Poor Man's Skiboat...Restore?

[system-f]

Re: Poor Man's Skiboat...Restore?

Thanks, that means a lot to me, but I expect tons of criticism when I start laying the glass.

Right now a good person with a happy German Shepherd dog. Believe it or not I am not that mad at the PO. He was given the boat by the guy who really messed it up. If I had checked the oil I might have knocked $500-800 off the price, but I am happy things turned out the way they did. I really like my boat regardless of its problems.

I wish I could take credit for the pictures but 99% of them are done by my friend or his girlfriend. My friend just bought a Nikon D90 and since has really gotten into amateur photography.


The JB weld is doing well, but the block WASN"T leaking and it is not a high stress area. I only used the JB weld 'just in case'. When the engine comes out I might go as far as drilling holes at each end and using more JB weld to fill those in. So far I have had NO issues because of those cracks. (knock on wood)

I sure hope this thing turns out. I have some pretty radical designs for the interior to maximize space and seating area. Although I am an accomplished home welder and fabricator the glass and wood work worries me.

Have fun next season? We still aren't done this season Next year I am getting a wetsuit so I can really stretch it out...I love my skiing.

 

[system-f]

Re: Poor Man's Skiboat...Restore?

I finished the lighting in the garage and am 90% done with the rear main support which will be used to hoist the engine and lift the stern. I still have to complete the front support beam and the hull craddle before taking the boat off of the trailer.

Sunday was our last full day on the lake and consisted of exploring the lake I grew up on. The weather here is crappy and after I test the replacement stainless prop which should be in tomorrow the tear down will begin.

 

[system-f]

Re: Poor Man's Skiboat...Restore?

New Prop is finally in!!! This prop has a massive rake and cup on it. This thing is supposed to really dig into the water, but has the exhaust holes for out of the hole power. I have always been very skeptical of the exhaust hole to cause cavitation at low speed. If there are problems with the holes I can always get plugs. We are going to have ONE more weekend out as the water is still warm and it is supposed to be nice here after a week of clouds.

But I know what you animals really want (and who could blame ya)....pictures...

 

[system-f]

Re: Poor Man's Skiboat...Restore?

Today was the last day on the lake this season. I really wanted to go out next weekend, but figured it is better that I start tearing into this thing and I am glad I did.

I thought I would come home and just unload the boat plus pull the drive, but I actually got much further and found some surprises good and bad.

This looks familar except this time the drive came off with no problems.

Cracks all over this drive, will have to try and have this welded up as well.

You can see a crack at the bottom of the prop area.

You know how hard those hinge pins are to pull? In my case they weren't...the port side pin would spin by hand. Thank you fresh water and grease.

Here we are. All belows were good except the exhaust and the drive cable housing was torn allowing water to get in. The water inlet hose was also badly damaged. The gimbal bearing felt PERFECT, but I am still replacing it. I guess my vibrations in turns and with the drive timmed is due to bad U-joints.

Torn water hose.

I was told that transom service, even the tear down, was going to be painful but in my case it wasn't. I have no doubt that putting it back together is going to suck, but this was easy and done in about 30mins.

 

[vegasphotoman]

Re: Poor Man's Skiboat...Restore?

wow that boat has been rode hard and put away wet!

if I ever hit powerball / california lottery / or one of my crazy inventions take off....Im going to buy you a brand new boat or all the brand new parts you need for that boat...the checks on me! you deserve it!

 

[system-f]

Re: Poor Man's Skiboat...Restore?

It looks bad, but I'll just have the prop shop tig weld that junk up. The cylinder mounts are no big deal and the crack in the prop area stops well before the gear case. I am going to check the run-out on the prop shaft before I do anything, but I bet it is within spec.

 

[system-f]

Re: Poor Man's Skiboat...Restore?

I figured with mountain biking, possiblity of a long term relationship, week long camping trips out of state, and boating/restore my life wasn't complicated enough so I figured it would be a good time to become a foster home for the German Shepherd Rescue group in my area. The next day I got a phone call about a female Dutch Shepherd that needed a place to stay for awhile...so she came home with me last night. She seems like an ok dog, but not as well socialized as mine. She doesn't know how to share the ball with JerryLee and actually attacked him for it, but she also seems to see me as the pack leader and hasn't challenged my authority....in other words all I have to do is say no and fighting for the ball instantly stops. I am surprised at how smart she is. Supposedly she was trained for personal protection and has this list of commands that look to be dutch for sit, stay, down, come, etc... Well, JerryLee is knows english sit, stay, down, come, etc and hand signals. So far Diva is putting two and two together to understand that this hand signal means down because when I do it JerryLee goes down so she mimics his behavior and then figures it out and follows the command before he does the second time around. Cool dog, but this is a lot of work and right now I really want to get the motor out of my boat.

