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  1. Member
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Kiln Mississippi
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    837
    #301

    So Dailing in "The SETUP" Begins

    After the disastrous first water test I came home, unhooked the boat in the shop, hooked to the Tin Boat and caught Crappie. Aqua Therapy.

    GoGo Every Cast 9 in a Row.jpg

    GoGo Minnows got me grinning again, and also adjusted my attitude. I went 1 over the limit but had just launched in a Buds backyard, was gone 15 minutes, took this picture from the first tree I stopped at and text it to my Bud. Great attitude adjustment!

    Removing Extensions 1.jpgRemoving Extensions 2.jpg

    I use a Harmonic Balance Puller for lifting Outboards, it centers the weight well for me. Here I unbolted the Jackplate from the Extensions and pulled the Engine back out of the way.

    Removing Extensions 3.jpgRemoving Extensions 4.jpg

    You can see I had a great seal between the Extensions and the Hull. The silicone was removed by softening it using a professional automotive adhesive remover. I used a plastic scraper and new, sharp razor blades to shave the silicone off.

    Removing Extensions 5.jpgRemoving Extensions 6.jpg

    Thought I would post a picture of the removal in progress, shaving the silicone. You can not cut straight thru, I rotate the razor blade, patiently working off 1/8in at a time till the skin falls on the floor. This mounting using the highest mounting (lowest hole in engine bracket) puts the propshaft 4-1/2 inches below the pad. Interesting other thing, I didn't expect the amount of increase in trailer tongue weight but just the 4 inches positive (forward in relation to the transom - calculations all start from the transom, in front of the transom is a positive and aft of the transom is a negative number) movement of the engine over doubled the tongue weight. That much influence on tongue weight shows engine weight to hull weight ratio is way up. The hull really lightened up using the Coosa Bluewater 26 and S-Glass.

    Note; I don't remember posting earlier in this thread but I did have this engine on my other Blazer VL100 briefly. It would top out at 49mph, didn't break 50 once on the GPS but I had to remove the engine as the other boat is rotten inside so the boat was rolling up too much for comfort. Kinda Spooky watching the old boat hull suffer under the load this Yamaha put on it.

  2. Member
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    May 2015
    Location
    Kiln Mississippi
    Posts
    837
    #302

    14ft Rod Holders Stink Up the Stern but Needed!

    I fish Crappie, single poling most of the time but casting too. My other Blazer has Vertical Rod Holders installed on top of the Gunnels which when you are swinging in a Slab you must clear the rods. They get in the way often. I use the pipes in the stern on the other boat also but in that boat the pipes penetrate out of the Cap in the back. Thinking outside the box these Rod Holders store the long jig poles very low but they remain readily accessible. Once the concept was imagined and metal broke I taped the parts to the boat for fitment and function testing. Realizing another part would need to be designed and fabricated to prevent a problem the forward "Deflector" part was made. I TIG welded both parts together, painted them, and bedded the install with 5200.

    Working Out 14ft Rod Holders.jpgWorking Out 14ft Rod Holders 2.jpgWorking Out 14ft Rod Holders 3.jpgWorking Out 14ft Rod Holders 4.jpgWorking Out 14ft Rod Holders 5.jpgWorking Out 14ft Rod Holders 6.jpg

    Areas where reels , guides, rods, etc could rub I am installing SeaDek to prevent damage to my boat and Tackle. I can carry 4 14ft Jig Poles in the 2 gunnel Rod Holders.

    9ft and 7ft Rod Holders.jpgUltra-Lite Rod Holders.jpg

    Rod Holders are also installed on the inside, Starboard side holds 2-9ft Jig Poles and 2-7ft Rods. The Port has Holders for 2 Ultra-Lites.

    More SeaDek Installed.jpg

    Also installed a little more SeaDek. More will be installed after mounting the Bimini top.

  3. Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2022
    Location
    Brooklyn NY
    Posts
    85
    #303
    Looks amazing

  4. Member
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    May 2015
    Location
    Kiln Mississippi
    Posts
    837
    #304
    Well, ran my boat today with the setback corrections and all is well now. Caught a few Crappie to break it in right!

    Blazer VL100 2.jpgBlazer VL100 1.jpg

  5. Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2017
    Location
    Mobile, Alabama
    Posts
    6,551
    #305
    That is a beautiful rig.

