Getting out and about

What's new? Well the fun has started. I'm playing a different role than when I was a kid. Back in the day, my brothers and I had this down to a science. Pack a lunch, get gas, and go cause time is a wasting. Now sharing the ride with little girls and a wife that don't have boating experience does tend to slow me down. That's OK.

In time I'll get to the before and afters of the restoration. I'm still dealing with some issues left over from the "Walter Brown Experience". Walter is a great guy, and I learned alot from him, both good and bad. This has certainly been educational, but I pay'd dearly for a mistake that I thought I took the necessary measures to prevent. Lesson learned... unless you share the same goal, hiring help is risky. My goal was reasonable perfection at a fair cost. His goal was work fast in moments of slow business. Unfortunately this means taking short cuts, rough work, and still takes longer than it should. Live and learn. The next boat project I'll save money buying all the tools I need that don't already have, and doing all work myself. Tragically, I will have to one day tear this one down again to fix a cosmetic flaw that I just can't accept, and otherwise built to last forever.

Day 2 in water

Ok. Still burt out on redoing the resto travel logue that once existed on the CGOA forum. I will eventually catch up on reposting here. Please do feel free to ask questions. The project has brought a wealth of info, and if done again could avoid some mistakes. A's to Q's. What did I do special? Well lots of things. I used all composite materials instead of wood. Seacast transom...Polyurethane board stringers, floor, and floor plan ie ski locker/kick pads/& seat boxes. Seats are a bayliner aftermarket replacement that slide on a track. Also closed cell foam fill underfloor. Interior all gel coated and webbed for texture(and her pleasure). Engine is origonal Evinrude 115. Runs like a top. How fast? Speedo indicates just a hair under 50. That's plenty fast for me. Also went with all stainless steel hardware

Launch day

Only took a few pix, more later. Man I'm really lazy now...guess that means time for fun!

Rigging

Yes, still behind schedule if we had a one. Been pretty distracted and haven't really taken good pictures yet, but that will happen soon enough. Got the motor on and the rub rail reinstalled. I need a good hot afternoon to heat up the rubber insert for the rub, as is, it is cold and stiff. The alluminun fits like a glove. Walter is showing me some more tricks of the trade in rigging. I have to say that the origonal rigging was pretty afro engineered. Never had the correct hardware to connect the teleflex to the motor. Like my drain hole? Another afterthought detail, the dash vinyl. Back to scrape sand prep before wiring instruments... Aaarg

Initial teardown

Just about any boat this age will have dryrot issues. Boatbuilding technology of the 70's didn't intend for these beauties to last this long. Having a desire to restore this boat, famous for the world record breaking jump, I wanted to incorporate new technology while preserving origonal mistique. As I became aquainted with Walter Brown, I discovered much that does not conform to the traditionalist, but does go lockstep with advances modern boatbuilding. The first of this was the Seacast.

http://transomrepair.com/zk/

As I am not a boatbuilder by trade, I wanted to do this right. I realized that I didn't want to make an experiment with expensive materials on this boat. After some negotiating with Walter, he agreed to do the work while allowing me to do prep work, and assist in his shop saving me some money but costing me more than going it alone. First thing as directed by Walter, Gut it!

Pre resto defects

The boats is 35 years old, and sat outdoors for the last decade. I became 2nd or 3rd (?) owner in 1984. I was 15 years old, and avid water skier, and an eagle scout without a ride. My parents helped me out as a reward for my achievment. I saw the ad in the Tacoma News Tribune. Went to Gig Harbor WA for a test drive, and drove home a proud new boat owner. The boat was awesome, but did have her defects even then.

Bow U bolt loose (How to fix? without decaping)

Left seam leaked in turn

Substandard steering wheel connection

running lights inop

I lost the origonal seats when I was away from home, my parents threw them away after my oldest brother trashed them living the young bachelor life. In 1989 I came home (AZ at the time) to a boat minus seats. A few years later I fabricated seats as best as I could myself without origonal templates. They actually came out pretty good. I replaced the carpet, and repaired the floor with a teak wood reinforcement where the ski post had ripped out of the center of the floor. And that is how I left this boat in 1996 when I flew the coop to begin my post college career adventure.

Battery Trayzz

No. I didn't get to mounting the engine yesterday. Yesterday we sprayed the final coat of orange on the stern. Today was still a little tacky, so the stern became a sundial. In the mean time I put in the battery trays. One on each side of the splashwell. I couldn't ask for a better fit. As it works out, I have enough room to place a fuel tank left, right, and center. Not by accident. Walter turned me on to the battery tray. Tomorrow goes in the battery selector switch and bilge pump.

I also got to putting on my Florida numbers and reinstalling the control box in preparation for the engine. One less thing for later.

Stern Work Tk2

Well I guess you can only post 5 pix at a time. The shots under the splashwell show filling gaps with short hair bondo. The taping was in prep for fiberglass tape that I later found was not neccessary. I had assumed so as that was how it was put together, But with all the new glass topside bonding the splashwell to the transom plus finish work, bottomside not needed. It gets a shot of gelcoat with blue webbing, as does the whole interior seam. Don't get too excited, still have to bore drain holes and install hardware, and put final finishing touches of orange gelcoat, and buff. More pix to come. I think we'll be mounting the old evinrude wednesday for real this time.

Fast Forward to now. Stern work

OK the prologue is just about there, and my motivation to recap the resto is waining, but I'll get around to it when all that has been neglected this summer is attended to. I have all the pix, and that is really the story. My blabbering about it probably not too entertaining.

Good motor.

It's a 1973 Evinrude Starflite 115hp. The cover says 85, but it is carburated to 115. Same engine. I took it to Brown's Bay Marine to have it serviced after sitting for 10 years. It has good compression and now new carbs, water pump, and serviced lower unit. The engine runs. What next... OK what about that soft spot in the floor? Need new seats... Let me check the transom for dryrot. Actually had Walter Brown check it out. He does a test with a ball pean hammer. Bounce is good, no bounce, and you have a soft spot. Mine was mostly good except for the bottom 3 inches. Walter says, "go have fun for a few more seasons, then when you see your motor wobble, come back and we'll cut the stern out with a chain saw and pour you a new one out of Seacast." CHAINSAW? YIKES! Not this boat. Took it home and began digging in a little more. I cut out the rear subfloor around the bilge basin to get a better look. If I had known that the origonal transom actually floated with a 1/2 inch gap all the way around the perimeter, I would have probably left it alone a little longer, but still needed to do major floor repair, the left seam always did take on water, and the bow U bolt was in need of repair. Get ready to open the big can of worms.

The reunion

After a decade of separation, I finally made the journey to retrieve my boat pride. This happened end of May 2007. January 1997, I moved to Puerto Rico launching my career in Aviation, after graduating ASU. The boat was left with my younger brother who was in the Navy. A year of so later, he got assigned to MCBH Hawaii, and the boat was left with his wife's parents.

First I had to find a suitable trailer. The trailer it was on completely rusted to a non roadworthy condition. I found one for $450 in good shape and could be easily enough modified. More on that later. It was a thousand miles round trip from my new residence in Florida to the inlaws in Alabama. Pictures shows boat upon return during initial clean up.

At this time of reunion my joy was short lived. As we recover from post 911 career disaster, no money to dump into an old boat says the wife & money manager. Other priorities to deal with such as find a home, pay off dept, keep life simple for awhile. The boat sits for another year before I get to having the motor worked on and running.

Getting started/blogging

Test test, 123. Hello!