Saving an Square Windshield 'BU

[ahopkins22LSV]

I know you may be focused on a few of the minor imperfections but you have done w fantastic job and the boat looks amazing!! I can't wait to see it come all together. 

^^ probably said that at least 5 times in this thread. 

[2014Skier]

@DMC, yeah the 26* weather has really got me fired up to try to get the boat fired up, unreal for this time of year.  The boats are starting to come out of the wood work.  

@AHTxi, thanks man, its hard to let the details slide, but I'll have the winter to go over that stuff, gotta get her done.  

@Levi, I agree its gonna be kinda insane, I know there are boats with LS motors in them and hopped up SBC's etc but the power to weight ratio this thing is gonna have in higher then most, should be fun.  I'm sure you'll get around to it one day.  

So some more updates. 

The starting battery box and batter are installed, I made a plate out of 3/4" plywood, just slightly larger then the base of the battery box and glassed that onto the deck, then using a bunch of sealant and 3/4" screws screwed the box into the 3/4" plywood, this way no screws penetrate the deck.  I've run the main power cables to the Perko switch and starter terminal/engine block ground.  The stereo battery will sit up in the bow beside the sub box, about a foot away from the amp rack.  

I ordered this non-slip tape to put on the gunwales so that when stepping into the boat its not slippery when wet and also so that its a bit better to sit on and kids to climb on etc.  I didn't want anything too aggressive that it would start to shred swim suits, but still add to the grip.  I was thinking about covering them in Sea Deck, but for the cost and look I elected not to.  I found this product called Aqua Safe made by a company called Heskins, its made out of vinyl and the pattern is rolled into it so it is not abrasive and is easy to clean, it comes in roll and sheet form.  I cut out three sections with rounded ends for each side, I tried doing it in one strip and it looked a bit too industrial and I had a hard time forming it to the slight curve.  I think I will still put a piece to Sea Deck beside the drivers seat to rest my arm.  

At the back of the boat I decided to put a large piece to Sea Deck where people will the sitting and climbing over to the swim platform, it's a rectangle with a flattened horseshoe cut out around the fuel filler.  I used a piece of clear plastic to transfer the outline of the fuel filler recess to the Sea Deck.

I also decided to get a new fuel filler instead of re-using the old one that I got re-chromed, the new one is so much nicer, made of billet aluminum and black anodized, from Hardin Marine. 

The vinyl is back from the upholstery shop, minus the motor box cover, pics of that to follow. 

[rugger]

Bada$$.  If you were close I'd beg for a ride in that thing.  Gonna be sweet for sure.  

[2014Skier]

Thanks Rugger,  I can't wait.  I got a few seat skins installed today and started work on the swim platform mounts.  I want to get the platform mounts and regi numbers installed before I seal and wax the gel.  

[dmc]

On ‎25‎/‎04‎/‎2016 at 0:04 AM, 2014Skier said:

Thanks Rugger,  I can't wait.  I got a few seat skins installed today and started work on the swim platform mounts.  I want to get the platform mounts and regi numbers installed before I seal and wax the gel.  

and where are our pics?  Seriously man you are keeping those of us who are vicariously living through your build waiting!!!!

It is getting so close I can almost hear it...

[2014Skier]

Ha ha, pics are in. 

The throttle  shifter control is in, I took it all apart and cleaned out all the old grease etc and lubed it up and put it back together.  While it was apart I sanded down the housing and painted it with wrinkle paint, and got the lever re-chromed, I also got a new black anodized knob for it.

I also got the fuel vent and new bilge vents along with blower motor installed.  Couple of the pop up cleats are on now too.  All this little stuff is easy to do and fun cause the progress is really noticeable.  

I got the boat side swim step brackets that I made painted up.  I'll post more on those when I get them installed in the next few days hopefully.  You can see the swim step side of the brackets in the top pic.   

Finally a pic of one of the seat skins I installed.  I need to get a couple of stainless rods to hold then tension in the corners of a few pieces and I should be able to get those wrapped up shortly. 

