For all the Storm lovers...

[Black Magic]

86 Storm 206 .... " Gold Rush "

Here are the pics from the day I picked it up:


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Ok...enough of the tears..... this is the plan:

Say goodbye to the motor.... the interior....the jackplate..... the open center cockpit..... the wiring... the gauges....and the old hydraulic steering system.

I'm starting with a blank painted hull.... with a 12 X 12 soft spot in the floor where the cockpit drain was located....otherwise the decks are dry and rock solid. The boat is from "back in the day" and in my opinion seriously lacking dry storage space.

First..... clean the trash out! Check all systems, see what works and what doesn't. Check engine....verify what I already knew.....motor good buttttt it's not me...... bye bye 150! Pull jackplate and check transom..... unexpected discovery is the transom is dry and tight! New jackplate installed... bolts 5200'ed....mount and rig Pro Max 200.....check fuel in tank...whew! bad gas! Drain and clean tank and install Racor filter...screw down two seats and off to the water.....

One of my best friends owned a Storm called " Bad Attitude " down in Miami.... I always liked fishin that boat... I haven't seen Nelson in years but I hear he's running a new red one and he's turned into a rice burner I'm anxious to see how this one runs soooo......we launch here at Lake Harris... for no leaks Everything is good to go....another friend brings his Hydrostream Vector ( figures he can finally out run me )....really, he came out just in case things didn't go as planned. Much to his surprise ( and mine ) I was able to pull him by a couple of mph.... ahhh the look on his face was priceless.

This boat runs as well or better than I remember.....you can literally take your hands off the wheel at 80+..... it carries the nose at near any angle of attack you want and it doesn't exhibit any bad habits at all. You can throw it ( and I mean throw it! ) into a turn at 55 and it never loses it's bite. Soft ride.... fast....and solid!

Back to the trailer..... back to the garage..... derig completely.....now for the work!

Stay tuned..... more to come in the next few days....

Black Magic

[trevrev97]

cool boat , I will give you a ring when I get down there so I can check her out, I am picking mine up in March and I have never seen one in person.

[Black Magic]

Trev.....

Just wait until I'm done.....I have the new jackplate, trolling motor, triple bank charger, LED lights for every compartment, a complete set of Livorsi Carbon Graphite gauges with GPS recall, Rex Shifter w/ matching gold gauge bezels for all the new gauges and a cherry 260 which is going in this:

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The only thing I haven't addressed is the trailer....I'll deal with it after the boat is back on the water....

Congrats on your new addition..... you must really be itchin to get it on the water!

[perfect-storm]

I haven't seen that boat for many years. Glad it's still around and getting restored. Keep posting as you go along.

[Black Magic]

Have you seen the "Bad Attitude" anywhere? Was a Black hull with multi color blue stripes and name in gold. You wouldn't believe how much work I did on that boat over the years..... and the fish stories.....

[champ221]

was wonering if you were reusing the seats or replacing?

[perfect-storm]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Black Magic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Have you seen the "Bad Attitude" anywhere? Was a Black hull with multi color blue stripes and name in gold. You wouldn't believe how much work I did on that boat over the years..... and the fish stories..... </TD></TR></TABLE>

I don't think I've ever seen Bad Attitude. Sounds like an cool looking boat though.
I saw your boat many years ago when it was much newer. Then I didn't see it again until you posted. My former boat and restoration project, "Plum Crazy" is still out running around. I recently acquired a 1988 full deck but haven't gotten around to starting the project yet. This one needs a Transom. I'm reluctant because I have never laid fiberglass.

[Black Magic]

Champ.... The seat shells were re used. I'll do some checking and try to find you some..... They are all rotocast plastic except for the Butt seat.... that one had to be made from scratch.....

Perfect Storm..... When you get ready to do your transom let me know. I've done more than 50 transoms.... my favorite way now is to vacuum bag the composite cores now available..... they are bullet proof and the Storm transom is one of the easier ones to do as you don't have to pull the cap.....

[perfect-storm]

Thanks. You have an IM.

[mtolley]

black magic, good to see you over here as well! see ya on alot of boating sites. im sure you already know this, but what did you expect as far as speed,ride and handling from a boat designed by Darris Allison? the bottom of a storm is the same as a gt-20 allison. good looking boat, always wanted to ride in one. keep the pics coming of the restore! mike t

[Black Magic]

Mike....

I already knew the Allison history part....

