SoCal Jet Boats
Tech Talk => Projects => Topic started by: 81sprint on November 27, 2012, 07:14:06 PM
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So after hanging out with some of you at the AVI get together in october, i really enjoyed the crowd and loved the boats. So after searching and finding the right one, me and B-Rad made a bonzai trip to ventura and i picked up an 81 eliminator sprint. Boat had been sitting for 5-6 years and was all original, and in pretty good shape. So i decided to do a progress thread, im sure i will be learning quite a bit from the forum in the next months and hope to have it ready by march-april. I will have to pay Brad with beer and apple pie for his knowledge and expertise!
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pullin the motor and interior
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got the motor out and on the stand, pulled the pan, intake and valve covers to check it out. that oil looked like jelly!
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paint was super oxidized even though it had a cover on it. So after 3 days of rubbing and polishing i got most of the shine back on the topside, not looking forward to the bottom. my arms felt like jelly after this
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Since the boat is gutted, flip it over and tackle the bottom that way. Much easier.......
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Is it hard to flip them over cus eventually I have to do the gel coat under neeth I can see some scraps
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Looking good buddy!!! What are all your plans ? Keep up the hard work, march will be here before you know it :thumbup: . And welcome to the jet boat side >:D
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Looks like an amazing start! Pretty little thing!
Get with Propless. I think he probably knows more what to look for on this hull than anyone. He had his head stuck clean up inside one for a couple years.
As far as the shine? If it's the original gel, stuff is hard and thick as hell and the best way to get it back and last is color sanding it then wax,wax,wax, and wax as long as you own it. Get with me, PM, whatever, my son has turned into a pro at this. Looks like a GREAT boat!
Ray
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Is it hard to flip them over cus eventually I have to do the gel coat under neeth I can see some scraps
Na. Build a dolley of some sort, a couple of cherry pickers, some buddies and a 12 pack. Flipped a couple with Brad and we haven't dropped one yet....:-).
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Na. Build a dolley of some sort, a couple of cherry pickers, some buddies and a 12 pack. Flipped a couple with Brad and we haven't dropped one yet....:-).
Brad is a lot better at spinning them around than he is at flipping them over... :o
Just funnin' B-Rad, don't ban me bro.... :sly:
GT
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Looking good buddy!!! What are all your plans ? Keep up the hard work, march will be here before you know it :thumbup: . And welcome to the jet boat side >:D
Not sure on the motor what i want to do yet, im definitely gonna replace the interior and carpet. The trailer is gonna get completely redone while everythings out of the boat. I'm gonna try to wetsand this weekend there was still a little cloudiness in the gel on the bow and i want that damn thing lookin like new again, flippin its a good idea for the bottom too.
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Unless it's absolutely horrible under there, or needs repairs, I don't think I'd mess with flipping it. If it's just beaching marks, you're gonna put them back in it first trip anyway. Besides, who's gonna see it under there?
The fenders look removeable on the trailer, and you should remove the tires and check the wheel bearings, etc before going any real distance on a new to you boat, giving you full access to wetsand/buff/wax the sides and majority of the underside of the bow and boat right where it sits on the trailer.
Ray
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That is a nice boat. I have heard that those Eliminator Sprints make a nice Hot Rod!
I agree, I think Your best bet for the gel would be a colorsand and buff. I did My Spectra a few months ago and am very happy with the results. I am in Vegas also, so if there is any thing I can help with, just give a shout.....Hal
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Very nice float, have to agree with others, wet sand and polish....this will make a huge difference, I did it to my old tub and im glad I did
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for a jetboat noob you sure you sure are jumping in head first. keep the pix coming! :beer:
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The bottom looks great cosmetically. Not one beach mark on it really. I have yet to climb under it with a straight edge to see if theres any hook in it.
Ray, propless had a sprint, but his was an earlier hull thats entirely different. Justin (Just Electric) has this same hull and has done some experimenting with setups on his already. Sean and I will be picking his brain when we get around to the setup on it.
Sean has already made this boat come a long way with a little elbow grease. ....that reminds me, I need to work on a parts list for ya. :thumbup:
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oh yeah, the motor is a hardin marine 454 325hp motor (steel intake, oval heads, 2 bolt main) that appears to have low hours on it....almost looks like it hasnt even been opened since it came from the factory. :thumbup:
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for a jetboat noob you sure you sure are jumping in head first. keep the pix coming! :beer:
thats just how i am 8) heres some pics of my last project before and after. did all the work myself except sprayin the paint
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lookin good your diven into that thing deep keep it up ... Do you remember or know where you got that boat from? i am from ventura and try to keep an eye on most of the boats left outside . just a thing i do on my days off look for boats with old reg stickers.. lol good luck
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so its been awhile, been workin slowly on the boat- holidays we were super busy. But I did come up with a plan for the motor and the fun task of buying all the parts has started, heres what goin in:
Keepin the bottom end- looked really good and had good compression
Melling HV oil pump
Rework the heads, 3 angle valve job
Dooley 10 qt oil pan
Clay Smith cam .544 lift 280 duration- new lifters, pushrods, springs, etc.
