RCB restoration project

ReallyGottaSki

Welp, operation RCB Restoration is nearing completion. .

Before I presume, any interest out there in seeing the picture timeline between then and now? Should have closure in about two weeks. Beware I've said 'about two weeks' for about 4 weeks now...

I didn't have the liberty to post as it went, so you may get the fast-motion movie, but without the tedium of waiting for progress.
We're about 700 man-hours into the restore at this point, consumed much the winter and spring after work and some weekends

You may recall the 99 I found last October, pound rescue..

MISkier

Would definitely be interested in final results and recap. These are great boats.

ReallyGottaSki

Ok, here we go...
Last October multiple Power washer and magic eraser, razor because we don't need no steenking badges...

ReallyGottaSki

Interior gutted mid November
Looks like the rear seat bottom the only thing that doesn't need attn

First part bought was a functional and sturdy trailer jack

It took weeks to eventually determine what colors the boat is

ReallyGottaSki

December, goes inside, and my friend and I hit it hard, as we have some heat

Part of the plan is to replace all soft parts, hoses, control cables, etc as we go

Fuel tank and exhaust come out
Driveline comes out

Oh look at that, strut is bent. Still amazing it was undetectable on the test drive like that. Still would have bought it..

Lots of buffing till arms ache occuring in-between these pictures

ReallyGottaSki

Raw water pump rebuilt,
New brakes, backing plates, pads, cylinders assembly, hard and soft lines, brake actuator

All stern hardware removed, including wedge

Alternator and brackets a crusty mess, new alt, and brackets were ground, primed, painted

Buffing, buffing, buffing

Determine the boat is Natural/regal red/black/opal white/ (reversed under rub-rail)

VermontSkier

This is awesome! Was this the one that was for sale in Mass and was on Facebook marketplace for a while? Great job, psyched to see more!

ReallyGottaSki

Indeed Spencer! that's the one. we must have both watched it all last Summer.
More to come

VermontSkier

@ReallyGottaSki sweet, this is going to be an awesome ski tug, keep the pics coming!

ReallyGottaSki

Steady supply of parts coming in

Started dialog with Gabe's very early, glad I did as we needed that time

Choosing white/tan/red accent instead of black accent it had

Throttle repacked with grease

All three new cables, helm, pinion and tilt

Peeled up the dry rubber mat on the driver's footwell

Restoring dash soft parts

Ruder dropped and greased,
Tiller pivot changed from nut/bolt to a fixed stud

ReallyGottaSki

Heater, new fan and new core, wet and dry hoses, is relocated to in front of the driver's feet, to maximize access to the bow storage

Speaker holes on the dash....I have a plan..

ReallyGottaSki

Test holes under tank and under driver's seat, she's soaked like I suspected.pump the brakes..

Hey at least the pylon is polished at this point.

Pylon bearing was restored, actually didn't have to buy one

Gar

May want to consider getting rid of the HDS box.

ReallyGottaSki

A little teaser from Gabe

It *would be some time till we are ready for that



@Gar , yes, valid concern
Skipping ahead, this hds tested out, it's a good one, at least for now

Gar

Curious how did you test the HDS?

UWSkier

This is an epic resto! I redid a bunch of that stuff in mine last year but you're going WAAAY further than I did. My vinyl was still good. I started needing a new strut bushing, which turned into:

Since I need a strut bushing I will need to drop the rudder so I should probably just pull out the back couch and the gas tank and since I've got that all out, I may as well just rip up and replace the yucky carpet and since that stuff is all out I guess I'll redo the exhaust hoses and fuel lines and as long as I have the flooring up, I may as well re-glass and level the floors and since I have all the upholstery out, I may as well have my mom sew on some new strap to the top of the gunnel nets and...

Bruce_Butterfield

Wow! I really admire your spirit and desire to fix her up. From a strictly financial standpoint that boat should have been sent to the landfill and you could have found a similar model/year and got to pristine condition for much less effort. Is there something that made that boat special and worthy of going the extra mile?

rockdog

This is a huge effort @ReallyGottaSki. Desire to finish can easily wane on an epic like this, congrats on your mental toughness here.

ReallyGottaSki

@Gar , there was some faith and hope, then it got a wet test two weeks ago for a shakedown. Leaks at risers, rear plug, circ pump, and one muffler had a weeping crack. But hds appears sound, and stringer çavities stayed dry

@UWSkier , thank you, yes I'm privy to the mushroom effect, yours sounds great!

