1980's Hydro Glass Restoration Project

[Timr71]

Cool! Congrats! Can't wait to see the rest.

 

[gm280]

Ha wait a second, You have an interesting self piloting boat I see. Brilliant man brilliant... :laugh:

 

[steve_h7]

Congratulations! :thumb:

 

[sphelps]

Good deal !
Congratulations!!!

 

[kcon]

Howdy!

Got some more minor stuff done, underwater lights in (not wired), tie off cleats in, bow rails in, etc. I'll have more pictures soon. Really need to build the seat frames but have just been so busy and it won't stop raining when I'm available.

I took the boat out again yesterday, 2x 6 gal tanks in the back plus the motor, the aft end of the boat sits really low in the water, I suspect it's far heavier than before. If I stand on the back of the boat while it's not in motion water does come up over the splash well. Not a huge deal or anything but I'm really hoping for better balance once the seats are all in including the bow seating. I'm thinking I may widen my seat bases and have them house the removing 6 gallon fuel tanks, to get some of that weight forward for the aft of the boat.

 

[kcon]

Whelp, have made some small progress...but I'm at the dangerous part where I'm having too much fun taking the thing out to have the time to ever finish it lol...

Got the underwater lights wired up, man do they look cool! Here's a video of them in action.
https://i.imgur.com/QtxloE3.gifv



Took it on a 40 mile trip north and back with 4 people on board, it handled amazing. Coming back at 11pm at night was a little tough, being a commercial shipping channel full of logs from days of rain, but all in all held up well, especially so for a 17' boat!

 

[sphelps]

Glad your getting good use after all the hard work !
The underwater lights are cool !

 

[ACon977]

Dang this boat looks so great! Love the lights too! Such a fun touch

 

[steve_h7]

Just read through the entire thread again... beautiful job! Good times. :thumb:

 

[kcon]

Thanks everybody! Real excited to get this project finished soon!

 

[kcassells]

Never ends but...…...….you floated and kicked some A><
BTW....it's guys like you that keep me pushing on.

 

[kcon]

Thanks much! I tell ya what, I don't wanna do it again any time soon, I'm just about over working on it, but I'm happy I stuck it through! It runs AWESOME, and handles AWESOME. Average cruising speed is 36mph Full throttle is averaging 40mph, fastest I've got it in perfect conditions after adjusting the trim tabs on the fly was 47mph.

 

[kcon]

Bit more work done, carpet!

Ran out of glue, gotta finish the seams/edges on the corners between the deck and the verticals.



And some more time on the drink!

 

[steve_h7]

What a difference a little carpeting makes! Looks great :thumb:

 

[dezmond]

Awesome work guy! Feels great on the feet I bet I plan to do carpet as well when I get there. Congrats!

 

[Baylinerchuck]

That boat looks fabulous. Great job!! Enjoy!

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Now if all this rain would stop in the east.....

 

[kcon]

You're tellin me! Been two weeks since I've been able to work on it. Hoping to finish up the carpet and make the bow seats this weekend. (Cut plywood, epoxy coat, foam + vinyl, snap in hardware) fingers crossed there's no more rain.

 

[kcon]

Hey Folks, made some progress this weekend!

Carpet is in, the edges need some work. Word for the wise, when installing boat carpet, ALWAYS do the floor first and the gunwales second. My edge seems look like crap because I did the walls first. Lesson for next time.

Bow seating mostly done, seats could have come out better, but whatever lol I just wanted somewhere for people to properly sit. The seats are mounted via beauclips.

Last but not least finally got a good paint job on the windshield frames, I hate painting outside....little buts of crud on em from random tree stuff, but didn't feel like setting up a big operation in the shop. They looks good enough, I'll polish em one day.

Other tasks complete: Suzuki NMEA 2k speedometer paddle installed (engine doesn't output speed data), Suzuki OEM fuel/water separator installed.


Engine 4 hours away from initial 20 hour service. I have everything I need to perform this service myself fortunately. (Dealer service manual, dealer diagnostic software system & connectivity harness, fresh spark plugs, OEM engine oil, gear oil, OEM grease, etc.

 

[oldrem]

Looking good. We all tend to be more critical of our own projects because we know the tiny flaws - others look at the whole picture