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Hawaii 13 Super Sport project Endless Detail (alohajim's Personal Page) 04/10/2008 |
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I appreciate all the great work that others on this forum have done to their Whalers, especially after doing my own Whaler. I looked at as many pictures as I could to get ideas on doing a custom rebuild of my 13 foot Super Sport.
Never had a Project Boat. What are those things?
No one warned me.:( No one.
I call it Project Endless Detail.
Hmmm.
B)Aloha Jim
My Super Sport after I brought it home and stripped out a half a truck bed worth of garbage that the previous owners had installed. Everything had been have done with rusty drywall screws and scrap plywood. The hull had been epoxy painted with what looked like a beginner hardware store paint roller finish.:(
The transom showed previous repairs done poorly.
Removed 45 hp Honda and continue stripping and cleaning. While the motor was out, I changed the pivot tube and fittings, overhauled the hydraulic trim motor assembly, and fixed a bunch of half caked engine repairs with new original parts.
I drilled several half inch holes in the deck, anchor locker, and the stern end of the keel to dry the hull out. Some damp foam but no drips.
Stripping and Grinding and Grinding.
I cleaned out the rotted anchor locker drain and filled it with foam, then glassed over the hole. I drilled it out with a hole-bit after painting and installed a half inch PVC tube.
Awlgrip Painting three coats of Matterhorn White
I ended up with some dust in the paint finish despite the homemade plastic spray booth. I could not get near the paint booth when Pete was spraying the Awlgrip. This stuff is nasty.:o
The deck was taped off five days after Awlgrip spraying and several coats of light gray Kiwi Grip was rolled on the deck with a special roller.
I started on a pine wood mockup for a custom console. When I get the dimensions and look right, then the final pieces will be make of premium light oak.
I took measurements off of the late model fiberglass Whaler 130 with the console mounted on the front seat plank so I could make the boat as uncluttered as possible. The console is planned to mount on the front plank instead of the floor. I do not want to drill any holes in the floor or mount anything on it if possible. The oak pieces are cutout and fitted. Stainless steel screws are deepset and plugged with oak plugs made from the same oak stock so they will match when varnished.
I planned to move the whole assembly as far forward as possible to help offset the heavy 45 HP Honda and 3.5 hp kicker in back.
I ordered two folding padded seats and removable aluminum bases that will add enough seat height to be more comfortable than the original Super Sport seating position. New full length oak cabinet to mount behind them. Similar to stock but modernized.
Nearly finished. New paint, interior deck non skid, interior custom oak interior that does not match factory dimensions. Parts replaced on the motor. 3/8 inch aluminum engine backing plates. Two new instruments added to original two. Wiring redone. Removable seat brackets refabricated for the pair of upholstered fold down seats. Garmin and new Speedo installed and wired. New anchor locker drain tube and lid. New steering wheel. The wrap around hand rail from Specialitymarine.com was a close fit. Eric sent me more standoff brackets at no extra charge so I could mount the rails independent of the wood interior. Eric has great customer service. Lots more details to be done.
Three coats of Awlgrip on the hull and topsides.
Kiwi non skid rubber coating in light gray.
The speedo and voltmeter are non stock but I tapped into the Honda harness to get the connections right.
Solid white oak with ten coats of spar varnish. Took forever.
I installed the fatter and softer generic rub rail kit instead of the stock three piece Whaler rub rail. A million stainless screws and 5200 caulking did the trick. Kept the roll of rub rail in a hot barrel of water on a rolling dolly while installing the rail. Two guys made it easier.
The skeg was already chipped out so I put a protector on it to keep my prop off of Hawaii reefs.:(
I got these pieces of 3/8 inch aluminum plate from speedymetals.com and drilled them out, tapered the holes, and coated it with lacquer. A good tip is to tape around whatever I fasten with blue painters tape. Then clean up excess oozed 5200 caulking evenly before removing the tape. The caulk line is neat and no more 5200 smears on the new paint job.
Sea Trials after rebuild. Overcast. Seas choppy. Went perfect. Wife liked the seats and backrests. Easy on the back.:D:D
Sea trials in Kaneohe Bay.
