WAKESURF BOAT PROJECT

Well I am testing the water to see if anybody else thinks this boat would make a sweet ride. I found the boat in Mexico last week and the price is right. From the info I could gather it was a USA exNavy Vietnam river transport boat. The vdrive is mounted to a massive Detroit Diesel that needs work. The prop is huge approx. 36" I know this boat needs work and several hundred man hrs of labor but I have been looking for a new projectand I think this is it. Please let me know what you think.The pics dont do the boat justice its 32' in length.

Looks awesome!!! It'll definitely produce a wake but will require some manhours; however, if you got the time, you can equip it with anything you want. You can run diesel on fast food grease so it may pay for itself one day.

forget ballast, put a jacuzzi in there!

Thats what I call wrap around seating!

That would be a fun project to mess around with. For me the biggest hinderance would be finding a good/cheap diesel mechanic. You could have fun with the rest this winter, scraping, painting, upholstry, etc. Then invite us out for a ride.

Or like an old buddy of mine used to say" Dude, it would be so cool to buy a big old bus, gut it out, pimp the inside and then take all your buddies for a road trip..................Um wait a minute, I mean it would be so cool for YOU to buy a big old bus, gut it out.......etc"

I will power it with diesel. I plan on finding a direct replacement out of a wrecked semi truck.

Great project, and yes, it'll kick a great wake. Check out my photo's posted on "Giant Wake countdown." Be ready to spend a lot of money, unless you can do it yourself. The boat comes w/ a trailer, which is huge! Looks like you may need a few new tires. Also, do you know how to check out a hull? It's great it's Xnayv, they overbuilt everything.

Curtis, I did check out your boat and it looks sweet. I am interested in what detroit motor model it has and the the gearing, rotation, and drive its has. Also what kind of gallons per hour where you getting? How much ballast were you running? Yes, I do plan on doing the work myself. Here is a link to my last project.

http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/249659.html?1124927800

I'll check out the link. not sure on the fuel she burns. I will know soon as we have gauges now. She has a 8V71 and new injectors being installed for 550HP to single screw.

Retro- wow, I can't spell very well reading my last post. Seeing your last project, you'll do great. Was there any glass work involved? What's the selling price of this new boat? Do you have a truck to move it around? I have to figure out how to move 11tons.

Yes the last boat had alot of glass work. I replaced the floor and stringers. The new project is the right price...FREE. I plan on moving the beast with a Chevy 4500 4x4, yes 4500. Need to still figure out how to register it in the US with no paperwork.

the v-drive aspect is very, very cool..

Retro-
Damn, you have the truck I want! I wasn't sure if the 4500 kodiak could do it- that's great.

retro, Im considering buying a 1984 correct craft as a "starter boat" just to use for a year or so before I commit to a bigger newer boat. How do I check the stringers, and what are the chances that the stringers are shot? How expensive are they to fix? What should I consider buying instead for under $10K? Let me know. Thanks.

Jim - take off the engine cover and remove the floorboard look at the stingers for cracks or missing gel coat. If there is apparent cracking drill into the stinger. Also those boats tend to rot out around the drivers seat base area.

projects like this scream out time and lots of money... how much do you project to get the boat done? what about spare parts ?

My budget for the build alone is $15k. That does not include transportation to get the boat or a trailer for it and definatly does not account for labor, all of which will be my own. As for spare parts all the hard to find stuff is still there underwater gear, steering, vdrive, mounts, bellhousing, drive shaft between the motor and vdrive, exhaust and cooling parts. Was that an offer to help?

Get ready for more $. Custom trailers for her weight are 8+k. Hard to find used in that category. And, 15k isn't that much for supplies. I'm sure you can make it happen! I was wanting to put underwater lighting to light up a wake at night- too bad they run 2k per light.

I really think it can be done for less. This boat will undergo a face lift and reconstructive surgery but nothing to crazy. This boat will be built for function not for show, no fancy graphics or shiny gel coat. As for underwater lights you can spend 2k or you can spend $150, yes $150. Do some internet searches on low voltage pond lighting. I will try to find the model and brand I bought a few years back that worked great.

Any updates on this project? Did you buy the boat and have you started?

You should rebuild the old boat just to show CC what you can do!
Here's a guy who builds trailers.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=018&sspagename=STRK%3AME WA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=280077404077&rd=1&rd=1

I think its a great idea. This is the furure of wakesurfing bc unlike wakeboarding, the bigger the boat the better. I surfed behind my uncles 34 ft sea ray sundancer with twin volvo diesels(it was a inboard, chill out) and there is nothing like it. The wave was chest high and both sides were very very clean and perfect because both props spun outward opposite of each other. It was so nice not having to worry about ballast and the rubrail and water almost coming in the boat. The wider boats just make the best waves. So i say go for it. Just get it in good mechanical condition and dont worry about anything else until next winter

As someone who LOVES big wakes I feel that bigger wakes are definitely not the future of wakesurfing. If the wakes get much bigger wakesurfing will quickly get outlawed from complaints and safety concerns. I'd much rather see work done to the hull to improve wake characteristics (shape and drive are more important IMO then height)

Everyone keeps saying that but where i live, Hobcaw Creek off of the giant port of Charleston,SC, there are tugboats and offshore boats that throw wakes 1000x bigger than anything a 30 ft boat can dish out, much less a wake boat. Now i know that many of you dont ride on a place as big as this, but I do so the circumstances are very different for me.
And if you do have a big wake, its not like your the only one. If there are people with 30+ foot boats rolling through where you ride then you prbably wont have a problem. I think when people hit a relativly big wake for the size of these boats they are suprised and get well...pissed. As to where a person sees a big boat and they know a big wake follows.

but conditions on your average lake are a lot different then the port of Charleston. For something to be "the future of wakesurfing" it must be suitable for the majority of situations and in the majority of situations any bigger then we are currently running is going to get the sport banned from most lakes real fast.

Take San Diego for instance. While a 30-40 foot boat loaded with ballast wouldn't draw a 2nd look in San Diego Bay 95% of the wakesurfing here is done at either San V or El Cap and a boat throwing that type of wake wouldn't last a day before people start demanding some type of wakesurfing enforcement.

IMO the future of Wakesurfing is what I hope Calabria is doing. Tinkering with the hull to get a better shaped wake delivering a nicer ride without sinking anyone else's boat.

(Message edited by CAskimmer on February 19, 2007)