Removing Top Deck? (1987 JS550 Rebuild/Engine Swap)

[smokeysevin]

Hood Liner Installation Part 1 (Garbage Glass is a pain in the ass)

In the last post, I set about making a flat insert piece to install as a hood liner to keep water from raining into the carb intakes. I thought that by using a trash bag laid flat and slightly stretched I would get the surface flat enough for no one to ever see. That wasn't how it actually went down. Shortly after I did the layup on the glass, I decided it was a good idea to add another trash back on top so I could put some extra squeeze on the layup and keep bubbles from working into it (have I mentioned that I am not good at fiberglass layup?) On my previous project, I was fortunate enough to have a waxed melamine table or large sheet of glass that I used to do flat parts. I don't have that luxury right now since I have way too much crap in my garage at the moment. When I added the other trash bag to the glass stack, it apparently stuck and wrinkled the second layer before I put the weights on top which left bubbles that needed to be ground out. It also gave the glass a surface finish not unlike a spray on bedliner.

Given the above, I broke out the orbital sander and knocked back as much as I had the motivation for and called it adequate. That done, I laid out my cardboard template and traced out the shape, then cut it out with my scroll saw. I knocked back the rough edges and gave it a test fit. Reasonably happy with that, I mixed up 4oz of resin with some cabosil and I drilled several 1/4" holes in the hood and liner then used 1/4-20 bolts with washers and nuts to pinch the liner to the hood shape. Once the middle was secure, I mixed another 8oz of resin and cabosil up and went around the perimeter to smooth where the seam of the hood liner met the inside of the hood.

From there, I cut several strips of fiberglass cloth and reinforced the new joint and added another 2 layers and 8oz of straight to the corners where the hood seals with the ski.

Time Spent:
3 Hours (Learn from my mistakes, if you start with a garbage idea, you will get rubbish results.)

Tools Used:
Scroll Saw
Wiss Scissors
Orbital sander
Shop Vac
Drill
1/4" Drill Bit
Impact driver and 7/16' socket
7/16" wrench

Materials Used:
HF Bum-Hair Paint Brush
20oz Resin
1 Paint Brush
1 Stir Stick
36x12" Fiberglass Cloth

PPE Used:
GORILLA GLOVES
Organic Vapor Respirator

Number of times I cabosil'd myself to random objects in the garage after stepping on discarded gloves used to smear cabosil around:
12

Percentage of Garage Floor Epoxy Coated
11% (I almost slipped and died on the now loose trash bag that I left on the floor, planting my foot firmly on a blob of cabosil epoxy which I then tracked around like a roomba that ran over dog poop)

Percentage complete:
60% (I still need to figure out how I want to install vent hoses on the new liner, I think I will probably run them from the front of the hood to the area on either side of the fuel tank)

Sean

Garbo-Glass

Trash Layup

Rubbish Bubbles

Scrap Outline

Basura Surface Finish

Wasted Cabosil

Crappy Cloth

Cooper the Best Write-up Helper Ever (ignore the original and terrible 1980's carpet)

 

[smokeysevin]

Exhaust Tubing Part 1 (Swapping my bluetooth exhaust for a physical connection)

The list of remaining things I have that I can complain about being the reason for why this ski is still as dry as the Atacama Desert just got shortened. I finally connected my PJS pipe to my purple seadoo muffler and then connected that to the tube I stuck in this thing back on June 25th. The fit up went reasonably well, I started with the waterbox which uses a single 45 degree elbow from the stinger to the box inlet.

The stinger needs to get cut and welded to use the larger 2" exit I selected for the rest of the system but that is a minor mod that will hopefully get done soon since I am not the one who will be doing it.

From the waterbox (which is mounted at an odd angle but it fits so who is keeping score) another 45 degree elbow is used to space and angle the outlet tighter to the pole mount on the nose of the ski. The 45 connects to a chopped 180 degree bend which rises as high into the nose as I could get it before tucking up to the bottom of the hood flange with a straight coupler and another tight radius 90. That 90 connects to the straight tube with another straight coupler where it runs past the tank and carbs before connecting at a slight angle to the rear exit. I may pull the rear exit back further and use a longer section of coupler since I have 3' of straight 4 ply silicone tube to play with.

