New 1981 19' long deck JCraft owner (project)

[CottagerGreg]

Oh nice with Grandview! Can I use the boat launch at will?

Boat normally is out on the river boarding or skiing. Tend to only go into main Sparrow for fishing

[donmac]

Can't say use at will, but come see me and we'll discuss ramp use! have you always been in Deep Bay or elsewhere on the lake?

[CottagerGreg]

Can't say use at will, but come see me and we'll discuss ramp use! have you always been in Deep Bay or elsewhere on the lake?

Thanks, yeah obviously not free will... I typically use Lauderdale to launch the XStar, Scout and Seadoo.

Family has been on Deep Bay since 2003, before that north of Gravenhurst on Sunny lake. (off Doe lake road)

[CottagerGreg]

So was up at the boat today and decided to see if my assumption of the boat being painted was true. Sure enough I was right. But I think I also uncovered why. Looks like the boat rubbed up against a dock or something and the gel was gone. Needless to say I have a long sanding process on the whole boat to get all the paint off to give a good surface for primer and a nice urethane paint.

[donmac]

ouch, never seen a J with tonneau installed like that! yes, you've got some work to do there! My J had a full mooring cover that went over the basset pipes so it will have to be redone to fit when It comes back to life with the thru hulls hooked up! My hull never had any holes drilled into the hull other than the fuel fillers and trim plate links!
you probably recognize the house from your trips to Lauderdale!

[CottagerGreg]

I totally understand where you are coming from

Here is a picture of the mooring cover on. Thankfully only a couple buttons towards the back. Cover was done through Arts.

[Hankrearden]

Can anyone comment on the difference in the wake behind a 21' Modified Tunnel J-Craft, and a regular flat bottom J-Craft as it pertains to skiing. I understand the difference, just looking t understand the difference in skiing experience.

[David]

How good a skier are you? The regular flat bottom J (not quite flat) has fins and would probably track better with a tournament quality skier. I'm not that good, so it would not matter to me. What I can say is that the regular J wake isn't much, if any, flatter than the modified tunnel I used to ski behind. But the J wake is not turbulent, the tunnel wake was. I did not ski behind the J tunnel, but I'd expect it to be similarly turbulent. The wake won't be as crisply defined as the flat bottom version.

[CottagerGreg]

So did some work on the weekend as the temps were not sub-arctic!

peeled old vinyl off the boat... clearly it was on there for many years as it was very thin and brittle. Ended up using a propane torch and plastic scraper to get it off. I now have a bunch of glue to remove. (any insight to what works best?) Lighter fluid didn't work very well at all. Maybe spend the $50 for a 3m wheel?







Peeled back some of the rear carpet to inspect the wood floor. It's solid, dry, though it did have some staining from spilled gas from the previous owner. I want to seal up the wood.. should I cover it with some resin and a sheet of glass mat? I am open to ideas here.

[CottagerGreg]

So an update to the J-craft project.


Got all the old adhesive off the boat.
Had the motor independently checked over. Compression test all cyl 144-148 psi, new water pump impeller, new spark plug lead, new Mercury controls, tank tested, branused Mercury Trophy Plus 4 blade Prop 26p, installed new gauges and GPS Speedo.


Now off to vinyl shop for some traditional Graphics. (getting lazy to repaint this spring..maybe in the fall)


Stuff left to do:
Fix rear carpet and glue down
water seal rear plywood floor in boat (Glass Mat and resin)
Fix mount for trim pump
New Battery box
afix gas tank and add in billet fuel fill.


Enjoy!

[BC Black Max]

Sparrow lake!
We had a cottage on the south part..Welsh Bay across from Stanton House. Haha

I had a J-17 / 2.0L 135 Black Max out here that migrated from back east. 19" BlackMax prop launched the J out of the water.
26" small ear chopper 2, 70mph, with the motor buried.

[donmac]

Sparrow lake!
We had a cottage on the south part..Welsh Bay across from Stanton House. Haha

I had a J-17 / 2.0L 135 Black Max out here that migrated from back east. 19" BlackMax prop launched the J out of the water.
26" small ear chopper 2, 70mph, with the motor buried.

you must have been near lauderdale, I'm in welsh bay at the big rock!

[CottagerGreg]

Nice to see so many on Sparrow on here.

I am going to launch my Jcraft this Saturday morning to test it out and see how it runs..

[BC Black Max]

you must have been near lauderdale, I'm in welsh bay at the big rock!

Certainly was, my family built the cement dock and boat house on the point that lines up with that rock if you look south. I spent the better part of my yoot' fishing large mouth and perch around that bay . Hell I think I'll have to visit soon!

[BC Black Max]

Runs like a great big surf board with a V6 2 Stroke
pulling sports car Gs when dug into the water - especially to the left. Awsome fun..Cottagers all around will love it or hate it! Lol. Id be out cheering you on!