86 SN rebuild

Here we go. I was going to wait until winter, but since the fuel filter fell off due to rot, I thought It might be a sign from above that I better start sooner than later. So, the boat is gutted and the floor will be cut out this weekend.

A little background:
I'm really a fisherman and a hunter, but have been around boats for most of my life. I have rebuilt a few, but all of them were for chasing something offshore. But I have a 9 year old son and although he is my fishing partner and baseball buddy, he has been watching all of the ski and wakeboard boats go by at the river. I finally started pulling him around in my Ranger, but it's time that I get a real ski boat. So I started looking for a project that we could build together. This is it. It will be something that he ends up with, so we will be building allot more than just a boat.

I found this Ski Nautique a little North from where we live and thought that it was perfect for the task at hand. We used it once and it was everything that I thought it should be. So, I started doing my research and although I haven't fully decided on the materials, I should be elbow deep into wet foam within 48 hours.

I appreciate this forum and the people who have made it great. Hopefully this will be a build that everyone will enjoy.

I'll try to keep you posted with pictures as I go.

Jeff

It sure was refreshing to read a post as well written as that! This will be a great thread.

Showoff.

Photobucket.com works for me. There's a tutorial thread here on the site.

Probably too late now, but had you removed the carb and flame arrestor, then tightened the chains, you would have cleared at least another 6-8".

Jeff,
It's great to hear that you will be getting your son to help out. I wish I had done more of the same.

Get him a flat bar and let him go after some of that old wet foam!!

I love doing these kinds of projects, but having your young boy there too makes it all that much better. I just need to persuade the wife that 8:00 is too early of a bedtime for him. We can this done a lot faster if he goes to bed at 9:00.

Jeff

These make good engine hoist's



And yes it's great when the little one's get involved.





It's going to be a long road to the finish, but you will have a deep understanding of all aspects of your boat inside and out when your done.
You will really enjoy it when your done.

When I was 10 or 11 my dad bought an old glassmaster closed bow "ski" boat and we did a light rehab on it. Was one of the coolest projects ever for dad and son and I'll never forget it. My dad turned us both on to inboards a couple of years later and we did some refurbishing but that "project" boat is one I'll always remember. Lots of good QT with the old man. A few years later he did the same with a pontoon, but this one he did mostly with my sister. Good times!

Sorry for the threadjack! Looks like you are off to a good start. Good luck with the rebuild

Jeff
Awesome stuff! Nothing like a good family project and spending time together. My 9 year old helped out a little bit with my rebuild and has decided he does not want to wetsand for a living! I felt a huge sense of accomplishment once the foam was out. There are so many aspects to a rebuild I cant count how many times I thought I was on the home stretch of the project. Well worth all the time I put into it. Knowing that it is done right by your own hands is priceless. My biggest hang ups were the couple of things I paid to have done. I was gonna say you have all fall and winter to get er done but being in San Diego you don't get much weather that rules out boating. I love it out there! Good Luck and welcome to the community!
Keegan

Great first day there guys! My exhaust tips had color matched silicone as a sealant but I did not have much trouble removing them after the screws were out. You will want to replace all the wood around the exhaust ports, lift ring mount and rudder mount while you are in there.

Here is my transom with all new wood except the rudder mount.

Jeff - Pete Brainerd had a way to rig a 'hot wire' to cut thru the 5200. I think it used a battery & weld wire.   Pete will surely comment soon.

I like that a lot. Looks really nice. What did you use to fill it with?

Great advice, I'll give it a try.

Jeff

Ok, I have another question. I have decided that Epoxy will be my best bet, so I am pretty sure that I will head in that direction. I'm familar with the layup process of vinylester, but not with epoxy.

What would any of you suggest as a layup schedule? I need to get my materials on order fairly soon, so I will need to get a good understanding of the process.


Thanks,