79 Spectra Restoration

[RiverDave]

I'm not 100% sure how many people toure'd the build so far in the blog section so I figured I'd start a thread. We haven't done too much to the boat since the last blog entry, just got some new wheels for the trailer. As soon as the Riverhouse is 95% complete then I can get back to my interior project.

Starting from the begining..

Well as most of you know my g/f bought a Spectra Spectra 20. It's a 79 with a Merc 260 / Alpha Drive. The gelcoat has some stress cracks, as well as oxidation. The interior is in "fair" shape, but some of the stitching has come undone. The motor seems to be in good running order, and we just briefly checked the drive (alignment and U-joints) and everything looks good to go. The boat has been in the water once since she bought it, and now it's down here in Carlsbad.

The idea is to make a thread kind of like the "Bubbles" thread where it shows what it starts out as, step by step to the finished deal. Bubbles Thread (http://www.riverratlife.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4171)

I've already gotten started on some of the stuff, but being that this is going to be a 2 - 3 year project alot of this stuff we're going to be going over again in the future.

Here are the pictures the guy originally sent of the boat. She bought it off the internet sight unseen (e-mailed pictures only) for 4500 bucks. Definately a good deal for a running Spectra 20.

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Spectra1.jpg

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Spectra.jpg

Here are the "flaw" pictures he sent her to let her know what was wrong with the boat.

Chipped SwimStep
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Chipped_swim_step-med.jpg

A tear in the interior

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860LF_seat-med.jpg

Small accident on the left hand side of the trailer

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860LF_trailer_step-med.jpg


Stress cracks on the drivers gunnel by the drivers seat.

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860s_seat-med.jpg

RD

[RiverDave]

We drove to Davis California (approximately 600 miles north of San Diego) to pick up the boat. Upon getting there the old owner told us that the boat had a brand new outdrive (stern drive engineering), the boat had just recently been serviced and the trailer only had 200 miles on it since it had been completely gone through. I stopped at a Kragen Autoparts, and bought a grease gun and some wiring. Fixed up the wiring to the trailer to match the truck. The buddy bearings were empty as far as I could tell, so I greased them up and we were off to see if the boat actually ran. About 15 minutes down the road was the Sacramento river. Checked the oil and the, and the hydraulic fluid (There's no drive reservoir on this style Alpha so I figured we'd just chance it). The oil had a nice "midnight" black tone too it, so it obviously hadn't been changed recently (or ever). The hydrualic reservoir was a little low so I filled it. We put it in the water to see if it ran and low and behold the boat started right up.

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860DSC00018-med.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860DSC00017-med.JPG


The dog was about as apprehensive about straying away from the launch ramp as I was..

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860NevaNotsure-med.JPG

She quickly warmed up to her new boat though

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860NevaWarmedUp-med.JPG

Boat idled smoothly and didn't hear anything "funky" so we brought it onto plane and cruised the Sacramento River for about 20 minutes. The outdrive was making quite a bit of U-Joint noise so we brought it back and put it on the trailer to head home.
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860ItRuns1-med.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Itruns2-med.JPG

Now we get into the "How To" section of the post..

I'm sure many people will vary on their opinions of this, but in my opinion if your going to go buy a boat (any boat!) and your going to be towing it some distance to get it home, then you can never be too prepared for the worst. Blowouts happen, seized bearings happen, brake failures happen (most of them don't work anyways), coupler failures happen (brakes get locked on sometimes). The only thing that they all seem to have in common is that when they do fail, it happens out in the middle of nowhere, when you least expect it, and when a tow truck driver can't be there in any reasonable amount of time.

That being said.. Most trailers have the same lug pattern, it's an old Ford pattern I can't remember exactly what it is now.. If you have a trailer tire though odds are you have a "spare" for your soon to be new boat. I have 2 spairs for my car hauler so I grabbed one and put it on the roof of the Expedition.

Changing a trailer tire on the side of the road with the stock Ford jack sucks.. (I've done it before) So bring a floor jack with you, or a 2 1/2 ton Scissor jack if you have one. If you don't don't be cheap, just buy one down at an autoparts store. When your changing that tire it'll be worth all of the 30 - 50 bucks you spent on it. Bring a large lug wrench, preferrably the cross kind with 4 different sizes. As well bring a small tool kit with screw drivers (blade and phillips), wire cutters, electrical tape, butt connectors, and a grease gun if you have one (I didn't have one at the time).

Lastly, I'm a big believer in you can't have too many tie downs. If you have a blow out, you can ratchet strap up an axle, in many cases the boat doesn't come with straps, or in some cases (like this one) even tied down spots on the boat etc.. Here's a picture of the rig after pulling it out of the water and heading home. (Notice the extra spair tire on the roof)

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Hillbillies-med.JPG


Between all that stuff short of a disaster you can keep on trucking to the next town, or in most cases all the way home.

RD

[RiverDave]

- The Transom Light -

On any 27 year old boat the transom light is going to be in pretty bad shape. I looked on RexMarine's website and couldn't find pricing on one (they do carry it though), so I glanced at Eddiemarine's website and they sell the replacement light for 28 bucks. Dana has one on their website that's almost identical for 14.50 I believe. It wouldn't be hard to order either one and just reinstall in the same hole as the old one. I believe the Eddie "perko" is actually the same light.

Lets pretend for a second that were poor... Ok lets not pretend, we're broke as a joke right now, and we're getting the boat ready for it's 1st weekend on thanksgiving. :)

Remove the 2 screws holding the sternlight on the transom. Take off the chrome bezel, and the lens. Odds are if your boat is an older boat then that Lens is going to be more of a yellow color then clear. The chrome bezel is probably not looking to shiny anymore either.