[2014Skier]

So today I got the swim platform mounts all finished up and mounted to the transom.  The whole idea behind these is that I wanted a swim platform that was removable without having to actually remove screws or bolts from the transom as that become a water intrusion nightmare.  So what i did was get a length of 2" OD square tubing 1/4" wall thickness and some 1.5" OD square tubing 1/8" thickness.  The smaller one fits into the larger one with basically zero play.  I then cut a chamfered edge out of the length of large tubing using my table saw, which allows the smaller tubing to nest into the bigger tubbing.  I couldn't be bothered to make new swim platform mounts so just used 1/4" bolts to attache them to the smaller tubbing using the existing holes that were in them.  Then I drilled two 1/4" holes through matched pairs of the inner and outer tubes which allows me to install and remove the platform with six 1/4" bolts.  I then drilled 3/8" counter sunk holes through the top of all the brackets, and corresponding holes in the transom, I needed 4" long bolts to get through the re-enforced transom.  The centre mount has two 3/8" bolts because I could get to the lower one, the tow outer ones have the bottom located withe a #14 x 2.5" screw to hold the alignment.  I then used a bead of 3M 4200 to glue the mounts and seal all the holes both front and back in the transom.  Seems pretty sturdy, though I didn't want to put any weight on it till the 4200 cures over night.  I could cut the top of the inner tube on an angle to be able to flip the swim platform up, but not totally convinced I wanna do that just yet. 

 

 

  

Edited April 28, 2016 by 2014Skier

[REHinH20]

10 hours ago, 2014Skier said:

So today I got the swim platform mounts all finished up and mounted to the transom.  The whole idea behind these is that I wanted a swim platform that was removable without having to actually remove screws or bolts from the transom as that become a water intrusion nightmare.  So what i did was get a length of 2" OD square tubing 1/4" wall thickness and some 1.5" OD square tubing 1/8" thickness.  The smaller one fits into the larger one with basically zero play.  I then cut a chamfered edge out of the length of large tubing using my table saw, which allows the smaller tubing to nest into the bigger tubbing.  I couldn't be bothered to make new swim platform mounts so just used 1/4" bolts to attache them to the smaller tubbing using the existing holes that were in them.  Then I drilled two 1/4" holes through matched pairs of the inner and outer tubes which allows me to install and remove the platform with six 1/4" bolts.  I then drilled 3/8" counter sunk holes through the top of all the brackets, and corresponding holes in the transom, I needed 4" long bolts to get through the re-enforced transom.  The centre mount has two 3/8" bolts because I could get to the lower one, the tow outer ones have the bottom located withe a #14 x 2.5" screw to hold the alignment.  I then used a bead of 3M 4200 to glue the mounts and seal all the holes both front and back in the transom.  Seems pretty sturdy, though I didn't want to put any weight on it till the 4200 cures over night.  I could cut the top of the inner tube on an angle to be able to flip the swim platform up, but not totally convinced I wanna do that just yet. 

 

 

  

Looks good, will you be able to mount the actual platform a little closer to the platform to eliminate the extra gap created by the tubing addition?  Wondering if the gap might be enough to get a toe or worse hung.

[minnmarker]

Looks great!  What a restoration.

Consider using some larger diameter non-threaded pins, especially for the top connection.  3/8 threaded steel bolts may oval out the aluminum in short order.

[2014Skier]

1 hour ago, REHinH20 said:

Looks good, will you be able to mount the actual platform a little closer to the platform to eliminate the extra gap created by the tubing addition?  Wondering if the gap might be enough to get a toe or worse hung.

I will be able to mount the platform fairly close to the transom, can't recall exactly how far away, I didn't think about toes though.  I guess I could shim the platform up a bit which would allow it to  snug right up to the transom. 

1 hour ago, minnmarker said:

Looks great!  What a restoration.

Consider using some larger diameter non-threaded pins, especially for the top connection.  3/8 threaded steel bolts may oval out the aluminum in short order.

The upper and lower bolts are 1/4", the shank is long enough that the threads don't interact with the brackets. 

[Michigan boarder]

On 6/7/2013 at 0:59 AM, 2014Skier said:

Bump...

