Velocity 22 Resurrection
06-01-2014, 06:00 PM
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Velocity 22 Resurrection
The level of quality people accept nowadays is appalling. Does anybody have any gratitude for craftsmanship anymore?
This poor boat was abused. But ill fix it right!
Preface: My first boat, a Bayliner 1950 Capri that I had restored and built a 355 SBC with TBI and other goodies, was rear ended on the trailer July 5th 2013 on the way to the lake. I had fallen in love with the early Velocity 22 boats but could not afford or access one here in the mid west. After the death of the bayliner I began searching for boats and found what dreams are made of... sort of. After discussing terms with the seller, we made a road trip from Kansas to Washington D.C.. 2351 miles, lots of coffee, and driving shifts with my wife, I'm now the proud owner of a 1987 Velocity 22.
The Plan: I'll be restoring the boat entirely and changing the rigging and power plant. Currently I have from my old boat, a 355 SBC with vortec heads, flat top pistons, cam and TBI with 2" bores. The Alpha One will be replaced with a Bravo One X or XR. After I recoup from the expenses, I may build a supercharged fuel injected 383 and add hydraulic steering.
The Boat: 1987 Velocity 22, 350 SBC, Alpha One Gen 1, Trim tabs, three rear bucket seats, two front bucket seats.
Click...
This poor boat was abused. But ill fix it right!
Preface: My first boat, a Bayliner 1950 Capri that I had restored and built a 355 SBC with TBI and other goodies, was rear ended on the trailer July 5th 2013 on the way to the lake. I had fallen in love with the early Velocity 22 boats but could not afford or access one here in the mid west. After the death of the bayliner I began searching for boats and found what dreams are made of... sort of. After discussing terms with the seller, we made a road trip from Kansas to Washington D.C.. 2351 miles, lots of coffee, and driving shifts with my wife, I'm now the proud owner of a 1987 Velocity 22.
The Plan: I'll be restoring the boat entirely and changing the rigging and power plant. Currently I have from my old boat, a 355 SBC with vortec heads, flat top pistons, cam and TBI with 2" bores. The Alpha One will be replaced with a Bravo One X or XR. After I recoup from the expenses, I may build a supercharged fuel injected 383 and add hydraulic steering.
The Boat: 1987 Velocity 22, 350 SBC, Alpha One Gen 1, Trim tabs, three rear bucket seats, two front bucket seats.
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06-01-2014, 06:21 PM
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The Condition: The boat had a terrible stance on the trailer. It bounced and slammed so much it was slightly scary. The interior was well used, but not horrible, the bottoms of the seats were cracked and waterlogged. There were also many poorly maintained bits of the mechanical items.
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06-01-2014, 06:43 PM
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I love the design of the interior. Nothing like a good project!! If your staying under 400 hp (which should make that boat fly) Its a small light boat. I think an alpha would live. Sure a bravo is stronger, but the alpha will be faster. Take the money for the bravo transom and drive and use it for steering.
06-01-2014, 07:15 PM
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Currently I have the floor and stringers exposed, they're toast. More on that coming...
When I get to rebuilding the engine (383 sc fi hopefully, although I'm entertaining a 6.2 ls) I'm targeting 650hp +/-. Id like to have a stout drive in any case just for peace of mind.
Towing
The bunks were the first items to be replaced. I then re-positioned the boat for better weight distribution and adjusted the wench so the eyelet locked under the roller. Id like to add additional bunks and move existing ones to sit under the stringers better as the bottom was deformed from the way it sat. While I was at it, I replaced all the wiring and lighting for the trailer. All submersible LED lights and the wiring was soldered and heatshrink/RTV silicone sealed. The whimpy noodle chains were also replaced with large gauge high vis chains and linkage.
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When I get to rebuilding the engine (383 sc fi hopefully, although I'm entertaining a 6.2 ls) I'm targeting 650hp +/-. Id like to have a stout drive in any case just for peace of mind.
Towing
The bunks were the first items to be replaced. I then re-positioned the boat for better weight distribution and adjusted the wench so the eyelet locked under the roller. Id like to add additional bunks and move existing ones to sit under the stringers better as the bottom was deformed from the way it sat. While I was at it, I replaced all the wiring and lighting for the trailer. All submersible LED lights and the wiring was soldered and heatshrink/RTV silicone sealed. The whimpy noodle chains were also replaced with large gauge high vis chains and linkage.
Click...
Click...
06-01-2014, 07:43 PM
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Disassembled?