Take both parts and drop them in a roadraper cup 1/4 full of CLR. Come back 2 days later and check on them. Odds are the corosion is still on the chrome, and the lens is still yellow. That's ok though becuase the CLR will loosen alot of that corrosion up making it easier to get rid of!

Put a buffing wheel on your standard everyday old bench grinder and we'll make the chrome part shine like new again. :)

Bottom half polished, top still corroded
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860PerkoBezel-med.JPG

Better Picture of half and half.
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860PerkoBezel50-50.JPG

The chrome bezel is now fully polished (can't get a picture to turn out) but it looks like new.

Onto the Yellowed lens. Pour a little "plastic scratch remover" on it and watch it start coming back to life. Rub in a single direction on the outside of the lens with a terry cloth towel and almost immediately you'll be impressed with the results. Scratch remover is like 7 bucks and they carry it at any pepboys, kragen etc.. You'll barely use any for a part this small, so when your done go clean your headlights on your truck. ;) The inside of the lens has little ridges that aren't so easy to "polish" so I used a drill and a little cotton "buffer" attachment for a dremel.

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Perkolens.JPG

Whallah new lens.

There's a black plastic spacer underneath these two parts that still looks like hell.. I'm going to start on that here in a few minutes. So far I have roughly 20 minutes into this light. I expect to be done with it and back on the boat after another 10 minutes of work or so. (I'll take some pictures of the black plastic peace and how it turns out.

So I again used some plastic polish and a little bit of Elbow Grease on the black spacer and managed to get the white "lime" line off the plastic. Here's the Transom light back on the boat. (It will be coming off again while I'm wetsanding and buffing, but I figured you guys would like to see the final product)

The yellowish "tint" to the lens in this picture is actually the plastic inside the light.
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860TransomLight3-med.JPG
This picture gives you a good idea of how clear it came out. (Not bad for a 29 year old part)
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Transomlight2-med.JPG
The black spacer
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Plasticspacerpolish-med.JPG

Now some of the more basic stuff.. Removing the Mirror and the Windshield.

The mirror was a total pain in the ass, as the bolts had rusted and wouldn't come loose. Windshield came off relatively easily. (Speaking of which if anyone wants this windshield or the little brackets to hold it on, shoot me a PM)

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Windshieldgone-med.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Windshield-med.JPG

I also removed the Vents and the rear cleat. (Making new Vents and a ski tow)


We have just started to wetsand and buff the boat (1st time ever doing it so any tips are appreciated!)

Here's some pre-before and after pics.

Here is just under the rubrail (took it off, and replacing it) Before wetsanding or buffing. In all fairness it does have some water residue on it from working on the deck, but you can see the Gel is very "dull"

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Gellprebuff-med.JPG

Here is the edge after a light wetsand with some 800 grit and the more course of the rubbing compounds. We have to go buy some "mirror glaze" so it should come out even brighter then this when it's done.

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Edgeroughbuff.JPG

We also quickly did the side of the woodgrain to see how much of it would come back to life. The results are pretty impressive for the oxidized condition that it was in!

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860WoodGrainBuff.JPG

RD

[RiverDave]

Ok from way back in the beginning of the post here is a pic of what the boat looked like originally. The gel was very dull (at best)

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Transomlight2-med.JPG

and there was dock rash up and down both sides... pretty much every inch of the sides had dock rash on it.
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Gellprebuff-med.JPG

We went over the whole boat with 800 grit sandpaper.. Somethings to note here is that we skipped the wood grain. The other thing to note is Stacy and I have never wetsanded a boat before. Originally we were very gentle with the sandpaper becuase of multiple warnings from various sources about the possibillity of sanding through the gel coat and being screwed.

2 block sanders, 800 grit sandpaper, a bucket with warm water and dishwashing soap added. Shortly there after we abandoned the block sanders in favor of sanding it by hand. (Again first time doing it and not sure if this is the right way or not, just the way we did it). As afore mentioned we were very gentle with the sandpaper.. After several hours I came to the conclusion that if you sanded through the gelcoat with 800 grit sandpaper with soapy water your an idiot.. I'm dead convinced it'd take 10 minutes solid of sanding in one spot with a finger tip (one small spot) to go through the gelcoat entirely.. Gentle is out the window.

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Wetsandnew1.JPG

We roughed the whole boat, and focussed alot on the scratches in various places. I found that if you are careful you can sand in the direction of the scratch and get it to blend fairly easily. If I tried to do this with a block sander I'd have to remove an entire area of gel down to the bottom of the scratch to get it to blend.

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Wetsandnew3.JPG

The entire boat had a kind of "yellow tinge" to it.. As we were sanding the yellow dissapeared and the white came back to life. You can see the yellow on the left hand side of the transom, the right hand side had been wetsanded.

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Wetsandnew6.JPG

RD

[RiverDave]

After wetsanding the whole boat with 800, we went directly to 2000 grit. Ideally we would've switched to 1500 grit and then 2000, but 2000 is what we had, and the autoparts stores were closed right around that time. We basically had to go over the boat twice with the 2000 but it came out pretty nice. The gel should have a nice uniform finish on it after you wipe it down, and you shouldn't see any sanding marks. This is what pretty much the whole boat looked like after the 2000, and cleaning.

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Wetsandnew9.JPG

It just looks like clean and uniform, but kind of "dull."

