Custom/Hybrid The New FX

naticen

Site Supporter
Location
wilmington, nc
I've gotten a bunch of people asking about this hull and I figure it is about time to get some pictures and info up about this thing. It's one of Tom21's first skis that he has put out in an attempt to fine tune his molds and layups and get this thing perfect. I got mine with motor mounts, bulk head, pump inserts, and ride plate inserts installed. The top deck, plumbing, pump shoe, and other inserts still needed done.

First was the pump shoe. He made the hull to fit the plastic shoe tight, so my metal shoe needed a good bit of grinding. I also did a slight bit on the hull to move it a hair forward since it was tight against the pump with no seal installed. This picture is of much later in the process after I got all the plumbing and exhaust done up but there she sits.
IMG_20140313_201242_zps4a59ac03.jpg


Then was the plumbing. I had some leaks the first time around, and then the second time I tinted the epoxy white to make it obvious where I was adding on, and also because I had to touch up a couple gel coat spots. It didn't actually turn white with US Composites yellow epoxy, as you can see in the previous picture in the corners. I've got some actual gel coat to for any other spots that I may need it.
IMG_20140217_154352_zps5965ac5f.jpg


It was fresh out the mold, so it still had some clay on it as well the stock FX-1 bondline on the bottom deck. This is a good comparison of the two before I chopped the stock one off.
IMG_20140206_180247_zpsee5e8927.jpg


I finished the inserts inside, bonded the decks, and laid a layer of biax across the seam. It came out well and this is of course a picture much later in the process.
IMG_20140313_201212_zps03af0a31.jpg


A sexy pic after I laid a layer of biax on the bottom of the rail as well with some tinted white epoxy, West Systems this time, to try and blend it in a little bit. I'm not sure that I will ever bother cleaning up the bottom of the hull, but the top I am going to put some effort into a nice wrap.
IMG_20140313_201508_zps96a8f639.jpg


Here's some stuff fitting inside the hull. just like a normal FX-1 except that my limited chamber seems to have some more room, although not pictured. I'm running a limited chamber with a RN gas tank and an ATP waterbox. They all fit well except that I ended up redrilling my battery box a little closer to the motor to get my straps to work properly with the internal fill gas tank.
IMG_20140303_095636_zps0d280334.jpg


This is the big bore that will be going in. I've got a 701 for my girl's F1 Pro when I get to building that thing. My stuff always ends up looking like trash so I don't usually put much work into shiny things. I'll be running some crusty red bed plates, with a half paint stripped motor, and a melted in flame arrestor cover to clear the girdled head.
IMG_20140313_201419_zpsc116b274.jpg


I can't wait to try out my Solas Mag with some trim. Gonna be a whole new game compared to my stock pumped FX-1 especially with a hull half the weight and 6 inches shorter.
IMG_20140313_201335_zpsab4762ca.jpg


The hood is totally cleaned up compared to stock. I'm just going to run a ratchet and no latches or hooks. I used a Watcon seal and it raises it up too high for the stock setup to work. I may cut the center or spend a load on OEM someday, but for now it stays.
IMG_20140313_201039_zps2339d3fe.jpg


And now here it sits. I got frustrated with my last piece of turf and decided to make this thread instead of making a mistake being frustrated. There were more steps involved to get to this point, but these were the pictures that were handy on my phone. Every week for a month or so, I have thought that it will be ready for the water by the weekend. The weather and work have both ruined me a few times now, but hopefully this is the one.
IMG_20140313_200730_zpse8404d32.jpg
 

yamanube

This Is The Way
Staff member
Location
Mandalor
So... your hood strap looks like it would want to pull the hood aft...
I agree with this, the tighter you ratchet it, the more it wants to pull your hood back, along with very little keeping the hood positioned laterally. I would highly suggest some sort of secondary hood catch/latch.
 

naticen

Site Supporter
Location
wilmington, nc
It definitely didn't come out as well as it did in my head. I've got it positioned to pull on the corners on the front. I didn't want to raise the bolts any higher and be pulling the wrong direction on them. I didn't want them any lower for the reason yall stated. And I was scared that under the pole bracket wouldn't provide enough down force. It feels pretty good and Tom put a raised lip around the inside of the hood so I'm not scared of it coming completely off although slipping off the hood seal is a legit concern. I am tight wad and a little scared of a $200 hood seal and another $100 of latches. I try to not pinch pennies on important things and it's not set in stone so we'll see.
IMG_20140314_105258_zpsf9159dee.jpg
 

VXSXH20

Sionis Industries
Location
Mid-Atlantic
Tray Turf looks good!, are those carbon fiber exhasut and scupper tubes? hard to tell but Those foot holds look pretty far forward?, im def looking forward to a ride report!
 

naticen

Site Supporter
Location
wilmington, nc
Tray Turf looks good!, are those carbon fiber exhasut and scupper tubes? hard to tell but Those foot holds look pretty far forward?, im def looking forward to a ride report!

