Smokeysevin's juryrigged standup (js550) project

[smokeysevin]

I was fortunate enough to pick up this beauty a few weeks ago and have been working on getting my trailer and myself ready for another set of cylinders. So far I have been working on getting everything to a good starting point which has entailed repairing a few damaged pieces of fiberglass, doing lots of research, removing a ton of extra parts from a box that came with the ski, and doing some general cleaning.

To start I checked the compression which was at 50 psi on one cylinder and a whopping 0 on the other. So I pulled the head and found the pistons intact but the rings glued to the pistions. So I tore into the motor, pulled the pistons, removed the rings and cleaned them, gave the cylinders a light hone, and tossed it all back together. Its now at 120 psi on both which is crap but its enough to get me through until I find a 650, 750, 800, or some parts for this poor little motor.

As it sits now its got:

an old school umi finger throttle
A bn44 carb with the pilot screw
A tauceti flame arrester and adapter
Choke blade removed
Some kind of aftermarket pipe (actually 2 plus a stocker)
A west coast waterbox (which may need some welding)
Tubbies
A jetsports plate (in need of love)
Aftermarket grate
New odi rogue shorty grips
Rule 350 bilge pump (not installed)
Solas impeller (and another stainless)
Rev limiter bypass
Fuel water separator removed
And fuel tank vent relocated

Because the Tubbies were fit where they are I had to get creative to keep the exhaust from rubbing on the exposed screw so there is a temp hose clamp there.

The battery is my nearly dead one that I purchased for my 15f 5 years ago rather optimistically.

The waterbox strap mounts broke so those need to be reattached at the front, I am open to suggestions on what to use.

The hull needs lots of work on the bottom deck and the whole thing needs paint as its currently over 7 different colors, not just shades of orange but completely different colors.

The hood has a few drop marks that need some epoxy and there is a redbull can blocking the other air intake (probably because the pipe is too short)

The turf all has to be replaced, and probably widened up because damn that thing is narrow.

The nose needs some love and I would kill for a new handlepole, I really like the tube ones but the stock one is in remarkably good shape.

As it sits now I plan or abusing it until the winter at which point hopefully I can find a cheap motor or rebuild this one. The crank and bottom end are in surprisingly good shape and I believe that it had a seal job within the last few years which is good for me since its sat for 2 years.

[smokeysevin]

Well, it has come to this. My life has spiraled totally out of control and I now have to actually finish projects instead of just getting more and forgetting about them.

Teardown

I got started doing some work on the ski and found it to be in worse shape than I thought. There was lots of glass and bondo "reinforcement" on it that I had to chip out. The inner surface wasn't even roughed up...

I may still try and split the deck but I am not sure at this point. Its a lot more flimsy than I thought and I am worried I will just crack the deck more.

Having spent some time hunched over it yesterday, it looks like there is probably enough access to do the reinforcement and repair if I just lean the ski over 90 degrees. I would repair one side at a time.

I already managed to toss a chisel through the nose once in the process so I am a little worried about a repeat performance. The outer edge of the bond rail also looks like it was glued or repaired in a few places when looking at it from the bottom so I am worried I may hit hard spots.

Time Spent:
6 Hours on and off

Tools Used:
1/2" Wood Chisel
3/4" Wood Chisel
1" Wood Chisel
Hammer
Shop Vac

Existing "Repairs" Removed:
3

New Damage Done:
1 new hull vent near nose

Muscles Strained:
3

PPE Used:
Half Respirator
3M Worktunes Heaphones
Safety Glasses
Gloves

Sean



Exit Wound




Nose "Repair" Before




Nose "Repair" After



Leftovers

[smokeysevin]

Stripping the hull part 1

Got the ski totally stripped with the exception of the pump and driveline yesterday. I cleaned up one side of the inner engine bay and rolled the hull up on its side to try and get better access to it.