Double roller chain
Edelbrock RPM Air Gap intake- endurashine of course :D
Holley 850 DP
Holley 1000 gph fuel pump
MSD Marine Pro billet ready to run dizzy
Roller rockers 1.7s - lookin at scorpion or crane but not sure yet
Fabricated aluminum valve covers
Let me know what you guys think
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so made a little bit of progress with the float, well the trailer for the most part. used two cherry pickers to pick the boat up and pull the trailer out, got it repainted and changed out the old crappy wheels and tires for some nice aluminum ones. worked on the motor this weekend and figured out the dooley wouldnt work with the studded main cap bolts :banghead: so back to summit for some new ARP's, then tried to put the heads on and figured out the new box of trick flow head bolts i got from summit was incomplete :banghead: back to summit for a replacement set. Did get the cam, chain, fuel pump, oil pump and balancer on though so makin some progress. gotta thank B-rad for all his help, definitely teachin me a some stuff. And i finally found a guy in town to do the interior :thumbup:
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looks pretty. love the wheels. i gotta find me a set of something like that someday.
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theyre a discount tire house brand, pretty reasonable.
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i wouldnt touch the bottom unless your gonna put a rounded keel on it its fine as a delta bottom especially for what your gonna use it for. its gonna look good behind the exursion too :thumbup:
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have brad check what degree your intake was set at eliminator set mine wrong after jim brock and i checked it. asked mr shoemaker at the tom papp deal since he built my boat in the 70s and he said alot were set at 0 degrees for no reason
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have brad check what degree your intake was set at eliminator set mine wrong after jim brock and i checked it. asked mr shoemaker at the tom papp deal since he built my boat in the 70s and he said alot were set at 0 degrees for no reason
what degree should it be?
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Is it a berk intake standard 4degree
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mine was set at 1 1/2 degrees and was out of plum just throw a degree finder or digital level and see where its at brad im sure can help u out with that
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The only reason I ask is after we set it where it should have been we were able to get good improvements on the bow attitude and being a delta bottom you don't get much you will c how nice it rides in chop and how flat the nose carries 👍
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Since Sean doesnt update this thread with pictures, I robbed his instagram of progress pictures...
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Making great progress!
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That's because I've been too busy workin on the boat! But it's getting there, got my carpet in, got my fiberglass seats from ARS marine just gotta mock them up and drop them off at the upholstery guy. Making side panels this weekend so those can get wrapped in vinyl. Next weekend I hope to drop the motor back in. This has definitely been a big project!
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nice gonna do the fiberglass buckets and bench soon tell brad to find u a jg bowl so you can put a 3 dregree wedge and standard short nozzle boat should really like it. mine ran really good with this set up until i did my shoe and ride plate
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nice gonna do the fiberglass buckets and bench soon tell brad to find u a jg bowl so you can put a 3 dregree wedge and standard short nozzle boat should really like it. mine ran really good with this set up until i did my shoe and ride plate
yeah, he needs a split bowl and a diverter, but we're just trying to get it on the water for now. :thumbup:
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but since its apart might as well at least get the bowl on i have a standard berk straight i can give him for now so his nozzle will work til he buys a place. the pin angle would be good for all around use and passes just no rooster tails :(
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Also have my stock berk intake flat keel ready for machine work for ride plate and backcut shoe
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He just put the whole pump back together on sunday
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dang whats a few hundred more ;D but his call :thumbup:
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ya, i will do the bowl and diverter this summer. Been spending alot of coin on this thing so i had to slow down a little, ready to get it on the water like B-rad said to see where its at since ive never driven it. Snapped a few pics tonite, gonna drop off my seats next week and get them stitched up as well as my side panels, also getting a new cover made. And ive decided to put a nice little stereo in it for floatin. :beer: me and the wife are gonna hit parker with you guys but we'll be sportin the Cheetah. My goal is to bring the E-boat to the Mother's day get together.
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ooh and trust me i bought the damn boat to shoot those roosters! it will happen :thumbup:
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damn i better get polishing on y turd looks killer bud
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Thanks man, the wife is actually trying to get me to buy new twisties, she says that's what everyone looks at first, but I'm gonna sport the long ones for now don't feel like spending a grand. Rooster comes first!
