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Projects I intend doing this year

 
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AndyDeeJay
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PostPosted: Apr 08, 2005 1:21 pm    Post subject: Projects I intend doing this year Reply with quote

Since this forum topic has immerged individually I want to add some stuff that might be interesting to fellow DIYers and hopefully be useful.

My dealer wants me to trade up to a 2005 model but I haven't got the cash or won't have in the near future. I have a 99 mastercraft Xstar which I think was the first year the 205 or X2 hull got the Xpackage added to it. Obviously since then mastercraft have added lots of stock goodies such as tower mounted mirror, ballast system, tower lights, tower nav light, perfect pass, binder blaster, transom stereo remote, bla, bla, bla


Last year I - completed a stock ballast system
http://forums.wakeboarder.com/viewtopic.php?t=29012&highlight=

I added Perfect pass.

I built a tower clamp/arm for my mirror which was fixed to the walkthrough window
Picture coming.

I added a hot/cold shower
Taking the cold from a Tee fitting after the raw water pump and the hot from the LHS block plug. The pump has a pressure switch so it switches off when you set the shower head down.

I did the heater Idle mod - Supply water taken from RHS block plug and return water to the lake side of the raw water pump. This pulls more hot water through the heater matrix and now it doesn't get cold on idle.

I replaced the stock Clarion amp which came loose, fell off the side wall then blew up. I got a pair of Alpine 4 channel amps. Amp-1 ch 1/2 Front speakers, ch 3/4 Main speakers, Amp-2 ch 1/2 Sub, ch 3/4 Tower.

Future plans - I want to build some serious tower cans and hook them up to the second amp ch 3 and 4. I have read all the arguments about what's best so will defiantly go for four 10" mids and a couple of CD horns for HF.
I will eventually replace the free air sub for one in a box.

To bridge the passengers seat with the rear seat.
SKOBI1 has a good article on this for his cooler seat.
http://forums.wakeboarder.com/viewtopic.php?t=40801

I want to add an Ipod/Creative ZEN input somewhere on dash.

It would be excellent to zone the control of the speakers front/main/tower from their respective positions IE front controlled from a front remote, main controlled from drivers remote and tower controlled from transom or handle if possible (only joking)

Board racks - I'm fed up with climbing over boards in the boat. This is just bollox.

Tower lights - Don't know if these would help while riding but would defiantly be a benefit when tailoring at dark.

I want to place a step behind the drivers seat. My back sear is torn with people standing on it with shoes. I will make a box using PVC and cover with marine carpeted. On top will be a piece of 1/4 inch thick tread plate. Don't want it to look ghetto.

Binder blaster - Fed up losing the bottle of washing up liquid. Water pump with pressure switch connected to a huge bottle of washing up liquid. Hose with air nozzle ideal for directing liquid around bindings etc.

Smaller prop. My LTR has poor hole shot with heavy ballast and loads of people. WOT the boat does 50 MPH which I'm prepared to sacrifice for better acceleration. ACME recommend the new 817 prop which is 13.5 x 17.5 a vast improvement over the stock 14x20 OJ.


Some of these projects may be way out and unnecessary but if I can do it over a period of time and source the parts wisely it should be possible to save a vast amount of money and have a really nice old boat.
Wink

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chipsevila
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PostPosted: Apr 09, 2005 6:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you pull all that off, you should be able to greatly increase the value of your boat and trade up. However, after you put all that time into it, I'm sure you'll want to keep it!
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AndyDeeJay
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PostPosted: Jun 15, 2005 3:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I finally got round to taking some photos of my work. I decided to re-upholster the torn back seat but got carried away and did the entire boat. The seat between the front passengers and the rear is completly new.

Costs
marine grade vinyl - £50
3" seat foam - £40
2" back foam - £40
1/2" plastic sheet - £35
Mums old sewing machine - £50
Effort - 5 weeks on and off when I got a chance, plenty of sweat, swearing and more climbing in and out of the boat than you can possibly imagine.

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AndyDeeJay
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PostPosted: Jun 15, 2005 3:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

New step - People always stand on my back seat which is what tore it in the first place. I made a step using 3/4 plastic board covered in carpet. The lid is hinged with stainless steel hinges and the lid is made of 1/4" tread plate. A couple of brackets hold it in position.

This is an excellent space for washing up liquid/binder slime on tins of beer.

