1977 American jet boat

[boatnut74]

I picked up a new project the other day. It will probably be slow moving like all my other ones. It's a 77 American jet boat. It has a Jacuzzi jet drive and was originally powered by a small block chevy. The jet drive turns freely.

The boat itself needs alot of work. All the wood is rotted and there are several stress cracks in the gelcoat.

I pulled the boat off the trailer today and put it on a temporary cradle so I can use the trailer for some other stuff. It is a roller trailer and has caused some issues to the extremely waterlogged boat. On the outside strakes there is a "dip" ( same spot on both sides ) This is right outside where the rollers sat. I will try to get a picture of this area tomorrow. Hopefully it can be repaired.

From what I can tell so far, the plywood for the deck is only about 4' wide and there is only one stringer directly down the middle. It all appears factory. The stringer doesn't go all the way to the transom due to the intale grate for the jet drive.

Here are a few pics to hold the mob off for now

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1977 American jet boat

Hmmm

your signature line is getting crowded...

Nice addition, I'm in super duper extra slow motion rebuild mode too

Permission to tag along & follow the show

 

[GT1000000]

Re: 1977 American jet boat

Cool looking acquisition, Sir...

Definitely looks like a nice His and Hers companion to the Glastron...

Another candidate for some serious HP...how many horses can one of those rocket ships handle? Meaning the jet drive and the hull...:redface:...

 

[boatnut74]

Re: 1977 American jet boat

Permission granted JB. As for my signature line, I'm debating wether to thin out the herd or not. I really need to step back and see which ones are going to suit me best long term and which ones may not fulfill my wants or needs.

 

[boatnut74]

Re: 1977 American jet boat

Cool looking acquisition, Sir...

Definitely looks like a nice His and Hers companion to the Glastron...

Another candidate for some serious HP...how many horses can one of those rocket ships handle? Meaning the jet drive and the hull...:redface:...

Thanks Gus. I havn't seen any info for horsepower rating but I have seen one on youtube with a 455 olds. I would really like to put a 454 in it. I'm a long way from that decision though.

 

[Pmccraney]

Re: 1977 American jet boat

your signature line is getting crowded...

No comment on the irony of this statement

Drew, I love that you picked up another rig.... Despite my above ribbing, I am a firm believer that one can never have too many project boats... (well, at least until the admiral says "too many" - which in my case was 1).

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1977 American jet boat

No comment on the irony of this statement

Drew, I love that you picked up another rig.... Despite my above ribbing, I am a firm believer that one can never have too many project boats... (well, at least until the admiral says "too many" - which in my case was 1).

Check my reply to your post, and YES, I should have said: Your sig line is just as crowded as mine

And you are making more progress on your 1, then I have on all of mine combined in a fairly long while :redface:

Hey, a 454 would be great w/ the Jet! I too have some pruning to do in the boat yard, else the Admiral will be:

 

[boatnut74]

Re: 1977 American jet boat

Check my reply to your post, and YES, I should have said: Your sig line is just as crowded as mine

And you are making more progress on your 1, then I have on all of mine combined in a fairly long while :redface:

Hey, a 454 would be great w/ the Jet! I too have some pruning to do in the boat yard, else the Admiral will be:

Is that her cast iron frying pan

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1977 American jet boat

No, that'd be a hatchet.

Yeah, ah, she ain't gonna be messing around, she'll just get right to it

 

[KennethfromGA]

Re: 1977 American jet boat

Love the boat and with permission will be tagging along. I have no doubt you'll stay ahead of me no matter how many projects you've got :redface: . I don't know anything about this particular jet boat but I do know a lot of the older boats ran Ford FE blocks. (390, 427 to name a few)

 

[boatnut74]

Re: 1977 American jet boat

I havn't seen very many with FE motors. I do see quite a few with 460's.

I got a couple shots of the dip I found in the strakes. Hopefully I can get a little insight on this. Hopefully you can see them in the pics.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1977 American jet boat

Looks like you were correct that the rollers were setup incorrectly & between chines the fiberglass distorted.

I don't have any suggestions, sorry...

 

[KennethfromGA]

Re: 1977 American jet boat

Oddly enough I've had very nearly the opposite experience as I've never seen a 460 jet boat but have seen better than a dozen 427 jet boats. I think this may be because all the ones I saw were late seventies to mid eighties build wise. That time frame would provide for a lot of old FE's and Chevy small blocks while the 460's and 454's would mostly still be in drive able trucks. Oh well, wish I could offer some advice regarding the hull but .....

 

[boatnut74]

Re: 1977 American jet boat

Looks like you were correct that the rollers were setup incorrectly & between chines the fiberglass distorted.

I don't have any suggestions, sorry...

Well shucks. I don't want to put any time or money into it if it's something that can't be fixed. The boat sat outside, uncovered and nose down for 3-4 years. It is extremely waterlogged. Roller trailers aren't very forgiving of this. I guess the best thing i can do is gut it and see if it will take back it's original shape.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1977 American jet boat

You might PM ondarvr or Yacht Dr and ask for their expert advice

Or start a How to repair roller trailer damage on a fiberglass boat thread

My totally inexperienced, rookie opinion is to treat the dents like thru holes, perhaps even cut the dents out. Prep, layer CSM & 1708 to build hull thickness & overlay a larger patch inside & out. Means applying gelcoat or paint to the hull bottom, but after a gut & rehab, that may have been necessary anyway,,,,,,

 

[boatnut74]

Re: 1977 American jet boat

I was kind of thinking the same. The only bad thing is that its right on the outside strakes. The rest of the bottom of the hull looks like it has a little wave to it but I think after I pull all the wood and foam out it should take its original shape back.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1977 American jet boat

I was thinking w/ the 2 hard corner chines, that it might be an easy area to fair. Although it's a fairly long area, it isn't particularly wide & w/ 2 corners, that are unlikely to deform much if any, it gives you good references to follow & strike along while fairing....... :encouragement:

 

[boatnut74]

Re: 1977 American jet boat

Actually the "dips" in the chines are only about 6" long. Basically the width of the roller. There is no wood in this area as the boat only has one center stringer and the deck meets up with the next strakes down. This may change when I get into rebuild mode.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1977 American jet boat

Oops, this is what I meant:

Some of the wave may relax after you pull the deck & stringer, but it may take until warm (hot) weather returns.

 

[Pmccraney]

Re: 1977 American jet boat

....Any way to relocate that cool jet power plant into your glastron? Just thinking you could combine your 2 go fast boats into one killer ride (that is, if this hull work was going to be a bear to fix). Plus, I like the yellow glastron glasser...