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yeah i agree lol im gonna make my twisties a little shorter
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so sean it looks just about done other than seat skins cant wait to tie up and have are own regatta :thumbup:
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Hey Sean, nice work, boat looks great !
Looking forward to seeing you guys at the Avi with your new family member. :thumbup:
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We will be there but we are bringing the cheetah, still have a few things left to do to the sprint. Should be ready by the mothers day get together
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Sorry read it wrong, definitely tryin to make get it ready for avi
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So its been awhile since i have updated this, been working on this thing every free weekend. Dropped my fiberglass seats off and my side panels so those are being done right now. put my motor in the boat a couple weekends ago, still getting all the fittings for the fuel and water lines. that little stuff sure adds up! got all the stuff to finish the motor, distributor, roller rockers, plug wires, coil, etc.. In the meanwhile i sold my big boat this week so now the pressure is on to finish up this one, cant be boatless!
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Nice boat!! Just curious, did you check the piston to valve clearance with that cam? I've been told the 325 horse 454 is real tight on piston to valve clearance. Nice boat, looks like fun!!
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Nice boat!! Just curious, did you check the piston to valve clearance with that cam? I've been told the 325 horse 454 is real tight on piston to valve clearance. Nice boat, looks like fun!!
The cam was spec'd out by George Striegel himself based on the numbers Sean gave him. I'd believe that George spec'd the right cam for the motor/heads. :thumbup:
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I sure hope so!
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so what happened to the old seats
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They went in the garbage. They were junk, but my new ones should be finished today finally:)
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We fired it up tonite! The boat lives! Thanks b-rad!
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Its done! and it even runs 8)
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Looks great. Looking forward to seeing it at AVI.
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Man it looks awesome! How did it run?
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I have only ran it on the trailer so far, hope to get it out this weekend. Sounds healthy though:)
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Going to elsinore this sunday
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Going to elsinore this sunday
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4-5 hour drive for me, ill stick to lake mead for now. definitely want to make a trip down there though
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U should try hemming way it's just over the dam first turn on the right. That's where we go too. River.
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Lake mead is always rough I don't take the boat used to be the jet skis but now only the river. We should join up some time.
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U should try hemming way it's just over the dam first turn on the right. That's where we go too. River.
hemmenway is on mead.
the secret spot is willow :thumbup:
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Ok sorry my bad. Might be their Sunday half to change trailers to new cbrt trailer much better.
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I saw your boat at the AVI and it looks Awesome! Wish I had got a chance to say hello.
Just curious, How did you fasten your side panels and who in town did the upholstery?
I am thinking about making some side panels for my boat, but I just really don't want to drill any holes in the on the inside gunwale.
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Thanks! It was a trailer queen that weekend but all good now. I took out the old wood seats and made the side panels to cover up where they attached. Pretty easy just four screws and they hold pretty good. If you want the guys name and number that did my upholstered pm me. He's good and reasonable.
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reviving my build thread, boat had some issues last season unfortunately so hopefully i have them all handled for this season. Started off by pulling the busted pump out, bought a used one from sam (19ftcheyenne) and its in the process of being rebuilt. Soooo in the meantime i took it down to GS marine and had the boat capped and wet sanded/buffed. I did what i could when i bought it as far as polishing but machine always does better. Got the boat back home today after 3 weeks in cali, snapped a few pics of the cap job, i'm really happy how it turned out. Dropped my headers off at embee to get coated, no more nasty blue rust headers >:D
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"My dick just twitched." -beerjet
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That turned out killer sean. :thumbup:
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Gonna be picking up my headers from embee tomorrow. I had em coated black. Will post pics on my thread tomorrow of how they turned out.
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Looks great sean.
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The cap job looks killer! really makes the boat pop. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:
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thanks guys :thumbup: im definitely motivated to get it back together. but not today lol 600 miles in one day in shitty cali traffic is draining. Its silver bullet time. :beer:
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reviving my build thread, boat had some issues last season unfortunately so hopefully i have them all handled for this season. Started off by pulling the busted pump out, bought a used one from sam (19ftcheyenne) and its in the process of being rebuilt. Soooo in the meantime i took it down to GS marine and had the boat capped and wet sanded/buffed. I did what i could when i bought it as far as polishing but machine always does better. Got the boat back home today after 3 weeks in cali, snapped a few pics of the cap job, i'm really happy how it turned out. Dropped my headers off at embee to get coated, no more nasty blue rust headers >:D
so what is the process of capping your boat
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thanks guys :thumbup: im definitely motivated to get it back together. but not today lol 600 miles in one day in shitty cali traffic is draining. Its silver bullet time. :beer:
like it wasnt worth it the cell pic you sent me earlier didnt do it justice now theres two bad mofos capped :thumbup: :beer:
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like it wasnt worth it the cell pic you sent me earlier didnt do it justice now theres two bad mofos capped :thumbup: :beer:
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oh it was worth it fo sho ;D i'm just glad to see 4 sprints on the site now :thumbup: very cool for a rare hull
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Hopefully sometime before the end of the season we'll be able to get em all lined up for a pic.
