header |
|
#1
04-17-2008, 12:13 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
The Story
About five years ago a friend of mine told me about a boat up in the Salina area, about 2 hours north of me I might be interested in so I drove up to take a look. When I arrive a found a 1984 Mastercraft with a hole in the bottom so big you could stand in it. This guy was not paying proper attention and ran the boat onto a rock in the middle some lake somewhere and shoved 2 of the three fins completely through the bottom of the boat. After looking at it he told me he wanted $3000 for the boat. I took a look and told him I would give him $1500, he said no way and a quick glance at this boat sitting in the field across from there house and his wife looked at me and said “we’ll take it” So off home I went with my new boat.
Upon arrival my girl looked at me and said” you bought a boat with a hole in it” (No respect for the stars and stripes) She then told me “fine but she did not want to talk about it until we were floating on the lake”. Fair Enough. So now I get to work testing out the engine that I was told never went under water. I drained the oil plug and received about 2 ˝ gallons of water before any oil came out. Bad sign. So from here I pulled the plugs and sprayed silicone lubricant into the cylinders and turned the motor over by hand. Felt alright so I slapped in a new starter and some new plug primed the carburetor and she fired right up. The carburetor was trash but I could keep her running just pouring fuel in the barrel and I could hear no rod knocks and no lifter noises the engine sounded real good so I decided we would make the extra effort and re-glass the bottom of the boat with the engine in it. From here I had a fiberglass specialist who probably could not spell his own name but was damn good with Fiberglas and he built a mold of the bottom of the boat then reformed the bottom to the mold with Kevlar. Then we built a jig to insure proper placement of the replacement fins. The reinstalled the drain plug. (That is one short paragraph for the 9 months worth of work this was.) Now that the bottom was fixed, though it still had some serious scrapes in the bottom it was water worthy. So I brought her home and prepared to fire her up with my newly rebuilt carburetor. Made sure she had clean oil and primed the carb. a bit and one crank of the starter was all she wrote. Must have rusted up the cylinder walls why we took 9 month to re-glass her because I bent the #8 rod on the first crank and you couldn’t crank that thing over with a 5 foot breaker bar. So after all the extra work re-glassing with the engine in the boat, out came the engine. I rebuilt the engine in my garage each day after work and while she was out, a place next to my work which built helicopter part agreed to re-gelcaot the entire bottom of the boat. So from here while the engine was out I flipped the boat over onto some tires had the helicopter place inspect it and we started at 10am and worked strait through until 2am the next morning and the boat then had a beautiful new bottom. With a new bottom and a completely rebuilt engine (Nothing special just a medium cam otherwise stock) I put her back together and put her on the water. A few minor details like needing a different carburetor because the one originally on there was beyond repair and I installed a nice stereo system and the misses was very happy to be speeding around the lake. This was over 4 years ago that I completed this project and we have had more fun than you can imagine on this baby especially the moonlight cruses around Lake Nacimiento but as you can tell it’s now time to work on the cosmetic side of things so I’m joining the team and I’m sure I’ll be looking to you guys for some help here and there. 
|
|
#2
04-17-2008, 12:22 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
dude... that's one of the coolest stories i've ever heard... i want to do something like that (hopefully less work)... sounds good so far... the cosmetic stuff will get pricey but it'll be all worth it... welcome... there's TONS of threads on here detailing similar "adventures"... good luck and looking forward to updates
__________________
Current - '07 X2 blue on silver metal flake w/ switch graphics MY LED INSTALL... CHECK IT OUT MY WAKESIDE RIDE "It's just water... not concrete or dirt... so just throw it" -Parks Bonifay    "I feel sorry for people who don't drink... when they wake up that's as good as they're going to feel all day" -Frank Sinatra  "Indecision may, or may not, be my problem" -Jimmy Buffett
|
|
#4
04-17-2008, 12:34 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Very cool!
It warms the cockles of my heart to hear the work you have done, the fun you have had, and what you plan to do! I am not scared of too many projects, but a hole that size in the bottom. WOW! Good Luck, DZ011
|
|
#6
04-17-2008, 12:50 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
come on, your teasing us. we need pics of the hole! $4k is pretty reasonable considering the amount of work you have had to do but apparently you did a lot of it yourself. keep it mechanically sound and work on the cosmetics as time and money permit. shine the teak first!
__________________
1993 Blue Stars and Stripes Prostar Powerslot 351HO Mastercraft: Face It - If you are not a good skier behind this boat, you are not a good skier.
|
|
#7
04-17-2008, 01:06 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
 congrats and nice job!BTW: Welcome aboard and Nacimiento is no doubt a great lake, I love it there, San Antonio too
__________________
[>-----Ride'n The Wild West In A MasterCraft----->
|
|
#8
04-17-2008, 02:03 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
[quote=Ry's 84] I installed a nice stereo system and the misses was very happy to be speeding around the lake.
This is very important!!! Great story! Rick
|
|
#10
04-17-2008, 02:54 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Congratulations on the resto!
Any pictures of the work in progress???
|
 |
| Thread Tools | |
| Display Modes | |
|
|
Linear Mode