I think I am going to end up making a template for the reinforcement today or tomorrow. I have some 3:1 epoxy and 5 yards of 50" wide 1208 on the way from uscomposites for the repairs. Once that's good I am going to throw a coat of interlux engine bay coating on it.

Current plan is to clean up the inside of the engine bay and do a layer of cabosil thickened epoxy along the bond line. I will sand that flush and then do a layer of 1208 on the inner engine bay surfaces.

The hood flange is cracked in a few spots so I was thinking about running the reinforcement up to the top and then filling the gap up with more of the cabosil or some chopped strand and cab.

When I removed the motor mounts the gaps were filled with some seriously rancid water, is there any reason I can't fill the holes in them and the bottom of the battery box up with more thickened epoxy?

I found what looks like 3 factory holes in the bulkhead that have raw foam exposed on them. If I stick my finger in them the foam is pretty wet. Does this foam get waterlogged? I can pickup the hull now that its stripped and I am not that big of a dude so its not outrageously heavy.

Time Spent:
8 Hours but who is counting?

Tools Used:
1/2" Wood Chisel
3/4" Wood Chisel
1" Wood Chisel
5" Random Orbital Sander
5" Cloth Mesh 80 Grit Sanding Pads
Rockwell Oscillating Multi Tool
Hammer
Shop Vac
Steel Wire Brush in Drill

Sheets of Hydroturf Removed:
1

New Damage Done:
Scraped Paint

Muscles Strained:
4

PPE Used:
Half Respirator
3M Worktunes Headphones
Safety Glasses
Gloves

Materials Ordered:
1 Gallon 3:1 Epoxy
Cabosil
Microspheres
5 Yards 1208 (50" wide)
Roller
Pizza Cutter

Sean


Tray with turf removed



Peeling paint in tunnel






Crusty Bottom



Cracks Near Motor Mount



Inside Nose



Nose "Repair"



Cool Fiber Mesh Sanding Pads

[smokeysevin]

Inner Glasswork Part 1

The hull is sitting on its side now with the inside was stripped out, scuffed with 80 grit and wiped with alcohol to remove excess dust. I put one layer of 1208 fiberglass and 3:1 epoxy resin from us composites on the inside edge of the hull from the inside upper edge of the hood flange to the bottom. I ran the glass about an inch past the corner onto the lower portion of the hull. I used the us composites . I cleaned out most of the loose glue and mixed up some cabosil resin to fill the gaps.

I have enough cloth to do another couple layers, is it worth doing or is one enough? I will be doing additional reinforcement on the nose and handlepole area and the hood flanges.

The hull came with a set of blowsion tubbies on the outside held on with wood screws that stuck through like punji spikes, I was thinking about throwing some nut-serts or ufo style mounts in the holes so they sit flush with the inside of the hull. The tubbies are foamed on and glued with some kind of silicone, do they need the fastners on them or are they just for install purposes.

Time Spent:
4 Hours, stop judging me!

Tools Used:
Rockwell Oscillating Multi Tool
Shop Vac
Mixing Cups
Mixing Stick

Materials Used:
8 OZ Denatured Alcohol
4 Blue Shop Towels
16 OZ Resin/Hardener
24" 1208 Cloth
8 OZ Cabosil
1 Hazard Fart Paint Brush


New Damage Done:
None

Muscles Strained:
2

PPE Used:
Half Respirator
3M Worktunes Heaphones
Black Spider Gloves from Blowes

Beer Consumed:
1 Shiner Prickly Pear

Percentage complete:
25%

Sean



Glass and Patch



Glass and Patch



Layer Overlap near Hood Seam



Bond Line



Nose Reinforcement/Repair



Templates

[smokeysevin]

Inner Glasswork Part 2

I rolled the hull over onto the other side and repeated the process. Fortunately my template worked on both sides and I ended up with reasonably well fitting repairs on both side that actually match.

