1989 Ski Nautique Rebuild

Thanks seacamper!

Just a update on the ACME 1442. three adults, full tank of gas, bimini top up, in salt water;
3000 rpms = 30 mph
4500 rpms = 44 mph
wide open is still 5000 rpms, didn't go there last time do to traffic.

Akabulla,

The hatch works out great for access and anchor storage. Here is on pic of it in the water. I have the gas tank cover panel made just need to paint it.

Thanks Kapla, I'll take some and post them up. Still doing some finishing touches but 98% there.

Guys,

Wanted to update you on my progress. The boat is on the water and runs great. I put a ACME 1442 on it and it is unreal! I am turning 5000 rpms and don't know how fast I am running yet but will next time I go out. I like the ski better than the footer! unreal performance.

No problem Roger. Do you need more photos around the exhaust area? If you are using the pcm tranny and the 89 exhaust there should be no mods required. The hurth is much wider that is what drove the 2.5" offset. I also had to put 4" to 3" transitions on for the riser difference, maybe that is what you mean? I bought them for $30 each.

Hey Roger,

Attached are a few shots from around the engine. Kind of dusty! If you need anything specifically just let me know. The front mounts are unmodified. The rears you can see are move back. This is an 89 so it has the header mounted right behind the engine and that did change alot because of the Hurth tranny. Had to offset the 4" tube to miss the tranny. Hope this helps and don't hesitate if you need any dimensions whatever.

I will post some photos for you no problem. What I found was that the front mounts fit perfectly. Now the hurth was 2.25" shorter to the coupling but the mounts were 3" farther aft. I actually cut the cradle behind the forward mounts and slide it aft about 3". Worked fine.

Thought iwould post some updated photos. Progress wise I have the engine and tranny in which was somewhat of a task. I went from the 351 ford to a chevy 350. Also changed from the PCM tranny to a hurth 1.23-1 so I had some fit up to do but not much. I did have to widen the engine cover. I do have the pcm 1.23 if anyone is interested. It was under water in fresh water I am told. I did open it up to see what it looked like before I shipped to Eric for a rebuild and it looked fine. No signs of rust or broken parts. It never did go to Eric so it needs a rebuild.

Anyway as you can see ther is no carpet. I build molds and made diamond pattern non skid. Toltal pain so that check is in the box and it is non skid in the paint if I do this again. Does look really good though. I have poped a new dash pod, made out of fiberglass, using the old one. I don't want the dual speedos so I will install a built in GPS for speed.

Hi UK. The paint I used is called Alexseal. It is a urethane like Awlgrip. Very easier to use. I sprayed it but it can be rolled and tipped if you don't want to spray it. I also used a very cheap ($35) gravity feed spray gun from Harbor Frieght and it came out just fine. It is pricey but the durability and shine retention is great. The bottom is just epoxy with Graphite in it (30% by volume). makes a very tough finish.

Lookin' good there Jim!
Keep the pics coming!

Sorry just saw this. How solid is relative. stand alone they are flexible. As you start to glass them in the hull as well as tie in bulkheads and the floor they are extremely rigid. It is exactly how an airplane wing is built with thin metal sections but will carry very high loads. The glass thickness on the stringers before they were installed was three plys of biax on the outters and 3-6 on the inners. More layers near the center where the moment(loading)is the greatest. Once you tape them in and glass the floor down you will add 3-4 more layers on all of them.

The real issue is where you need a hard point to bolt to or through. A good example is at the engine mounts. At that location I actually used some mahogany that my dad had laying around.

Trying to use the existing stringers as a mold would be practicaly impossible for several reasons.

I would not be afraid to use wood. In fact it is much easier and faster. If you seal it with two coats of quality epoxy and take extreme care in drilling holes or screewing to it you will have no problems. As Pete mentioned in your other post everywhere you intend to drill through, drill and oversized hole and fill it with thickened epoxy and then redrill with the correct sized hole and it will never be a problem. I did my Barefooter that way.

Thanks Kapla! I am using seats from Veada==>veada seats and the bases are Garelick ==>. Pedestool

Thanks Guys. The hatch will be great for anchor and rope storage.

Looking good. Like the hatch idea.

Guys,

I have posted some updated photos here ==>Link to Ski Nautique rebuild. If you are interested this is a link to all the boat photos in my gallary==>Photos from DAYTRIP