Ongoing Progress

Look what I saw going down the street.... Well I was driving so I would hopefully see it... LOL

 

We are getting ready for the car show this coming week-end. The boat will be on display behind our '55 Chevy.

 

Unfortunately I did some minor damage to the inside airtrap putting the boat back onto the trailer, but it is repairable and I will repair it when we take the boat back off the trailer, before decking.

 

Today I had to remove the engine, lift the boat onto the trailer, put the engine back into the boat and then I JUST HAD TO TAKE IT FOR A TEST RUN.

 

Boy did we turn some heads.... YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Let me know what you think.......

 

Today I polished and modified the aluminum frame brace going across one of the rear frames. The stuffing box goes through (Jim see it is polished on both sides now) that frame. The stuffing box is what keeps the water inside the shaft log and not into the boat. The shaft log has been temporarily installed, temporarily because I found out it was to short to cover up the shaft hole (a new longer one is NOW on order). It would have been long enough for the hole had I not had to move the shaft log further forward to get the right angle for the propshaft. Major modifications had to be made to the inside so that the shaft log would fit. I will have to reseal some of the wood before the new shaft log is installed. The new shaft log should basically just slide into place and cover the shaft hole. Why is that so important.... well there is about a one inch hole in the back of the shaft log where water would fill the boat... not good.

 

Monday I will remove the engine, lift the boat back onto the trailer, re-install the engine. I want to do it in steps because I don't want to overstress the ceiling trusses. They weren't designed to lift 1,100 pounds.. LOL We will be taking the boat and the '55 to a car show next week end, her first public venture in a long, long time. The show is at the Hayden Eagles on Sunday the 20th.

 

In a couple of weeks we (Jeff and I) will be laying down the decks. Then they will be fiberglassed. Then I get to finish removing the OLD paint from the cowlings and start/finish the repairs to the cowlings.

 

We keep inching closer and closer to her looking like the fine hydroplane that she once was and will be again in the very near future.

 

Today the radius rods that I ordered arrived today and I was able to install them to the new torque box. The thrust bearing has been installed and gas tank is in place. After aligning and bolting the torque box and then aligning and bolting the thrust bearing in place I tested the alignment. The prop shaft with the prop on it, free spins at least 6 - 10 revolutions by hand. I would say we have almost a perfect alignment.

 

The picture with the aluminum plate inside the boat is a backing plate I made to provide internal support for the torque box that connect from one engine rail to the other. The radius rods connect from the torque box to the engine rail to help keep the torque box from flexing.

 

For you who don't know what the torque box and thrust bearing are doing. The propeller is naturally trying to push the propeller shaft forward. The torque box is designed to suppress that movement and protect the engine crankshaft from getting pinched. The thrust bearing is an intermediate point to provide support for the spinning propeller shaft. The engine is another support point and the shaft log near the propeller is the final support point.

 

Now I will be working on installing the shaft log, that is a little further back from the torque box. The shaft log is the last item that needs to be installed to complete the power train.

 

Another picture is of the polished battery box and the MASTER On/OFF battery switch (yesterday I polished the battery box, the torque box and all the aluminum angle). On the bottom of the fuel tank you can see the fuel shut off valve.

 

The other day you saw pictures of the built in fire extinguisher. It will install nozzles on both sides of the engine and it can be activated by the driver with a handle on the dash board and I also installed a handle inside the engine compartment. If something should happen, I can also activate the extinguisher from there.

 

Now for some really exciting NEWS. Jeff Richards has volunteered to drive over from Bothell and help me install the decks in a couple of weeks. That will be such a relief. Jeff used to work for Don Kelson yrs ago, so he knows his stuff. Plus Jeff built his own hydroplane. That boat is still running today and is VERY competitive. Jeff thinks we can get the boat decked and maybe even fiberglassed over that week-end. Enclosed is a picture of the boat that Jeff built several yrs ago. Thank you Jeff, that takes a HUGE load off my mind. One additional thing you may or may not know about Jeff, he drove our "My Rose" boat for several yrs. Jeff helped me get that boat ready to race in 1979. Here it is 2008, and he is still helping. THANK YOU JEFF.... I appreciate it very much.

 

 

 

Look what my wife surprised us with. A 2' X 6' vinyl banner of the boat. We can use it either on the trailer or motorhome. Pretty COOL huh - Thx Kath.

 

Another interesting thing about the photo, she took it at Culably Lake with her 500mm lens in B & W. Great detail and ACTION.....

So the stock market has gone to heck and a hand basket, but the boat building continues. Isn't retirement fun when you have idiots in Washington DC caring less about OUR country.... Oh Well, enough of that sad news.

 

Let's continue on with the other project. The engine was lowered into the boat today. I have some alignment issues to work on - but it is minor (couple thousands of an inch either way to get the shaft and engine are correctly aligned).

 

The steering is finally re-connected, double nuts installed along and with safety wire.

 

I still need to build the torque box for the shaft and install the shaft log to control the cooling water for the strut. By golly Wally, after we do this, we will FINALLY be ready to lay the decks down.

 

You should be able to see the NEW engine stringer wood, the NEW belly pan wood and the polished aluminum engine support and engine rails.

 

The left foot support has been installed, the throttle foot pedal has been installed, the seat has been installed.

 

Preliminary placement of the FIRE Control bottle has been established and will be installed permanently soon.

 

For you local people who haven't  stopped by - your missing a lot of activity.