    Thank you you for allowing us to share in the journey as you completely rebuilt it.
    2020 Triton 18 TRX
    Tournament Fishing Package
    2020 Mercury 200 Pro XS V8 Serial # 2B588923
    Minn Kota Ultrex 80# I Pilot Link
    Hi Jacker EZ 6" Jack Plate
    Bravo 1 FS 24 Pitch Prop
    Humminbird Helix 7 SI GPS CHIRP G2 Bow
    Humminbird Helix 7 CHIRP MEGA GPS DI G3 Console
    Trick Step Boarding Steps
    RMP Engine Support

  6. Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    Beauregard, Alabama
    Posts
    4,171
    #306
    Congratulations. Looks great on the water. Did you get a chance to air it out?

    I imagine it moves pretty well (55-60 Mph?)

    I hope you minimize all your work projects and maximize your fishing time.

  7. Member
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    May 2015
    Location
    Kiln Mississippi
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    837
    #307
    Quote Originally Posted by Charles Prestridge View Post
    Congratulations. Looks great on the water. Did you get a chance to air it out?

    I imagine it moves pretty well (55-60 Mph?)

    I hope you minimize all your work projects and maximize your fishing time.
    Mr Charles I had the writer with me so just ran around a bit. I am waiting till I confirm the oil injection pump is working, we didn't run it enough to see a positive drop in the oil tank under the cowl. I'm running oil in the gas till confirmation. As far as fishing goes I go 3 days a week some weeks, 1-2 others. A day missed fishing you can't go back and get. More days are behind me than in front, so I go. We are eating Crappie for lunch today.

  8. Member
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Kiln Mississippi
    Posts
    837
    #308
    Did another test run today after moving the cranking battery forward to the front compartment. Seems removing all the water logged foam, rotten wood, heavy hatches, and heavy console made the hull very light and sensitive to weight and location. Hit 52mph before slowing back down, I drop back to a 21 pitch 3 blade prop that is laying around. I'm looking to try a HR3 Solas 21P next. I have a refrigerant digital scale so weighing the oil tank is needed too. If it's high I will keep only a gallon in the tank.

  9. Member
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    May 2015
    Location
    Kiln Mississippi
    Posts
    837
    #309

    Update - March 5th, 2023

    Well I deleted the oil injection completely not so much for the weight but the age. Ran the boat today with the Solas HR3 21P 3 blade prop. It bites like a 22in pitch, real stiff. Turned 5400rpm at the same 52 mph but that was against a good running tide. The Solas is not drilled and biting a bit too much out of the hole. So after lowing the engine a bolt hole (I have it all the way up in Hole 4 right now) to see if any improvement I'm looking at adding a set of Bob's Machine Transom Wedges and Wedge Washers. I think 5 degrees would be enough but will level the pad then measure prop shaft angle with a inclinometer so I have reference measurements. Give me a little more stern lift out the hole. When you hit the trim the whole boat lifts out the water like its Turbo Charged.

  10. Member
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Kiln Mississippi
    Posts
    837
    #310

    Flawless Deck Drain Operation and Engine Height Calculations

    Sleeping on the water test allowed me to think about all the behavior traits of yesterday's water test and fishing trip. Posting it up for future boat restorers will give them something to watch out for. I was fishing in a blind spot to boat traffic, had a guy blow by me close but slowed down producing a massive wake before correcting. I only had time to troll away from the tree and get the bow into the waves before they were on me. Well I took a bit of water over the bow, it ran right to the floor drain centered in the lower curvature of the deck floor (remember the deck was crowned at the drain when starting the project). The floor drain worked excellently, the forward hatches did not leak a drop, the automatic bilge switch turned the pump on draining the water catch basin I created while sealing under the fuel tank. very little water was left on the deck.

    Secondly in the turns of the bayou my prop cavitated. This morning I went right out into the Shop and measured Pad to Prop Shaft height and found the starting Prop shaft height too high. I had it in the 3rd hole when removing the extra setback and should have left it there. Well it is only 1-15/16in below the Pad with 4 inches of Setback. Since the Engine mounting holes on most Outboards are 3/4in apart centerline I need to move the engine down 2 holes the get as close to 3-1/2in below the pad, where I should have started out to begin with. Included is a picture of the calculations.

    Engine Lowering Calculation.jpg

  11. Member paulrodbender's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Dartmouth, MA
    Posts
    3,484
    #311
    WoW.... She looks great......

  12. Member
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    May 2015
    Location
    Kiln Mississippi
    Posts
    837
    #312
    Quote Originally Posted by paulrodbender View Post
    WoW.... She looks great......
    Thanks Paul, the prop is at the shop now. I found a Ballistic 3 blade 21in pitch prop this morning in my stash. It has extra cup already in it but also a inch knocked out of the pitch. My buddy who owns the prop shop wants a bunch of demo props I have so I will have him tune the 21in Ballistic back to a stiff 21in pitch but leave the extra cup. Ballistic props run fast but turn poorly, I had the extra pitch put in for the other boat before dropping back to a 19in Apollo 3 blade.

