Cutting a tunnel-cost guesstimate?

[fishing66]

The Water Wiener has been reborn as the Water Wizard. Tunnel, pods and jack plate. Tomorrow she goes to get 1/2 inch of K5 sprayed on the hull. The welder measured and said that with 1/2 inch of K5 sprayed in the tunnel, there will be an additional 2 7/8" clearance of the foot over the stock configuration. ""You'll never hit that jet on a rock" he said. Oh dear....changing the name of a vessel is bad luck, as is saying that it is unsinkable....Maybe I'll go for five inches of K5...

 

[brianb2247]

nice

 

[handyandy]

where did the pods come from? Or did your guy make them they look good.

 

[fishing66]

Andy, thanks for your note. They are actually Beavertail pods that have been customized. He ground off the drain plug pipes and then welded additional aluminum plate to the bottom and sides. There have been far too many instances of rock-drag ruptures to boat transoms-meaning, you slide over a rock, and on the way down, your transom gets ripped open by the rock. High-end jet boats like Snyder have a lip that extends past the bottom of the transom which will take the hit from a rock. I had this happen earlier this year and the only thing that stopped the boat from sinking was that there was closed-cell foam behind the aluminum tear. Here's a pic from another site as to what this type of damage looks like.

 

[handyandy]

How thick is that hull? I've Just curious as I've slid over rocks a number of times they have left dents and scratches but never punctured, but my hull is 1/8" thick I was planning on making pods was going to use 3/16" sheet for them.

 

[fishing66]

Andy, thanks for your note. The transom rupture is more common on hulls with .100 gauge or less aluminum. However, even Snyder and Rockproof, who build their hulls out of .192 minimum, put a lip at the transom. You plan to go with heavy gauge aluminum on the pods is sound as they will in fact become a transom lip. I purchased a few gallons of 2-part foam and will be filling my pods with foam to ensure that even if they are ruptured, they will not take on water. I'm not paranoid, everyone really IS out to get me :lol:

PS: the welder told me a frightening story of what can happen to even the toughest boat. He knew some guys who were driving a Snyder with .25 aluminum and .5' of UHMW on the hull. Bulletproof, in theory. They drove under an old railroad bridge and a section of track that was still attached to railroad ties was sticking up from the bottom at a 45-degree angle. It impaled the boat, stopped them dead and they both flew out of the boat. To this day, it blows my mind how much rougher river jet boating is compared to lake boating. On a lake, the biggest issues were a motor not starting, perhaps some dead trolling motor batteries, idiots on jet skis etc. Being impaled on a railroad track? Whoa.

 

[handyandy]

holy crap that would suck and would hurt a lot. Have a friend that has a fiberglass bass boat and we will fish lakes together when he pulls to shore or to the dock he is always really careful not the let the hull scrap bottom or the dock. Cracks me up cause if we have both our boats out I'll run mine right into shore, or bump the dock, or bank he always thinks I'm being hard on it. He doesn't know the half of it hasn't been out with me on rivers scraping gravel shoals, or going over a log. The foam is a good idea I think in the pods. I need to get on it and make mine like your boat looks nice.

 

[brianb2247]

though i can say fantastic upgrade, how differently does it handle

 

[fishing66]

though i can say fantastic upgrade, how differently does it handle

Boat has not seen water since the upgrade as I just got it back on Friday 08/05/2016. After the welder finished up, I took the boat to Premium Protective Coatings and had 1/2 inch of K5 polyurea applied along with Wetlander Topcoat. The Wetlander needs another day or so to fully cure. There's also a bit of work to be done in the battery compartment as I'm replacing the bilge and livewell pumps with new ones and relocating the battery. These efforts were not helped by the idiots at the marina who mounted the outboard way too low and in a position where the transom jack could not raise the motor up, only lower it down. Throw in that they mis-wired the engine controls and the power tilt/trim did not work. The motor has been re-mounted so that the tip of the jet foot is even with the top of the tunnel. It's probably going to cavitate so the plan is to have a few box wrenches and ratchets on hand to lower it until cavitation stops. It would be a hoot if it did not cavitate as the foot is now completely above the bottom of the boat.

 

[Ranchero50]

If you extend the spray shield back over the jet foot it will help keep it from drawing air on launch.

 

[fishing66]

If you extend the spray shield back over the jet foot it will help keep it from drawing air on launch.

Thanks for the tip. I've seen photos where folks have done this and it is definitely on the "to do" list. I had the boat out yesterday afternoon for the first time. It did not cavitate with the motor way up, but the nose of the boat was running too high while on plane. We dropped the motor down by about 3/4 of an inch and the nose came down. Some more experimenting is needed to find the right setting. In terms of running shallow, well, I mis-read a riffle and went into the wrong fork.....the water was only three inches deep and I cringed in expectation of the dreaded "BANG!"....there may have been one tiny bump but my buddy said he felt nothing and we were in two feet of water seconds later. Too soon to say that the job came out perfect, but so far, so good. PS, smallmouths LOVE the Whopper Plopper

 

[Tbradley]

Any more updates on the mod?

 

[fishing66]

Any more updates on the mod?

Howdy,

Thanks for your note and yes, some more info is available. I added a set of TH Marine 5-degree transom wedges and took the boat out on a lake yesterday to test. The bow rise is gone and the boat handles well. The engine height is not quite dialed in yet and it will probably take another trip or two to get it exactly right.....too high and it cavitates, too low and it plows. I installed the Rockproof UHMW intake foot and that did indeed lower top speed by about 2 mph over the stock foot. That's not a deal-breaker as impact protection was the goal of this entire project. There are some minor issues to work out such as placement of the transducers etc. The real test will come when (not if) I have a serious rock impact. Not looking forward to it, but hey, that's jet boating!

 

[Jkreider]

Hello

I know this is a five your old thread. I have a very similar boat as the OP does anyone know where he got his work done.

Interested in having something similar done for myself.

Located in central pa

Jim

 

[CedarRiverScooter]

If you are handy, you might want to consider buying a welder & doing it yourself. There is a learning curve,so it would take some practice on scrap for awhile.

You could sell the welder when done if project cost is paramount. However, I have used my welder over the years far more than I anticipated when I bought it.

You would need one with about 200 amps & a spool gun.. The tank of Argon is pretty pricey too, so take that into account.