The Latest

• Tweet

• Tweet

To read the previous posts in this series, click the links below:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Saturday – June 16, 2012
I finally finished the painting on the Super Spartan and waxed it all up today and set it on the trailer. I picked up a slightly used 2006 Karavan PWC trailer that seems to be nearly perfect. I just need to mod the front a bit for the flat bow. I recarpeted the bunks with some leftovers from the Zip Trailer. Once I get the boat properly secured, I’ll mount the motor and finish the rigging.

I got the HIN last week and the license numbers. Took all of 10 minutes and $29.00, including my 2 buck donation to abate invasive species. I just need to add the license numbers and the name to the boat, now.

Won’t be too long now…

Thursday – June 21, 2012

I have the trailer all set up and I went over the hubs and cleaned and repacked the bearings with the same grease I use in the Zip trailer so there are no compatability issues. I put on the license numbers and named the boat. This is for you Jimmy!!! Hope you are doing well.

The Merc 110 seems to fit pretty well. The cavitation plate is about two inches below the bottom, but the sponsons drop three inches. Probably not optimum But will be fine for the GKs for this year, until granny can afford a better motor. Won’t be racing Bill anytime soon, though.

Friday – June 29, 2012

Jimmy 70 is now ready for sea trials. I finished rigging the steering and anchoring the fuel tank. Hopefully we will get it on the water this weekend. I want to make sure everything is working properly for when the GKs get here in July.

The steering bar is a few bars of angle AL bolted together. Not pretty, but will due for this motor. This little Merc 110 just does not lend itself to a normal bar. Later on when I get a more significant motor, I’ll have a proper steering bar. I had to route the throttle in from the back in order to have a “pull to high throttle” configuration. I could not just go off the carb and had to retain the internal linkage so the spark advance would still work. My plans are to revert this motor back to original and sell it when I upgrade. If this setup planes out and I get 20 mph. I will be very happy.

The trailer bow mast was altered and the V roller replaced with a solid roller to accommodate the flat bottom. I mounted a V block to the mast boom to act as a bow stop. The straps and winch line hold the bow firmly in place. With that and the stern straps, the boat is very solidly secured to the trailer.

Saturday – June 30, 2012

Jimmy 70’s first launch was a complete success. The motor functioned just fine, the boat planed out very quickly, and we got out top speed of about 22 mph. The boat handled very well and will be much fun for both the granchillin and the grandparents. The video is Rich piloting the boat. After a bit of convincing, he climbed in and had a great time.

This is a very fun boat with even that little 9.8 hp fishing motor. It will be a blast for this season and probably next. I’m running a 9×9 two blade prop and I’ll be looking for a 9×11 later on for a little more speed. Right now the throttle is slightly limited so a little more prop will work out nicely.

Congratulations Roberta on an excellent boat build and for sharing your process with us!

To view this entire thread on the Boatbuilder Forum, click here.