Danny (BB572) was coming down the following day to install a rubrail and some cleats etc.. So in the interest of time I buffed the edges near the rubrail, and the entire Transom 1st. I didn't use any rubbing compound (figured the 2000 grit was fine enough), rather I used MeGuiars "High Gloss Polish" (# 45 Marine * RV). I did buy the Meguiars "1 step" rubbing compound and gloss to use in some rough spots, but never ended up using it.

You can see the outer edge is buffed in this picture, but the inner blue isn't
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860BuffNew1.JPG

The wood grain and the top deck had just been gone over with the buffer.. I wiped the edge of it away so you can see the finish.

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Buffnew5.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Buffnew6.JPG

I'm still buffing on the boat, but it should be done by tonight. I have the deck to do, and the wood graind on the front and the other side. Overall though I'm very happy with the results of what basically was alot of elbow grease and 50 bucks in materials.

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Buffnew8.JPG

(The stuff in the woodgrain is actually reflections. It looks perfect in person)

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Buffnew12.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Buffnew16.JPG

We have roughly 3 solid days of work into this boat doing it a few hours at a time at night after work. I'm sure it could be done alot faster, but this was our 1st time and the learning curve takes a little while.

I'm not done yet, but believe me my hatred for that buffer couldn't reach a higher level. At one point last night I would've payed somebody a ridiculous amount of money to finish the underside of the bow. It'll be worth it in the end though.

RD

[RiverDave]

We opted for the Stainless Rubrail instead of the Aluminum / Rubber insert style. They are kind of a pain in the ass to keep up, as well as install, but they look 100 times better in my opinion. Danny came down to install the rubrail (L&L Marine) and the Cleats (Rex Marine) as well as to take a look at what we could do as far as mounting the ski tow (nothing within reason at the present)
(Note the deck of the boat hasn't been buffed yet)

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Rub1.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Rub2.JPG

Stainless is MUCH HARDER to work with then the aluminum rub rails. As well it's much more difficult to cut. Unless you have a decent bandsaw readily available I really wouldn't try to do this yourself. I couldn't imagine having to cut this stuff accurately (has to be dead nuts accurate by the way to get the seems to line up well) with a hack saw.

The corners are a huge concern for stainless rub rails. They don't bend easily so they have a tendancy to want to "kink" either before or after the corner. With a little massaging, and a "deadblow" hammer it rounded out nicely. (Way better then the last install I saw that was done by a shop. The owner of the boat was telling me "that's just the way all stainless rubrails are" maybe he should've looked for a better rigger/shop)

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860RubCorner.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Rub3.JPG

RD

[RiverDave]

Danny's put his fair share of cleats in over the years so these were banged out pretty quick. Stacy picked Accon 4 1/2 inch "slimline's." They are a pull up style cleat. We skipped on the billet cleat bezels.. Honestly 9 times out of 10 I think most things look better without a bezel.

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Drill2-med.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860RearCleat1.JPG

Cleat being put into the hole.

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860RearCleat2-med.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860RearCleatInstalled.JPG

Front Cleat
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860FrontCleat.JPG


That's about where we're at right now. The buffing should be done tonight, and after that it's off to the river for ThanksGiving.

RD

[RiverDave]

Working on the billet / stainless ski tow tonight. :)
Had a nice little radius cutter sitting around doing nothing so I figured I'd give it a job to do.
1st pass
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Radius1stpass-med.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Radius3rd-med.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Radius5-med.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860DaveLathe-med.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Radius6-med.JPG

Starting to rough out the taper

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860RoughingTaper-med.JPG

I'm not working from a print here, and just kinda eyeballing what I think looks good. I started doing my taper a little prematurely.. LOL I should've roughed it out quite a bit further.

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Taperstart-med.JPG

I'll save ya the suspense

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Taper-med.JPG

It ended up like that. ;)

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860TaperStainless-med.JPG


RD

[RiverDave]

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Radius6-med.JPG

Starting to rough out the taper

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860RoughingTaper-med.JPG

I'm not working from a print here, and just kinda eyeballing what I think looks good. I started doing my taper a little prematurely.. LOL I should've roughed it out quite a bit further.

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Taperstart-med.JPG

I'll save ya the suspense

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Taper-med.JPG

It ended up like that. ;)

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860TaperStainless-med.JPG


Now time to goto the bandsaw cut the remaining material off the back of the part, then put it in the lathe the other way to do the backside and coutnerbore.

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860partoff-med.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Partoff2-med.JPG

When working this close to the chuck (for the new guy machinists) it's advisable to turn everything off and free spin the machine by hand with the cutter at your depth. If you do clip the chuck with the cutter or the compound it = bad news.. (I've never done it, but I was present at a mold shop when it happened once. As JBB says "BANG!" :D )

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860closechuck-med.JPG

Drilled the hole and counterbored the base..

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Counterbore-med.JPG

1st assembly
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860StainlessSkitow-med.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Skitowbase1-med.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Skitowbase2-med.JPG



This is what the base of the Ski tow looks like on the boat. I'm into it about 2 hours just on what you saw above. (You can see the roughing part of it in the V-Drive Section) I still have to put the bolt pattern in the base of the part, and make a mating "through bolt" part, as well as the top of the ski tow which will hold the rope etc.. :)

RD

[RiverDave]

I skipped out on some of the pictures here, but it'll give you an idea of how you make a thin .375 large diameter back plate on a lathe (this is only one of many ways) but maybe will offer a difference on setup then some are used too.

Start with a chunk of aluminum roughly the right diameter, and face it and turn an edge just past the thickness of your total part.

