# Alumacraft MV1448 Seadoo IB jet, Still jetting



## Ranchero50 (May 1, 2009)

Hey guys, first post. Got an invite to post my seadoo conversion as a thread here from one of your members. I bought a '92 Alumacraft MV1448 hull that was converted to a decent bass boat, 9.9 merc prop, 33lb Minn Kota trolling motor, decents seats etc. last July 4th to fish the Potomac River around Washington County, Maryland. The river is shallow so a prop boat doesn't go very far. A couple months before getting the 1448 I had a '95 Seadoo XP given to me to play with (no title, missing peices)... I have a early '90's Bridgeport CNC vertical machining center in my garage to make the cool parts and an aluminum spool gun for my Miller 210 to put stuff together. Taking a 1448 and turning it into a 1648 with an 85hp IB jet. I did the boat build on riversmallies.com which is hard to view without being a member. Here's a link to the build on PWC today where I went for the motor info and put the rest of the build up for their pleasure.

So, grab some popcorn, relax and enjoy.

Basic link; https://pwctoday.com/f15/seadoo-powered-bass-boat-210903.html

If requested I'll copy and repost either thread here.

Teaser...






Thanks,
Jamie


----------



## countryboy210 (May 1, 2009)

Acts Like You Have To Join PWC To View It There Also. ???


----------



## ben2go (May 2, 2009)

:WELCOME: 

Sure.Post up the build.We love pics and anything that's out of the norm.


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 2, 2009)

OK, from the beginning, dated 3-22. I'll try to flesh this out this weekend as I get time.


Decided last summer to do this to my boat after having a 1995 Seadoo XP given to me as dead. Spent the last month getting the motor up and running. Missing the starter, exhaust, and the flywheel was broken free from the hub so the timing was a bit off. Motor is a Rotax 720, 718cc two cylinder two stroke, oil injected 85hp beast. Pump is a 140mm with vertical trim stability. No reverse though...

Boat is a basic MV1448 Alumacraft that the PO wooded down pretty heavy that had a Merc 9.9 that struggled to get it on plane.

Oldest son Matt taking the rear swivel seat off. He wanted to go fishing instead of work on it...





The water lines show 7-8" at rest as it was. Hope to lose an inch in the water when done.





We stripped thirty odd lake and state stickers off the sides from the PO and then polished it out last summer. Note the ramp skis too. I have some fenders from a 55 gallon plastic drum to install sometime too.





Two hours later... Removed 100 odd deck screws (the wood kind) to get the old wet plywood and composite boards up and gone. Used a flap wheel on a grinder to buzz the rivet heads off for the rear bunk seat and got it out of the way.





Only real limit on where the controls go is the steering cable from the Doo. I have 59" from the pump flang to play with. I want to fab up a mini center console and mount it to the back of middle bunk similiar to Kory's setup. I can do a universal and steering shaft to the floor and keep the cable out of the way. Planning on using an old go cart wheel for steering and a custom throttle setup. Of course I had to put the seat in and make motor noises to see how it'll 'feel' when done.





Pump mocked in place. I have a 1" thick junk chunk of aluminum to make the mounting flange out of. I have a CNC mill in the garage to make the custom parts.





I'm going to use the original Doo water box muffler in the back corner to keep it somewhat quiet. Just need a 2" 90` bent chunk of 304 stainless and some clamps.





I'm going to reuse the stock tank since it has a level gauge and reserve switch. I have all the guages and even a tach from eBay for this.





More to come. Hope to have it in the water towards the end of April. Then I want to strip the front half and redo it too.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 2, 2009)

From 3-24. Some of the text is wierd because I didn't put in others comments.

Mocked Kory's old console up to the back of the middle bench on top of a 6x6 chunk of wood this afternoon. Figured out where the seat would fit best and it turns out it's on the front edge of the motor cover so my oldest and I ended up cutting the old back bench in half to act as the front ledge of the engine cover / rear deck. Made some quick measurements so I can buy some metal in the morning.

Making engine sounds with the console mocked up. Funny how small a 14' boat looks when you're sitting in it, especially with the 15" sides.










Standing up it's almost manageable, kind of hard being 6'8" too.





We ended up sitting the seat section on top of the rib to get the deck height the same as the transom. When finished it'll have an overhang and possibly floatation pods around the pump assy to save it from the rocks etc.





I did start the program for the pump flange this evening, but made the file name to long and ended up losing the whole dang thing so maybe tomorrow. I also snagged a 1/4" chunk of aluminum for the motor plate.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 2, 2009)

3-25...

Today I did manage to get the mill program setup and cutting some of the old composite wood the PO used for the boat.

Most of the ports worked out, the water drain is on the wrong side, needs to go over by the steering cable and the big port on the top for the vertical trim system needs moved over some more so it'll bolts up.




















It's supposed to rain tomorrow so I'll probably put a 302 together for a guy instead of play with the boat. I did get most of the aluminum for the rear deck frame. I need to get the garage emptied out to bring the boat in anyways.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 2, 2009)

3-26

Fine tuned the program today and transferred the template to the peice of 3/4" scrap I have. Had to flip the template around to avoid some holes already in the metal...

The center bolt holds the puck once the mill cuts it out completely.





Cut out...





Mocked back up. Everything fit really well and I' really happy with the part.















Tomorrow if I get some time I'll trim the excess material off and start thinking about the transom install. I kind of want to remove all the wood out of the transom, but it's not bothering anyone and I think it'll make the boat stronger in the end. Opinions?

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 2, 2009)

Further along. Morning was invested in finishing the pump flange plate. Spent part of the afternoon getting the transom stripped out, then my boy got home from school and we stripped out the front of the boat. Finally dropped in the motor and mocked some angle for motor mounts and finally trimmed out the transom for the flange install.

Virgin metal, light as it'll ever be. We picked it up off the trailer it's so light stripped down.










Four little motor mounts are around 1" tall and need sandwiched between the motor plate and the hull framework. The new stringers will be recessed 1/2" into the ribs and gussets fabbed and welded in to make the new floor supports.





I'm going to reuse the green angle brackets on the transom. The motor is in the right spot, just need to come up 1/2" to clear the bottom.





Basic idea for the flange was to mark the opening with the flange plate, then draw some diagonals from the middle of each vertical mark to the top and bottom line 1" in so the port side looked like a 'K' and the other a mirrored 'K'. Idea was to bend the flaps in on top and out on the bottom so the side flaps would make a plate that would line up vertically and darned if it didn't actually work out. I cut the top 1/2" below the mark and bent that flap in and it worked out pretty good. I have two wood screws holding the flange in in the pictures. Little hammer and dolly work and it's a lot further than I expected today.





One thing I may do is drill and tap the bottom corners of the flange plate for drains. I need to make a precision alignment shaft Sunday too before I weld the flange plate in. Tomorrow I may start welding fitting the frame sections and mocking all that stuff up.

As always, more to come.


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 2, 2009)

3-28...

For the pump flange I actually reverse engineered it using the mill to plot the X,Y coordinates of each hole in relation to the impeller centerline.

Pretty cool little tool, shows deflection between the mill spindle and the probed hole. All the holes were plotted down to .010"





For the welding I have a spool gun for my miller 210. It's not a nice as a push pull production setup or as finicky as a Tig. I only hope it does well on the thinner stuff because momma don't want to hear about needing a $2500 Tig to finish the boat...

All the parts are from the ski, they just lined up really well so far. Only real concern right now is the steering cable because if I keep everything on the floor it may seep water. On the good side, this thing has twin eductors to draw any water in the hull out while running the jet.

For progress I'm working on the motor base plate CAD/CAM program now and may run it this evening. I have to work tomorrow...

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 2, 2009)

3-28 ...

Went ahead and made the motor plate this evening. Doesn't look like much but it took forever to program the slots in G-code. Should work out well. It does hit two spots on the motor so I need to tune it in a little.






Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 2, 2009)

4-2...

Another small update. Spent some time tonight playing with the mill and did the stringer notches so they'll sit down 5/8" over the ribs so the floor will be flat.


The mill has clean out doors on each side so I removed them and ran the part through the machine. Each notch took a minute to mill out and fit the boat really well.





Mocked in place. the 2" angle sits flat all the way across.





Finally, motor plates vs the new stringer. I need to make up the difference, then do a preliminary alignment before welding everything together.





Maybe tomorrow I'll power up the welder and start tacking things together.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 2, 2009)

4-3-09...

Motor frame plate finished up. Ended up trimming the angle so it was .55" shorter on one end. Made the angle finder show a 1` up towards the front which matched the driveshaft and pump flange. Now I can fine tune the alignment between the saddle and the stringers. it actually turned out pretty good once I remembered how to weld aluminum with a spool gun...






I also mocked up and welded the console stands onto the middle bench. Ran a couple wood screws to hold the console on and it really feels sturdy. The stringers are welded in along with the front angle for the floor.





Finally tonight I zipped in the pump flange to the transom. It still flexes a little but now I don't have to worry about it falling out while fitting the pump inlet and grate setup.

It was a good day,
Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 2, 2009)

4-3-09

'nother day in the garage. Spent a good part of the morning playing with a big electrical heat sink (8" x9"), may be turning it into the first inlet grate.

A couple pics showing what was accomplished this evening. Filled some of the hull rivet holes from the back seat and started installing the deck framing. Figured out that the drivers seat was going to hit the expansion pipe so I fabbed a little extension for it to sit on. 





The long 'U' shaped frames are going where they're sitting to extend the deck out over the original transom.





Mocked the electrical box into position. It'll sit on a little platform in front of the motor. I also mocked the gas tank in place and of course the fuel level thingie is real close to the deck height so I'll either make a new setup or come up with a bunch of 90's to keep the hoses from kinking.





Most of the cockpit floor framing is done too. I used some of the extruded stuff like I mounted the console with that I scrounged and cut it in half length wise because each half has the correct bend for the floor and side panels to screw into. For the outside deck angles I just welded the bottom lip so they sat flat where the deck will go.





I'm not sure what I'll work on tomorrow, I'm pretty whooped now so I may take a day off from the boat and get some other projects closer to being done. We'll see...

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 2, 2009)

4-11-09

Another small update since the server crash...

Spent some time getting the transom cap and corner braces removed, welded some more frame sections in and finally made the fuel selector plate and mounted it on the front bulkhead of the rear deck. Made a recess out of 1" angle and left the top chunk missing so I could put a green light up above the switches that will shine down on the floor at night, but not be visible, so no glare from the bulb. Did the same on the port side.





I also welded in a plate for the electrical box to mount to and started on the fuel and oil tank installation. I made a plate for the fuel and oil fills to mount in and have to mount it to the side of the hull above the decking. I'm thinking about fabbing a 2" stainless pipe for the fuel fill and just mounting the oil tank below the oil fill. So many little things to think about...





More to come, still looking to splash it by the end of the month. I have a seven off next week so I hope to get the hull tunnel work done and get it painted.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 2, 2009)

4-17-09

Finally got back into the boat. Spent the day actually finishing a 302 build for a guy. Went out and spent $380 on three sheets of aluminum (two .063 x48 x96" and one .80 x48 x120") and some flat stock to do the access doors.

And I did the top half of the pump inlet...

Basic shape on an old peice of salvaged conveyor section.





Very basic hammer and dolly work. The hammer was a 3lb dead blow and the dolly was a chunk of 2" galvanized pipe held in the vise. Hold the plate against the pipe and hit just above the centerline of the pipe while pushing on the top of the plate.





A bale or rags were used as a cushion to pound the pump radius into the metal. Same deal, put some pressure on it and whack where you want the curves.





The bottom edge had to be trimmed around 2" to get the correct fit around the impellor. Same deal in the back, just traced around a spray can cap to get the whole works about 2" further back. All the saw work was done with a sawzall with a 10" metal blade.





Welded and sanded. Actually welded it inside and out, then cut the side tabs off and sanded the rest smooth with a flap wheel. Turned out pretty decent. I'm going to elininate a good bit of the center strake when finished.





Still have around 1/4" of motor plate clearance.





Motor in place. It's wide in the front to allow for a pretty big grate / grill.





I may end up putting a second wall inside to reduce the angle at the front of the tunnel and give the seal pipe another wall to be welded too.





I'd like to have the inlet done by the weekend.

More to come.
Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 2, 2009)

4-18-09

Inlet round 2...

Spent most of the day working on everything except the boat. Finally after super this evening I tore back into the inlet. Decided to do the grate framework with some 1" angle. Then I decided to use the existing walls to wrap around the impellor inlet instead of make a new peice that would have to fit really well to be welded in. I needed something that was 5.5" in diameter to hammer form the aluminum walls to. Ended up throwing a chunk of 2"x8" into the mill and made a plug. Held the plug with a big F clamp, then formed the walls around it and finally marked the plug where the walls ended up to make the bottom of the ring.











Using the form from the ring I transferred that to a 12" x 3" peice of scrap conveyor and bandsaw cut it and then formed it around the plug and butt welded everything together.










I hope to spend more than three hours on it tomorrow.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 2, 2009)

4-20-09

Pump inlet round IV

Working on the shaft seal now. Had cutout the inlet with a 2.5" hole saw, then elong it so 'U' shaped piece of metal would sit in and then made a end cap on the mill this morning and finally welded everything together and mocked it in place. Notice all the metal dust on the rag in the first picture... Lots of grinding.





















This evening I hope to notch the front of the inlet under the shaft seal and put another chunk of 1" angle in there to act as a receptical for the front of the rock grate. I really truely hope to have it welded in tomorrow, but I may make the rock grate first while it's still out. Then flip the boat and finish the hull welding.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 2, 2009)

4-21-09

Upside down pics, flipped it over this morning with a rope through the bow eye and me in the back, very light hull.











I'm about done the pump setup for now. I want to flip the boat end for end so I can extend the nose out some more before flipping it back upright. The welder works so much better with shielding gas. I can't believe I didn't troubleshoot it earlier...

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 2, 2009)

Yes, just as soon as the cloning machine shows up and I can double the size of my garage...

Nose Job, Round I

Why? Because the PO liked to ram the trailer winch head bumper with the bow, denting it and eventually cracking the metal out. And I like the long pointy nose that Triton puts on there boats. I hope it helps keep the trolling motor out of my face and get some more weight forward.

Original stuff. Pictures are from the same angle to show the difference.










1" angle welded into the center strake from the pump inlet to the tip of the new bow.





12" longer





Sanding dust from the original noses welds.





Some scrap pieces of round stock welded in place. For the height fit I just kept looking down the sides of the rub rails and moving the stands until everything looked straight.










In the morning I intend to flip the boat back over and make sure I like the nose like this, then skin it out. May end up with some adjustable headlamps in the new nose too since I like to fish after dark...

More to come.
Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 2, 2009)

4-22-09

Nose Job Round II

Measured the lengths I needed for the skins and plotted them out on a sheet of graph paper, scaled them up on the sheet of .080" on a couple skids and cut them out with a Skillsaw. Little loud, but it cut like butter and had a nice finish in the cut.





From the drivers seat. Once the center console is back in the bow will dissapear.





From the side, notice the mill fixture I used to hold the sheets to do the bends. Hammer and dolly work, again.





Nose shot





Of course I ran out of wire when doing the port side so I need to finish that up and then flip the boat to perimeter weld the panels in. Overall it was pretty painless mod. I trial fit the trolling motor and I'm still not sure where it's going to end up. I may just shove it over against the port side to get it out of the way. PITA.

I have to work through Sunday so check back Monday for more.

Jamie

Oh yeah, comments welcome (feel like I'm talking to myself...)


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 2, 2009)

4-27-09

Nose Job Round III

Finally got a day off to get back into this. Shame it's so flippin' hot out. Nothing like working around hot aluminum, makes welding go much faster to prevent burnthrough too... Funny thing is I was talking to one of my coworker about how poorly the pictures were looking with the old camera I was using and this morning I found a Sony Cybershot in it's bag in the fire wood pile back by the alley. Wierd, put some batteries in and it even worked, plus it does video...

Finished nose, still has some pin holes here and there, but I'll fix them before painting the hull again. The bow eye is back where it was originally.












Front Deck Round I

Still trying to figure out what I want for a front deck, kind of ties into the new nose and where the trolling motor is going to end up. I kind of like this setup, a mid deck right level with the top of the side strakes with the seat forward enough that I can fish another person by the console (may make a slide in receptical for another temporary seat on the front of the console (thinking out loud)

The skid is there for perspective and it gives me a chance to hold a rod and feel how the boat is going to end up. Seating position is about 8-10 inches higher than last year with a lot more leg room. Just going through the motions of handling a fish or reaching for gear, or trying to work the trolling motor shows it should work out really well. I hope the CG doesn't get too out of balance with this setup though. I know it'd be whacked with a high deck and I don't have any storage for the battery with a rib level deck so this shoud be a decent compromise.











Back to it, need more wire, gas, more aluminum angle etc for the front deck,

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 2, 2009)

4-28-09

Today was interesting, spent just about all of it trying to get the misc. stuff for the boat. Ended up at three Walmarts and Dick's Sporting goods and almost got enough stuff. I got three seat bases and two 14" posts, one seat mount, the nav and anchor lights and the battery boxes, all for $160 thank you Walmart (and China too)...

Did also score some seats;

https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...T&viewitem=

Finally this evening I started on the front deck. Decided to put the batteries in a storage compartment ahead of the middle bench because there wasn't enough height under the deck further forward (I can toss my tackle bags in between the batteries). Most of the decking is 1"x3"x .125" C channel and I made a 3" deep tray for the trolling motor that's about half done. I really want to end up with most of the heavy cord tucked under the front deck so I have to be creative with the framework, more on that tomorrow... Also notice the trolling motor went from a 42" shaft to around a 30" shaft last week.





Basic layout for the batteries, seat and trolling motor. The seat feels a little high right now, but I want to water test it with the new cushions before cutting the posts down any. I'm also going to do another storage area for the anchor and rope, possibly opposite the trolling motor controls.





More to come. I'm hoping for a water test within two weeks with a bare bones running hull so I really need to work on the center console next week when I'm off again.
Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 2, 2009)

Talked to Kevin Turner, owner of https://www.riverpro-boats.com/ today. Our conversation just confirmed what the little voice in the back of my head was saying after looking at the finished pump inlet design. For Leo and others, the jist of the conversation is that in Kevin's experience, wide short inlets have troubles. One being the leading edge angle is too abrupt (angle from the hull to the top of the inlet) causing aeration that leads to cavitation in the pump (basically the sharp angle change cause a pressure loss in the water column that will lead to aeration that causes the pump to cavitate. Comparing my inlet to the Seadoo setup shows mine too wide and not deep enough. The seadoo hull also is designed to help the water flow into the pump (narrow width, short length, heavy so it sits in the water deeper)

I was more worried with getting the impellor funnel smooth and should have worked on the inlet design some more. I was also concerned about clearing the motor mounts and flywheel and by focusing on getting as much height as quick as possible may have ended up making the leading edge angle too tight. The Seadoo inlet is angled so the seal housing is completely out of the water stream, my inlet has to be notched for the seal bellows to clear (raised a big red flag when I had to do that). Looking at mine since it is too wide I can narrow it down and or install some guide plates to flatten the inlet angles. The trailing edge with the C channel for the grill also isn't the greatest setup now and will cause more grief if I have to work on the front side. The top of the C channel is too high and looks like it will pinch off the flow.

Another cavitation problem I may end up with is the impellor being partially out of the water. The old scum lines are right at the top of the pump housing so I hope I will be ok. This boat will really need a good working inlet design to pull water up into the impellor. One thing I decided was that since it was made and was made so simply I would see if it would work as is and mod it a little too as needed before cutting it all out and starting over. I have other boats to fish out of so there is no rush to get it done wrong. Kevin said back in the day they would use Bondo to try and tune inlet designs too...

On to today's work. The new Sony ate the batteries so it's back to the Olympus... And the pictures suck again...

Front Deck Round (something)

Front deck frame work just about done. The trolling motor mount is in, the foot pedal tray is installed and I did the battery mounts too. Going to have a 15x48" lid over the batteries and tackle and two smaller compartments beside the seat for the anchors to sit in, all out of the way. Should end up with around 200lbs up there all down low. My namesake '68 Ranchero in the background.





The best part about this design is there is nothing in the way when you sit in the front seat now. I can even stretch my legs.
Another 12'x36" john in the background. Going to sell it to finance some of this project...










The mess... I'm going to keep the boat outside this week so I will concentrate on the center console.





Finally the trolling motor tray. I'm pretty proud of this thing. I made it so the cord will come out of the little trough to the side and it stays low down and out of the way both stowed and in the water. I had around two hours into just it this morning. The back wall is partially open so I can stuff another light under the deck to help see what's going on down there in the dark.





More to come,
Jamie


----------



## Zum (May 2, 2009)

I've been going over to that site to watch your build frome the start.Even if I had the tools,there know way I could do what your doing.Great work and I'll still be watching.


----------



## ben2go (May 2, 2009)

*I HATE JET SKIS!* :LOL22: Thanks for doing away with one and using it's heart for a jon boat.Great build. :beer:


----------



## Quackrstackr (May 2, 2009)

Very, very nice.


----------



## caveman (May 2, 2009)

You are doing some great work =D> =D> =D>


----------



## Waterwings (May 3, 2009)

That's some nice work on the bow reconstruction! 8)


----------



## Andy (May 3, 2009)

All I can say is WOW!!

When you get done, I know of a place in Va where you can leave it stored at...  
Looking forward to the test run video's. :shock: 

Great work!!


----------



## Ouachita (May 3, 2009)

Very nice! Looking forward to seeing the completed version of this. Awesome.


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 3, 2009)

Thanks for the compliments.

Not much accomplished today. Spent most of it cleaning the garage and then getting the console stuff gathered up and finally making motor noises while putting the stuff in different positions. I did finally settle on the steering setup and fabbed a 2x2" tube so it would hold the pillow bearing inserts and even cut out the face of the old console to start fabbing the new stuff tomorrow.

For the console, I want the electronics and gauges out of the direct sun and rain and the same for the switches. I cut the face out and plan on recessing everything under the original top.

Should be an interesting day.
Jamie


----------



## Cheeseball (May 3, 2009)

Dang hoss... you're a regular fab-aholic! Welcome to the site. Once you get that done you'll be able to drive it from McCoy's Ferry to Paw Paw and back. What rocks? I live in Hagersbush myself and typically fish the Potomac from Shepardstown to McCoy's. Please let me know when you plan to test drive that thang, I'd love to see it when done. Oh, and how much were you thinking of selling that extra jon for? I have a buddy who is looking for one like that.

Do you do any side work? My current boat project has two small cracks in the welds that attach the corner brackets to the top of the transom.


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 4, 2009)

Cheeseball, Pm me. The boat and all the work has been paid for through sidework. Feel free to stop by, I'm down off MD ave.

I usually fished Williamsport up to the quarry, pulled a C class smallie out of there last September on a Rapala floater playing topwater dead minnow, twitch twitch bam.






Currently working with BobCAD (fighting) to get the guage holes plotted for the mill. Bombadier had to put the indexing tits at weird angles so I have to plot them instead of just doing the G-code longhand.

Jamie


----------



## baptistpreach (May 4, 2009)

This is insane! I can't believe the work you've done. Its on a level so much higher than me. I was actually thinking of what a cool design your boat had to start with! :lol: . This is awesome, keep it up


----------



## bassboy1 (May 4, 2009)

Can you adopt me? I think I can get used to not eating grits and drinking sweet tea if there is fab work like that to do, and smallies like that to catch.... :lol:


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 4, 2009)

Baptist, the original design was great for two guys to fish out of. The seats were mounted down low so the CG was low and the boat was very stable. The little shelves along the sides were great for storing the open lure boxes. I could have four rods laying out over the bow while fishing with the fifth and still run the trolling motor. The rear seat was about the same, plenty of room in a 1448, but the 9.9 was only good for two miles of river before it hit the bottom. The bad things were the front fishing area was cramped if you were 6'8" tall and the rear had you sitting on a 8" pedestal on the rear bench so the guy in front had to be considerate of the buy in back so he had somewhere to put his feet while fishing. All the weight was in ther back, two 90lb batteries and the 9.9 merc hanging off the back. Another bad thing about the original was it isn't stable when you stand up. That's the biggest reason why I went with a center console with grab rail so you can move around safely.

Bassboy, no adoptions, I just put this up so guys can see how easy some of the stuff is when you think it through.

On to todays fiasco Made the guage face plate first thing and it turned out pretty good. Only thing I didn't like was the extrusion marks in the original plate and it was pretty dinged up so five hours later it's about half as thick thanks to some poor machine work and I still need to sand some marks out of it. I have some textured stainless that I should have just remade the orignal out of hours ago, but I got stubborn.

I also did the front deck skin and it turned out ok, but needs some love before I lay it down for good.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 4, 2009)

OK, today was pretty rough. Spent most of it trying to get the new gauge panel flat. Took about a half hour to get the alignment tits drilled and the holes milled and everything was going great until I tried to flycut the dings and marks out of the face of the panel. Then I spent the next five hours trying to polish a turd...

Finally got it smooth enough and went on to the steering bearing box that's also going to house a lamp to shine on the gauges for night running. The pictures are in the camera that's in the garage, but since it was dark out I got to test it and darned if it doesn't actually work. I also decided to make the guage panel removable just in case I decide to do something different down the road. Since I spent so much time with the panel thinking about the stupid thing I now have a bunch of good ideas so it should come together tomorrow.

More to come...
Jamie


----------



## Cheeseball (May 5, 2009)

Ranchero50 said:


> Cheeseball, Pm me. The boat and all the work has been paid for through sidework. Feel free to stop by, I'm down off MD ave.



Will do. Yeah that is the area I usually fish myself. I also go as far as Dam 5 in my 12 footer. Used to be walleyes up there too, but I haven't caught one of those in ages.


