My project boat - Page 3

pathalla · 23 May 2006, 22:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gray

as opposed to your....no i wont go there!

Pathalla, your boat looks superb!

Thank you Gray for the compliment, It has been a labor of love, I love boating and it is the vessel of course!

pathalla · 25 May 2006, 03:28

Some pictures of Mark and me hard at work bolting down the sponsons, first paint the rails then inflate and deflate the tubes then reinflate the chambers one at a time bow to stern, still a bitch to get the holes lined up, but eventually success! Thank god for air ratchets! Hands get filthy from the black hypalon and all the pulling on it. Hoping for some Saturday launch pictures but it is up in the air as I need some minor parts for the motor's tie bar. The weather is heating up!

pathalla · 31 May 2006, 04:36

Well, Memorial Day weekend here in the states was upon us, the boat wasn't and isn't quite finished and the required parts for the tiebar had not arrived from Teleflex, so what did I do? Put it off yet another weekend and finish the few things I had left to do? Hell No! First picture is of the "bail wired" part I made to connect the two motors, not the prettiest thing but it worked and should last until I get the pieces I need. I took the arch off the back of the boat as I want to repaint it and will put it back on in a couple of weeks.
A few pictures of War Machine dockside after a great day on Lake Erie, girl in the one picture is Carol, a British lass living here in the States, and a group shot of the Germans John, Ray and Tim with Carol.
One shot of Ray running War Machine as I am taking, or attempting to take the picture from the bow. the gentleman with his arm on the bow post in the group shot is the welding wunderkind Tim Hout, thanks for all the help Tim, without the Hout Bros War Machine would not be! Many others helped contribute to the finishing of this fine boat and will be pictured on this thread as summer goes along. Weather here in the Great Lakes was in the high eighties and low nineties over Saturday, Sunday and Monday, hope it was as good for all the ribnetters out there as well, By for now, Pathalla

pathalla · 31 May 2006, 05:07

One tired yet happy dude who got up at 6:20 am on Saturday to get his boat in running order so they could finally get out on the boat, after months of work. See that smile? success is sweet indeed, now it is time to play!!
God how I love Lake Erie! Just so all you Ribnetters know, the reason the five lakes are referred to as the "Great Lakes" is not really due to their size, but simply because... They are!!! Hope yours is as good as ours, enjoy the waves, Pathalla

Hightower · 31 May 2006, 09:36

Nice to finally see War Machine on the water. Any issues with the outboard installation or was it all plain sailing? Looks as though you all had a good time out on the Lake.

pathalla · 31 May 2006, 14:31

Incredibly throughout this whole conversion from inboard to outboard there were very few problems. Usually some design flaw or installation obstacle occurs which really sets you back, as neither myself or my acquaintances are boat builders or riggers for that matter. No, amazingly everything went fairly smoothly from start to finish. A good starting plan and careful installation along the way, along with some luck as there are things you just plain overlook, I am sure the builders out there know what I am talking about.

codprawn · 31 May 2006, 17:52

Really awesome looking boat - what sort of performance figures?

MikeCC · 31 May 2006, 19:15

Great project - and good to see you out on the water. Have a great summer with it.

pathalla · 01 June 2006, 03:21

Thanks for the compliments Mike and Cod, It has been rewarding putting life back into what basically was scrap aluminum and rubber at the time I bought it. Cod, I will get some numbers on speed and fuel consumption somewhere down the road and post it up here. For right now I am just going to use it and enjoy it, need to smell the roses for a while...

pathalla · 03 October 2006, 02:18

Haven't posted on this thread all Summer so some updates for the Ribnetters out there, War Machine is finished for the year as we have had problems with the fuel pumps on the port side motor, the engine gradually stopped running and lo and behold, two of the three low pressure fuel pumps had holes in the diaphrams! I believe this was caused by ethanol blended gasoline (petrol). This was easy to fix but the engine still is not running quite right so the boat will eventually go in for overall checkup with a Yamaha dealer. The aft portside chamber has let go at the seam below the waterline, the tube is still holding air but the repair has to be done. This tube set has internal bladders and a outside skin, this is one thing I do not care to attempt to fix so the tube set will be coming off and it will be going back to Demaree for the repair. Pics to follow...

pathalla · 03 October 2006, 02:44

Fortunately, The Luhrs is still in the water so I can still enjoy some fall boating, and plan for some modifications to War Machine. Some of the things we will be doing during the off season:
1. Trim tab installation.
2. weld t-top Bimini frame to boat add brackets to frame, install four floodlights.
3.recover seats, new Bimini top.
4. install tool box on boat trailer.
5. purchase, mount 160 quart cooler forward of front console.
6. build new radar arch with 2 inch aluminum tubing.
7. new speakers.
8. install kick plate/fuel valve access cover main console.
Finally things we potentially may do in addition:
Purchase M2 Browning .50 caliber semi auto.
repower with 300 horsepower Yamaha motors.
build and install electric reclining helm seats.
War Machine is a wild looking boat, it's hard to tell where it is going to end up, one thing is for sure, it is not finished.... stay tuned.

