1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

[md-lucky]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

Where the little tabs really shinned was on the small backrests by the window. They held perfect in that spot.. There is no curvature, so they hold fast against the fiberglass and flat.

Final product:

Feels really good to be done with this part of the boat. It took me about a week's worth of evenings to finish it. If I had a shop, I would probably have even more done. It is a little frustrating to finish a project and look back at the rest of the boat.. It just needs so much work still. Oh well, I will keep chipping away at it as I can.

 

[md-lucky]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

Just have to do a before and after picture. The before really doesn't look that bad in the picture... but trust me, it was pretty ugly!!

Before:

After:

 

[airmail]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

Mike it looks really great. Thanks for posting the pictures. I will be looking forward to the pictures for the rest of the boat.

 

[md-lucky]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

We played on the boat all day Saturday, and the new upholstery held up great! I was a little worried the black would get too hot in the sun. Not a problem at all. It was just about the same as the grey or white. So, I'm going to keep working at it this week!

Sunday was back to working on the engine side. The boat runs fantastic, especially for its age. It is a little cold blooded, but once it fires it idles and runs perfect. Very happy with it.

But, I was fighting 2 issues:
1: hard to find neutral.
2: stumble at launch.

After researching the OMC outdrive, everyone said the #1 culprit is the shift cables. I now know why.

I have the updated cables (at least, that is, they are red), and they all feel tight still (not much slack). My issue was with this little feller:

The Shift Interrupter Switch. If you're not familiar with this guy (I wasn't) it is designed to ground out your coil at the exact moment the drive shifts into forward or reverse. This causes the engine to stumble, which takes pressure off the dog gears and allows easier shifting.

The problem with mine? It was sticking:

It would stay on when shifted into gear or back into neutral. And it was intermittent. Very difficult to diag. It is designed to turn off after a while. But, if you are going from neutral to forward while pulling someone.. It would stumble and almost kill the engine at the exact moment the person behind you yelled ?hit it!?

I ended up having to pull the entire thing apart. I rebuilt the bushings using new nylon washers, and increased the tension of the return spring. That was the easy part.

The hard part is getting the timing right. I'm not a boat mechanic, and most folks on here will tell you to take your OMC to the shop to have it adjusted. (Probably good advice) But I've always had a knack for things mechanical, and I'm not scared to dive into something and see if I can screw it up more than before. So, I ran the engine with the muffs and had my better half cycle the controls ever so slightly in and out of gear.

It takes a little trial and error, but I was able to get the switch to come on the exact second the outdrive shifts. Once it is fully in gear, the throttle cable just starts to open the carb.. So, it won't give the engine any fuel until the drive is fully engaged.

My only concern is that it is 100% perfect on land. I don't know what it will do out in the water. If it works the same with pressure on the prop, I know I'm going to be really happy with the results. The best part about the adjustments is that you can now shift between neutral, forward, and reverse with 1 finger. Before there was a little too much force required to shift gears. Now, it is smooth as butter. I'll give a report next time I get it in the water.

Weather permitting, I'm going to start on the back of the boat today. Once I get the seats and the sides done, I'm going to pull the carpet and put in all new carpet. I'm also looking for some high quality vinyl letters and pin striping.. If anyone knows a good source, I would appreciate the info!

 

[md-lucky]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

One step forward... Two steps back...

Rear chair:

Tried to keep the factory look...

And then it all went to hell. Screwed up the right hand seat:

And this was as far as I got before I had to stop for the day:

So, I'm going to tear apart the little seat and make it look right, and then I'm going to re-do the dog house (I don't like how the right side turned out, so I stopped at that point and didn't go any further) and keep the gray all the way down the sides.. I think it will turn out okay when I'm done, but it needs some help!!

 

[sprintst]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

Thanks for the pics... I'm sure I can find them now based on those closeups.

Good work man. What a difference on your before and after shots.

 

[md-lucky]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

Phew. Much better results today.

I started by fixing the stupid dog-house. This thing is a PITA. I'm still not totally happy with how it looks, but I'm going to wait until I get some carpet to fix it. I've got a few ideas...

I also fixed the seat I screwed up. It is about a quarter inch smaller in a few spots, but I don't think most folks would notice unless they where side by side.. On opposite sides of the dog-house, I don't think anyone will notice. But, we will see.

Fixed the engine cover:

How it will look in the boat (I took this picture before I fixed the other seat.):

The seats (fixed):

They kind of look funny in this picture. I think it is partly because of the angle, and partly because of the light. It was too dark to get any decent pictures outside on either side of the engine cover. I'm going to put everything back together tomorrow night and take a few pictures.

 

[md-lucky]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

Snapped a quick picture on my way out the door this morning.

