1955 Atom Skier Updates

Yeah, it's the West Scarfing adapter. Thing works pretty sweet. The way they showed in the little booklet for how to clean up the cuts after cutting 3/8 & using a hand plane to take out the ridge we found we actually had better results leaving the ridge on each panel & then just butting them to eachother. If it was bright finished it would take a little more work, but i think you could make the joint nearly invisible with some time.

Nate

John, Yeah we scarfed the joints ourselves. Bought the scarfing tool. Mounted it on an old saw & it worked perfectly.

Nate

Nate,
I was just looking at your engine pictures again. I didn't notice it before but now see your Chris A-B has been converted to 12 volt. Probably when the PO converted it over to the alternator. Wow, what a hack job on that hole cutout for the alternator conversion!! It's a fairly common conversion on a Chris/Hercules BUT the fan is removed on the alternator. This allows for the smaller center "pilot" on the alternator to fit into the cast front engine mount but still leaves enough for elongated alternator mounting holes for belt tensioning. Not much there left for you to work with! Removal of the fan isn't a problem because the required output of the alternator is so low. Also, he didn't swap out the pulley on the alternator. You can tell because it's riding so high. The crank pulley and the belt should be a industrial "B" size which is 21/32" (5/8") top width.

While you have the engine apart, I'd set the front engine mount up in the mill and machine some decent flat aternator mounting surfaces back into it. Then you would need to come up with some type of adapter mounting plate to make it a reliable charging system.

It's amazing to see what some of the "hackers" out there will do!!!

Nate, Pete and I are gonna need to see some "OLD WOOD" . You never know I may be thru with the Dart by then.If so your woody will have some company. Now if we can get Pete to bring his.
Would that not be too cool,
The Dart is a 1949
Your Atom is a '50s
I am sure we will have a '60s boat or two
A bunch of '70s
And of course the '80s
The 90 year models
And then, here comes the '00

That would give us Seven Generations of CC boats gatherd at one place......Boat dr

Great progress Nate, I love the fact that your doing this with your dad.

Ditto what Brian said, Green Lake or bust.

Pete,
We just got the valve guides we'd been waiting on for the last month or so. So the motor is ready to put back together, clean up & paint.

Also, As for the spray rails, we're going to put them back on, but they'll go on before we paint the sides... probably sometime over the next month or so.

& yes, i'm still shooting for an Early June deadline. Though with the way my early june is shaping up... it won't matter if it's finished then, it probably won't get launched until mid-late June.

Thanks Mike!

Nate

Nate,
You're making progress! You think you'll have it in the water in a couple months? Any work on the engine?

I just noticed you haven't put any spray rails on the hull. Are you leaving them off?

the bottom was fiberglassed this past Tuesday night, with 2 more coats of epoxy since then. Epoxied the sides Saturday morning, so they're ready to be sanded a bit & painted, though I believe we're holding off on painting the sides until we flip it over to start working on the decks & the interior. Ordering bottom paint today, hope to have the bottom painted by the end of the week & maybe have her flipped over by Saturday.



My pictures in the signature on Photobucket were updated today, the last of those pictures is from Tuesday night right after 'glassing the bottom. Probably wont update it until we get it painted & Flipped. Enjoy!

Nate

Lookin' good! Im going to have to play catch up now...

The Sides ARE ON!!!

Not gonna lie, i'm pretty geeked about it. Actually looks like a boat again. Though, the work's nowhere near finished, it's nice to see it like this. Pistures updates in Sig.

Nate

Looking good! Ill bet those plywood sides go on a lot faster than these planks I'm working on! I didn't see if you were using any 5200 on the frames, I think that stuff is better than the screws for holding power.

Get those pics up... We should be puttng on sides this week as well.

later

Thanks Pete, No he doesn't have it anymore. & no, in the first picture with someone in it that's my older brother in the red shorts standing on the sailboat.. I think when that picture was taken I would have been around 5-6 years old & then the later one with Sashay in the background & the paddle boat in front of it, I'm the one in the water, pondering how i'm going to get into the boat, with my brother sitting in it. I think i was probably 7-8 at that point.

Nate

Pete, here's some pictures of my dads old 1939 Chris Craft 15.6ft Deluxe Runabout that you asked about a while back...

Sashay

Nate

Nate,the Atom looks great! What kind of wood did you use for the chines and frames? Gary

Nate,
Looking good!! Sure brings back some memories!

I do have a question. Is that paint on the frames bonding surfaces to the hull? Are you planning on using 5200 or epoxy to bond the ply to the frames? Ether way, if paint, it's not the greatest for adhesion.