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 5, 2009)

Ok, Console Round III

Steering bearing box tube with the lamp mounted. A lot of machine work for such a simple parts... This is actually a shot of the bottom and the slot on the top face will let light shine on the gauges which don't have their own illumination.






First attempt at the gauge mounting. For some odd reason I didn't weld it in so the gauges would look at me and this is what I got... Duh... The top inside of the console is a section of the extruded stuff I had laying around (nice smooth curve and makes the top stronger). The steering box is just sitting there.





Much better... of course the mounting tabs were done on the mill as was the face panel. The steering box is tacked in place.





In case you're wondering, the steering so far is a 11" wheel off of a Dingo Go Cart and a steering staft U joint from a fox bodied mustang with the rag joint cut off and a wheel put on. Ugly, but effective and what I had to play with.





Matt trying out the new seats and driving arangement. More on the seats later... It's a little tight leg room wise, but if I straddle the console everything fits well.





Even made the switch panel today on the mill and mounted the switches. From the left, Horn, Bilge Pump, Anchor / Nav Lights, Start, Start Enable / E stop, and Trim. The buttons are 20mm industrial switchs from salvaged machines. Also notice the inside of the console has two side plates welded in to finish off the guage plate mounting. Details...





Inside the console with the buttons.





Back in the garage, it's starting to look like a boat instead of just a bare hull.





Finally a shot of the new seats, Temptress Navistyles right from the factory via eBay. Very nice and worth every penny. The lumbar support alone is going to make long trips on the river so much nicer.





I hit the flood limit for pics so more later.
Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 5, 2009)

Trolling motor mounted. I probably whacked off too much of the shaft, but I hope it's in the water, it's still below the original scum line.





















More to come,
Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 6, 2009)

Console Round IV

Doesn't seem like much got done, but the console mounting sides are done. I put the motor and pump back in and routed the steering, throttle and choke cables and played with the exhaust a little more. I also added the steering shaft below the U joint. The console will be removable when done if needed.

Further... If I have enough room I'm thinking about adding another panel under the switches to install a stereo. I also added a toe board for the floor which hopefully a fish won't flop over and get lost under the floor...






Motor back in the hole and I decided to just stick the muffler on the back of the expansion pipe. benefit being the port rear storage just got so much larger.





Throttle lever is going to have to mount around the two holes in the side, a little lower than I wanted, but I only have so much cable to play with. I'll just have to make some kind of Ed Roth cool azz handle to give 'er some fuel with...





More to come Monday if not sooner, got to work sometime...
Jamie


----------



## baptistpreach (May 7, 2009)

maybe a real silly question.... why did you shorten your shaft on the TM? You could adjust it to whatever height you need with your adjustable bracket right?


----------



## heavy-chevy (May 7, 2009)

dude, that is freaking awesome. i thought about inboard 2 stroke power for my boat as well, but i didn't have the money to got hat route. cool to see someone doing it. looks good.


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 8, 2009)

Baptist, the trolling motor was too tall sitting in the boat, it was always poking me in the face and the cable was a nuisance so off with the head. I wanted it to sit flush ith the deck when deployed and not hit rocks. Now I have to tie it down when stowed so it doesn't bounce, but it's out of the way. Now if it'll only work...

Heavy, there are a lot of these out there, just not much coverage on the net...

Jamie


----------



## Loggerhead Mike (May 8, 2009)

awsome work!


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 11, 2009)

Did a bunch of work to my uncles new to him '01 Ranger Cherokee with the 90-65 jet today. Pretty cool 16' wide body aluminum boat which is nice, but just not real user friendly. Maybe I'll throw some pics up about how not to drive up on your trailer... Needs fenders and side bunks now from the PO.


Todays effort on my boat was limitted to making the steering cable sheath holder. :clapping 

Made the part out of a chunk of 2" x .250" aluminum angle and a chunk of 2" x .1875" flat stock to make a clamp to hold the stock Seadoo sheath nut assy. Up in the top right is the steering shaft so that bearing and arm are tomorrows project.





More coming.

Jamie


----------



## bassboy1 (May 11, 2009)

> Bassboy, no adoptions, I just put this up so guys can see how easy some of the stuff is when you think it through.



Darn. I would love to have a mill to play with, and smallies to catch. Wouldn't that be the life......


You have fab options with that mill that a lot of us have no practical way of reproducing. I could create so much more out of the abundance of aluminum billet scraps that the local scrapyard has a tough time reselling at surplus price had I the mill setup like you. 

Keep us posted with this, I am real interested in seeing the rest of it.


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 13, 2009)

Finished up the steering setup today and some other things too.

Used the mill to make the bearing plate and bolted it to a chunk of 1.5" angle so I can remove it if needed. The arm is stainless and I get around 160` of turn on the wheel lock to lock like this. Now on to the throttle...





Also slightly off topic, I made a pair of side guide for my uncles '01 Ranger Cherokee.

Made them out of some scrap 1.5x.125" angle and some 2"x.125" square tubing, again scrap stuff. Drilled board mounting holes every 6" along the angle.





Used a sawzall to notch the top of the stands and then bent the flaps up to close the gap and welded it solid. Turned out pretty nice. Decided to put these on to help keep the fenders from getting mangled...





More to come.
Jamie


----------



## Cheeseball (May 16, 2009)

Hey man, I forgot to ask you the other day... You mentioned your jet ski motor has no reverse. How will you get it off of the trailer at the boat ramp?


----------



## dyeguy1212 (May 16, 2009)

Cheeseball said:


> Hey man, I forgot to ask you the other day... You mentioned your jet ski motor has no reverse. How will you get it off of the trailer at the boat ramp?




Put another on the bow?

lol


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 16, 2009)

Not a problem, I put the skis on the trailer in front of the wheels and just back off the end of the ramp, the trailer drops slowly onto the skis and the boat floats free. The end of most ramps are washed out and there are little mini ramps of stones so guys can get back up so if you don't hit at the same spot as the last guy you go up to the frame and the spring perches keep the trailer from coming forward enough for the tire to ride back up the edge. I did this after ripping the axle out from under the trailer one night at Williamsport. One perch slid on the frame, wisted the axle and blew the tire out. Had a buddy bring his tow truck and we pulled the axle back straight and ran it to my uncles house with the flat, about a mile. (found out later that Walmart has that size tire and wheel for around $50 in stock).

Some other cool things about this setup is the bunks are as low as they can go and I flipped the axle to be over the springs to lower the boat as much as possible to make loading and unloading painless. The rub marks on the boat were from the stock narrow axle. I had to make a new one to widen it around 8". The fenders are going to be the bottom of a 55 gallon plastic drum (tougher and slicker than metal).











For loading I just put the trailer in far enough for the back roller to get wet and push the boat out in the current and walk back on the trailer to guide the keel onto the roller as the boat drifts down and then just pull it up on the bunks which are covered in UHMW plastic, painless.

I can splash it in under a minute and get it out in about two. Really cool on double wide ramps to see the look on the other guys face when the trailer goes off the edge and then pops back up once the boat is out of the way and they are still struggling to get the boat to move because their bunks are still out of the water and they are afraid to go off the ramp. I'd highly recommend the skis to anyone.

Jamie


----------



## One Legged Josh (May 18, 2009)

Amazing fabrication work! =D> =D> =D>


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 18, 2009)

Throttle Round I

Todays project was the throttle controls. Excellent learning experience on the mill. Made the first two peices, one the flange and the other the cable actuator. I still need to make the handle and end cap that holds everything together.

Pic is from inside the console looking at the back side of the throttle. The flange plate has two stands, then one on the left is for the detent ball and spring that I hope will hold the throttle in position and the other smaller stand is to hold the sheath. The slot for the sheath hasn't been milled out yet. On the shaft, the left side has ribs for the detent ball to ride against and the left has a saddle for the cable end to go into. Throttles closed in the pic.





Throttle open...





Apart. There's a lot of time playing with the cad/cam programs and thinking about how to make this stuff. I could have went out and bought something, but I wanted to make it so I could learn some more stuff.





Tomorrow I'll try to get the flange plate finished and maybe the end cap.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 24, 2009)

Throttle Setup Round II

Spent some time this evening making the stop detent plunger and also modifying the cable mount so it would work correctly.





Throttle open





From the sides. The console sheetmetal goes between the plates.





The showy side. The black oxide allens will be replaced with flathead screws. Overall the plate is only 3"x4".





I may get to make the cap tomorrow if things stay quiet around the house.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 25, 2009)

Good day today, fixed two other boats and even got my throttle just about finished. :banana 

Throttle round III

Made the cap out of a chunk of 1.5" x 3" inch aluminum, half an inch of it's behind the flange plate. The other inch made a nice cap. I have some ideas for the handle, just need to get to a lathe to make some stuff. Thinking about using a Hurst T shifter handle for the throttle.
















The best part is it works great :clapping 

Now I guess I'll finish up the fuel and exhaust systems and get the poor thing wired so I can splash it in a week or so.

Jamie

Starting to feel like I'm talking to myself...


----------



## fowlmood77 (May 25, 2009)

I sure hope there will be a video at the end of this. Awesome work =D>


----------



## ober51 (May 25, 2009)

Ranchero50 said:


> Starting to feel like I'm talking to myself...



I may only speak for myself but I don't respond because there's not much I can add other than unreal work, awesome job, etc. I always look forward to watching your work, even if I don't say much. So keep on reporting, man, you're at a totally different level.


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 26, 2009)

Thanks, I see it's getting views, but someone questioning something here or there may bring up a problem that I haven't thought about.

Jamie


----------



## russ010 (May 26, 2009)

I would ask questions if I understood it... I am pretty much learning from you - so I guess you're going to be the guinea pig! But believe me, you are getting the views, its just most people are like me probably and are in awe at your craftsmanship.

So, with that being said - AWESOME JOB!!


----------



## Andy (May 26, 2009)

I'm having a little jon boat envy here.... LOL
Can't wait to see the final result from all of your hard work. 
:beer:


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 26, 2009)

Throttle is DONE :clapping 

This morning I decided to go ahead and use the Hurst style handle for the throttle, it just felt right and it's heavy enough that it doesn't feel toylike. The shaft is a 3/4" aluminum pipe over a 1/2-20 threaded 1/2" aluminum shaft



















Made a trip to Lowes and got some of the stainless hardware I needed after thes pice were taken and it's together. I think I'll make some shims to get rid of some of the looseness once the console is in paint.. I also mounted the choke between the fuel select and electrical shutoff to the right of the drivers seat. Once again, it fits in there and the cable was too short to go all the way up the console.

Moving forward I hard mounted the motor mount plate, reinstalled the starter with stainless hardware as well as the expansion pipe and am now rooting through the electrical box getting it ready to install that stuff. Had to swap the main power and starter leads so they come out of the correct side of the box for my install. I also found a bilge pump down i the shed from the old livewell and cleaned the fish scales out of it's filter and placed it in the back so I don't forget it.

Next is the fuel system. I need to go to wally world and get a 1/4" hose primer bulb and then stop at NAPA tomorrow for the clamps and fuel hose

Jamie


----------



## JustMel (May 26, 2009)

All I can say is WOW, I haven't even sanded my boat down yet... LOL. You putting me to shame.


----------



## russ010 (May 26, 2009)

you know.. half the time I never know what it is you are building or modding until you put the finished picture up... now it makes sense.

I love going through this thread


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 26, 2009)

Mel, we're all here to have fun and catch some fish, no shame for anyone.

Russ, now you know how I feel when I'm putting this stuff together in my head.

And by Gawd the Rat Rod may get wet before the end of May if things keep going well.

Just a couple pics of what else I worked on this evening, from 5-8pm with only one interuption to weld a mounting bracket to an aluminum overflow can.

The Seadoo electrical system is mocked into place. Some wires will need extended, some shortened and then it all needs tied into the console controls. I have the 8ga mains run front and rear, they need terminated yet. I dropped the fuel and oil tanks in place to try and figure out what I want to do with them. Goals being an uncluttered deck with no trip hazards. I was going to mount them both on the starboard side and have a common panel with both fill caps mounted, but I really didn't like them taking up room on the deck where the rods will be stored so I decided to do an exposed flush mount for the fuel tank cap and put the oil tank under the rear deck cover above the pump inlet.

Pictures just show the general mess of the boat right now. I've been playing with the rear seat position a little to see how the doghouse and fuel fill will effect the safety and comfort of the guy out back and I don't think it'll be an issue. I'm going to try and keep the seat mount in the middle of the rear deck so it'll end up right around the back of the head when finished which means I need to make a removable scaffold for under the floor to hold the weight.





Wires wires everywhere, and nothings long enough... I'm seriously thinking about rewiring the seadoo stuff so I don't have any splices around the floor. I'm not real happy with the wiring right now and I know it's gonna suck up a lot of time to make it 'right'.





Tape measure shows 7' exactly from the front of the console to the front decks forward wall, I can sleep on this thing if needed.





I have two sheets of 3/4" foam insulation that needs cut to size and then painted before installing to hopefully keep the water from soaking into it.

More to come.
Jamie


----------



## Zum (May 27, 2009)

Great job,I'm with alot of other people here,just following along...
How hot does that motor get,I don't think I see a wall(skin)to seperate the fuel cell from it,you probably already thought of that or would have but just incase.
...I'll be quite now


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 27, 2009)

Zum, actually I hadn't thought about it which is why I like guys to question what they see as right or wrong. The engine is water cooled and has a high temp alarm at 210` at the head. The exhaust is on the other side and is water cooled. In the 'Doo the fuel and oil sit in the front of the hull. What is surprising is the PWC's don't have to comply with the same standards as a boat for fuel lines and other stuff. Dad stopped by yesterday and suggested putting some insulation around the engine to minimize the noise too.

I think I will put a thinwall aluminum bulkhead in just because. Another thing on the list...

Jamie


----------



## ben2go (May 27, 2009)

It wouldn't hurt to have a motor well that is sealed from the rest of the hull.If a water line breaks or some part of the engine springs a leak it could swamp the boat.


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 27, 2009)

The sealed well would be a lot of extra work at this point. Luckilt Seadoo expected the PWC's to get swamped and equiped them with two eductors in he rear of the hull. The eductor uses the venturi effect of the pump pushing water past two 3/8" tubes to draw water out of the hull and works pretty good. I'll have them mounted and a 500gph bilge pump. The 'Doo cooling system is pretty simple too so I hope I don't have any problems withthe hoses. I actually figure I'll blow a hole in the bottom rockjumping before a cooling line fails.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 31, 2009)

Another update, spent the day playing with the fuel and oil tank mounting, fabbing up the rear seat mount and took a picture of the finished throttle handle.

The seat mount will be removable to help pull the motor and there will be a small door behind the seat to access the oil tank and the primer bulb.





Used the lathe at work the other evening to clean up the round stuff. I'm really happy with how it turned out.





Gas tank saddle with tabs to bolt the hold downs. I think I'll make the hold downs out of stainless since it's easier to bend. There's a 3/16" rubber mat for a tank cushion.





More to come, but I have to work OT tomorrow...
Jamie


----------



## Cheeseball (Jun 1, 2009)

Lookin good Ranchero. Will the exhaust vent through the top of the doghouse or out through the impellar housing?


----------



## Loggerhead Mike (Jun 1, 2009)

your doing a perfect job. wiring sucks but its better to do it right the first time than have a problem somewhere down the road

hurst shifter..... genious =D>


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 1, 2009)

The exhaust is going through hull once I roll some metal to make a tube since I can't scrounge any.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 3, 2009)

Update time...

Electrical Round I+II

I've actually been working on this since the beginning of the build, mostly gathering up junk to reuse and browsing swap meets to get components cheap. Now the fun begins...

The guys on the Seadoo forums will know what a stock electrical box looks like. Basicly drew up a wiring diagram for the boat and integrated the seadoo electrical into that getting rid of all the extra wiring and GM weatherpack connectors. I chose to use a Ford starter relay because the Seadoo one wasn't availiable locally cheap (it was dead on the old hull). I did flip the battery and starter leads so they would fit this install better. 

For the cables, the top right in the cover is for the local interior lamps, the oil and fuel level and the engine overtemp.
Second down is a four conductor cable to feed the back of the hull, bilge, stern lamp, and engine compartment blower.
Third is a 12 conductor to the console, carries power and gauge info to the console and brings back the stern wiring.
Fourth one down is the battey cable that will go to the disconnect by the fuel select.
Fifth goes to the magneto and stator wiring.
Sixth is another 12 conductor to the console with the rest of the Seadoo control stuff including the VTS controls.
Seveth is going back to the VTS module for the pump nozzle trim.
The left side has the two spark plug cables and the starter lead.

Everything is bullet connected inside the box and heat shrinked with No-Oxide compound on the outside of the box to keep the green death at bay.





Using the seadoo box made thing neater and more logical. Note the choke cable loop and the wiring in heat shrink going up to feed the compartment lamps





Top view, mounted a 1/8" panel to the back below the console to act as a backplane to mount the fuse panel and terminal strips on until I find a nice small NEMA box to tuck all that stuff inside.





Finally a shot of the muffler install and the thru-hull pipe that I just rolled out of a small sheet of .050" aluminum and welded in.





More to come, this is taking for ever, but I'm happy with how much cleaner the install looks with this vs the Seadoo stuff in the earlier pics.
Jamie


----------



## Cheeseball (Jun 3, 2009)

Wooooooosssshhhhh!!!!!

That's the sound of that post going over my head.


----------



## Large_Mouth_BA$$ (Jun 3, 2009)

This is one of the coolest mods I've seen on here...way to technical for me but very VERY cool!


----------



## dyeguy1212 (Jun 3, 2009)

Cheeseball said:


> Wooooooosssshhhhh!!!!!
> 
> That's the sound of that post going over my head.




Well put :shock:


----------



## ober51 (Jun 3, 2009)

What is the thickness you need on the muffler? I;m sure it's fine, but is there one gauge recommended?


----------



## 2007NNBS (Jun 4, 2009)

not to be negative but that exhaust is gonna be loud. jetskis the exhaust is run low to try and keep it under the water. the water is used to muffle it


----------



## bobberboy (Jun 4, 2009)

I've been working on a modest conversion of a Lowe 1236 and feeling pretty good about it but OMG this project of yours is amazing. Mine started small because I want to be able to carry the jon on top of my pop-up camper. Because of this I tried to do minimal work and keep it as light as possible. I used aluminum wherever I could and PVC sheeting instead of plywood for the deck and floor. I have to say though that your boat is the coolest thing ever. Even if I had a CNC in my garage I couldn't make anything like this. The best part is that you seem to be able to make anything you can imagine. I love to do Frankenstein projects because they make me use my brain instead of my credit card and also, being the son of a farmer, I can't help myself. Yours is way out of my league though. Way to go!


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 5, 2009)

Woosh? Nah, it's just planning and doing. Hardest part is figuring what needs done and then fitting all the stuff in what you have. The Seadoo box worked out great and is watertight.

Ober, I just needed a 2.5" diameter tube to run the exhaust through the hull. The thin sheet I had rolled nice and welded right in. I'll extend the pipe out to the rear of the hull once the deck is built with the rest of the rubber hose inside a chunk of polished 3" stainless dairy pipe.

NNBS The exhaust will be a little loud, but ever here a jet outboard? You can here then a half mile away coming up river.

Bobber, this boat should end up being lighter than the original wooded version. I can still lift the front or rear by myself with the batteries and motor in place.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 10, 2009)

Not much to update. Been getting my butt kicked at work (gonna be a 68hr week). I've cut out some metal to make a small electrical box at the console. I just couldn't surface mount the terminal strips and fuse blocks and then let the elements get at them. I'll try to post some pics this evening once I get something accomplished. The river went back up so I have some time to kill before I can splash it.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 10, 2009)

Fabbed the console electrical box today and got it mounted I still need to drill the holes for the wire bundles, then wore the console before it'll run. then fuel and cooling lines and maybe it'll get splashed.

Made the front face on the mill and painted the inside with some copper colored hammer tone paint I had on the shelf.











More to come, have to work tomorrow through Saturday...

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 12, 2009)

Quick update, spent the evening doing body work to get the console smooth and also plugged the wiring into the console electrical box. 






Jamie


----------



## ben2go (Jun 13, 2009)

:shock: Didn't think there would be quite that much wiring.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 13, 2009)

It's not that bad. Really the wiring is what will make it nice. Fuel level, oil, charge temp, and fuel warning lights, tach and trim position are just the gauges.

This evening I finished the mud work on the console and it's in red primer. I'm not to discusted with it either. Now the hard part is finding flat OD green and tan paints to be rolled on.

Jamie


----------



## ben2go (Jun 14, 2009)

if you have a Army Navy surplus store around,check with them for the paint.A few years back I got 30 one gallon cans of OD for $7 per can.If I remember correctly it was a straight flat enamel.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 15, 2009)

Thanks for the tip Ben, the local guys don't deal in paint since UPS won't ship it to them... I ended up at Lowes to keep the project moving.

Major update today.

Oil system done, fuel system done, cooling system 90% done, console done, electrical 70% done, rear seat mount done.

Pics from throughout the day;

Some time after lunch, painted console mounted, used some satin spray from Lowes that's close to the seat color. The removable rear seat mount is out while the rest of the lines get ran.





A couple hours later it was cooler outside so the boat came out. Throttle is installed, sonar is in, push buttoms are installed, fuel system is in.















Late this evening, gauge panel and gauges are in and wired. Steering is done and tested.





Depth finder mount details. Used a rubber cap to go through the aluminum then mounted the Lowrance bracket over the rubber to give it a finished look.





This thing is real close to getting wet, maybe tomorrow if I can get it wired and fired up.

Wish me luck,
Jamie


----------



## Trek Jeff (Jun 16, 2009)

AWESOME work!


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 16, 2009)

Thanks, spent all morning doing up a legitimate ladder logic wiring diagram and then numbering the wires in the console box. I really should have done this before wiring the seadoo box to keep the confusion down when I have to troubleshoot it later.

More to come. I have a couple hours to get it fired up if I want to fish out of it this evening.

Jamie


----------



## Zum (Jun 16, 2009)

Good luck.
Hope she starts right up for you.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 16, 2009)

Ah crap... Pretty much sums up the day. Spent all morning making a legitimate wiring diagram so I can number the wires as I tie them together to keep things organized when I have to troubleshoot them and thank goodness I did because;

1. Found out after wiring the Seadoo box to the console box that I managed to mis-label the two 12 conductor cables so that the one that was #1 on one end was #2 on the other... That took about fifteen minutes to figure out (starter always trying to turn over (ended up tied to the lamp circuit in the console)) and around two hours to unravel.

2. After getting the wiring right, the stupid thing wouldn't fuel even with the primer bulb hooked up. Dissassembled the pump and it had oily mud in the pulse line. Cleaned that out, then ended up taking both carbs apart to get the needles to work and finally manage to get one carb to fuel. More tomorrow

3. Went to Wally World for a gallon of 2 cycle oil that lubes the oil pump drive etc and while fighting the fuel problem about a quart leaked out of a loose fitting so I have blue snot slopping around the botom of the boat and finally;\

4. Managed to fry the Variable Trim System, or it was fried and I just now figured it out.

It did run off of fuel in the carb and it's pretty loud without any water.

Tomorrow I hope to get the fuelling fixed, already fixed the wiring and the oil leak. Need to clean up the mess and maybe get it wet. I have to work the next seven days so I get weekends off again so I may back burner this for a couple days.

So close.
Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 17, 2009)

Yippee, it runs...


Today was full of ups and downs. Spent most of the day chasing the fuel system, reading the Seadoo manuals and the Mikuni manual for how the fuel was supposed to flow through the fuel pump and into the next carb. This is what I had setup from when I pulled the motor out of the 'Doo. The fuel is fed from the right at the 'Y' and the 'return line' comes out the other side of the left carb going to back to the return on the tank. Remarkably I never got any fuel out the return side. 





Took the carbs apart several times and they were decent inside, finally rigged a little gravity feed fuel tank like this. Worked great because as the motor ran off of the fuel I poured down the throats I got bubbles out of the tank line...





Yep, hooked the fuel lines up backwards and sideways...





Wiring redo for the variable trim system, third switch from the left. Used two double contact (NC, NO) blocks and wired the motor leads out one side of the contacts and 12vdc to the normally open contacts and ground to the normally closed contacts so when you flip the switch one way or the other it changes to polarity of the motor leads as it puts power to the motor. Simple and effective. Now I just need some more four conductor wire to run back to the unit.





Up inside the console, wires wires everywhere.





The mess... I hope to revisit this later and straighten everything out. It looked good before I realised the cables were mislabelled.





Just some green light porn. I put little green LED's in the switches and powered up the rear deck lamps. There's also a lamp shining up at the gauges since they aren't backlit.















Other issues that came up were it wasn't charging, found the 15A fuse blown, probably from the miswire. I'll leave the battery hooked up overnight to make sure it isn't draining it. The best part is now I just breath on the starter button and it comes to life. Sounds good but I can't run it long without coolant and it was raining all day so I didn't pull it out of the garage or get it wet. Oh yeah, the tach works great with the resistors hooked up.

Now I have a seven on to do, twelve hours days too, before I can get the boat in the water. I grabbed the new trailer lites and fenders so I may get them on during the evening to get ready to splash this puppy.

Jamie


----------



## dyeguy1212 (Jun 17, 2009)

wow that thing is nuts man


keep your sanity, you're making progress and eventually the harder it gets, the more "downhill" the rest of the project will be.


----------



## Rupestris (Jun 18, 2009)

Jamie you rock!
I've been checking in on this thread regularly. I love what you're doing with the boat but I gotta admit, I'm a bit more jealous of your talent and know-how than I am the boat. Incredible job you've done. 

