Zodiac 733 Project ( first RIB!)

[avius]

Success! After applying 4,416 square inches of material ( big thanx to SUNRIDER), one gallon of glue, 28 milliliters of accelerator and 25 man hours her tubes are reinvigorated!
I worked out the small leak issues by regluing but with more pressure in those areas and then on top of that I seam taped the whole thing, tested , and then put the cap patch on. I did this to both sides and after a few days of little sleep and serious MEK/Glue hangovers , she finally holds air with no leaks (48 hrs at the same pressure)! I also took of the stock boarding traction pads and added polyethylene diamond foam( this stuff requires a lot more gel then hypalon) and redid the transom straps. Not too bad for 10 year old tubes
Now on to electrical and mechanical fun
-- Replace timing belt and leg fluids( thanks I LOVE RIBS)
-- Replace throttle cable
-- Replace second fuel filter
-- Replace timer
-- Verify all senders
-- pump out old diesel ( anyone know if it would be fine to mix old with new ? if so at what ratio?)
Then electrical
-- pull out Cobhams ROVIS and SINCGARS
-- Verify all electronics and senders
-- Install VHF
THEN WATER TEST!! its so close
OH, has anyone sold their intercoms from these units? is their a market for them and if so what was your asking price?

GOODTIMES
AV

[m3mm0s rib]

nice boat but wants a lot of work

[achille2124]

Nice job, keep the good work and post pictures it is very interesting.

[johndoe007]

PM'd you on the intercom. Thanks

[avius]

We've been having some flash flooding out here, so I figured it was a perfect time to slip the tubes back on.
With the help of my girlfriend, a buddy, and my carport s 4x4's we got her on in a couple of hours.
We're just waiting on the power trim cylinders before we can splash her.
More to come!
AV

[avius]

Just an update on her status and the ideas to come; That lovely radar arch foot/base plat I was looking for at the beginning of this thread ended up costing me 250 bux to fabricate! I am now working on cleaning up the wiring and creating more deck space to accomodate 6-8 divers.

Has anyone seen or heard of hardening the area above the tubes, what I mean is creating a deck on the tubes? I am thinking of having bolt on aluminum 'decks' the same length as the motor hatch extend out on to the decks. I'd engineer them so they are independently suspended above the tubes and free from the hatch ( computer rendered image to come).

I am also thinking about adding a swim step to extend to about the same length out as the end cones. As she hasn't hit the water yet, i'd have to do some testing as to how she sits and reacts n turns etc before i can finalize the concept.
Any experiences, ideas or considerations to look into?
Springs coming quick! hope you non tropical folks are getting excited for boat days!
GoodTimes

AV

[ncp]

Originally Posted by avius

Just an update on her status and the ideas to come; That lovely radar arch foot/base plat I was looking for at the beginning of this thread ended up costing me 250 bux to fabricate! I am now working on cleaning up the wiring and creating more deck space to accomodate 6-8 divers.

Has anyone seen or heard of hardening the area above the tubes, what I mean is creating a deck on the tubes? I am thinking of having bolt on aluminum 'decks' the same length as the motor hatch extend out on to the decks. I'd engineer them so they are independently suspended above the tubes and free from the hatch ( computer rendered image to come).

I am also thinking about adding a swim step to extend to about the same length out as the end cones. As she hasn't hit the water yet, i'd have to do some testing as to how she sits and reacts n turns etc before i can finalize the concept.
Any experiences, ideas or considerations to look into?
Springs coming quick! hope you non tropical folks are getting excited for boat days!
GoodTimes

AV

Check out this thread:
http://www.rib.net/forum/f47/733-zod...sel-38074.html
He did flip out platforms from the radar tower.

PM me for info if you want name of southern CA or AZ fabricators. Or just use for ideas; shipping might kill you. Best price on Armstrong ladder is $225 (that I've found):
(1) all glass over balsa 64"x22" platform is $665 (50"x22" is $565, like pic on rib w/ tanks lined up, you've seen this one)
(2) all aluminum is ~$850 (like pic of platform between the twin ob's)
(3) stainless with rails w/ Starboard deck is $700 (like pic of back of sportfisher).

Let me know which way you go. I'm seriously debating what to do on mine.

[MASATS]

I have the boat mentioned with the brackets. I just took them off the boat tower. They can be welded back on. If you want them make me an offer. They work great I just needed to lower the tower for a job.

[vickib]

I have a Armstrong ladder 4 sale like NCP had in the pictures

[avius]

Splashed the 733!
She performed well for the most part, a few mechanical issues I will have to further investigate. Also the current deck layout definitely is not conducive to recreational cruising, fishing, scuba and definitely chaotic with just 3 dogs and 3 people. Mainly a single purpose set up right now; go fast in any seas and not fall out!
All in all she is water tight and tons of fun.
Stay tuned for the upgrades to come!
AV

[ncp]

Originally Posted by avius

Splashed the 733!
She performed well for the most part, a few mechanical issues I will have to further investigate. Also the current deck layout definitely is not conducive to recreational cruising, fishing, scuba and definitely chaotic with just 3 dogs and 3 people. Mainly a single purpose set up right now; go fast in any seas and not fall out!
All in all she is water tight and tons of fun.
Stay tuned for the upgrades to come!
AV

Finally, an update! Nothing wrong with just going fast!!! You only have 3 jockey? Some have 5 which allows for a bit more seating. At least you have the sundeck in the back for the girls.