Wow!!

[Woodski]

@2014 Skier:  Nice mod on the swim platform, as noted using some pins will allow you to remove the platform w/o any tools very quickly, most platforms are mounted with pins post 1990 ish but could allow additional wear in the holes due to not being tight.  Also, leave some room between transom and platform for expansion / flex, etc.  You might also consider what I call a transom saver board, it is a small square board attached at the transom end top of the platform so if you slide a ski/board forward, it hits that rather than the transom.  About a 1" x 1" piece works fine.  The other option would be to screw a taller piece behind (on the transom edge) the platform that will act as the transom saver and fill the additional gap.

[blk93jeepzj]

Here's what most of the swim platforms are attached with. 

http://www.homedepot.com/p/The-Hillman-Group-3-8-in-x-2-3-4-in-Wire-Square-Lock-Pin-5-Pack-882697/204726209

[2014Skier]

Thanks for the input guys, much appreciated.  

@MM and @Blk93, I'll look in to the pins, it would be nice to be able to remove the platform with no tools, the downside as Woodski mentioned is that with no tension on the holes, it could vibrate and make a bit of noise or possibly wear out the holes.  The bolts would allow me to put pressure on the two pieces, which might solve that problem.  

@Woodski, I'll see if I can find a strip of Teak or similar locally and add a small piece to the back of the platform as you suggest, I could certainly see ski's etc banging into the transom.  I might also get one of those transom protectors.

@MB, its been a while since I looked at those old photos, I forget how trashed this poor girl was when I got her.  The first pic of the disintegrated bench seat base says it all.  

On a positive note though, I've got the new bench seat almost ready to go in, just a final staple on the backrest portion and she's ready to drop in.  Nothing crazy going on with the patterns here, I wanted to keep it simple so I could get everything to line up nice, didn't want to spend a ton of money more then I had too either.  The seems are all top stitched which kinda adds a nice detail, but that is really it. 

Edit: I just realized that is a terrible pic....but its the only one I have right now. 

Edited April 30, 2016 by 2014Skier

[tvano]

i believe my '04 oem platform mounts were case hardened aluminum. 

it doesn't take too long to wear through the outer skin (that is hardened) then the brackets are throwaways.

i would not expect (soft) aluminum to hold up long in your application, but on the other hand, for the price, it might not be a bad deal to just cobble up a new set up every few seasons.

i moved to the (pricey) newer stainless steel brackets.  perfect so far but, again, pricey.

[2014Skier]

2 hours ago, tvano said:

i believe my '04 oem platform mounts were case hardened aluminum. 

it doesn't take too long to wear through the outer skin (that is hardened) then the brackets are throwaways.

i would not expect (soft) aluminum to hold up long in your application, but on the other hand, for the price, it might not be a bad deal to just cobble up a new set up every few seasons.

i moved to the (pricey) newer stainless steel brackets.  perfect so far but, again, pricey.

Okay, thanks for that info, given that I'm gonna stick with the bolts I have and snug them up pretty good.

[dmc]

On ‎27‎/‎04‎/‎2016 at 6:28 AM, 2014Skier said:

Ha ha, pics are in. 

The throttle  shifter control is in, I took it all apart and cleaned out all the old grease etc and lubed it up and put it back together.  While it was apart I sanded down the housing and painted it with wrinkle paint, and got the lever re-chromed, I also got a new black anodized knob for it.

I also got the fuel vent and new bilge vents along with blower motor installed.  Couple of the pop up cleats are on now too.  All this little stuff is easy to do and fun cause the progress is really noticeable.  

I got the boat side swim step brackets that I made painted up.  I'll post more on those when I get them installed in the next few days hopefully.  You can see the swim step side of the brackets in the top pic.   

Finally a pic of one of the seat skins I installed.  I need to get a couple of stainless rods to hold then tension in the corners of a few pieces and I should be able to get those wrapped up shortly. 

 

You might have said before... where did you get those vents? 

Looking good man!  supposed to hit 30* C out here in 'wack tomorrow!!!

