The attempt to build a fast 24 skater is back in full swing

Attachment 396132Attachment 396133Attachment 396134Attachment 396135Attachment 396136Attachment 396137

This one of the last 24 skaters ever made "the flatdeck and Dan's custom single" were the only two built after it. Everyone knows that Pete's design was a dominator when it came out almost 35 years ago and its been copied, splashed, and reproduced as much as any other cat design out there. They are a still one of the fastest 24 foot hulls out there but there have been several proven design changes and material developments that will make it a better boat. This project makes no sense financially, but the boat has some sentimental value to me as it was my brothers boat 20 years ago and we watched it get built. The deck and sides are constructed of the best closed cell foam that was available at the time, now we will update the rest of it making it stronger and possibly lighter.

This thing has been in the works for a long time but was hung up in the hands of guys that didn't have time to complete it. Now that Doug Wright has more employees, he is doing me a major favor by "getting it knocked out" as he says. As you can see, it is getting a some pretty major surgery that will include: very little balsa core anywhere, being wider, being a touch longer, a complete new deck, a new wrap around windshield, a complete new dash & cockpit, and a complete new running surface. There are 3 people in this world that I would trust to do this and Doug is one of them so here we go.

Joe

The skill level to do that kind of work knowing the intended purpose is to be run hard, is impressive to say the least.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by XstreamVking

The skill level to do that kind of work knowing the intended purpose is to be run hard, is impressive to say the least.

---

I agree, the new running surface is coming from its own mold but the rest is "trust the epoxy and guys laying & bagging it". I have seen them repair boats that have crashed, boats that have come off of the trailer and gone into the woods at 80 mph and boats that get running surface design changes and modifications. He has a resume that is 2nd to none-like I said, very lucky to have him involved.

Joe

I know you said there is sentimental value here but, why not just go clean slate 24 with all the changes you are making here?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AZMIDLYF

I know you said there is sentimental value here but, why not just go clean slate 24 with all the changes you are making here?

---

I have a clean slate 28 coming. This will be cool to be one of one, and the tooling cost to build molds is something that I don't have. Even if I did have it, the cost to build it with the materials that will be in this one would be very expensive and most people would opt for the 28 at less cost. I don't know when it will be done but I do know that it will cool when its done...

Joe

I had to ask and yes it will be a cool "one off" for sure. :cheers:

Joe was this the last 24' flat deck that was at lake Cumberland with twin 280's that was for sale for huge $$$

Dayum .. J.P. I thought it was a trick SOB with just the extra lifting strake .. :eek:

Throw a digital inclinometer on the last four feet when they finish the bottom will ya .. ;)

Looks good man ... :thumbsup:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Michael J Giesler

Joe was this the last 24' flat deck that was at lake Cumberland with twin 280's that was for sale for huge $$$

---

That was an 04' I believe and this 97' was the last one built before it. Then Dan had his single built in 06' I think. So there was a 7 year period that they didn't build any.

Joe

"Makes no sense financially"

Bla, ha, ha!

I tell my friends that "I refuse to allow common sense to interfere w/my boat buying decisions".

Way cool project.
We, the people, learn by seeing projects like these done by you guys.

Love the plan and can't even get the finished product in my vision....

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Chaz

Dayum .. J.P. I thought it was a trick SOB with just the extra lifting strake .. :eek:

Throw a digital inclinometer on the last four feet when they finish the bottom will ya .. ;)

Looks good man ... :thumbsup:

---

Its only an 1 1/2 hour drive from you. I think Doug wants it to be at around 11 degrees. That was part of the reason that the whole bottom had to come off (the rear would have hung below the front surface) along with the fact that I wanted no more balsa core to deal with. We are running all of the way to the transom "no notch", the forks will look like stubs with the new deck, and the dash is going forward. From his calculations it will run decent with a pair of X motors but it will require your attention with its tunnel width and weight. They changed the compression angle on the leading wing and at the last four feet of the tunnel shut down.

Joe

Attachment 396176Attachment 396177Attachment 396178Attachment 396179Attachment 396180Attachment 396181

For anyone that has a boat with a balsa cored running surface, I highly recommend that you take an 1/8" drill bit and do some investigation near the keel "especially if the tanks are part of the hull". This all sounded good with a hammer and I wasn't too concerned because the boat had not seemed to have lost any speed the last time that ran it. But seeing this lets me know that it was only a matter of time before the bad handling characteristics of a soft running surface were going to start and it would have eventually broken the outer skin and delaminated while I was running the boat. Pictures 3 and 4 show what the fuel fumes do to resin "I pulled the laminate off by hand" and you can see where it stuck.