That done, I took one of the yoga blocks I piked up and used it to make a waterbox support. I am not thrilled with how that turned out but once I throw some turf on the backside of the box (or wrap it) and throw a strap over it, I think it will be fine (and no one will be able to see it)

Time Spent:
1.5 Hours (I will probably keep working on this or get back to tearing my stxr carbs down this evening)


Tools Used:
Portaband on Swag Table
New Boxcutter Blade
Belt/Disc Sander
Hackzall with 12" wood cutting blade


Materials Used:
1 180deg 2" U Bend
1 90 deg 2" Bend
1 24" x 2" Straight Tube
3 2"x3" 4 Ply Silicone Couplers
2 45 degree 2" 4 Ply Silicone Elbow
1 4"x6"x9" Foam Yoga Block
Painters Tape


PPE Used:
Reef Bottle Opener Safety Sandals


Times my Bunghole Puckered while freehand cutting the only aluminum tubes I bought:
69


Percentage of Garage Floor Epoxy Coated
11% (I am getting ready to bust out the cab or 5200 to glue the rear exhaust tube in so its about to get messy)


Percentage complete:
90% (Gotta order hose clamps and glue in a waterbox strap mount. I am pretty happy with how this went together.)


Sean

Waterbox and outlet peeking out

Weird U/J/L Bend to tuck the tube up high

Couldn't be happier with how that part fit

Not happy with how that fits...

Just barely touching the tank, I will either sleeve that with silicone or turf and call it good unless that's a major fire hazard...

System layout once in the open where you can see it and not my blurry closeups

Yoga block mount and routing

Top view

A photo of the inside of my nose from inside my nose.

 

[smokeysevin]

I had to do something today to make it feel like I was making progress.

Sean

 

[smokeysevin]

It has been a while but I hope things are getting back to normal for y'all. Normal for me now includes a baby boy so every day is a new adventure!

On the ski, I made some time to work and cut and installed my drive shaft filler. That was glued in with thickened epoxy. Once it was installed I filled the pocket with more thickened epoxy and smoothed it out as best I could.

I also removed the poly pump shoe and replaced it with the aluminum Rhaas one and glued that in place as well.

That done and cured, I sanded everything back again, wiped it down and primed the hood, sanded the hood back with 400 grit and got one coat of teal on most of it before I ran out.

I also primed the bottom deck and filled some pinholes I found once the primer dried. The bottom needs to be sanded, and reprimed before I blast it with the appliance epoxy.

I don't want to say I am cutting corners at this point but I am definitely okay with "good enough" on the bodywork now. I really just want to ride this thing before 2025 so I am calling the bodywork adequate for a 34 year old ski and moving on once it is all one color again.

Sean

 

[mikesx]

Damn! Just found this thread. Wish it was in My Ski and Buildups, I'd of found it sooner. Looks Great!

 

[smokeysevin]

Damn! Just found this thread. Wish it was in My Ski and Buildups, I'd of found it sooner. Looks Great!

Yeahhhh that's my bad. I probably should request to move it.

Sean

 

[smokeysevin]

Paint (is particularly painful and perilous if people poorly prepare or pass on patience)

Made some progress, sanded out some hood runs and blasted the bottom of the hull with the crustoleum. Looks decent but I should have sanded it more before I spraybombed it. Oh well, its covered and I want to move on. I am trying to show what the results look like even if it is not ideal so look at my shortcomings lol. The specs are pvc dust that got blown on while I was making the vent adapters but the unevenness is all real baby...

Wanting to feel slightly less incompetent, I cut the handle pole hinge pass through hole for a 2" canaflex hose rather than the stock wire pass through. Hopefully this will let some extra air in without letting a bunch of water in as well.

I also modified 2 Kawasaki STX vent hoses to fit 2" pvc couplers in them. The plan is to mount the flanges to the underside of the hood and use the larger couch ducts to flow more air. The pvc inserts will stick up slightly above the new hood liner I made and get capped with frogskinz to limit water ingress.

Going to try and flip the hull tomorrow or Monday and finish painting the bottom then let that cure for a few days before setting it back sunny side up and prepping for bilge paint and top deck paint.