I removed the engine and discovered an engine mount was bent, must jumped a few waves in its time. I also began looking into the mess of wiring that was left and not to my surprise it was awful. Removed all the old wiring and started on new harnesses, again all soldered and heatshrinked. Being a computer nerd, I needed to ante up the technology on the boat. So I built an on-board micro-controller for managing accessories, gauges, GPS, compass and data logging from an Arduino.
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I removed the engine and discovered an engine mount was bent, must jumped a few waves in its time. I also began looking into the mess of wiring that was left and not to my surprise it was awful. Removed all the old wiring and started on new harnesses, again all soldered and heatshrinked. Being a computer nerd, I needed to ante up the technology on the boat. So I built an on-board micro-controller for managing accessories, gauges, GPS, compass and data logging from an Arduino.
Click...
Click...
Click...
06-01-2014, 07:58 PM
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Intermission...
I bought myself a sweet new ride. With the boat as a catalyst, we bought our first house in December and renovated a couple rooms, putting the Velocity on hold. But it now has its own shop where I no longer have to work out in the elements. The boat fits with the drive up and a couple inches to spare.
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I bought myself a sweet new ride. With the boat as a catalyst, we bought our first house in December and renovated a couple rooms, putting the Velocity on hold. But it now has its own shop where I no longer have to work out in the elements. The boat fits with the drive up and a couple inches to spare.
Click...
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06-01-2014, 08:56 PM
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Thanks! It's nice to have a place to call our own, even though it adds to my plate of things to work on...
I agree, it's an awesome boat. I love the look and lines not to mention the history of the design. In my opinion its the best out there.
Interior Removal
Sigh.. where to start? At first I was upset, but after getting it all out there and seeing the guts of the vessel I'm now excited to know it will all be totally rebuilt to the best of my ability. The wood on the interior was crumbling. And the hack jobs the previous owner(s) did was horrendous. The floor had a second plywood overlay, not even coated in resin. And the original floor, that was droopy, had patches of its own. Underneath it all was as bad as it gets...
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I agree, it's an awesome boat. I love the look and lines not to mention the history of the design. In my opinion its the best out there.
Interior Removal
Sigh.. where to start? At first I was upset, but after getting it all out there and seeing the guts of the vessel I'm now excited to know it will all be totally rebuilt to the best of my ability. The wood on the interior was crumbling. And the hack jobs the previous owner(s) did was horrendous. The floor had a second plywood overlay, not even coated in resin. And the original floor, that was droopy, had patches of its own. Underneath it all was as bad as it gets...
Click...
Click...
06-01-2014, 09:31 PM
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Stringer Reveal
Opening up the floor revealed just how badly this boat has been treated. They probably had wake jumping competitions or something. Most of the stringer ribs were all sheared from the hull and no longer had wood within them! The stringers themselves were rotten from the cockpit to the transom. This all explained the deformation on the bottom of the hull. Before I proceeded any further I decided to build a cradle for the boat to raise it off the trailer bunks and keep the hull square. There was an immediate improvement in the hull, the bump was gone, woohoo! I went ahead and finished removing the rest of the floor and gas tank. I drafted up a model of the existing structural design to get some ideas to improve rigidity. There is a clear weak point where the engine bay stringers and hull stringers meet (white board in the 3D model).
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Opening up the floor revealed just how badly this boat has been treated. They probably had wake jumping competitions or something. Most of the stringer ribs were all sheared from the hull and no longer had wood within them! The stringers themselves were rotten from the cockpit to the transom. This all explained the deformation on the bottom of the hull. Before I proceeded any further I decided to build a cradle for the boat to raise it off the trailer bunks and keep the hull square. There was an immediate improvement in the hull, the bump was gone, woohoo! I went ahead and finished removing the rest of the floor and gas tank. I drafted up a model of the existing structural design to get some ideas to improve rigidity. There is a clear weak point where the engine bay stringers and hull stringers meet (white board in the 3D model).
Click...
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Click...
06-01-2014, 09:42 PM
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That's all for now. Hoping to pick up some marine plywood and start mocking up the replacement boards next weekend. Ill also be replacing the transom while Its all in pieces.
What does everyone think about laminating two 1/4" sheets of plywood for the stringers? I read that laminated cores are stronger than a single piece. Plus I can stagger the pieces instead of having a weak point like the pink boards above. I'd like to just extend the stringers all the way to the transom, but I need to make sure the engine will have enough room and mount up properly.
What does everyone think about laminating two 1/4" sheets of plywood for the stringers? I read that laminated cores are stronger than a single piece. Plus I can stagger the pieces instead of having a weak point like the pink boards above. I'd like to just extend the stringers all the way to the transom, but I need to make sure the engine will have enough room and mount up properly.