  13. Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    St. Paul, MN
    Posts
    217
    #313
    I didn't appreciate the size of the boat until I saw the picture of it in the water. I'm not surprised that it jumps out of the water! Looks like it will be a heck of a ride once you get it dialed it. Great work and great thread!

  14. Member
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Kiln Mississippi
    Posts
    837
    #314
    JohnN, thank you. I use these little bass boats over Tin boats for the ride and the quiet way they fish Crappie fishing. That being said our Bass population Black and Choctaw (Black / Kentucky Hybrid) is so large below I-10 the possession limits were increased to reduce them. The Choctaw only exists as I understand it between Mobile River and the Pearl. A true Sub-species. Well in the marsh ditches (barely wider than the boat) you can go back for miles catching a Bass almost every cast. The Choctaw is superb eating like Crappie. Any longer boat and you can't turn around, PITA in that situation marsh fishing. The little Blazer may become my Ross Barnett boat when I decide to transfer all the equipment on the other VL100 Blazer I have to the Skeeter F-80 Strada I recently acquired. Over Tin it has been worth the effort to have a solid, engineered, 15ft fiberglass boat. My calculations on prop slip came back at 4.99%. Well I got my Racer buddy on the phone, he has my new Solas prop to start tuning. While I was telling him the Slip numbers had to be wrong he agreed and walked my prop to the Prop Gauge and measuring Pitch found the new Solas HR3 21P 3 Blade prop was actually a 23 pitch. Either miss marked or as posted in other numerous threads just another Stiff Pitched Solas. I was able to get up and pull the 23P prop 5400rpm at 52mph (GPS). We are pitching back 1 inch to a 22P and Venting to reduce the load planing off. The diameter is 13.9 inches as these props are really made for Suzuki engines. I wanted the big diameter so the engine carried the light boat better. I will post up the results of the next test run.

  15. Member
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    May 2015
    Location
    Kiln Mississippi
    Posts
    837
    #315

    Adding Negative Trim Range..............

    So this rig has little negative trim as originally configured. Bow Rise is quite a bit more than the other Blazer VL100 since it does not have 2 massive hooks in the hull. When transitioning from the majority of the hull lift forces coming from the Deadrise under the boat to the majority of hull lift being provided by the Pad I have a problem. Too great a distance exists between the two lifting forces. Porpoising starts if the boat is not driven with care. By adding the negative Trim by way of Bob's Machine 2 Degree Wedges static hull weight can be moved aft, significantly reducing the distance between the transitioning lifting forces. As speed increases more control of the boat can be maintained till the majority of Lift is provided by the Pad.

    Bobs 2deg Wedges1.jpgBobs 2deg Wedges2.jpgJackplate all the way up.jpgUsing Overhead Lift.jpg

    After raising the Jackplate all the way up I rig the engine to the Overhead Lift Beam. Loosening the mounting bolts with the battery switch on I bump the trim till the engine alignment is perfect so all 4 bolts move with ease. Since on the hose side the lower bolts interfere when trying to install them I just push them back out of the way leaving them in the Jackplate.

    Bottom Bolts Just Pushed Back.jpgWedge in Place.jpg

    Once the Wedges are in place and all bolts tightened I slack off the lift and rig everything down. You can see Bob's Machine Shop manufactures their Wedges for a Perfect fit.

    The Fit is Perfect.jpgThe Fit is Perfect2.jpg

    Now are the Wedges absolutely necessary? No, but the addition of 2 Degrees Negative Trim will provide more Stern Lift, it will reduce Bow Rise out of the hole, provide a longer stable transitioning from Deadrise Lifting Forces to Pad Lifting Forces. Yesterday I was studying the Hull of the Skeeter F-80 Strada next to the VL100 Blazer and the differences are stark. The Skeeter's Deadrise is Half the Blazer's Deadrise. Transitional Lifting forces applied to the Skeeter's hull will take place far more controlled than the Blazer's Hull. I was thinking of leaving the Skeeter on Ross Barnett and keeping the Blazer here but looking at the differences in the two boats V I think the Blazer would handle a blow up on Ross Barnett better than the Skeeter. I can stand to operate it thru the rough water too. Once my Champion is finished it will be The Rez boat.