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860FacingBackPlate-med.JPG

You can part it off in the lathe now, or I have a fresh new blade in the bandsaw so I just took it over there. The block on the right was to push the parts through towards the end so your fingers don't get too close to the mix

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860BandSawBackPlate-med.JPG

There is alot of different ways to get a part straight in a chuck, but for a quick and dirty method this one seems to work pretty well

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860SetupBackPlate-med.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860SetupBackPlate2-med.JPG

Then you come back and face it, punch the hole and your done.

To break the edges I just screwed the backing plate to the stainless pole and filed them by hand in the lathe.

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860BreakingEdges-med.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860BottomAssembly-med.JPG

Part is done.

I skipped the machining photo's of the actual rope attachment point.. The camera batteries were dead.

Here is what the Ski Tow looks like completely finished with the backing plate sitting next to it.

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Finished2.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Finished.JPG

I'm debating on whether or not I should make the way I secure it to the boat more "rigid" I.E. A large plate on the underside of the boat, or whether I should shorten the ski tow etc.. There was some concern in the V-Drive forum about stress cracks in the deck of the boat etc.. So I'm going to think on it for a bit before I go any further with this.

Ok well let me finish the Ski tow portion since there is only 2 more pictures to show of that, and then I'll get back to the wetsanding an buffing.

We're going to skip ahead quite a bit here to the final mounted product. As it sits it's not very "functional" to be perfectly honest. The boat is getting switched to a bravo style Drive etc.. next winter so once I can tie the ski tow (possibly a different one) into the gimbal etc.. it'll be functional. The way this alpha is setup there's no way no how that's ever going to happen "reasonably." So this will cover the holes in the deck, and atleast look good until next season.

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Mounted2-med.JPG

Apparently I didn't take anymore pics of it, so I'll take some in a few and come back to this post to put them in.

RD

[RiverDave]

I never did post up the pictures of how it turned out with the buffing and the rubrail so here is what it came out to be. :)

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860BoatTrailer1.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860BoatTrailer2.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Boattrailer4.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Boattrailer5.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Boattrailer6.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860RhinoBoatTrailer1.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860RhinoBoatTrailer2.JPG

As mentioned before the boat is up at Zeiman right now getting a trailer built for it, and we won't have it back for several weeks. When it gets back though, I have guages, battery boxes and some other stuff to install already. :)

RD

[RiverDave]

1st Trip to the river on Thanksgiving! Stacy and BB572 teaching her how to handle her boat around the docks.

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860StacyUTurn.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860StacyDanny2.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860StacyDanny.JPG

RD

[RiverDave]

Here's some pics of the new trailer being built! :)

The large center beam brackets are for Cat Walks. :)

http://www.hotboat.com/image_center/data/500/Trailer1.jpg

http://www.hotboat.com/image_center/data/500/Trailer21.jpg

Cav Plate / Trim tab extensions on the back, plus their will be an area to stand on top of them so you can get in to the boat from the back of the trailer.
http://www.hotboat.com/image_center/data/500/Trailer3.jpg

I'm very happy with the way it's turning out!

RD

[RiverDave]

Stacy's new Whip!! :) (As FlatBroke would call it.. I like that term.. LOL)

These pictures suck, becuase we took them at night with an old camera, but I'll get some better ones soon! The attention to detail on this trailer is AWESOME!! I'm very happy with the end result, and can't thank the responsible parties enough!!

Some of the trick things on the trailer are

Tandem Torsions
Disc Brakes
Stainless Fenders
Chromed Side Guides (V-Drive Style)
Carpeted Cat Walk going down the center of the trailer
18 inch Cav Plate Guards
Clear LED's all the way around
Break Away Tongue
Newer Style UFP coupler with solenoid bypass for reverse.

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860DSC00032.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860StacyNewTrailer1.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860NewBoatTrailer1.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860NewBoatTrailer2.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860CavPlateGuards.JPG

Sorry the camera sucks.. :(

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860CavPlateGuards2.JPG

You can just see the start of the Cat Walk under the bow

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860CatWalk1.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860CatWalk2.JPG

The stainless Fenders and Stainless Rub Rail compliment each other pretty well. (wish I had better pictures)

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Stainless1.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860RhinoBoatTrailer2.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860NewBoatTrailer2.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860BoatTrailer1.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860NewBoatTrailer1.JPG

RD

[RiverDave]

So Stacy got some brand new Autometer guages for Christmas and we haven't had anytime to put them in. Stacy's Mom is going to the river with us next weekend so I wanted the boat to have something new on it for her to show her (Other then the new trailer). That being said I don't know jack about wiring / electricty. Danny (BadBlown572) always handles that program for me, but he's swamped right now and I didn't want to bug him so I figured I'd give one of my other buddies a call and see what's what.

I called Wes down at Trident Custom boats, and he said he didn't have the time to hook it up, but he would allow one of his riggers to help me out and use the shop. So saturday morning I took a drive down to Trident and hung out with two very cool people all day. Paul Galindo (Rigger for Trident) and his 14 year old son Gabriel. Paul jumped into the project with both feet, and I definately like the way he works. One of those measure twice and cut once kinda guys. He carefully marked each wire, and had a note pad figuring out what goes to what. He pulled the old loom out all the way back to the Merc plug in the engine bay.

Now let me start by saying this was one of Spectra's final years so their rigging was garbage to begin with.. On top of which 30 years and a previous owner there was more butt connectors, electrical tape, and splices then there was actual wire.. LOL I'm surprised the boat ran to be quite honest.. Half the guages didn't work when we started.

This was about the time Wes showed up at the shop, and he jumped right in the boat with Paul and immediately worked side by side with him creating a new loom all the way back, and planning how they were going to lay out the dash.