Time Spent:
6 Hours (I am not good at paint and bodywork which is why I dislike it so)


Tools Used:

Belt/Disc Sander
Soldering Iron
Drill Press
2" Hole Saw


Materials Used:
2 2" PVC repair couplers
1 Can Torque'n Teal Paint
1 sheet 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper
3 Cans Black Crustoleum Appliance Epoxy

PPE
3M VOC Respirator
Worktunes Headphones
24x24X1 Filter over my fan

Number of times I had to remind my self that I am not a professional painter, nor am I using professional tools, professional supplies, or even professional methods or professional attitudes so I shouldn't expect professional results: 6001

Volume of Paint Overspray on my floor: 1/3 Capacity of the Exxon Valdez


Sean

Clamped and Cutting

Trimmed and mostly still painted

Vent Installed on the Bottom

Hose for the Nose

Gee Sean, that doesn't look that bad...

On the internetz everything is a catfish...

Stock STX Suction Section

PVC into Part and Boom, Air Induction

The Elephant Trunk

 

[Sanoman]

Once you get that ski in the water and start riding,all the things you feel like are imperfections will fade from your thoughts.Looks great bro!

 

[smokeysevin]

Thanks Y'all, it is hard to turn that part of my brain off but you are absolutely right. It is going to get scratched even if it was perfect so it is all the same in the end.

My next questions is while I am working on it, should I trim the rear bond rail overhang back so it doesn't drag in the water? I have seen a few builds where that is chopped and am wondering if it is a good "while I am in there" mod or if it is just extra work.

Sean

 

[Sanoman]

You probably will get different views on this subject.Not a lot more work,just cut it off and smooth it out.You could extend it out to give more area in the rear.
Couple pics from my build:

 

[smokeysevin]

You probably will get different views on this subject.Not a lot more work,just cut it off and smooth it out.You could extend it out to give more area in the rear.
Couple pics from my build:

I was scoping yours out the other day which gave me the idea. Is it just so the back end doesn't hook?

Sean

 

[smokeysevin]

Paint Part 2 (Primer Procedure Parts People with Prints, Paint Pleases Patron)

Decided that it was time to flip the ski back over after blasting the bottom with the Appliance Epoxy. After determining that I didn't put enough time into the prep phase I spent about 3 hours chasing any imperfections left over from the damage repair and either filled them or sanded them out to bare SMC with 320 on the orbital sander then 400 with the block. I then put 2 coats of high build duplicolor sandable primer down and waited the required 30 minutes before knocking the whole top deck back with wet 600 grit. I wiped the whole thing back again with my spray bottle of optum no-rinse I use for stuff like this, then after it was dry I went back over the whole thing again with denatured alcohol before blasting it all with the duplicolor Torque'n Teal I used on the hood. Now, I am playing the waiting game and praying the insane mosquitoes we have in Houston currently don't decide to land all over it while it dries.

Time Spent:
6 Hours ( Did I mention, this is not my best area? )


Tools Used:
5" orbital sander


Materials Used:
3 Cans High Build Sandable Primer
3 Cans Torque'n Teal Paint
4 sheet 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper
12 320 grit 5" sanding discs
1 Roll 1.5" painters tape


PPE
3M VOC Respirator
Worktunes Headphones
2 24x24X1 Filter over my fan



Volume of Paint Overspray on my floor: slightly less than the arctic ocean


Sean

 

[Sanoman]

The color grows on you!

 

[smokeysevin]

The color grows on you!

Before I found you lot on the X, I would have never considered these types of colors on stuff. Now, I can't imagine using boring colors anymore. I am really excited to do the graphics and detail work.

Sean

 

[smokeysevin]

I like where this is going...

