Blaster Blaster backflip Build

[dmvmechanics]

Heres the start of my build. i decided to build this in an attemp to do a backflip on the blaster. ive never done one on anything so i figured this would be fun, or painful... probably both. this is the first build ive done so some of the glass work is a little rough, but it should be strong enough. i am excited to get this going, but it may take me a while. the realistic complete date is probably in march, then test and tune to get it ready for may, when its off to the big blue sea. i got a hull from one of the guys on here, it was kinda rough with some botched repair work, but, thats why it was free. i bought a seat and hood from navyseabee and i got a 701 out of a wet jet. i was going to do this on a budget, but what i thought it would cost was less than what it will actually cost, so ill just spend what i have to.

The original plan was to build just the hull then transfer everything over but, i decided to build the whole thing and leave my other blaster alone. so far the mods for the build are as follows:
Protec pipe
girdled head
dual 44s or 38s (i have both)
550 AM tank
Small Aluminum water box

To the hull...
i spent several hours cutting and scraping out the bad glass work then cut out the front and back corners.

 

[NVJAY775]

Maybe a trim kit and a 9/15 hooker.

 

[dmvmechanics]

i used one of those double bladed counterrotating to cut most of the hull and the good ol fashioned sawzall.


i pulled out all the styrofoam, which was a huge pain. i am going to put rear exhaust and a scupper hence the cut outs, i would not recommend doing this, it makes it difficult to fiberglass. i used a grinder with a coarse sanding wheel to get the gel coat off. i would recommend doing this during the winter and not in the 100 degree temps like i did. i thought about getting the kit that carterb and CJ407, but i thought i could do it for cheaper. well, i dont think its cheaper but i can do it exactly how i wanted. i didnt like the steep ramp angle on the kit. i bought a roll of 1.5oz glass from a fiberglass supply, i think it was $120 for a 100 yard roll. i also bought some hybrid roving from a boat repair place. i bought some pourable foam from NA Composites which is far cheaper than any one else i think i spent $80 with shipping for two 2lb and one 4 lb pour foam kits and some short chopstrand and glass bubbles. i bought the resin from home depot so far i think i used 3 1/2 gallons on the front and rear.they had it the cheapest at $35 Each. i bought a hasp and hacksaw to cut down and shape the foam. here is the pictures of the foamed corners and the and the hull

i cut and shaped the front and was scratching my head on how to keep the foam from sticking on the inside. then it occured to me, tape it. i taped it off with packing tape and got it all looking nice, then after touching it, all the tape broke loose. i scratched my head some more then decided to use duct tape on all the edges and cover the rest with packing tape. it worked really well.



i decided the easiest way to build up the hull was to glass the opening then let it harden and attach the new part to the old part. so thats what i did. it worked pretty well. i glassed up the front and filled in the recess for the gas cap and glassed over that. i had cut off the lip on the back and cut a big hole to install a deck hatch in. then i glassed from the inside the top of the deck where your feet go before i put in the foam or glass on the rear corners. once i glassed the rear corners i glassed them from the inside too. here is the pics of the glassed up hull. i havent sanded it down yet. One thing i dont like is how rounded the nose turned out.

 

[Matt_E]

Double check the resin you bought. In my experience, resin bought from Home Depot is most likely polyester resin and not epoxy resin (especially at that price). I hate to be a downer, but you have to use epoxy resin on those hulls. Polyester resin will not bond properly. It will come off sooner rather than later.
Sorry.

 

[dmvmechanics]

ill try to get some better pics soon. the ones of the rear look weird, they look better now, i put another layer after that one. i need to make a mount for the fuel tank out of a 550 kawi. i also plan to put the battery tray under the seat opposite of the waterbox. my other plans are filling the hood with foam and putting a metal band around the rim of the hood. i am going to build my own steering system. keep in mind that i like building stuff even if i costs the same, i like calling it my own. although the steering will be cheaper. ill be cutting down the seat as well. i did the cdi mod to an extra cdi and i ordered some amphenol connectors to rewire the e-box so i can pull it out with out opening it at all. i have too many projects motorcycles, jetskis, the house and a '59 chevy truck plus my son is due yesterday so time is limited. but i am very excited about this so ill be working on it as much as i can.

 

[dmvmechanics]

Double check the resin you bought. In my experience, resin bought from Home Depot is most likely polyester resin and not epoxy resin (especially at that price). I hate to be a downer, but you have to use epoxy resin on those hulls. Polyester resin will not bond properly. It will come off sooner rather than later.
Sorry.

it should be fine, i couldnt find epoxy resin anywhere here. i roughed up the hull pretty well and the way i glassed it the only way for the hull to come apart is out. every thing is glassed inside and out and tied all the way up the sides on the inside to both halves of the hull. also i used a 24 grit grinding disc to rough up the hull. i've done several hull repairs and haven't had any issues yet. we'll see i guess.

