2001 23V rebuild from the ground up

[Langwell]

Looking good

[SONIC]

Thanks!
Sunday was a little less productive, mostly spend enjoying the last day of motorcycle weather for the forseeable future.
I did get the seating started though.

Used a tick stick again to get the layout for the hull then transferred to OSB. a little sanding to fit and then I threw it on the CNC and digitized the layout so I could lay our the holes accurately and have the cuts look factory.
Decided to overlap the existing seating by 2" for strength and to avoid having to add more structure. That will all be sanded back and glassed in smooth.
I got the base finished up and glued but left my phone inside so didn't get any photos of that. I'll post some with the next set.
All in all great progress for a weekend.

Unfortunately it's about to get cold, and the boat won't fit in my shop so I've got to figure out how I'm going to do glass work in the winter. I'm thinking a garage tent thing and a heater are in my future.

[SONIC]

I'm thinking I'm going to do a flip up seat in the corner there like Nautique uses to access the storage, as well as enlarge the hatch in the side for access. That fugly black plastic glovebox and the dash has to go as well so lots of glass work to come.

I decided to convert the area under the seat behind the driver seat to a cooler and use this for storage as it's just simpler and it doesn't make that much difference where the cooler is. Plus if needed I can fill the whole surf side of the boat with ballast.

[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!

[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!

[bsreid]

BOAT= Bust Out Another Thousand

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

[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]

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.

[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

[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.

[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'!!"

[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]

But lead is more dense

[Jetdriver]

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

[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.