The Waternut Stunt hull build

[750sux]

how is it gunna be without a bulkhead? its gunna be open from the engine compartment all the way to the rear?

 

[sportfish258]

I knew some of it but not all or really even most of it until after I put my money down. In addition I learned of some things after ordering but before my hull was finished that I got sorted out in advance.

I am trying to keep this a fairly unbiased build while primarily providing only facts. So.... I can't ignore the bad facts. I haven't taken any pictures of the really bad stuff mostly because I don't want this thread to turn into a bash/flame fest. However, the hull itself may be stout but there are certain things on the hull, hood, and footholds that a 10 year old using fiberglass and resin for the very first time with minimal instruction could've done better. :sad6:

Sometimes that extra little bit of time makes all the difference in the world. Anyone here ever see a girl for the first time after she crapped her pants and puked on her clothes and thought... "That's the girl of my dreams"? A few minutes changing clothes before you saw her wouldn't make her perfect but the first impression would be drastically different. That's kind of the way I feel about the hull. It's still what I want in a hull but some of this stuff is starting to light me up. Maybe I'm just getting tired because it's late...

John..... are you implying that if a girl saw your stunt hull ........ she would crap her paints and puke on her clothes .............. sounds like party to me . I personally don't think she would puke. Cheer up you'll be riding in a month .

 

[sportfish258]

Hey for the record , I'm not overly impressed with some expensive items I've purchased lately from a very reputable maker of things. They fit like Sh*&^ . The boxes are un even in length , depth and height . In my opinion there is no way they could have thought this was ready for production , but they produced and sold it any way . i think this is not the norm for this innovator , but they really missed the mark on this one . it's late I'm pissed good night .

 

[Waternut]

I'm certainly not trying to bash anyones work at all!! I'm just following the build to see the positives and negatives so that in the future I can be educated when I finally decide to buy a new hull. As long as you knew what you were getting into and it's something that you wanted, them more power to ya!

Don't worry. I wasn't trying to say anything about you. Just answering your question in regards to whether I knew everything about the hull and then kinda went off on a little rant. Basically I knew the gel coat wasn't good and I knew about the rivets when I ordered. Everything else was a surprise between the time of ordering and when I took delivery. Like I said earlier in the build, I'd probably still buy the hull because it's a lot cheaper by comparison than everything else but I would most likely order the kit from the start since the complete hull obviously still needs plenty of work and at least with the kit I fully understand what I'm getting.

 

[McDog]

Progress continues... Turfed the rails and installed the scuppers today. I used some cheap 2" plastic scuppers that cost about $10 each and put 5200 on to attach and seal them up. If they break or fall out, I certainly won't be heart broken.

Yes you will! If those break or fall out while you are riding your boat will sink since you aren't running any foam.

 

[Waternut]

John..... are you implying that if a girl saw your stunt hull ........ she would crap her paints and puke on her clothes .............. sounds like party to me . I personally don't think she would puke. Cheer up you'll be riding in a month .

I was just trying to say that first impressions are everything.

Hey for the record , I'm not overly impressed with some expensive items I've purchased lately from a very reputable maker of things. They fit like Sh*&^ . The boxes are un even in length , depth and height . In my opinion there is no way they could have thought this was ready for production , but they produced and sold it any way . i think this is not the norm for this innovator , but they really missed the mark on this one . it's late I'm pissed good night .

I know what you're talking about here and so it's not confusing to anyone else, Sportfish is not talking about this hull.

 

[sportfish258]

Correct , I'm saying even when you pay top dollar you are still taking a chance. Where is the pride in craftsman ship ?


I'll return you to the regularly scheduled broadcast . Wait .... this just in ! as of 9:13 am there still pieces of sh^%$^ that don't fit !!!! Not even close.

 

[Waternut]

Ok didn't really get anything done on Friday because I needed a break and went to hang out with some friends. Back to business as usual today though.

I used bondo hair to build up the underside of the pole bracket area so the bracket had something flat to mount to. Then I used 8 bolts instead of 4. Routed out a hole just large enough for a tube between the pole and hull. Then I carved out the foothold area and padded the tops. While waiting for the contact cement to dry, I painted the inside of the engine bay.

 

[chad]

Looks great Dude! what pole are you running? I think the underside of yours was flatter to begin with than mine was

 

[Waternut]

This was done a while back but I never really shared pics of it. Mcdog said I should post pics up so here is my ProRider helmet airbrushed up. Took me about 3 hours or so just for the painting. Hopefully it holds up.

 

[Waternut]

Looks great Dude! what pole are you running? I think the underside of yours was flatter to begin with than mine was

I'm running the Rick Roy version of the AC pole you sold me. :biggthumpup:

I added at least of inch of bondo hair around those back bolts.

 

[chad]

ah yeah

now thats its installed . Do you feel confident about that bracket?

or is it going to rip through the hull?


8 bolts instead of 4 huh ? pretty sneaky

 

[Waternut]

After filling in the gaps on the bottom side and using the additional bolts, I don't think that bracket is going anywhere. The fiberglass around the nose is pretty thick and I have no doubt that it would hold the bracket with the standard 4 bolts provided both mounting surfaces were flat. However, both surfaces are not flat I'm not a big fan of putting fasteners on a slanted surface like on the top side. That creates really high concentrated stress on both the fastener and the mounting structure underneath. So in the case of my hull, the 4 inside bolts are bigger and tighter than the outside bolts to help reduce that "digging action" that the slanted bolt/washer would put on the hull.

 

[McDog]

Turfed the rails already huh? You will be riding that thing next week.

 

[Sanoman]

Waternut,you are on a roll......Got any ideas on the rear of the ski for getting rid of that sharp edge?

 

[McDog]

Yeah, put some more foam in all the way to the back edge and turf over it. A strip of metal with some screws across the back bottom should hold it all in place.

 

[Sanoman]

l think that will work.

 

[Waternut]

Yeah, put some more foam in all the way to the back edge and turf over it. A strip of metal with some screws across the back bottom should hold it all in place.

Yeah basically. I bought a strip of 3/4" wide aluminum that I plan to use. It came in 6' lengths so if works for me, you're welcome to drop by and get some for your ski. My plan is to wrap the turf around the back edge about an inch or more and then rivet the aluminum strip to hold it together. It may be overkill but it sucks leaving a trail of turf in the water... I know from experience.

Turfed the rest of the ski except the bottom. Taking a breather and that paint I used in the engine bay is taking F-ing forever to dry!

 

[Waternut]

Turf is done now. I think that strip of aluminum will work beautifully. Take a look... It will be very difficult to cut or damage myself on that metal strip and that was obviously the number 1 goal.

On a separate note, I was apparently very liberal with the contact cement. Everything got at least 2 coats of glue and when I finished the first coat on the last piece (bottom turf) I ran out and had to run out to the store to get some more...That's an entire quart plus some. geez...

 

[Waternut]

Also got the pole install today. Ran into a little issue with my additional bolts in the bracket. The pole was hitting them. I think I've routed out the pole enough to allow plenty of extension for normal riding. I will definitely be running a pole limiting strap though. I used some regular M14 stainless bolts for the pole bolts. They're fully threaded so hopefully that doesn't cause any issues.