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Official - 2FF Holy Grail Hallett 270 Build Thread

Headless hula

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@TexasJet is a gentleman and a scholar.
Honored to have the opportunity to boat with him.....
 

McKay

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Dave can you provide the details on the LED Lighting/Drivers/Control etc you are using for the strip lighting?
 

LargeOrangeFont

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If someone were to commission nordic to build the modern version of this boat, how would the current merc 6.2's compare to the scorpions that Dave has?

EDIT: or would you rig one of the high HP small blocks that wakeboard boats get these days?

The current Merc 6.2 350HP small block would run about the same as the scorpions I’d wager.
 

RiverDave

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Dave can you provide the details on the LED Lighting/Drivers/Control etc you are using for the strip lighting?

I will have wired for sound chime in and answer that
 

Runs2rch

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Have you stretched her legs yet? Should run 75-78 I would guess.
 

spectras only

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Current setup with six people and 3/4 tank it ran 67. Should run upper seventies maybe 80 when it’s done
We should be able running neck to neck with our boats then. I would be hoping for rough water though, that's when my boat runs best, breaking up surface tension. Is the 27 a 24* bottom?
 

wet hull

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Ok so we ran the boat twice and right now in time it’s right before my birthday weekend..

The boat leaks.. I don’t know where the water is coming from and my fat ass isn’t gonna find out. So it’s going to Barrett Custom Marine so they can fix it.

Steve also informed me the drain plugs weren’t dealing 100% but this is more water than that.

Barrett changed the drain plugs to the new bad ass Wddie Marine ones and yanked the ski pole for me. :)

View attachment 617294 View attachment 617295 View attachment 617296
I just picked up those drain plugs. Super stoked now that they are cracking down at Windsor. I chased a leak for years in my boat. Fixed/ silicone everywhere and no use. Found out it was from when I removed the internal flappers on exhaust and went with external flappers. The holes that the pin was mounted in was the culprit. Drank a lot of Coors over that sum bitch!
 

DrunkenSailor

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If someone were to commission nordic to build the modern version of this boat, how would the current merc 6.2's compare to the scorpions that Dave has?

EDIT: or would you rig one of the high HP small blocks that wakeboard boats get these days?

The Hallett 27 is on my short lists of boats that I would build new. If I were building one today it would be a straight bottom with the supercharged LSA's. The only thing I don't like about the LSA's is they are on boost almost all the time and they are thirsty on boost. Add to that 91 octane requirement and things would get expensive fast. The Scorpions that Dave has will get much better fuel economy.

Dave great job on this boat. Excited to see the finished product. The sound system is going to crank. Any concerns about the amps overheating? Is there cooling built into the rack? Bummer on the ice chest rotting out like that but the replacement looks sick.
 

RiverDave

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So spent a few minutes this morning machining a couple simple brackets. The way the Bimini mounts ya almost impossible to get too once the side panels are back on. I also don’t like the current style of Bimini base so I switched to the new style quick releases.

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Skipped a couple of steps here Bus basically just squared some plates and made them the same size.

Quick video for headless hula showing him some power tapping.


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Problems solved
1. New style Bimini base (only really accessible when panels are off)

2. By running a through hole with locktite we can now tighten the bolts without having to get to the back side of that panel (nightmare)
 

RiverDave

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Just over at WFS to check out some of the progress. They have been waiting on some parts from me but most everything is coming together.

Kicker media center installed

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Circuit breakers installed and left Perko is relocated down so it can be turned on and off without opening the hatch. (God forbid we ever do flatten the batteries in this thing.. which in itself is pretty unlikely given what is going in it)

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Wiring is done across the rear bulkhead to both Perkins and batteries.

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Battery Boxes are in and vases are mounted to a giant plate i machines up the other night.

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Wired are run to the front. They mounted them to blocks on the side of the hull. I’ll change all this to stainless steel cushioned adel clamps before the panels go back on. (They are stereo guys not boat riggers)

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Since the panels are off, I hate the current fuel fill.

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Brand new Get Real Performance 1/4 turn fill fuel fill installed!