I can't wait to see it buttoned up and in the water. 

chris


----------



## Cheeseball (Jun 18, 2009)

Coming along nicely Jamie. Anxious to see this one finished!


----------



## caveman (Jun 24, 2009)

you are doing it right looks great =D> =D> =D>


----------



## stinkynathan (Jun 25, 2009)

About time for some videos of this beast in action, eh?


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 25, 2009)

Did about what I expected, took on a good bit of water from weld leaks and ran like crap. Having trouble getting the carbs to fuel correctly. I think the lines are hooked up wrong still so if someone can look at the pics above and let me know I would appreciate it. The manual sucks for this.

Actually it ran pretty decent other than it wouldn't rev right, very loud, very very loud. Not sure if a deck will make it quieter or not. The one or two times it revved cleanly it about pulled the boat out from under me. Whiplash actually. The steering effort at speed is tough with the small wheel too. It wouldn't load the pump out on the river either unless the kid ran to the back of the boat. The stern draws about 2" of water at rest, the box around 4-5 so I need to play with the CG some more.

I did end up having the one of the carbs come lose from the vibration and the air cleaner assy fell apart too. Blue locktight next time.
















Overall the fishing experience was good, the boat is very comfortable, really stable and the seats are very very nice. Hardest part was keeping everything off the floor so it stayed dry, I had water over the ribs after an hour of floating. Had to run upriver just to pump the water out.



We are making progress

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 25, 2009)

Oh yeah, saw my uncle up on the water so we drifted down together for a good bit and had a fun time together, more relaxing when four guys can fish without smacking rod tips together... I made the bilge pump stuff work, the lights are all mounted (nav and stern) and the depth finder and speedo worked out too befor egoing out.

Jamie


----------



## ober51 (Jun 25, 2009)

Keep up the good work. I cant help you with the wiring, but I am sure it will cut down on noise and the deck will def. help.


----------



## Waterwings (Jun 26, 2009)

Nice work! 8)


----------



## Codeman (Jun 26, 2009)

Very cool project. You'll get it worked out.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 26, 2009)

OK, first off; Holy mother of God does this thing scream across the water. 45mph at 6800 rpm. 6' rooster tail 60' back with the trim up.

Now that that's taken care of;

I had the carb hoses routed wrong and reset the low speed adjust to factory spec and it started fine and ran great. We got hail and storms sideways all afternoon and finally around 6:30 it cleared off and I hooked and booked to the river solo with three rods and a prayer. Called my uncle on the way and picked him up (to help paddle if something bad happened again). Got to the river, millpond smooth and an air boat was playing around the ramp. 

Found out that the motor at 1500rpm has too much thrust to push the boat out and turn it around so I need to make or buy a reverse setup to retro into this thing (thinking make). Shut it down, flipped it end for end (paddle again) and started it back up and off we went. Uncle was sitting in the front seat on the floor and it worke dout because I can see right over his head while running the boat. 4500rpm at part throttle and the boat planed out nice but with the trim down so it would steer it was backwashing a lot of water over the stern (Why Seadoo didn't do a better nozzle design is beyond me). Trimmed it up some and whacked the throttle to the stops, instant accelleration to 6800rpm and 40mph on the Lowrance transom mounted paddle wheel. Trimmed it some more and we were up to 45mph, rock solid, no cavitation until we blew through the air boats wake and it hit the limiter four times in a second or so. Looked back and the expansion chamber was trying to fall off the exhaust manifold and cooling water was going everywhere so I shut it down and bolted everything back together.

Fired it back up and off we went again. Only real problem I had was getting the pump to load when I first started it, had to walk back on the rear deck so the rpm's would drop from 3k to 1500 before going anywhere. Nicest thing is the Seadoo is self baling so it sucked a good bit of the water back out as we motored the rest of the way up river.

Caught a couple decent fiesty bass and relaxed for an hour or so before taking it home. Burned about two gallons of fuel running up and back.

It feels good to have it turn out so well. No pics, you'll have to wait for more sun.

Jamie


----------



## ober51 (Jun 26, 2009)

Awesome. I vote for videos, too :wink:


----------



## Rupestris (Jun 26, 2009)

ober51 said:


> Awesome. I vote for videos, too :wink:



Oh, heck yeah!! opcorn: That thing has got to sound like a banshee screaming across the water at 45 MPH!


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 26, 2009)

Yep, she makes a little noise. I did put a 90` chunk of the old exhaust hose on to direct the sound down at the water and it helps, but I couldn't get my uncles attention by screaming at him 4 feet away from me... The coolest thing is it only drafts 4" in the front and almost 3" in the back and pops up on plane in two boat lengths ,hitting top end in about four more. Figure 0-45mph in 100 feet. I don't know the depth on plane, need to get some pics to figure that out.

Jamie


----------



## Zum (Jun 27, 2009)

Awesome,,,glad she worked great.


----------



## baptistpreach (Jun 27, 2009)

Wow! Glad to hear it runs so great, what do you have left? The interior, the floor, paint or carpet? I'm wowed by your skill


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 28, 2009)

I have about 80 hours of work left, maybe more.

1. Extend the rear deck 18" out over the pump
2. Floatation
3. Skin out the floors
4. Make the access doors
5. Carpet
6. Paint
7. Finish the night fishing lights.
8. Flesh out the storage compartments.

I also want to make something to mount on the front of the console to hold the pliers and other stuff.

A pic from Thursday when I ran into my uncle up on the water, taken from his Ranger. Thing looks tiny with the boy and I fishing off of it.







Jamie


----------



## caveman (Jun 28, 2009)

I would love to take a ride in that thing =D>


----------



## Andy (Jun 28, 2009)

Glad to see it on the water. Now where's the video of said rooster tail?  
:beer:


----------



## Henry Hefner (Jun 28, 2009)

Ranchero50 said:


> Thing looks tiny with the boy and I fishing off of it.



Yeah, and from the front and front sides, it looks like your trolling motor is the only means of propulsion. I can imagine someone that came in a quiet cove where you are fishing jumping out of his seat when you fire that motor up!


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 5, 2009)

Ok, had four evenings on the river to see how it runs. Runs very well in millpond conditions, cavitates bad in 3-6" chop running above 20 mph. Most of the motor bolts came loose or fell out all together so I tore it back down last night, going to flip it over and install a spoon in front of the pump to help feed water into the inlet and I'm going to redo the inlet design for better / smoother flow...

Now I just need some time off to work on it...

Jamie


----------



## Andy (Jul 5, 2009)

DANG....... I hate to see you have to tear it back down after all your hard work. But hopefully your new design and the spoon will be better than ever. Good luck. :beer:


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 9, 2009)

Pump Round II

Since I'm not completely satisfied with the pumps performance in chop it's getting redesigned, narrower, longer, shallower with a spoon in front to help keep the cavitation demon at bay.

As built with the bottom ride plate removed. Notice the screen capture of how I want it to turn out and also the grate I'll try to integrate into the inlet. Also notice how wide it is, almost all the air coming between the side strake will get sucked into the pump. The spoon will be around 8-10" wide and 3-4 feet long shaped like the bottom of a teaspoon so it'll help pull clean water up into the pump and hopefully the air will go around the sides. I don't know if it'll actually work, but it sound good... 





As built looking into the pump. Notice how much movement the water has to do to get to the pump. The Seadoo hull connects from the front lip to the shaft seal to the pump flange. I'd actually going to just fab an insert shell to go inside the original housing and just remake the bottom.










Same view as above, just a lot more pump showing. I hope to have the whole thing visible when finished.





Goal is to possibly water test it Friday evening. I have a lot to do.

Jamie


----------



## ober51 (Jul 9, 2009)

Jeeze, unreal work. I'm just worried about picking out the right gauge wire for my trolling motor and wiring up some electronics and maybe some decking. You've built a rocket ship, lol.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 11, 2009)

More fun, didn't get to do much with the boat today, actually just plain worn out from work and stress. I did make a simple program on the mill to cut the back receiver for the inlet grill I have, it took almost four hours to do it right, almost embarrasing. 

Little doodad that took up most of my evening. I rewelded most of the original inlet since the shielding gas wasn't working very well the first time around. I need to hammer out the inlet form and weld in filler peices.















A better picture of what's going on. The spoon is in front of the inlet grill which is from a Mercury SportJet.





Finally the spoon, a 12 x 36 x .125" aluminum sheet that needs hand formed to fit. Once it's done I'll finish the new inlet.






Jamie


----------



## Macgyver (Jul 11, 2009)

looks good, but , I had a race grate on my old jet ski to load the impeller more evenly in rough water . you may want to look into that instead of the standard type grate . here's a pic I found of one , top and bottom view, although mine had to scoops.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 12, 2009)

Another day down. Got a lot of stuff done. The newer narrower longer pump inlet with the grill is mounted, The spoon is installed, the rough grinding is done, if it works in some chop I'll flip her back over and smooth everything out with either bondo or aluminum filler.
















Fishes view...





Finally the motor is back in with the correct expansion pipe. I had to do some thread repair to the front cover (keyserts, not helicoils) and blue locktighted everything.





If I get time I'll water test it tomorrow. I need one hose clamp and I need to put the trolling motor, fuel tank, and batteries in to run it.

Jamie


----------



## Zum (Jul 12, 2009)

I watched a couple of those you tube videos,you had a link to.
I know he was a racing guy but without your "spoon" and other welds being smoothed out,are you going to get a good interpetation of how it's going to handle?
I suppose they are pretty smooth probably isn't going to make that much difference on a jon fishing boat.It's just that he was being real perticular.
I have NO idea...hope it works out for you,keep us posted.


----------



## squatch (Jul 12, 2009)

J, Thanks for turning me onto this site. I wish I had found it when I was doing my boat. Just what I need another place to get in trouble on the web. Did you get to try out the "spoon" today?


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 12, 2009)

Action Shots of this baby screaming...

Curtesy of the son who doesn't know how to zoom.

41mph... Move'n...






Everything in front of the console is out of the water, it should have been cavitating.





2' rooster tail, couldn't get a higher one without back washing the transom.





Hole shot...





Reverse...





The spoon worked extremely well. We were doing 38mph in white cap chop and I left out of it so it didn't beat the boat up too much. On the flat we saw 43mph, could have seen more except the expansion pipe came off and flooded the boat (again). In fact I was pumping water out in the pictures. The boat also handles great how it's set up now. I was cranking it around and it was sliding really smooth with the corner just about under water (20-25mph). I'm pretty sure the manifold bolts have wallowed out so I'll probably keysert them or look into a better fix (possibly glue them together as well instead of a gasket).

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 12, 2009)

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, had a guy run me down in a 1442 flat bottom with a 550 Kaw standup setup in the back, very nice looking boat that had been that way going on 18 years. Said mine was the first one he'd seen similiar to his. We chatted on the river for a good bit, good times. Oh yeah, the boy and I even caught a couple fish.

Jamie


----------



## Zum (Jul 13, 2009)

I bet she's noisier in forward then reverse
Glad it worked out for you,maybe once you smooth it right out,you'll get another 1mph.
43mph,is scating right along in a 14"boat.


----------



## stinkynathan (Jul 13, 2009)

sweet! can we get a video of this thing in action?


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 14, 2009)

I'd love to do some videos, but I don't have a camcorder yet. My Sony camera will do it so maybe we'll get a viral shot or two. I've been playing with the expansion pipe. The bolt holes are wallowed out in the new purple pipe so I may end up welding them shut and redrilling them. Time will tell.

One thing to note, I can tube or ski off of this thing in the deeper sections. 

We did run up on a decent sized rock the other evening idling up into some riffles. I really just need to anchor in the shallows and walk across the river to find the lines through these rapids before trying to run them. Hard part is I'll be running into the sun through this stuff...

Jamie


----------



## Fish Taco (Jul 16, 2009)

Jamie, I'm loving this thing.

What an odd looking duck with you and your son in it. You two just dwarf that thing. Now I know how folks feel seeing me in my 14 footer. 

On the flip side, what a sleeper!! 43MPH is nuts in what is/was a jon boat.

Congrats on the work and thanks for the link to the seats on ebay. I'm a big man and I'm wondering how comfortable they are for you. I'm tempted to go with something a bit more robust. That plastic base looks like it will just bend when I put my 285lbs in it.

What type of work do you do? I suspect you machine or fabricate (access to a lathe at work). Is that right?

On the constructive criticism side, I'm concerned with your steering set up. I'm wondering if something can't get caught under that plate and jamb the steering. That area will be left open, right? Its very close to the floor.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 16, 2009)

The seats I am very happy with, granted I'm only a 200lb 6'7" guy. They are stiffer than the wise (bass embossed) seats I had on it with the metal pivots.

For work, I am a printing press mechanic for Quad Graphics in Martinsburg WV, right off I81. We have big Cerutti gravure presses and smaller Man Rolland offsets. The Cerutti's run a 108" wide web of paper through the press. This is a 12 color press that prints the National Geographic Magazine from when it was getting installed a couple years ago. We have two 12 colors and nine 8 color Cerutti presses.

Three stories tall and over 150 yards long. These are my babies.





We have an in house machine shop, decent stuff with excellent machinists, but not as advanced as the mill I have in my garage.

For the steering protection, there is a 3" aluminum curb between the uprights to keep stuff out of the well. I really wanted to be able to see the bare hull so I would know if it was taking on water. Nothing will be in the middle well when moving except my feet. The boat has a lot of storage room as it is now. I'm really happy with how it's turned out.

Jamie


----------



## squatch (Jul 17, 2009)

I saw that steering setup in person last weekend. Trust me no worries on that. The factory seedoo cable is the weak-link not Jamies fab work. Industrial bearings and ample clearance. I second the tempress seats. I'm using the all-weather high backs. 6' 240lbs and beefy. You break one of these I want to see it. They are stronger than the pedestal they'll be mounted on. I really think it would be hard to crack one of my 10 year old seat shells(the old ones off my boat) by driving over it.


----------



## squatch (Jul 17, 2009)

Jamie, I wouldn't worry about banging and bouncing off those rocks. I know a man whose pretty good with a MIG that can fix you right up if you punch a hole in it!


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 25, 2009)

We were going to go out last night, but the motor wouldn't start, acted like the flywheel stripped some teeth (starter just spun). Pulled the front cover and found the flywheel had come off, woodruff key slot in the crank is washed out pretty bad and the flywheel keyway has some damage. Spent about an hour with a small file hand reworking the flywheel last night and hope to us a dremel to hand cut a longer key in the crank. If it works I'll be back on the water without spending a grand on a new motor / flywheel. I'll probably mix up some epoxy to fill in the eroded areas before locking it back down. I really wanted to get at least one good season out of this motor to work the bugs out before doing a rebuild.






What's left of the key... 





I've been working 50+ hours a week and struggling to get stuff done around the house so the boat is waiting for me to get a new cat pipe fabbed for my mustang and a bunch of weedtrees trimmed out and gone.


It never ends...

Jamie


----------



## Waterwings (Jul 25, 2009)

Ouch! Sorry to hear about your motor problems, and know exactly how it is to never have enough time to get everything done.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 25, 2009)

Well, the mustang is done, now all I hear is the tires scrubbing and squealing under boost. Quiet as a mouse until the blower starts to whine. The trees are gone too, funny what goats and cows will eat.

Now I just need to drag the boat back in the garage and see if I can get the front cover and stuff off to fix this mess.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 26, 2009)

Ok, I think we'll be ok with this. Pulled the flywheel housing and mag plate off and just ended up using a cut off wheel in a die grinder. Dressed the edge of the wheel square and cut a very nice square slot in the crank after scribing the slot in some lay up die where the original woodruff key was. Used a file and stone to dress the crank where the damage was and everything fit back together really nice and tight. Rotax used a flipping cheap lock washer behind the nut and mind distorted so I'll probably put a nordlock washer on it once I find one big enough. The nut get's 107ft/lbs of torque to hold everything together and some blue locktight to bond the flywheel to the crank. I borrowed a lockwire tool from one of the guys at work and may even do that just out of spite...
















This poor thing is truely turning into a Redneck Rocket.

Jamie


----------



## baptistpreach (Jul 29, 2009)

I have no idea what I'm really looking at with your project, but I strangely feel compelled to keep looking :lol: . Thanks for posting your work even if it is over my head. Maybe this is a silly question but here goes, do you think you're having problems with stuff staying together because you're going so fast in it? Also, do you think you'll run into leaking problems with your rivets putting that much strain on them (going 40 in chop). I know you know a lot more than me, it just seems like most jons weren't made strong enough to handle that long term.


----------



## Loggerhead Mike (Jul 29, 2009)

good fix! we need some pictures of that stang. 5.0?


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 29, 2009)

Baptist, the front end of the motor is the same as the top of an outboard. The coils fire the CD ignition and another one charges the electrical system. The rivets should be ok. if they leak I'll deal with it later. I expect I'll have more rock damage vs rivet leaks in the end.

The stang, '93 vintage. Has the SAAC emblems and engine dress. ROH 16 wheels, cobra spoiler, cobra 'R' hood, lowered a bit. Factory rear window louvers. I've done just about everything to this car over the last couple years. Ran a 11.78 at 118, usually passes emmisions too.

Motor is a .030" 302, AFR 185 heads, mild Crane cam (smaller than an 'E' cam). 1.6 roller rockers. Vintage '95 factory polished GT40 intake setup straightened, ported and polished on the inside by me. Vintage '95 Paxton SN-92 series ball drive blower, 6psi on a good day. All the pipe is stainless 3" dairy pipe I fabbed up. Exhaust is BBK 1 5/8" longtubes ported, etc. Stainless 2.5" X pipe I made, MAC 2.5 cat back flowing into a pair of 3" tips (dairy pipe). SVO (cobra) tailights. Interior has a guage vent housing I made so the gauges would aim to the driver. Tach mount is just siliconed to the dash, but looks bolts to deter the idiots.





'










Car dyno'd out at 390 rwhp and 400ftlbs of torque at 5200rpm. Torque monster setup will spin the tires pretty easily with 3.55 gears.

Jamie


----------



## fishinchef (Jul 29, 2009)

=D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> very nice!!!


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 29, 2009)

Thanks, it's just a cool commuter car anymore. You CAN haul 10' sticks of EMT in a mustang. That car has been up the sides of mountains visiting cell phone tower site when I was working for Lucent Technologies.

A link to my '71 F250 build.
https://www.fordification.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=23972

I have an unrestored '68 fairlane 500 dastback in the shed too;
https://s188.photobucket.com/albums/z291/Ranchero50/Fairlane/

And a '64 Fairlane 500 I got a couple months ago;
https://s188.photobucket.com/albums/z291/Ranchero50/64%20fairlane/

I have a bunch of cool junk, just no time to enjoy any of it. To keep this on topic I'll just say that I got hoome from work too late to do anything on the boat. I need to fab a turbo flange and make an exhaust elbow for my buddies IH 806 tractor tomorrow sometime.

Jamie


----------



## Andy (Jul 29, 2009)

Jamie, I hate you.... LOL
AWESOME looking Mustang, I hope you get some time soon to work on the other projects you have. I'm REALLY looking forward to some pics. 
Back on topic, hope you get the boat back together with no problems and hope you have no more problems out of it, I'm wanting to see the video....

:beer:


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 1, 2009)

Ok, took it out last night, no pics this time, but it absolutely flew across the water. Everything even held together. The bad was both batteries are crap, had to buy a new one ot NAPA to get it to start and the second bad was losing one of the tackle bags out of the boat going down the interstate locked in traffic in the fast lane, hit the next exit and saw some guy jumping in his car as I went back by with it... About a $100 gift to someone and of course I didn't have any info in it if the guy was going to return it... At least it was the backup one with the lures that didn't do very well (x-raps, shad raps, cranks, etc).

Still, did I mention that the boat was running very well. I put the small expansion pipe back on and this time the motor revved clean up to 7k and the pump stayed loaded and we were up to 49mph on the depthfinder. The water was like glass and the spray pattern off the side of the boat was out of my line of vision (further back than it's ever been). I think the only thing in the water was the spoon and back 2' of the hull. Almost two miles to the fishing spot and we were there in a little over two minutes.

The Mayfly's were out in force so it was top water twitching rapala original floaters 2 1/2" silver's. The water was almost gin clear too 3-4' deep and the bass were on the top rolling everywhere. Took on about an inch of water up front in three hours or relaxing. Saw two other boats going up to night fish. Beautiful evening on the water.

Jamie


----------



## RBuffordTJ (Aug 26, 2009)

Absolutely amazing. I have been going page by page through this thread and hope you pop back to post final pics of the shallow water monster soon.

Bufford in Orlando


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 31, 2009)

Bufford, the boat has exceeded my every expectation. Honestly the only thing I'm not real happy with is I messed up on trimming the trolling motor shaft and had to recut it 2" shorter and sometimes it'll cavitate if I'm fishing off the other side of the boat.

I redid the steering too last week, moved the pivot point out further on the steering wheel shaft and now I can get 24` of steering either way, before it was around 18`. Makes idling manuevers simple and at speed I can dodge the weedbeds easier. The boat handles like a sterndrive boat too, no forklift sliding at speed like most outboard jets. It's real stable and smooth at speed.

The local river has weeded up, turned into a pasture. I figured out that if I idle across the heavy fields diagonally going downstream that the jet won't clog. Once in the clear channel I can crank it around and let it run free dodging the areas where the grass is on the surface. I have to cut behind one island and shoot a 20' wide 1' deep gap at speed to get through but noone else is up there except the Mexicans swimming and they get out of the way pretty fast when you're coming at them at 49mph :shock: 

The boat is fun, light and easy to load. Just back the trailer until the back roller is wet. I put an aluminum diamond plate deck back the spine and walk out to the axle on it. Let the boat drift down until the center strake is on the roller and pop it up on the bunks. I put strips of UHMW poly and they are worth everything for loading the boat.

The hulls is leaking too, but only where I welded the revit holes shut, go figure.

Jamie


----------



## RBuffordTJ (Aug 31, 2009)

I am thinking if you came at me that fast I would get out of the way too. Diving might be best at that point!

LOL

It is such an cool rig, you wet out of your way to really do it right and it shows. As for the bottom leaking some have you considered something like SteelFlex 9x-2000 for that? I love it on mine and it looksl like there is a plastic sheet on the bottom of my boat now, no rivit can leak even if it wanted to. They have been using the original stuff no airboats for years, the newer formula is stronger.

Hope to see some video of that thing running wide open! My sister lives in Southern Maryland, Lusby is the town, (I think I saw you were in MD) I'll give a shout if I get in the area and bring my HD camcorder. Love to see you blast past a few times.

Bufford


----------



## Ranchero50 (Sep 1, 2009)

HD would be cool, but it'd probably show all my grey hairs... Took her out this evening solo and it finally hit 50.2mph and was porposing a little running that light. Still the old girl was really agile dodging the weed clumps.

Jamie =D>


----------



## goose775 (Oct 23, 2009)

wow. i just read this whole post today. yesterday was my first time here. ive gotten lots of good ideas. jaime id love to come see that thing. i live 2 miles away from quad in hedgesville. i have a lot of friends out there at quad. u probally remember ben from the machine shop, hes out at the guard now. anyway ill get into details of people we know another day. id still love to see that in person, to really see how complex it is. all im doin is puttin some small decks on my 12'er for trollin motors. any way let me know if itd be possible for me to ride out there sometime or if ya jus wanna run it to work with ya one day. i go past there everyday about the time for shift changes so timing wouldnt that bad if u were to bring it with ya. either way.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Oct 25, 2009)

Goose, I worked in Press Maintenance with Ben when he left the machine shop. Ask him about Jamie. Pm or email me your number, I was out last Tuesday evening solo down at Williamsport looking for fish, always looking for someone to go out since the kid lost interest... Hit 53mph on the wheel and chased down a 1860 G3 with a 90/65 Merc on the back.

The boat is still deckless, it takes on some water through the porous welds but I plan on Steelflexing it this winter if I can get it back in the garage. The carbs were acting up coming home last time out, got to playing around and jumping my wake under the bridge. Lots of fun. Overall very happy with the project.

Jamie


----------



## CRAPPIE_SLAYER (Oct 28, 2009)

That is one SWEET ride! =D>


----------



## sdog53502 (Oct 30, 2009)

That is sweet !!
I have a 16 x 48 with a 650 kawi and a tigershark pump. I am having some problems with cavitation unless the water is pretty flat. Do you think the revised intake helped more or do you think the spoon is the hot ticket ??
Thanks
Steve


----------



## Ranchero50 (Oct 31, 2009)

Steve, the spoon more than any other thing. The hydrodynamics of the original intake was decent, the front wall was a little abrupt, but it would still pull water into the inlet on flat water. With a little chop the boat rode higher so it was injesting air between the waves. With the spoon addition, the spoon was still in the water in mild chop so cavitation was much less. In fact, at speed the spoon is right at the leading edge of the water under the hull. I'm amazed this boat does as well as it does.

A 650 in a 16-48 should perform well, similiar to a 60-40 jet if not better. You could mock up the spoon out of fiberboard or something similiar and glue it on to test the design if you don't have welding skills. Your tigershark intake should be fine if the boat sat further in the water but since it's so flat and big you are n't displacing any water on plane and it's sucking air right down the strakes.

Jamie


----------



## sdog53502 (Nov 17, 2009)

I have a Hobart 135 that I can kind of weld aluminum with. Otherwise I bought some braizing rods I am going to try. I will give it a shot in the spring and see if it helps. Where did you come up with the spoon design ?
Thanks !!


----------



## Ranchero50 (Nov 19, 2009)

The spoon was designed by looking at the bottom of a spoon... :mrgreen: 

Seriously, holding a spoon veritcally slide the bottom of a spoon into the water stream coming out of your faucet. The water will follow the curve and shoot towards the top side of the spoon. 