Joe

.




Joe, can we tell those guys to take some hi-def pics? This is THE awesome build of 2018, but the pics are killing me :)


I'm guessing the tanks will be DW fuel cells?




.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by noli

.




Joe, can we tell those guys to take some hi-def pics? This is THE awesome build of 2018, but the pics are killing me :)


I'm guessing the tanks will be DW fuel cells?




.

---

The tanks that were in it are a set that Doug built for me. Maybe you can get the pics. in post 12 to show up as images not the attachments.

Thanks,
Joe

.


pics by Joe P.

it doesn't look like you have water intrusion, looks like you have termites! just kidding :D





1.
Attachment 396190




2.
Attachment 396191





3.
Attachment 396192




4.
Attachment 396193




5.
Attachment 396194




6.
Attachment 396195

The first two are of a section that I was able to grab the outside lamination and pull it off of the balsa core by hand. The culprit for this is fuel fumes that ate the epoxy resin. The last four pictures show the rotten balsa core that had turned to mush. Most of it was at the keel "lowest point" of the running surface.

The pieces that have the little section of lamination at a 45 degree angle are the ones that were part of the tank area. That 45 is the drainage path that runs under the tank along the keel of each sponson. This is the area that guys need to check their core for moisture.

Joe

.

Video by Joe P.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRgZ8...ature=youtu.be







.

This is on a another 24 that we are working on. Its a 1990 Vinyl boat so not epoxy and here is what we found under the tank area at the keel. This was discovered after we ground out the stock tank baffles and did some drilling. It was all dry on the surface of the inner skin until we drilled and discovered. That is all fuel sloshing out as we apply pressure to the core. As you can guess, its rotted "not as bad as mine" but it still would have led to the same thing over time as things continued to soften. So this one is getting new individual tanks from Doug Wright and core replacement as needed. The rest of this boat still looks good and solid.

Joe

^^^^ you need to start another build thread on that 24...will be a great winter for watching mega builds!



.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by noli

^^^^ you need to start another build thread on that 24...will be a great winter for watching mega builds!

That one will be done next week and headed back to Nashville to have the motors remounted. He didn't waste anytime getting it solved after seeing the first signs of an issue. That is another 24 that we owned in 94'.

Joe



.

---

That one will be done next week and headed back to Louisville to have the motors remounted. He didn't waste anytime getting it solved after seeing the first signs of an issue. That is another 24 that we owned in 94'. I could show you the Whaler that wildman is rigging for me and I have another Whaler that we are re-doing for the diesel jet pac (its getting a new transom and fuel tank) then the body and paint starts. The LCB is done and in line for Doug Harrell to do his magic and thats all I have going for now.

Joe

Subscribed, had a 24 for 11 years, very interested

love this thread
have 1986 24 skater myself know they have issues but not another boat this size I rather have puts smile on my face

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JPEROG

Its only an 1 1/2 hour drive from you. I think Doug wants it to be at around 11 degrees. That was part of the reason that the whole bottom had to come off (the rear would have hung below the front surface) along with the fact that I wanted no more balsa core to deal with. We are running all of the way to the transom "no notch", the forks will look like stubs with the new deck, and the dash is going forward. From his calculations it will run decent with a pair of X motors but it will require your attention with its tunnel width and weight. They changed the compression angle on the leading wing and at the last four feet of the tunnel shut down.

Joe

---

I only come up that way when you want to go to the Thai restaurant ... :D

Next time , you'll have to show me the other half ... or two thirds of the building . Place is massive ... :smiletest:

No doubt those modifications are a recipe for speed .... :thumbsup:

Come up with any idea's on a nickname for the hull mfg .. ? :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Chaz

I only come up that way when you want to go to the Thai restaurant ... :D--We are going today and usually do twice a week, you are always welcome.

Next time , you'll have to show me the other half ... or two thirds of the building . Place is massive ... :smiletest:--He has some cool stuff in there right now that I can only dream about.

No doubt those modifications are a recipe for speed .... :thumbsup:--Time will tell but his predictions seem to always become a reality.

Come up with any idea's on a nickname for the hull mfg .. ? :D

---

--I think "Skater done Wright" will be fitting if it does what I am being told it will.

Joe

Hope Mr. Hledin takes that the Wright way. :confused:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AZMIDLYF

Hope Mr. Hledin takes that the Wright way. :confused:

---

Pete knows I am still one of his biggest fans. We have had almost a dozen skaters. I have two now and my brother has one as well. Last year in Miami we were looking at pictures of us together over 35 years ago when I was the kid always wanting to hang around his shop and waiting for them to go test boats. This was back when his place was on the river and 18' footers were it. My first performance boat was Pete's personal demo 18-My dad took it on trade and I was the luckiest kid on the planet when he agreed that we would keep it. I had more then my share of lectures from him and Alex about using my head when I would run that boat at 11 years old.