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Andy01

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Those square bases for the bimini go behind the fiberglass so you don't see them?

Fuel fill is nice, I need one of those for the ski boat.
 

RiverDave

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Those square bases for the bimini go behind the fiberglass so you don't see them?

Fuel fill is nice, I need one of those for the ski boat.

The square brackets will go behind the gunnel and the bolts will screw into them. It used to have nylock nuts on the backside, and one was lose. It was "almost" impossible to tighten it. This kind of takes care of that problem, and it puts the stress of the bimini over a wider area.

Normally if you could get to them you'd just run the plates with nylocks on the back side of them (better). I'm doing this because you can't get to them, so it will be alot easier to tighten them if one ever does come loose.

RD
 

ArizonaKevin

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The square brackets will go behind the gunnel and the bolts will screw into them. It used to have nylock nuts on the backside, and one was lose. It was "almost" impossible to tighten it. This kind of takes care of that problem, and it puts the stress of the bimini over a wider area.

Normally if you could get to them you'd just run the plates with nylocks on the back side of them (better). I'm doing this because you can't get to them, so it will be alot easier to tighten them if one ever does come loose.

RD
With the struggle it was to tighten the prior nuts, will it be equally impossible to "find the hole" and get the bolts threaded into that new plate?
 

RiverDave

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With the struggle it was to tighten the prior nuts, will it be equally impossible to "find the hole" and get the bolts threaded into that new plate?

Lol.. they will be installed prior to the panels going back on! No matter what even if I have to Service hen later it’s gonna be easier then it was. (One Wrench on the outside vs two one outside & inside)
 

RiverDave

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So moving forward let’s take a look at what’s going on with Chris Drew! For those that don’t know Chris is a home builder that moved to Havasu and he can basically build anything. He built the wood room for Wired For Sound. Built my wife’s bad ass pantry (haven’t uploaded that yet) and several other projects for RDP members.. when it came to my cabinets in the Hallett who else would I call?

As said earlier in the thread we pulled the old cooler out and it leaked and rotted. :(. It also wasn’t insulated so it didn’t keep ice very long.

Old cabinet / cooler sitting next to new one

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The T nuts installed in the bottom of the new one (this is what affixes it to the boat)

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T nuts being fiberglassed over

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And done.
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SoCalDave

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Dave, what made you tear out the floors, were they soft?
 

RiverDave

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I was gonna save it until it was all together to show you guys, but I’d like to keep you guys as up to date as I can do you can see how fast things are progressing.

We spent about two hours going over what should be on the tops of the counters and went through every option imaginable.

Started with plexiglass that lights up, but felt that wouldn’t be classy enough for a Hallett.

Opted to Granite but I was concerned it would be too fragile andnifnit broke it would be an absolute nightmare to get it out once it’s all glued in place.

So what should go on a bar top? Something you can cut limes on, looks good, and is classy enough to be in Hallett... Chris came up with butcher block!

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This is it before finishing obviously, but it’s a very blonde wood.

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Being glued together and setting up

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Butcher block now assembled and ready to be shaped! It will be “finished” after it is to size. :)

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Lots more surprises coming guys.. The love den is gonna be first class. ;)

I can’t say how happy Inam with the work done so far by both WFS and Chris. The finished product is gonna be worth it.
 

RiverDave

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Dave, what made you tear out the floors, were they soft?

You have to remove the floors in a 270 to get the side panels out.

Now rewind to why I made those plates this AM. Lol. We never want to do this again. Hence why i am replacing fuel fills etc while it’s apart. It takes a whole day just to get them out.
 

RiverDave

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This is a quick glance at project number 243 on this boat.. When we order the new gauge setups (or glass dash is more likely) All of this shitnis getting ripped out and redone. It all works but Jesus..

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RCDave

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Yikes on the wiring. Did someone ruin Hallett's factory rigging or was this par for them?
 

Cole Trickle

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Yikes on the wiring. Did someone ruin Hallett's factory rigging or was this par for them?

Has to be aftermarket...Halletts are the best thing since sliced bread and were rigged by the gods and Nordic is going to ruin them!!!