I just figure that I'd need around 3' of pad or spoon to get a nice smooth curve up into the jet inlet. The harsh cut of your center strake is hard for water to go around and it's cavitating there as well as letting any air that gets trapped between the hull and water flow up into the jet. it may be worth your while to make a spoon out of wood and silicone and screw it to the hull to see it it works for you.

Jamie


----------



## JBoze (Jan 4, 2010)

Very cool boat!


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jan 15, 2010)

Been a while, in early December I was given another Seadoo, a '95 Xp that was completely intact. Found out it has the pump housing extension and most of the parts are in better shape than mine. Took some playing but it finally ran, had a rod out and the cylinder walls were pretty scored up. I parted it out with everything sitting in the boat outside under the cover.



















Hopefully I'll get it inside before fishing season. I need to go through the carbs, the secondary is leaking fuel at the diaphram and I cracked the exhaust manifold when we got an early freeze and it wasn't drained correctly. Plus I still need to finish the decking and make it nice with carpet etc.

Jamie


----------



## rock_smasher (Jan 21, 2010)

Hiya Ranchero, nice to see you again! (fellow pwctday'er) I know its been said, but your fab skills are amazing! Great to see this quality of work. After reading the early part of this thread, I started looking for my own boat- couldnt find a tin-boat that i wanted. Found a 15.5 kingfisher fiberglass that was perfect except it wasnt tin. I'm robbing parts off an old kawisaki TS, and grafting the donor piece in, hope it comess out good. (pics and a build thread coming soon) 

50+mph, just awesome!! =D> =D>


----------



## sdog53502 (Mar 25, 2010)

Well I started beating on some aluminum to make a spoon. Time to flip the boat and try to weld (or braze) it on. 
Wish me luck !!

Steve


----------



## Nevillizer (Mar 25, 2010)

Good luck (as requested).


----------



## sdog53502 (Mar 25, 2010)

Some pics of the spoon....


----------



## Ranchero50 (Mar 26, 2010)

Looks pretty good so far. I would suggest trying to get the hump (where you notched the sides) a bit flatter. The goal is a smooth curve from the front to rear. My only fear is if the break is too abrupt at the notch the water may decide to cavitate there. How high is your spoon now? Mine only ended up being about 2" overall, about 1/2" deeper than the keel strake.

Today I did pull mine out of the garden, getting it ready for the season.
Jamie


----------



## sdog53502 (Mar 27, 2010)

I have been trying to get it a little less abrupt, not easy to do when all you have is a rubber hammber and a vise.... Mine is around 1.75 at the tallest point. I may need to do a little trimmng to the rib on the boat.

Noticed on craigslist that there is a 750 kawi for sale for $450 near me. I wonder how many MPH that would gain me ??? :?


----------



## Ranchero50 (Apr 1, 2010)

Mine's a 720 so...

For the tin work, fold up a bunch of old towels, about 4" of them and use them as a base to tune the metal into. Wear some gloves, keep hitting the middle of the towel pile while turning and twistingt the metal to form it how you want.

Jamie


----------



## sdog53502 (Apr 1, 2010)

I gave it a shot tonight in some pretty good chop. Not good. heavy cavitation. Almost seems worse than before.  I will try it again when it is calmer and see what happens. If it is still bad I guess the cutting wheel will come out. 
I have thought about dropping the pump 1.5" lower than the bottom of the boat but I am not sure if it would help.....
Time to go drown by sorrows in a Busch Light and a plate of crappies.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Apr 3, 2010)

Well, I can see why it wouldn't work now that it's on the boat and painted, knock that big arsed hump down some more and try it again. On the boat it's way too aggressive. See how abrupt the bottom curve is at the back and how steep the back wall is? Not good, water is going to curl and aerate there. Look at a table spoon how the bottom deflects and pulls water under the kitchen faucet with a steady stream coming out (non aerated).

I'd consider knocking everything below the middle strake down and trying again.


I uncovered mine yesterday and started cleaning it out for the season.
Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Apr 16, 2010)

Figured I'd throw up a quick update, cleaned out the hull last night, Zep industrial stregnth cleaner works great to loosen oily grime and slime. Brother donated a bunch of aluminum road signs to make hatches out of so I'm going to try and kick this into high gear and get the decking finished.

I also have two weeks layed off at the end of April so I'll get some stuff done.

Jamie


----------



## Rubin56 (Apr 16, 2010)

Holy Cow!!!!!!!! Its the Bat Boat. =D>


----------



## Ranchero50 (Apr 16, 2010)

The bat boat... =D> 

That's pretty good, especially since we fly down river late at night. Heck, our normal summer bass fishing trip ends around 10pm so other than flying Helgramites, the bats are the next biggest challange to running the river.

No real update to the boat, the grease and slime is all gone, but it stormed so now it has tree buds and other crap in it again...
Jamie


----------



## midnight_f150 (Jun 3, 2010)

man this boat is too awesome. your craftmanship is great. wish I had a 1/3 of your skill. do you have any updates and new pic of it? I now you hear it alot but I would love to see a video of it. I really want to see the holeshot. thanks for taken the time to post it and sharing it with us and given me ideas that with my skills I can only dream about.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 9, 2010)

Midnight, thanks for the compliments. I've been slow getting back to the boat. We did manage to take it out last Wednesday with mixed results. First trip of the year and I found out that both pop off diaphrams in the carbs had burst so it wasn't fueling correctly and some was leaking into the bilge. We were running 40mph at 5k and ran it for about thirty minutes up and down the river trying to use up last years fuel and get the cobwebs out. I put a new pump on and I can't wait to crank this thing up to 6500rpm. I also made an engine cover last week at work out of a traffic sign. No pics yet but it turned out pretty good. 

It was nice to hit the water again.

I have about five big project bidding for my time right now and the boat is one of them.

Jamie


----------



## sdog53502 (Jun 10, 2010)

I would like to see how the engine cover turned out. 
I cut my spoon off. I decided (per your advice)to angle cut the center rib down in the back (sloping towards pump) and welded it up. I am through messing with it for this year. Time to fish !! Next year I may try the spoon again out of UHMW, I will see how it performs this way.

SDOG


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 14, 2010)

Quick update, burnt up the engine in the fiberglass boat today, raw water thermostat didn't open and it truely is bad when you get the burnt oil smell and the paint is bubbling... Pisser is I cleaned it all up before taking it out to get some on the water pics before I sell it. At least it's only a 2.3l Ford so it should be a painless swap...

After that fiasco took the little one out this evening. The back cylinder was missing and it wasn't running very well. Did an on the water plug check and the front one was dark and the back one was wet. Tapped the gap closed pretty tight and hoped for the best. With the new pump on the boat will do 52.8mph on the flat and has more of a growl vs. the old screaming exhaust tone. I have the big purple expansion pipe setup on and it was only taching 6300rpm so maybe I'll put the grey one back on to see if I can get it to rev a bit higher and maybe see 54 mph. The '95 Seadoo Xp ran 58mph so anything over 50 is pretty darned good. I'm happy. There's no rooster tail now, just a skim of white water the with of the bottom of the hull and very little wake. I did run down a 16-18' Grizzly with a 90-65 jet and went by them pretty quick when I ducked behind an island.

Jamie


----------



## bassboy1 (Jun 14, 2010)

Awesome!

I am going to have a few more questions for you once I finally save up enough to start mine with the 650 Rotax.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 16, 2010)

Today's great accomplishment was getting the dug house for over the engine built.


But first, last week I finally got tired of waiting forever for the boat to drain so I drilled a second drain, 1" this time to fit a standard plug. It worked great so I redrilled the original 3/8" NPT port to take another plug.







The doghouse, not saying I vandelized a street sign or anything (it was out of service). The vent came from an old computer tower and fit pretty well.

















Only real screwup was I misread the tape measure for the top dimension. Maybe I'll do something to make the mistake look like it was done on purpose. I may add a piece of round to the rear edge to keep the stubbed toes at bay.





I also finally ordered the piano hinge for the all the covers. Only real expense after this is the carpet for the decking and the epoxy for the hull.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 23, 2010)

Fun trip tonight. Hit the water around 7:30 since it was too hot to fish ealier. I spent Tuesday evening taking the carbs apart and cleaning them really good and setting everything up to Seadoo specs and now it's running up to speed but just because, the linkage between the two carbs fell off, several times... Finally fiddled up a big hook to hold the darned thing together. Oh yeah, the expansion pipe is coming loose again. I was going to swap it but lost the silver one I had so this one is spiting me.

Still good evening on the water, hit a 13.5 and a bunch of little stuff. Just got home too.

Went out Monday and the boat ran like crap but we did see the Black Bear runnning around Williamsport on the way home. Looked like a bag of trash running across the lawn of the church 

Still waiting on the hinge to get some decking done...
Jamie


----------



## bassboy1 (Jun 23, 2010)

I see that you are having vibration loosen everything up on a regular basis. If I remember correctly, when you were building it, I remember seeing that you made your own engine mount plate, that was flat to fit the boat, as opposed to the angled one that fits the Seadoo. I'm wondering if your vibration problems are due to all 4 engine mounts being on the same plane, as opposed to the installation in the Seadoo, where they were a number of degrees apart.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 24, 2010)

Possibly. The engine hasn't been fueling right and had been shaking pretty hard the last couple trips while I worked the bugs out. The last time I put the expansion pipe on I didn't silicone it very well. Otherwise it hade been holding up pretty well.

Jamie


----------



## BaitCaster (Jun 24, 2010)

Holy crap!! =D> 

I just read through this thread for the very first time. Amazing. My jaw is on the floor.

To think, I was so proud of myself for installing a deck hatch in my boat. I feel shame.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 24, 2010)

Yeah, this is fun because it's not a production boat. We outran a tracker inboard jet last night too, I think it was one of the newer 185 jets. We haven't ran any white water yet, I'm scared, and I want to work all the bugs out of the motor before hitting the scary stuff. The lower basin is filling with grass so we are running up to the ridges and rock breaks. It actually lower now than when the grass blooms on top of the water and the flow backs up.

Kind of fun running Frankenstein.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 30, 2010)

Brief update, took the boat out last night, with a carb linkage that stayed on both carbs and an expansion pipe that didn't fall off. Ran the boat up river through lots of traffic, 40+mph at 5500rpm, 50.9 at 6700. The motor isn't too happy down below 3000rpm, I still don't have the carbs dialed in and it acts flooded when I start it, need to reset the pop off pressure on the needle and seat of both carbs. Wind was terrible, white caps on the water but it only cavitated when I went through another boat big wake so the spoon is definately working. 

Coming back down we went through two flocks of geese in the channel. Usually they take off and pace us but these had young ones with them. Chopped the throttle and the bow wave surge pushed all of them out of the way except one old biddy that turned and postured right before going under the bow. She didn't see too much the worse for wear in spite of losing here dignity when she came up behind the boat.

We were hot dogging it dodging weed clumps logs and beavers. The boat will do the jet boat slide below 30mph and really skews out around 20 but I swear the inboard gunnel is under water at the back corner. had a lot of fun and made it home before dark for once since the fishing wasn't so great with all the wind. That and the boy lost his favorite lure, came untied and then a nice bass hit it as we trolled in to get it... He was pissed. :shock: 

Jamie


----------



## Troutman3000 (Jun 30, 2010)

BaitCaster said:


> Holy crap!! =D>
> 
> I just read through this thread for the very first time. Amazing. My jaw is on the floor.
> 
> To think, I was so proud of myself for installing a deck hatch in my boat. I feel shame.




Ditto


----------



## JRHOADES20 (Jul 1, 2010)

This is just insane! Great Job..


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 2, 2010)

Thanks for the compliments. Baitcaster, I just mounted my first hatch over the engine so I can understand. PITA trying to guess the gaps needed for the carpet to fit nicely.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 11, 2010)

Finally got to work on the boat some more, instead of just fishing out of it. Youngest wanted to go so now I need to add a third pedestal seat. We put a step stool on the middle bench and it worked out for positioning so I'm thinking about getting another pin base for the livewell hatch.

Here's some pics of another road sign that was recycled into a pair of rear deck hatches. Feels good to be making progress again.












Here's a pair of pics of the little one and the 14" cat he caught on his spidey rod with a F7 Rapala during a Mayfly hatch.











Jamie


----------



## Brine (Jul 11, 2010)

Congrats Little Man!


----------



## ihavenoideawhattoput (Jul 12, 2010)

Just found this thread, you have me fired up to finish mine faster. 

If I can get anywhere near that power I will be VERY happy.


----------



## wyatts dad (Jul 13, 2010)

let me know next time you are going out, i want to see this thing run, quazy man


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 15, 2010)

I hope to go out tonight after hopefully selling my big boat, if not Friday and maybe Saturday evening before dark. If you go by riverbottom and there's a black '68 Ranchero with an empty trailer there it's a good sign. 

Onto the boat. I brought some more salvaged road sign into work and got it bent up for the rest of the hatches. Sadly I misjudged the bend and need to trim one for the oil tank and weld two sides back on. Since the little one wants to go I decided to get another pin base seat setup at Wal-mart and picked up some fly rod lures to see if I can get lucky at the next Mayfly hatch.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 15, 2010)

Ok, too whooped after taking the big one out and yes, selling it. Funniest part was usually I unhook it and back in until the rear rises. This evening at a busy ramp with the potential customers there it slid off the trailer and we had to swim about thirty yards after it due to an offshore wind. Luckily it started right up but then didn't want to go out of gear. It hadn't been run in two years so I expected some bumps. I didn't expect that one of the bunks had rotted away while the boat was on ot. Luckily there was enough meat left to support the boat. Still, I now have $2500 to get this one further along. Plan on ordering the carpet this week.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 17, 2010)

Big update time. Spent pretty much the whole day working on the boat (except the part that got over 92` in the garage...)

We'll start out with the piano hinge that I sourced from eBay, 1" per side with pilot holes every 2". With shipping I got 18' for around $38. Since I wanted to be able to take the hinges off to put the carpet on I decided to use button head screws instead of rivets. In order to use the button heads I had to countersink the hinge panels. 

Made this little jig for the drill press.





Countersunk all the holes on both sides so the button head wouldn't keep the hinge from closing.





Mounted...





Closed... Yes a worthless picture, but you get the idea.





Now to set the hinge height I mocked up a peice of scrap decking and a plate to set the height. You don't want the hinge too high or two low. Too high and you'll burn your footsie or stub you big toe. Too low and the hatch may not close right.





I used about a dozen vise grips to hold the hinge level onto the frame and then drilled and tapped every other screw hole in the hinge and placing a screw every couple screws to keep the hinge from moving while tapping. 

Then I placed the hatch into the hole and marked the hinge and hatch. Pic taken after removing the hinge from the framework.





Set the height, then clamped and drilled the empty holes vs. the framework.





And, closed





Open





One side note, I asked for carpet samples before getting the hatches bent up. 1/4' clearance on the sides and roughly 3/8 at the hinge will give a comfortable fit with 16 or 20oz carpet.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 17, 2010)

Part two of today's fun was getting a seat post and the hinge / hatch setup done for the middle bench so the little guy isn't sitting on a step stool to fish out of.

Did some basic mocking up and decided that if I dress the seat post all the way out the seat would pivot nicely. That little self tapper scew keeps everything together while I drill through both layers. Kept the drill tilted to the front so it would cut the seat top before cutting completely through the hatch.





The front two holes eventually got opened up to around 5/8" with a step bit so the hardware would fit through them.





Here's a picture of the hinge. I used the mill to notch around the electrical box screws.





And finally together. I did add two 1" angle stringers front to back to support the back sets of seat post screws and I opened the seat top to the size of the livewell opening. Ironically it's just dry storage.





And done. The seat post feels good and sturdy. I did move the front seat up another set of bolt holes and actually like the way the trolling motor drive feels now underfoot.





Now, four more days of work before I can take it back out.
Jamie


----------



## bobberboy (Jul 18, 2010)

It's a thing of beauty...


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 5, 2010)

Well, been busy, no pics yet but there is a new reman engine from SBT sitting in the garage. The base gasket blew out again and I had cash from selling the big boat so... I've been spending the day stripping the old chipped up paint off my engine parts that get swapped to the new motor so I can paint them to match the newer Seadoo color. I also have carb kits to install that hopefully will fix the fuel problems that I think killed the old gasket. I was at Lowes today and bought some Rustoleum professional enamel in stainless steel (7519) that matches the Seadoo color pretty darned good. 

I still have my old engine on the cradle so I can redo the mounts to try and minimize the vibration.

I'll take some pics tomorrow, I have a lot to do...

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 6, 2010)

Good day. Got 95% of the old paint off and said to hell with the rest of it. Painted the bits and started assembly of the new engine and also rebuilt the carbs.

My little homebuilt pop off tester / setter rig. Both carbs are set to 21psi pop off.





Oil pup primer setup. Used the hose from the filter to engine and filled it with oil and drove the 10mm nut with a drill to prefill the lines. Used zip ties double wrapped to hold the lines onto the fittings. Worked well last time.





The old engine on the boat motor mounts. I'm waiting to get the new motor finished before doing any fab work and blowing metal crap all over the place again.





Stripping paint. Aircraft stripped had trouble with the roatx white and purple but cut right through the silver on the muffler. Real PITA to strip these parts down.





Carb side done. I also lucked out (I hope) on the stator plate. I never thought to mark it but found a stamp on it while cleaning it up. The PTO is also stamped. Torqued the PTO to 81ftlbs and the Mag nut to 107ftlbs. with green locktight on everything (wicking with the same hold as blue, it's all I had left)





Tomorrow I hope to have the exhaust side done and the starter on. Probably do the motor mount rework and maybe get it sitting in the hull again. So far everything has been slow, steady and really smooth going together. I guess it pays to read the forums and study the manual before starting something like this.

Only real gripe so far is the new block has the pulse line coming off of the PTO jug instead of the MAG jug so I need a longer pulse hose.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 7, 2010)

Good day overall, but not without some drama. Got the engine back together and even in the boat and aligned. Had a terrible time getting the alignment right because I had to shift the motor in it's cradle to get the cradle bolts to align with the rubber mounts. Second bit of misery was the oil lines, knocked one below the level of the oil in the tank while setting the engine in the hull and soaked my sneaker via the hull drain. I like the clear line because I can see if the oil system is working or has air in it but it leaks really easy...

This evening found the engine in the hull and everything hooked up. Hit the starter and got the starter click and nothing else... Checked the battery and it was about dead. It's just been hooked up, hoping the Mpem isn't draining it. Fifteen minutes later the battery was juiced up and the engine turned over fine and after about ten seconds it pulled enough fuel to fire off and man does it sound different vs. the old engine. Nice ting ting ting from the pipe. Hooked up the water and ran the engine in over a couple four minute runs. Carbs are smooth and the engine revs clean. wanted to hit the water this evening but I'm out of time and want to take my time checking this thing out before ripping on it.

Only issue so far is the expansion pipe coupling is leaking which figures because it went to gether really nicely.

Some pics from the day...

























More to come, hope to hit the water tomorrow afternoon for some swimming and slow timing the engine.

Jamie


----------



## orion_134 (Aug 9, 2010)

I see that there is this type of engine with the shaft driven pump and there appears to be another type with the engine and pump combined/together. Do you think, in hindsight, that the engine/pump combo might be easier to work with? I am following everything that you are doing, and think I can manage everything except the shaftseal. 
Great work, my stepdad has an old seadoo he's wanting to give me and I may take him up on it...
BTW, upgrade that old sn92 and the stang will be screaming. I had the upgraded race impeller in my sn and it ran 11.72 through an automatic, but now it has a T70 turbo and I'm hoping for the 10's with AC and power steering Hit me up on this screen name on corral.net if you want to BS about mustangs.
Jesse


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 9, 2010)

Jesse, hindsight is pretty good and I'm happy with how this one turned out with the lineshaft. The one peice hull / intake setup would limit what I could do to resolve any cavitation issues. It may have worked great the first time or...

The shaft seal wasn't that big of a deal. As you can see in the build it was kind of an eyeball thing for the original hole and then I had to redo some of it to get the carbon seal to work out right.

That little SN92 is doing really good. It's up over 170k miles without blowing apart. 5psi in the summer is enough and even though I'm leaving a good bit on the table the engine is still running fine. I built the engine to hit 400rwhp and last a long time and so far it's done a pretty good job. I want to junk the fox and put the driveline in my '64 Tbolt fairlane.

Jamie


----------



## orion_134 (Aug 10, 2010)

As for the one piece, couldn't you just rely on the intake design from the factory and make a spoon, much like you and the other poster did? I'm just trying to broaden my options when the time comes.
Also, with the deck, is your decking going to be the same thickness metal as your lids so that it will be a level surface? And you are going to carpet over the hinges?
Jesse


----------



## ihavenoideawhattoput (Aug 10, 2010)

Man I love this boat!


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 10, 2010)

I could have used the original Seadoo hull, I could have used (I think,) a tigershark all metal intake / pump support and just mounted my engine to the stringers. I read a lot and watched a lot of Youtube videos. and from what I've seen and read these setups either work excellent or they suck air and cavitate over 25mph. Most V hulls with at least 6` of deadrise do pretty well. Most squarenoses with less than 4` of deadrise and manufactured strakes will trap the air and cavitate. If you look at a H4 ('92-96 XP) Seadoo hull, it's short and the whole thing is spoon shaped. That spoon shape help keeps the intake loaded.

One of the biggest reasons I didn't want the doo hull grafted into my hull was I fish and run shallow ridge filled waters where you have to be on plane to clear the ridges and the you can feel the hull lift from bottom compression (under 8" of water below the hull in my setup). The fear of whacking a ridge at speed with a 2'x4' chunk of fiberglass glued into the back of my boat is an issue. 

Besides, I have the mill and welder and this really is fun, especially at the ramp and going up river. Fishing stops, swimming stops, kids point and old men gawk. 

The decking will be covered in 20oz carpet and the decks should end up pretty close the level. I have .063 and .080 for the deck and the hatches were .100 or .130 depending on what showed up. I need to order the carpet and move forward once the engine is running 100%.

I'm pretty sure the wife is getting a HD camcorder for her birthday... so we should be able to get some video of this thing posted soon.

Jamie


----------



## orion_134 (Aug 12, 2010)

Do you think installing a say, 6"x 10"x 2-3' tunnel would've helped you at all? Or would it have made it too much of a PITA to set the motor in? Trying to get some ideas so I can do everything at once on mine. You definitely sold me on the console idea, looks like it clears up a lot of room compared to my fiberglass CC in between the benches.
Jesse


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 12, 2010)

Jesse one of the goals on designing this build was a motor that wasn't obstructive. No doubt you've seen the tracker jets with the 18" tall dog house with a seat on top, I wanted the engine low and the whole driveline flat in the hull to get as much thrust as I could out the back vs. aiming down (engine higher, pump lower). If you think about it I do have a tunnel and using the spoon I get the benefit of Mr. Bernoulli's effects to help draw the water up into the pump.

Read some of this on hydrocynamics about the principles, don't even look at the equations...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_dynamics

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernoulli%27s_equation

There's reams of good info out there but sometimes it's hard to weed through the chafe to get at the kernals of knowledge.

Here's some good video on western racing jet boat hull repair and race prep. Pt 6 is where I did the screen capture for my inlet redesign. Pt 7 nozzle design is something Ive been thinking about on and off...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qzjas9NJmzE

I love the console. The handrail is, well handy, for when the kid and I swap positions. Everything on the boat was done as cheeply as possible. The console it there instead of further forward because that's as long as the cables were. In fact the steering had to have a shaft to the floor since the cable was short. That was a design constraint that worked out well. The CG underway is good. The oldest at 14 sits in the front and the 8yo in his seat in front of the console. The oldest can put his feet up at the bow to brace for impact and the little guy has a soft seat right in front of him. Of course I'll eat the console but I tried to avoid any sharp protusions on it, wanted a short windshield but... I keep the rods on the right hand side and travel the port side.

Another great thing about the console is it's a great place to put the camera, phone and wallet and the top is great for the tea jug and the hook pliers.

I ordered the carpet yesterday from boatcarpetcentral, 8.5' x20' for $185 or 170 sqft at just ove $1/ft.

Jamie


----------



## orion_134 (Aug 12, 2010)

The only advantage I can see to the tunnel is that there is no spoon to bash on oyster bars (in my area). I am thinking of using a UHMW polymer on the bottom and I just can't have a spoon there to be compromised. I am fine having a tall doghouse, I was picturing it a little beefed and to dual purpose as a platform for sight-fishing/poling. How tall from the hull bottom is your top of the doghouse? And the aiming down aspect, I can see where you are coming from: thrust is now about 6-12" above the bottom of the boat vs whatever the stock height of the nozzle is. Seems like that would put it about midtransom level...fail. Onto my next idea.
Jesse


----------



## orion_134 (Aug 12, 2010)

On second thought, I see now that the spoon doesn't stick down as far as I thought. Back to plan A. Now I just need to see more shots of that bracket you milled out for the pump flange. The main impeller port, does it have a step inside the hole or is it a clean hole? I think that is the only part that I will have to farm out...
Also, about reverse, is it something that is an add-on part or should I search for a 'doo that already has reverse? If you were to redo it, what engine/pump combo would you recommend? 2-stroke or 4? 
Jesse


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 12, 2010)

Jesse, I just relooked and the spoon is only about 1/4 below the keel strake if that. The pump flange has a step, because the pump has an alignment step made into it and I didn't want that flow restriction from the reverse step.

Egnine recommendation? What ever you can get cheap. Try to avoid salt run power plants, it's hard on these engine. I guess you could go with a 4 stroke with fresh water cooling but it adds a lot of complexity. My engine with the current expansion pipe is @ 19" tall. I have a 15" transom hull, a 20" would hide the engine better. I also wanted a 4" lip around the casting deck when finished so stuff wouldn't roll off when underway.