 

[system-f]

Re: Poor Man's Skiboat...Yes, it actually is a restore!

Re: Poor Man's Skiboat...Yes, it actually is a restore!

Time to pull the engine!

I came home from a 2 hour trip tonight and figured it was a good time to pull the engine!

It won't fit

Still not enough room.

Almost enough!!!, but I had to pull the valve stems in the trailer tires.

And here is where the extra room came from. Makes me wish I didn't lift the boat on the trailer 6"s...

 

[system-f]

Re: Poor Man's Skiboat...Restore?

The engine is out! tomorrow I pull the transom gear and start to tear out the transom!

I guess this really is going to be a restore post...it just took 4 pages.

 

[vegasphotoman]

Re: Poor Man's Skiboat...Restore?

cool...now next season you will be problem free....(hopefully)
as you will be the one making sure it's done right!

RESTO!

 

[Friscoboater]

Re: Poor Man's Skiboat...Restore?

Good luck man. I am right there with you.

 

[system-f]

Re: Poor Man's Skiboat...Restore?

I don't yet have any safety gear so I cannot do too much demo. Today I finished getting the drivetrain out of the boat and most of the items bolted through the transom. I also made one fiberglass cut on the rear cap.

The hind-end.

Deva wondering why I am outside and she is inside and we are not both inside or outside together.

Old transom assembly.

Found the water leak, lower transom seal.

Inner transom assembly is OFF!

 

[system-f]

Re: Poor Man's Skiboat...Restore?

Outer transom assembly is off.

Seal was leaking at the bottom, but the transom looks to be in MUCH better shape than I previously thought.

Starting to take otu side foam. There were things living in this foam, but it didn't have much water in it. I hate having small behind the scenes areas in boats for things to hide. You can also see how I cut the back portion of the cap. Since the interior is going to be vastly different this section will not be needed. The next picture shows the starboard side with the cap uncut for now.

This is where I left it for the day minus most of the foam on the aft port.

 

[system-f]

Re: Poor Man's Skiboat...Restore?

Okay guys, I need some help so enjoy the pictures but there is a question in here as well.


What kind of power tool do you use to remove the deck? I have a good jig saw, several angle grinders and a circular saw. The circular saw seems too big and the angle grinder cut off wheels work great on fiberglass but not wood???


Tonight I remove some foam and tore up a section of the deck to see how bad the boat is and it really isn't. I have rot starting between the stringer and floor, but nothing very advanced. This boat is going to be super hard to work to get torn out

Getting the transom exposed so I can start grinding it out.

This isn't half as bad as it looks and nothing in there is soft...all rock hard.

I still cannot tell if this is factory or not. If this is factory someone kept this boat covered for a long time.

Close up of the transom. Not one piece of it is soft.

 

[Friscoboater]

Re: Poor Man's Skiboat...Restore?

Check that transom good. Mine looked great and sounded great but I drilled a hole and found the rot. I had a leak just like you did. Just make sure.

 

[system-f]

Re: Poor Man's Skiboat...Restore?

Everything is getting torn out, transom, stringers, deck. There is no point in going this far and not doing it all but the test holes I drilled came back good which just means it is going to be hard to remove

 

[BobsGlasstream]

Re: Poor Man's Skiboat...Restore?

Hello System -f,
Nice project.
I not sure how they work but I'm looking at two different tools to remove my deck. I saw both at HF. The first is a cutter for a 4.5" grinder that is a carver tool, it looks like a chain saw on a wheel. Should be in horror flick.
It states that it's good for fiber glass and wood.
The second, is another cut off tool called a, 3-3/8 blade Toe-kick saw. It's got a small circular saw blade mounted on the end with a fixed cutting depth, and cover guard. I not sure how they will work but I'm going to get one this week.
Good luck and have a great day.
Bob

 

[system-f]

Re: Poor Man's Skiboat...Restore?

Those tools sounds perfect. HF here I come.

 

[system-f]

Re: Poor Man's Skiboat...Restore?

This thing looks awesome.

I cannot find the other disc you are talking about.

 

[BobsGlasstream]

Re: Poor Man's Skiboat...Restore?

I couldn't find it on line but I saw it in the store Saturday when I was there. It Was about $38. I'll try to get back there tomorrow and I'll post a pick.
It looked down right evil.
I expect very little dust but lot's of chips.