Doubledog
05-28-2004, 11:19 AM
Talk about some nerves going downhill. Man! I've busted my tail on this thing for the last two weeks and today we got to try it out. The inside has a lot to be disired but at least it allows us to actually get in and ride. The dash still has to be replaced but its not on the hot list. Hell, I (the driver) don't even have a seat yet. Piled up a few lifejackets and coped a squat at least the passenger does. The main thing is just being able to get out on the water and get around. Though slow, it gets us around.
The 4 Deluxe, you can't say enough about this engine. Picked it up on Ebay.de for less than $250. Fired and ran on the second pull and didn't give a lick of trouble. Almost planed it out with just me riding.
Now for the trouble. The center of the keel, just under the portion where it curls under the bow and makes the straight shot towards the stern........ it has a split the size of a thumb nail about 12". Its in the water line. Damn it! We've handled this thing like a crystal egg. Launching & loading was done CAREFUL. No banging on anything and now this.
My Pops says that maybe it dried out too much & that old wood boats like a water in them to stay swollen sometimes? ? ? Strange thing, the wife read the same thing some wheres.
When we brought it home we checked the bilge area between the stringers........ DRY AS A BONE. Tomorrow we want to use it as a chase boat for our R/C boats and I'm itching to toss some overnight epoxy but something tells me to hold off and try it as is.
Any ideas?
Feels good to finally post a photo of our boat in the water for the first time. She's a work in progress. Over the winter, she'll be getting a real wood floor instead of this rush job. Some newly designed seats, maybe a chopper prop for extra performance:D Btw, the bimini will be here next week.:cool:
Sorry for the long write up, but here it is. Thanks for allowing us to share.
Doubledog & Family
The 4 Deluxe, you can't say enough about this engine. Picked it up on Ebay.de for less than $250. Fired and ran on the second pull and didn't give a lick of trouble. Almost planed it out with just me riding.
Now for the trouble. The center of the keel, just under the portion where it curls under the bow and makes the straight shot towards the stern........ it has a split the size of a thumb nail about 12". Its in the water line. Damn it! We've handled this thing like a crystal egg. Launching & loading was done CAREFUL. No banging on anything and now this.
My Pops says that maybe it dried out too much & that old wood boats like a water in them to stay swollen sometimes? ? ? Strange thing, the wife read the same thing some wheres.
When we brought it home we checked the bilge area between the stringers........ DRY AS A BONE. Tomorrow we want to use it as a chase boat for our R/C boats and I'm itching to toss some overnight epoxy but something tells me to hold off and try it as is.
Any ideas?
Feels good to finally post a photo of our boat in the water for the first time. She's a work in progress. Over the winter, she'll be getting a real wood floor instead of this rush job. Some newly designed seats, maybe a chopper prop for extra performance:D Btw, the bimini will be here next week.:cool:
Sorry for the long write up, but here it is. Thanks for allowing us to share.
Doubledog & Family