When I arrived at Trident the original Dash looked like this..

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Original_Dash.JPG

I didn't take any pictures of the backside becuase honestly there wasn't much to see other then a rats nest that made most Commanders look like they were DCB's..

After they pulled the loom out I discussed with Paul where I wanted each guage and why, and then he pulled the old ones out and put the autometers in the holes. The old cigarette lighter didn't work and there was a momentary switch that I think was for a horn maybe?? That was all rusted and looked like shit. He put in a new cigarette lighter and Wes grabbed a very cool billet momentary switch (button) and drilled a slightly larger hole for it. (This switch will end up being a GPS Recall/Reset switch)

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860New_Guages_1.JPG

After the new Loom was ran from the engine bay to the front they wired up the dash. Paul and Wes both worked on this for an hour or two and then Wes had to take off to go eat dinner with his wife. The final result is this

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Wiring_1.JPG

Note that large bundle in the top of the pic is becuase I don't have the sender for the GPS unit yet. That will be wired after the fact.

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Wiring_2.JPG

(You can see the wire bundle for the GPS sending unit that I don't have yet better in this picture)
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Wiring_3.JPG

Wes incorporated some pretty cool ideas into the wiring job. He had mentioned that in the past he had a neutral safety switch go bad in a shifter before and it was a pain trying to figure it out on the water with minimal tools. That being said they left a little length of wire, and with nothing but a pocket knife I can cut the wire and attach it to a terminal to get the boat started and back home. There was also some other things (redundant power and grounds I believe?) but honestly I know jack shit about electricity so as long as it looks good and works I'm a go with the flow kinda guy.. Cool none the less though.

After the wiring was completed Paul's son Gabriel held each guage while he tightened them down.

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Adjusting_Guages.JPG

Gabriel during some free time also removed the old wood steering wheel. While Paul was doing some of the final touches on the wiring.

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Original_helm.JPG

This was when I came in on Sunday morning. :)

Now that the Wiring was complete Paul got a hub puller out of his tool box, and we pulled the old Hub. (grey corroded looking part in the picture)

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860Original_Helm_2.JPG

After that Paul and I carefully installed (all polished parts) :

Helm Bezel (replaces black plastic helm cover)
6 inch Extended Hub
Bolt Pattern Adapter
Center Cap
Steering wheel

And this was the end result of my visit to Trident.. :)

There's still finger prints all over everything from when we were working on it. I'm going to clean everything tonight and I'll take some better pictures tomorrow or the next day. These will give you the general idea though. ;)

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860New_Helm_1.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860New_dash_2.JPG

http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/860New_dash_2.JPG

That cigarette lighter lights up and glows orange by the way. (Little bling for the smokers)

Thanks again to the guys down at Trident!! :)

RD

[RiverDave]

Not sure if Mondorally will recognize his old wheels.. These used to be on his 27' Schiada trailer, but a Semi changed lanes into him, and the lug nuts of the semi did a number on 2 of the wheels. The other wheels had some minor curb rash and little scratches.

A good guy named Nathan down at Velvet Touch Wheels took care of them for me. He has a CNC lathe that is designed for wheels. Basically they take a wheel, and go in and touch it with a prope (get your mind out of the gutter guys) to get the profile of the wheel. Then they mount up each wheel and come back and take a skim cut across each wheel. Any areas that are too deep are welded 1st, then machined then polished/painted etc...

He was supposed to clear coat these wheels for me to save me from having to polish them very often, but given the fact that he did them for a good price, and repolished all of them and mounted and balanced I'm not bitching about it. The pictures aren't very good, but each wheel is flawles. Zero scratches, zero curb rash etc..

There's some pics of the current wheels on the trailer as well for contrast.. I'll put the new wheels on beginning of next week. :)

[djunkie]

So is thing gonna stay a small block/Alpha boat or do you guys plan on changing that later on?
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[RiverDave]

Well I got most of a Gale Banks Twin turbo kit for a Merc 260 sitting here.. So what I figure I'll do is late this season probably put that on and see how it runs.. If it runs ok, then we'll leave it for another season.. If it blows up then I'll probably buy some stock merc package while I'm building the motor. I found one of those Scorpion motors like in my pop's boat for 6K, and I'm pretty sure that included a Bravo drive with it. Either way, by the time this motor tanks out, we'll have enough parts accrued to put it back together as a Bravo / ?? package boat.

RD

[djunkie]

Well I got most of a Gale Banks Twin turbo kit for a Merc 260 sitting here.. So what I figure I'll do is late this season probably put that on and see how it runs.. If it runs ok, then we'll leave it for another season.. If it blows up then I'll probably buy some stock merc package while I'm building the motor. I found one of those Scorpion motors like in my pop's boat for 6K, and I'm pretty sure that included a Bravo drive with it. Either way, by the time this motor tanks out, we'll have enough parts accrued to put it back together as a Bravo / ?? package boat.

RD

Will you have to change much to fit a Bravo in an Alpha hole?
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[RiverDave]

My freakin board and I put the thread in the wrong spot... LOL Unbelievable. :D (fixed now in the custom boats section)

RD

[RiverDave]

Will you have to change much to fit a Bravo in an Alpha hole?

No it goes right in from what I understand.. (I think you have to drill 2 extra holes) You "can" even use the same Gimble from what I was told.. although the Bravo gimble is heavier duty.

RD

[djunkie]

No it goes right in from what I understand.. (I think you have to drill 2 extra holes) You "can" even use the same Gimble from what I was told.. although the Bravo gimble is heavier duty.