Jamie


----------



## orion_134 (Aug 12, 2010)

So, it looks as though...hypothetically, if the driveshaft were longer, the intake could've incorporated a smoother transition into the pumpwell and wouldn't have needed the spoon? I know, then you run into the console. Or is it double-purposed to also eliminate the turbulence from the center strake? I wish I was still stationed in Quantico, I would love to see that thing in person.
Jesse


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 12, 2010)

The current intake top is really flat and smooth. It's double walled now, I just laid another sheet inside the tunnel with a smoother transition. There's also a grate out of a Merc Sportjet under there. The original intake worked pretty good on calm water but would injest air on windy days with 2-4" of chop. Now the only limit I've found is what chop I'll pound the hull against. If you look at the leading edge of the spoon from the bottom, it's pointed like a V hull to push the air to the sides and the spoon is about 2" wider than the intake. The goal was for the spoon to force the air aside so even though it was trapped by the bottom strakes it would go the sides of the intake port and the spoon itself would help the undisturbed water follow the spoons curve and up into the intake. Do the test with the spoon and the faucet and it'll explain the water flow better.

one thing though, if I moved the intake any further forward that section of the hull would probably be outof the water at speed. It's a concern I have about adding floatation pods to the stern to support the rear deck extension I have planned. I'm thinking about stepping the pods up an inch or so so they don't change the effect the running hull. The pics of the boat at speed show everything except the spoon and very back of the hull out of the water at 45mph. It's over 52 now and I need new pictures once I get this engine broken in.

Jamie


----------



## orion_134 (Aug 12, 2010)

So now that you have an inner wall that the shaft goes through (the actual water flow), and the seal is on the wall closest to the engine, how do you keep the water from going in between those two bulkheads?
Jesse


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 12, 2010)

I honestly don't care if there's water in there. :shock: 

It's in the spoon as well, just the way the grate mounting worked out. I'm leaking a bit around the welds, wasn't getting very much purge air through the spoolgun's gas lines thanks to mud dobbers. I plan on steelflexing the whole thing this winter after making the pods. I'll do the inside of the engine bay white or light tan, the rest of the interior is desert tan.

Jamie


----------



## orion_134 (Aug 12, 2010)

So the pods will be narrower at the bottom of the boat so that they are essentially out of the water on a plane, but not at rest? Sounds like you're getting it figured out. I'm "this" close to selling my Merc and giving it a whirl...
Jesse


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 12, 2010)

A most excellent evening...

Worked on replacing the timing chain cover gasket on my '68 Ranchero today since coolant decided to pee on the ground at work yesterday... We had storms all day as well. Got it wrapped up in the afternoon and put the new correctly gapped plugs and new resistor boots on and reset the low speed screw to 1 3/4 turns out on the Rotax engine.

After dinner the oldest and I took the little beasty out around 6:30, hit the water as some guy in a nice IO glass boat realised there wasn't any water in this river... Boat fired up and idled clean. Trimmed the nozzle down a bit and popped the boat out of the water clean at around 3500rpm. Engine surged up to 5500 at that throttle setting and ran clean, sounded excellent and actually pretty quiet running low 40's. The kid was sitting all the way forward and without the little guy in the middle or the second battery the boat was nose heavy and a bit skittish, wanted to do the jet boat slide. Trimmed the nozzle all the way up and it was shooting a rooster tail 6-8' up in the air and running 48mph at 6000rpm. I was cheating on the break in schedule of half throttle but not by much. Did a couple big lazy figure 8's and the boats wake at speed is only about 6-8" when we went back through it. Went back down under the bridge did some doughnuts where the front left side of the boat was just about sitting still as the stern was slinging water, then cranked in the throttle and it cavitated a bit in the skid, chopped it and the pump hooked up and away we went back up river. The rains we had today really cleared up the water, 6-8' still seeing the bottom. Stopped at the fishing spot and tried to launch it but the pump cavitated. Checked and we only pulled a couple handfulls of weed out of the river. One really cool thing about this setup is it's so fast and runs so skinny it doesn't suck the weed to the surface. The weeds are usually 3" under water unless they are clumping above the surface and I try to avoid that mess. I can easily reach the grate now too, usually getting wet up to my elbow to clear the mess.

Fished until dusk, then had the kid sit in the middle seat spot and the boat felt much happier, really launched hard and pulled well. No big rooster tails and a flat wake but it felt much faster even though it was only reading 48mph at 6500rpm with around 7/8 throttle. At wide open it bogged down to 6300 so I avoided that. Sadly no pictures this evening since the camera was in the trash can of the boat under 4" of water from the storms when I found it...

Overall, I'm extremely happy with the engine swap and the build is truely showing the thought and effort that has went into it. Only thing I don't like is the trolling motor shaft being cut too short makes the prop cavitate whan the kid leans to the off side out back. I'm going to get a set of air horns for it and some electrical disconnects for the battery. I'm also thinking about some rod storage outboard of the fuel tank and getting the floatation in.

Jamie


----------



## orion_134 (Aug 13, 2010)

On the seadoo thread, I saw someone suggested to use a Yamahama powerplant vs. the seadoo, but I can't really figure out why. What would be different between the two? Is that the one that has the prefabbed metal inlet?
Jesse


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 13, 2010)

Pretty much all the other makes use a lovejoy type coupling with a carrier bearing for the engine end of the driveshaft. Supposed to be more forgiving to driveline misalignments


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 13, 2010)

Rainy dreary day today, thinkered with the hatch pulls, and some sheet metal fitment and took the boat out this evening with both boys. We did put another 5 gallons of mid grade in. Water was nice, little chop and wind. Boat ran better with the thinner fuel, ran most of the way at 3/4 throttle or below, but did a WOT for the last thirty seconds and did an ignition chop. Hitting 6500 at WOT. Checked the plugs and they were grey white showing lean. Opened the high speed screw 1/8 turn. On the way back down I did another WOT for a couple seconds and it was pulling 6700rpm but since it was dark I didn't check the plugs. 

Did just about run over a guy and his kid in a bass buggy at the ramp, no lights will eventually get someone killed.

Might go out again tomorrow but I have to work Sunday.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 16, 2010)

On to todays update. Since the engine has been running great (other than a bit lean) I wanted to move forward with the decking and the rear casting deck extension. First off I must apologize for dunking my good camera in the boats trash can full of water, this is an old Olympus that doesn't do so well.

An old scavenged handrail is the basis for the new deck extension.






After trimming it to size and welding it in I did the same with the lower section. The C channel was saved from way back and I had an extra U bend stashed away.










Perfect fit and according to the oldest kid it's just the right size. I'll add floatation pods to hold the arse end up some and protect the jet.










More to come. I took off next week so I plan on getting this thing much further along.

Jamie


----------



## Zum (Aug 16, 2010)

Looks pretty cool,is it stainless?
With the pods and the overhang,is the jet wash(spray)going to hit them and does that afffect your performance?
I want to see another video when shes close to done cause I don't think there ever done.


----------



## orion_134 (Aug 16, 2010)

What is the distance from the transom to the front of the motor or back of your seat?


----------



## ihavenoideawhattoput (Aug 16, 2010)

you make me want to go take a welding class and rip mine apart and start over.

*NICE* boat.


----------



## orion_134 (Aug 16, 2010)

Ranchero50 said:


>



Does the grate just plug into the recess in the front and bolt in the back?
Jesse


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 16, 2010)

Zum, the pods will be stepped 1" from the bottom to give an air gap to keep the wetted hull area as low as possible (keeps the speed up). They may effect the tight turning radius. Right now I can get water over the rear inside corner if I crank it around hard enough. The metal is aluminum, 1.25" diameter, same as the gunnel without the tabs for the rivets.

Jesse, I'll have to measure the distances. As you can see the console mounts to the rear of the middle bench. The engine sits right where the old back bench was. The electrical box sits ahead of it, then the buckhead and the seat. The intake gatre is bolted front and rear into brackets I made on the mill. I think there's a picture or two of them. I'm thinking about rebuilding the grate with a stainless grill for better flow. I hit about 10% blockage with weeds and it'll cavitate...

Noidea, I think I suggested that on your thread. Learn with the one you built and then build the one with what you want.

I got an email from FEDEX today that my carpet should be here tomorrow, 40lb 8.5x20' in khacki.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 19, 2010)

Floatation pods, day one.

Making these has been a PITA. .100" aluminum sheets bent and fitted to the hull so they sit with a 1" step higher than the transom bottom and will hold the hulls lines on the sides and the pod bottom will stay parallel with the hull bottom while having a flat rear bottom edge took about all day. geet a good weld between the .063" hull and the .100" pod with a spool gun is truely and art that I don't posses. That being said they are together and some 3M 5200 should keep the leakies out.

I'm not sure what I'll do to the rear panel, something between the original 105` angle and maybe a step setup, 2" rise and then kicked back to the rail.

I'm also not sure what the displacement will be, the pods measure 14" x 14" on the bottom and should have a 6" draft, should end up around 1.5 cubic feet.

Enjoy the pics, daylight was fitting, dark was welded. I need another camera...































I wanted to take it out this evening to see how it planed with the pods before welding the caps on but ran out of time.

Jamie


----------



## orion_134 (Aug 19, 2010)

By my calculations, based on 14x14x6 with air weighing 0.08 lb/cubic ft and water weighing 62.4 lb/cubic ft, I come up with about 84.8 additional lbs of buoyancy at the rear. That doesn't account for the chunk/triangle on the outboard sides of the pods, which looks to be about a third of each side's volume. That puts it up to about 113 lbs. Estimating the total height of the pod at 14" gives a total buoyancy of about 197 lbs. After that triangle chunk is all totaled up, you could have about 262 lbs at the rear of the boat in USCG approved floatation (in case it is capsized). Someone else may chime in, I think you have to have enough floatation to be able to keep the boat afloat. So that definitely limits how much foam you need to add. 
Sorry, saw a chance to math-nerd it up and I jumped on it...
Jesse


----------



## orion_134 (Aug 19, 2010)

Crap, forgot to subtract the weight of aluminum added from the additional buoyancy to give a true number. Hard to judge surface area, but you get a good idea. As long as there's more air in there than metal you're adding to the boat


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 19, 2010)

Ok :shock:

Here's some more numbers to play with. The pods are 14"x20" at the top, 14"x14" at the bottom, 12" tall. My 'problem' is if the kid fishes off the right rear side of the boat the troller cavitates like crazy. It doesn't help the the port side is missing it's battery (left it go with the glass boat) and the fuel tank is on the right rear.

That's a lot of lift at 6" of displacement with a 14" length. Currently they are 18" long but I want to trim them back flush with the pump nozzle.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 19, 2010)

Aluminum weight so far has been around 10lbs...

Jamie


----------



## orion_134 (Aug 19, 2010)

More like 412 lbs floatation and additional 187 lbs additional buoyancy. Might be a little off, wasn't writing anything down. Combine that flotation with the foam under that bench and you may not need any extra. Can always test it by crank the wheel hard one day
Jesse


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 19, 2010)

That's a lot of floatation. Funny thing is I can bury the inside rear corner underwater cranking it hard on step now. Usually that's how I come off plane at the ramp, then launch over the wake. I wonder how the pods will affect the steering, hopefully not at all on plane.

As a side note I got my WOLO air horns yesterday and they sound great. Going to mount them on the side of the console once I make a plate to hold them squared up.

Jamie


----------



## orion_134 (Aug 20, 2010)

You may not have to trim them down. Cut the inboard wall from the bottom, crank the jet to one side and angle in the inboard wall to match the angle of the jet. Mark, trim, and weld it to the bottom. Lather, rinse, repeat for the other side.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 20, 2010)

Floatation pods day two...

Slow going, it's 92` in the garage and the aluminum heats up quick. So far I've fitted the right hand end cap after trimming both pods to length. I'm pretty happy with the fit and how it's turning out. I decided to make a final bent cap instead of trimming and fitting the two other pieces to get the correct radius. I think this will turn out nicer.

Some pics.

I chose to keep the rear angle instead of get too fancy. I didn't like the look of the flat pods, feeling they were too deep. I like them being even with the nozzle and it'll make fitting the ride plate easier.











Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 20, 2010)

Day 2 at 4:40pm...

First pod is done, took some pics since I need a break. Aluminum crap is everywhere. Took a while to trim and fit the corner. lots of plastic hammer work to fine tune the corner. Seems to have turned out pretty good.

Enjoy.




















I used an air hose to feel for leaks, had to rewled a bit of the bottm but otherwise no leakers yet.


Back to it...
Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 20, 2010)

Pods day 2 at 9:13pm. Just got back from the water. I have a different boat now. It handles at least as well and runs at least as well as the shorter version. It came off plane smoothly and drifted a good fifty yards after chopping the throttle before it deplaned. Before it slowed violently. I had also opened the high speed jets to one full turn and the plugs are just starting to darken up. I need to know how much larger to go on the main jets and also how far open the high speed screw is effective? I've read three turns. We were seeing 6700rpm tonight.

Pics from once we got the boat outside.















It leaked and we put around 10 gallons in the boat while trying to fish. Coming back down the boat porposed bad with all that water out back but once the bilge pump cleared most of it we were ok again. I'm getting a float setup next. With the big kid up front we were able to shoot a nice rooster tail but the boat ran much better with the nozzle slightly down. We are hitting 54mph now, not sure if it's because the sender was in a different spot or the A/F being richer, or even the pods being back there. They do affect the water flow and they did hold the rear up much better than before. we were ghosting through some shallows and the only thing that rubbed was the bottom of the spoon

Tomorrow evening I hope to hit it again with a sealed hull and see how it does. We got some thumbs up coming down through the channel behind the first island when we blew by some guys in a 10-12' jon anchor fishing the channel (no lights again). I really like that this boat doesn't make much wake.

Jamie


----------



## cavman138 (Aug 21, 2010)

Wow man, I missed this mod somewhere along the way. Those pods look sweet and hitting 54mph in a tin boat is pretty awesome as well. Looks good man. Keep up the good work.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 21, 2010)

Thanks for the comp cav. Didn't get to hit the water this evening, had a Bday party to attend that ran late. I did stop at Wally world this morning and picked up a bilge pump float from Attwood that's actually made in the USA. Speeking of which I noticed the air horns are also made in USA. What's the world coming too?

Tomorrow, clean up the garage (again) and try to get the float installed as well as the disconnect switch (made in CHINA)

Should be interesting.
Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 23, 2010)

Got my battery disconnect in the mail so now it's mounted. It's the cheep Chinese one so I hope it doesn't smoke after a year's use, but for $7.50 including shipping it's hard to beat. Supposed to be good to 100a..
















Also scored a new troller:

https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140443156809&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT

Paid with the card to get it here quicker, might see it Friday thanks to UPS's slow ground shipping.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 23, 2010)

Added a little bling today. These things are rediculously loud. Still need to mount the compressor and wire them. I may or may not paint them tan and plan on getting some decent hose. I used an oval grommet from a parts car and punched two holes in it for the air lines to pass through.











Jamie


----------



## Henry Hefner (Aug 23, 2010)

Ranchero50 said:


> Got my battery disconnect in the mail so now it's mounted. It's the cheep Chinese one so I hope it doesn't smoke after a year's use, but for $7.50 including shipping it's hard to beat. Supposed to be good to 100a..



Looks just like the one I put in the Minnow Bucket a few years back, it hasn't given me any trouble...


----------



## bobberboy (Aug 23, 2010)

The horns are pretty sweet. I guess when you're going 53mph you need that kind of volume to clear the way...


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 24, 2010)

I've had three different boats out on the water at night without light scare the bejesus out of me so far this year. A couple years ago I almost went over a 14' flatbottom in the middle of the channel after dark without lights in my glass boat at 25mph. When it's dark you can't see olive drab on the water unless you are running down a backlit section. There are places where the channel is 15' wide where I run now and you have to be on plane to get through it. I do run a handheld spotlight at night and the horn will help at the blind corners behind the islands...

Jamie


----------



## KRS62 (Aug 24, 2010)

Ranchero50 said:


> Got my battery disconnect in the mail so now it's mounted. It's the cheep Chinese one so I hope it doesn't smoke after a year's use, but for $7.50 including shipping it's hard to beat. Supposed to be good to 100a..
> 
> What is the purpose(s) of battery switches? The on/off ones, not the battery selector ones. I know what it does technically speaking, but why is it needed? To keep battery drain at bay? To enable a safe way to work on the boat's electronics by shutting off power? My boat has them (installed by the previous user) and they are looking pretty beat. I am not sure if I should proactively replace them or not. They are working fine I guess but the knobs have come off. This is the only reason I have considered replacing them.
> 
> KRS


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 24, 2010)

Battery isolation, in my case the Seadoo electronics is draining the battery. Probably the voltage regulator or the Mpem module. I also like that I don't have to unscrew the battery terminals now.

Bit of an update, decided to mount the stern light holders in the fuel tank well under the lid. Welded a 1/8" thick peice of flat stock so the threads have something to grab into. The sheetmetal screws that came with the munts pulled right through so I used 5mm stainless allen bolts.





I also remounted the stern light mount back in the floatation pod and even mounted the bilge pump float switch. Cleaned up the wiring mess back there as well.





And finally two pics of the troller that I'm going to sell since I have the new electric steer one coming.










Going fishing this evening, should be an interesting trip after the rains and overcast skies.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 24, 2010)

Pics from this evening:

Little one wanted to stay home so the oldest and I hit the water around 5:30.





At the ramp the hull only draws about 3" without us in it and we have touched at 5" water depth loaded.





55.2mph, great for slicked back hair and bugs splattered on your teeth.










Four miles away, ran out of water. There's a 3' drop below dam 5. There's an old railroad bridge at the top of the picture.















The way upriver. I need to walk that before I run the boat up through it.





Hope to go back out tomorrow evening. We went through the quarry area and all the way to the islands without touching bottom. I'm really happy with the boat. Did pretty good fishing as well.

Jamie


----------



## orion_134 (Aug 25, 2010)

You making sure the pods don't leak before you seal up the tops?


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 25, 2010)

Yeah, I cheated and applied a layer of silicone to the welds and even drilled some 3/8" drain holes through the old transom. I also installed to support bars to keep the insulation 4" off the bottom. You aren't supposed to have regular floatation within 4" of the hull incase you get a fuel spill and it should keep the stuff from ever getting waterlogged.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 27, 2010)

Got the new trolling motor from the UPS guy this morning around 10am, spent the rest of the day getting the darned thing attached to the boat. Figured I might get lucky and it would bolt into the same place as the old one, NOPE...

After flipping it every which way I finally decided to add some 1.25" tube to the gunnel and make a trolling motor mount 'wing' so I could get four bolts holding the troller to the boat. After the tube was on I added a 1/8" plate on top of the existing plate and drilled the holes for the troller base. The outer ones were a pain, one ended up going through the original gunnel tube and the front one needed another plate welded to the bottom to draw up against. First pic was around 2pm, the others around 4:30






As you see, it sits about 5" forward of the old troller. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the extra shelf.





Notice the bug splatters across the bow... 





Once the photo op was done I popped the floor panel in to cover all the extra holes and reran the power to the troller. Got some supper anf hit the water around 5:45.

At first I wondered why they would give you 18' of control cable or even wireless controls but make you hit the button on the troller head for auto, but after running the boat I realised you don't hit the auto button again. I'm pretty impressed with it. It worked great as a hold in current. Aim the troller upstream and dial the speed down so so we could fish areas that we used to drift by to fast. Get a fish hooked up, speed her up a bit and it held fine at 2-3. In the slackwater areas, dial it down around 1 or 2 and keep the troller aimed parallel with the bank and fish. Maybe hit the turn button once a minute to fine tune it. Once we wanted to move on just roll the speed up to 10 and the boat flew across the water Oddly once you got where you were going the autopilot had trouble when I dialed the speed back down. Usually we ended up sideways or worse. Only real gripe is the dang head of the troller is above my eye level when fishing so it's going to get lopped off at least 12". 55lb Powerdrive V2 with Autopilot, $560 to the door as a refurb with a one year warrentee seems well worth the money since I don't have to do the Captain Morgan while driving and fishing.

So other than two grumpy kids it was a good trip.

Jamie


----------



## Zum (Aug 27, 2010)

Glad you had a good trip and your liking ur TM.
My trolling motors long as well,just to chicken to cut into it.I stand up when fishing but still smack the odd lure up against it.If I'm not quick,can get a nasty backlash.
All that extra wire on mine is just coiled up and wire tied.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 28, 2010)

Yeah, but this is just obscene. The troller is about a foot higher than the console when deployed. It looks rediculous.

I'm not sure what I'll work on today, last one of the vacation so maybe I'll work on the back deck or maybe the trim tabs I want to add.

Heck, maybe I'll just go lounge around all day...

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 28, 2010)

Ok, well so much for the easy life. Decided to stop at the local Big Lots this morning to see if they had any lock hasps for my new garage door down by the shed (the door fell down Wednesday as we were going fishing and I had to put another one up Thursday which is why we didn't go fishing then). Naturally they didn't have any hasps this time but they did have a bunch of returned cans of Rust-oleum's specialty paint in textured plastic, colored sandstone for $2 a can.






I sprayed the hatch lids and liked the anti-glare effect so I used three cans painting the gunnel caps and other interior bits that won't get paint. The paint is pretty tough and even feels good. 





After letting my pointer finger recover I decided to tackle the trolling motor. Yesterday I couldn't see the autopilot LED on the troller's head so thought about 16" less would be nice. 
From this:





To this in about an hour:





How you ask?

First I unplgged the power and then pulled the head off. Pretty simple, four phillips screws removes the top cover and a 3/16 machine screw holds the head to the shaft. Then using some masking tape I wrapped the shaft where I wanted it cut, then dropped down 1/2" and put another wrap of tape as a cut guide. I found out that these Minn Kota shafts are .650" ID so I used a short length of 1/2" copper pipe to protect the wires (the copper shavings show up brightly if you cut into it). Marked the depth of the cut before putting the pipe in so it was deep enough.





A minute or two of hack saw with a fine tooth blade lopped the excess shaft off. Use a hand file and clean up the cut edge.





I then marked the depth of the old mounting screw and marked it on the tape. Then stowed the troller to make sure I remounted the head on aligned with the motor since the head is supposed to point the way.





Then I pin punched the hole positions and before drilling I put the head on to verify the marks aligned with the head screw hole so the screw would go through. After verifying, back on went the copper pipe and while holding it drilled the two 3/16" holes through the shaft. The copper pipe wiggled when the drill bit hit it so I knew I was through. Finally, remove the pipe and clean up the holes before putting the head back on. Verify the head is aligned with the motor and bolt everything down. I shortened the wires and used yellow female 1/4" spade clips to reattach the drive wires. Note the autopilot compass and control board.





Finally reassemble and stow it. Even though shorter the troller stows quick and easily. The extra wire coils away and isn't an issue.





Proof in the pudding, 54" - 16" less shaft makes for a good comfortable fit. Shame you can't find the 40" shaft models very often. 





Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Sep 2, 2010)

Made a trip solo this evening. Had to trim it all the way down but it still went pretty good. I was running into a stiff headwind and the front end was really light feeling. Boat handled a bit skittish so I backed down and took it easy. 6000rpm was 50mph, 5000rpm was 45. Coming back down in mill pond waters I trimmed it up a bit and it hit 60+ and around 6500rpm before I had to pull out of the throttle.

So tomorrow I'm going to weld on some trim tab mounts, 2" x .250 angle with mounting holes for the tabs. I'll heep the angle the same as the transom and just make them longer or shorter to get the correct feel.

Jamie

Oh yeah, a 15" and 11.5" smallies were the best of the evening.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Sep 4, 2010)

Trim tabs, Version 1

Still fighting the porposing demon and decided to play with tabs vs. modifying the pods themselves. It didn't porpose before the pods and new trolling motor install. I'm not sure if it's because of the pod design, the fact that the pods extend the planing hull or even the aerodynamics of the boat acting like a wing.

First a pic from the solo evening trip. I was hitting bugs and it felt like rain coming downriver. I think I killed thousands of gnats. There were twelve stuck to my safety glasses.





Ok, this wasn't some cheap import wing (it would have been a more interesting story) but a section of fan blade from a big *** fan (google it). The lines are cut marks.





I welded two chunks of 2" x .250" angle to the pod and some struts inside to support the load.





Figured this angle wouldn't be too bad...





Results were the hull would not plane, the pump cavitated and blew out and the nose just about went under when it did hook for a couple seconds. Anchored under the Rt 11 bridge and removed them. Took off and with both kids on the front it would still porpose with the 2" angle on the back. We were pushing into head winds going up river and the pump was grabbing air over 45mph. I did about an hours worth of fishing while the kids swam, picked up a couple nice smallies (11-12" guys) and once they were ready to fish the front came through with wind and lots of it... we beached the boat on a sand spit and went exploring hoping it would die down. Nope. Trip down river was into the wind again, had the big one leaning over the front of the hull with the little one in the front seat to keep the nose down. Still cavitating around 40mph in white caps!!!

Hit two patches of calm water and trimmed it up and the boat flew along pretty well. Some more trim and we had a nice rooster tail with the boat slowing to around 45mph. I'm kind of at an impass on this thing. Thinking about making some 4" and maybe 6" flat plates to try for tabs and then extending the pods to match the hull bottom if that doesn't work. Possibly cutting the bottoms out of the pods if that doesn't work, maybe a 2" gap between the hull and pod bottom, maybe more.

Jamie


----------



## Zum (Sep 4, 2010)

To bad you couldn't make them pods moveable(up/down).
Maybe when your motoring there hurting you,just thinking they could be lowered when in real shallow water or running slow?


----------



## Ranchero50 (Sep 5, 2010)

Trim tabs version 2...