Moving forwards, do I need to knock this down to bare smc to paint it? I am concerned about mixing paint chemistry being incompatible with the existing garbage and having some hard work just go drooling down the side of the hull. I am leaning heavily towards doing a black bottom deck with a dark steel gray top deck, black turf, and either a black or gray handlepole. I would then go with black thru hull fittings and reinforcements.

I was also planning on throwing in a stripped 650 long block into the hull but came across a deal on a complete 750 so that is the new plan. Eventually I will swap over to the rhass driveline setup (https://www.rhaasproducts.com/Produc...ode=550750pump) but for now I am just planning on running the 550 setup so I can get some water time in. That means that the red top 650 is for sale, if you want it shoot me a message. It is a complete good long block 160psi per the ebay seller with new crank seals. It spins super smooth by hand. I have a flywheel and magneto on the way for it and can toss a cover on if it will sell quicker that way.


Time Spent:
2 Hours, look I was bound to eventually figure out this stuff...

Tools Used:
Rockwell Oscillating Multi Tool
5" Orbital Sander
Shop Vac
Mixing Cups
Mixing Stick
Drill with Step Bit
1" Chisel

Materials Used:
8 OZ Denatured Alcohol
4 Blue Shop Towels
12 OZ Resin/Hardener
24" 1208 Cloth
1 Hazard Fart Paint Brush
Painters Tape


New Damage Done:
2 Lost Rivets in the rear hull during sponson removal

Muscles Strained:
0

PPE Used:
Half Respirator
3M Worktunes Headhones
Black Spider Gloves from Blowes

Beer Consumed:
0 (forgot to put them in the fridge

Percentage complete:
40%

Sean




Nose Reinforcement



Cabosil on Bond Line at Rear



Side Repair



Side with additional Repair Required Shown, the hull is pretty lumpy there



Tubby with Paint Removed



Sponson Area with Paint Mostly Scraped (this thing is like a jawbreaker)



Gross

[smokeysevin]

Inner Glasswork Part 3 (Where you feel like you are ready for some corners so you get wrecked)

I rolled the hull upside down and attempted to layup the inner hood flange and hood to nose flange. Things didn't go well... I setup the hull on 2 bar stools and crawled under it. The hull did not fall and squish me so that was nice.

I think I tried to run the strands the wrong direction because it was like trying to keep a tape measure bent down. Either way, it was a pain in the ass and ultimately didn't work properly. I was really hoping for good news when I went out this morning but it was not to be. I will end up cutting back the loose edge somehow and will redo the edge with some cloth to get a good wrap. Fiberglass is really not my thing though. I really want to get to the fun part of bolting stuff on but I know I need to do it right so slog away with fiberglass I must.


Time Spent:
4 Hours this was shit and I epoxied my head multiple times. I look like guy fieri now.

Tools Used:
Rockwell Oscillating Multi Tool
5" Orbital Sander
Shop Vac
Mixing Cups
Mixing Stick
Dremel with roto-zip bit

Materials Used:
8 OZ Denatured Alcohol
4 Blue Shop Towels
12 OZ Resin/Hardener
8" 1208 Cloth
1 Hazard Fart Paint Brush
Painters Tape
misc clamps
door shims wrapped in painters tape

New Damage Done:
none

Muscles Strained:
1

PPE Used:
Half Respirator
3M Worktunes Headhones
Black Spider Gloves from Blowes

Items of Clothing Ruined:
Pair of jeans
Long Sleeve Thermals
Welding Jacket
T-Shirt

Leg Hair Removed when taking ruined jeans off due to epoxy drips:
40%

Percentage of Garage Floor Epoxy Coated
12%

Percentage complete:
42% (This was an abject failure which I will probably not be redoing)

Sean



Peanut Butter Filled Motor Mounts



MMMM Peanut Butter




Don't forget to sand your peanut butter



Safety First Gents


My Workspace Last Night. It was awful.