@Bruce_Butterfield indeed, luckily we don't charge ourselves shop rates ! else pure lunacy.
No attachment to it aside from the energy investment so far. I'm a chronic turd polisher, hence my 82 supreme, that performs quite well, efficient, great wake, but remains hull -limited regarding space and spray.
This model has been a desire for 10 years or so. I was aiming for a well cared for boat with engine issues. I moved on just the opposite.
Pure hobbyist endeavor. Going full retard. Time aside, I should have something uniquely custom to my uses, for 16.5 counting all expenditures.

@rockdog , thanks, yes there were some pondering after certain setbacks, like the foam, pushing through. Great support and assistance from a great friend too, helps bunch. Supportive girlfriend as well!

ReallyGottaSki

So after some research, and courage in our abilities, proceeded to drill 11 5-6" holes in the floor, and prepare for a foamectomy surgery.
A 65 and sunny degree day in February was approaching , and it was go time.

What you are viewing is a stout power washer, with a variable angle attachment and 'turbo tip', that pulverized the wet foam into mush, and had two shop vacs rotating to keep up, taking turns nozzle or shop vac.
Surgery took 6 hours of spraying, but 95% of hull foam is gone.

Separated the water, Three contactor sized bags of foam into the dumpster

Then it went back to the garage with fans for a couple days.

Some holes, like under the tank, seats and bow, got an access plate. 7 others each got a layup of 22 progressively larger layers of glass and epoxy.

Then leveled the floor with epoxy w/ filler

Without the foam, the floor needed further strengthening, so it got three layers of glass and wetted out with more total boat epoxy



Short video..
https://youtube.com/shorts/iJ2_BV4B8EA?feature=share

ReallyGottaSki

Constructed some block off plates for the dash speaker holes, and added 3" defroster vents , for those dewey morning sets.

Mufflers painted, new hoses and tbolt clamps. New fuel lines, naturally.
Spark plugs, cap and rotor.
The new in box 515 that came with the boat, is ready for installation.

Windshield frame was prepped, etching primer, and semigloss black











Stern hardware is starting to go back on at this point
Swim lights were just for the fun of it

ImperfectPass

What paint and primer did you use on your windshield frame? It looks great!

ReallyGottaSki

Tank went in, new hoses, centrifugal blower, for continuous, quiet operation

Water separator, since these didn't have one

Accent led lights under gunnel, just cuz

Access panel, from plywood, got three layers of glass, then strips of HDPE to build it up to 1"

Bottom polished. Pulleys polished

My friend extended the prop guard a half inch, because it only had a 1/16" clearance to the prop. Looks and feels seamless. We had to heat and tweak the bends for the new angles

ReallyGottaSki

@ImperfectPass Donny I think it went steel wool, prep solvent, perhaps duplicolor or Rust-Oleum etching primer, then Rust-Oleum semigloss black, in the silver professional series can

UWSkier

I can tell by your attention to detail that this thing is going to be an absolute gem when you're done. These are such amazing boats to drive and ski behind (not to mention some of the best lines ever on a ski tug). Love seeing them get some resto love!

ReallyGottaSki

Trunk lid, not savable...

Platform, not savable...
Thought about reusing some slats with a new frame, no go.

Platform hardware restored

Time to do rug..
My first purchase arrive some time ago, I put it aside till I needed it.
Go to use it, and it's just an inferior product, not usable.
It will line the trunk, and makes a good worktable surface for upholstery.

Local marina scored me a big roll of a sturdy product, sand color and strong backing

Used the old pieces as a template to rough-cut the new carpet in one piece

A local legend in our lake came over to supervise the glue-in after after the test-fit.

ReallyGottaSki

Engine cover, stripped

Perfect pass tidied up, and defroster ducting in place

Access cover carpeted as well

Eva foam in the driver footwell

Girlfriend - can't wait to ski it

ReallyGottaSki

Yay! foam arrived, time to make seats

Start with the easy one...

ReallyGottaSki

Heater, finally settled
Starboard outlet to the driver's feet

Center outlet splits to the defrosters

Port goes to the pull-out tube. The vertical tubes are fresh air from the cowl to the hollow stringers that also act like ducting

ReallyGottaSki

Platform construction
More like wood machining, if you're one who had done this

ReallyGottaSki

More seat work..
Slow going, don't want to mess up