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AndyDeeJay
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PostPosted: Jun 15, 2005 4:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Last year I fitted a shower pump with pressure switch. It gets its hot from side of engine and cold from a Tee in the raw water feed. The mixer valve attempts to maintain 50 celcius even if the engine is idling or reving hard. I got a shower head from a local DIY supplier (I think it is garden hose style with lever), and the hose is from a plumbing supplier.
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AndyDeeJay
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PostPosted: Jun 15, 2005 4:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pictures of boat and tower mirror mount. Last weekend I fitted 4x 55w lights to the tower. They are wired back to a pair of relays supplied off a 20A fuse straight off the battery. The 2 position switch (acc3) supplies the relays and allows me independant front or front/back lights. I have pulled an extra wire through for a white navigation light above the tow point.
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Juice75
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PostPosted: Jun 15, 2005 8:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice work!!! I'm jealous. Mr. Green
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wakerider_23234
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PostPosted: Jun 15, 2005 5:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

thats hot
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Juice75
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PostPosted: Jun 16, 2005 6:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

wakerider_23234 wrote:
thats hot


Paris???

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HatzicMotive140
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PostPosted: Jun 16, 2005 6:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

nice work..i wish i had the patience to do that kind of stuff to all of my vehicles.
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kuehn
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PostPosted: Jul 06, 2005 12:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey dudos were are the speakers man???? Rolling Eyes
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kuehn
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PostPosted: Jul 06, 2005 12:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

oh yer seeing as u are in northern ireland how about a glass top with central heatng??? Laughing

try those inverts this weekend Cool
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AndyDeeJay
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PostPosted: Jul 06, 2005 12:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

see that would just be plain excellent - only thing is the river would dry up.. Confused
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Wakebrad
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PostPosted: Jul 06, 2005 12:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

AndyDeeJay, sweet job on all that stuff. Do you have any before/during/after shots of your vinyl job?
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AndyDeeJay
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PostPosted: Jul 07, 2005 2:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

kuehn, Inverts - That would mean I would be upside down - what if the wind changed direction and I got stuck?............oh wait a minute - I'm 225lb (at least). I should come down. Any word of you coming over????? this decade???

Wakebrad, Thanks - During the 4 weeks it took to do the vinyl, I took a few photos. I will try and resize and upload.

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PostPosted: Jul 08, 2005 6:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

AndyDeeJay, thanks. I'm planning on undergoing a new vinyl job by next season so I'm trying to do my research. What sewing machine did you use for it? I've heard some home machines can do it but an industrial is recommended.
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PostPosted: Jul 08, 2005 12:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

AndyDeeJay, Great job...
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bighitbiker3
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PostPosted: Jul 08, 2005 12:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That step is a really good idea. Did you make that hot/cold shower how did you do it?
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AndyDeeJay
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PostPosted: Jul 11, 2005 11:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

bighitbiker3, The shower is made using bits and pieces bought from individual suppliers and put together. If I added up the individual costs plus my time plus fuel it would probibaly have been just as cheep to buy a kit.

The hot water comes from a brass fittting srewed into the side of the block. The cold water comes from a T in the raw water hose after the pump. The mixer valve is thermostatic and maintains 50 degrees C at all times (even on idle and normal wakeboard speed and gunning the engine on the hole shot). The pump is Jabsco water puppy with pressure valve so it shuts off when you let go of the sprinkler head at the end of the hose. this setup works real well - the only drawback is the water goes into the bilge and the bilge pump never really clears it. I might put another auto bilge at the back. Sometimes my alternator belt squeels sometimes the bottom blug leads get wet and the engine misfires when you forget to put the bilge pump to manual - oops!!!!!

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bighitbiker3
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PostPosted: Jul 11, 2005 1:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

sounds difficult how long did it take?
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AndyDeeJay
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PostPosted: Jul 11, 2005 3:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

All of my projects take twice as long as they should - I do the thing, then think about it, undo it and redo it properly.

Connecting to the cold water 15min
Connecting to the hot 10min
locating pipes 1 hour!
fitting pump 30mins
wiring pump 15 minutes
fitting thermostatic valve 15min

Total 2.5hours

Add time for back seat, rear ballast sacs, and bulkhead removal and refitting plus tidy-up

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bighitbiker3
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PostPosted: Jul 11, 2005 4:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That sounds pretty good. I kind of want to try that.
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AndyDeeJay
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PostPosted: Jul 19, 2005 6:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have now completed a lighting bar. The following pictures show the bar 1.5" alloy (still need end caps), 6x55 watt halogen lights - 2 pointing back at the wake 2 pointing forward at the banks when riding 2 pointing forwards at the banks when driving slowly. They are wired through a socket on the tower and a socket at the hinge point to a dual relay which gets its supply using 8 guage cable from the battery through a 40A fuse. The relay is switched from ACC3... Position 1 - front lights only. Position 2 - front and rear lights.
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AndyDeeJay
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PostPosted: Jul 19, 2005 8:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

My tower speakers are now complete.