RD

Gotcha. Well so far its looking pretty damm good.
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[Timmmmmy]

Great post. Make sure to keep it updated.

[RiverDave]

Gotcha. Well so far its looking pretty damm good.

Actually we had a little "setback" in the gel department.. LOL Somehow someway (I dunno) The gel got attacked by a cleaner I used, so it took the "shine" off of it.. Basically I gotta re-buff the whole damn boat.

I'm going to take it to the professionals this time around.

RD

[DeltaSigBoater]

Goddamn... every-time I look at these pictures I wanna kick myself for not buying the old trailer last year.

:beer

[River]

Dash upgrade looks fantastic. :)

[RiverDave]

Goddamn... every-time I look at these pictures I wanna kick myself for not buying the old trailer last year.

:beer

I had a couple of people that wanted it.. I ended up selling it to Flat Broke..

You have a Spectra I'm assuming?

RD

[DeltaSigBoater]

I had a couple of people that wanted it.. I ended up selling it to Flat Broke..

You have a Spectra I'm assuming?

RD

No I don't have a Spectra, when I originally inquired about the trailer the dealer I was working for at the time had taken an old 17' Thunderbird in on trade w/ no trailer. Needless to say it was a bitch to move around the and all the cheep trailers were junk or had junk boats on top of them. When my boss didn't understand what I was trying to he shot it down.

Then one night I'm posting on HB, and I get the bright idea that the trailer would be great for my 13' 4" Boston Whaler, without too many modifications :rolleyes:
The trailer would've been a tad excessive for the boat, but my thinking was it would be better suited for towing the boat out to the lake and river. So I got all the modification kinks worked out on paper, gonna contact you to buy the trailer, I asked my boss for my paycheck, and I get fired!

Sorry for the long post/rant :D

DeltaSigBoater

[RiverDave]

trailer mighta been a tad larger for a 13' Boston Whaler.. LOL :D

RD

[SoCal Detail]

Actually we had a little "setback" in the gel department.. LOL Somehow someway (I dunno) The gel got attacked by a cleaner I used, so it took the "shine" off of it.. Basically I gotta re-buff the whole damn boat.

I'm going to take it to the professionals this time around.

RD

You did a great job colorsanding and buffing. Mark

[Fourspeednup]

Hey dave, what did you use on the gel that messed stuff up:confused:

[RiverDave]

Hey dave, what did you use on the gel that messed stuff up:confused:

I'm hesitant to say Zach, becuase to my knowledge there's been no other reported cases of what happened to my boat from the same stuff..

So it might've been an isolated case? Or maybe something else got on it that I'm not aware of?? Who knows..

RD

[justfloatn]

Nice work Dave. :cool: I like the boat.
It looks like one of the new DCM boats. Is that where their mold came from?
I wish I had access to a lathe. The ski tow is nice.
I can't believe you were boating in my backyard. When did that trip happen?

You know now that I'm thinking about it. I drove to Lake Pleasant to pick my boat up. I don't know if you're near there, but funny anyway:beer

[RiverDave]

Nice work Dave. :cool: I like the boat.
It looks like one of the new DCM boats. Is that where their mold came from?
I wish I had access to a lathe. The ski tow is nice.
I can't believe you were boating in my backyard. When did that trip happen?

You know now that I'm thinking about it. I drove to Lake Pleasant to pick my boat up. I don't know if you're near there, but funny anyway:beer

It should look a little like a DCM.. LOL It's a Spectra 20, A few mfg's decided the Hull worked very well so they splashed it.. Point in fact their slogan was "The most splashed hull of the 70's, BUY THE ORIGINAL"

Howard was one of the mfg's that splashed it directly. Howard built the boat identical for awhile, then made some aesthetic changes to the deck of the boat. They took the "hump" out of the side to make it look more like a Schiada style river cruiser. Gene at Howard told me they tweaked the bottom slightly, but slightly being so immaterial that it's not noticeable. (They might've taken some hook out of it? I dunno) Howard built that boat with the straight Deck for a long long time, and it's one of the most revered boats ever built.. They are moving forward with their Bullet series, and ended up selling the mold to someone with alot of $$$.. That person discovered he didn't want to build boats, so he in turn sold the mold to Danny, whom is now building them under the label DCM.

Danny is continueing with the tradition of Howard of only putting out top notch shiznit.. Nothing cheezy in those boats at all.

The ski tow is more becuase I had some holes I needed to cover up for right now.. I'm giong to be building a different one down the road once I get some gel repairs done (most likely @ Trident).

The pictures from up North was when we picked up the boat from the old owner. I've never been to lake pleasant I think that's out in Pheonix? We are more San Diego, and Havi/Parker people.

RD

[justfloatn]

The pictures from up North was when we picked up the boat from the old owner. I've never been to lake pleasant I think that's out in Pheonix? We are more San Diego, and Havi/Parker people.

RD

:smackhead I just noticed your location said Carlsbad. I assumed you were in AZ. Actually I just booked our family vacation to San Diego in Sept.
We are going to be at the BAHIA(sp?) Resort for 10 days. Doing the Zoo, Sea World, ect. Oh, and I may be at that Thunder Boat thing....:skull The wifey is going to be in for a suprise.:D Maybe we can meet up for a beer:beer

[RiverDave]

With the remodel of the house I haven't had anytime to dedicate to the boat. The other night Bobby came by to take a look at gelcoating it, so I figured I'd use the time while we were B.S.'ing to throw the new wheels on the trailer. :)

RD

[DeltaSigBoater]

Good looking wheels, nice choice!

