My First Stand-up - The story of a 38year old man who makes poor financial decisions.

[GRiN]

I turfed the side rails and installed some hardware and got my pump aligned nicely after some tips from @Quinc. So close, but still so far away lol

 

[Quinc]

Deff stands out as one of the cleanest builds! Hurry up and finish before it gets cold.

 

[GRiN]

Deff stands out as one of the cleanest builds! Hurry up and finish before it gets cold.

Thanks dude!

It was 113 here last week!!! but it IS supposed rain and be in the 60's this weekend.. As soon as my wax header shows up I will be on my final push to finish it up. Hoping to make it to Pismo in October.

 

[Quinc]

You ride this thing yet???

 

[GRiN]

You ride this thing yet???

No lol. Waiting for a replacement header and also work/life got really busy lately and just haven't had any time to keep pushing on assembly. I'm bummed I missed out on Pismo, it looked like a great time. My goal is to have the ski done by the end of the year for sure so that I can get some tray time in and make it to the Spring PFR 2023.

Still chasing a small leak on my 61x, but it think it's at the exhaust manifold, so I might just use some aircraft gasket sealer and send it.
Need to:
-sort out mounting of the gastank/waterbox
-shorten ebox wires (have crimps/crimpers etc.)
-install throttle cable (have cable)
-clearance current ride-plate for bottom bolt on Thurst trim setup
and/or acquire, cut, and powdercoat an OEM SN rideplate
-dial-in pump alignment (borrowed a CF alignment tool from @BAYAIR but haven't had any time to verify)
-turf chinpad
-install hood straps (have)
-install pole limiter (have)
-install primer (have old plunger, but will probably get a bulb+watthole)
-Install dual rule pumps (have pumps/plumbing/switch and thru-hulls are already installed)
-install/shim engine
-plumb cooling (have silicone hose and flow-restricter, pissers are already installed.
-clean/powdercoat used mod chamber I got from TC.
-possibly swap to a different hood seal beacause my current one hangs up on the front edge and it's a pain in the ass to install the hood.

There's probably a few other things too...it's mostly all little stuff, but it adds up and I'm just overwhelmed in general right now, so it's been hard to get motivated to tinker.
Now that I have a list to look at I will try harder to check things off one by one.

 

[GRiN]

UPDATED TO DO LIST

Need to:
-sort out mounting of the gastank/waterbox
-acquire, cut, and powdercoat an OEM SN rideplate (optional)
-turf chinpad and top of hood - (just need to buy more woodweld)
-install hood straps (have)
-install pole limiter (have)
-install primer (have old plunger, but will probably get a bulb+watthole)
-Install dual rule pumps (have pumps/plumbing/switch and thru-hulls are already installed)
-plumb cooling (have silicone hose and flow-restricter, pissers are already installed.
-clean/powdercoat used mod chamber I got from TC. (need to see if a mod chamber fits in my outside oven lol otherwise i might just hit it with exhaust paint)
-possibly swap to a different hood seal because my current one hangs up on the front edge and it's a pain in the ass to install the hood.

-clean/rebuild/jet carb for b-pipe and install

Last weekend I made some solid progress on a few things and found my motivation after seeing the ski looking more like a ski!

I decided my pump alignment was good to go - mid-shaft slides on and lines up with holes (I couldn't use the CF alignment tool because my hull uses the old style midshaft)..it is no harder to rotate by hand with the mid-shaft bolted up then if the midshaft- housing can rotate freely.

I noticed some pitting on the exhaust side of my cylinder so I coated it with red rtv and slapped my manifold on. It appears to be holding pressure, so I went ahead and installed the engine in the hull for the first time... The coupler halves line up almost perfectly without any shims!

With the motor installed was finally able to mockup the complete exhaust (the chamber/header union is REAL close to the hull, so I've got a piece of turf to go between and hopefully quiet vibration and keep the chamber from wearing a hole in the hull. At first I thought I could only install the waterbox upside down, but then by changing the order of installation I got it to "fit" right side up. Now I just need to pad it and secure it. Wax said the replacement headers should be ready in 2 weeks, so that may be the last thing I'm waiting on if I make good progress this weekend.

I machined some clearance for the bottom bolt of the thrust trim because it was interfering with the ride-plates raised ribs - (I still want to switch to a cut OEM rideplate)
The trim is easy to pull, but doesn't quite spring down instantly the way i would expect it to. It goes down eventually or I can force it down faster with the lever - I'm assuming this is a combination of a stretched return spring and cable routing (cable seems pretty long so it serpentines under the engine), but i'm also assuming that when the engine is running the nozzle will be forced downward which will help with dropping the nozzle back down automatically.

I converted a couch e-Box into an SJ e-box with waterproof bullet connectors inside the box and added a deutch connector between the stator and ebox for easy engine removal.
I still need to mount my bilge pumps and wire them up to the handlebar switch.
I also need a negative battery cable, but otherwise electronics are complete.

It's SO close!!!

 

[Quinc]

It looks so clean!!

 

[Sanoman]

lt all looks great Grin!