Spent the last couple days thinking and researching porposing and how it would relate to my adding pods on the back of the boat. The one thing that keeps coming to the top is references to center of mass (COM) and center of bouyancy (COB). The COM is just that, the COB is the center of the wetted hull. As the engine thrust pushes the hull I can trim the nozzle up causing the COB to move aft. From what I can understand once the COB moves too far aft, away from the COM the COM causes the nose to drop moving the COB further forward. The nozzle trim lifts the hull again cycling the COB back and forth causing the porposing. One of the things that causes porposing with regards to my adding the pods is a rocker in the planing hulls bottom. I'm pretty sure that by starting the pods 1" above the hull bottom and ending up 1.5" above the hull bottom at the pods cap that I created a pretty big rocker in the hull and that this rocker allows the hull to porpose where it didn't before.

Since the 2" trim tab mounts on the back of the pods had no effect I decided to make a combo pod floor plate / trim tab to remove the rocker and perhaps add some hook to keep the nose planted at high speed. The tab will mount to a 1/2 x 3/4" x 12" mounting bar 1.5" behind the front edge (where the holes are) with button head phillips screws so the tab can deflect for adjustment.





I decided to make them 15" long to reuse the other tab mounts as a adjuster bracket.





Just noticed my tags are dead...





7/16" wrench will allow adjustments to tune the hull.





I have the other side to make tomorrow and then water test it in the evening. Should be interesting.

Jamie


----------



## dyeguy1212 (Sep 5, 2010)

Awesome to see someone really putting some thought into their build.. I can't imagine how many "back to the drawing board" moments you must have had so far :lol: 

Keep up the good work!


----------



## CrewCabMax (Sep 6, 2010)

I noticed in one of your pics that it looked like you grounded some wires to your hull. I was always told not to do that? Is there a reason why you did, and why are you NOT suppose to? Not really sure, i just was always told to run the grounds back to the battery or a buss bar. I know this isnt a "normal" build, so i dont know if it makes a difference or not.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Sep 6, 2010)

I did a ground from the engine to the hull more for bonding than anything else. All the electrical circuits have their own ground wires.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Sep 6, 2010)

Trim tabs V2 Day 2.

Spent part of the day getting the right side done. Surprising how quick it went compared to figuring out the first one.










Got finished around 3:30 and it took an hour for the silicone to set up so we were on the water around 5pm. It was windy and choppy. Had my oldest and one of my friends went along. With them on the nose the boat didn't do so well, cavitated a bit and just didn't want to go very well. Did some people moving and the boat ran better. Got up river and had to go reserve fuel...

Did some fishing, caught a very healthy 16" smallie with a 11.5" girth.










Before dusk fell I dropped them off to do some camera action. My friend Scott had his video camera along. Here's some still from my camera.

Trimmed up as high as it would go running around 45mph















Trimmed level, very little wake and just scooting along.





I've decided that I will be getting a good HD camcorder and getting some video to post up.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Sep 14, 2010)

Finally, finally, finally, have video... First time with the camcorder but you get the point.

A quicky at the ramp.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWgiKzuJCKU

Some running video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWlR_tUdKBU

I've been tinkering away, adjusting the floatation pod trim tabs and just having fun with the boat. I am thinking about adding a second fuel tank on the port side since these things go through the fuel pretty fast... 

Enjoy,
Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Sep 16, 2010)

Couple more videos are up, search ranchero50

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ranchero50&aq=f

Raw feeds from the camcorder, of a short three minute walkthru we were playing around with and a 15 minute trip back down river in calm water pacing a great heron, through a shoot, around weed beds, running some geese, dodging goose poop bombs, passing some hunters in a duck boat, almost hitting a beaver and finally back to the ramp under the Rt 11 bridge, most of it around 45-50mph.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Sep 19, 2010)

Been busy, uploaded full HD video of last Monday and Tuesdays trips (9/13-14/10). The higher quality uploads really make even the low def viewing much better. These are all uploaded raw off of the camcorder.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa4QSaMx5-E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV2a5M3rSEw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCg3rqnpwaw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unemubda9UA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efa0_38beyQ

Took the boat out this evening as well, follow along. (low def for now)

Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CL7H7NKeK5A

Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAQFYkxWdF8

Part 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bK0oquEjuBA

We left the house around 4:30pm, hit the water before five. We got a nice days worth of rain Friday so the water was up a bit. I wasn't filming the trip up and just out of curiousity stuck the nose up the riffle to the next level, about a 2' climb over 50' that usually has exposed rocks all the way up but this time they were covered. Figured I'd just bump one and drift back down but once almost all the way up I blipped the throttle and put it on plane and popped over the berm and away we went. Made it another mile or so dodging some nasty stuff, fish walls, riffles and other obvious chutes going up. I was actually laughing as we cut throughthe last bad spot and leaving off the throttle when we hit about half planed out. 

Took almost an hour to fix the hull, then fished a bit. I hooked a nice bass on Nate's rod and he brought it in but once it got to the boat the line came untied. So we watched a 14-16" fish with a 3" firetiger lure hangin out of his mouth scraping the bottom trying to get iot loose for five minutes before we lost sight of him.

Coming back down it was too dark to film and I was getting spooky about the water but it all went well. Sacrificed some tin and a lure making things go better perhaps. We came down a decent drop off at an old railroad tressle (maybe the old bridge structure) and I was sure we were going to take some over the bow but didn't, felt like hill hopping in a car. Finally pulled a sharp left to hit the original chute and we were on the way home, eating bugs and dodging rain drops. I ran the boat wide open and it didn't leak more than normal.

One interesting bit, with the left trim tab missing that side ran about 3" lower vs. the right side. I was surprised to see that much difference. I'm going to UHMW the hull this winter, thinking 3/8" covering so we can run this skinny stuff with ease.

Jamie


----------



## RiverRunner (Oct 12, 2010)

I just read through this thread. Awesome job buddy!


----------



## Arrowhand (Oct 13, 2010)

just spent about a hour reading this and in a word WOW, wish I had the ability to pull this kind of a build off.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Oct 14, 2010)

Thanks guys. You know, I really haven't updated the thread in a while because the boat is working excellent as it is. Had it out twice this week, three folks in one day and it fished comfortably. The cooler air is helping the engine make more power and it's going through the water so fast that it's not picking up leaves or loose weeds which is a big plus as the water gets cooler. Went out with just the oldest son on Monday and we were running mid 50's on mill pond water, boat felt like a hovercraft just skimming along. 

I opened up a bay in my 18x36' shed so the boat is comfortable down there. I want to bring it up to the big garage later and get more done. I'm having second thoughts about sealing the floatation pods since I whacked the rock last month, might do a big hinged cover or just screw the pod caps down.

Still trying to save up for UHMW, maybe tax time if all else fails. The only real downer for this build is I'm only getting an hours run time on a 8 gallon tank of fuel so I may install the second tank on the port side for longer trips. I think it's rated for 45 minutes at WOT per tank.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Dec 4, 2010)

Well, it's official, the boat is put away for the winter. Drained the engine of water and dosed the fuel. The battery has been in my '70 F350 so it'll stay in use.

Otherwise I have lots of stuff to do during the cold months. Currently working on an aluminum bed for my '70 F350 dually. Supposed to do a body swap on a '88 Thunderbird Turbocoupe next month and I have a couple diesel swap projects to make parts for.

It never ends...


----------



## Flat Bottom (Jan 10, 2011)

This is pretty awesome, the idea of the jet jon's is new to me, just recently discovered them, i really like what you have done, I like the flotation pods as well. I have two boats, and old sears 14ft jon, and my real project a 21ft flat bottom mamoth built by semco. I am going to have to use a spool gun quite a bit comming up here soon, i have a 180 miller and just picked up the 100 series spool gun, i have alot of experience working with metals, however not a whole lot when it comes to aluminum. If you have any tips on working with a spool gun pm me, i would appreciate it. I am going to be working with mostly 3/16 in thickness, have to weld in a new chuck of hull in the aft of the beast, you can check it out on my build in my sig. like i said, any advice is greatly appreciated as i have not yet started to practice welding with the spool gun. Thanks


----------



## Ranchero50 (Mar 11, 2011)

Flat bottom, sorry, been away doing a Cummins swap on '70 F350.

Spoolgun is like any wire feeder, just aluminum gives you less notice before it melts through...

Jamie


----------



## SVOMike86 (May 18, 2011)

Well, I guess being bored in Afghanistan pays off. I've read the first page or 2 of your build numerous times, but never the whole thing until now. Wow. Absolutely awesome work. Great job Man.


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 19, 2011)

Thank Mike, for what you guys are doing over there and also commenting on the boat. 

The oldest and I had it out last Monday for the first time this year, river was up four feet so we slow timed it to let the engine and pump loosen up from sitting and made it all the way up to the dam. The boat ran great, dodged a couple obstacles like the filly it is. Fished for an hour or two, only caught one 11' smallie but had a great time. On the way back the wear ring blew apart in the pump, partially blocking the discharge so at 5k we were only doing 20mph. I have the pump torn down and the rebuild kit is here so I'll post up some pics as I rebuild it and replace the wear ring.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (May 21, 2011)

Quick update, spent some time this week getting the pump rebuilt and wear ring replaced. Rebuild was pretty simple, made a custom driver for the seal and bearings. I did end up taking a die grinder to the bronze impellor housing, removed all the casting bumps and sharp edges as well as cleaned up the nozzle assy. I also took the time to make a small ride shoe to keep the water from backwashing over the stern and maybe with the work it'll go faster now. Used the mill to cut the aluminum angle and some cardboard to figure out the form.

New wear ring and driveshaft seals (mine were missing)
















I'm out of silicone or I'd have the pump back on the boat.
Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 20, 2011)

I really love this boat. Been out four times in the last two weeks, averaging about three gallons of fuel a trip. With the rebuilt pump the hull surges to plane out again, planes out around 20mph and just zooms faster from there. Cruise is 6400rpm @48 mph, tops out at 7k @51. Handling is very stable at speed, at 30mph it'll plow the nose forklift style if I need to. At idle it's back to being stable enough the oldest was able to drive us up a chute to retrieve and expensive lure last week.

Saw a bald eagle Friday evening so that was really cool. I was wondering why the local Canadian Geese were up on the cliff side next to the river, then this thing took off over the boat as I was trolling along. Amazing how the air sounds as it goes through their feathers. I have pics and some video I need to upload sometime.

I get lots of compliments on the hull and everyone either wants one or asks when I'll finish mine  Fact is I'm having too much fun fishing it. I did find a pin hole leak on the pump housing so sooner or later I need to pull it down to a bare hull and reweld all the joints with the Tig. Maybe later, there's fishing to be done.

Jamie


----------



## benjineer (Jun 30, 2011)

Just bumping your post to the top for a guy I pointed here. He had what looked like a 1426 with a jet-ski motor. That thing just barely fit between the sides.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 30, 2011)

Thanks Ben, I don't have much to add for it, I love running this boat, had it out last night and twice last week. I am so happy with it, get lots of compliments and more stares.

It's loud, it's fast, and it missing a motor. :wink: 
Kicking the rooster tail up even get's the swimming kids pointing at it. =D> 

Jamie


----------



## flatboat (Jul 2, 2011)

what a great machine!


----------



## JonBoatfever (Jul 6, 2011)

are you gonna paint it?


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 6, 2011)

Flatboat, thanks for the compliment. Lima, eventually. I have tan carpet and a case of the tan Rustoleum textured paint for patio furniture. Honestly I'm having too much fun working the boat now. We went out three times last week, hoping for two trips this week. The water is starting to clear up and top waters are hitting, my favorite time of year.

I need to do something with the ride plate because I'm blowing water all over the back of the boat with the depth finder transducer low enough to read. I need to finish skinning the rear deck, the kid keeps dropping fish through the holes, had one end up under the motor plate and he was a pain to get out. I told the oldest to catch bigger fish. 

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 8, 2011)

Been dealing with the Berkley 6rod holders for two years, read about the golf club tubes vs. PVC so picked up ten of them at Dicks last night for $1.90 each. They are 34" long and 1.25" inside diameter. Follow along.

The old way, lures got tangled, rods got tangled and twice ended up on the pavement. As you can see, the rods blocked both hatches and I put them on this side because before they blocked the fuel tank access.





Used the mill to bore out some recycled angle. Kept the holes towards the lip so I could cut the hull profile on the long edge. Holes ended up being 1.40", the rolled lip on the tube is 1.5" so I think I would have to hole saw them to 1 3/8" and open the hole a bit if I didn't have the mill handy.















Oldest showing off his 'helpful' stance.





I'll bend a peice of sheet metal for a cover and probably put carpet on it. The lip hole is bigger for the carpet to go around the tube.





Finally Nate ready to go out. He likes catching, not so much the fishing part.





Now to do the other side and then the back. Once fit I'll pull the deck up and weld them to the hull and the extra tabs for the cover to screw into.

Jamie


----------



## Dragonman (Jul 9, 2011)

Love the rod storage tubes great idea. Your boy looks ready to go!!


----------



## SVOMike86 (Jul 9, 2011)

Awesome man, I'm planning on doing the same thing for a rod holder. Didn't know you could buy the tubes at Dicks, let alone anywhere. My best friend works at a golf course, so I was just gonna see if he could "find" some in the pro shop...


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 11, 2011)

Been tinkering... I was going to just get a sheet of aluminum bent and trim it to fit but now I think I'm going to recycle my front dack and the other half of the back seat since they have the rounded edge and use them from rod covers plates. That way I can mount some screw eyes on the face and place a couple small plastic lure boxed along the side of the boxes and they won't fly out of the boat. I'll take some pictures once I get further along.

Jamie


----------



## Brine (Jul 11, 2011)

You need to live closer to me.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 11, 2011)

Here's some pictures I took this evening before work (12hr nights) showing the brackets welded in place and the old seat section. Should turn out well.
















Brine, we're having some Georgia weather now, I'd melt if I had to deal with it all summer.
Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 12, 2011)

Ok, half hour of work before going to work, eh? Cut the old rear seat up using my Skill wormgear saw. I love it because it's heavy enough that it doesn't kick or buck and even a nice dull wood blade slices right through the thin aluminum. Just placed the metal on a chuck of consumable plywood and cut away. Started big, then trimmed it to fit. Of course I had to jump on the panel to get the right angle too, precision tweaking. :? 

I'm not sure how I'll integrate the bow cap so I left the side panel long. I'm thinking about making the cap this height so I can create a better extinguisher compartment and an anchor locker up front so I can keep the line and anchor off the casting deck. I was going to use a casting deck hatch for the anchor but I like this idea better. I think I'll just make a 4-5" hole in the top of the cap for the mushroom anchor to sit in, line down.

I like this design, I can still get a good grip on the gunnel cap to control the boat when I'm out of it. The top of the cap is 1.5" below the gunnel and 3.5" wide so I can sit something there without too much worry and the lip will work well to hold a small lure box.

I'll probably just dust them with some cheap tan paint until I'm ready to put the carpet on.











Now to do the other side...
Jamie


----------



## Brine (Jul 12, 2011)

Nice. I may have missed it, but what's the plan for the handle end?


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 12, 2011)

I'm not 100% sure. I have some bimini U brackets that I was going to just use a cheap bungy cord to hold the whole mess down as the reels sit on the middle bench. The rods going into the back deck have their reels resting in about the same spot. Seems too simple.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 13, 2011)

What an awesome evening on the water but first, the rod holders are the poop. I didn't think about it too much until I hopped in the boat and the whole floor was open. First pic is of the boat how it looked when we got back. Lots of open space now.







Second pic shows the simple nylon bungy cord we used to hold the rods. It worked remarkable well, no more bouncing while going down the road. One rod was just sitting on the floor of the boat and held with the bungy and it stayed put too. The cord isn't even tight.





Third pic is of our little friend, the Mayfly. He and she was out in force tonight. I saw some as we got upriver and stopped there to see if we would have a hatch tonight. Full moon, warm water temps and the fish were going nuts. We were using tried and true black jitterbugs and torpedoes and for the first two hours before dark it was amazing. The oldest and I both caught several 12" class smallies and a couple smaller guys too. I had two 12" missiles launch lure and all 2-3' out of the water, fighting like crazy all the way to the boat. Broke one jitterbug, ripped the line eye out of the spoon. Once darkness set in the Mayflies hatched and the water came alive. Constant gulps, splashes and ripples across the surface. The fishing slowed because they were too busy eating the dead Mayflies. The air was heavy with white bugs and even a couple dozen Dobsons were buzzing around.






Now, the next stage is adding some lights. The kid said the hump in the rod covers would be a great place to mount them and I agree so tomorrow we'll pull the covers and make opening for light to show through and mount the lights under the covers so there is no glare.

Truely and incredible evening.
Jamie

PS, I took some video of it and will post them up to Youtube in a bit.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 14, 2011)

Working on the front deck today. Long time coming but it's working out. Will have two lights up front to illuminate the storage underneigth and the casting deck.











Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 18, 2011)

Simple fix to unruly troller wiring...

1/4" pilot.





Step drill to fit a 1" rubber grommet.





Tucked and hidden.





Cardstock template?





Finished hull corners. Took about an hour for each side to fit and then weld. Lots of trimming and fitting.















I'm still up in the air between pool noddles vs. rigid foam. Pool noodles at $1.88 each add up pretty quickly. I'd need 32 to equal one 4'x8'x2" sheet of foam board. I have some 2" thick closed cell insulation I may load test to see how much it holds up before commiting to the pool noodles.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 24, 2011)

Nothing really picture worthy but I adjusted the trailer so I could slide the boat further up about a foot. With the pods on the back it's hard to see the trailer lights... 

I've also been tinkering with the rear deck, relocating the oil tank so I can access the bilge pump from the back opening. The oil tank will be accessable from the gas tank cover.

Hoping to go get some metal tomorrow to finish the deck framing and maybe even cut up some decking. I've been thinking about just welding a good bit of it down. I also need to go to the discount stores to see if I can find some of the interlocking padding for under the carpet.

Other projects are get the air horns hooked up and get the rear rod tubes installed. 

Heck, might even go fishing too :wink: 

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 27, 2011)

Ok, been neglecting the thread again so update time. Been fighting high temps in the shop, hard to weld at 90`+...

Relocated the oil tank. I'm trying to get the rear of the hull accessable through the openings I'll have in the floor and moving the tank from over the pump to behind the tank (about 4") will make it easier to get to the bilge pump and other stuff down there. 





Along the same theme I moved the exhaust from over the pump inlet to the left side pod. Used the lathe to turn down some scrap to make flanges, a chunk of 2.5" stainless and some rubber hose connected the dots. You can see the old port over the pump. I was getting a lot of backsplash from the rubber hose and it was loud. Now the boat sounds similiar to a jetski (imagine that) even though the exhaust port is still out of the water all the time.










Another fix was changing how the pisser line was routed. Seadoo had a T in the pisser because the pisser was also the engine drain. I don't need the pisser, can't see it when running anyways, so I made a T into the main head drain for the block drain. Goal is to keep the water and corresion out of the engine when it sits. 





Finally on the back of the hull I relocated the speedo and transducer to the pod trim tabs to try and reduce the backsplash some more. I plan on making a one peice ride plate that spans across the pods under the pump but I'm not sure how the pump inlet will like that. I was having trouble loading the pump last night, or I should say it didn't load fast and surge the hull out of the water, not sure why. May end up making a load grate...





And another addition was the rear rod storage tubes. They work as good as the front ones, all the reels end up together and now I can take a total of ten rods.





It was hot out so we headed to the river around 6pm. Ran up river and saw a lot of new rocks outof the water so we shut down and walked upriver picking up trash and noticing all the metal scrapes on the boulders. Found a couple that were ankle deep that didn't show anything but a ripple... After the nice cooling walk we snuck further up to the chute and fished back down across the ridges and rocks. Had to hop out once so we didn't broadside a monster. Ended up at dusk at the base of a fishtrap with a small mayfly hatch. We were anchored in 3' of water casting across both sides of the V that were under a foot at places and pulling 10-12" smallmouth out every other cast of so. Pretty good fishing until full dark, then trolled over to the deep water and ran home. Depth finder was only showing 2.8' for most of it. We only saw one other boat come up, an outboard jet that crunched a rock before they gave up.

Three nights of work before we can go out again. I hope the grass starts to grow so it backs the water up at least a foot...

Jamie


----------



## orion_134 (Jul 29, 2011)

Why didn't you make the pods level with the bottom of the boat?


----------



## fender66 (Jul 29, 2011)

This is an awesome build. Wish I had welding skills....and the tools to do it. :mrgreen:


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 29, 2011)

orion_134 said:


> Why didn't you make the pods level with the bottom of the boat?



I think I went into it a few pages back but the gist was to keep the wetted hull to a minimum by using a step to induce air similiar to what hydro racers do. Less wetted hull equals more speed. I'm not sure exactly where it went wrong, either weight balance or hydrodynamics of the pods sucked the rear down to induce the porposing. 

It's all worked out in the end, the tabs work well. I'm thinking of a way to make them active to help pop the hull out of the water either using springs or a handle under the seat. I've been working on this boat for three years and learning a lot in the process.

Fender, no skills, only stubborn tinkering 

As a quick update, the boat is on jackstands while I reinvent my bunk setup.
Jamie


----------



## benjineer (Jul 29, 2011)

Love the rod tubes. Might have to try that. I gotta get mine off the floor.


----------



## Flatbotm (Jul 29, 2011)

Hey Jaime,
I picked up the golf club tubes today for .47cents each. Unfortunately I missed the part about the holes needing to be 1.40. I'm going to try 1 and 3/8 and using the die grinder to round it the extra bit. Or I thought of punching the holes to 1.5 and using some rubber edge trim to snug them up. I have a tool for my plasma for cutting circles but I'm not sure if I can go that small. Any other ideas?
Thanks
Selby


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 29, 2011)

Flatbotm said:


> Hey Jaime,
> I picked up the golf club tubes today for .47cents each. Unfortunately I missed the part about the holes needing to be 1.40. I'm going to try 1 and 3/8 and using the die grinder to round it the extra bit. Or I thought of punching the holes to 1.5 and using some rubber edge trim to snug them up. I have a tool for my plasma for cutting circles but I'm not sure if I can go that small. Any other ideas?
> Thanks
> Selby



Selby, go big and silicone them. That's the last step once my carpet is put on the end caps. $.47 is a pretty good deal, I like them and in practice if I run the rod in with the top against the wall the line guides don't catch.

Jamie


----------



## Flatbotm (Jul 29, 2011)

Thanks Jaime. I'm going to try the 1 and 3/8 hole saw on a test piece first because I would rather them fit tight. My hitachi electric die grinder might woop those holes into shape quick.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 1, 2011)

Been busy, a bit of a trailer retro and some more metal in the boat. First off, pulled the hull off the trailer last week because one of the bunks died a rotten death. Ended up just bolting down a pair or bare pine 2x4's with a layer of UHMW strips for the hull to slide on and added some strips on the center so the strake wouldn't rub on the catwalk while unloading. 

Other oddball new is I mounted my plastic barrell fenders. Used just one bolt per mounting arm so they can move a bit if needed. So far they look funny but work well.















And finally I fitted the metal to put the rear deck on. Matt is pretty happy with it. I'm going to have one access door for the pod with the exhaust and an access door behind the seat.















Took the old girl out this evening anf it's a whole different boat. Not sure why but the pump isn't loading like it should. I'm still running 6800rpm but it doesn't feel loaded, wants to cavitate too easily. I'm thinking it's something I did when I moved the sonar transducers back on the trim tab, changed the water flow or pressure at the pump inlet. I think I'm going to lower the rear edge of my grate 1/2" or so with washer and see how it does tomorrow. The boat performed well, shut it off before the nasties and just idled up through them no drama. Floated back over the boulderfields and passed over a pile that was around 6" deep without touching. Cuaght a few bass, relaxed for two hours and called it a night.

We need rain...
Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 10, 2011)

Haven't done anything with the boat except put gas in it and get it wet, twice a week. Life is good 

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 14, 2011)

My LED lights showed up so I've been tinkering with some mounting bars. I was going to make them out of aluminum but I don't have the right size so I cut up some white plastic wood which is giving me a fit because a 12" chunk of 1"x.75" is too flimsy in a 6" vise. The LED's I got are from eBay, 24 lamps per strip, I had 14 strips shipped from China for $20. I test fit the lamps in one of the test mounts and they really throw some light. I can read writing on the wall 20' away and the bugs aren't swarming around the green bulbs.

I also have the bilge blower waiting and the switch showed up for it as well. 

I'll try to get some pictures up tomorrow, want to fish it Monday evening.

Jamie


----------



## mmf (Aug 14, 2011)

Man, I really like the 55 gallon barrel fenders, I gotta make me some like that! I think I will use a black barrel instead of the blue though. Are yours mounted high enough to clear the tire on a big bump? Thanks for showing these!......... 8)


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 14, 2011)

Thank you sir, I've had the fenders for a year or so but just didn't want to put them on since they were so 'blue' and I couldn't find black or even a white barrel to cut up. They clear by about 2", more than I've ever seen the springs compress. I wanted to keep them low profile so the boat can float over them.

Jamie.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 15, 2011)

Ok, got the lamp holders / mounts made today. I wanted to make them out of aluminum but didn't have any 1/2"x1" stock laying around so I made them out of plastic trim wood for house exteriors, a poor substitute. I planned on putting six on the front deck, five on the back an the rest under the covers and by the console. I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.




































Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 15, 2011)

Ok, after an evening on the water I now know that these things are too dang bright as they are mounted now. They glare just having the tips of the bulbs visible so I'm thinking about putting them up in the covers. They also attracted some bugs and made us look like ghouls going down river. 


