  16. Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Bentonia, MS 39040
    Posts
    3,354
    #316
    The seastar bulkhead fitting don’t go deep enough in my cap after it was strengthened, much thicker, I can’t get the nuts on it to tighten. Have any ideas to secure, maybe just glue so to speak. Ideas
    Ron Fears
    Stroker/300XS
    1E003823

  17. Member
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Kiln Mississippi
    Posts
    837
    #317
    Bud can you machine a relief on the backside where the fitting needs to go thru? I use a 7/8in diameter Carbide bit, one of the aggressive single cuts, it also has plunge cutting teeth on the head to thin penetration points if I run into a issue. I'm assuming its the Gland Nut you are having a issue with, solvents in certain glues react with plastics so I would only use a "Shower Stall" grade silicone if you go that route so it can be removed. The solvents in that type of silicone is fairly benign. The gland does serve more than one purpose it is also a strain relief and would be best if you could get it compressed a bit.

  18. Member
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    May 2015
    Location
    Kiln Mississippi
    Posts
    837
    #318

    The Ride is Getting Interesting

    First the Wedges worked like Magic! My boat planes off with less than 1/2 the bow rise than before. Porpoising is all but eliminated at slower speeds, or I can now trim out of the condition. I bought the 2 Degree Wedges from Bob's Machine Shop. Lifting forces transition perfectly now. The spray line looks best with the engine up 1-1/2 inches on the Jackplate. The prop was vented and pitched to what my Buddy says is a 21in pitch now but I'm still experiencing a bit of Bite my other 21in props don't do. So after fishing I was cruising back and hit a straight away. Turning 4800rpm I started trimming up more and the boat speed went up so I decided to trim up more. The RPM's went from 4800 to 5400, the boat kept raising out of the water till things started getting squirrely from the almost gale winds we had today. I still had a lot of throttle left and was at 52mph already. I will update again after getting use to the boat.

  19. Member
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Kiln Mississippi
    Posts
    837
    #319

    Props, Props, and More Props

    Ran the boat during high traffic conditions on the river here last weekend. I discovered I still had a little undesirable handling crossing multiple boat wakes at the same time. The confused seas or wakes caused me to have to slow too far down for safe handling. Today I swapped the Solas HR3-21 for a HR4-19 (really measures 23in pitch and 21in pitch respectively) and water tested in very choppy conditions. The 4 Blade's Holeshot was significantly better, mid-range cruising dramatically improved, top it out at 51mph no extra trimming or jackplate adjusting. The wind is still a huge issue here, maybe it will stop blowing sometime this Century. You can see in the picture the amount of pitch for what Solas says it is. We are using a commercial Prop gauge at my buddy's Prop Shop to measure, maybe in Taiwan the conversion table needs correcting (Solas is made in Taiwan).

    3_4 Blade Propellers.jpg

  20. Member
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    May 2015
    Location
    Kiln Mississippi
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    837
    #320

    Wedges Out Stingray Fin In

    Still dialing in performance improvements. This Stingray Fin has been laying around for about 10 years. It came with a Show Order for a Poling Skiff then was not needed. Running the boat before the Fin addition was good except I thought undue strain on the Hydraulic Steering was felt at the steering wheel. That backfeed occurs when the Cavitation Plate is at the wrong angle in relation to the Plane off angle of the hull at the lifting point. With the engine weighing as much as the hull either I was going to have to add a lifting lip on the hull at the transom like you find on a Bullet or try a Hydrofoil Fin. I really don't like the newer designs and since switching to the Solas HR4 Prop corrected a lot of the weight / balance on a plane issue I bit the bullet and drilled holes and mounted the Stingray.

    Lifting Edge of Stingray Fin.jpgStingray Foil Profile.jpg

    This fin made my project boat handle completely different. Now its on a Plane is 20ft for starters, Zero feedback torque is in the Steering Wheel now, the boat will remain on a plane at 2800rpm, I was able to raise the engine back up 3 holes, the Wedges from Bob's are no longer needed, and my top speed added a Mph. I'm starting to think Blazer added the Aft Corner Wedges in the hull originally for the same reason. I'm posting here for those who are thinking of experimenting with their boats to provide some feedback reference material. I removed the Wedges in the Hull during Blueprinting, unforeseen consequences. If I put the 90HP Yamaha 3 cylinder I have on the boat the extra lift would not be needed in my opinion. They weigh 239#'s (non-oil injected C90) the 115 Yamaha TLR weighs 358#'s.

    Jackplate Ram Head Attachment Point.jpgRam Head to Steering Ram Relationship.jpgSteering Ram Hydraulic Connection Clearance.jpg

    A added bonus to moving the engine up 3 holes is the clearances needed for the Steering Ram to Jackplate Ram Head and Transom are back. When I lowered the engine and added the Wedges the Engine could be Tilted so the Steering Ram would hit the Jackplate Ram Head. Now you can see lots of clearance. The wedges moved the Ram within touching distance of the jackplate. Also the Hydraulic Steering Hose Fittings could hit the Transom Splashwell, now it clears, barely but still clears when fully Tilted.

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