Itchy Scratchy

A couple posts ago,

I hinted at a couple extra outboards,

steering units and controls we've acquired.

Basically castoffs from others upgrades.

They're a trap for someone like me,

hmmm...

a cheap hull,

and some time...

we could have a bitchin center console boat!

Easy!

Most people are afraid of work,

or they start and realize it's not as easy

as someone's blog post or YouTube video.

Projects are out there.

Some are too rough,

like this 15' whaler.

But this one had potential.

The guy had this posted for weeks,

and lowered it to an almost give away price.

I warned him I'd offer even lower.

We trekked east to check it out.

The outside was as expected.

Crappy hack work covered by cheap white paint.

That top part would be cut out,

and a 2x4 or 2x6 rail glassed into place.

The sides were really floppy,

especially compared to our beefy whaler.

The hull was probably a 70's shape,

with a rather thick keel down the center.

How would it handle?

The bottom a little sucked in from the trailer.

Hmmm.

I knew from the picture the transom was chopped up.

From the outside it looked questionable.

The screwed on plywood theme covered the entire hull.

The seller could sense my hesitation,

probably cause I told him.

His sales techniques kicked in.

It'd be easy!

Typically I'd gloss over this kinda stuff.

A couple hours grinding fiberglass,

cutting out the soft floor and adding ribs,

reinforcing the delaminated transom...

Some epoxy paint,

another hull extension bracket,

a custom center console box...

Easy!

Although I love doing this type of work,

amazingly this time I walked away.

The reality set in.

The time, 

the material $$,

the fiberglass dust...

I'm already spread thin!

Dang it would be a cool project.

TP

Tiki Oasis 2015

So Brandon and I checked out the Tiki Oasis this year.

He's into the Hawaiiana,

figured he may like it.

Did I take pics of any of the awesome artwork?

No.

Any pics of go-go girls around the pool?

No.

Any pics of other cars at the car show?

Just this van...

Here's a shot of one pin-up while we were waiting to leave...

It was actually a fun show for the short time we were there.

Next year we may actually get tickets,

and sneak a way around the $10 Mai-Tai's!

TP

Klipsch Cornwall... Wow!

Coming from a vintage stereo junkie,

can one ever be satisfied with their equipment?

Apparently not!

I spied the perfect eBay ad.

Unflattering pictures,

local pickup only,

user condition...

My bid was so low I didn't expect to win.

Uh oh...

Just what we needed,

more speakers.

Now to make the space and money.

In a moment of desperation,

I listed things I'd never thought I'd give up.

Is there a fish for every hook?

When it comes to desireable vintage audio gear,

You bet.

I only needed to flip one pair of JBL 4311's,

but Austin drove a hard bargain,

and took off with the 2 remaining pair.

Sad to see the empty spots 

those had taken for so long.

Now for the hard part,

the Cornwalls were up in Sacramento.

Enlist a nor-cal friend for the pickup?

By chance I found a huffer on Instagram,

perfect timing and cheaper than gas up-n-back.

Tough to put trust in basically a stranger,

but IG makes it easy to sleuth someone's history.

Jason went beyond my expectations,

and even put the big boxes into his truck cab,

keeping them out of the sun.

I hauled up to LA that night!

The pictures were very deceiving,

these puppies are huge!

That's a 15" woofer,

and the box is 36" high!

The Fortes are tiny in comparison.

The utilitarian woodwork was better then expected.

These babies thump!

The bass is thundering,

the highs are crisp.

American made in 1979.

The wife and kids love them!

Now to make some space!

Thanks Tim for the deal!

TP

Hot Rocks

There's few things I'll drop everything for,

and currently one of them is free rocks.

It's all about the infrastructure...

But it has to be worth our while.

Rallying up the kids early is no easy feat.

This ad was up for about 40 minutes,

which is late in the free rock and brick game.

The kids powered it out.

I was a slave driver in the hot sun.

Wrong day for their friend to hang out...

Our wheelbarrow was slow 

in comparison to their bobcat mover.

The kids pittered out as the trailer filled up.

Stay in school boys...

The trailer had no sides,

and it was getting heavy.

Not easy letting the remainder go.

A quick trailer drop off sounded good.

Plans changed on the drive down.

That's not how we roll.

The short break was reinvigorating, 

and when your dirty lets finish the job!

The lava rocks were spread thick,

maybe too thick,

but they'll recede into the silty dirt quickly.

This will definitely keep the dust down.

It also looks a bit more professional,

while saving our shoes.

Free involved a ton of labor.

Thanks Jim for the hook-up!

TP

Whaler Resto pt X - fine tune

The sad thing about having a boat,

is realizing how much time we don't have

to actually use it.

When it comes down to it,

would I rather spend a couple hours laying bricks,

or zipping around the bay burning gas?

Yes I have been caught by the wife...

The perfect excuse to go out,

even for an hour buzz,

is tuning up the engine placement.

The third high bolt hole aligned the cavitation plate 

a couple inches above the stern edge,

typically a good spot.

The water would shoot straight up the engine,

spraying the back of the boat.

Now the engine is as high as possible,

almost 4" higher than the stern edge!

That's a lot,

and one of the benefits of the extension bracket.

Supposedly less drag is less friction is better efficiency or speed.

In addition,

The prop is in solid water,

not a the bubbly after-flow.

No more waterworks!

The 50 hp Johnson is a sufficient cruiser,

topping out about 28 mph on a rough day,

and plane cruising about 20.

Sure faster could be more fun,

but using 2-3 gallons for an evening jaunt is nice.

We even christened the Whalers first Humphrey's concert,

Steve Miller Band,

and brought the wife out for the first time in the boat!

The first time in any boat,

which is a weird reality.

She's a landlubber,

but we had a good time.

One thing nice about evening cruises,

is having the launch ramp to myself.

I've been able to practice pegging the trailer,

not one of my favorite things.

In the day people go there just to watch us hacks!

And here's a root cause of a hack.

This Morse Control is a sneaky unit.

This whole time it'd been reversed!

Forward was reverse and reverse was forward,

which really wasn't that bad after a few minutes,

but was like translating English to Spanish.

Thankfully this unit was designed to be ambidextrous,

and flopping the levers over was easy enough.

Good thing the side plate wasn't glued on!

Of course I did it twice,

as the red cut-off switch had to be flipped too.

It's much so much cleaner now,

and easier to maneuver.

Yeah ya think?

And now for the wild card...

I grabbed this bitchin 2-stroke 90 hp yamaha,

on a sweet time-trade deal.

A low hour yacht club Whaler Montauk

the guy wanted a 4-stroke for lake use.

Ya know I like projects,

but deciding whether we need a hot rod boat,

or a gas sipping bay cruiser...

Hmmm.

TP