37 Active Thunder Restoration
 

So I finally picked up the Active on the weekend. 1800 miles in total, after picking up a trailer (Thanks Artie!).
I lucked out with the trailer, it fit the boat like a GLOVE!

Here's a post for pics. I took pics of some of the damage since a lot of ppl seemed to question it. Looking forward to this project!!

This is as I got it...havent cleaned it or anything.
Where can I get replacement hatches? Both are in need and maybe the brackets too. Just want to keep NEW water from getting in it. :) Looks like Bomar brand?

http://s1225.photobucket.com/albums/...der%20Project/

Looks like a lot of work - but that is also part of the fun. When you are finished and you do it right it will be a *****en boat. Hope to run mine for the first time this weekend. What are you thinking for power?

I need to replace my hatches as well......

You can order any hatch parts that you need direct from Bomar http://www.pompanette.com/bomar

Good luck with her. Love to see pics as it progresses :ernaehrung004:

Yeah I looked at that website, but have no idea what model number to get. The serial number on the sticker doesnt seem to match anything.

nice boat, just needs a good douche. good luck

N1070-10p-kwht

What you have there is an opportunity... You can strip it out and start from scratch!That boat isnt hurt. strip it out and redo everything. Thats probably better then fixing a boat that only needs half the stuff. A power washer is gonna make it look alot better to begin with. Keep the pics coming! Welcome to the cult!

looking at the pic seem like it might be a bear to launch off with that step... good luck with the boat a lot of life left in that for sure.

Thanks for the replies so far! I was able to find the correct hatch replacement. Have also totally cleaned the cabin area and it looks pretty amazing. Took panels off and very little moisture, just a but of sand here and there. will post pics soon.

A couple more questions (I assume Pat will be able to answer):

What is the exterior finish? Paint and then gel? Clear coat? I have some spots to re-do

Also looking for replacement couch cushions, mine are missing.

What is engine compartment painted with? ITs literally peeling off by hand...everywhere, like it wasnt sanded or was redone at some point. I cant see a boat being under for a couple of hours make that much difference in paint adhesion. I will be redoing it, I just want to make sure I get it right!
Was thinking sherwin williams...

Help is greatly appreciated!

You have white gel coat with paint on top, and the graphics were probably cleared over, but not the white gel coat. The gel coat is literally "pure white", with no tint added.

Pat will tell you... Awlgrip Topcoat for the bilge. Get the brushable components. And as he says " get a mask or get a doctor "

Thanks for the additional info!

Another question: When I picked the boat up, one half of the cockpit floor is 'soft'.
I was told that there is a metal plate underneath it and that on the one side, the plate became dis-lodged when the bolster ripped out of the floor.

Not sure if this is true or not, but the floor on the passenger side is DEFINITELY soft.

Any insight on how to fix this? I've repaired floors in the past. Would just like to know what I'm dealing with before I start cutting holes!

My other boat is not selling fast and was actually thinking of swapping the motors from it in the meantime to get it on the water.
Some 502 MPI motors, 415 HP each.
I know the purists will probably hate it!
What kind of speeds would I see? Low 70s?

that is an awfully big boat for 502's... but seems like low 70's would definitely be a reasonable number especially with the step hull

75

So this IS REALLY turning into a restoration now. Just finished de-rigging the engine compartment and going to start there first. There is a LOT of rot in the boat. Basically, any hole that was cut through wood, wasnt sealed and water got in.
Floor is gone, access panels in engine compartment. etc.
Thank god stringers and transom are good!
Also, the paint in the engine compartment isnt worth a damn. It flakes off in big pieces! Its like it wasnt sanded or the gel was already cured before it was painted. I can't see just getting water in there would do this....but maybe I'm wrong.

Anybody have an idea on the length/throw of the ram needed for the engine hatch?