At anchor at the sandbar in the middle of the bay. Is the stern supposed to sit this low in the water?
UPDATES - swim dive ladder installed, stainless prop, clean out cooling system and reinstall new thermostat and cooling jacket cover plate gaskets and bolts, water pump overhaul, compact bilge pump. Carb rebuild parts on order to fix a 2000 rpm stutter.
UPDATES - Jan. 2009. Didn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t take care of that battery box and found the Kiwi Grip under the cheap plastic battery box had peeled up from moisture and spilled solvent. Got some cool manual trim tabs to install. Oh well. Next projects.
UPDATES - October 2009. Still trying to figure out what to do with the battery. Install bilge pump. Figuring out how to mount Manual Trim Tabs instead of the single fin for better balance. Making removable lights for the trailer because the fixed one\\\\\\\'s are rotting out from the salt water. Redoing the trailer hubs. Boat still runs smooth and very very fast. Thinking of taking the kicker off because the back is so heavy in the water. Four stroke Honda fuel passages are very fine and clog easily. Carb rebuild kits ready to install.
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Date Posted: April 10, 2008 - 5:39 AM
Can't wait to see the final product. |
Date Posted: April 10, 2008 - 7:01 AM
When will it be finished! lol  Looking great... keep it up! |
Date Posted: April 26, 2008 - 9:51 PM
It seems that you and I have spent the early part of this year doing the exact same project. I should have pictures to post soon, but I like how you eliminated screws into the floor. I really put a lot of effort into eliminating as many screw holes in the boat as possible. You did a nice job... the details really pay off in the end. |
Date Posted: April 27, 2008 - 10:16 AM
Thanks folks!:D
William. I designed everything so there are no screw holes in the floor. Especially after what I went thru to fix a zillion holes from the previous owners and dry the hull out. I still have to figure out a way to move forward and attach the battery and gas tank without drilling the floor.  Any suggestions anyone? |
Date Posted: April 27, 2008 - 9:17 PM
Alohajim: I made a battery tray out of a piece of 3/4" ply, and routered it out to allow a west marine black plastic battery box to fit in the routered depression. I also routered a drainage groove into it, epoxied it on every surface, and epoxied it to the non skid floor behind the driver's seat. I finished the tray along with the floor with Awlgrip, so it is an integral part of the boat now. The black plastic battery box has a retention strap that now screws into my wooden tray, and not the floor of the boat. The fuel tank is soon on my to do list: I am fabricating a rectangular tank from 1/8" diamond plate aluminum that will hang under the rear bench seat, with a small gap under it to allow water to drain under it. I have been thinking of some details for a quick disconnect mounting system for the tank, so it can be easily removed from the boat. Some food for thought. |
Date Posted: June 1, 2008 - 7:10 PM
Wow, fantastic looking boat Jim. Nice work. Did you do it all yourself? Oh ya, one small note. I think your Whaler stickers on the side of your Whaler are on backwards. The bow portion of the sticker should face forward, not aft.
Take care and enjoy your 13. |
Date Posted: June 2, 2008 - 5:15 AM
i was amazed when i saw the atfer product |
Date Posted: June 3, 2008 - 6:42 PM
Doing away with the kicker will probably make a big difference............my 12 gal gas tank and battery are both behind the rear seat.............Perhaps you could move the tank and battery forward some |
Date Posted: February 26, 2009 - 1:28 AM
Your Boat really went through a nice transformation. Looks great and I hope to see you at the Sand Bar someday. I try to go every other Sunday if the weather is favorable. |
Date Posted: September 26, 2009 - 12:37 PM
Jim,
Great job on your boat...I wonder if I've seen you out there, I am out at the sandbar with my 13' almost every other weekend during summers. My whaler is quite old and very, very beat up..plenty of holes, bad paintjob, and so on. I am getting ready to overhaul it this winter and would love to talk to you about your job. I had send you a private message before but I gues you probabaly dont' log on here often.
Thanks and aloha,
Chris |
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