Mine looked very similar before Brian at B&D cleaned it out and re did the rats nest.
 

Cole Trickle

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Has to be aftermarket...Halletts are the best thing since sliced bread and were rigged by the gods and Nordic is going to ruin them!!!

Mine looked very similar before Brian at B&D cleaned it out and re did the rats nest.


With that said...you ever climb around and check out a standard production 70's/80's Schiada?? They weren't much better....lol
 

28Eliminator

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Lol.. I love this thread. I'm having flashbacks from doing many of the same things to my OLD boat over the years. It looks like whoever wired the Halletts back in the day are the same guys that wired the Eliminators :p:D.

Looking good Dave!!
 

RiverDave

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With that said...you ever climb around and check out a standard production 70's/80's Schiada?? They weren't much better....lol

70's and 80's isn't 1998. I'd happily show ya the wiring in my 03 Schiada.. ;) It's all factory and nice.

To tell you the truth, back then the best wired / rigged boats were probably Cole's, and DCB coming on scene.

RD
 

Cole Trickle

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70's and 80's isn't 1998. I'd happily show ya the wiring in my 03 Schiada.. ;) It's all factory and nice.

To tell you the truth, back then the best wired / rigged boats were probably Cole's, and DCB coming on scene.

RD


Schiada and DCB were for absolutely ahead of the wiring game compared to most boat mfg.

I don't remember my 84 Cole being all that special in the wiring dept...lol
 

RiverDave

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Probably going to be a few more days until another update so that's it for now. Boat "should be" wrapped up middle to end of next week!

RD
 

SoCalDave

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Damn, that wiring looks like someone butchered it.
My 95 210 looks 100% better than that and apparently has never been touched since it left Hallett.
 

spectras only

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My boat was built in 1990 and the wiring is similar to that of Dave's.;):eek: Since I got newer engines in 2004 [ 6.2"s ] in the boat with SmartCraft, I could rip all the OEM wiring out to clean it up, get rid of all the extra gauges and run the two plug and play SC gauges. I'd have a clean&simple look behind the dash. But, all my gauges work and functional, so I keep the gauges as backups. I have no vacuum or boost monitoring with smartcraft gauges, so, the mechanical gauges may come handy, if I so decided to install whipples;). Boat had B&M blowers on 383 strokers before, ran in the low to mid 80's then.
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Dkahnjob

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Hi Dave,
The boat is looking really good. I love the gel work that Pedro did for you. I had him re gel a 24 Wood deck Campbell that I had and it also came out really nice.
I noticed that your props spin in, mine spin out, also you have those extensions on the lower units that I don't have. Not sure what difference those changes would make.
Mine has Scorpions but my exhaust is Imco. Mine runs about 80 on the pitot speedometer, but the GPS says 75-78 mph. That is a straight bottom with 26" pitch Bravo 4 blade props.
 

spectras only

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Got a question to both Daves. DKahn turns his props outwards [ I'm too ] Riverdave turn inwards. What toe settings you guys have and did you experiment with it?
 
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Dkahnjob

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Got a question to both Daves. DKahn turns his props outwards [ I'm too ] Riverdave turn inwards. What toe settings you guys have and did you experiment with it?

Mine came that way from the factory. I once asked Jerry Barron why they didn't turn them in like my Fountain was and he said we just don't. I have never experimented or changed mine and don't know what the toe setting is. I will say this, mine will chine walk with the tabs all the way up, so I always leave just a little bit of down tab in to keep it stable.
 

spectras only

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Thanks Dave. My boat also chine walks a bit when running at WOT and also needs the tab set to neutral. I did experiment with props turned in and that seemed eliminating chine walking completely by my stern dropping deeper, allowing the outer chines touching the water's surface. Only negative with turning inwards is, loosing a little bit of maneuvering at the docks, no biggie though. Turning props out, my drives are set at 1/16- 1/8 toe-in at the bullets front.
 
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Havasu Surfer

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To put granite in a boat I'd have them mill it down to a 1/4 inch thick (thin). They then put that on a stainless steel waffle board, and then they'd glue that to a piece of stainless, then you glue that to a counter top.