This design is based on something else already on the market priced at many hundreds of dollars. I have used 2x 8" drivers for bass/mid and a 1" compression driver on a 90x40 horn. There is a high pass filter on the compression driver. The back of the horn still needs boxed in but I wanted to try it first. The unit is angled up slightly to compensate for bow rise while riding.

The design is excellent while riding. At 70' it is crystal clear and I am only driving it with 100watts. The highs are clear directly behing the boat and out in the flats and the low is fairly good too. Unfortunatly without a 4 squared foot horn on the bass/mid it wont carry as well as the high - but that's physics.

I used 2 pieces of 8" PVC waste pipe and manufactured alloy ends. The clamps made from 3" solid alloy bar machined down to shape and drilled for 2x 6mm Allen socket bolts. These were cut in half to allow mounting. The front panel is cut from 1/4" alloy sheet and polished. All the mounting hardware is stainless steel. The drivers have been coated with water resistant gel.

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AndyDeeJay
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PostPosted: Jul 19, 2005 8:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

board racks coming up
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bighitbiker3
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PostPosted: Jul 19, 2005 6:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

AndyDeeJay, On that shower i dont really get how you got the hot water did you like cut a hole in the engine block or something. Can you give me a close up pic. Thanks a lot.
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PostPosted: Jul 19, 2005 9:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

AndyDeeJay, I really like that new drivers seat. Great job on it all!
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AndyDeeJay
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PostPosted: Jul 25, 2005 2:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks everybody for all the support.

bighitbiker3, I have attached a couple of photos of the hot water and cold water pick up points.

The 350 CI small block engine used in wakeboard boats has 2 drain plugs on the side of the block - one each side, below the exhaust manafolds. My passengers side had already a temperature sensor and the other side was routed to a heater matrix. I simply Tee'd into the side with the temperature sensor for the shower.

The picture shows an engine outlet with a 5/8 threaded hose barb and some red hose. This then goes to the hot side of the thermostatic mixer valve.

The second picture shows a T in the raw water cooling line. The blue pipe is connected to the cold side of the thermostatic mixer valve.

The thermostatic mixer valve maintains 50degreesC no matter how hard the engine is revved. The mixer valve is connected to a jabsco water pump fitted with pressure switch which means it shuts off when the shower head is closed.

I hope this helps.

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PostPosted: Aug 03, 2005 11:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow, very impressive work! Did you say that you made the mirror mount to the tower arm?
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AndyDeeJay
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PostPosted: Aug 05, 2005 8:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Vampyre, yes, For all my clamps, I used some 3" solid alloy bar and machined it down to shape. Machine a 1.9" hole in centre and chopped to 2" thick. Drilled for mounting holes and threaded. Chopped in two to go round tower leg. The solid piece coming from the clamp is bolted from inside the clamp. A piece of 3/4" bar is threaded into the solid to complete the arm. My existing mirror bracket was removed and the new one fitted and mounted.

I will try and post a closs-up pic.

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PostPosted: Aug 08, 2005 11:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mate - top work on all these projects.

If you dont mind me asking, What do you do for a Job, seems your pretty handy and have access to some decent tools.
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AndyDeeJay
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PostPosted: Aug 09, 2005 11:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am a Broadcast Engineer for British Broadcasting Corporation in television and radio studio...design, building and maintanance. When its quiet, management don't really mind use of the internet - hell I would die without it.

My dad has a metal workshop and I have a wood workshop at his place, but I am trying to complete my own workshop/boat-house, as it is a bit of a pain having to drive 50 miles every time I want to build or work at something. My boat has sat outside for over 2 years now and I look forward to getting it in this winter.

I have always tried to build things rather than pay inflated prices for what seems to be a few cents worth of raw materials and someones design. Im not saying what I do is perfect, far from it, but it is adequate. Sometimes I do give in and just buy accesories.

Thanks for your support.
Andrew

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Wakebrad
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PostPosted: Aug 09, 2005 12:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

AndyDeeJay, did you ever get a chance to resize those upholstery pics?

What sewing machine did you use? I've heard normal ones struggle with it, that you almost have to use an industrial.

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