I had a great fishin buddy down south..... he had the "Bad Attitude" Storm back in the mid eighties with a ported 200 Merc. Nelson's boat was always in mint condition..... we would give him hell if he got dirt on the trailer tires....and he would promptly get a rag and start cleanin.... looks aside, but that boat was a runner.... and the ride was awesome. IMO I think the old Storms are far superior to anything built today for the RIDE..... maybe not as fast.... but I've got a bad back and the boat never has slammed me..... which I can't say hasn't happened in other better known boats......

I'm kind of partial to the older ones as they are somewhat heavier and yet still relatively quick ( see Allison bottom ). If I want blistering speed.... I've got the boats in the stable to do that.... But when I'm fishin.... I want speed and ride.... and simplicity.....ya know..... A FISHIN PLATFORM!

The boats were way ahead of their time..... yet in today's world their lines and performance are on par with 90 % of the market. Ya gotta respect that..

After this one gets done I'll look for one I can pull the decks out of.... and completely redo in composite foam core construction..... I figure I can lighten the boat by 300 lbs.... might be enough with one of my motors to get into the mid nineties plus..... then I might consider gettin rid of my boats with the trainin wheels.....

Best regards.... Black Magic

[Black Magic]

Updated pictures....this project is taking way too long! As is the norm.... once I started tearing things apart, I found additional problems which needed attention. New hatches had to be made, blistered gelcoat in the livewells had to be removed, all new decks instead of a couple of small area repairs and the removal of 22 years worth of old wiring...transducers ( 5 ).....old livewell pumps....you get the picture.... right?

I have extended the front deck which has allowed me to add a front center tackle storage compartment and a new electrical battery compartment. I moved all of the batteries to the new center compartment along with the built in 4 bank battery charger, battery parallel switches and a tool box storage area. The rear storage compartments are now used for life jackets and rain gear. All of the weight in the boat is now centrally located for better balance both at rest and at speed.

Up next is the console.... which is getting a complete makeover with all color matched gauges with black bezels, all new circuit breaker switches ( which eliminates fuse holders ), new electronics and a new Plastimo compass ( if I can find one still around ).

Looks like it will be a couple more months before it's fishable....or someone comes along and buys it....

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Modified by Black Magic at 3:09 PM 5/29/2008

[perfect-storm]

Absolutely FREAKING GORGEOUS

You do have way to many boats. You should leave that one with me

[trevrev97]

what happened to the merc that was going on the back? Whats up with the Yammie

[soulsekr]

awesome boat

[Black Magic]

Thanks everyone for the .....

Trev.... The Merc is still in the garage.... too much grinding...glass work.... and no sense having it in the way or in harms way when things aren't going well...
Besides that... it would drive me nuts having to look at it and not being able to run it....

I still have two hatches to finish and the console and pre rigging to do before I hang it ..... plus I'm converting the power trim to 24V for faster operation.....moving the Racor fuel filter.....hatch hinges and pulls....and the wiring which I'm somewhat fanatical about.....ABYC color coded w/ labels, soldered, and heat shrunk... etc., etc.

The Yamaha is really an anchor in disguise..... or would make a good one . It has some extra air intakes in the side of the block where a connecting rod is supposed to be. Other than that..... it's perfect..... but my 2.5 is on the engine stand so ..... its bolted on for now....

[SwatDawg]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by perfect-storm &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Absolutely FREAKING GORGEOUS
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+1

[jmeasley99]

WOWWWWWWWW!! Wht a great restore...BEAUTY!

[Black Magic]

My how time flies!

I just checked the original post date..... freakin Jan 27 of 2008!

Now the good news..... IT"S ALIVE!

Time changes many things..... but there's NOTHIN like getting your boat back in the water after years of work....

A big thanks goes to my two Son's for all of the hours they spent getting it finished! The electrical and rigging are all color coded soldered and heat shrunk, new Pro series gauges ( opted out of the Gaffrigs for now ) and everything in the boat is new.

So.... the boat is 99 % done..... the motor is a "temp" until I find a 300XS.... and all I have left is the trailer which will be done this week. FYI.... it's just a 150 Opti thats turning a 26 Pitch Ron Hill custom 4 blade right up to the rev limit ... you can do the math for the speed.....

Hope it meets everyone's critical eyes and thanks to everyone...


Here are a few of the pics..... water shots to follow...

[Carlos H]

awesome frikin post!!