FX-1 My perpetual FX-1 Build

[just joe]

well, I'm back, and with my FX-1, thanks to fate. I sold the ski in Jan of 2011 and basically got out of the sport. Divorce, work, you know. Then on my birthday this year someone sent me a PM saying they saw my old ski for sale. I contacted the seller, contacted the member who told me about it (didn't want to steal my ski from him), and I bought it back!

I then hired a guy in a pick-up truck (whom i didn't know or meet) to bring it back to Cali from Florida. In about 2.5 weeks and much drama, it arrived. whew.

so what did I do? start tearing it apart again for another re-build!!!!! the salt water proved how many bolts were not stainless as I thought, needed some repainting on one side, and there was a hole in the JD ride plate (baffled by this... salt?). Although the motor was decent, I'm going to take this opportunity to make a serious upgrade.

So I just ordered up my first professionally built powerplant, some pipes, and a few other parts to improve upon the first build... and in true stand-up addiction fashion, i also bought a limited SXR to ride while I work on my FX-1 (and get back in shape).

ready for more HOK Titanium Pearl


cleaned up well, ready for round 2


I'll update as parts arrive and the re-build continues. Stoked to get back into the sport again, and looking forward to meeting some of the NorCal Stand-up crew

 

[AtomicPunk]

cool that you got it back... always impressed with this build.
Welcome back!

 

[Rompn]

Nice build. Looking forward to the next phase. Subscribing...

 

[chadetroit]

Great to see you have it back, really enjoyed the first build, top notch! Good luck polishing her back up and with the new engine!

 

[95fx]

I loved the Blink smiley on the hood! I think you should put another one on when repainting it

 

[just joe]

I didn't re- paint the whole ski, just the bottom. Blink smiley saved. Notice it has 4 stitches on the face, one for every year I spent building it.

Working on a new pipe set-up for the new motor, and its a going to be a dry pipe for sure.

Here's a pic of the hole in the JD ride plate I mentioned. Thin spot and salt water don't mix. welding this up this week. Too much grinding on the plate to to fit the pump, to scrap it and fit a new one.

 

[95fx]

Right on man, Thats a cool touch to it, I was wondering about the stitches lol Thats crazy the salt water ate through the plate like that, Thank god im in fresh water.

 

[just joe]

Been collecting some parts and slowly getting her back together.

Rebuilt mid shaft from Jet Maniac
cold fusion motor mounts
cold fusion SJ tank
SBT flywheel cover

 

[just joe]

Had to clean up the flywheel due to the SB Products cover

 

[AAlamo]

I'm liking the cold fusion goodies man! Looks great. How difficult was it installing the carbon over the bottom of the hull, especially over the motor mount areas? Contemplating doing the same in my fx1. Yours turned out great! Any tips?

 

[just joe]

The CF was tough to do considering I wanted a satin finish visual carbon look (even if it wasn't pro quality) -no shiny pools of epoxy. First off is sanding and degreasing the entire hull. Took forever to make sure i didn't miss a spot, filled in any defects/bond line, and then getting all the dust out of the hull.

Cutting the fiber cloth is an art. I used very low tack painters tape to hold the edge and used new blades for every other cut to help avoid any fraying, and I handled the cloth very carefully. Leave the painters tape on with a 1/4" or so of the cut seam exposed. I then took a sponge brush and dabbed a line of epoxy on the very edge of the cut line (over a glass panel) and let it set up. This held the nice seam and I could remove the tape without pulling the edge fibers.

Next I recommend measuring the epoxy for the area of cloth being laid or else you will most likely use too much epoxy. I used medium epoxy from US Composites with the fast hardener. I found the thin was too thin and liked to pool more than wet.

last step is wetting the hull and reaching deep into patience to get it right. Laying the cloth precisely, hand forming the carbon around the motor mount areas several times as the epoxy started to dry and get more tacky. I wound up putting in 2-3 layers of CF depending on the area. Took many hours and the use of a heat gun to help speed drying in some areas. Start at the outsides of the hull and work inward, as excess epoxy will run toward the center of the hull and you'll find you need to add very little extra epoxy in the center. all layers should be done within a few hours of each other to ensure a chemical bond.

The hardest was wrapping the handlepole - took an all-nighter to get it to come out as good as it did. I used a little extra epoxy on the back of the pole so there isn't a seam you can feel, but you can see it. Blowsion sticker solved that minor annoyance.

Last step was I laid a couple coats of clear inside the hull and on the pole to seal it with some UV protection and fill any tiny imperfections (esp on the pole).

Though this was my first experience laying up CF, I did practice by wrapping several parts with various shapes and angles, including some household items

"Joe, where's the Kleenex holder?!?!?!"
"um... in the garage drying hon..." :bigok:

 

[Kohldanielzimmer]

Very nice work with the carbon. It is a clean setup.Curious why you're running the ebox upside down? Does it just work better for fitment with your setup?

 

[just joe]

The e-box is not upsidedown as far as I'm aware. I didn't change the mount location, and prefer the power wires to be coming down the bottom, less chance of water intrusion without any top side exists.

 

[just joe]

so I'm not the only one who has had paint prep issues. The guy I bought my ski back from rode it in salt water, but the corrosion wasn't that bad. He took decent care of it. But when I removed the pump I realized most of the paint was flaking off. Not my HOK primer, but the original Blowsion black paint. after some easy scraping, the pump looked like it had a halloween costume on.



Thought about keeping it this way, but not my style. Finished stripping it and deciding what to do. Probably try to polish it and leave it natural aluminum to match the JD plate. it's ok that it will oxidize, I like the mechanical look.




also added TBM pump stuffer to it. Running a 13/18prop -3mm cutback skat C-75 swirl.

 

[Kohldanielzimmer]

You could definitely be on to something with the battery/starter cables coming out of the bottom to mitigate water intrusion but I think oem has it set up flipped around.

What did you use to strip the pump?

 

[just joe]

stripping the pump was easy due to the poor adhesion of the original paint. I used Klean Strip spray on stripper to get the last of the paint off.

 

[just joe]

My FX-1 project ski - 4 years and finally done

Some progress today, fixed the ride plate, mounted pump. With the weld build-up and grinding, the ride plate now has about a mm of clearance to the pump and plenty of meat left.

Remembered how much fun those pump cooling lines are to install...

 

[just joe]

 

[just joe]

Decided to rebuild my carbs to put them up for sale, have bigger ones coming for my new motor. Touched the tip of the needles, and one crumbled!

Other than that, the carbs look great... 100% of the internal screws are stainless

 

[just joe]

Been playing with steering all day. Just not getting enough throw from the FX-1 cable on the 144mm pump. In hindsight, I should have cut and carbon wrapped a pre-08' RN pole so I would get the RN upper pole casting that would allow me to easily use a pre-08 steering cable. But, i didn't (at the time I didn't know).

Since I really want to use my pole given the work I put into it, I am looking to buy a bracket to relocate my steering cable on the pole end further into the pole. I have a new cable already, but didn't realize how much longer it is from mounting point to end.

on the pump side, it seems the length is pretty good and will work fine.

worst case I could cut and re-thread the RN cable, or buy an AM pole, but I plan to try the relocation bracket route first. I sent Shmity1 a PM about his bracket, not sure if there are others available? doesn't appear to be easy to get any bracket to fit/mount inside the pole. :scratchchin: