Future Hot Rod

[86 century]

I found this old rotted out 15' something on craig's list. She has all the normal rot deck, transom, stringers, any thing made of wood. With a bonus of the glass being cracked on the out side of transom.

Any one have any idea of make,model or year not that it matters but would be nice to know.
She has a cool look well i think so anyway.

Was thinking about using the eng and jet from an older jet ski for power. Have seen this done on john boats but never anything like this.
I would think 50hp or so would make this thing go just about as fast i would want to go in it.

Any thoughts

 

[Bondo]

Re: Future Hot Rod

I would think 50hp or so would make this thing go just about as fast i would want to go in it.

Any thoughts

Ayuh,... Pretty Cool hull,... Glastron GT maybe,..??

I've still got an old Jet-Flite in the backyard that had a 135hp Merc on it,...
That was an Adrenalin Buzz if there ever was 1....
Gota 150hp ToPower in the garage for it, if I ever get that far....

The jet-ski refit outa be really Cool,... I'd look for More power myself though....

 

[canman]

Re: Future Hot Rod

hi everyone , cool boat , i use to have one of those . it is a cobra sidewinder , i think mine was a 1985 not quite sure . mine was metalflake brown with a 150 horse merc on the back , talk about a missle going across the water , and dont loose that windshield they are really rare .

 

[86 century]

Re: Future Hot Rod

Thanks for the replys.
I was thinking it may be a sidewinder.
That windshield is a bit of a problem the pics are just before I left the place i got it.
A big slab of ice came off of the roof of my suburban(darn semis) and put a nice crack in it.

I have a few larger outboards around so a 200hp+ Merc is not out of the question.


Canman
Do you remember what yours was rated for HP wise

 

[canman]

Re: Future Hot Rod

hello , i am pretty sure 140 hp was the max you could put on that boat , i can remember when you hit full throtle you had to be carefull , it would start to chinewalk real bad , it would run around 62 mph and i really did not have it set up for speed , probably with a jackplate and a prop with a bit more pitch it would have gone alot faster ..

 

[archbuilder]

Re: Future Hot Rod

Nice looking boat! I have a 115 Merc tower of power on mine, its pretty similar in configuration. It runs 50, and has a ton of low end power. Looking forward to seeing what you do with this one.

 

[proshadetree]

Re: Future Hot Rod

OMG It is defiantly a Sidewinder. I cant wait to see more of this one I have a 18 foot jet waiting for a restore. There is a forum for these boats but you must post restore and pics here.

 

[86 century]

Re: Future Hot Rod

Thanks for the info and oh yea the rebuild has already started well the tear down part anyway.

Someone has already taken most of the deck and foam out(thank god) as far as I can tell they did a good job of it.

The stringer is a hollow shell of its former self.
Transom is mush in the shape of plywood but that was expected.

I hope to get here in side and have the cap off in the next few days. Dang X-mas getting in the way of my boat tinker'n again

 

[archbuilder]

Re: Future Hot Rod

I actually rebuilt mine without taking the cap off. It was nice to save that step, but I'm not sure if that would work for you. I used Seacast for the transom, which made it a little easier. I think I could have put in a wood transom without popping the cap. I just flipped mine over and put it on saw horses. It was just about the right height to sit on a roller stool and access the transom. Just some food for thought, yours might require popping the top. Is your rob rail in good shape? Mine was shot.

 

[86 century]

Re: Future Hot Rod

I may be able to get the transom done but the deck and stringer under the bow needs replaced. I nearly killed my self working under the bow on my century and this one is much smaller.

My rub rail is in bad shape. I think mine is aluminum so it should be easier than yours was to fix.

How is that seacast working out. I am thinking of using it for the stringer.

 

[archbuilder]

Re: Future Hot Rod

Seacast is great, the only drawback is the price. If I was doing it again I would still use it. The stringer and transom are rock solid and its nice to know I will never have to replace them again. Its pretty forgiving to work with, as long as you have all of your prep work done. I was afraid it would fire off to quickly, but we had plenty of working time and it was 85. I hear you on the bow, I spent plenty of quality time up there scraping off the old reinforcing and installing the new stuff.

