Surfriding FX1 for my son

[wydopen]

@wydopen You can tell your kid that he rides that FX-1 better than I ride mine. You said:

"tubbie 2 style Sponsons don’t work as well on the wave face imo so I reshaped those"

When you get a chance and I understand that it might not be until you get the ski back on the water, would you please post up your thoughts on front sponsons for the FX-1 and maybe photos of how your reshaped / what shape sponson you prefer?

That was him on a nearly stock 550...this thing should be a major improvement....not bad for only riding for a couple months..last ride he was really ripping, starting to get confident...even snaked me on the best wave that came through haha...

I never rode the fx1 with the tubbie 2 style sponsons but I had a second superjet that was similar to my main ski but with tubbie 2's instead of tubbie 1's....

That extra chine on the sponson makes the front feel more locked in which can be a good thing if you are riding bouys but when you are on the wave especially when its steep you want the front of the ski to be forgiving and be able to kind of follow the contour of the wave without feeling grabby...I guess what people would describe as chine walk makes it easier to ride on the steep part of wave IMO....or when you are sliding on a steep wall it just feels more predictable...but Im also super picky and don't have a typical riding style

All I did was just fill and glass the extra chine on the sponson to eliminate that extra edge and to bring it all the way down to the bottom off the ski...if you mount tubbie 1 style sponsons too high you get the same effect as the extra chine...I always mount them as low as possible...

 

[Sanoman]

That was him on a nearly stock 550...this thing should be a major improvement....not bad for only riding for a couple months..last ride he was really ripping, starting to get confident...even snaked me on the best wave that came through haha...

I never rode the fx1 with the tubbie 2 style sponsons but I had a second superjet that was similar to my main ski but with tubbie 2's instead of tubbie 1's....

That extra chine on the sponson makes the front feel more locked in which can be a good thing if you are riding bouys but when you are on the wave especially when its steep you want the front of the ski to be forgiving and be able to kind of follow the contour of the wave without feeling grabby...I guess what people would describe as chine walk makes it easier to ride on the steep part of wave IMO....or when you are sliding on a steep wall it just feels more predictable...but Im also super picky and don't have a typical riding style

All I did was just fill and glass the extra chine on the sponson to eliminate that extra edge and to bring it all the way down to the bottom off the ski...if you mount tubbie 1 style sponsons too high you get the same effect as the extra chine...I always mount them as low as possible...

Great explanation and at the right time for me to start working on my fx. Especially getting rid of the extra chine.l will have to incorporate this into my build.
See this what is so good about the X.Being able to share experience with opinions

 

[wydopen]

Reinforced the pole, got the pump mocked up and filled in the pump shoe area where it was opened up for the 144 shoe. Also filled in where the hood seal was broken..the guy said this pole was -1.5 but it isn’t leaving it full length so he can run a shortened turn plate instead of a shorter pole and long turn plate

 

[wydopen]

Ready to set pump inserts. Had to eyeball the height of the pump tunnel for the rear tabs. Got it pretty close. Will need one or two shims on one side. Using sj inserts so had to drill out bushings in fx pump. The tapered front bushings make things a little more difficult

 

[wydopen]

Pump inserts set. Major pain with having to taper front holes since fx pump has tapered bushings instead of locating pins like a sj. Can’t use shims on front tabs either. Would have prob messed up without the cold fusion alignment tool

 

[Sanoman]

Looks like it’s coming along!

 

[wydopen]

Looks like it’s coming along!

Haha I was thinking of your sanitary install with the tray off as I was fumbling with filler covered inserts in one hand and a bolt in the other trying to get them in without getting any in the threads. About to take the pump out hopefully it’s not glued in.

 

[wydopen]

Wax (Grease too) prevents the Resin from sticking to the Threads. Also use Wax to keep the Porting Bits from clogging with Aluminum grit.

Cheap Wax can be found in the Plumbing Aisle...

View attachment 407390
View attachment 407391

When installing new Intake Grate Brass Inserts, I mounted the Inserts with the Bolts coated in Wax on to the Intake Grate, effectively using the Grate as a Template, and also coated the underside of the Grate with Grease so it wouldn't stick to any Resin that may ooze out of the Insert Holes. Once Resin cured, the Bolts and the Intake Grate came off eazy-peazy and the Inserts were in perfect alignment.

