73 Skier Restoration

Steve
I am a web designer but I have 3 kids so its kind of like running a school . Waukesha makes all kinds of crazy engines. Today they only do huge industrial motors. I believe Waukesha Pleasure Craft Marine Division was the part of the company that marinised engines. Its still a Ford block. The block was a darker almost navy blue and the manifolds were green. The mechanic who painted it did not consult with me at all about the colors and painted the manifolds matt black and the engine the lighter "Old Ford Blue". The original green was already showing through the black so I was really unhappy with that and decided to take it back to original. I would love to find a picture of the Waukesha decals that were on the manifolds. They are funky ugly rainbow 70's colors and will fit perfectly with the funky paint job I have going on if I can ever find a pic so we can get them made.

Just promote White Lake as family friendly sounds like there will be enough kids there to keep each other busy.

Worked on the rub rails a little bit. I used an 80 grit flap disc on my bench grinder to remove the major scratches and dings. I got really good at leaving a nice uniform surface by the last 12 foot section. It took a lot of control to hold those 12 foot pieces parallel to the grinding surface as you move across the surface. A little bit off parallel and you gouge it in a hurry.

Then I moved to 220 grit on palm sander to remove all the 80 grit texture. After that wet sand 500, 800, 1000, 1200 and then hit it with the buffing wheel. To finish it off I hit it with the buffing wheel.

I ran through the process on the smallest piece of rail first to make sure that it worked and the result is satisfactory for the amount of labor. When I polished that first spot with the buffing wheel I smiled ear to ear. Amazing mirror like finish. Then I think I applied a bit of white buffing compound to the surface of my wheel and could not get that same shine anywhere else. I am guessing that the compound is too aggressive and that all I need is the wheel itself. Will have to get another buffing wheel and play around. I have a red and a white buffing compound but cannot remember which one is more aggressive. Any tips are appreciated. I have 2 more 12 footers that are at the 800 wet sand phase and none of it is truly buffed out yet. The rest of it is ready for the buffer.

220 grit


500 grit


To the right of the flash spot on the bend is where I buffed it. Does not do justice at all to how good that one spot looks but I need to get the rest of it to look like that one spot.

WOW

Donald

Hey Keegan,
I got the link to Home Depot for the carpet, but I didn't see what you used for glue. I've used 3M spray adhesive with good luck in the past, but I'm not sure about in a boat. What did you use, and would you recommend it? Also, how obvious are the seams with that carpet? I'm thinking about different ways to go about this carpet thing, and the seam is an important factor.

It has been a busy busy spring with lots going on. This weekend I buckled down and got busy finishing up all the little things I had going on with the boat. Gelcoat repair was at the top of the list so I could get the rubrails back on. After repairing several spots on the deck I decided wetsanding the entire thing, then buffing would help even it out a bit. Another case of one thing leads to another... The most challenging spot was where a PO had butchered a gnarly 2", not round, hole in the dash to accomodate a rubber antenna for the stereo they put right below it.
Stuff I did:
Gelcoat repairs
Wetsanded and buffed the top
Polished and reinstalled Rubrails(all screws set in 5200)
Removed silicone that sealed the cap from the hull- replaced it with 5200
Speedo mount, tubing, pick up
Installed horn system
New step pads (thanks Frank!)
Fixed windshield trim, polished it, buffed windshield, reinstalled
Waiting for the circulation pump to get here on Wednesday so hopefully I can get in a water test before White Lake.

Looks great Keegan! Take lots of pictures this weekend!

Nice work Keegan. Hope you can enjoy her soon.

Awesome restoration. I am always impressed when someone actually finishes a project of this magnitude. Great job. Can you clarify the engine blue vs. black for me? I have a 86 2001 model that needs some detail work.

Well it looks great that's for sure. My engine looks like it is rattle can silver so no telling what it was originally. But it does run well so I figure it deserves a decent coat of paint. How has the VHT engine paint help up? Did you prime before using it or just paint only? That Youtube video of your start up was priceless by the way. What a sound.

What thickness wood did you use for the decking

TRBenj wrote: caliwakeboard wrote: What thickness wood did you use for the decking I would encourage you to read the whole thread (this one and others) from beginning to end... you'll probably find the answer to your question and about 10 others you hadnt thought to ask.

As well as links to many other threads on stinger jobs.

Sorry, but I still haven't found the time to do the searching for you.

Looks awesome !!