Clamped In Place (This was taken 12 hours later after it cured. I left the hull upside down last night)




Nose that didn't stick, either I ran the glass the wrong direction or it was colder than the resin wanted to tack up. It didn't stick for shit.

[raven007]

Well, it has come to this. My life has spiraled totally out of control and I now have to actually finish projects instead of just getting more and forgetting about them.

I felt this, in my soul.

The PO repair looks like a real POS. Your stuff is looking really nice!

[smokeysevin]

I felt this, in my soul.

The PO repair looks like a real POS. Your stuff is looking really nice!

I relized I had a problem when I picked up my 15f and stxr and got them back to my garage only to realize I grabbed the wrong non running stxr...

Sean

[smokeysevin]

Inner Glasswork Part 4 (The part in which our hero finds a semblance of redemption and moves onto other jobs)


Having received some excellent advice over the last week both on X-H2O and on the other pwc forum (the blue one) I started by raising the hull up and allowing it to stand nose down. Fortunately I installed a overhead hoist to raise the transmission up when I was installing a new clutch on my old N18 Mini Cooper S so it was just a matter of adding a rope and cranking away. Of course, I didn't do it that way because I am not that smart when it comes to simple stuff. Instead, I did some seriously sketchy workout maneuvers to raise the hull up with one hand while clipping the stern strap to the lifting hook... You can't fix stupid (I have tried) but it worked and I wasn't squished.


I started by mixing 4OZ of resin and cabosil into some deliciously smooth peanut butter and stuffed that up in my nose. I then mixed up another 8OZ of resin and smeared that all over the repair areas and let it start to kick. While that was gelling, I started cooking some italian sausage in a red sauce.


Recipe (NOTE: ADD SEASONING TO TASTE)
5 links Italian Sausage
1 Head Garlic, peeled and chopped ( I do bigger chunks but you do you...)
1/2 Large Yellow onion, halved again and cut into thin rings
4OZ Olive Oil 2 Large cans San Marzano Tomatoes
6 OZ Red Wine
2 OZ Balsamic Vinegar
2 TBSP Granulated Chicken Bouillon
1 TBSP Capers with splash of Sauce
2 TBSP Sun Dried Tomatoes with sauce
As much Basil as you can find
Tomato Paste



Brown the sausage in a large dutch oven over medium heat.
Once browned on 2 sides add olive oil and allow to heat for a few minutes then add onions and garlic stirring occasionally.

Remove Sausage from dutch oven and slice into thin sections. Add back to onions and garlic on stove stirring frequently. Once sausage has had time for the fat to render into pan, add remaining ingredients and simmer for at least 30 minutes.
Return to garage to continue fiberglass work.


Time Spent:
4 Hours including waiting for the epoxy to gel



Tools Used:
Rockwell Oscillating Multi Tool
5" Orbital Sander
Shop Vac
Mixing Cups
Mixing Stick


Materials Used:
8 OZ Denatured Alcohol
4 Blue Shop Towels
16 OZ Resin/Hardener
16" 1208 Cloth
1 Hazard Fart Paint Brush
Painters Tape


Old Repairs Removed:
Nose Job part 2


Kawasaki Bonding Adhesive Removed:
2lbs



Muscles Strained:
2



PPE Used:
Half Respirator
Tyvek Suit
3M Worktunes Headhones
Black Spider Gloves from Blowes


Items of Clothing Ruined:
Tyvek Suit (Walked past my tubing notcher and caught the back of it on a 1-5/8" Hole Saw...)



Chemical Burns from Epoxy:1


Percentage of Garage Floor Epoxy Coated
18%


Percentage complete:
65% (I will finish up the bond line reinforcement tomorrow. )


Sean



Workshop Before, this is where the magic disasters happen



Find the winch



Strung Up



Lit Up




Cut Up



Stuck Up




Covered Up




Close Up

[steve45]

I'm following this thread with interest. I never have trouble figuring out the best way to do something. I screw it up a couple of times, then when I'm finished, I realize what I SHOULD have done...