It came out no problem but good idea..I do have to replace that intake grate insert on your old super jet though. Running it with 3bolts and some silicone now haha. Maybe when I’m done with this one.

 

[wydopen]

Will do. Was planning on drilling it and I left it for the end. Couldn’t get it out and I didn’t want to start grinding on it again once it was assembled. Has an aluminum pump shoe now so don’t think it’s going anywhere but I will do it eventually

 

[wydopen]

Now for the hard part. Dremeled out the air bubbles on underside of the rails. Going to have to try to fill them and then do 2layers of 9oz over the top. Super tight next to the tubbie. Going to be hard to overlap the tubbie and side of the ski.

 

[E350]

I am really interested in your and your son's thoughts on the handling of the FX-1 with your various handling modifications. IMHO experience my '95 FX-1 handles nothing like my '93 550sx. I ride the FX-1 because it has the additional power I need and I have seen @wavewarrior ride it with authority. So I know that it can be done.

 

[wydopen]

I am really interested in your and your son's thoughts on the handling of the FX-1 with your various handling modifications. IMHO experience my '95 FX-1 handles nothing like my '93 550sx. I ride the FX-1 because it has the additional power I need and I have seen @wavewarrior ride it with authority. So I know that it can be done.

Im interested to see how it will be also..

I have ridden fx's back in the day but they weren't setup to my liking....even with the mostly stock parts on this thing I think I will be able to get a feel for it or the potential anyways if it had power comparable to my ski....If your skis don't have tubbies of some sort on them I would definitely add some..for me its the biggest improvement you can make to a ski....I could't/wouldnt ride without them...even for flatwater they make the ski so much easier to ride aggressively which is the only way to ride a standup..the harder you ride the better they work

 

[Sanoman]

l owned a fx long before l bought the Stunt Hole kit.Had the standard things like bpipe,ride plate,scoop grate and prop.But no hull mods.So this fx build l’m doing with tubbies,wide rails,and pump conv. should be a world of a difference.l’m going to follow Hornedogg’s opinion on how the wider rails should be and your idea on filing the tubbie chines Wydopen.Plus it’s getting a LPW 735 for a power plant.l’m excited to get all this together.
Especially being my only ride this year since my other hulls are sold lol

 

[wydopen]

Does anyone know the paint code for the bottom deck purple? I’m going to have a hard time painting the whole thing white. Found some rattlecan that I thought was a perfect match but it wasn’t close enough when I got it home. No automotive paint store around here that I know of. When I did my old ski we painted it at my buddies which was a couple hrs away and got the paint up there..

 

[brapperdoodle]

Does anyone know the paint code for the bottom deck purple? I’m going to have a hard time painting the whole thing white. Found some rattlecan that I thought was a perfect match but it wasn’t close enough when I got it home. No automotive paint store around here that I know of. When I did my old ski we painted it at my buddies which was a couple hrs away and got the paint up there..

I don’t know where to look online but if you want to match it very closely, you’ll need to find a paint supply shop. Try calling some local body shops and ask if they could point you in the right direction of where they get their paint. I swear it will be worth it if you get some real paint. I sprayed my entire custom paint job with a $20 harbor freight spray gun and it turned out fantastic. Well that and a nice Iwata airbrush

 

[mikidymac]

Here you go.

 

[wydopen]

I don’t know where to look online but if you want to match it very closely, you’ll need to find a paint supply shop. Try calling some local body shops and ask if they could point you in the right direction of where they get their paint. I swear it will be worth it if you get some real paint. I sprayed my entire custom paint job with a $20 harbor freight spray gun and it turned out fantastic. Well that and a nice Iwata airbrush

I’ve got a decent gun. Just need to dry out my compressors

 

[wydopen]

Finished grinding/cutting out the bubbles/Delam and filled and glassed them. Hoping they turn out ok. Hard to get in next to the tubbie.

 

[wydopen]

Not bad. Cleaned up with a razor blade before it was all the way cured and should be good with minimal sanding

 

[wydopen]

Well I had been making good progress on the fx..got the hood prepped and a bunch of sanding but now it’s going to have to go on hold for a few days. Mistimed full throttle beaching attempt at low tide flexed the bottom of my sj so bad it cracked all the way through under the tank and waterbox around the strap mounts. I was going to reinforce the bottom when I built it but got a few years out of my old one before I broke the bottom...figured I’d fix it when it broke. Unfortunately that was sooner than later. Now I’m thinking I should do the same to the fx.