My surf/freeride/freestyle RN build

[Sospikey]

Man I am loving this thread. I'm in college and you had me reading this thing last night for the longest time when I was supposed to be studying for finals ha. This is a sweet build, very nice job. I love your attention to detail, I'm the same way. I have a few questions though: 1) I love that quick connect idea for the battery. would you mind sending me more info on that, and is it possible to include the bilge with the quick connect? and 2) I'm kind of confused about the drains you got with the low pro ss screws on the chines? Whats the significance of that when you have the quick drain and bilges?

Thanks for the nice feedback. Too bad I am hampering your studies, lol. The quick connect is something they use on fork lifts batteries. The connecting parts are silver plated and will not die in the salt. It could be possible to add a cable for the bilge depending on what gauge battery cable you use. I am pretty sure these quick connects are in the Hot Products catalogue?!
The drains in the chines are for when (not if) there will be water mixed with my polystyrene and 2-part foam. Just open those screws and drain it out. After installing my new hood, the Rules are redundant. They hardly pump at all, even when doing subs and such.

 

[dirtbikerida]

Yeah! found the quick connectors, do you have your bilge connected with those? I thought I saw that in one of your pictures. Another question: How do you like those fuel filters? I don't feel like spending $15 on the riva ones but my current ones seem restrictive because my ski cuts out on the top end. Have you ridden with those filters and would you recommend them?

 

[Sospikey]

Yeah! found the quick connectors, do you have your bilge connected with those? I thought I saw that in one of your pictures. Another question: How do you like those fuel filters? I don't feel like spending $15 on the riva ones but my current ones seem restrictive because my ski cuts out on the top end. Have you ridden with those filters and would you recommend them?

I Connected the bilge to the e-box, I think you can see it in one of the pics. I've been using the filters for a few years, they work well. I got them from John at JSS but I think you can get them in numerous places.

 

[dirtbikerida]

how do you connect the bilge just to the e box? and when you redid the bottom of the hull, i might be thinking of your x2 build, but what is the process of that? do you have a link or something? I'm wanting to paint mine, preferably spraying not rolling, and then i know i need to wet sand then buff and polish but i don't know the exact details of that process. do you have any help with that? I'm not trying to make it perfect at all, just look better than it does with some fresh paint too. i appreciate all your help!

 

[Sospikey]

how do you connect the bilge just to the e box?

I put a wire on the + connector inside the ebox and squeezed it with the thick starter wire through the grommet. Added some silicone for sealing.

and when you redid the bottom of the hull, i might be thinking of your x2 build, but what is the process of that? do you have a link or something? I'm wanting to paint mine, preferably spraying not rolling, and then i know i need to wet sand then buff and polish but i don't know the exact details of that process. do you have any help with that? I'm not trying to make it perfect at all, just look better than it does with some fresh paint too. i appreciate all your help!

First you repair any bad damage. If you just have marks after beaching it, just sand all loose fibre and gelcoat/paint off. Clean off the hull with acetone. Mix up your favourite epoxy with micro balloons/silica until you have something which resembles peanut butter. Fill in the voids/holes/scars. Don't get crazy, you need to sand off the excess. Let dry. Epoxy dislikes cold temps during curing. Minimum 75-85, 90-100 is the if you wants things to last. Sand using a machine and 200-80 grit depending on how thick you put the epoxy on. Repeat until it is starting to look ok. Now you can either wetsand until nice or put 1-3 layers of primer on it and then wetsand. Your call. I couldn't really spray anything on, I just wetsanded and brushed on 2-part top coat paint. I needed to wet sand since the strokes from the brush was visible. Wet sanded with 200-400-800-1000 grit until nice. Finished off with rubbing compound and as the last step; polish. I used a cheap electrical polishing machine for this step.

 

[Sospikey]

Added some pics for dirtbikerida:

 

[Sospikey]

My battery went dead, 13 months old.... I managed to get a refund even after the 12 month warranty expired. I got a Dekra battery instead of the crappy "Biltema" (local Swedish low cost chit). I also redid the wiring while at it. I have ordered a new hood seal from Watcon, it is in transit. I made some backing plates to my hood hooks out of S/S while at it.

 

[Sospikey]

Some riding pics from this Solstice-weekend, enjoy!

 

[Sospikey]

More pics! I could feel it was a while since I rode last. The ski felt different because of less weight and lower pole bracket. The foot holds seams good this far, just different. The new Dakine strap is really comfy, very wide. I need to do some small adjustments to the nose piece and torque down the pole some more. I have an jetting issue I need to address; I'll be calling X-scream about this. I am a bit surprised about that since most guys write that they just adjust idle and ride on their x-scream motors?!

I did change the low speed jet, from 117.5 to 122.5. Much better now! Still some tweaking to do on the low speed adjuster (for easy starting), been lazy and have just been riding. I also put an oem ride plate on, just for testing. I liked it so far, will try to find a cheap old-style race plate to shorten and d-cut.

 

[Sospikey]

Some small mid-season upgrades. I got a Watcon hood seal in the mail the other day. I also redid the pole pad. The first one was very nice looking all wrapped in b-stock but it just didn't absorb much bumps. I made a new one, works much better now!

I'll give feed back on the hood seal later, I have the hood clamped down currently to form a "ditch" for the lip to rest in.

 

[skyski]

nice thread