teaser
 

heres a teaser for you guys ;)
got the boat into the new shop today finally, and signed a year lease so i wont need to move again.. was a PITA cause the ground is soaked from all the snow melt and has to swing her around 2 snow banks. Got her in and getting working on it this week. Interior is going out soon to LOTO to a guy a friend hooked me up with. Heres the cockpit layout. White on the seats will be a white carbon fiber looking material, and red cross stitching will with be a suede material. Going to square up the bolsters a little too. paint is combination between the last two boats. paint on cockpit is going have alot of air brushing and white gauges. new stearing wheel and painted controls. Painted red or white drives and trim tabs. going through the drives next week. Only have found 2 small stress cracks on the boat! some blistering on the bottom i didnt notice at first, but it was warm and inside today so i could finally really look it over. trailers getting cut up into a gooseneck as well.


http://i57.tinypic.com/24pmdqo.jpg

http://i60.tinypic.com/2hmmyio.jpg

http://i61.tinypic.com/2mzle75.jpg

http://i61.tinypic.com/jufi84.jpg

http://i61.tinypic.com/21jrq0m.jpg

http://i61.tinypic.com/2e4w652.jpg

Are you going to flip it? If so I think the gooseneck will limit you.

Looks there is room for mine in there too.

yup. i got a buyer for it already. he wants a gooseneck. ive done glass work for him before and he knows my work on boats so hes confident on my workmanship.

and katanna, hell ya bring her over! well do it up right!

Who's "the guy" your friend hooked you up with at LOTO?

Buck

Not sure of his name off hand.. I think, Ralph maybe?

Hey man sweet!! Got room for mine in there? JK! I'll have to come up and check out the boat someday!

I would have a real hard time towing a Cafe with them aluminum drop hitches, sorry thats a lot of weight to lose....I dont trust them hitches..

Food for thought. I'd check around that area for a reputable shop. There's some big name options out there that I would consider using for a project like this. They're reputable for a reason. When I hear someone say they have a buddy that knows "a guy" that makes me nervous.

Take a look at my Bullet thread. That shop is one of the best options in that area. I'm sure there's a couple more too.

It sounds like you plan to flip this boat. I understand that to make a profit of any kind you have to watch your pennies. I also know that cutting corners will adversely affect the sale price too.

That's my $.02 worth. You can keep the change. ;)

Buck

I still wanna know why your name is DURAMAX and your sporting a dodge?



BTW nice shop!!

is the 315 from the area code in syracuse or from the tire size on the truck

buck, your interior is SWEET. i talked to carter yesterday cause i was having a PITA pulling the rear seat. and the shop who did that is WAY outta my budget. and ive seen the work ralph has done, i think the shop is called at the lake upholstery. i feel confident in his work. im going to check around locally and see what deal i can get but ive seen quotes from 5000 to 8000 just for a cockpit and that isnt possible on this one.

Full Force... these hitches are rated to 10000lbs. ive pulled our personal boats up to 12,000 as well as hauling down south with this hitch with no problem with them. just gotta be easy on the brakes and fun pedal.


MTITRIM- thanks! its hard to get it heated ATM but a salamander is doing fine for stripping, but going to have to wait till spring to paint.. going to insulate it over the summer for next winter. along with an over head I - beam crane hoist. have a buddy with a bunch of huge bridge I- Beams so were going to rig up a 4 corner support bolted into the concrete floor, with a double trolly system so i can move boats all around. i need to do this boat, bottom paint on my parents 330ss and fix a bunch of chips on my ski boat all by memorial day. got my work cut out for me! the land lord still has a bunch of **** in here so im waiting for him to move everything out still... lol

got the cockpit pulled out in 2 hours. pulling the floor tomorrow to inspect tank area. havent found any rot yet, the wood on the bolsters and cockpit is still in really good shape which im very surprised.


last 2 pictures for a while
http://i60.tinypic.com/9k1hxx.jpg
http://i62.tinypic.com/24azcy0.jpg

and i used to drive a duramax when i made this acct, sold it cause it had 250k miles on it and bought this 700hp cummins... that im trying to trade for a lifted dually.

http://i57.tinypic.com/6f35gz.jpg

Thank you for the kind words.

Sounds like you have it under control. Just making sure you don't paint yourself in a corner. You are definitely talking to the right people from the sounds of it.

Best of luck with the built. Keep us updated on progress.

Buck

hmmm how heavy is boat and trailer? yaaaaa..... over 10,000...... be careful them things are not solid steel... don't trust them....

dyno sheet please.... not magazine hp...

The smarty adds 300+ the cold air intake is 25, lol

FYI, I bent a hitch years ago pulling my 35 fountain. It was rated for 12k. I now use only solid shank receivers that exceed the rating. Mine bent, your cast aluminum will snap!!! I know you are a risk taker but this is not something to fool with. I was your age and had your enthusiasm not long ago so please don't heed this advice.