Jamie


----------



## Anonymous (Aug 16, 2011)

Those lights are AWESOME.

Any thoughts on maybe selling me a few?!


----------



## Wayfaraway (Aug 20, 2011)

Wow, I am new to the tin boats site, and new to owning one. This is absolutely AWE inspiring! Keep up the great work! You are truly the Yoda of Machining!


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 20, 2011)

Thanks Wayfaraway, I'm not a machinist, just know some machining.

Quick update, here's some videos of the mill making the light fixtures. Figured I never video'd it in action. Seems like slow motion watching it, seems to go quick when it's doing work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWfjH5R1VOs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKv3YXVW5v8

Jamie


----------



## fender66 (Aug 20, 2011)

Ranchero50 said:


> Thanks Wayfaraway, I'm not a machinist, just know some machining.
> 
> Quick update, here's some videos of the mill making the light fixtures. Figured I never video'd it in action. Seems like slow motion watching it, seems to go quick when it's doing work.
> 
> ...



Now that's some bad tools to have at your fingertips. Awesome!


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 22, 2011)

Thanks, it's really cool when it works but sometimes since it only does what I tell it, really bad things happen. 

Today's quick update is I put a pair of switches for the front LEDs under the trolling motor and they worked out wonderful. I can turn on one side at a time so it doesn't glare at me. Still going to recess the lights up in the covers, maybe tomorrow.

Nice sunset with fall action topwaters.











Jamie


----------



## orion_134 (Aug 23, 2011)

Jackets? You lucky SOB's...


----------



## Dybber (Aug 23, 2011)

Awesome is the only word that comes to mind. You did a great job on that!

I'm' trying to find LEDs similar to that for the interior of my tin. Where did you find those/brand etc? I assume they connect directly to your battery...

Thanks for the help!


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 23, 2011)

orion, water temp 78`, air temp around 72` or so, the longsleeves are kept on the boat and come in handy. 

Dybber, I just searched 'green LED' on eBay organized by 'lowest price with shipping' and these came up. Took about three weeks for them to show up from China but that's an expense I can deal with for the price of 14 LED's for $20.

Jamie


----------



## lucescoflathead (Aug 23, 2011)

I used the green Blue Water LEDs on my boat. They're really bright. i odrered the Deck Blaster kit. Great people to deal with. Todd


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 29, 2011)

Slow day, spent some time getting my air horns wired up, had to add a relay in the electrical box which is getting cramped. I also tinkered with the bilge blower, trying to find the best place that it'll fit.

Finally I made an aluminum collar for under the steering wheel because the wheel flops a bit on the shaft. Now it's nice and tight. Heading out in a bit to get it wet and maybe torment some fishes too.

Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 31, 2011)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzQCLzO2uZk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K71jhrikpoE


----------



## Ranchero50 (Sep 9, 2011)

Seems we're in for a bit of flooding so I've been tinkering with the front deck so I can get finished welding and maybe get the foam padding down and some carpet. I decided to shorten the trolling motor mount because the original was for the longer base and now it's in the way and I barked my shin on it a couple weeks ago. Going to trim it back, install a section of 1.25" pipe for a rounded edge, extend the rod holder cover and make a decent switch panel for underneigth. I also want to rewire the troller to get one cable size from the battery to the troller base. I have a quick connect on the deck now and don't like it. I'll disconnect it and protect it at the battery.

Jamie


----------



## BOB350RX (Sep 9, 2011)

although you claim to not be a machinist, got guys at the shop that cant program and they have been running knee mills like yours for awhile, not bridge ports but haas, any how you are on hell of a fabricator, give yourself some credit =D> =D> =D>


----------



## Ranchero50 (Sep 12, 2011)

Hey Bob, thanks for the compliment. I consider myself a good industrial mechanic but know so little of the huge machinist trade I don't call myself a machinist. :? 

Here's the pics of the new troller mount. I finally felt awake enough to work on it last night. Even plied a few layers of bondo to smooth the welds out and I'm happy with it. Of course I forgot the make the covers and weld on the mounting tabs before painting it. #-o 










I have a chunk of 1" angle to weld inside the vertical tube, then I'll mount the light switches under there and use it to hide the troller wiring. I also have some left over seat metal to extend the rod holders. On the front cap I'm going to bend it vertical where it tucks under the troller base. I want to carpet the cap and maybe the switch panel. We'll see how much I have left over.





This winter I plan on strippin gthe boat and painting it from the side strake up in tane. I'll also finish weld under the troller base. At least now with the rounded smooth edges I should be able to keep my skin on my legs...

Jamie


----------



## fender66 (Sep 12, 2011)

WOW...that looks really impressive! You need to stop this cause I just keep getting more jealous of your skills and tools! :mrgreen:


----------



## Ranchero50 (Sep 12, 2011)

Here's the covers, just some basic cardstock templates to check the fit, tranfer to aluminum and cut them out. Did the switch and foot pedal holes with a unibit. Figured I'd paint them for now, may end up with carpet on but I'm not too sure about the switch panel.





Not the greatest welds for the bracket but it's working out. The end cap will get carpet, then the carpet covered rod cover will but up against it.





I wasnt sure what to do with the power wires for the trolling motor and ended up juet ran them next to the lighting to the center of the hull. I used a generic grommet for the cable, just fed the cable through and then fit it over the lip of the panel.





I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with the front lip of the deck. the anchor doesn't fit anywhere very well and I'm thinking about putting a false floor up there so it'll look more 'finished'. I'm also thinking about changing out the little bulb lights for the LED's under the front cover, just not sure how I'll switch them on and off.





Now to extend the rod holder and fix the front deck.
Jamie


----------



## PSG-1 (Sep 15, 2011)

That's pretty impressive!! This is the first one I have seen where someone actually fabricated their own impeller duct (scoop) I bet that was a PITA!

Most people just hack the glass hull out of the ski and splice it into the boat (which, IMO, is a substandard design) When I built mine, I used a pump from a Yamaha XL1200. 
I think the 1200 and the XL700 are the only pumps which use a bolt in aluminum scoop. All the other ones are part of the fiberglass hull, with threaded inserts on the back end, where the impeller vane/wear ring bolt up to it.

Pretty impressive throttle cable actuator, too! For mine, I took an easier route, and used a simple lever with a pivot point, and attached the cable directly to that, using a ball end fitting for the cable so it could pivot within a notch cut out in the lever. 


Anyhow, my boat started out as a 1997 DuraCraft 1648SV which someone nearly killed by painting it with copper paint and leaving it in salt water. I repaired the damage, a lot of it being on the center V of the hull, and then gave it a new lease on life by turning it into a jetboat. The first time with a 1998 Tigershark 1000 cc engine.

And this past summer, I put a Yamaha MR-1 engine in it....it's 160+ HP at 10K RPM's, as well as being a 4 stroke. So far, I'm loving the new engine. MUCH more power than the old TS1000.

My original inspiration for the idea came from the fact that I owned a Sea Doo Speedster jetboat (it had twin engines, just like the one you used in your boat, the 717 Rotax) It was a cool little boat, but it couldn't go in really shallow water, and that's what I wanted. And like the Sea Doo Speedster, my boat also incorporates the use of a 'stomp grate' on the pump intake, for clearing weeds or other debris.


Again, nice work, and I'm sure you will really enjoy being on the water with your project boat. I know I have enjoyed mine for the past 6 years. I've had more fun with this boat that any other boat I've owned.[youtube]ALUMA JET STUNT VIDEO[/youtube]


----------



## Ranchero50 (Sep 16, 2011)

Good looking boat, I enjoyed the videos.

Can't wait to get back on the water once the water lowers enough and clears up. On a side note I got some side plates bent for the cockpit walls and they even fit once I was done with them.


----------



## PSG-1 (Sep 16, 2011)

Yeah, I'm looking forward to fishing season this year, especially with the new 4 stroke. Quieter, no smoking at idle, no fouling of plugs when idling for long periods, it will be perfect for trolling at the jetties for trout.

Still doing some final mods myself (seems like with a project boat, we ALWAYS find something else to do, or another improvement to make!) I'm getting rid of that single swivel seat at the console, and putting in a fixed track wide enough for 2 seat to go side by side.

I also have a T-top that goes on this boat, right now the top part is 3 ft wide by 4 ft long, I'm going to increase it to a 4 ft by 5 ft, the 4 ft will be as wide as the bottom of the boat, and 5 ft will give enough rear overhang to go all the way back to the cowling. The top has clips where it can be unbolted from the frame, so, it's not a big issue to take it off and fabricate a larger one. I might even get some of those button snaps, and have the upholstery shop make some clear plastic curtain, then I could put a little space heater in there and stay toasty in the winter!

And at some point, I'd like to put in a set of prow lights (also called 'docking lights') to give me some illumination for running at night. But other than that, I'm really happy with the overall design of my boat, I've pretty much customized it for my specific purposes.

It would be cool to get into actually building boats like this....maybe even being like Orange County Choppers (hence, my youtube videos called "American Jetboat") but I doubt engine manufacturers are going to warranty engines that are used for applications not approved by them! And people aren't going to buy a boat without a warranty. So, while my friend and I had fun making our little series inspired by OCC, I doubt we'll be going into business building these anytime soon, much less being on TV doing it. But then again, I have been on TV before, when I took Larry The Cable Guy oyster harvesting (now THAT was funny!) So, I guess anything is possible!

We're not giving up on project boats, though. Next time, we're going to build one, using one of the Sea Doo 4 Tec Intercooled Supercharged 215 HP engines. That ought to be a fast boat. And after that, I guess the next logical step would be a true 'jet' boat, driven by twin turbines. But I digress.

The only factory built johnboat I've ever seen similar to mine or yours is made by Tracker, and it has a 175 HP Mercury jet drive. BUT, if you notice, they have their engine mounted vertically, not horizontally, like ours. As a result, they have a ridiculous looking cowling in the rear center of the boat that sticks up like 3 feet....LOL I prefer the flat deck look that we have with our custom boats.

I guess the old saying is true....if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself!!


----------



## Ride_Klein (Sep 23, 2011)

Ranchero-

Thanks for your response in PSG's Alumajet thread. Great build here with lots of good information. 

You mentioned you need 30" - 2 feet to get up before adding the tabs, but needed 20" before the tabs? Did I read this incorrectly, that with the tabs you need a little more water to get up on step?


----------



## Ranchero50 (Sep 24, 2011)

It's all relative. The bottom of my river isn't flat, it has boulders every couple feet so I like to have an extra foot under the hull before launching. Pre tabs and pods the boat launch would be be described as vision distorting. The rear would dig in and shoot the hull out of the water at around a 30` angle and cavitate the pump. Shutting down was like running into a gravel bar, the boat just slowed hard and sank in the rear. With the pods and tabs it launches flatter and comes off plane smooth and flat. The bad is I don't decellerate like I did before but I don't settle as much either.

My tabs are adjustable with bolts now and I'm either going to make them automatic via springs or manually adjustable from the console so I can tune them underweigh. The best part of this boat is I can do what I want. The goal is flat launch and stop with tabs flat and then run on the ride plate with the tabs up for speed and performance.

Check out my goofing off video, that was with the tabs adjusted up and the boat dug in a bit more than the earlier videos. Gives a pretty good show of goofing off but if I launch straight and smooth on the throttle it doesn't dig in nearly as much, just goes.

Jamie


----------



## PSG-1 (Sep 24, 2011)

You could probably use a Teleflex push-pull cable if you wanted the trim tabs adjustable. Then a simple lever and pivot mechanism to operate it, possibly even rigged to a foot pedal.

Thought about doing this on my boat, too, as it did want to porpoise a little bit at WOT. I corrected that by removing my ride plate, and giving it a slight downward kick on the last inch or so, by using my metal brake and making a very slight bend. That eliminated the porpoising, but again, I'd like to have it adjustable, so, I may change the design again at some point, and have a push-pull cable like I mentioned.


----------



## Cartman (Dec 20, 2011)

As I am fairly new to the site, I have been cruising the mod section getting ideas when I came across your build. While there are many, many great builds, so far the fabrication level on this one is amazing. Awesome work. Will be checking back for any updates.


----------



## the hammer (Dec 27, 2011)

Great thread!


----------



## Ranchero50 (Mar 5, 2012)

Thanks for the compliments fellas. The boat is still snug and waiting for warmer weather. I did open up the shed and made sure nothing was living in it. I even sniffed the seats since the smell of marine vinyl brings back memories for me. 

Jamie


----------



## Ride_Klein (Mar 6, 2012)

Ranchero50 said:


> Thanks for the compliments fellas. The boat is still snug and waiting for warmer weather. I did open up the shed and made sure nothing was living in it. I even sniffed the seats since the smell of marine vinyl brings back memories for me.
> 
> Jamie



Soon the warm weather will return. Was 80 here in North Texas yesterday. I'll send some up your way.

RK


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 22, 2012)

Finally dug the boat out since the weather has conspired to make me perspire and the kids been bugging me to get it out.

Spent yesterday afternoon getting it water ready, washing the funk out and putting the exhaust back together. Once done the boat wouldn't run for long. Suspecting bad gas we drained the tank and took it to the river with a fresh full tank figuring it would eventually smooth out.

Didn't work out.

Today I pulled the carbs off and checked them out, put them back on and while it was barely running ran around back and checked the exhaust flow. No exhaust flow, some dumbass hooked the muffler up to the old hull exhaust port that's blocked off...

Runs much better with an open exhaust...
Jamie

PS, we are off to get it wet, us too.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 14, 2012)

Hey folks, no real updates, boat keeps tooling along nicely. We've gotten pretty good at relaxing with it, horsing around on the trip up river and answering questions about it.

We did suck up a bird, fish or something the other week in the dark. Felt the thump and the pump cavitated pretty bad. Idled back to the dock and what ever it was fell out by the time I got it on the trailer.

I need to post up another video or maybe take the boat to some new water but it's just too nice to be on the water fifteen minutes from the house.

Jamie =D>


----------



## Brine (Aug 15, 2012)

Good to see you're putting it to good use.

How's the fishing?


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 15, 2012)

Slow right now. The river is up a foot or so and there's tons of green grass trash floating. The bass aren't where they were when the river was lower and there's more prop guys out now. We did manage to catch an 8" channel cat two weeks ago. Smallest one I've ever seen and it took him 25 minutes to eat the liver off a #4 treble and hook himself.

Other than hooking the exhaust up wrong I haven't worked on the boat this year, just gassed and gone. I keep trying to talk the kid into trying the net a duck on the way up river. He's almost been pooped on a couple times when they rise in front of the boat. Fun times. :wink:


----------



## Gramps50 (Aug 15, 2012)

Nice looking build from the video you would never guess that it was home built. From the 2 threads you and PSG-1 both have great fabrication skill when it comes to the conversions.

What's the advantage of using a jet ski motor as opposed to just using a jet outboard?


----------



## Gators5220 (Nov 20, 2012)

Man that thing is crazy, words don't do it justice, nice build... =D> =D> =D>


----------



## PSG-1 (Nov 20, 2012)

Gramps50 said:


> Nice looking build from the video you would never guess that it was home built. From the 2 threads you and PSG-1 both have great fabrication skill when it comes to the conversions.
> 
> What's the advantage of using a jet ski motor as opposed to just using a jet outboard?





Sorry for the extremely late reply, just noticed that someone else had posted in this thread.

As for your question..... here's some advantages and disadvantages to each one:



With an OB jet, you still have the weight of an engine hanging off the transom, with an IB jet, the weight is slightly forward, making the boat less stern-heavy. 




Also, provided that the engine compartment and exhaust system is properly designed, an IB jet is always going to be much quieter than an OB jet. All the OB jets I've heard were as loud, or louder than, a jet ski.




With an OB jet, the water is drawn up vertically, and then turned 90 degrees through the exit nozzle. As anyone who understands the dynamics of water flow, etc knows, anytime you make a 90 degree angle, you lose some efficiency and overall pressure. 

With the IB jet, the water is drawn through a tunnel, at a very slight angle, and exits straight through, it doesn't make any turns, therefore, it is a more efficient means of transferring power.


An OB jet's intake grate still protrudes slightly below the edge of the transom, where the IB jet is flush with the hull.


On the other hand, an advantage of the OB jet, is that it can be trimmed out of the water, which is a good thing if you operate in salt, because with the IB, the pump is constantly sitting in salt water. Also, the vertical design of the OB allows all water in the cooling passages to drain out when not in use. 

With an IB jet, the horizontal configuration of the engine allows water to stand in those passages, and in the water box (muffler) which means if you're running in saltwater, you either have to haul out every day, or you need a specialized drive-on dock known as a 'sport port' where you can get the pump out of the water, to flush it. Or, you can flush it while it's sitting in the water, as long as you let it idle, and don't rev it. In this manner, garden hose pressure exceeds pump pressure, so, only fresh water is flowing to the engine. But I don't like this method, as you can't "blow out" the water by revving it like you can when it's out of the water.



And finally, with the OB jet, you're still dealing with a conventional steering system, which is 3 turns lock-to-lock, unless there's some specialized system I'm not aware of. 

With the IB jet, you can buy a helm that's 270 degrees lock-to-lock, which is what my boat uses, or, for even sharper response, they also make a 135 degree helm. With steering that quick, you can spin the boat 180 degrees in its own length at 30 MPH. I just don't see an OB jet with a 3 turn lock-to-lock teleflex helm having that type of steering response.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jan 22, 2013)

Thanks guys, I think PSG covered it pretty well. For me, it was all about cost, compromise and desire. I couldn't afford an outboard setup, had a 1448 and a bunch of parts and the desire to make something cool with the tools I own.

So here we are, several years later with a simple boat that does exactly what it's supposed to. It was built for reliability and enjoyment. I still haven't finished it yet, carpet is still rolled up hanging from the shed ceiling. Again, it's tucked away waiting for warmer weather.


----------



## New River Rat (May 12, 2013)

Jamie, I followed this build over on RS.com and have kept up with you here. I am very impressed (and envious) of what you have done. Great work!!!


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 28, 2013)

She lives again. Went out last night for a short test and tune with a fresh tank of gas and no fishing gear. We had a blast, truly acted like a big jet ski. Doughnuts, spins, wake jumping and flat out hauling butt.

Tonight we took it out again for some top water fishing and had a great time. Last years 11" small mouth class are over 12" this year and very aggressive. None were on beds yet but they aren't far off.

No pics or video, just use your imagination.

Jamie


----------



## PSG-1 (Jun 28, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=320547#p320547 said:


> Ranchero50 » 33 minutes ago[/url]"]She lives again. Went out last night for a short test and tune with a fresh tank of gas and no fishing gear. We had a blast, truly acted like a big jet ski. Doughnuts, spins, wake jumping and flat out hauling butt.
> 
> Tonight we took it out again for some top water fishing and had a great time. Last years 11" small mouth class are over 12" this year and very aggressive. None were on beds yet but they aren't far off.
> 
> ...



Glad to hear it's still running strong. You put a lot of time and effort into your boat project, and did an outstanding job!


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 5, 2013)

Here's my current trailer setup. My river is very shallow at the ramp during late summer so I set the trailer up to get the boat safely wet and dry. 

First time I pulled the boat out I went off the end of the ramp and ended up ripping the axle out from under it. I ended up making a wider axle and flipping the axle from under the leafs to over them. I also welded on a set of 'skis' so when I back off the end the trailer will ride down and up the 'skis' without damaging anything. 

The fenders are cut from the bottom of a 55 gallon poly drum. The boat slides across them and they act as side guides if needed.

My bunks are simply 1/2" x 4" x 24" chunks of cutting board screwed unto pine 2x4's. My flotation pods aren't supported but the original transom is. I kept the original back roller in place and use it to guide the boat up the centerline of the trailer. The mid roller is gone. I replaced with with a 3/4" x 1" 8" piece of UHMW that acts as a foot stop for my 1/4" x 18" x 6' catwalk so I don't slip off the end while pulling the boat on the trailer by hand. I still have the front and bow rollers and can pull this 600lb hull onto the trailer easily. The big catwalk is just held on with the original U bold that holds the tongue to the trailer frame and where the rear UHMW screws to the cross brace. The side of my hull is 18" off the road like this.
































To splash the trailer I just back off the end of the ramp and the momentum carries the boat away from the trailer. If I'm solo I'll put the bow rope around the winch stand and pull it up on shore when I pull the trailer back out. To get it out I just back until the back of the bunk is wet, then push the boat off and walk out on the trailer. Let the current carry it down stream over the bunks and while using the rear UHWM as a foot rest pull the hull up on the bunks. I'll use the U bolt and front roller as foot rests to pull the boat further unto the trailer. I can almost do it one handed.

If you want I'll try to get some better pictures this evening when we get it wet.
Jamie


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 13, 2013)

Finally got off my duff and bought a cover for the boat. Picked up this fellow for $70, it's supposed to be 600 denier but it feel more like 300d. I fit like a shower cap so I invested in $20 worth of 1.5" pvc. I tuend the 'T' fittings in the lathe so the pipe snuggly slips through them. The uprights just slip over the seat posts and I cut another 'T' fitting so it'll sit on the grab rail. I added the angled bar to the trolling motor to give that section a of the cover a peak. It sheds water easily and isn't affected by the wind very much. The boat will be in the shed on the day's I work but sits in the yard when I'm off 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/390610535782?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649











Currently I've washed the hull and plan on painting it once the wet dries. I also want to do some bondo work to the rear and prep that for paint. I have glue for the carpet so maybe next week the kid and I will get to fit that it.


----------



## PSG-1 (Jul 14, 2013)

Looking good! I have a cover for my boat, but seldom use it, although I should. Not a problem if I park it in the driveway, but in the backyard, I have cedar trees, and they tend to make a horrible mess in the boat. But then again, the boat rarely sits idle for more than a month, so, no need to keep it covered. 

Good idea on using the PVC frame for your cover, as the one drawback of a cover is that it tends to hold water to the point that you can't even lift it off the boat because there's so much water in it. The PVC framework will let the water run right off. On that note, I think I'll start using some PVC cross members, rigged in an arch, to keep my boat cover from becoming a swimming pool.

On the note of trailers, I'm about to do a trailer swap for my boat, gonna pick up an aluminum frame trailer tomorrow morning and modify it for my boat. Needs to be 20" narrower, and several feet shorter, and only 1 axle instead of 2. But hey, it's in great shape, and the price is right at just 300 dollars.

Beats the heck out of 1600 dollars for a brand new aluminum trailer for a 16 ft johnboat. Right now, I'm using a galvanized trailer, it's not junkyard material yet, but it has some rusting issues. Still in good enough shape for a re-work, so, I'm trading it out to my buddy that's selling me the aluminum trailer. He re-works trailers and sells them to make a little money, and he ran across this aluminum frame trailer, which turned into a headache for him, due to trying to re-work it to its existing configuration. 

But for my purposes, it's going to work just fine. Once the aluminum trailer is done, it'll be the last one I'll need for that boat.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 19, 2013)

Made a solo trip last night as the kid was still at my buddies farm. Without his 180lb self up front the boat really feels like it's floating a lot more at speed and isn't quite as stable when goofing off. Had a great time, went swimming and had a blackhawk fly over at 1.5x tree height following the river.

I've been working on the padding for the carpet. Trying to find a glue that'll work well with the foam floor mats and the carpet. Kind of a PITA but it feels nice when I walk on them and is very quiet.


----------



## RiverBottomOutdoors (Jul 19, 2013)

Slipping the PVC over the seat pedestals......genius! Why the hell didn't I think of that????


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 19, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=322924#p322924 said:


> RiverBottomOutdoors » Today, 09:44[/url]"]Slipping the PVC over the seat pedestals......genius! Why the hell didn't I think of that????



Yep, sadly it took 2 trips to Lowe's and a trip to Home Depot looking for fittings before I simplified my A frame design to a 'T' post design. The posts are only 33" and I'm around 5' between posts so the whole contraption is pretty stiff and lifts off easily. I doubt I'll ever glue it together as it doesn't move around with the tight slip fits.


----------



## PSG-1 (Jul 19, 2013)

I've found that just about ANY project requires a minimum of 2 trips to Home Depot. :LOL2:


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 8, 2013)

Been spending the day tinkering with finishing the front deck and figuring out how I'm going to get my foam insulation under the front deck framework and then hold it there. Seems a couple cans of great stuff in a garbage bag and I could be done but that seems too simple...

I checked the shipping date on my roll of carpet and it's from 2010. Yep, might have been a bit premature in ordering it way back then.

I'll take some pics later, the deck looks the same except I should lose anymore fish under the floor.


----------



## catmansteve (Aug 8, 2013)

The regular Great Stuf will soak up water eventually, which is a pita to deal with down the road (ask me how much fun it was to get the waterlogged foam out of my Tracker.) However, they do make a minimal expansion Great Stuf for insulating door and window jambs, I think it may be closed cell foam, so that might work


----------



## PSG-1 (Aug 9, 2013)

I agree with catman steve on this. Great Stuff is not so great, it is a water magnet. I had a lot of fun digging it out of my jetboat when I re-did it with the 4 stroke engine, as it was waterlogged, and stunk worse than a paper mill (anaerobic bacteria in the bilge) It also caused some corrosion to my fuel tanks, nothing to the point of leaking, but I did TIG weld some of the really bad oxidized areas on the tanks, just to be safe.

It MIGHT work if you blew it into some really heavy mil plastic bags, but if the bag gets one hole in it, the foam is going to soak up water like a sponge. They can advertise it as closed cell all they want to, but it's not the same thing.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 9, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=325399#p325399 said:


> PSG-1 » Today, 09:11[/url]"]I agree with catman steve on this. Great Stuff is not so great, it is a water magnet. I had a lot of fun digging it out of my jetboat when I re-did it with the 4 stroke engine, as it was waterlogged, and stunk worse than a paper mill (anaerobic bacteria in the bilge) It also caused some corrosion to my fuel tanks, nothing to the point of leaking, but I did TIG weld some of the really bad oxidized areas on the tanks, just to be safe.
> 
> It MIGHT work if you blew it into some really heavy mil plastic bags, but if the bag gets one hole in it, the foam is going to soak up water like a sponge. They can advertise it as closed cell all they want to, but it's not the same thing.



