Reel Peachy - 1993 Stratos 280 SF - Transom Rebuild

[super_dork]

I did some test wet sanding on the clear and it appears that I have a decent layer built up and it sands down pretty well. The clear started to get kinda gummy so I stopped since It wasn't my final layer anyway. I added wax to my clear and sprayed what I hope will be my last coat of clear!! I'll work on wet sanding it all down while I wait on getting my replacement quart of "Off White"

Somehow I managed to misplace the "long pointy thingamajig" that goes into the spray gun to regulate the flow so I moved my 2.3mm tip over to my harbor freight purple $9.99 gun and sprayed. Gotta say, it worked much better than I expected and I think it was the best volume that I've been able to get out of the sprayer so far.

 

[super_dork]

It's been a month since I last posted. In that time, I was able to finish all of the body work and not working to re-rig the bilge area with hopes of installing the motor later next week. I also rewired and install new speakers and an in-dash radio and new digital depth gauge to replace the old flasher unit.

I also built a mold for a recessed trolling motor foot pedal tray and successfully made a tray using the mold. It has some gelcoat issues and such but for a proof of concept, I was pleasantly surprised with the result.

Anyway, the hard part is over - though cleaning up isn't going to be a walk in the park due to the dust collection from 5 months of work in the garage. I'll post up some pics of the finished work once I can get the boat pulled out of the garage. Fingers crossed that the motor mounts well and I can get everything hooked back up.

 

[super_dork]

I haven't posted in a while, but I have been working and wanted to share my pics. I finished up the body work, installed the Jackplate, got everything rigged, replaced the lower unit seal, cleaned the garage then took her out on a maiden.

Wet Sanded:



Polished and glazed (no wax yet)

And a video of the motor running




MAIDEN VOYAGE!!!

After all the crazy weather we've had in Houston, we finally had a clear afternoon to get her out on the water. Overall, things worked well. I have some water leakage coming in around the rub rail so I'll likely pull it off and redo it. The caulk I used sucked. We spent a few hours learning the lake channels and making sure we didn't hit any stumps then started opening her up. The hole shot is great and it comes down on plane really quickly. Before the Jack plate, the bow would ride high after the hole shot. We used the navionics app on my phone and registered 46mph as my top speed. The throttle was kinda getting stuck on the top end so I was chickening out a bit and only did short runs. I also jumped in and skied. I was able to pop right up, which is great on 2 counts 1) the boat has a good hole shot 2) I haven't skied in at least 6 years! Overall, it was a success! Thanks to everyone for all of your support. I couldn't have done it without you!!






For all intents and purposes, I'm done!! Thanks again to everyone for all the help!!