The granite itself is extremely weak and will break under it's own weight if it's not supported correctly. Just seems like a pretty fragile deal. Not saying we couldn't pull it off, but if someone slams a big bottle of Tito's down on it and it cracks? Then I'd be screwed, and would have to rip half the boat apart trying to unfuck that program. So I skipped it and went a different direction.

Little bit different then "flex" on a gunnel for a little tiny 2 inch square.
RD
With weight as a consideration on how it impacts performance, how much total weight is being added to the boat with this supreme set up?
 

Havasu Surfer

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Got an update from Chris Drew tonight. He pulled the cabinets out of the Hallett. When he pulled the cooler cabinet out we discovered the drain was never sealed correctly from factory so it had been leaking the whole time. :(.


View attachment 617453 View attachment 617454

He took it home and was going to replace a couple portions of it, but ended up just rebuilding the whole box. Freshly resin’d!

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Hate to be devils advocate here but this is a builder we have respected and patronized for decades. Makes all wonder how many others were built with this attention to detail. In retrospect, I believe a few more proud owners may benefit from your example and transparency. Thanks for the education.
 

RiverDave

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Damn, that wiring looks like someone butchered it.
My 95 210 looks 100% better than that and apparently has never been touched since it left Hallett.
My wiring looks nothing like that. Somebody’s been in there “fixin shit”.
My 99 210 was nothing like that either. Looks played with.

Well there is a lot of things stuffed into a small
Package when you put twins in a 27. As Cole Trickle eluded too this is on par for the era. Eventually we will bring it up to modern day specs.. one thing at a time.

With weight as a consideration on how it impacts performance, how much total weight is being added to the boat with this supreme set up?

The boat already had four subs across the rear bench and four batteries. I can weigh it all and get the numbers, but I’d guess it at a 150’ish. Which honestly from a Performance standpoint I’m not happy about, but that’s the price ya pay if you want the Boom Boom all day and all night.
 

OldSchoolBoats

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Schiada and DCB were for absolutely ahead of the wiring game compared to most boat mfg.

I don't remember my 84 Cole being all that special in the wiring dept...lol
70's and 80's isn't 1998. I'd happily show ya the wiring in my 03 Schiada.. ;) It's all factory and nice.

To tell you the truth, back then the best wired / rigged boats were probably Cole's, and DCB coming on scene.

RD
My boat is a 1998 and the wiring is freaking gangster. No freaking rats nest at all. Super clean. Would post a pic but the cover is on and I am drinking my coffee.


Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
 

ToMorrow44

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When we order the new gauge setups (or glass dash is more likely)

View attachment 619223

What are you going to use for a glass dash? Garmin screens or something more engine specific like a racepak? Not sure what type of ecms the scorpions use and if there are any interfaces for them to NMEA 2000.
 

RiverDave

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What are you going to use for a glass dash? Garmin screens or something more engine specific like a racepak? Not sure what type of ecms the scorpions use and if there are any interfaces for them to NMEA 2000.

There are adapters.. I haven’t gotten that far yet and have just started looking into it.


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Headless hula

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What are you going to use for a glass dash? Garmin screens or something more engine specific like a racepak? Not sure what type of ecms the scorpions use and if there are any interfaces for them to NMEA 2000.
There isn't anything specific to the "mefi" series of ecu's that I've been able to find. The type of converter that I posted the link to, ties into the 10 pin, or the wiring that would normally run to the analog gauges.
 

Dkahnjob

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Hate to be devils advocate here but this is a builder we have respected and patronized for decades. Makes all wonder how many others were built with this attention to detail. In retrospect, I believe a few more proud owners may benefit from your example and transparency. Thanks for the education.
My 270 is a 2000 model and there is no ice chest, but there is a shelf there that exactly fits a small Iglo that I put in and take out. Works well as I just dump the water from the melted ice overboard.
 

spectras only

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Dave, have you taken the Hallett to the ocean? The 27 has shallower deadrise than your 32 Spectra, right?
 
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