Restoring 82SN in South Africa

It was a great winter time killer for me. Nearly spring now. HOnestly, I had a lot of fun, and cannot wait (nearly) to do another.

Mike:

Agreed. I think i'll feel the same as you next winter once i've had this one for a summer.

I definitely would do another if:
- i have this one operating to fall back on for use;
- i have the space to fit another.

You have both those bases covered. What do you have in mind for next winter, if i could coax you into passing the thoughts of just enjoying your last project and looking beyond?

The in-floor ballast idea has come up many times. There just doesn't seem to be the volume under the floor in a Ski Nautique to take advantage of it.

BTW nautiless that hell of a job your doing there.. at least winter is not that cold and you´ll be able to use the boat when it´s finished... and ski with a 3.2 suit...

The in floor ballast system has crossed my mind but the government has really clamped down on the boating community due to a spate of tragic accidents. You now need a skippers license, as you do in a car, which i wrote and did the practical last week. Bouyancy requirements for inland waters is required to be set at a minimum of 30% of the boat weight when fully laden. A standard 2001 comes out at around 38% if i remember my calcs. By me filling in the bow section i will push the bouyancy up, which will allow me to run two sacs and still be legal. The boat will also have to pass a certificate of fitness after the resto so i'm keeping all my drawings and calcs to make this easy. The entire country has to do this before August or else face the might of the law. Boat owners left and right are scrambling to get compliance.

The law also has a stacked fine system:
- dui on the water USD360 fine
- no skipper license USD360 fine
- no cof (cert of fitness) for the boat USD360 fine

So if you get caught with all three your total fine will be a fine of USD1080. That is very steep i.t.o the ratio to average salary. I all likelihood they will offer you a 6 month prison sentence as an alternative.

its great to see your continent is hopping on the safety bandwagon, most accidents and deaths on the water are due to drinking and the lack of safety awareness or even how to operate a boat. there are to many close calls on boat, think about its a moving object capable of dead stops and that means you keep moving forward...Im surprised it took so long over here to enforce safety rules, they are necessary not only for you but for other families out operating a boat, even the basic passing rules people were unaware of.....

Greg, i will refer to our new leader as number 12 from now on....look in a Crayola box

eric lavine wrote: Greg, i will refer to our new leader as number 12 from now on....look in a Crayola box

I don't know how you got from safety regs to prezbo and I don't have kids or crayons, but does this mean your kool-aid wore off?!!?

eric lavine wrote: you were against government rules

I said I was against MORE gov't...we have plenty if properly enforced, but that doesn't create more agencies.

Sorry for the jack Don!

Eric, maybe you will call and explain that to me! LOL

Yep. I think boating legislation is necessary. We don't have vast lakes in SA but rather man made dams. As our economy has grown, there are a lot more folk with water craft who don't know how to use them. I have been fortunate to be on the water from a very young age and although not law at the time, i learnt a heap by being a sea scout.

Just for interest and for other SA CCFans, here is a link to the latest legislation and news from SMSA

SAMSA Home

lets put it this way, i think there are more unsafe, unknowledgeable boaters than safe boaters. but the times are changing which is good. its always the other guy who has been drinking that runs into your path or worse into your boat.

Greg:

Post us some pics of your boat....

Eric:

Change is good. However, each needs to take responsibility for his own for it to work. Although this is new law, i've always had this view on okes drinking on my shift.
- I always made them wear a life jacket all the time even if they weren't swimming or skiing,
- They never got behind the wheel,
- I made them pay for the gas.

Needless to say, it's a crap day out getting hot and funding the gas. This sorted out my crew quickly. Naturally, things have changed with a family now....they're my new crew. My mates really don't pint on the water either.

Hi Greg:

That looks real sweet. I'm impressed with your boat. It seems well looked after and in good nick. Also, i do like the look, it was touch and go whether i would do something similar. Being an older model, i felt that the wood grain dash and chrome speedos wouldn't go with an updated exterior. Had i been able to find an '88 - '89. I would've also modernised. The interior (especially the console) of your boat goes very well with your exterior.

Re the Skippers:

I got my results the week after the exam. I will only receive the permanent license docs/card much later due to the states lightning fast processing ability...not. They do however, give you a 6 month temporary license until you permanent is issued. This they undertake to renew every 6 months until they have issued the permanent. The longest i've heard it take was close to a year for the issue of the permanent docs. I do think that with the recent deadlines, the processing backlog will grow.

Greg:

It is a long haul but worth it when you consider the cost of new boats. I'd rather spend R40k and have it redone, or spend R15k and do it myself, rather than spend another R200k to R400k to top up the sales price of the current boat to get a newer or out the box model.

Perhaps if i had that cash to burn i would...not many are in that position though.

I wouldn't just let anyone rebuild my boat....if i were you and in a jam with time and space to do the work, i would contact a reputable boat builder to do the job or part thereof. I pick up you may be in Cape Town and i found the Cape Town Boatbuilding and Technology Initiative (CTBi) website which lists a whole bunch of manufacturers who may help. Perhaps even contact CTBi as a starting point, they may nudge you in the right direction.

Heres the link to their directory search page.

CTBi

I have taken some pics at last. They are a bit dark as they were taken with my phone under my workshop light so apologies for the poor quality.

I have also skipped a few steps that i have completed when i filled the bow and battery area with all it's guts and foam. Nothing major though.

You can now see the extension of the bow bouyancy as i discussed a few posts back. I screwed the kickplate down on top of the epoxy peanut butter, this into the tips of the main stringers and the strut that runs between them on the bow end of the battery box section. I will then just bond the sides of the kickplate to the hull and lateral strut by filling with flocked epoxy butter and successive layers of fibre as one would do the stringers.








I've managed to shape the foam to receive the first floor section being a lay up combination of CSM, ply and weave.

Tonight i'll cut the battery area floor section (6mm ply) and bond it to the stringers, foam and hull with CSM and stainless steel screws. Next, i will be spending some time to prep the bulkhead and bilge area directly under the main floor ply section (18mm ply). This forward bilge ara area just below the main bow floor section needs to be sanded (remove runs of resin) and faired with epoxy fair and fill compound for finish. I thought to do this first before laying the main floor, it would be tricky and messy to try this underneath an already mounted floor panel. All i would then need to do is seal a fillet the areas where the floor meets the stringers and bulkhead.

You can see from my pics that i messed up the height of the main stringer just below this main floor section and had to layer it up a few mm. A ply insert and good amount of epoxy butter and csm did the trick...i'm so mad at myself for this.