Can't wait to get it all back in the boat. Should be hitting the water again this weekend.

Next I'm going to change the front letters to something a little with a little less "I stole this off a mailbox" look. I'm also going to get some nice vinyl cut outs for name across the sides where it used to say "Thundercraft."

 

[jakebrake]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

she's coming along real nice!

 

[md-lucky]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

Well folks, I lied.

I fully intended to get the boat put back together and take a few pictures...

But then I decided to tackle another project. I just don't know when to say when I guess.

You're not going to beleive this.. But someone actually PAINTED my teak wood on this boat years ago.

It is almost impossible to make out in the pictures. It had faided over the years, and was only visible in a few spots:

So, I decided to sand all the old paint off and smooth up the wood. That in itself was a project, but luckily teak is a nice soft wood and REALLY easy to work with!

 

[md-lucky]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

Then it was time to start oiling! Man this stuff looks GREAT. I can't imagine why someone would paint it.

 

[md-lucky]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

Finally...

This is why we do it folks. This is why we do it. I couldn't come up with any better reason to share this picture.

 

[Nico2112]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

Your updates are always great Mike
Detailed and with tons of pics!

Looking good mate.

 

[md-lucky]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

Thanks Nico! It's still "fun" at this point. I'm a little burned out, but not bad. The doghouse looks like hell. Thats my only issue.

Here is my progress tonight:

All of the teak is back in place, the rear seats and cover are all back in place, and the boat is ready for the weekend!!

Eventually the middle seats and carpet will be replaced. I don't think I can do the middle seats myself, and they are in pretty rough shape.. A full replacement is probably in order. I'm also going to do the side vinyl. After I get that done, I'm "finished" with the boat for a little while. Just want to clean it and run it at that point!!

 

[md-lucky]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

Finally... Another "before and after."

 

[airmail]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

Mike you are making great progress. On the doghouse you might want to glue down the covering. 3M makes a spray glue that you spray on the house and the vinyl then just press them together and rub out the wrinkles. Works like a charm.

 

[md-lucky]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

Decided to give the Vaseline trick a whirl today.

Here are a few before pictures:

And after:

And the story:

I decided to peel off the vinyl pinstripes that run the entire length of the boat. I'm assuming these things where all the rage back in the late 80s, because this boat had 7 pinstripes. Yes, that's not a typo. SEVEN pinstripes. I decided to just do 1 side tonight, and I'll finish it up tomorrow. (I had already removed the pin stripes on this side in the before picture)

After I got all the stripes off and all the gunk cleaned off, I was going to wax the boat. But, I've been reading about all these folks that have been using Vaseline with huge success. Okay, I'll give it a shot.

It goes on really easy. I used a wax applicator pad to apply, but I'm sure you could use just a regular rag too. A little bit seems to go a long way, so don't get carried away with it!

I allowed it to sit for a while as I worked on a few other projects. After it had soaked in place for about 45 minutes, I went back over it with a soft clean rag to get rid of any excess.

My final verdict? I give the vaseline trick a B-.

Yes, it did a decent job of getting rid of the oxidation. I also gave the boat a similar look to wax, but not quiet the same "shine" as a high quality wax.

If I did not have a buffer, I would consider doing it again. Or, if I planned on selling a boat and I didn't want to go over the entire thing.. I may consider vaseline again.

But, it just doesn't hold a stick to a true cut and buff then wax. It is thousands of times easier, I will give it that! If you are looking for a quick once over to improve the look, not bad. If you don't own a buffer, not bad. If you want the boat to look DETAILED, skip the vaseline and go with a traditional 3 step cut, buff, and wax.

I also snapped a quick picture of the vinyl I ADDED today instead of took off. Thundercraft boats have been out of business for many years now... So I hope this doesn't count as "renaming" the boat. As far as I know, this boat was never given an official name (other than the manufacturer?s name on the side), so we all started calling the boat the "Thunderchicken" out on the lake. Name stuck, and was officially added today.

 

[airmail]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

Sure is looking good. Big improvement from when you got her.

 

[crispins]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

wow bro what a difference. Doesnt even seem like the same boat anymore. Great Job!

 

[SeanT]

Re: 1987 Thundercraft 18' Ski Boat

Were your out of water adjustments to the shift interrupter switch adequate or did you have to tweak it more in the water?

Did you reference any manuals or other info in order to figure out how to adjust it? I think I may have the exact same problem with my 4.3L OMC Cobra (stutter on shift to forward, kind of tough to find neutral).

Also, can you describe a little more where it was on the engine? I unfortunately don't have a fully removable dog house, so it's a lot tougher for me to get into my engine compartment.