1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

[Willyclay]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

Dave, This is the post we all have been waiting to read. One very large checkmark for you. IMHO, QFT is way better than WOT. Bill

 

[Monterey Dreams]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

Thanks Bill, I sent you a few PM's just now.
Dave

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

Sweet! Congrats on a successful outing post carb rebuild! << both outstanding!

It may also be a bit of a struggle to get my Admiral aboard for the 1st time too:facepalm:

 

[Monterey Dreams]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

Thank you both for checking in JBcurt and Bill. The whole admiral aboard issue is not going very well on my end. I hope your admiral is not as bull headed as mine... LOL.
I am on vacation this week (Wahoo) so I should be around here a little more catching up on all your projects.
Have a blessed night friends,
Dave

 

[GT1000000]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

Hi Dave,

I had been out of touch for almost a month due to a computer crash, but I am back...

I am so happy to hear the tale of a Dad and his Daughters having a wonderful time on a wonderful Boat!

Also, very glad to hear that most of the engine issues have been worked out...

You just keep taking care of the all the little things that "Dreams" is going to need and keep getting out on the water with your Girls every chance you get...

This is actually a very good thing...it will give you the experience and certainty that when she finally does decide to come aboard, you will have this 'boating thing' pretty down pat...

Before you know it they will have bent Mom's ear so much about what fun it is to go out on Daddy's boat, that just to quiet them down, she will finally, although begrudgingly at first, have to get out there and see what all the fuss is about...

Just make sure you have all the right stuff aboard, safety gear, sunscreen, food, drinks [lots of water], and some form of pastime, like fishing gear and/or music, etc...also, make sure she has one of those really large brimmed hats to wear...
Have a nice quiet, fun time, and let the Admiral dictate that first time out, when, where, and how long...
Even let her learn to control "Dreams", as your First Mate...it is the duty of the Captain, to have a back-up...
Make it an experience that she can't wait to repeat, and you will have Won the Day!

As always, safe journeys, and Blessings to you and yours,
Gus

 

[Cowboyup94]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

Glad to hear you had a nice and excellent outing on the water with the girls!! Got the fuse problem solved working on a new problem, after about 15 mins (doesnt even have to be at full throttle) she will die. Its like a coil is getting hot and if we just sit for another 15 mins I can usually start her again. Its pissing me off really because the motor ran great and the boat held up excellent. I must add the the investment into Tow Boat US has been well worth it. After 2 tows we definetly have gotten our money back in tows!!

Any future plans on Dreams?

 

[Monterey Dreams]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

Thanks for stopping by Gus, and Dev;
I'm glad your back Gus.
Dev Keep it up you will get it soon. I was ready to toss MD and look, with a little more "time, money, sweat" it seems to be on the mend now. You'll get there too, Keep talking to Bill, he really knows his stuff.

as for today:
I have been really busy doing honeydoos (honey do this, and oh, honey can you do this today). Anyways I have not even got to look at the boat before today. In addition as you probably know we are also in a heat wave all the way over here. It has not been under 100 all week. (Discretion being the better part of valor I have stayed hidden in my air conditioned home all week so far). HA, Ha. Except for today this morning very early I got up and went and brought M.D. to the alley behind my house. I decided I was not going to take no for an answer…and would you believe I was able to get the shift cable working well. If I was in downtown Los Angeles they would say that my “job” was not exactly kosher, but who cares, it works.
I took the trunion and little riser off the motor today. That was a major problem. I did not have a screwdriver big enough to break free the bolts without stripping them, so I ran over to harbor freight to buy one big enough. When I got home with the screwdriver I was still not able to get enough torque to break free the bolts. I grabbed a large crescent wrench and popped it around the grip portion to try to get a little extra torque… I got enough torque to rip the plastic grip in a few spots (yet not turn the screws). (Good thing I only paid 2 bux for the screwdriver). I got a smaller screw driver and slid it through the convenient hole in the handle for hanging on rack I was then able to break free the bolts (without damage to them by the way). By process of playing around with it I found the optimal spot that the cable likes to shift decisively forwards and back. At that spot I drilled a hole in the lower cowling and mounted the riser bracket (about ? inch forward of where it was originally mounted). Then I realized that the angle was off for the “pull” so played around with changing the bracket angle to get a firm pull. I would say that it is about 45 degrees off. I then removed the trunion (little claw thing that holds the cable) and spun it on its axis (it is only held on by one bolt; so it was easy.) until the trunion was again in a normal vertical (OEM) position. After I connected the cable back on to the motor and did a few trial pulls on the shift lever, I found that since I moved the whole cable forward I was able to utilize the adjustment knob down by the motor on the cable. I had it adjusted all the way in the original configuration and could not adjust anymore. Since I moved the cable around and gave myself the extra ? inch needed to slam the gear lever home, I was able to my great delight to fine tune the adjustment with the knob (I gained that ? inch I desperately needed). So after a dozen trial shifts from neutral to forward and reverse; I figured this was the best I could do and mounted it properly by way of drilling another hole in my cowling and mounting the bracket fully with the 2 bolts. The OEM bolts are screwed into a base originally. I went up to a larger bolt and put a nut on the end of them.
End result: the shift cable is basically in the same position as oem with the same “draw” with the cable end being exactly horizontal like it originally was in the first place. (I remembered all of my conversations on planes and such from the steering cable days with Bill, and tried to keep it in as much of the same plane as OEM. The only minor variation was the riser was originally mounted on a little block that stuck out from the lower cowling. Now it is mounted directly to the lower cowling so its camber is in a little (but as far as I can tell it seems to work fine).
Then when I put the hood back on I found that my job was not done yet. Now my hood will not latch on because of the new bracket. SOOOO I took out my handy dandy hand file and ground about a ? in of aluminum from the hood, allowing clearance for the bracket.
So I hope you all are having a great day. I am going to go get fuel for the boat now (possibly get to take her out tomorrow) and try to fire her up in a barrel tonight to see how she shifts in the water with her running. I’ll try to take a photo or two to show you guys.
Dave

 

[Willyclay]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

Now, aren't you glad you didn't go buy a new shift cable? Checkmark pending the "splash test". Good luck!