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What did capping cost if u dont mind sharing
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Wow you wouldn't even know it's the same boat you picked up in California nice job look killer
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One of my favorite boats, with my favorite colors.
Can't wait to see it with the cap.
-beerjet-
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Sean, The boat looks awesome! I know you must be stoked!
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Thanks guys
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so what is the process of capping your boat
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Honestly i dont know. They remove the rubrail and fiberglass where the top and bottom molds come together and then shoot it with gelcoat. I'm sure someone else with more knowledge on the process can answer that question better.
So i spent the last week and a half scraping glue and putting in new carpet. Had an oil leak last season due to a bad timing cover and when the pump let loose and filled the boat with water, including the bilge water, well lets just say the brand new carpet i put in during the first build went to hell. So its all new and fresh. kinda at a stand still for a couple weeks, my new to me split bowl is getting rebuilt by Jim Brock and Justin, so i decided to change all the guage bezels and forward/reverse handle from the original gold to a new bright blue. This is what it looks like now. Will post pics once the new ones are installed
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Came out good Sean. Did u get the oil leak fixed.
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Ya changed the timing cover and resealed everything
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Looks awesome! Sucks about the issues ruining season old work though.
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Honestly i dont know. They remove the rubrail and fiberglass where the top and bottom molds come together and then shoot it with gelcoat. I'm sure someone else with more knowledge on the process can answer that question better.
So i spent the last week and a half scraping glue and putting in new carpet. Had an oil leak last season due to a bad timing cover and when the pump let loose and filled the boat with water, including the bilge water, well lets just say the brand new carpet i put in during the first build went to hell. So its all new and fresh. kinda at a stand still for a couple weeks, my new to me split bowl is getting rebuilt by Jim Brock and Justin, so i decided to change all the guage bezels and forward/reverse handle from the original gold to a new bright blue. This is what it looks like now. Will post pics once the new ones are installed
Jamie, I can shed a little light on the subject, if Sean doent mind.
Basicly the short version. Depending on how well the hull is put together at the cap line(seam) and how well the hull is tabed together on the inside, the more or less the work involved.
The idea is to Vgrind the mating line,between the deck and hull, down to where you barelt kiss the tabing inside. By Vgrinding, i mean that you grind out the mating line, to where the bottom of the seam is narower than the top of the seam, but do not grind any deeper than it takes to barely kiss the inside tabing.
Then sand or grind, out away from the seam one to two inches, only enough to blend the work, around the perimiter, as not to get into any more of the gelcoat than necessary.
Then tape and mask the good gel,very well!
Start laying up fiberglass and resin, inside the ground out seam, from the bottom of the seam, outward, untill the seam is full to the top and maybe just a tad high.
Then grind and sand the built up seam, untill there is a nice radius profile, that blends the two halves of the hull together, with a natural look. Fill if necessary, any pits or air pocket, exposed by sanding. lay up a finnish layer of cloth or finnish glass, remember not too much, as you have to blend and gel. Finnish sand and finnish fill, withfiller to remove deep scratches, i usually like to use a mix of resin and microballoons, or cabosil(Cab is hard to sand most of the time). Sand shape and finnish, till you are happy! Spray gelcoat and sand, wetsand, color sand and buff and polish.
Gelcoats, like Seans, are harder to fix because his is a fade, where lighter or darker colors fad into each other and the fade has to be duplicated and blended. Solid colors are easier, but nothing about a cap job, is easy, unless you are regeling/painting the entire boat......Hal
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got my new bezels in yesterday and put them in today along with my front seats, i definitely like the blue better :beer:
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Looks good dude!
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Those are real nice looks good
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Your sprint is unbelievably clean!!
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Haha thanks Jordan! It definitely has been a project and I absolutely love this boat.
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Most definately, Sean! The blue looks way better than the gold. Looking awesome!
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Looking good Sean!! :thumbup:
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Thanks!
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got my headers back from embee! :thumbup:
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Sexy....
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