I thought you said you hung it nose up?

[smokeysevin]

I'm following this thread with interest. I never have trouble figuring out the best way to do something. I screw it up a couple of times, then when I'm finished, I realize what I SHOULD have done...

I thought you said you hung it nose up?

Thanks for keeping me honest Steve, I miswrote. Nose down.

Yeah, I thought I had a reasonable (not good) grasp on glasswork but nope. I am getting better at it though so there is some good news I guess.

Everything cured like I left it so tonight I am planning on filling in the hood flange area from the bottom and calling the inside done I think.

Plan for this week is to fully sand the bottom and fix the chines and hull extensions then hopefully get the motor in and test fit for the rear exhaust, cooling lines, and bilge drains.

I also need to finish the upgrades to my parts washer but that is unrelated.

Sean

[rlovebk]

I thought you got married. What the hells the kitchen look like? She let you in the house?
That stuff looks great but heavy? Good mat/resin work.
Have fun!! (Plus you need to come to the Hahn next year for more fun!)

[smokeysevin]

I did get married in 2015 if you can believe it, we are going on 11 years together in May She is awesome and absolutely forbids me from getting any new skis until I get rid of my wall/sideyard of shame. I will have you know Rod, there are no pwc or truck parts in the house and I keep the kitchen clean!

This project got moved up in timeline because we are hoping to get a little one here in the next year or so. That means I have to go from this wreck to a manageable 4 jetskis.

Stxr 255
Stx 15f 255
Vortech ultra
This 750 swapped js550

I would love to head out for the hahn next year, fingers crossed I will actually have vacation days for something fun like that.

Sean

[smokeysevin]

Inner Glasswork Part 5 (Kicking the Itches)



Not too much to report, I filled the gap between the hood flange and inner hull with cabosil and shredded glass and let it tack up. I then cut a 28"?ù6" piece of 1208 and laid that up flush with the hood flange and wrapped it back to the inner hull. I also added another 2 layers where the nose meets the hood flange. I am hoping that this will make that whole area much stiffer. Its been unpleasant sanding the flange area because the sander makes the whole thing resonate. Even with hearing protection on it is enough to make my ears ring.



Yesterday I stopped at HF and picked up some of the fiberglass rods mentioned on X-H2O. I got one out and cut the threaded ends off to experiment with. The good news is that the rods are just fiberglass with colored resin, the glossy coating on the outside is knocked off really easily. The bad news is that they are 37" long once cut, so a little on the short side.


Time Spent:
4 Hours (seriously why does this take so damn long?)



Tools Used:
Rockwell Oscillating Multi Tool
5" Orbital Sander
Shop Vac
Mixing Cups
Mixing Stick
Clamps clamps and more clamps



Materials Used:
8 OZ Acetone
4 Blue Shop Towels
16 OZ Resin/Hardener
12" 1208 Cloth
2 Hazard Fart Paint Brush
Painters Tape


Old Repairs Removed:
None but I did chip some paint off the bottom using a chisel so I have that to look forward to.


Times I farted in the tyvek suit and nearly passed out:

6 (damn cliff bars)


Beer Consumed:
Shiner Prickly Pear


Dinner Cooked:
Reverse Seared Ribeye with fresh thyme and rosemary from the garden


Music Listened to:
Straight outta junior high: Kiss of Deaf



PPE Used:
Half Respirator
Tyvek Suit
3M Worktunes Headhones
Hazard Frito 7mil blue bomber gloves


Percentage of Garage Floor Epoxy Coated
18% (running total to date, I didn't spill anything that I am aware of today



Percentage complete:
85% (I think I am okay with the repair/reinforcement now, I will have a little sanding to do before I can prep for Bilge Kote)


Sean





Administer the Clamps






Fish Sticks




Punji Stick





When I grow up I want to be a Chine

[steve45]

That's an interesting use for the wire fishing sticks.