Saving an Square Windshield 'BU

[dmc]

My 89 sunsetter also has an aluminum tank. I am pretty sure that some of the older builds (Rugger/MartinArcher) also had aluminum tanks. Guessing an older 'bu thing? I am going to move my batteries up front and extend the tank to cross the whole transom rather than 2/3rds ish. Like I said in other threads for the locals I like Harrison and it requires a LOT of fuel to run around on.

You have answered my question too on the seadek which is exactly what I had in mind for a winter/spring refresher either this year or next.

Nice verk btw. You and I also have pretty well matching skill sets. I am not as good with wood though as I am metal. Are you mostly a car guy or into 4x stuff as well?

Edited February 18, 2016 by dmc

[2014Skier]

The tank in mine was aluminum from the factory, its has the Coast Guard label still on it, thats the rectangle on the top that looks un painted. Mine is an '84, first year they made them I believe. The tank is kinda small at 25 gallons, but for a ski boat, I don't think long range was something they were thinking off. I thought of extending it too like DMC mentioned, but for now will leave it.

I'm into pretty much anything with an engine in it, my heart lies with on road stuff, I have an 1st Gen Rx-7 with IMSA widebody, highly modified suspension etc etc that I used to race, but haven't for years. Though I do have buddies into the 4x stuff, we all have young kids though so all that stuff is kinda on the back burner for now.

[jaciche]

I was just checking this thread for progress. It looks like it's coming along nicely. I wish the best for you on the rest of your project.

[2014Skier]

So not a ton to update on, just working on the wiring, and cooling system right now.  I'll grab some pics of the heat exchanger and where I mounted it along with the plumbing etc.  I've been working on the new dash panel a bunch and have it almost ready for paint, just needs a little bit more of a work over with some abrasives.  The six gauges are the usual 4 plus two for oil temp, engine and trans.  I had to trim the surround for the RFX-MR5BB a bit on one edge and one corner so that it would fit nice against the shroud and the bend in the panel, but its not super noticeable.  The Holley EFI stuff is here, the harness etc is nicely made, should be a pretty straight forward install.  I'm hoping to have this thing running in 2-3 weeks, not done, but running. 

[Malibu Jordy]

Man,  that is one awesome looking dash cut out... how did you get the bends just right for the switch bezels?  Fine work.

[Dare2goBare]

13 hours ago, 2014Skier said:

So not a ton to update on, just working on the wiring, and cooling system right now.  I'll grab some pics of the heat exchanger and where I mounted it along with the plumbing etc.  I've been working on the new dash panel a bunch and have it almost ready for paint, just needs a little bit more of a work over with some abrasives.  The six gauges are the usual 4 plus two for oil temp, engine and trans.  I had to trim the surround for the RFX-MR5BB a bit on one edge and one corner so that it would fit nice against the shroud and the bend in the panel, but its not super noticeable.  The Holley EFI stuff is here, the harness etc is nicely made, should be a pretty straight forward install.  I'm hoping to have this thing running in 2-3 weeks, not done, but running. 

Wow..... Nice  And again I have to say....Where do you find all the time. ...lol...

What will you cover the dash with? Panel Fabric, Paint, Rubber Coat of some sort? Combination of?

Edited March 1, 2016 by Dare2goBare

[minnmarker]

Looks very nice!  Kind of a retro aviation look.  Might want to make a place for a speed control of some kind.

[Woodski]

@2014Skier:  You earned a "Gearhead GEEK" award > Oil Temp Gage!  I like it, actually probably more important for our application would be a water pressure gauge or warning light as the impeller certainly is the weak link in the chain.

Now that you have the oil temp gauge and since oil temperature is directly related to engine rpm, that means you have to become an avid barefooter...since that is the highest boat speed activity other than WOT runs for fun:)

Retro Airguide bezels are very cool.  Suggestion, if you are in water with much debris and to keep any water from creeping up the lines, I highly suggest the venture style pitot tubes (SkiDim carries them P/N 1804 / gauges P2) as they don't clog and don't send water up the lines if a leak occurs.

[2014Skier]

The panel is actually made out of six pieces welded together. The main panel that holds all the gauges and switches etc, two small filler pieces that got welded into the slots created when I cut out the shape with a band saw above the rocker switches, plus three pieces for the shroud.  I sanded down all the welds so it looks like one piece.  I think I'm gonna just paint it black with wrinkle paint.  I was thinking I might try making something with black vinyl, and contrast french stitching, but time is not on my side right now, maybe next winter.  I was going for an kinda old school aviation look, it will be screwed to the boat with big stainless screws to add to that look.  

