Rise of the Buckskin Beauty

Agreed.. but its on the other side of town.. and way too close to the mall to be going there on the weekend after thanksgiving

Looks a lot more doable now than when you first tore into it Joe. Good progress so far. I can't even imagine some of the projects some of you guys take on.

Anyway, I just had an epiphany for your project. A few pages back, there was some discussion on seating arrangement that would best suit your "Lake Cruiser". Well, I got it. Remember those two projects, one on PN and one on here, where the guys turned their 2001s into V-drives. There you go. Wrap-around seating, a sun deck for the hotties plus super surf boat. All problems solved. I think it would be pretty cool.



thread on 2001 v-drive thread for those of you that missed it.

Why Cant you keep a Direct drive and do the same thing? Does turning the engine around really create that much more room? EHh I guess I just answered my own question.

Can't fault you for wanting to keep that rare bird somewhat original-ish. OK, no more talk about reconfiguring. Six CCs? Catch me up, I am missing one. Original "hole shot" mustang, the "flagship" 83, the 93 project, the all baby blue older (60s?) Nautique (I havent seen or heard anything about that one since its maiden voyage, what came of it?) and now the debonaire. What am I missing?

There must be something about the Sportsman you really like to put it at the front of the line?

Ah yes, the Wildcat, forgot that one. That was the one you slid down the side of the mountain with, wasn't it? I had some other facts a little off too, I thought the nautique proj was a 93 not a 95 and I thought the 72ish was a nautique, not a mustang. What's the status of that one? Always liked the solid colored boats. (Plus its a Chevy....not that I really have any reason to be partial to one motor over an other, but its what I have so I fly the flag)

Riley wrote: There must be something about the Sportsman you really like to put it at the front of the line?

Joe is getting out of the fast boat game...

He probably figures that small block strokers and turbo Chryslers cant keep up with a healthy big block Chevy anyways. Time to build a tank with a stock small block that'll only do 40!

The mustang can't be first.. its tiny and has no ski pylon, I am a man with a big family and a bunch of friends who likes to ski.

The sportsman (I am going to stop calling it a debonaire even though that is the only known brochure name for boats with this hull because it has a serial number starting with SP so I am saying it left as a Sportsman) it isn’t at the front of the line.. just tied for second. First is the yellow boat for my machine shop guy. Tied for second are the 95 and the Sportsman.. as they are the two boats I have the most day to day use for – the 95 as a slalom/boom boat and all around backup to my 83. The sportsman over the other classics simply because it will hold more people.. it is pretty hard deciding which of my 8 nieces and nephews to leave behind on the dock when it is time to go for a boat ride… might buy me a couple of years before finally having to pony up the dough to build a pontoon boat.

The sportsman has gotten the work as of late because I needed to get it off of the trailer for the 95 and out of the way of the yellow boat so I can get all three of them in a position to be worked on before the possibility of old man winter dumping a bunch of snow. The yellow boat is a year overdue and no other boats will hit the water before it is done and delivered.

The 72ish Mustang is pretty cool, has a really bad arse longblock ready to go but needs a bunch of work… and it is one that I want to sew my own interior for .. Ideally I will start to work on that next winter along with the wildcat.. it has a relatively serviceable interior and stringers but as they will both take the same vinyl and I can throw bulk purchases at it. Both will need significant gel repair as well. The wildcat I don’t want to rush.. I would like to get the infamous twin turbo setup from the Midwest moved out this way (maybe picked up at green lake next summer?) and do what it takes to get all that up running and tuned.. but the boat is going to need to match.   Those are big money projects compared to this year’s boats, hardware to chrome, gauges to rebuild, etc.   I would suspect a few outside jobs will have to be taken here and there to fund them. I would like to have them done before I am 40. You never know when a great deal on a newer vdrive might show up and need a little attention either..

I would like to think that sooner than later I am going to end up with a well insulated space that will allow me to do fiberglass and paint work in the winter which would really help out the pace of these projects, but the reality is if that goes through I will probably spend a year outfitting the new shop before I get anything done in it.

Joe, my shop is on its 8th year and I'm still outfitting/arranging it. BUT, it is, and has been, very usable.

Along with the boats, you should pick up a couple of car projects... you know try and be "well rounded".

You need a trailer for that Sportsman. Come on over to Maine and bring Tim with you. You can pick up a couple of trailers. The trailer will cost you 1 case of Jenny Cream delivered to LNM.

They list 17', 19' and 20' versions of the Sportsman, so Id say yes!

Well theres my boat right there on the confidential dealer price page, that makes the tag more meaningfull as well, I was thinking SP 20138 was awefully high.. but as SP20 138 it makes more sense- and only $140 bucks more than a SN with the same engine option.

The 67 was running an LH OJ XMP 3 blade 13x11.5 or something like that there.. was a very light boat and a not stock engine

Tim,
What year is the price list? I'm guessing 65?

62 wood wrote: Tim, What year is the price list? I'm guessing 65?

66 it's in the reference section.

Joe, may be worth dropping this guy a line if you need some goodies.......before he gets the grinder out again.

67 Sportsman