My original rub rail was aluminum too, which would have been a lot easier to work with. I went with the stainless for the durability....but it was a major pain! How is the gelcoat? Can you save it or are you going to repaint it?

 

[sschefer]

Re: Future Hot Rod

If you haven't positively identified it yet, go over to www.screamandfly.com and post your pics.Someone over there will know. You can tell who made it and the year from the HIN.. If you want, you can download the boatbuilders guidlines at the uscg site. They'll tell you how to breakdown the HIN but they don't list the codes for the builder.

Looks a lot like a Viper to me and if it is, 80-100mph with the right setup isn't out of the realm.. Scarry while your learning to drive it but probably doable. A Merc 2.5L post 95 era (lighter) with a 15" mid and a sport master lower unit would give you a lot of bang for you buck.

Build her light but strong..

Merry Christmas

 

[86 century]

Re: Future Hot Rod

Seacast is great, the only drawback is the price. If I was doing it again I would still use it. The stringer and transom are rock solid and its nice to know I will never have to replace them again. Its pretty forgiving to work with, as long as you have all of your prep work done. I was afraid it would fire off to quickly, but we had plenty of working time and it was 85. I hear you on the bow, I spent plenty of quality time up there scraping off the old reinforcing and installing the new stuff.

My original rub rail was aluminum too, which would have been a lot easier to work with. I went with the stainless for the durability....but it was a major pain! How is the gelcoat? Can you save it or are you going to repaint it?

I will most likely be painting it. The green is just not my color. Sense you brought it up what type of paint did you use.

sschefer; I am thinking of trying scream and fly or there is a sidewinder forum I stumbled across today.

I have a slightly worked over '81 merc 200hp that I am considering so 80mph or so would be nice.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Future Hot Rod

I have a slightly worked over '81 merc 200hp that I am considering so 80mph or so would be nice.

That'll get you where you want to go

 

[archbuilder]

Re: Future Hot Rod

I used a Dupont base clear urethane system, worked great....the base dries quickly, so it makes stripes go quickly. The clear goes on nicely and flows out great.

If you are thinking about the 200 hp Merc, you might want to think about the Seacast transom.....and Aflack

 

[86 century]

Re: Future Hot Rod

I used a Dupont base clear urethane system, worked great....the base dries quickly, so it makes stripes go quickly. The clear goes on nicely and flows out great.

If you are thinking about the 200 hp Merc, you might want to think about the Seacast transom.....and Aflack

That's funny I have short and long term disability insurance already.

Do you have any idea what 5gal of seacast weighs.

The 200 merc is a back up plan I would like to use some type of jet. I have been looking for a large jet ski that has been crashed preferably a four stroke.

 

[archbuilder]

Re: Future Hot Rod

I'm not sure on the weight, but it is heavier than dry plywood. In the grand scheme of things I think the strength is a good trade off for the weight. I'm also convinced that you can cut back on the thickness of the transom / stringers to save some weight. The stringer in my boat is way overkill, and it is the same size as the original wood member. I'd give them a call, the guy who owns the company called me back when I had questions. Trust me everything else on the boat will break before that stuff does!

I like the jet idea, my friend David K was looking at doing that with a Glasspar G3.....something about his wife killing him if he brought home another boat kept him from buying it.....

 

[32_d3gr33s]

Re: Future Hot Rod

I actually picked up almost the same boat of craigslist a couple months back for 600 bucks... came with trailer and a perfect running 'rude 135.. took it out quite a few times and she boogies... not sure how fast, both speedo and tach need replacement.

this is mine:
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i221/farfegnewgen/IMG_0098.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i221/farfegnewgen/IMG_0100-1.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i221/farfegnewgen/IMG_0103.jpg

 

[Bondo]

Re: Future Hot Rod

Ayuh,... Nice boat 32_d3gr33s,....

Now, could you resize, 'n re-edit your pictures to 480x640,..??

 

[86 century]

Re: Future Hot Rod

Thanks again arc I am still doing some research on the jet.

That looks just like it 32_d3gr33s.

Now if I can find some time to work on it.