[2014Skier]

@DMC, I can't remember where I got those vents from originally, but here is a link to them on amazon.  The attaching system that they use to hold to hose on requires no hose clamps, they seem to be good quality.  This weather is awesome, tons of boats down at Rocky Point park and in Indian Arm the other day.  

http://www.amazon.com/stainless-steel-clad-domed-vent/dp/B00FZHBU02

I got the swim platform and glove box lid sealed up with that Starbrite stuff that a bunch of people on here are using, it looks pretty darn good and isn't slippery at all.  I've still gotta add that transom board that Woodski was talking about. 

I'm hoping to get the fuel tank installed today. 

 

Edited May 3, 2016 by 2014Skier

[isellacuras]

One touch I really liked on a teak swim step is to mount a thin sheet of plexiglas to the underside of the platform. It eliminates the splash up through the holes but you can't see that it's there. Just make sure to mount it so it drains if you decide to do do something like that. I LOVE clean sealed teak swim steps. Looks good. 

[2014Skier]

I have some 1/8" plexi lying around, I'll rip some strips and mount them to the bottom with some shims so that it can drain.  

Got the fuel tank installed the other day, I used some 1/4" plywood shims to space it out from the transom to accommodate the brackets for the power wedge I wanna make for it over the winter.  I think I covered most of the tank stuff in previous posts, basically using a 10an feed line that is mounted through a bung on the top of the tank, that goes through a 100um filter and then into the Bosch fuel pump, then 8an line from there to the water separator/filter mounted on the engine.  The Bosch pump I'm using is a 044 pump but with a male 12mm barb on the end as opposed to the threaded female end as on the 044 pump.  These Bosch pumps flow really well and are good for around 700 NA HP if i remember correctly.  I just made a little "L" bracket mount and bolted that to the steering mount, the bracket for the pump can be bought on eBay for like $10, and comes with a rubber insulator.  Ideally I'd have a low pressure in tank pump, but the Bosch pump is mounted below the tank so once its primed it should be siphon feed.  

I also got the Domed numbers regi numbers in, they are metallic red, flake is not as large as the gel, but they still look sweet. 

Biggest news is we just had our second daughter, Nova, born a few days ago.  I have a feeling progress will be slower now. 

 

[isellacuras]

On May 6, 2016 at 0:02 PM, 2014Skier said:

I have some 1/8" plexi lying around, I'll rip some strips and mount them to the bottom with some shims so that it can drain.  

Got the fuel tank installed the other day, I used some 1/4" plywood shims to space it out from the transom to accommodate the brackets for the power wedge I wanna make for it over the winter.  I think I covered most of the tank stuff in previous posts, basically using a 10an feed line that is mounted through a bung on the top of the tank, that goes through a 100um filter and then into the Bosch fuel pump, then 8an line from there to the water separator/filter mounted on the engine.  The Bosch pump I'm using is a 044 pump but with a male 12mm barb on the end as opposed to the threaded female end as on the 044 pump.  These Bosch pumps flow really well and are good for around 700 NA HP if i remember correctly.  I just made a little "L" bracket mount and bolted that to the steering mount, the bracket for the pump can be bought on eBay for like $10, and comes with a rubber insulator.  Ideally I'd have a low pressure in tank pump, but the Bosch pump is mounted below the tank so once its primed it should be siphon feed.  

I also got the Domed numbers regi numbers in, they are metallic red, flake is not as large as the gel, but they still look sweet. 

Biggest news is we just had our second daughter, Nova, born a few days ago.  I have a feeling progress will be slower now. 

 

Beautiful baby!  Congrats on that one. 

As for the plexi under the platform, I recommend using two pieces, one for left side and one for right, it will make install much easier.  Ripping individual pieces would be time consuming.  Shim it in the back so it doesn't scoop water. 

[dmc]

On ‎06‎/‎05‎/‎2016 at 0:02 PM, 2014Skier said:

I have some 1/8" plexi lying around, I'll rip some strips and mount them to the bottom with some shims so that it can drain.  