Joe

https://memegenerator.net/img/instan...hot-aliens.jpg

Here are some more pictures from today. There has been a good amount of grinding done on this thing after the initial sawzall operation. I can give a little explanation with each pic.Attachment 396294
This is the core of the running surface just in front of the drain plugs (it was soft but not total rot)
Attachment 396295
Attachment 396296
These two pictures are of the Starboard side just forward of the first step. This was obviously repaired after my brother sold the boat (maybe when Jim Dixon had it), they used foam core where they had removed the balsa core but the inner skin was still delaminated (you can see the gap). Doug tells me that mixing core material like this is never a good idea due flex rates etc. This is all being removed...
Attachment 396297
This is the port side where the core has already been removed almost to the sponson tip.

Attachment 396298
The tunnel sides have no core in this boat (it was built to be light). We are bagging 3/4" core with two more layers of glass along the entire tunnel which will again stiffen the entire hull.

Attachment 396299
Attachment 396300
Attachment 396301

The deck is being replaced with a flat deck and wrap around windshield so now was the time to extend the deck, narrow up the leading edge, and bring the tunnel entrance up to become level with the sponson tops for maximum air entrapment. We are extending the entire deck forward 27" so there will be stubs for pickle forks of only 12 inches (similar to my LCB).

Joe

You must really love that boat, or you've lost your f***ing mind lol

I just like having stuff my way and after having a bunch of 24s I would like to end up with one that really rolls. I also like running something that requires your attention to operate. They are the perfect size boat for where we run down here in FL. When we lived in Grand Haven, it was a great boat for Spring Lake because anything above 26ft was no wake but they were never really big enough to run out in the big lake unless it was just to Muskegon or Saugatuck and back. As for my mind, its been gone for along time...

Joe

I am also a Skater owner, who just purchased an LCB. Yes I also have a thing for Cats. Lol
Do you have any pics of your LCB?

Attachment 396304Attachment 396305Attachment 396306Attachment 396307Attachment 396308

Wow!
Thank you for the pics.
I will private message you as to not derail your 24 Skater build. I am Interested in your LCB set up.
Thank you
Hugh

Joe i think you should have Chaz analyze the finished hull weight. From looking at all the sections you cut out i am guessing you shed 500 lbs. This is where Chaz comes in for tech info. What is the size and weight of bilge pump required to keep a boat that now looks like swiss cheese from sinking? I think the big diesel pump on Gold Rush pumps 5,000 GPM weighs in at 4,500 lbs.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by davemvegas

Joe i think you should have Chaz analyze the finished hull weight. From looking at all the sections you cut out i am guessing you shed 500 lbs. This is where Chaz comes in for tech info. What is the size and weight of bilge pump required to keep a boat that now looks like swiss cheese from sinking? I think the big diesel pump on Gold Rush pumps 5,000 GPM weighs in at 4,500 lbs.

---

It was on the lighter side for a 24 when it was new at just under 1500 lbs. I think right now we have it down to about 8 or 9 but aero and flotation are going to be an issue until we patch a few holes. If it comes out at anywhere close to 1600 when we are done, then Doug's predictions stay in line and it should be more then I ever intended as far as strength and performance. I think I swept up a hundred pounds of dust last night before we left.

Joe

According to my calculations , it should float just fine like it is .
And as high as you guys like to run your motors , you will be able to apply the Fred Flintstone braking method to bring it safely to a stop ... :D

.


is DW adding more steps to the bottom? AcryliCo glass? tinted glass? Can't wait to see this. I've been waiting to see a flat deck on a 24 and 28 for ages.




.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by noli

.


is DW adding more steps to the bottom? AcryliCo glass? tinted glass? Can't wait to see this. I've been waiting to see a flat deck on a 24 and 28 for ages.




.

---

Attachment 396461Attachment 396462Attachment 396463

This was the first one almost 15 years ago. Mine will be a lower profile and I am retaining the rub rail, wider overall, lengthened multi step bottom with additional lifting strakes, clear acrylico wrap windscreen, 2 + 2 buckets, and the deck will be level with the sponson tips like this one but extended forward another two feet. Its not a copy for sure.

Joe

Would love to see one with i/o or 400r

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Risk Manuel

Would love to see one with i/o or 400r

---

Only way to see it is to do it... I would recommend just getting a 25 eliminator instead though.

Joe