:beer

[spectras only]

Dave , I may have missed the specs on the boat , what speeds you're getting with sterndrives ? setup looks great in these pictures .

[RiverDave]

This boat has a old merc 260 in it, so I'd bet it runs low 50's as it sits.. Probably 54 mph on a good day. That whole program is coming out at some point. We're going to regel the boat in about a month (need some time to derig, and make bulkheads etc..) and then after that I'll save the nickels and dimes for one of those Reman'd 400HP merc 383's.. I'm mainly looking for the drive / gimble package, and for the price the motor is almost free from what i understand.

Then save up for the hydraulic steering and probably one of Danny's 600/600's or 750HP motor.

I'm building big cav plates for the back, and will be rerigging the boat more ski race style, with a cruiser interior.

RD

[spectras only]

Dave , Mike Avila's twin outboard did well over 100 , yours should do pretty well with 600-7oo HP :beer

[BobbyB]

I'm hesitant to say Zach, becuase to my knowledge there's been no other reported cases of what happened to my boat from the same stuff..

So it might've been an isolated case? Or maybe something else got on it that I'm not aware of?? Who knows..

RD
you know, I had my boat polished out by a pro, too, because it was looking unusually dull and chaulky. I figured it was just time to do it, and now reading this I realize that the season before last was the first time I used a detail spray/cleaner/wax :confused: as well as a little last season (the boat was under construction pretty much all of last season:thumbsdown, but that's a whole other thread ). I never would've guessed that the detail spray would have been a factor. I asked what to do to prevent it, cuz the hole thing was looking dull and dried out (even parts that have always stayed somewhat glossy), and he gave me the name of a product, but it's a polymer-nano-tech wax (?) that'll have to be applied the ole fashioned way; no more spray and go:(. Kind of bums me out; one of the many things that was cool about the ole girl was that the gel always looked pretty good without having to put too much work into it. I hope I didn't eff it up for good. It might be just a coincidence:hmm, but I ain't takin any more chances. In the immortal words of Pat Morita, I guess it'll have to be "Wax-On; Wax-Off" from now on...............

[justfloatn]

This boat has a tired (and I mean tired) merc 260 in it, so I'd bet it runs low 50's as it sits.. Probably 54 mph on a good day. That whole program is coming out here after this weekend though.. LOL We're going to regel the boat in about a month (need some time to derig, and make bulkheads etc..) and then after that I'll save the nickels and dimes for one of those Reman'd 400HP merc 383's.. I'm mainly looking for the drive / gimble package, and for the price the motor is almost free from what i understand.

Then save up for the hydraulic steering and probably one of Danny's 600/600's or 750HP motor.

I'm building big cav plates for the back, and will be rerigging the boat more ski race style, with a cruiser interior.

RD

This is going to be a nice boat. When do you plan on having all this done by; May, June? Summer is almost here :D

[RiverDave]

you know, I had my boat polished out by a pro, too, because it was looking unusually dull and chaulky. I figured it was just time to do it, and now reading this I realize that the season before last was the first time I used a detail spray/cleaner/wax :confused: as well as a little last season (the boat was under construction pretty much all of last season:thumbsdown, but that's a whole other thread ). I never would've guessed that the detail spray would have been a factor. I asked what to do to prevent it, cuz the hole thing was looking dull and dried out (even parts that have always stayed somewhat glossy), and he gave me the name of a product, but it's a polymer-nano-tech wax (?) that'll have to be applied the ole fashioned way; no more spray and go:(. Kind of bums me out; one of the many things that was cool about the ole girl was that the gel always looked pretty good without having to put too much work into it. I hope I didn't eff it up for good. It might be just a coincidence:hmm, but I ain't takin any more chances. In the immortal words of Pat Morita, I guess it'll have to be "Wax-On; Wax-Off" from now on...............

I think what happened to mine was something different all together. I used a couple of different waxes after I wetsanded the boat. I'm thinking the spray wax I used has a deal that strips the old wax, and lays down a little new wax kinda deal. There might've been so much wax on the boat that it only partially stripped it or??? Who knows.. In any event, I used some "gel gloss" and it brought that shit back to a new penny. Go buy some at Home Depot and I don't think you'll be dissapointed. My game plan is to use gel gloss every couple of months, and Hot Sauce in between for wipe downs at the river etc..

This is going to be a nice boat. When do you plan on having all this done by; May, June? Summer is almost here :D

Not sure.. Put the whole program on hold for a bit, as we're going to dial in the Schiada 1st. So this boat is at the river and will probably be there for atleast 3 - 4 weeks, then I'll derig, regel, and start. Hoping for completion late this season on gel / interior and might even throw it back in the water. Hoping to have a new motor in it / drive by the end of the year with the cav plates etc..

RD

[BobbyB]

after I posted here I saw the Gel Gloss thread. I plan to give a shot. Letcha know.

