1988 Vision redo

[Kurtster]

To be honest, I absolutly love the look of capping, however the marina my boat racks at is like friggin bumper cars on the weekends and I just can't trust the yahoos with there weekend warrior bump and grind manuvers

 

[Kurtster]

Your tabs look real nice Kurtster and very strange they would both freeze up. Im curious what is causing it. Keep us posted.

I havn't sent the rams back to EMI yet to hear what they have to say, but here is a picture of what I "see"....

These rams are siezed solid, -- obviously a buildup of a corrosive..... so the questions are why and what...

These rams had only been in the water for a total of 6 hours {two three hour runs} before they failed... and yes the boat gets washed and rinsed after every run.

Any thoughts from you guys?

Oh and the other questions are gonna be---- will EMI warranty these and what should I use for replacement ?????

 

[paulsboats]

wow! Looks like they have been on for years!

 

[Kurtster]

wow! Looks like they have been on for years!

Yea, I've heard people say we're pretty salty up here in New Engalnd but this is just rediculious

 

[paulsboats]

Did they possibly screw a screw into a power wire on one of the brackets that they mount to?

 

[Kurtster]

Did they possibly screw a screw into a power wire on one of the brackets that they mount to?

Everything is as it should be, --- no wiring issues / no leaks or oclusions in hydro lines / no angle jamming of the rams and plates.

Just two pistons corroded/siezed --- I've had tabs on all but one of my previous boats and never had any problems --- as a matter of fact, on my last boat I put a cheap pair of Bennetts on and that boat sat in the water all season every season for 6 years and never had any tab ram issues.
I guess that's what I get for trying to be cool with this fancy hi falluttin crap

 

[paulsboats]

Everything is as it should be, --- no wiring issues / no leaks or oclusions in hydro lines / no angle jamming of the rams and plates.

Just two pistons corroded/siezed --- I've had tabs on all but one of my previous boats and never had any problems --- as a matter of fact, on my last boat I put a cheap pair of Bennetts on and that boat sat in the water all season every season for 6 years and never had any tab ram issues.
I guess that's what I get for trying to be cool with this fancy hi falluttin crap

Did the marina happen to wash your boat with some on/off ? notice the pits on the outside of the ram...

 

[Kurtster]

Did the marina happen to wash your boat with some on/off ? notice the pits on the outside of the ram...

Ahhhh, as a matter of fact they did ---- right after the tabs were installed I had the marina clean and buff the entire hull --- The day they were doing it I stopped in at the marina during lunch and the smell of "on/off" was burning my eyes and the owner of the marina was yelling at his guy for letting so much "on/off" run down the storm drain.

So, Paul {AKA -- the amayzing Karnack} what do you know about "on/off" coming in contact with cheap metals like aluminum?
I'm thinking your hitting the nail on the head {man I like this forum}

 

[paulsboats]

Ahhhh, as a matter of fact they did ---- right after the tabs were installed I had the marina clean and buff the entire hull --- The day they were doing it I stopped in at the marina during lunch and the smell of "on/off" was burning my eyes and the owner of the marina was yelling at his guy for letting so much "on/off" run down the storm drain.

So, Paul {AKA -- the amayzing Karnack} what do you know about "on/off" coming in contact with cheap metals like aluminum?
I'm thinking your hitting the nail on the head {man I like this forum}

Its not a problem if it is completly rinsed off.the giva way was the pits on the outer cylinder.was the drip dry that caused it.good luck.

 

[Kurtster]

Its not a problem if it is completly rinsed off.the giva way was the pits on the outer cylinder.was the drip dry that caused it.good luck.

I just came from the shop where the boat is being painted and having a custom glass layup done......

I showed them one of the rams and they completely 100% agree with your findings Paul ----- they said absolutly the on/off would cause that exact damage almost immediately {within 24 hrs} on aluminum because it's basically pure acid.
They told me they have seen this type of damage quite a few times caused by on/off {or better put, caused by mis-use of on/off} --- for example on aluminum extrusion of rub rails.

I think we have found {or I should say Paul} has most likely solved the mystery.

I'm gonna get a small amount of on/off and do a test experiment with a piece of polished aluminum and see if the reaction matches what I have on my rams..

Thanks again Paul --- it's great to be in a forum with real boat people

 

[Kurtster]

Well, the boat is now sitting at the shop and today we were discussing and choosing color cards / striping / rubrail replacement / custom forward deck layup / windshield alteration / and a couple of other exterior custom items.

Once the boat is finished at this shop, it'll come back to my shop for some more extensive cockpit and interior work --- ie.. upolstery / dash work / carpet / etc..

 

[paulsboats]

You are welcome Kurt.I believe any on/off is not a good thing,except maybe on some tough stains.What happend to elbow grease?Are you going to get rid of the bottom paint?

 

[Kurtster]

You are welcome Kurt.I believe any on/off is not a good thing,except maybe on some tough stains.What happend to elbow grease?Are you going to get rid of the bottom paint?

No everything below the rub rail will remain the same {except the tape pin striping will change slightly} ---- the hull was just redone with awlgrip two years ago and is in very good condition.

 

[Kurtster]

Once ya start stripping these things down for the makeover, they sure don't look so purdy anymore



Floors in very good shape -- It must have been replaced at one time, I doubt it's original.
Hover the carpets and seat pedistals will be replaced.



Ahh the "stick-ons" are now a mere shadow of their former selves.



Wonder what I'm gonna do about a windshield replacement {I'm sayin nuthin}



Hatch window removal {I hated that old flip up}



Tips and ski bit removal --- as u can tell by the extreme dicoloration of the black gel coat, it took a lot of heat from the guns to smoothly remove various hardwares and stick-on decals.



Gonna take the next few days off for the holiday and will resume this project after next weekend......

 

[Kurtster]

Oh and by the way ---
Does anybody have any ideas about rubrail replacements....

The only thing I can seem to get from our friends at Checkmate is a big bulky looking extrusion and insert.... {thing looks more like a guard rail instead of a rub rail}

I havn't started looking too hard yet but I'll be looking for the flatest / flushest / lowest profile replacement I can find --- and hopfully all in back.

Any ideas ????

 

[Gimme Fuel]

You can find some flat HDPE stock and make your own. That would look nice.

 

[Ramifications]

Rex Marine has some good options

http://shopping.rexmar.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=rubrail-alum

 

[Kurtster]

You can find some flat HDPE stock and make your own. That would look nice.

Might be a good idea if I can't find something from a vendor that fits closely to what I'm wanting.
I'm already kinda strapped to custom fabricating other items to this makeover, so I need to start limiting the actual labor time I'm getting involved with.

 

[Kurtster]

Rex Marine has some good options

http://shopping.rexmar.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=rubrail-alum

Rex Marine is a good source, they just might have something I can work with ---- thanks Ram

 

[redstrat]

I'm looking here to replace the rub rail on my MX-16 http://tacomarine.com/cat--Rub-Rail--rubrail.html Shipping can really hurt because they're 12' long. Best to look for a dealer near you. Appears there is one near Cape Cod. For me it's either Cape Cod or Buffalo. My parents live in Buffalo so I'll probably head that way.