Interior- you do what you want but my PERSONAL experience with Ralph was not that good. While his work is fair, the amount of time he took (3 month overstay) and dodging my calls was unacceptable. I had to drive 4 hours and stand over them to get it finished and that's unacceptable. Tell me your plan if that happens, and please don't say have a friend go check on it or push Ralph bc I've been there and done it.

Good luck

As I have said before, I am NOT trying to dog you.... Your drive, determination and enthusiasim is refreshing given the lack of motivation and sense of entitlement of todays youth (god Im sounding like the old fart I swore I was never going to become). Hitches aren't expensive....

When I was younger, I got mowed down in a crosswalk by a 16 your old girl in her mazda as she was putting on makeup in the rear view mirror on her way to work.

I layed a sportster down when a lady looking over her shoulder yelling at her kid blew a stopsign...

Chit happens, when some kid in his Hyundai pulls out in front of you you will not have a choice about the easy on the brakes thing.And your insurance company is going to look real hard to find a reason not to pay a huge claim because the kid is dead or severly phucked up because he got stupid.

Starting as young as you are and with the drive you have you could really turn yourself into a major name in powerboat world in time, Don't run the risk of throwing that away amd ruin your future over a $50 receiver hitch

thats why XT is great for interiors, guys come from states away to use Dave and the crew... the best around here....and the hitch thing, thats my point lol aluminum isnt steel...... it snaps!! fuk that with my boat behind me....

My truck might not be a 2014, but it has a Curt Class V 16k lb hitch, a solid steel drawbar, with a 25k lb forged ball. The stock chevy hitch went in the scrap bin.

full force.. i dont have dyno sheets but i do have the mod list... and i do know i can roast my 37's at 40 ;)

block is magnafluxed
hamilton billet push rods
H 110 springs
H valves
H 181/210 can
II 120% CP3
AD 150 fuel system
flux 3.3 injectors
Fully ARP studded
BW 66mm turbo
custom intake/ horn
stainless mani
5" exhaust
fully built tranny
smarty ssr tuned
supporting mods

thats not even all of it.

I know what your saying, though with my lift, (yes you can argue about not pulling with a lifted truck) but any hitch i have found thats solid steel that had a big enough drop only rated to 7000lbs. but i agree, i would feel alot safer with a solid steel hitch..

endeavor- appreciate your input alot! all i heard was good about him so at least i have now a general sense of what could come up.

phragle- appreciate the nice words sir!

update: pulled the interior, pulled the floor, found no rot and no signs of any tank leakage or gas smell. going to put the floor back in and start working on the motors. i cant keep any heat in this shop so im waiting for warm weather for glass and paint. the steering is very stiff but seems to be loosing up. but will read up on that and keep my eye open for external steering kit. so im going to check the cables, gimbals etc and my throttles dont want to go past half throttle and harden up so i need to follow those cables as well and see what the issue is. lots of pictures on IG if anyone wants to follow on pics.

How is this project coming along? Any more pics?

shes coming. motors are out. bilge is getting painted. motors getting comp test, and leak down to check internally if shes good. then stripped and painted then back installed... drives are off and getting painted. had a ton of issues with getting 3phase into my shop so im changing the motor on my compressor to run off 220. so im finally getting my compressor hooked up so i can sand the boat down and do some of the glass work. Interior is out getting redone by At The Lake upholstry. Ralph has been great with me trying to get everything done over the phone. stood by his price for the most part as well. here is the paint im doing. Will have more accents when i start taping.



heres a set of pics until shes in the paint booth. this shop im renting isnt working very well so thats why its bare. im going to build a building next year so I'm just using it for the time being

http://i61.tinypic.com/5ars6v.jpg

http://i60.tinypic.com/2zea3bd.jpg
http://i60.tinypic.com/2s01y86.jpg
http://i59.tinypic.com/1610npc.jpg

havent found any rot other than in the cabin door, and engine hatch.

Thanks for the update,
Looks like you have your hands full with this one,it will look good when done that's for sure takes a lot of work to get them there! I am in wayyyy more than I anticipated.....

Thanks! Ya honestly I'm into it exactly where I thought. The only problem where I'm going to have issues is the dash. Way too many wires for my liking. How is it over your head? Your having someone else do everything pretty much? lol

If I had to pay somebody to do all this work I would have just spent another 35,000 and bought a different boat LOL...

As far as the wires in the dash, I hear you there man that's a lot of wires...

I do all the work myself that I can,basically all labor on me, pulled out interior sent to upholstery shop, although he does want to put back in himself he wants to make sure everything lines up right as far as the side panel interior lining up with the back set ect..... Boat is sitting in my toasty warm shop and has been I am able to work on when I have slow days.