 

[GRiN]

UPDATED TO DO LIST
Need to:

-powdercoat chopped and d-cut OceanPRO ride-plate
-turf top/back of hood
-re-turf bottom of gas tank
-install primer (forgot to bring hole-saws home last weekend)
-Install dual rule pumps (waiting to pull motor back out to clean hull and epoxy pump strainers in place)
-paint the used mod chamber I got from TC. (just waiting for a warmer/dryer day but might have to just bring it to work and borrow the spray booth)
-buy a battery
-Install new header when it arrives (replacement is on the way from Wax)
-make or source a coupler cover
-final assembly aka Loctite rampage

Over this past weekend I turfed my chinpad and waterbox and made a mounting plate for the waterbox as well.
I also rebuilt my carb using all stainless fasteners, Wax Racing billet covers, an ADA throttle wheel, and jetted it for a b-pipe (145 main, 2.0n/s, 95g spring).

In addition to the to-do list above, the engine sits very close to aligned without shims, so i think I just need to add one shim to each rear motor mount and it should be perfect. Then I need to pull the motor and silicone the back of the mid-shaft housing and re-install it, epoxy my bilge pumps in place, sand and turf the spot where my chamber will vibrate against the hull, then do a final clean/touch-up before final assembly. I also need to set the timing on my flywheel and install the cover. Most of what is left can be done in a couple days, so depending on when my replacement header arrives, I could have this thing "finished" before the end of the year!

 

[Quinc]

Was installing my new wax manifold and header pipe in my long neglected SJ yesterday and was wondering where you where at with yours. For shims people have had good luck with the harborfreight ones. https://www.harborfreight.com/144-piece-body-shim-assortment-67585.html

 

[GRiN]

Was installing my new wax manifold and header pipe in my long neglected SJ yesterday and was wondering where you where at with yours. For shims people have had good luck with the harborfreight ones.

Drilled a bunch of 1/2" holes in my original so I could keep it in one piece for future swap-ski mock-ups. Jared sent the replacement last week so it should be here either this week or next week..I'm running it cast finish so hopefully once it arrives I can just bolt it on and do a first start-up!


I actually have a decent assortment of OEM shims from various couch part-outs, just figured that would be a "last step".

 

[fastgtfairlane]

What engine mounts are you using? I've had good luck with oem couch mounts. By opening the mounting holes where they bolt to the hull, I've had good luck spacing them out and getting the engine to sit low enough without having to use shims at all. Even worked on my superfreak which I bought rrp mounts for in case the couch mounts wouldn't work.

 

[GRiN]

What engine mounts are you using? I've had good luck with oem couch mounts. By opening the mounting holes where they bolt to the hull, I've had good luck spacing them out and getting the engine to sit low enough without having to use shims at all. Even worked on my superfreak which I bought rrp mounts for in case the couch mounts wouldn't work.

So I'm actually using couch mounts (unmodified) and the motor is sitting a tiny bit low because I have allowed the mounts to "sag" towards the outside of the hull .. my thinking being that on a hard flat landing they would have nowhere to shift...am I overthinking it? Should I be able to threadlock the motor mounts in place and not worry about them moving? If so I can probably move them toward the center of the hull to raise the motor enough to not require any shims...

 

[fastgtfairlane]

If the engine sat too low, then just move the mounts inward and that will raise the engine up so no shims needed.

 

[97superjet]

That thing turned out nice!

 

[smoofers]

Super clean!!!! Very nice work!

 

[Austin_landers]

Just read the whole thread . Nice work , I would have had to slap a stock pipe on there just to get it in the water.

 

[GRiN]

Just read the whole thread . Nice work , I would have had to slap a stock pipe on there just to get it in the water.

Thanks, I honestly hit a huge burnout phase after the bodywork/paint/turf portion. I recently got that second wind and started making progress again...I think "waiting for the header" was my excuse to allow the build to idle when I was feeling overwhelmed... I probably could have had this thing setup with a bone stock motor and exhaust long ago but I'm basically building it a few hours at a time when my availability/motivation happen to line up. Also it's cold enough here now that I'm not really eager to get in the water and since i don't exactly know how to ride a stand-up, I imagine I'm gonna be swimming back to the ski about as much as I'm riding it at first lol

 

[GRiN]

Still to do:
-powdercoat chopped and d-cut OceanPRO ride-plate (might just rattle can this white until warmer weather)
-turf top/back of hood
-re-turf bottom of gas tank
-Install dual rule pumps (need to complete wiring and epoxy strainers in place)
-buy a battery
-Install new header when it arrives (replacement is on the way from Wax)
-make or source a coupler cover (I thought I found an OEM one in my garage, but it's for a raider - Might try to bend up some stainless sheet I have laying around
-final assembly aka Loctite rampage

This weekend I 242'd the motor mounts in place and I'm pretty pleased with the alignment using couch mounts and no shims ( thanks for the tip @fastgtfairlane )


Please excuse the debris inside the hull

I pulled the motor back out and set the timing and installed the bendix/starter/flywheel - I will compression test this week and post numbers. I'm running 35cc domes so I'm hoping for close to 180psi, but I'm not too confident (150psi ported eBay motor i tore down and re-assembled with fresh gaskets and seals but didn't hone or re-ring)...


I also realized I need to figure out some sort of way to store a fire extinguisher... I have an idea for a 3d-printed mount, but I don't know if it will be strong enough - might have to bend more stainless sheet...

Unrelated pix of carb:


Speaking of 3D-printing, I made this little pole-lock to keep my pole all the way up while I install my hood or work inside the hull... The design is super simple, I might make one that looks a little cooler, but this one is inconspicuous and it does the job. By rotating it 180 degrees it lodges into the pole bracket to keep the pole from lowering. I drilled and tapped a hole for the pivot bolt and it has a nyloc nut on the back to keep it from coming loose.

 

[Quinc]

Looking great!