 

[NVJAY775]

double check the resin you bought. In my experience, resin bought from home depot is most likely polyester resin and not epoxy resin (especially at that price). I hate to be a downer, but you have to use epoxy resin on those hulls. Polyester resin will not bond properly. It will come off sooner rather than later.
Sorry.

x2... Learned the hard way on my B1. Had separation with good prep and redid it all with epoxy resin and 17 oz biax from uscomposites.com. Very reasonable materials, help and service. Ride it like ya stole it!!

 

[dmvmechanics]

i have two CATS that i will choose from one is a modified 1100waveraider set up to fit a 144 pump and the other is the 760 raider set up. i still need to find a pump and int. shaft for it. 9/15 is definitely in the works. and a set of pro tapers are hanging on the wall for it.

 

[dmvmechanics]

That stinks. I guess ill ride it till it comes apart and redo it with epoxy. Oh well. Lesson learned.

 

[blaster800]

Lookin good ! I really like the nose angle much better than the kits which are way too blunt . But thats just IMO . this gives it more of a SJ nose angle , I like it ! This will be the angle I go with on my spare hull that Im cuttin on .nice design !

 

[dmvmechanics]

Yeah thats what i was going for. it should be fun. i finished up the welding on the steering assembly. i just ordered the bearings for it today so hopefully they get here soon so i can mill down the opening for the steering stop Im pretty happy with how it turned out. here is some pictures of it. it should be pretty strong. its all aluminum and stainless. The protapers work good on there but i might make them a little narrower. the next one i make will have the hole for the cable offset a little so the cables can be run through. i still need to mill out the top to fit the bearing and drill and tap the holes to mount it to the hood. Also i need to cut the arm that attaches to the steering cable. Cheaper than a UMI.

 

[Marcgraham27]

cool build man, keep up the good work

 

[Dustin Mustangs]

I like your ideas for the hood. I am excited to see this come together, esp how that 550 tank works out. Don't take this the wrong way, but I hope you pancake a couple of attempts before you make it all the way around. Landing flips the right way does nothing to test the integrity of your hull. Landing upside down sure as hell will though. If things break up on you please post back with what happened so we all can learn from it.

Cool project!

 

[dmvmechanics]

I'm sure there will be some carnage. I like to rally. I need to get a hero cam so I can laugh...uh... I mean learn from my mistakes.

 

[ajmps1]

i thought that the blaster hulls, top and bottom, were glass meaning you can use polyester resin, which is what gel coat is and that the hoods where smc which, due to the molding process will not let poly bond to it because release agent is mixed into the epoxy used in smc. however poly does shrink more than epoxy during the its faster curing which could cause a poor bond. i think your gonna make out ok man. next time though i think a much heavier cloth than 1.5oz would be needed. 1.5oz is used for like competition surfboards. that would cut your costs and total wieght down cause you would need less cloth and less resin to acheive a good thickness also epoxy resin is lighter.

 

[dmvmechanics]

I would have liked to use thicker roving but I couldn't find any around me so I just built it up with the 1.5 an some hybrid cloth. I figure if it breaks it breaks and I'll redo it the right way. So epoxy resin will bond fine to the smc? I need to reinforce the hood.

 

[CJ407]

My hood cracked and epoxy is holding to it fine...

 

[ajmps1]

yes epoxy to the hood and paint with automotive paint

 

[KTM434]

I like your ideas but your more gradual nose angle is cutting into the stability of the hull. You have a lot less flat surface for straight riding (could possibly cause less flotation for the nose too and cause your nose to sink and change the centerline of the hull... Im no engineer Im just throwing out possibilities and thinking out loud so dont take it the wrong way) and less contact surface with the water while turning compared to the abrupt rockered nose setup which leaves the body lines in the water at the nose for carving. Im not knocking your build and Im not a racer by any means. I actually plan on chopping 3-4" (straight cut, not beveling the bottom) off the rear of my B1 and rockering the nose for the same reason (backflips) but I had a blast racing my B1 at wavedaze in the surf and I still wanna put tubbies on my hull for carving surf. I dont mind the rear feeling loose in the surf but I want the front to stay planted and I wanna run the stock gas tank. Id like to see how yours turns out and what you think of the build. Post pics when you water test it to show how level it sits in the water. Keep the updates coming, good build

 

[dmvmechanics]

Thanks man, im sure it will sit lower in the water than before, i compensated a little by putting a smaller tank in (stock wasn't an option) and the waterbox under the seat. as long as it jumps good, i didn't really care how it carved or rode flat out. i'll still have my other blaster but if i like this one way more, il'll probably dump the stocker. i also have some sponsons to go on the blaster so we'll see if they help. i travel a lot for work so i don't get to work on it as much as i would like so be patient on the updatesView attachment 162512View attachment 162513