Got the fuel tank installed the other day, I used some 1/4" plywood shims to space it out from the transom to accommodate the brackets for the power wedge I wanna make for it over the winter.  I think I covered most of the tank stuff in previous posts, basically using a 10an feed line that is mounted through a bung on the top of the tank, that goes through a 100um filter and then into the Bosch fuel pump, then 8an line from there to the water separator/filter mounted on the engine.  The Bosch pump I'm using is a 044 pump but with a male 12mm barb on the end as opposed to the threaded female end as on the 044 pump.  These Bosch pumps flow really well and are good for around 700 NA HP if i remember correctly.  I just made a little "L" bracket mount and bolted that to the steering mount, the bracket for the pump can be bought on eBay for like $10, and comes with a rubber insulator.  Ideally I'd have a low pressure in tank pump, but the Bosch pump is mounted below the tank so once its primed it should be siphon feed.  

I also got the Domed numbers regi numbers in, they are metallic red, flake is not as large as the gel, but they still look sweet. 

Biggest news is we just had our second daughter, Nova, born a few days ago.  I have a feeling progress will be slower now. 

 

 

CONGRAT's man!!! 

You had a good run there - I was kinda wondering what was spurring you on! LOL!  Hopefully can finish it out in between things...

heh-heh... the coveted 044... Little did Mr. Bosch know that his CIS fuel injection system would breed such a useful product!

 

[Michigan boarder]

Congratulations on the baby!  Now quit screwing around and finish up that boat. (pun intended)

[2014Skier]

Thanks guys, I was really trying to get it running before the baby arrived, but I lost that race.  I agree those 044 pumps are amazing, really can't be beat especially for the price.  

I got the heat exchanger mounted for the final time, i had to use a 6" and a 2" hose clamp to get round it.  I ran the hose clamps through 1/2" fuel line and cut slits in the line so that they could continue to wrap up the back of the exchanger so there is no metal to metal contact.  The hard lines are all connected now, I changed the routing of the inlet to the motor a bit, adding a 45* bend so the two lines run parallel now.  I used my air hammer to dimple the ends of all the hard lines to help the hose clamps hold.  One thing I need to do is make a couple of brackets to hold the hard lines as they run from the front to the back of the motor so they vibrate etc, my plan is to attach the brackets to one of the bolts where the front and rear motor mounts attach to the stringers. 

 

I still need to run the 1" lines from the raw water pump to the exchanger, and then from the exchanger to the exhaust manifolds, I'm not anticipating much drama with that, only thing will be the addition of a port to measure pressure, for a dummy light to be added later.  

[dmc]

On ‎14‎/‎05‎/‎2016 at 7:48 AM, 2014Skier said:

Thanks guys, I was really trying to get it running before the baby arrived, but I lost that race.  I agree those 044 pumps are amazing, really can't be beat especially for the price.  

I got the heat exchanger mounted for the final time, i had to use a 6" and a 2" hose clamp to get round it.  I ran the hose clamps through 1/2" fuel line and cut slits in the line so that they could continue to wrap up the back of the exchanger so there is no metal to metal contact.  The hard lines are all connected now, I changed the routing of the inlet to the motor a bit, adding a 45* bend so the two lines run parallel now.  I used my air hammer to dimple the ends of all the hard lines to help the hose clamps hold.  One thing I need to do is make a couple of brackets to hold the hard lines as they run from the front to the back of the motor so they vibrate etc, my plan is to attach the brackets to one of the bolts where the front and rear motor mounts attach to the stringers. 

 

I still need to run the 1" lines from the raw water pump to the exchanger, and then from the exchanger to the exhaust manifolds, I'm not anticipating much drama with that, only thing will be the addition of a port to measure pressure, for a dummy light to be added later.  

 

Nice idea with the air hammer.  A buddy of mine made this "tool" up and it does a wicked job on almost any diameter tubing so it is surprisingly useful.  The thing it once you'd done a few pcs your forearms are absolutely done... especially in bigger diameter stuff (like intercooler tubing).  Considering your skill set and automotive interest this will be a piece of cake to fab.  That tubing in the pic is stainless too.  We've used it on aluminum too... have to be careful with that.  I think rounding the male portion of the dye would help with that.