New to the crew! Couple questions for yall.

[Bravotango]

Hello all, 

 

My name is Blake and I recently picked up a 2000 Sunsetter VLX. 
I am an avid wakeskater and I have been riding behind my custom build John Boat for years and I am happy to finally have this Bu!
It falls into that perfect spot between wake and ski that gives me a decent size wake to skate wake to wake. The interior is in very good condition for 22years but I have a few things I need to start chasing down. 
 

It has the T1 titan tower and an old Bimini (that is still basically new) but missing parts. Luckily I live in Knoxville TN and know the Great Lakes Boat top people, so they are sourcing me the missing parts and getting me dialed in. 

I am missing the Divider for the front play pin below the windshield. I thought I would just cut some ABS if someone could get me some measurements that would be epic! Also where is the best source for ABS sheets like they used in production?

I need to source some vents for the top of the dash. The flaps are broken, and I totally dont mind to make an end cap and seal off that driver side dash vent if needed. 

The netting panels in the rear hatches are not secured very well anymore and I feel like the Gash Shock is going to eventually push that panel off. Has anyone done a relocation on the gas shock that I could look at? 

 

I already plan on installing the Hot Shower, Perfect pass, New audio, second battery, and possibly a wedge (no plate on the boat). 

 

Any tips and links/pics/sources would be appreciated! 

Cant wait to put some time into this thing and make it a legitimate resto-mod. 


Cheers!

Pics of my old ride and the new ride> 

 

Edited July 26, 2022 by Bravotango
Adding Images

[jd8181]

Mine didn't come with the windscreen either. So i got a piece of cardboard and kept trimming it till i got it to size (just kept sliding it in and out). Once i got it to size i took it to a local glass shop and had them cut a piece of 1/4" Plexiglas from the cardboard templet. 

[chasetepher]

Ok congrats on the new ride and all that but my dude. I need deets on this 30hp jon boat with a (custom/homemade?) wake tower. It's amazing and I love it.

[MarkN]

Yup, I’m here for the Jon boat

[Bravotango]

Haha, ok!

hese were really popular builds in the wakeskate community online and they were built by many of us all over the place. The term was "Lemons Craft", based on the rider (Ryan Lemons) who first put a Monster Tower from a Jet Boat onto a flatbottom. 

 

Here is his original build 

 

 

 I started out with a 1973 1448 flatbottom as a replacement for my Jetski (wanted to take more than two skates and two or three duded on a jetski).

I fabbed up a tower at home and welded a trailer Ball for the rope. 

After a few runs with the motor that came with the boat I started sourcing a 2 stroke Japanese motor. 

Found a 1986 DT 30 with a bad impeller for $400 (2012)

Put a new impeller in and cleaned up the Carb and its ran perfect for 11 seasons!

Painted the old Hull 

 

Eventually upcycled some wood flooring materials.

 

 

Eventually the old hull would not stay together with the motor and stress we were putting it under, I welded the transom twice before finding a new Hull that the tower would mount up on. 

1648 G3 2018

 

Heres a few links to some riding with the boat in it. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bravotango]

There are some random clips and pics on my Insta if you want to see more

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-qKeeShHy9/

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1EYAssBHr2/

 

Also on our crews little insta profile where we post edits

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsGXizSFa1-/

[chasetepher]

Dude, that first video was incredible. That was so chill and I've never wanted to try something so badly. Even loved the use of the old school DJI 450 (?) quad with the awesome sound effects lol.

Can I do wake skating behind my Malibu Skier?

[Bravotango]

Absolutely! 
 

Older Ski Boats are perfect for wakeskating! 

 

Also spot on for the DJI450! my first bird build!

 

Edited July 29, 2022 by Bravotango

[mxmark4]

Welcome to the crew from another Knoxvillian! I had a sunsetter lx as my first boat and loved it. We upgraded last year, but you wil love all the power compared to a 30hp flatbottom! As far as that boat goes you should have no issue moving the gas shocks. Worst case epoxy the holes and reinstall the screws. I added a second battery and battery switch to my settern but my battery was behind observer seat. Think yours might be in the stern on the vlx? Audio was an easy upgrade also and I added a tower as mine didnt have one. I think I remember seeing that boat for sale on CL a while back. Wegde made a big difference in the wake on my boat. Sounds like you are off to a good start, HMU if you ever come out to Tellico.