It would be nice to add speed control at some point, I'll have to look into Perfect Pass, just not in the cards at this time.  

Thanks for the award Woodski.  I was thinking about the water pressure gauge, they do have them at Hardin that match, but the oil temp won out.  What I was thinking of doing was adding a 1/8" npt port to the raw water side of the system after the pump, putting in a pressure gauge and monitoring what it was at normal idle, then adding a pressure switch set to below that pressure that would activate a dummy light on the dash.  I have no idea how much if any pressure those seawater pumps put out especially at idle, if its is too low, at idle, which I could see being possible due to lack of low rpm flow vs restriction, then a gauge would have to go in.  Thanks for the link to the pitot tubes, I'll order them up.  

I think I may end up being an avid barefooter, not by choice, but because I won't have any money left over for ski's or boards  

[rugger]

Wow... nice work skier!  You really have some talent and keep going above and beyond!!!!  And that's an understatement.   

I did a similar thing for the dash, with the aluminum layer.   Had a lot of ideas, but ultimately settled on plain old black vinyl.   Your dash, I think, is better and you really made some smart changes.   Here's what mine looked like if you want to see plain black vinyl wrapped over the aluminum.   Not sure if MartinArcher has changed the dash beyond his awesome surf gate controller mods.

Waiting for your next installment.... keep it up.  That's one sweet boat.  

 

[martinarcher]

Not too much.  Just a few more switches, a Perfect pass display, and my Wake Logic display.   Someone did a pretty good job on it the first time.  

[Woodski]

@2014Skier:  The Jabsco pump has an output of 10 GPM per 1000 RPM and is linear so at 4k RPM > 40 GPM, pressure all depends on what the restriction flow is, I have not ever measured.  The aviation look is cool, I used stainless cap screws for my dash which is a carbon panel and that look is great, yours should look awesome and smart to go with something that will keep glare to a minimum.

As far as footing being easy on the budget, first year expect to budget for significant quantities of advil, bengay, and nasal decongestant since you will take a lot of water up the nose as rookie falls are frequent:)  Your hull is actually one of the better ones for footing, in fact you can foot right off the back of your platform as there is a good table right behind the boat, close enough to actually step off and on.

[Dare2goBare]

14 minutes ago, Woodski said:

@2014Skier:  As far as footing being easy on the budget, first year expect to budget for significant quantities of advil, bengay, and nasal decongestant since you will take a lot of water up the nose as rookie falls are frequent:)  Your hull is actually one of the better ones for footing, in fact you can foot right off the back of your platform as there is a good table right behind the boat, close enough to actually step off and on.

Yes, But think of all the Great Entertainment he could provide for the TMC..... LOL....

[2014Skier]

Thanks for the compliments guys, much appreciated.

If all I gotta do is stock up on some meds and nasal passage cleaners then I'm in.  I really haven't heard much about these old Skier hulls as far as what they are good at, most people are into Sunsetters, Response and Echelon, good to know that it is at least decent at something.  Being able to step off the swim platform at 40 mph sounds pretty freaking awesome, I'll have to try that one day.  

I do like the look of your vinyl dash Rugger, but mine won't cover as easy cause of the raised up panels for the rocker switches.  I think I will cover it in vinyl at some point, just not now.  I painted it with wrinkle paint, turned out okay.  

 

I got a bunch done on the cooling system lately, the exchanger is mounted on some brackets I made and sits above the transmission, the hose clamps need to be cleaned up and covered in rubber hose.  The thermostat housing I got is an adjustable one, I put a 160* thermostat in, though once it all got mocked up it looks like it is pointing in a fairly OEM direction.  I got some silicone elbows and some 304 stainless tube and have started running the lines form engine to heat exchanger.  It's actually working out pretty good and should be a fairly clean install.  I think I'm gonna change the routing of the line from the thermostat housing to run down and then parallel with the lower one as opposed to the way it sits now. That will give me more space to mount the coil packs, the right  side of the engine is way busier then the left, due to the starter, coolant lines,  and raw water pump. I know its gonna be a bit*h to bleed so I think I'l have to put a vacuum on it and suck the coolant in.  