[spectras only]

I know this product has polymer in it , but I've used it on my 20 Spectra
for years and the woodgrain looked like new when I sold the boat after
owning it for 26 years .http://nufinish.com/products.html
McGuire 26 is good but has some polymer in it as well .
I'm a LSOB when it comes to polishing and waxing a boat car etc.....
and I was happy with the NuFinish's ease of application ;):D
I'm sure the detail guys will give a :thumbsdown , but it worked for
me :thumbsup

[SoCal Detail]

I know this product has polymer in it , but I've used it on my 20 Spectra
for years and the woodgrain looked like new when I sold the boat after
owning it for 26 years .http://nufinish.com/products.html
McGuire 26 is good but has some polymer in it as well .
I'm a LSOB when it comes to polishing and waxing a boat car etc.....
and I was happy with the NuFinish's ease of application ;):D
I'm sure the detail guys will give a :thumbsdown , but it worked for
me :thumbsup

I always say whatever works for you then stick with it. I also encourage people to look at the ingredients in the product. If it doesnt have the ingredients on the product label "Stay Away" it usually means there are harmful ingredients in the mix. I recomend detailing your boat 3 times a year usually beginning season mid and end. And I am using Leverage Spray wax in between polish and waxes. It has NO HARSH CHEMICALS and leaves your boat SLICK all the offshore race teams are using it and I am going to start stocking it as well, very seldom does something comes along that impresses me (I am a tough critic) I need to see results as well as ingredients. And if you dont want to tell me whats in your product I will take it to a chemist friend of mine and find out :D So make sure your reading those labels (just like in the market) and WAX REGULARLY. Mark

[spectras only]

SCD , thanks for the info . What store can you find this Leverage Spray stuff ?

[SoCal Detail]

SCD , thanks for the info . What store can you find this Leverage Spray stuff ?

http://www.leveragepolish.com/index.php

[TAF]

Her boat looks :eek:great. I have to do some work on the 18 ft'r before I float it anywhere near hers. Are you guys going to replace the windshield or leave it off ( I think I won't replace the one that isn't on mine ) I was surprised:thumbsdown that mine has the hand throttle control and I see hers has it too, right? Is the blue on hers gelcoat or paint over a previous gel color? Mine's scratched & dripped in places blue over lime green:eek::thumbsdown so at some point I'll need to take it all off or redo the blue

[Boobybouncer]

the boat looks great dave.. any new progress lately?? on the skit tow... the only thing holding it on is the backing plate/disc or did i miss something??

[RiverDave]

Her boat looks :eek:great. I have to do some work on the 18 ft'r before I float it anywhere near hers. Are you guys going to replace the windshield or leave it off ( I think I won't replace the one that isn't on mine ) I was surprised:thumbsdown that mine has the hand throttle control and I see hers has it too, right? Is the blue on hers gelcoat or paint over a previous gel color? Mine's scratched & dripped in places blue over lime green:eek::thumbsdown so at some point I'll need to take it all off or redo the blue

Hers is original gel on the blue.. The boat is going to Elsinore this weekend to (once again) run the fuel out of it, and then we'll begin derigging the entire boat. Once it's complete, we'll have every hole filled, boat regelled and start fresh with a blank bare hull.

the boat looks great dave.. any new progress lately?? on the skit tow... the only thing holding it on is the backing plate/disc or did i miss something??

(See above) We're going to derig... Because the hull is a 79 it was laid up like a potatoe chip... So we'll grind the inside of the boat to open up the pores of the glass, and then thicken up the hull quite a bit, for strength and hopefully add some weight (I can here Froggy rolling his eyes all the way from here.. :D) to the bow of it. After that we'll start putting it back together with an entirely different program in mind.

RD

[TAF]

Hers is original gel on the blue.. The boat is going to Elsinore this weekend to (once again) run the fuel out of it, and then we'll begin derigging the entire boat. Once it's complete, we'll have every hole filled, boat regelled and start fresh with a blank bare hull.



(See above) We're going to derig... Because the hull is a 79 it was laid up like a potatoe chip... After that we'll start putting it back together with an entirely different program in mind.

RD

:hmm Mine is solid / thick as a brick. Sorry I didn't get back to ya about a certain 10' Shiada but I never got an answer so I figured it was a sore subject:eek: Sohow diff. of a program? Is Stacy still going to be able to drive it when yer done? :eek::hmm

[RiverDave]

Of course she can drive it.. LOL As far as different, pretty different.. LOL

I'm not worried about that 10'er.. I got another one already.

RD

[TAF]

Of course she can drive it.. LOL As far as different, pretty different.. LOL

I'm not worried about that 10'er.. I got another one already.

RD

So is it going to be blown injected and ready for her to race it in the Enduro in Oct?? Do you think Jetski Jason will be able to keep up w/ her?:hmm

[RiverDave]

So is it going to be blown injected and ready for her to race it in the Enduro in Oct?? Do you think Jetski Jason will be able to keep up w/ her?:hmm

LOL... This isn't an enduro boat or anything of the sort. We still gotta get the Merc 260 out of it, so lets not get ahead of ourselves.. :D

Probably just be a nice cruiser.. ;)

RD

[TAF]

Dave, you said get the 260 out, but nothing about putting it back in:hmm Classic look on the out side, ;) and :hmm:skull sleeper motor under the hatch:rolleyes: :beer
Is she gunna let you name it the Coors Light Silver Bullet Classic?:beer

[RiverDave]

Dave, you said get the 260 out, but nothing about putting it back in:hmm Classic look on the out side, ;) and :hmm:skull sleeper motor under the hatch:rolleyes: :beer
Is she gunna let you name it the Coors Light Silver Bullet Classic?:beer

We're not sure what we're doing.. LOL We're kind of dollar and a dream right now.. so I suppose it's whatever we get the best deal on kinda deal. I'd prefer to have a twin turbo motor in it all things being = though.

As far as the name.. We're tossed up between

"Bitch Slap" or "Kiss my Glass"

River N Blues was a close 3rd..

RD

[Blouder]

I know this is an way old thread, but I'm curious what you guys did with this boat? Did it stay stock? Or get rerigged and gelled?

BL

[cadillac78]

Hi RD I am interested in the windshield from the spectra if you stil have it. also want to know where you got those stainless trailer guides, those are nice! thanks