2001 23V rebuild from the ground up

[SONIC]

Agreed!
I do plan to make some drop in trays on top of the ballast, so getting some additional depth would be nice.
However with the stringer setup on the 23V there's no more room for water ballast below the floor, I'll probably cut small hatches in the floor so that I can fill the spaces with lead if I decide it's necessary.

I think I'm going to shoot for absolute maximum on the ballast, because I can always just not fill all the way up. I'll likely put some dividers under the seats so I can use/not use the additional underseat ballast.

The problem is finding the balance. I want to be able to still use the boat as a runabout, or pull a tube/wakeboard if I want to. For this reason i don't want to go overloaded on lead because I can't just pump it overboard to get back to cruising.

It will likely take some experimenting to see how much weight she will carry around and still be comfortable to cruise in. I think 3-500 lbs of lead would still be fine for cruising.

I plan on a hefty prop and don't care much about top speed, just want to be able to move around the lake if I so desire. 30-35 is fine with me, I have motorcycles to go fast

Thoughts?

[freeheel4life]

Just an idea. If you were to cut out floor between stringer and hull to get more room for ballast, instead of doing ENTIRE locker with ballast now that it is lower you would have room on top for some drop in trays or some kind of net over bag for some gear. Always the downfall, you can fill the boat with ballast but have no room for jackets rope and flag...just a thought.

[SONIC]

Will do. That will be easy as the seating is already setup that way.

[bsreid]

Make room for bags with legs that extend up into the boat. Just do it man, nobody complains about too much ballast. Now is the perfect opportunity, you don’t want an awful winter project next year.

[Jetdriver]

Sweet project man! I wish I had access to and knew how to run a CNC machine! Keep the pics coming!

[SONIC]

But lead is more dense

[JohnnieMo]

Yep, the old adage holds true!

That's the plan, going to finish the glass work first and decide what to do for a topcoat (gel, awlgrip, linex, etc) and then ballast will happen.
I'm trying to decide at the moment if I should try ripping the floors out of the rear lockers to gain a little more room for the bags. Or maybe open up the cavities and fill them with lead bags? Too many decisions!

How about just pumping concrete in to all the extra air spaces?

I think I'm kidding... I think.

--

I love projects like this. Your shop is another level.

[SONIC]

Talltigeguy,
Without the higher freeboard and heavier starting point you're right I'm not going to be able to quite match them but I believe I can get pretty close!
With little to no weight in the boat and my stainless surf tabs it already throws a decent surfable wave. I have no issue surfing without a rope, so we'll see what max ballast can do.
It's all going to be a big experiment for sure, and hell that's half the fun!

I plan to be surfing evenly weighted with malibu style surf gates at the rear. I'm not a fan of listing, it makes the boat a whole lot of not fun for everyone that isn't surfing or into surfing. Hard to get up to grab a beer too!
Also draws a lot of redneck fisherman attention around here "Hey Mayng yer' sinkin'!!"

[talltigeguy]

I wish there were a Like' button on so many of these posts. I let out a gasp when I saw the original floor.

I love seeing a guy with these kinds of skills work!

@sonic, you said in your first post that you will have this boat working as good as a new one. Without that extra ballast coming up the side, I don't think you will have enough weight to create a wave like what you had in the G23 or a newer Z3 or RZX. Unless you will be able to use a fair amount of lead, it won't be the same. These newer boats are heavier to start with and then have more ballast than what you are planning on. SurfDad's boat had a solid wave, and will be more than most surfers can use to its full potential, but there is a reason he moved on to a newer boat.

Will you use a surf system, or just lean the boat like Surfdad did? I like to call that the Gangsta lean, it's kind of like shooting a handgun sideways.

[duffymahoney]

i'm not a fan of the twin captain's seats on the 23v's either, so i really like what you did there.

I never liked the looks, but I bet it's very functional and is a popular spot to sit

[bsreid]

Open up the floor for the biggest bag possible and then fill the holes with led. Base your ballast on water and lead where needed.

[SONIC]

Yep, the old adage holds true!

That's the plan, going to finish the glass work first and decide what to do for a topcoat (gel, awlgrip, linex, etc) and then ballast will happen.
I'm trying to decide at the moment if I should try ripping the floors out of the rear lockers to gain a little more room for the bags. Or maybe open up the cavities and fill them with lead bags? Too many decisions!

[bsreid]

BOAT= Bust Out Another Thousand

Awesome work you’re doing! I’d start plunbing in ballast while it’s torn apart

[SONIC]

No worries man you're probably right! But I like experimenting anyway, I'm just not big on buying stuff I can make, be it exhaust systems or robotic tig welding rigs haha.

Thanks,
I'm keeping a budget with every little expenditure, I'll post it up when it's finished. The floor was more expensive than expected (524 just for the coosa, 250 for the putty, + fiberglass and epoxy etc).
Welcome to boating I suppose!

[Germaine Marine]

Yep I looked.
Not to take away from the product because it looks great and is a fantastic idea, but with my tools and time on my hands it's just a waste of money. I've got the tubing sitting around the shop from other exhaust projects and a couple minutes of tig welding and we'll be good to go!

Not to take away from you skills, im sure you are an excellent fabricator. Larry over at FAE has significant time and testing in regards to making the system actually work CORRECTLY without robbing performance or causing engine issues. While I agree, most any builder can weld some stainless together, and prob function somewhat adequately, i think the time and science behind Larry's FAE is not quite understood.

By the way I think your project is amazing, cant wait to see what a revamped boat in that kind of shape will end up looking like when you are done. Would also love to hear about the budget in a write up as well!