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Carrera 20.5 restoration

jetur

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Have had several boats over the years and one of my favorites was the 20.5 elite. A group of our friends go to Blythe every year and leave the boats and RVs for a couple of months. We started tagging along and quickly realized that sitting on the shore and bumming rides sucks. (Especially if you have previously owned boats)

It's very shallow so as much as I didn't want another jet boat it's a must in this area. Looked at all of the yamahas, sea sea doos ECT. They all had fairly open seating but there was no replacement for displacement. If I was getting back into boating there was going to be a v-8 big block involved.

I found a 93 Carrera 20.5 Elite on Craigslist and the guy wanted $5800. Mechanically it's in good shape but apholstry and top half of gelcoat are hammered. (Tarp rotted off and it was neglected) I'm third on a list to look at it so I offer him $6000 over the phone to jump the line. He agrees, I go over to buy it and the seller ends up being an old family friend. Boat checks out and I pull it home.

I took it over to a buddy's shop and we went through the electrical and fixed a few minor items. Then I took it over to another buddy's body shop for paint and apholstry. Normally, I wouldn't paint a boat but it's the only option to get the top half back, so the bottom will stay original gel and portions of the top half will be painted back to original and then sealed with an aviation poly coat.

I will post pics of the restoration progress.
 

jetur

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jetur

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Here's where it gets interesting. Today I go down to the paint shop and they have painted the top blue part purple. I guess, the original gelcoat was dark purple faded to a light blue. Normally, I wouldn't mind the purple but we just ordered the apholstry and it has no purple, so it has to go. Luckily my buddy is going to fix it and match it to original.
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pwerwagn

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I’ve always like the elite. Keep up the progress pics!
 

rivrrts429

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I’m going to be watching this. Keep the progress pics coming and thanks for sharing.

Nice boat [emoji106]
 

crzy2bealive

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Where are you getting the work done?

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jetur

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Where are you getting the work done?

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We did the minor mechanical items. Paint and apholstry is getting done at Unlimited Collision. Once they are done we will put in a stereo system.
 

lenmann

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Man, that looks great!

So, automotive base coat, clear, and then Poly Coat? What is Poly Coat and who makes it? Why do you need it over the automotive clear? Sorry for the peppering of questions, just never seen it done this way.
 

jetur

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Thank you, happy to answer questions.
It's marine paint. I think they had to do the light blue first and then fade in the darker blue to take it back to original. I believe they are using Imron marine paint which is an Axalta (Dupont) product. Then they will put on the poly coat (Polyglow), but no automotive clear. If they lay it on thick enough it should hide the ridges from the new paint. I was originally told they were using an aviation grade poly but, they thave scrapped that idea. The only concern is getting gas on it. I guess it takes a month to completely cure and any contact with gas is bad for the first month. We will cover the pink on the bottom sides with red decals and then wet sand and buff. So, I was ok with adding paint to the top but not anything that is in the water or rubbing a bumper on the sides. Luckily the gel on the sides is fine. Headed over there tomorrow to check progress on the interior wood work.
 

jetur

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Poly coat serves the same purpose as a clear coat. Poly is thicker and more durable. The down side to poly is it starts coming off quicker. The shop says they have it on many high end RVs and it's rated for salt water. (Not that I would take an Elite to the ocean) I have heard it may need reaplied anywhere from 5-10 yrs depending on use.
 

lenmann

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Got it, thanks for the explanation. Boat looks great, bet you can't wait to get back on the water.
 

jetur

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Floor is now rebuilt and I made it over to watch the carpet going in along with some seat rebuilds.
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jetur

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Stereo is in. We decided against cutting holes in the new upholstery and mounted everything low in the carpet. (2) 6x9s, (6) 6" mids, (2) 8" subs, (8) tweets, and an amp. It's loud but not a lot of base. I must be getting old.
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Instigator

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Looks great Jewell. Your gonna have a great looking lower river boat.
Good job !!!
 

Shlbyntro

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Thank you, happy to answer questions.
It's marine paint. I think they had to do the light blue first and then fade in the darker blue to take it back to original. I believe they are using Imron marine paint which is an Axalta (Dupont) product. Then they will put on the poly coat (Polyglow), but no automotive clear. If they lay it on thick enough it should hide the ridges from the new paint. I was originally told they were using an aviation grade poly but, they thave scrapped that idea. The only concern is getting gas on it. I guess it takes a month to completely cure and any contact with gas is bad for the first month. We will cover the pink on the bottom sides with red decals and then wet sand and buff. So, I was ok with adding paint to the top but not anything that is in the water or rubbing a bumper on the sides. Luckily the gel on the sides is fine. Headed over there tomorrow to check progress on the interior wood work.
Imron has been used for decades by the factory for new Formula boats. Extremely durable but nearly impossible to color match as I found out on my PC. My buddy had to try 4 times blending and such, and a 1x1 area got almost half that side of the boat resprayed by the time he got it blended. Take good care of it!

I've always loved Elites as well
 

jetur

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Imron has been used for decades by the factory for new Formula boats. Extremely durable but nearly impossible to color match as I found out on my PC. My buddy had to try 4 times blending and such, and a 1x1 area got almost half that side of the boat resprayed by the time he got it blended. Take good care of it!

I've always loved Elites as well
Thank you for the info.
 

Carrera205

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What was the cost of the paint and the interior work? I have a purple and blue elite and the gel is starting to look weathered. That came out great.
 

DrunkenSailor

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Brand new boat. Nice job on bringing this one back she looks great.
 

jetur

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What was the cost of the paint and the interior work? I have a purple and blue elite and the gel is starting to look weathered. That came out great.
The sales guy quoted $9500, but my buddy owns the place so I ended up trading him out some work.
 

jetur

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Huge thank you to JetBoatPerformance. They sent us a new seal kit and Impeller. The impeller is badass and someone put a lot of love in it. These guys are very well priced and have great customer service. The biggest difference between these guys and others is they answer the phone 24/7 to help with your project. They also got the order out quickly. If you haven't used these guys you are missing out. Thank you again.
 

jetur

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Pulled the motor and pump. Changed oil and checked out the pump. Everything is still good. I'm getting excited, almost time to move everything back to the river.
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