[2014Skier]

I finally got the exhaust manifold O2 sensor bung sorted out.  The first pic shows the manifold with the 2" hole I cut in the outer layer with a hole saw, then drilled the middle hole out to 7/8" to accommodate the O2 bung.  Brazing cast iron is a total pain, it required a ton of pre-heating to get the piece up to 600* slowly, then lots of heat to get the cast up to a temp it would accept the braze, then an controlled cooling process to prevent any cracking. 

 

After it all cooled down, I made up a rig to pressure test it, there was a small leak in one spot so I had to go through it all again, but got it sealed.  The threads on the O2 bung got a bit messed up so I had to chase them, but they turned out fine after that.

To pretty it all up I used JB Weld after smoothing down the material.

I also measured and got all the battery cables.  I got them made on eBay from a company called Advantage Marine, they were way cheaper then I found anywhere else, come with ends, and heat shrinked.

[Michigan boarder]

Getting there!  What amp alternator are you using?

[2014Skier]

@MB, It's a 70 amp alternator, regular LS1 style one that I converted to marine use. 

Got the exhaust in for what I hope is the last time, it was a real pain getting the 4" hose to bend after attaching it to the manifolds and maneuvering in the bottom pipes, it's actually starting to look like a boat motor. 

I got he EFI wiring harness on because the coil packs are no longer mounted on the valve covers those plugs were in the wrong spot.  I just opened up the harness and remove those wires from the loom to a suitable point where I could branch them off and route them to where I'm gonna mount the coils.  It worked out really well.  I just need to get a bit more of the nylon wrap that Holley used to cover a bit of the harness where it ended up being exposed. 

The foam for the seats and motor box is here, its got my daughters seal of approval.  

[REHinH20]

I recognize that Seat Foam "prop" reminds me of college!

[Woodski]

@2014Skier:  where did you source the seat / engine box foam?  What thickness did you decide for engine box?  Nice progress...

[Dare2goBare]

Big helper in pic #3. 

[rugger]

This is my favorite thread.  Lots of work yet you seem to steer away from taking short cuts.  

[2014Skier]

Hey guys, been a while, just swamped with work and getting ready for the baby, no time to update the thread, glad people are enjoying the thread. 

@Woodski, the foam for the motor box is 1" on the outside, thicker then what was on there for stock, but its tight on the inside so I'm not sure if eventually I will be able to add insulation to that, the foam is form a local upholstery shop who got it from BFF foam.  

My daughter who will be three in late June is really into the boat and helping me on it, I hope that continues to really enjoying going for rides and starting to teach her to ski.  

I've made a bit of progress over the last month, but I'm not where I was hoping I'd be.  The updates will take a few days for me to fully post. 

I've got the dash wired and done as much as I can do on the power distribution block.  The all the wiring is gonna be done in tinned wire, the dash is 14g, which is way over kill for what it is, but its solid, I could have gotten away with 18g probably but, I just got a big spool of 14g to cover it all off.  Nothing really special with the dash, just a pain to wire it all with everything having a ground circuit actually wired, not what I'm used to working on cars.  The power distribution panel has got the power and ground posts, the power post will be switched by the main switch, from there power goes through circuit breakers to the rockers on the dash for all the circuits or relays to power, ign, fuel and start.  The dash panel and power panel are almost ready to go in, just need to add the deadman switch. 

 

  

[2014Skier]

So I pulled my self away form the seat foam props long enough to get some sanding and polishing done, only took me about ten hours to sand and get the polishing done on the top shell.   It is no where near perfect, but I'm outta time and it will have to do, looks awesome from a bit away but lots of areas for me to touch up in the off season.  The boat still needs two coats of PTFE and a coat or two of wax to get is all sorted but the hard work is done.  Much thanks to Datsun510dad on here for the decals I bought about two years ago, they turned out great.  A few dust bubbles that snuck into them, so if any body has any suggestions as to how to flatten those out I'm game, but other wise really happy with the way its looking.  Its no show boat, but I never intended it to be that, for my first attempt at Gel, I'm satisfied.   

Edited April 21, 2016 by 2014Skier

[dmc]

I was just thinking this morning that with all this beauty summer weather we have been having here in spring that you must have made some progress.  Progress there has been!!!!  Looking like an on time delivery for this season.  I can't wait to see it!!!!!

(I guess I better get mine outa storage and set up for the season!)

[Levi900RR]

This boat is going to be so insane... I really hope, someday, to do something like this myself.