Yup on the carbon fiber tubes. He gave me those with copper cooling lines and marine brass inserts for hardware. Trim tube is stainless from Thrust.

The footholds may be too far forward. They were an afterthought as I like to run a strap anyways, but they are about 5" further forward than I run the strap on my FX-1 and about 6" away from the back of the gunwhale. I figure that I can put a strap where I want it after I ride some and the only time that I would imagine myself using holds is if I run the rideplate flush at -6" in which case they are an inch aft of the where the bottom of the ski ends. Don't know til I try it, but I thought that lining them up with the bottom of the ski would be the better choice.
 

iangdesign

Cats, lots of cats!
Location
United States
Moving the holds forward seems to be the trend right now...I can tell a difference in riding my SN with holds back in the tray and my buddy's with his holds moved about 6 inches forward. His feel more comfortable.

So is there any difference between the Tom21 FX1 versus the original hull design? I can see the cosmetic differences, but what about handling?
 

VXSXH20

Sionis Industries
Location
Mid-Atlantic
Toms hull is available the same length as stock or shorter, has the wide tray and already setup for 144 pump and shoe. Has his sponsons integrated and interchangeable ride plates depending how short or long you want the setup. Tom can make it on carbon or glass lay ups I believe
 

naticen

Site Supporter
Location
wilmington, nc
Got the turf done and front foothold installed and some cables routed. Turf isn't perfect but it was the best I could do. Rain all day tomorrow and I'm still missing the adapter ring for the Solas pump so no go for the water. My buddy is supposed to have one laying around but hasn't been able to find it for a week. I'll be ordering one Monday if we don't find it tomorrow when we rip his garage apart.

IMG_20140315_231205_zpsb5ddf7ac.jpg
 
looking freaking awesome!!! didnt realize you litterally just got a top & bottom deck. I am hoping the footholds pleasantly surprise you as they were saying they wished they were farther forward on pat's ski...definitely want your input as I am looking to have tom install mine but not sure about location yet. Cant wait to hear what you think of it! Did the RN tank without any grinding on the hull like a normal FX? If so I will definitely go that route!
 

Sanoman

AbouttoKrash
Location
NE Tenn
Too bad you cant run the cold fusion fx1 front hood hook .Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sportfish needs to come up with a modified Superfreak front hood hook.

Nice work naticen! Been looking forward to seeing a build thread on Toms creation.Tom is a perfectionist when it comes to making parts.Anything l ever purchased for him always fit well.How long is the list to get one of these hulls right now?
 

naticen

Site Supporter
Location
wilmington, nc
It's finally all together and I got out there on Sunday. It's really hard to compare it to the FX-1 because I never did a single mod to it. It's purely stock except for steering, ride plate, intake grate, and prop. This ski has a JetManiac Big Bore with dual 38's and then pretty much all possible bolt ons. Here it is before the first ride. Should have a proof from the graphics place this week and then hopefully soon it will be wrapped. It weighed in at about 270 with about a gallon of gas completely ready to ride. I even had a whistle because I wanted to follow every rule perfectly since I am still waiting on my homemade title to come through and have no numbers.
IMG_20140329_234644_zps1cf666c2.jpg


It was less than 60* and 30mph winds all day with a 52* water temp and not much for waves. Despite the conditions, I rode until I couldn't feel my hands and everything that I touched cut them open. The footholds were too far forward for me at 6' tall, but a buddy that is a few inches shorter than me said they were perfect. I'm not sure how that will change as I cut the tail plate down. I am putting a strap in anyways but they are still useable and comfy even if I never use them again. It ran like a champ although definitely too rich bottom through top. I only cut one hole in the hood liner for a breather and still need to do another and I will do that before trying to tune it but I'll worry more about that next weekend when it is warm.

It handled exactly how I imagined it would with the full length plate on. It has a lot of the qualities of an FX where it is nice and loose while upright but the mag pump and extended bond rail did definitely add some traction. It will still requires leaning it over to rail a turn but it is much more predictable the whole way into it where the stock FX-1 has a very tight sweet spot where you are either carving hard, or cavitating and sliding out. It will still slide like crazy while upright, it just starts gripping a little earlier. I ran it with no intake grate because I thought that it would be tighter than a stock FX-1 and I think it is about perfect the way it is setup now if only the surf was bigger. I think I will leave the rest of the setup how it is and next weekend I will just chop a couple inches off of the tail plate to give that a try.

IMG_20140330_195737_zps141d2a91.jpg
 
Top Bottom