SN Build - Rocker, Shorten, Wide-tray, Custom Pole

[J-Bomber]

I picked up this SN superjet hull at the end of last season with plans of building a surf SN on a limited budget. I've been riding an all stock SN for the last two seasons and I've done more than enough pearling, so the plan is to modify this hull and then drop the 650 in there with the 9/15 Hooker.

Disclaimer: I have never worked with fibreglass or any type of composite before, which is a big reason that I am posting this thread. I've been looking a lot at @Nate_D 's SNX Hull build thread for ideas, but I have no intentions of being as ambitious as he is with his ski (nor am I as skilled, obviously)

Anyway here are some pictures of the progress:

Stripped the turf

Widened tray 3/4" off of the original lip, cut up to the firewall


Trimmed up some more and exposed the exhaust. The plan is to cut a hole through the firewall under the existing exhaust hole so that the pipe travels flat under the tray


Cut the front rails a bit to get rid of the nasty beak look


Ground out battery/waterbox mounts to prepare for rocker


Cut the faces of the back to reuse on the new length


-4 cut

 

[Nate_D]

Looking good. Are you going to run the exhaust back up above the water line in the engine bay?


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[ProSouth]

You're keeping the 650? I would recommend getting on a bone stock 701 with a bpipe

 

[J-Bomber]

@Nate_D that's the plan yes. That side is intake I believe so I'll need to accommodate that. I'm wondering if I should put in a one-way valve too?

@ProSouth a great recommendation, but I'll need to do a bit if saving before that happens, plus I'd like to see what I can do with the 650 before I upgrade

 

[Nate_D]

One way valve seems like overkill. Just get the exhaust to go above the water line somewhere in the routing. If you are running everything stock, I doubt it will be an issue. If you have any questions on the composites, shoot me a pm. I am far from an expert, but I am happy to share what I know.


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[J-Bomber]

Great @Nate_D thanks!

 

[J-Bomber]

2" spaced lines started 56" from rear of hull


Pie cut from start of rocker to nose


Paint sticks used to space cuts and create rocker


Nose was trimmed as the spaces widened to allow for rocker

 

[ProSouth]

thats a nice clean and subtle rocker. ski will look slick when finished.

 

[J-Bomber]

@ProSouth tbh I'm totally satisfied with the rocker, I was hoping it would be bigger, so I think I'll go buy some door shims and jam them in there to get a bigger slope. I figure if I'm doing it, I might as well go big!

 

[ProSouth]

you wont be going in the wrong direction going bigger, but with little rocker like you have, the hull will handle a lot better and still have a sleek oem look. bigger is always better though, looks are last on the list if it handles the waves well

 

[swapmeet]

I've never gone to the lengths of rockering a hull etc. But i've done a little composites work so i'll tell you what i've learned the hard way

Seal up the fire wall and anywhere else that can leak water. When you drill your new exhaust hole and patch the old one. Do it right. Seal around the bulk head. These superjets leak bro... bad.

Since you're already in there, I would refoam with the home insulation foam. More than likely, even if you try real hard, you're gonna get leaks under your tray. The foam will get wet and the ski will be very heavy. The home insulation foam doesn't absorb water. You'll still pour a little two part foam to fill gaps, but the house foam ( I can't remember the technical name for it) is strong and very buoyant. Don't pour resin on it though lol.

Also, I found that if the ski has been in salt, the cooling lines will get holes eaten in them if the ski hasn't been religiously flushed. Another source of wet foam. Taking it to the next step, if you replace the lines... seal those up well also.

Really mix the resin well. When you pour the resin, coat the edges of the cup with it before adding catalyst. When you pour/ pump the catalyst, make sure it goes in the middle. Stir the crap out of it, like stir for a solid 3 minutes. I had some epoxy that never dried cause I didn't stir it enough and that was a night mare to remove. The ratios are very important. If catalyst gets on the side of the cup it won't all get mixed in an that throws off the cure cycle. I got a lot of coaching from one of the techs at US composites and his suggestions really helped me understand what I was doing wrong. I had no idea.


The rocker looks great. Very subtle. Props for taking on such a big project with so little experience. This is a fantastic forum with more information than you could ever process and lots of good people to help along the way. Don't be afraid to ask questions!

 

[Nate_D]

Extruded polystyrene (XPS) it's pink at Home Depot (Corning brand) and blue at lowes (other brand).

Good advice from swap. Temps are very important with composites as well. But unless you are in the extreme cold, for general layup epoxy, it will mainly just effect pot life's and cure times. If you move on to infusion and the ultra low viscosity resins, pot temp and cure temps can make or break it. I've had these resins too low in temp and the laminate never cures, and I've had them kick so fast and hard I was looking for a fire extinguisher. If you use any polyester resins, catalyst % is even more crucial.


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[J-Bomber]

I bought a bunch of the blue foam for shaping up the tray and miscellaneous components. Now I'm almost thinking of cutting out all the soggy foam from the tray and replacing it. Anything to watch out for when gutting the tray?

 

[J-Bomber]

@Nate_D I bought the West Systems 1.2 gallon kit with the fast hardener. My buddy has an epoxy mixer so the ratio should be pretty close to dead nuts. Good note about the temperature, thanks

 

[bonsy17]

Ski is looking good. If your running a stock water box u should be fine as far as keeping the exhaust route above the water line. On the sn I am building my water box outlet is very close to the hood line with the rocker. Keep up the good work it will be worth it!

 

[J-Bomber]

Good advice @bonsy17 I was wondering about that water box scenario. Thanks!

 

[Mud-Nut]

Keep all the pics coming, cool build!

 

[J-Bomber]

So I decided to give the rocker a little more slope, went out and bought a couple packs of door shims to replace the paint sticks. The little extra space gave me what I was looking for

Taped up the spaces

Also decided to cut out all the old foam from the tray and replace it, and while I'm in there I'll put in a one way valve. Do it once, do it right I guess, haha


Cut the new exhaust hole and one way valve hole