turf I took out. The seats were screwed to a strip of plywood that was glassed to the deck, It looks like a sacrificial strip to keep water from getting below the deck fiberglass. Seems like Jay did that on his sea ray helm seats.



I also drilled about a dozen places on the transom. Looks good for the most part other than a couple of areas at the bottom right around the drain holes. I'll poke around on it a little more, but I might just reuse it. Assuming the key hole is the same for an alpha, if not it might make sense to tear it out and re-do it.

For some reason the deck has a lot of "lumps" in it. I'm not sure if it is due to the deck failure and it has just conformed to the trailer or if the upper skin and main hull have de-laminated due to the rotten plywood. The rails and cross members on the trailer are all flat, not bent in the middle like a v-hull trailer. I think that I am going to leave the boat on the trailer, seems like it would be a stable platform to rebuild the hull off of. If necessary, it should be a good surface to support hull braces. I think I will also level it, then shoot some dimensions from the trailer to the hull with the laser to try to figure out what is out of whack with the lumpy floor.

 

[archbuilder]

one other note, the two halves of the hull are well glassed together....I did sort out that the white parts on the inside are seperate pieces that were tabed and riveted in. I think if I get them out, I should be able to replace the deck without spitting the hull, which would be a huge time saver. The transom shouldn't require spitting it either from what I can see.

 

[jbcurt00]

One of the advantages of an I/O is replacing the transom while the 2 halves are still together.

Please put me down for a huge NO on the excess turf........

 

[produceguy]

Cool project. I'll be tagging along as well.

 

[archbuilder]

Welcome aboard Produceguy. I was thinking about the roller trailer this moring. I haven't built one on a roller trailer before, I wonder if I will have any problems working in it with the deck out. It will cause some pressure points with out the composite weight distribution of the deck and foam. I don't think it will be an issue, just wondering if anyone has built one on this type trailer.

 

[Woodonglass]

Lol, given what I saw on the bore scope....and the fact that it locked up on me when I was running compression test, I think I'm going to write this one off Wood! I can however ship it up to T-town, let me know if you want to give it a whirl

Uhmmm, I think I have Enuf ANCHORS in my collection:facepalm: but...Thanks for the offer!!!!! I've seen several restoration attempts on roller trailers here on the forum. NONE have been good. ALL have needed to build Bunks to support the hull once the deck and stringers were removed. I'd be prepared to do that in the future if the you need to replace the deck and stringers.

 

[archbuilder]

Thanks for the info Wood, that confirms what I was thinking. It should move around less on the bunks also. Shouldn't be too hard, I think I can put the bunks on the rollers and drop her back down on the bunks. So far I'm not to crazy about the roller trailer. Looks like the boat squirms all over the place going down the road. I may ponder just doing away with the rollers all together.

By the way, I don't think this hull has any stringers, it looks like the fiberglass in the sponsons act as the stringers.

 

[Woodonglass]

Hey Arch...I think this guy may have you beat...http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat-...etly-different

Now THAT is FUGGLY!!!!! But...KOOL!!! Just like yours!!!!

 

[archbuilder]

Wow that is different! I bet that thing is rough riding with the helm so far forward on a tri-hull. It does free up a lot of deck space, even more than Fuggly.

I was looking at the trailer tonight and talking with a friend about the rollers. I'm really leaning towards pulling the rollers and installing bunk boards. I think the sliding around on the trailer going down the road is going to drive me batty. I think the tilt feature is going to get welded up also, it causes the bow roller to flop around 10" or 12" left and right when its on the road. Its already worn through the gelcoat. I should be able to put some 2x10 bunk board in pretty easily. The bottom of the sponsons are pretty much flat.

 

[GA_Boater]

You got a cool project, Arch. :thumb: The chick magnet gets turned on after you plumb up the Jacuzzi in the bow. :joyous:

 

[Corjen1]

I would vote yes on the weld up......unless you really plan to launch that big girl from the bank. Ive wondered about the rollers, are they any better or just different?

 

[Tnstratofam]

You got a cool project, Arch. :thumb: The chick magnet gets turned on after you plumb up the Jacuzzi in the bow. :joyous:

Gee thanks Ga now my admiral thinks we should look for our own project fuggly so she can have a Jacuzzi in the back.:facepalm:

I have never owned a roller trailer, do boats tend to bounce more on them than on bunk trailers?