I was joking :wink: 

Started cutting up my 1" rigid foam this morning and ended up using a couple extra 23" insulation supports I had left over from doing my garage roof to pin the board together. It looks a little funky but worked out well. That section of the bow stays dry so I went all the way to the floor and used the existing uprights to hold the block of sheets in place. Now on to the other side and then cut up some floor padding.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Sep 10, 2013)

Ten minute ride home tonight... And yes, I was ducking down behind the depth finder.






No pics of the fish, they were all little guys.

I'm thinking about naming the boat 'Bug Buster'... Anyone have a better idea?


----------



## fender66 (Sep 11, 2013)

> Anyone have a better idea?



YES......windshield wipers for your glasses, :mrgreen: 

Hope you kept your mouth closed.


----------



## PSG-1 (Sep 12, 2013)

LMAO!

We just got back from Cape Lookout this afternoon, spent 2 days camping on the beach. First night was nice, but last night, the wind died down, and the no-see-ums came out in full force, and managed to hitch a ride on us when we got into the tent. Inside the tent looked like Ranchero50's glasses. :LOL2:


----------



## DieagoMan (Sep 22, 2013)

Great build! Good job! both of you
Ive been making my living fixing pwc's for the last 23 years and bikes before that. I do have couple questions ??? Ranchero are you still running the first original engine you got from SBT?
And PSG-1 Are you really sure you want to go to a 3 cyl 4stk from Bombardier?? I see supercharger failures at least once or twice a month and at least 2 engine failures a year but Ive only condemned 2 Yamaha 4stks sense 2002! I see around 150-200 pwc repairs a season here on the lake in Texas seems to me a Yamaha supercharged 1800 would be a far better choice.


----------



## PSG-1 (Sep 22, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=330086#p330086 said:


> DieagoMan » 41 minutes ago[/url]"]Great build! Good job! both of you
> Ive been making my living fixing pwc's for the last 23 years and bikes before that. I do have couple questions ??? Ranchero are you still running the first original engine you got from SBT?
> And PSG-1 Are you really sure you want to go to a 3 cyl 4stk from Bombardier?? I see supercharger failures at least once or twice a month and at least 2 engine failures a year but Ive only condemned 2 Yamaha 4stks sense 2002! I see around 150-200 pwc repairs a season here on the lake in Texas seems to me a Yamaha supercharged 1800 would be a far better choice.




Thanks for the compliments! And welcome to the board! 8) 

You're right about the Sea Doo supercharged engines, I have heard a lot of bad things about supercharger failure on these. It was my understanding they had fixed the problem after about 2008, but maybe I'm wrong about that. I haven't heard very much about the 1800 Yamaha SHO, but after my experience with my FXHO and my VX110, I think Yamaha engines are outstanding! In fact, I have someone who is wanting me to build them a jetboat similar to mine, and he asked what kind of engine I recommended, I said a VX110, FX140, or FXHO. We're going with a VX110. Should be a great boat when we get it done.


----------



## DieagoMan (Sep 22, 2013)

I would like to see your boat run the opti again and you have one of the skat trak or Riva pumps and stage 3 kits. The Skat trak twin drive impeller also looks promising!
they are a way more efficient pump and the stator design really does a great job straightening out the water flow. I remember the tech rep at Yamaha telling me back in 2002 that they would never build a ski with a top true speed of over 65mph because they didn't want to get people hurt and he also said the worked on pump design to get great 0-65 acceleration but limit top speed! Is this him saying what he thinks or what he knew I don't know?
Think about it a minute. you know the big three pwc company's could easily build a 700-800 pound 100 mph machine if they desired to. Also I wished I was closer to Ranchero because I have at least one of every impeller Seadoo made from 1992-1999
I for kicks would lkie to see him try a 580 3 seater impeller or one from a 1994 seadoo explorer dingy 12 ft boat
Seadoo did change in 08 but they still want yo to service charger at 200 hrs instead of the 100 and if you go that route I hope your buddy has the candoo software to reset maintenance clock when you service so it dont keep annoying you. and the newest 2010 up I believe reduces HP if you don't.


----------



## PSG-1 (Sep 22, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=330098#p330098 said:


> DieagoMan » 8 minutes ago[/url]"]I would like to see your boat run the opti again and you have one of the skat trak or Riva pumps and stage 3 kits. The Skat trak twin drive impeller also looks promising!
> they are a way more efficient pump and the stator design really does a great job straightening out the water flow.




I have looked at the skat trak magnum pumps, but the price made me flinch, 1200 dollars. But I suppose it's worth every penny, I believe these pumps are stainless, correct? One day, I may bite the bullet and get one of these. As for the impeller, I'm running a Solas Concord YD-CD 13/19 swirl impeller. It has more than enough hole shot, I'd like to have more top end, but really don't know what pitch I should have Impros modify it to. Also, I am running the wet wolf AAT cone on the stator, which has helped to reduce cavitation somewhat.

As for the stage 3....actually, I'm running two of the stages already. I removed the stock air filter and have the Riva filter installed, along with velocity stacks. I am only running the aluminum waterbox, but not the secondary muffler. The only thing I have not done is modified the rev limiter.







> I remember the tech rep at Yamaha telling me back in 2002 that they would never build a ski with a top true speed of over 65mph because they didn't want to get people hurt and he also said the worked on pump design to get great 0-65 acceleration but limit top speed! Is this him saying what he thinks or what he knew I don't know?
> Think about it a minute. you know the big three pwc company's could easily build a 700-800 pound 100 mph machine if they desired to. Also I wished I was closer to Ranchero because I have at least one of every impeller Seadoo made from 1992-1999
> I for kicks would lkie to see him try a 580 3 seater impeller or one from a 1994 seadoo explorer dingy 12 ft boat
> Seadoo did change in 08 but they still want yo to service charger at 200 hrs instead of the 100 and if you go that route I hope your buddy has the candoo software to reset maintenance clock when you service so it dont keep annoying you. and the newest 2010 up I believe reduces HP if you don't.




Good to know. I think if I do go with the supercharged engine for a future build, I'll stick with Yamaha. 

Here's a thought on how to wring more speed out of a Yamaha 4 stroke. These engines use a 1.47:1 reduction gear, which steps the impeller speed down! For example, at 10K RPM, the impeller of my boat is only turning 6800 RPM. 

What if there were a way to modify the gear ratio? Even just a little bit? If we were to change from a 1.47:1, to a 1.25:1, at 10K, the impeller speed would be at 8K, which is about as fast as you want to turn one without risking thru-hull bearing damage. Once the impeller starts turning over 6K, every few hundred RPM makes a big difference. Imagine what another 1000 RPM would do!


----------



## DieagoMan (Sep 22, 2013)

I'm no genius but Ive read you saying this before? Ive rebuilt several of the older yam thru hull why do you say it wont take it? on the gp's and XL's the bearings on the thru hull is not much different than the ones in the pump and they were direct drive. I will have to look at the next sho i work on but ive never had any problem or payed any attention to the thru hull on 4stk. I will tell you this the VX is different I had to pull a drive shaft on one last year and it no longer pulls with the pump you have to raise engine like a kawasaki and pull it towards the bow under engine. Im also not a hot rod genius Im a mechanic the moneys in repair not racing lol hell I cant even remember sitting here what the rev limit was on a 1200 2stk lol wasnt it around 8000


----------



## DieagoMan (Sep 22, 2013)

LMAO put a true R1 engine in and have a shifter boat! lol


----------



## Ranchero50 (Sep 22, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=330086#p330086 said:


> DieagoMan » Today, 19:23[/url]"]Great build! Good job! both of you
> Ive been making my living fixing pwc's for the last 23 years and bikes before that. I do have couple questions ??? Ranchero are you still running the first original engine you got from SBT?
> And PSG-1 Are you really sure you want to go to a 3 cyl 4stk from Bombardier?? I see supercharger failures at least once or twice a month and at least 2 engine failures a year but Ive only condemned 2 Yamaha 4stks sense 2002! I see around 150-200 pwc repairs a season here on the lake in Texas seems to me a Yamaha supercharged 1800 would be a far better choice.




Yep, that SBT rebuild has served me well, that and the rev limiter when I'm goofing off. Those guys were enthusiastic and my thread on PWCtoday had a lot of views so maybe they gave me a better than average one. I've done minimal maintenance work to it and didn't even winterize it last year after changing the drain lines so it drains dry.

I tach out at 6700rpm WOT and am running the '95 XL pump and sharpened impeller. I have more cavitation issues with the inlet since I added the pods but it runs flatter and is safer in the squirelly areas. I was thinking about adding an old bread knife blade to the back of the grate to help cut off the weeds that get grabbed when I'm idling through the much.


----------



## PSG-1 (Sep 22, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=330104#p330104 said:


> DieagoMan » 6 minutes ago[/url]"]I'm no genius but Ive read you saying this before? Ive rebuilt several of the older yam thru hull why do you say it wont take it? on the gp's and XL's the bearings on the thru hull is not much different than the ones in the pump and they were direct drive.




I'm using an XL1200 pump, with the .700" diameter shaft (there were 2 sizes, if I remember correctly, I think the other one was .750") I think the rev limit on most direct drives is around 8K. Above that, I think the impeller would start to cavitate, and vibration caused by it at those speeds is probably more apt to cause damage. Just an educated guess, I may be wrong about that.





> I will have to look at the next sho i work on but ive never had any problem or payed any attention to the thru hull on 4stk. I will tell you this the VX is different I had to pull a drive shaft on one last year and it no longer pulls with the pump you have to raise engine like a kawasaki and pull it towards the bow under engine. Im also not a hot rod genius Im a mechanic the moneys in repair not racing lol hell I cant even remember sitting here what the rev limit was on a 1200 2stk lol wasnt it around 8000



My boat's a little funny about how you have to remove the pump, too. Since I cut the driveshaft and pump housing short to allow the FXHO to fit within the existing engine compartment, there is no shaft exposed above the pump housing, the engine coupler screws directly onto the threads. As a result, I had to cut wrench flats on the driveshaft, behind the bearing area, which means to put a wrench on it, you have to do it from under the boat! Also, because there is no shaft extension, you can't just slip the pump assembly backwards enough to put the coupler wrench onto the coupler and unscrew from the shaft. The engine has to be unbolted and moved forward! A little bit of a PITA, but I had to work within the existing space I already had from when the 1000cc tigershark engine was in the boat, I didn't feel like having to re-build the entire pump tunnel to set it back.

On any future builds, though, I will allow an extra 6 inches so the driveshaft and pump is easier to remove!


----------



## Brine (Jan 23, 2014)

Least we forget... One of the coolest damn builds on here :USA1:


----------



## PSG-1 (Jan 23, 2014)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=339501#p339501 said:


> Brine » Today, 17:37[/url]"]Least we forget... One of the coolest damn builds on here :USA1:



Indeed! :USA1: :beer:


----------



## Ranchero50 (Mar 9, 2014)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=339501#p339501 said:


> Brine » 23 Jan 2014, 17:37[/url]"]Least we forget... One of the coolest damn builds on here :USA1:



And it's still going. :shock: 

Some winter I'm actually going to put carpet in it. This winter it sat outside in the garden plot with my cover on waiting patiently and it's still waiting...

I did pop the cover last week and everything is dry and looks / smells good. Motor turned over by hand too so it's just a waiting game for the water to warm up.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 12, 2014)

Getting closer to water time again. Took a trim in my truck to get the stickers for the boat. I forgot to mail them in 'again' and thought I might actually get on the water this week. And then it rained again...

New tow rig. A '71 F-350 with a 6bt for power.


----------



## typed by ben (Jun 12, 2014)

^nice, bet that wasnt cheap


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 14, 2014)

Actually it's like the boat, just took time to find the parts and then fit them together. I'm pretty sure I have less than $4k into it, maybe $3k. Engine is a '93 6bt, tranny a '94 47rh. Rear a mid 90's 10.25" Sterling, all swapped for work. Cab was from my free '71 F250, '70 F350 was $400, sold the cab for that. Aluminum welders bed was $400.


----------



## typed by ben (Jun 14, 2014)

oh. the way you worded it i thought you bought it. i had the feeling you wouldnt have bought it unless it was a good deal. anything with a cummins is demanding top dollar last few years, im sure you are aware

my dad had a '68 contractor special with a 3 on the tree and a 352 until i was about 15. it was beat to shit and when he traded it in they gave him $50. as we were waiting for the new truck to be detailed a flatbed loaded her up  i was nearly born in that truck but my dad had no trouble letting it go lol.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 27, 2014)

So here we are, ready for another season. Finally managed to get all the planets aligned and got the boat in the water for the first time this year. Boat fired up fine in the garage, a bit smokey and rough at first but it smoothed out after a minute or two of fast idling.











I did get new decals for it and painted the engine cover and some other bits with the plastic paint. So far I'm really happy with how it has lasted but with the texture it does get dirty quickly. Cruised up to the islands and picked up a bunch of 13" class smallies out of the eddies. Saw a bald eagle, a beaver and a deer. The boat was sluggish going up river, figured I sucked up some trash at the ramp because I left it idle for a while to make sure the cooling loops were open. Coming back down, it was back to it's normal smooth and fast.


----------



## He Reigns (Jun 27, 2014)

I'm starting to feel bad, I thought a multi colored jet jon was the way to go around here.

Are you using a product simular to plastidip? I have been kicking around the idea for parts of my boat.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 27, 2014)

Mine is multicolored too. Everything close to the water is camo'd, blues, brown, green, black, reds ghosted over with tan so it doesn't scare the fish away. 

The paint is just some $2 clearance rack special stuff for painting plastic lawn chairs. I bought two cases a couple years ago and still have 10 cans. Rustoleum special textured plastic paint, color sandstone.


----------



## Brine (Jun 30, 2014)

Glad to hear you made it on the water. 

Nice tow rig 8)


----------



## Ranchero50 (Aug 1, 2014)

Oh man, what a fun evening. 

For most of this season and part of last season the boat just didn't seem to perform like it should. My fooling around video showed some of the problems with cavitation on launch that's been getting worse as time went on. This afternoon after welding holes in BigTerps jet boat I really looked over my pump and found that the bellows for the drive shaft ceramic seal was stiff and the seal was not seating very stiffly. I know that's a common place to ingest air into the pump cavity. So, loosened the hose clamp and scootched bellows a bit tighter against the seal ring.

Kid passed on going fishing to go buy boots so I was solo on the river. The boat was alive with power and really loaded the pump instantly launching the boat out of the water like it used to before I added the pods. Before it would hesitate and cavitate launching slowly in a very flat attitude. Speedo showed mid 30's at 4k and a max of 45 which I hadn't seen in a while. So either the kid is overloading the hull or I had a problem...

I did get to fish a good bit, caught a 18" channel cat on my fire tiger rapala and a ton of oddball bass on it or my black jitterbug at dusk. As usual, the mayflies were out in force and without a bug catcher sitting up front I was forced to wear my sun glasses coming down river. I'm sure the bow is speckled because my glasses sure are.

So, since the enthusiasm is back I'm going to try and get another video up of it running and maybe the launch and recovery sequence.


----------



## smackdaddy53 (Aug 4, 2014)

I love that boat and gathered a lot from your build.


----------



## NewRiverDan1 (Sep 9, 2014)

Ranchero50, 

This was an awesome project I've been looking at for a while. Really motivated me to build something of my own. I started with a 1648 tracker and a Kawasaki 1100. Its been alot of fun and I'm just about finished. But have some thoughts for hull protection, your in a similar area/river as myself, what do you do to protect your hull from occasional rock abrasions? I am considering a bed liner product with a smooth application. What are your thoughts?


----------



## JasonD (Sep 23, 2014)

Excellent build! I have a 1448 and 580 motor I'm about to pair together. Mine doesn't have the variable trim and trying to figure out how to mount the jet. Do you know about what angle in relation to the bottom of the hull gives you the best performance? Can't wait to get cutting on mine and will be utilizing much of your designs. Thank you for the write up!


----------



## JasonD (Sep 27, 2014)

Can't thank you enough for putting this build up. I'm currently working on one myself and this helps alot. Was wondering if there was any chance I could get you to mill the rear plate that holds the jet? How much to run the part? I have everything I could need to build my jet Jon except for that cnc mill of course. 

Jason


----------



## Ranchero50 (Sep 29, 2014)

Hey guys, sorry I haven't been paying attention to this thread. NewRiverDan1, per the bottom protection, I just try to avoid the hard stuff on the bottom. I really want to put steel flex on the outer hull some winter and see how that does.

JasonD for the pump mounting plate, 90` to the bottom of the hull and high enough that you can maintain no drive line misalignment. On mine the bottom of the pump was @ 1/4" above the bottom of the hull. For fabbing the plate, I could do it but you'd need to supply the 3/4" aluminum plate. Per the trim, I think you can add the trim nozzle setup to a non trimmed pump 140mm pump without issue. You should do some research onto that.


----------



## JasonD (Sep 30, 2014)

Ranchero50 said:


> Hey guys, sorry I haven't been paying attention to this thread. NewRiverDan1, per the bottom protection, I just try to avoid the hard stuff on the bottom. I really want to put steel flex on the outer hull some winter and see how that does.
> 
> JasonD for the pump mounting plate, 90` to the bottom of the hull and high enough that you can maintain no drive line misalignment. On mine the bottom of the pump was @ 1/4" above the bottom of the hull. For fabbing the plate, I could do it but you'd need to supply the 3/4" aluminum plate. Per the trim, I think you can add the trim nozzle setup to a non trimmed pump 140mm pump without issue. You should do some research onto that.



Thanks for the info on your set up. Plan is right now to mount the pump where it needs to be and then use that to align my motor mounts. I'm figuring around some ideas to make up a plate to hold the pump but might work something out with you in the end. I've priced a few VTS I've seen on ebay and I plan to get the rig running first and look at retro fitting later. This thread is such a great resource, thanks


----------



## Ranchero50 (Sep 30, 2014)

The curse of the pump mount flange was the pump had a step on the front edge that I needed a recess for, thus the 3/4" plate. That also gave me a solid point to weld the pump inlet to and over the last couple years has worked very well. Honestly, I'm surprised this boat has done as well as it has because for most the original pump work my shielding gas hose was clogged with mud dauber nests and those welds are rather porous. 

When you mount your pump you want the axis of thrust with the trim set neutral to match the axis of travel with the boat running flat out. If it's down the nose will plow and really handle like a dog. If it's too high you'll either porpoise or run slow as your thrust isn't impinging on the standing water. With the trim I just bump it up until it slows and then drop it back a little bit. The motor tone changes and the boat scoots along a couple MPH faster. Of course it's not shooting a rooster tail then either.

Also when you do your pump inlet, try to minimize the tunnel size and length. At low speed you really need a lot of volume or it'll cavitate. At high speed you don't need as much volume as the opening will create drag. It took me two shots to get one that worked well and I think the sport jet grill helped make the design parameters that would work with the 140mm pump. Along with the size of the opening, you really want the opening as far back as is practical and try to allow passages between the strakes and the side of the opening for air to escape. With a mod V or straight flat bottom you will ingest air and if you can't get it to bypass the pump you will cavitate and have troubles. My spoon 'cured' my problem unless I'm in while caps. Oh yeah, when the opening is close to the transom it's a whole lot easier to clean too.

Good luck and post a link to your build thread. I tried to describe what and why I was doing stuff on this thread to help others and love to see how they did stuff as well.

Jamie


----------



## JasonD (Sep 30, 2014)

I will post a link and share as well. You developed a great build but worth that little detail of having a CNC just sitting in your garage it puts it at a level out of reach to most people. I have an idea to incorporate the ride plate into the build to deal with the pesky step on the flange. While I would much rather have your pump plate this, hopefully, simplifies the build and you don't have to eat the cost of 3/4" aluminum plate  Plan to keep this as a rig that can be built with minimal specialized equipment. As for my intake I am currently working on mimicking the tunnel shape of the ski it came off of. Thought being that is what seadoo decided the optimum water flow needed for the pump. Right? Who knows but it at least sounds good to me lol. This build intrigues me on the challenge of building such a vessel and trying to do it for minimal cost. Paid $100 for the seadoo, traded an old canoe for a 1448 monark boat and only out a few parts to get the ski running so far. I won't clog your thread up with my build but will make sure to update along the way, have a thread currently in another forum.


----------



## JasonD (Sep 30, 2014)

By the way, the spoon is genius and I will be stealing that fir my build.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jun 27, 2015)

Welp, this is officially ridiculous... I still haven't splashed my boat yet this year. I'm ready to and want oo but mother nature is pouring on us. Heck, my garden even drowned.

Just venting.


----------



## PSG-1 (Jun 27, 2015)

Don't feel bad, Ranchero....it's been 2 months since I've been on the water with my jet boat. I know, right? :? One day, I gotta get to the river and test it out now with the Line-X on the bottom and with the new impeller and wear ring.


----------



## BigTerp (Jun 29, 2015)

Ranchero50 said:


> Welp, this is officially ridiculous... I still haven't splashed my boat yet this year. I'm ready to and want oo but mother nature is pouring on us. Heck, my garden even drowned.
> 
> Just venting.



That sucks!! Was just getting ready to PM you to see if you've been out and how you've done. We got out Friday evening before all the rain over the weekend. Did OK. The river is a mess right now!!! Hoping it gets down to manageable levels by Thursday so we can get out again.


----------



## JoshKeller (Jun 30, 2015)

BigTerp said:


> Ranchero50 said:
> 
> 
> > Welp, this is officially ridiculous... I still haven't splashed my boat yet this year. I'm ready to and want oo but mother nature is pouring on us. Heck, my garden even drowned.
> ...




with this rain, we SHOULD have water until late july to run pretty much anywhere.


----------



## BigTerp (Jun 30, 2015)

JoshKeller said:


> with this rain, we SHOULD have water until late july to run pretty much anywhere.



That would be nice. I can't complain with the water levels. Last year it got pretty low and I managed to punch a hole and destroy my foot. Don't want to repeat that again this year!!


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 25, 2015)

We finally made it out tonight. Engine fired off with enough smoke to stir the neighbors out of their stupors but it cleared up. Put 2 gallons of high test in it and hit the water. Plugs weren't too happy with the extra oil so we took it easy going up river. Felt good to finally wet a line and we put three hours on the water and got a really up close and personal fireworks display that at first sounded like gunfire. The run back down was fine, smooth and back to normal.

Good times.


----------



## snowfighter (Aug 22, 2015)

Thanks for sharing so much detail. I am on the hunt for a jetski


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 4, 2017)

So,so disappointing. Looks like I'll have to do something about the build pictures since photobucket is no longer allowing 3rd party image hosting. In the meantime if you right click on the clocked image and copy the image location you can open a new tab, paste the link and see the picture. Again, disappointing.


----------



## CedarRiverScooter (Jul 4, 2017)

Nice to hear from you Ranchero.

We hit a snag yesterday, literally. 

It dented the spoon & worse yet tore a thumb sized hole in the jet ski glass. Fortunately the hole was up & behind the spoon's trailing edge, so as long as we kept going, we didn't take on water. This was a hunch on the fly - was good decision not to stop & check it out!

This craft is definitely a hobby!


----------



## New River Rat (Jul 4, 2017)

Ranchero50 said:


> So,so disappointing. Looks like I'll have to do something about the build pictures since photobucket is no longer allowing 3rd party image hosting. Again, disappointing.




I think we need to hit 'em with a class action suit.....


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 5, 2017)

Nah, small fish, big river. I'm hoping the uproar will have them dialing back the decision.

I feel bad because I haven't even had the boat out yet this year. It's available, I'm available but I need a day to commission it. Too many damned projects, too little time.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Mar 17, 2018)

So, this happened. The boat sat in the shed all last year. Not going to happen this year. Really haven't done anything with it so it should be interesting starting it with 2 year old stuff in the tanks.


----------



## CedarRiverScooter (Mar 18, 2018)

Run some seafoam thru it & it will be fine.


----------



## BigTerp (Mar 22, 2018)

Awesome!! Hope to see you on the river this summer.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Apr 27, 2018)

I put a charged battery in it last week, couple squirts of starting fluid and it fired right off. Man, it made a FOG of 2 stroke smoke for a couple minutes but seemed to clear up well. Both cylinders warms up and it fired off again easily. All this on 2 year old gas.


----------



## Ranchero50 (Jul 16, 2018)

By golly, we got it WET this past Friday. Oldest son was working so #2 son was 'forced' to come along and good times were had. Engine sputtered and stuttered up river at 5k but after floating for an hour with fresh fuel in the bowls it came to life with a relish. Missed the old girl and the quiet times on the river. About tossed the youngest to the fish during some high G maneuvering before putting it away.

Saturday and Sunday I spent some time installing a fold away hitch kit from Fulton so I can tuck the boat in my shed from the alley where it'll be easier to dig out. I'll post some pictures once it's daylight.

Good times.


----------



## CedarRiverScooter (Jul 16, 2018)

Glad you got back on the water.

Everyone I have taken out has said the ride was a blast.

We go up river where other boats can't get to. Lots of wildlife & cool scenery.


----------



## JohnT (Nov 13, 2018)

Hey Jamie , I'm glad to here you still have the jet , It's been awhile since I was on the site , I actually sold my tin boat and bought a glass boat, now I'm regretting getting rid of the tin boat looking to purchase another and start over again, Do you happen to know how much your boat , motor, and trailer weigh's in at ?


----------