Recent pics:

http://s1225.photobucket.com/albums/...der%20Project/

[QUOTE=Rambocj7;3737758]So this IS REALLY turning into a restoration now. Just finished de-rigging the engine compartment and going to start there first. There is a LOT of rot in the boat. Basically, any hole that was cut through wood, wasnt sealed and water got in.
Floor is gone, access panels in engine compartment. etc.
Thank god stringers and transom are good!
Also, the paint in the engine compartment isnt worth a damn. It flakes off in big pieces! Its like it wasnt sanded or the gel was already cured before it was painted. I can't see just getting water in there would do this....but maybe I'm wrong.

Anybody have an idea on the length/throw of the ram needed for the engine hatch?

Wow, what year is this boat? That rot doesn't seem right.

Keep in mind, this boat was underwater and then sat for several years. Not sure if it was covered, but I doubt it.

Yeah I never got the full story! How long did it sit for?? I figure it either was not drained for a while after it was raised or like you said, it sat for a while...

I knew it sank but didn't know that it sat wet for a long period of time. It would take several years to cause that though.

I never laid eyes on the boat when it went for sale the first time several years ago, before the owner whose son put made a dirty martini out of it; BUT a member here went to inspect it with 3 other boaters/members. He did not like it's condition, and came to us to build/buy a new one instead.

I'm not sure on specific timeframes, but I'd have to guess that its been about 4-5 years since it was a running boat.

Looking for motors now!! Anybody have any leads?
Budget is $10-$20k for a pair of motors. 500-650HP

Yeah saw those...am thinking of those or found a set of higher hour 500EFIs for a couple $K more...

I like efi, so am un-sure if I want to go to more HP carb! Opinions?

fixx
 

if i were you i would buy this http://www.offshoreonly.com/classifi...o46535-en.html use it until the at is ready for power and swap everything over and unload the boat and trailer for what you can get..has everything including new steering..

+1 Rob's engines sound sweet and he really looks after his gear.

EFI is nice, but I would take the extra HP and lower hours.

A well tuned carb engine will idle and perform like an efi. They are also very simple to troubleshoot issues without the need for a scan tool.

Some good insight!

What about converting to SSM3?

I found a deal on a turn key boat. 750HP EFI Procharged 540s, hubber 1300s with SSM3s turning 31P 4 blades...

Would it be worth swapping the drivetrain in? Or just find stock power and drives?

Leave the motors where they are, no transmissions, no SSM.

Agreed. If you want more than 600-650hp, then go with BMax drives.

Arent bmax drives worth like $12k a piece?

I can pick up this turn key boat with SSM3s for $20k, so basically the price of a pair of motors.

Would the trannies and drives throw the weight off? I'm assuming that's why you mentioned keep motors where they were....

I know a lot of ppl HATE any bravo derivatives because of poor reliability and $$...

Don't think it is as much the reliability part these guys are talking about--SSM3s are tough drives, but more around what the boat was designed for. If you have a boat that was designed for Bravo (type) drives you could be really going down a rabbit hole by shifting CG, engine/driveheights, etc by adding transmissions and different types drives

I'm sure Pat could chime in with a better answer...but from what I remember when I worked at AT..the step placement that was calculated by Harry Schoell was based upon the center of gravity using Bravo Drives with stock motor installation placements...moving the motors forward to leave room for trannys may upset the balance of the boat & running surface...???
We built step hull number 2 with staggered 600's and I don't remember the boat running any better than the side by side boats with less power..

^^

Exactly right.

The bottom of that boat was designed so the step, the transom, and the prop shaft are on or very near the same plane, with the motor placement where it's at with the motors and the drives both bolted directly to the transom.

We've built boats with NXTs, a couple triples, SSM VI, Teagues, BMAX; along with mild to huge power. Each of these affects the attitude of the boat, from weight and placement, to thrust angle, to transom lift introduced by the size/shape of the drive.

The boat YOU have was designed to run the way I described above. IF you start changing all that, you are going to take too many steps back in hopes of only a few forward.

Any updates on this restoration?

Yeah, everyone would like to know. Birds chirping around here this week!

I think it came to a hault

That doesn't sound good. What happened?