Sean

 

[smokeysevin]

Turf part 1 (Tacky Turf Tucking Troubles Talent-less Technologist)


Woke up this morning and decided to see if I could be productive before Kiddo and Mamma woke up. Hauled-ass to Lowes and snagged some Dap Weldwood to see if I could glue my turf down before Monday morning. I knocked back the paint with 60 grit sandpaper and wiped everything down with denatured alcohol before I started doing my layout. I quickly discovered that for a ski with a stock tray, it is completely worth it (imo) to buy the precut stuff because I can't make templates to save my life. After flailing around for a few hours I said screw it and just measured the cuts and started slicing. I started with the bottom (which was probably a mistake in hindsight) and glued in my wedge at the rear of the tray. In the process, I learned that the paint I used is weldwood soluable... fun. Even after discovering that, I decided to keep going which will probably come back to bite me when the turf starts peeling off this pile before it even hits the water. I moved onto doing the sides next which I thought was a challenge until I started on the dash panel. All told, I probably spent the same amount of time trying to get the fit nice on that, as I did on the entire rest of the ski. Tray done, I moved onto the pole landing strip... and laid that down nicely.

All said, I still have/want to do the rails with the turf, that may be a nightmare but I will probably still give it a shot. I can completely appreciate the work and skill that goes into this from some of y'all. I learned how contact cement actually works today so I am apparently one of today's lucky 10,000. I also learned how much of a pain contact cement can be so that is the other side of that coin.

Time Spent:
6 Hours ( Next time, I will pay one of you experts for this. The product will be better and will be done quicker. )

Tools Used:
Segmented Utility Knife
72" Straight Edge
24" Square
12" Square
Tape Measure

Materials Used:
60 Grit Sandpaper
Denatured Alcohol
DAP Weldwood Contact Cement
Hydro Turf Black Diamond

PPE
3M VOC Respirator
Worktunes Headphones

Turf Wasted: 420 in^2

Utility Knife Segments Ruined by Cutting Directly on my Driveway: 4

Years Until the Scratches Carved into my Driveway Become an Archeological Site and Historical Preserve: 6900



Sean

 

[smokeysevin]

Detailwork Sans Details

Started prepping for reassembly and added turf on the rails. Learned a lot in the process. I also prepped the inside of the hull for the Interlux Bilge coat and got a layer on.

I am kind of worried that something is up with it though because it is sticky and tacks up when I tired to wipe the dust off with denatured alcohol. Consider it is specific bilge paint that is supposed to be chemical resistant I am not happy. Hopefully it is just curing slower than advertised and will eventually harden properly because I really don't want to have to scrape the whole thing down with acetone.

I also started prepping the pole for the larger inlet/cable route and it looks like my kanaflex is a little stiffer than I would like for where it is. I will either pickup something softer or leave it alone, right now I am not 100% sure which.

I dry installed the 2 cooling lines from the pump area into the hull and flared the ends so they don't slip off. I need to knock the burr off the flares and glue them in but I am going to wait until I install the exhaust before I glue everything in place.

Waiting on new pole bushings from Watcon and bow eyes and tow loops from Blowsion. Graphics arrived but I am not ready to stick them yet.

I need to clean up the motor mount hardware and start prepping to rebuild and install the motor. Getting Close I think...


Sean

Something looks off...

Not bad for my first time wrapping turf rails, learned a lot on how to do it better next time.

 

[Sanoman]

How long was it before you tried the alcohol in the engine bay? Also,have you set it outside in the sunlight to help with the drying process?
Looks great! Keep up the good work

 

[smokeysevin]

How long was it before you tried the alcohol in the engine bay? Also,have you set it outside in the sunlight to help with the drying process?
Looks great! Keep up the good work

I put the first coat of paint on the hull Friday evening, it was really warm in the garage (85+) The product manual says 3 hours touch dry, 1 day+ requires sanding to top coat so I am assuming it will be fully set at that point. I went to wipe the sanding dust and tack off Sunday afternoon and it kind of tacked up. I am hoping that it will keep setting because I REALLY don't want to have to take it off. I had to scrape/acetone wipe partially cured gel coat off a STX hull a few years ago and it was a nightmare.

Best guess is that I went heavier than I was supposed to on the first coat and it skinned over before the bottom dried properly and I am hoping it sets the rest of the way. The paint is enamel so it may just need a little longer to cure but I am not sure. Just going to wait and see.

https://www.international-yachtpaint.com/s3/documents/Guidance/bilgekote-info-usa-eng.pdf

Sean

 

[fastgtfairlane]

Not sure where you're located but very high humidity especially in the south can really affect dry times.