Inoxidable iv - shiny ugly

This little project was tough,

taking expensive stainless hinges,

and cosmetically ruining them.

Someone had used chromed hinges,

then welded extension plates.

Over time rust bled out through the white paint.

It was important to recreate 

the exact messed up angles,

unequal positioning and random holes,

otherwise the alignment would be off.

It takes longer to copy a bad design!

This was a rare occurrence 

as the eBay seller let me down.

Locally the donor hinges were going to be $400!

I found an ebay listing for less than $100/pr,

but the 3rd party drop shipper only sent one.

After a week of no replies a third was found for this project, 

and of course 3+ weeks later the original order was sent.

So if anyone needs one shiny hinge...

Anyway the end result looks sharp.

Most of the hinge is covered up.

Fun stuff...

TP

Inoxidable III - crackola

Here's a quick can of worms,

that didn't end up being that quick.

Although stainless,

this piece had some obvious weld pitting.

A little grinding uncovered 

some serious rust penetration,

water had wicked behind the weld seam.

One reason to not grind a weld down too far,

even if it makes it prettier.

It was kinda obvious this was toast,

but the owner wanted to try re-welding.

Nope.

The stainless had weakened so badly,

the heat literally ruptured the plate.

Not a good sign.

Time for a new one,

cut out of fat 316 1/2" plate.

The form followed the original template,

but instead of a weak fillet weld,

a slot was cut like a Japanese joint.

Fat stick welding melted everything together,

not the prettiest but dang strong.

Yes this was all cut with a grinder...

Much faster than you'd think.

Also buffed out with the grinder.

Who needs anything else!?

That weld overlap bugged me,

a full 308 stick only made it 2/3 the way.

Not like ya can see it when installed!

A relief when a bolt-on is a real bolt-on.

That little piece basically holds up 

the mast and bow sprit.

No big deal...

TP

The Gambler

Most people take it for granted

that a power-boat is made to do this,

not realizing a working powerboat 

is a finely tuned machine.

With all the care and attention this one got,

and the low running hours it receives,

major problems shouldn't be an issue.

However a few hi-tech plastic thru-hulls,

sun, time, 

and probably an overly enthusiastic diver/cleaner,

this one sank to the bottom.

Typically a newer waterlogged outboard is toast,

having two lowers the chances

and a handful of mechanics agreed. 

The owner and was persistent,

and his assistant Steve was optimistic,

and hey how could I resist the challenge!

Fortunately Steve had flushed the oil 

and watered them down,

but there were serious issues outside the blocks,

mainly corroded electrical parts,

which meant replacing the full wiring harnesses.

The only parts unavailable 

were these main fuse connectors.

A little cleaning and solder and they were good enough.

(We still should replace the whole fuse assembly)

The STD (chit to do) list was so long,

we just kept plugging away.

Fixing obvious problems have reassurance,

but there's always that hidden doubt of the  not-so-obvious.

When we fired them up,

it was like winning the lottery.

They sounded great!

The engines were only part of the problem,

and that took more of a toll on me!

Wiring, hoses, pumps...

all the stuff that shouldn't be underwater.

I got a little fried.

Holey Chit!

This part was fun.

The console wiring had the smallest access.

This little hatch on the ground.

I musta slid back and forth a hundred times!

A but tortuous with the sun blisters.

We had a July 4th deadline,

and a little discomfort wasn't gonna get in the way!

Mostly buttoned up,

each connection was either replaced or cleaned.

The first sea trial is always sketchy,

full of "what ifs" and unknowns.

After a slow run,

Steve got that thing screamin' at 40+ mph.

Pretty good gamble!

TP

fire

Typically you'll see something like this on the curb,

or the free section of craigslist...

Nope,

this was the bonus for Mike's Ranfla!

Hey...

It looks rough,

the epitome of holey chit,

but there's a neat crank raising mechanism,

and it's better than the one we don't have!

It took about a half hour to weld up the bottom,

give it a good cleaning.

Mike had this custom made like 20 years ago,

and he's known as a master griller...

The BBQ has been dragged 

to multiple Big 3 swaps and parks.

His trick is using oak firewood coals.

This came with the package.

Let's do this!

This took a while to burn,

but part of the fun is having a fire in the backyard,

smokin out the neighbors...

Next time we'll use more wood...

Macey was having a blast making coals.

Personally I don't even need my steak cooked,

but kids will eat it pink!

Anyway simple things are fun sometimes...

TP

Holey Chit #11

This was a cool fixit project...

A local church had this old sheetmetal cross,

the base had rotted out.

It was a funny deal,

as I'd done other stuff for the same church,

but this was passed from the church to the roofer to a friend to me...

Typical patch panel chit.

No problem...

These clamps have fixed a lot projects.

The cross was probably a few storms away 

from being blown over!

And this thing Is way up there!

Glad I didn't have to help install...

 I think there was 16' of welding all together!

The cross design was really cool.

Everyone who saw this thing wanted it!

After some bondo work,

it was off for painting.

They installed it the day after he dropped it off.

No cranes or heavy equipment,

just a couple roofers lugging it up there.

Woulda been fun to watch.

Now everyone knows it's a church again!

Thanks for the hookup Steve!

TP