A couple of pics of the bimini frame we are mounting and two of the lights temporarily installed....

codprawn · 03 October 2006, 20:49

Hurry up - would love to see the beast on the water!!!

Lets go boating · 03 October 2006, 22:44

Me too,

Lets go boating · 03 October 2006, 22:50

pathalla · 16 October 2006, 00:44

A nice fall day, would be nice for a boat ride but I am having a new driveway put in at the homestead, so no boat ride. I recruited the nephews to take out the rail bolts on the tube set as I am busy getting ready for tuesday's concrete pour. Hopefully they learned a bit, they might be assisting in the spring reinstall!

pathalla · 11 March 2007, 20:52

Well, it is time to get cracking again, as the weather seems to suddenly be moderating nicely I have once again dragged the boat and trailer out of the mire and set it up on the packed fill that was set down next to the garage last fall. If you have followed this thread these pictures won't be anything you haven't seen before. As I add new posts there should be updates on fabrication of the new radar arch, installation and welding modifications for the t-top and some other things. A shot of the snow melting away, Yippee!! and one of the boat beside the garage. Man am I glad most of the bad weather is passed.

pathalla · 14 March 2007, 23:17

The snow is gone for now so off we go to one of the most wonderful places man has yet built, the SCRAPYARD! Yes there are some things more enticing to the eye but not many when you own an aluminum boat! What wonderful new treasures await us? You never know.. I have found some great things here for my boat. It takes a while to look, sometimes hours, but I guarantee you everything I need to improve or add to my boat is right here, I just have to find it. The gentleman pictured is Steve-o, he has sold me many great pieces for my boat always at good prices, makes shopping here always fun! I am looking for a hand railing for the forward console on the boat and what do we have here? Stainless and partially sandblasted already to make for a cool looking grab rail... excellent! Part two comes tomorrow as I have found some really neat goodies that I will show tomorrow on our next installment of.... Scrounging at the Scrapyard! I just love this place...

pathalla · 15 March 2007, 21:03

Some light snow this morning but not enough to keep us from continuing part two of our saga, "Scrounging at the scrapyard". As I said earlier what makes this Scrapyard so interesting is all the great useful stuff people throw out, it boggles my mind really but scrap prices are high! After consulting with Steve-o regarding good hunting spots (this place is a lot bigger than the pics show) I set off on my quest. In relatively short time (about 1 hour) I struck gold, first, some useful scrap aluminum for things I want to weld into the boat. Then, four really nice stainless pieces, the grab rail, a small shelf I'll mount inside the main console and the two prizes of today's hunt, a really nice gasketed stainless box with hinged lid I'll mount on the trailer as a tool box and a really nice smaller box of the same description I will install between the two seats on the forward console. It will be good for wallets, watches, jewelry, etc. for when people go swimming. I will make both of these lockable, great finds! I shudder to think what they would cost if they were available in a marine catalog which they are not. Pics of Steve-o weighing these up and tallying todays damage. First stainless, then aluminum. The total cost of today's acquistions? A measly $63 bucks... Everybody should have a place like this close by... I am glad I do..

pathalla · 16 March 2007, 03:39

The new parts to be... now all I have to to is make em fit!

pathalla · 17 March 2007, 01:32

As I recently acquired a nice stainless tool box for my trailer it made me take a second look at what I have and I am not happy with what I see. The winch support on the trailer is a little rickety, not for most applications but I like to power War Machine up onto the trailer and I have noticed a "whole lot of shakin" going on when I drive her up and the bow contacts the winch support. This boat has a lot of mass and the factory support is marginal so I am going to improve it. This necessitates a trip down to Farasey Steel fabricators to see my old buddy Joey Henderson. We have drank a lot of beers together on Lake Erie and Joey has an operation that can and does make just about anything out of metal so when I need something heavy or thick cut I go see Joey. First picture is of the winch stand in its current condition. Second is of the outside of Farasey's operation. This building has some history linked to the American civil war, They made cannons here or something along those lines. Third picture is Joey laughing at me when I offer to pay him for burning the aluminum, he always refuses, he also has a free lifetime pass on the War Machine, he has been a huge help in a lot of ways.