[avius]

Originally Posted by ncp

Finally, an update! Nothing wrong with just going fast!!! You only have 3 jockey? Some have 5 which allows for a bit more seating. At least you have the sundeck in the back for the girls.

LOL True going fast is fun, but for several hours the girls don't dig it so much! I took the two seats off the motor so the girls could lay out. On top of that each jockey seat is job specific: ones nav, the others coms. Id like to centralize that to the helm and may dump the radar in the process... if anyone is interested
I am pretty excited about the possibilities to come!
in the mean time I look foreword to your adventures to keep up the motivation!
Good Times
AV

[ncp]

A friend has a bracket mounted Garmin 740s on top of the throttle. Stereo/iPod are in the back console and he just put one of those little controllers up front (both Fusion and Sony make them).

My swim step is almost done. I'll post pics when complete!

[avius]

On my first splash test I started getting overheating issues and the c.water temp. light illuminated. Going thru the motor I noticed the timer controller in the picture is all busted up inside, and the wires are corroded and falling out of the harness. I have a new one on the way, but don't know which wires go where...

Can any of you 6LP owners take a picture of the wires that go into the controller, as I and my local yanmar dealer can't locate it in any diagram.

Also if you have any suggestions on troubleshooting an overheating diesel feel free flex your expertise and experiences

GOODTIMES
AV

[kubcat]

Originally Posted by avius

On my first splash test I started getting overheating issues and the c.water temp. light illuminated. Going thru the motor I noticed the timer controller in the picture is all busted up inside, and the wires are corroded and falling out of the harness. I have a new one on the way, but don't know which wires go where...

Can any of you 6LP owners take a picture of the wires that go into the controller, as I and my local yanmar dealer can't locate it in any diagram.

Also if you have any suggestions on troubleshooting an overheating diesel feel free flex your expertise and experiences

GOODTIMES
AV

No expertise but we had a raw water hose fall off while cruising due to a corroded hose clamp on one of our Yamaha 421 STi's.

We played around with it until we figured out what happened. As the coolant in the fresh water didn't boil over we have no reason to think the engine could have been damaged in any way.

You should be fine once you figure out how to install the new part.

[Todd Grimley]

Replace the sea water pump impeller would be your first port of call, if you haven't already done so! If it sat for a period of time it may be distorted and not working efficiently. Then I'd get your heat exchanger cleaned or replaced! Maybe worth checking your sea water intake, that it's not block, better check that tour raw water filters not blocked up . If it sat you can get scale through the system. I've got a 6LP 315hp in my 733 and I'll try an get some photos of it next time I'm down there for you. With regards to the swim pod you where going to get, I'm looking at doing something similar but was warned about having it made from some open material like aluminium grating, something the water can go through if you come down hard off a wave. So the water doesn't rip the pod and your transom off. Food for thought! You've done well with the boat. Cheers Todd.

[avius]

Guys, Thanks for the advice . Traced raw water and all appears cool and fine on that side. problem seems to stem from fresh water side, heating up mostly where the coolant water senders are( red box in picture). The freshwater tank/ exhaust manifold will be warm enough to keep my hand on for a while, while the right hand side where of the red box is much too hot to keep my hand on for a few seconds. I have read about air lock, so i took one of the three senders out to bleed off any air, but fluid burped out.

I am still very confused by it, I am not amazing at reading diagrams, so I included a piping diagram for all you brilliant guys out there.

TODD, thanks for the heads up on the trapped air exhaust issue, I will most likely build something similar to what ncp posted a few back, but with several trapped air exhaust ports. I am still debating if I want an aluminum subframe with just the deck glassed. I'll probably wait and see how ncp's platform works out before I begin mine.
By the way, thats one beautiful beast of a 733 you've got! Very elegant yet aggressive .

GoodTimes
AV

[Todd Grimley]

All the best with it mate! Wonder if it's the age old problem of the thermostat not opening at temp. Could be sticking!
Thanks for the wrap on my new boat. I love it! And it's what you said " elegant yet aggressive ". It has been totally refitted from ex navy ( RAN) and been kept basic but heavy duty. Haven't done a whole lot with her yet as the thrust bearing in the jet drive unfortunately had some moisture get in and it sat for 18 months and has a rumble in the bearing - so out she comes and oh well now we've come this far, let's touch up these little bits of corrosion- hang on, no f&@$ it, let sand blast the whole thing and re seal it so it doesn't need looking at for a few years! You know what it's like AV, with new boats, has to be good. Let you know about that wiring next time I'm at my boat! It's in dry storage 1.5 hrs from home. Cheers todd.

[I LOVE RIBS]

I am blowing out a set of hypalon tubes for $2700 do you need some??

[captnjack]

Originally Posted by avius

Guys, Thanks for the advice . Traced raw water and all appears cool and fine on that side. problem seems to stem from fresh water side, heating up mostly where the coolant water senders are( red box in picture). The freshwater tank/ exhaust manifold will be warm enough to keep my hand on for a while, while the right hand side where of the red box is much too hot to keep my hand on for a few seconds. I have read about air lock, so i took one of the three senders out to bleed off any air, but fluid burped out.

Have you inspected/replaced the fresh water pump? These are typically vane pumps but do wear out eventually.