1756 Xpress Repurpose

[willyworm]

That 90's plenty for what he does

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[triplebeard]

Saturated foam weighed over 100#

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The 2 ribs (nowhere near enough support) will be removed and 2x2 aluminum longitudinal braces will be installed along with a stouter brace for the transom.

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Prepped for the fab shop. There will be 6 rows of longitudinal braces on all the flats between the cross braces.

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Hoping to get her back by next weekend so I can try out the new tiller on the 90.

[triplebeard]

Update on the boat:

The fab shop did less than acceptable work on the boat and you can see what I'm talking about here.
Apparently they welded too long at one time everywhere on the transom because they warped it pretty good. That is a piece of conduit for reference with the bulges on the back. I made them tack on a 1/2" plate to span the area where the CMC bolts on to give me a true surface to work with. Had to seal up some pretty good gaps around it. Still shittin about that.

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You can see one of the welds here on the inside against the transom where they weren't even supposed to be welding. Got too close and melted the turf on both sides like this. They paid for a new sheet to replace.

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The new transom brace is on point and I'm happy with it. It's 1/4" pieces formed and welded which is 100X stronger than the 100ga brace that Xpress installed.

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Here's the biggest addition to the beast. 2"X2"X3/16" square tubing installed on all the flats between the cross members. Leaves very little room for hooks to form now. I beat the hooks out of the bottom with a 4X4 post and 6X6 block. Won't be using the tiger hair resin this go round as I've gained my 10+ mph back and am happy with it.

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[triplebeard]

Ordered my new switch panel and decided on the location to be on the front face of the float pod for ease of reach while driving. Thought long and hard about this because I knew there would be an ass of foam to deal with.

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After removing enough foam to allow for the switch panel I was pleasantly surprised to find that the foam didn't expand all the way and was clear all the way to the back for the wires to be snaked.

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Snaked the wires back to the hole cutout and installed the marine hole grommet for protection and wrapped everything in wire flex.

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Finally decided on the seating arrangement with the least degree of difficulty. Ordered 2 new pedestal bases and installed on both sides of the removable deck. This allows for enough room to turn the tiller. Had to move the deck forward from previous location, but it allowed for the 12gal tank to remain in its original location and also for the cranking battery to be accessed without removing the deck. Win win. You can see the switch panel here.

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Here's the extreme stern light like beanhunter has on his Gator Trax. This thing is the shit.

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There are still a few things left to do. I'm fabbing up a bracket to mount the trolling battery inside the bow compartment and a couple of OS handles, reinstalling turf, mounting fish finder/GPS, and the new Wet Sounds Stealth 10 bar was delivered last night. At some point she will get new paint, but I'm gonna ride her for a while before that. This thing has taken up too much of my time already.

[triplebeard]

Oh, and since the fab shop kept dragging their ass and I was going into withdrawals, I bought a Gator Trax and rolled out. Damn not having a boat when you want one!!

[smitch320]

Looks good.

[Sheep]

Where are you putting the other 12 gallon tank?

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[BRR]

What's currently your fastest speed?

[beanhunter]

Those lights are the best. Looks like you have come a long way on the rig and did well. Let's see the gator Trax!

[triplebeard]

Where are you putting the other 12 gallon tank?

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Over there in your boat








With my beer.

[triplebeard]

What's currently your fastest speed?

So far, 47. I need to get the tiny tach reading correctly because I think I'm just under the rpm's I need. The dynamics of the boat have changed completely since moving my weight to the back and getting the bottom straightened out. I've got a slight wiggle in my prop that concerns me. Pretty sure it's the spacer I have on the shaft. If anyone wants to do a prop swap day to try a different set up I'd be up for it. Damn spending money only to find out it isn't the right one.

[triplebeard]

Here ya go, bean. I've added a quick release for my Minn Kota to swap from boat to boat, fabbed up a bracket for the grab bar and mounted my ff/gps on it, and fabbed up a battery tray for the deep cycle against the bow. The guy that had it before me cut the damned extended deck off for more floor space. Reeeeeeaaaaallllyyy wish he hadn't done that. I'm ordering new turf for both boats. This one has the crappy hydro turf that disintegrated. When I replace it I'm pulling up as much of the floor as I can without having to cut around the box welds and removing the saturated foam. Somebody needs to come up with an alternative foam for these boat manufacturers that doesn't absorb water. This expandable shit is just that, SHIT. Blue DOW foam is where it's at.


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[willyworm]

It's called closed cell foam. They make it, but boat makers probably just don't want to spend the money for it. I used to spray it in the walls and ceilings of houses as insulation. It doesn't absorb anything. Expands very little and is hard as a brick when it's cured.

[willyworm]

If anyone wants to do a prop swap day to try a different set up I'd be up for it. Damn spending money only to find out it isn't the right one.

Lemme know when. I got a couple you can try.

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[Sheep]

I have a Trophy 18 and a 19. I bet it would like one of those.

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