My costs overages came in when the loser I bought boat from claimed he had winterized and I was all set to go, well guess what he did not do it properly and I had two frozen fuel pumps. Those fuel pumps are not cheap!

Also I did not plan on rebuilding a 496 with 83 hours on engine because of a stuck valve. Good news is engine goes back in in two weeks.

Another thing is I am so damn anal I had pretty much every chip and scratch in the fiberglass repaired and I also updated the vents on engine hatch, and repainted the back top deck of boat,I do not know how to do fiberglass work and spent a few more $$ then I thought on that.

That's great you are able to stay exactly where you thought it seems there is always some sort of surprise when redoing a boat.

Cannot wait to see yours done!

Been here done this on a Cafe all labor on me stripped it to bare hull repainted it and reassembled. Fresh motors drives engine hatch ect. It always goes above planned budget that is with out question. I had 540 tall decks full steering updated dash ect. It's a lot if work and money. If you have access to a machine shop some parts are non existent so that is you only option. The cabin door latch is one thing that comes to mind.

I love how young enthusiasm = expertise in this new era of keyboard commandoism.
Back in my day, one had to actually back BS up in person.

As I've advised Phil/315duramax before: (paraphrasing)
"it would be great if you came here to OSO to learn; instead of teach...
...there's a lot you could gain from this community and your past and current approach is a turn-off to those who could help you."



I wouldn't tow my lawmower with one of those aluminum drawbars.

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Do it right, or don't do it all. It's not worth the risk.

http://www.curtmfg.com/Category/153/Ball%20Mounts

ya i have access to a full machine shop. family friend owns one of the biggest machine shops in the area. ya, my budget is getting stretched atm. not going to stay with in my initial plan but a little extra should get it all done. prepping for paint as we speak. about a week to get all the sanding and prep work done, then HOPEFULLY in paint the week after. mean while im getting the motors stripped down for paint. trying to decide what i want to do for the dash. was going to do livorsi, but looking for just some white faced gauges if anyone has them for sale! and sydwayz, yes i know its possible for that to happen... though with a truck as tall as mine, a 2'' drop hitch which you posted will not let the boat ride level... im learning a ton and not trying to teach. btw.

Thurough Ebay searching. Ifoy my Gaffrig monster set, carbon faces, gps speedo with antenna for well under half retail, all new and with senders. great lakes skipper on ebay usually has some nice deals.

Just a couple clicks in gets here:
http://www.curtmfg.com/Category/168/...ge=1#tab=parts

It's the left mouse button (usually). :D

Trucks tow ratings are at factory height and factory wheels, if you alter that you may as well not tow with it... lifted trucks especially that big are for show, not work...

What are you using for paint/primer/clear? If the boat is already "sold" how can you change plans. Isn't the owner / buyer expecting 1 thing and you deliever another? Seems a bit fuzzy to me on exacally what is going to happen. If it's your boat to keep then change of mind happens along the way all the time. But if your budget it now ashes and you agreed to a certain offering and you don't follow threw do to under estimating the build that would not be on the buyer. Not kicking your nuts in just in wonderment here.

understandable.. i have a family friend who owns half of the city, who i do landscaping for, he's been interested ever since i brought the boat home. he has contacted me multiple times asking when itll be done, and what the price tag is. legally, no its not "sold" yet, he hasnt paid up for anything, its my boat build. but he has had a bunch of input and he is a VERY hot buyer. but, i gotta get back to the shop, full day of sanding coming up hoping to get it into paint within 2 weeks. and its going to be with a PPG base clear system, OR Dupont Exalta, which ever one i can get a better price on through our paint guy. and sick stinger, i know how to run a business.. if i mess something up, thats on me. obviously.. lol

so if yall wanna go back and forth about my truck (which i just sold btw) and im buying a lifted dually this week about how everything is going to blow up if i tow with a lifted truck go ahead. im towing boats under 15,000lbs im not towing 60' yachts with a 15" lift lol 6" is just fine. and for the doubters, show up to the alex bay poker run. well be there. heck just say "im a hater from OSO" and ill let ya drive it!

later guys. ill post pics once its in paint

Still love the 19 year old I know it all mentality.... I was young once but listened to people who knew better... 14,000 lbs lifted truck crap hitch... Great idea... You kill my family I kill you ...

Why doesn't that guy give you the money for the boat now if he wants it so bad? Or if he's so loaded give you the coin to go get that 46 skater?

who is the buyer?? i know quite a few extremely wealthy people in syracuse. My mother is the manager of the country club where they all hang out lol

I heard Donald Trump was in Syracuse recently. Coincidence ?