Nightmare Projects
 

A lot of you guys on here have new boats, but I bet there are more than a few who have older performance boats and love keeping them running. Any of you can certainly share some of your horror stories while working on a boat. My worst:
Removing the gas tank from a 1980 Velocity. Had to use a hacksaw blade to cut the foam from the sides of the tank. Then I had to use a 4' logging pry-bar and a hydraulic jack to get the front end up, then block it as I got more of the tank up! Eventually got it out and had a new one built about 1/2" smaller on all sides. Put a set of old Mercury 2.5's on it and sold it to a drug smuggler (I later found out when the CG investigative service called having chased the boat to West End, Grand Bahama with 400 lbs of Cocaine). Guess I should have put triples on it!

30 Shadow Cat
28 Cigarette SS

Two bare boats I bought and rigged from scratch(the 30 Shadow had more rigging, but was a nighmare nonetheless).

It's tough doing a boat from scratch and cost twice as much and takes two times as long to complete... The Cigarette took me 2 years and roughly 60K the Shadow took a year and about 20K...

Sold both boats for a loss...:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

But, I'd do it again in a hearbeat! :D :D

Hmmmmmm were should I start :D:D

Check out all my threads in the Tech Q&A section :D:D

Jon

Yeah,
I bought the boat for $5,000 the motors for $5,000 and ended up just breaking even. It was a blast doing it. I was in the Coast Guard Academy when I did it so it was very interesting hearing from the Commandant of Cadets about my boat being used for drug smuggling...here is the finished product.

here

Where? All I see is White!!!????

Oh I get it!!! Smuggling...........:eek:

Nightmare Projects?
I saw this in Powerboating Magazine.

"Pretty much anything I have ever done on a boat has been a hightmare project."

its sitting on the trailer behind my house right now.


She WILL run this summer!!!!!!!!!

FYI its started as a decent runngin baot until i started doign "upgrade" The the upgrades snowballe dinto atotal refit. New engiens, drive, wiring, dash, unpholstery, everything.

I had a mother of a time removing the bottom paint off my old 311 formula. Atleast 150 hours worth of sandind and grinding on your back with arms over head and dust falling in your eyes and face. Then re gelling the whole area and trying to get it to match the 10 year od gel that exists !!! oh, Then all the sanding of the new gel to make it smooth. All this to use the boat for a month then traded it in on a NEW boat

Never again !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bob

I purchased my Cary 50 over 2 years ago knowing it was in ruff shape, but had know idea how bad it really was. She had been sunk in salt water in Florida and not cleaned after recovery so everything has had to be replaced repaired or rebuilt!!! Now engines, transmision, drives, wiring, gauges,appliances, and you name it its NEW!! and I,m just now ready to put back in the water for this season. Rented a slip yesterday at Keenan Marina in Grand Haven.... Now where is Spring I'm ready.....cause I'm broke and need boat time....

GLH:
Yeah I won the question of the month in Powerboat for that project. They sent me a bunch of T-shirts and other stuff. I know there are worse projects out there though.

PUDER,
Which boat is in your backyard? My old Velocity?

Hot Rod,
What an undertaking! I remember going to the Miami Boat Show in 1983 and crawling into the engine compartment of a Cary with Four 454 blower motors. It was unbelievable. What power did you go with, were the stringers sound, and what color did you paint the boat?