structural repairs
 

I need to have some structural repairs made on a 357. I've already been to the "best" local place and was not too happy. Will Formula do any work on their boats? Can anyone reccomend a place in NY,Pa,or Oh? I will go further if I have to. Thanks for the help.

I have a guy in MA that is UNREAL!!! What do you need fixed? What is your time frame? Let me know and I can give him a call for you or give you his number. I know now he is booked through the summer so keep that in mind.

Jon

I don't have any time frame to work with. The boat has already been written off as a long term project. I need to have the stringers replaced from the gas tank bulkhead forward to at least the end of the cockpit, possibly all the way forward. As I understand it, the correct way to do this is to lift the deck off the boat. Not a small project. What experience have you had with the guy you are thinking of. Anybody else have any reccomendations?

You might want to call Formula, and see if they can suggest anyone in that area.

Contact Clint Samson at Watercraft Clinic, Wolcott, NY. They are located mid-way between Rochester and Syracuse off RT 104. I had them change graphics and blueprint bottom of my Hustler this spring. They have quite a bit of experience tackling large projects and structural work. They do warranty work for Baja thru-out the Northeast.

My buddy has done from small to large. All the work I have seen him do has been nothing short of amazing. He just made two Porche race cars out of basically Nothing!!! Just so that you know I am in the same predicament you are and your guess is correct. You have to take out the gas tank, pull the floor out and remove the foam, and cut out the stringers and then put it all back together again. I am going to do it myself. It is not super hard work but it is messy itchy work.

Jon

Call Fast-Forward in Brewerton, NY ( near Syracuse). I've seen their work and it is outstanding!! They just came to our Marina and fixed a 41' SeaRay ON SITE! They reparied the enginie mount and moved another mount back in place. They also repaired the textured swim platform by making a mold and copying the exact pattern! I was impressed.

Hi Audiofn Rick g here, How did you determine that your stringers needed replacement. What did you look for or what happened while you were driving to bring the problem to light. thanks Rick G.

RickG I am not sure 100% just guessing from all the other work that I have done so far. What I do know is that when the guy put in the new bulkhead that is just in front of your motors, he was not able to reconnect the stringers to the bulkhead, so I have to either next spring or the fallowing year take out the gas tank and look that over and check the stringers. It is actually NOT a bad job if you do not mind getting a little fiber glass on ya :rolleyes: :rolleyes: I have noticed no ill effects or performace in the boat as it is now, so they may be ok. However what I have learned from my painting and other projects "expect the worse and hope for the best :D:D How is your boat coming along? I will be pumped if I can get my boat into prime this week and paint in about two weeks. That will put me on a easy target for the water by Labor day weekend when I plan on christening the boat :D:D

Jon

Jon got the boat in the water for the July long weekend. My shifter pod is ausome complete with gaffrig shifters. My computer guy is going show me how to email pictures this week. i think you will like the idea and may be tempted to use it your self. The oil leaks are repaired but as big blocks go there is still a few minor drips, drives me crazy but not serious just annoying. Put on new EMI thunder exhaust sounds great. My mechanic thought that with the engine mods the carbs may have been running a bit lean so I had them rebuilt and fattened up . Now i can't get the sucker to do more than 60 @ 4250 RPM. Will start leaning them out this week. I'm running 25 pitch mirage props and going to try a set of 21's cupped to about 23 to see if that helps. I do have a question thought when I'm running the boat seems to perform best with the drives at neutral trim ( level with the hull ) How does your react with positve trim, it seems all I get with more trim is more porposing. and although adding tabs helps it does nothing for top end. I am I doing something wrong. Any info would be helpful. By the way I am going to paint this winter found a great painter up here that will paint the boat if I strip the hardware and windsheild for $5,000 Cdn . But thats another story. Look forward to hearing from you Regards Rick G.

Rick are your drives turning in or out? Mine currently are going in however I am going to swap them back to out. It is faster turning in but the handling loss was not worth it to me. When I am out on my pleasure boat I want to do just that ENJOY IT. I am not the guy that has to be going balls to the walls all day. If it was the race boat that would be another story. ANYHOW when turning them out I could run a lot of trim and I would be ok. Look at your bottom and see if there is any hook. I would love to see pictures of your shifter console as the dash and the windshield are next years projects:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Jon my props turn out. Also my boat has a notch about 12 " at the transom. Would that be a factor in setup. I will use a straight edge this weekend to check for a hook. I have also heard that some hooks are put in intentionally. Could this the case. As I said my digtal is at that cottage and I will bring it to work on Thursday and try and email my pics . Also going to put in a complete gaffrig dash in stock location. Whit gauges with white panel should look kool.Rick G.

Get matching trims for the gages. Get the trim to match some color in the boat. Looks real good that way :D:D I do not have a notch in my transom that could be the difference btwn the way mine runs and yours. I did not know they made the 302 with a notch.

Hey Jon trims will next years project, someone told me that 1982 was some type of anniversery year as my boat is black gel coat with a grey stripe maybe thats why it has a notch . It appears to be a factory job. I think this would make a big difference, but I will still check for a hook. I will also email you pics of the drive and tab indicator panel I fabricated you like that as well. Rick G.

Looking forward to your pictures :D:D

BCK have you found a guy for this yet? If not give me a call (978) 985-0639. The guy that I was talking about is slow right now. He is in the middle of a production run on his own boats and the summer is the slow season for them. I can give you lots of info for him and I have been SUPER happy with the work that he has done for me to date. VERY fair prices and a HIGH quality of concern that the job is done correctly.

Jon

Jon, Thanks for the info. I won't be able to have the work done for a while. I'm just trying to find some good people so when the time comes I've got a place to start.
The engine work is going to get done first.