3Squids '79 Center Console thread

[3 Squids]

Had to deal with the weather and got the ol girl on a trailer today. Picked up a solid '93 loadmaster for $500. Had all new rollers and new tires. Don't think I did too bad other than someone painted it red over the galvy. I may have to spray it black or silver. As I get rid of the purple the last thing I need to do is throw red in the mix. I know that sounds silly but that's just how I am I guess.



I had to make a few adjustments to get the rollers off the chines. I got that all straight but I think I have a bit too much tongue weight. Looks like I may have to bump the axle ahead a bit. I'm gonna take it to my buddy's race shop and put the tongue on one of his scales and see what I got. Anybody know about how much tongue weight I need? I guess the best thing would be to put it on 3 scales (under each tire and tongue jack) to get the exact weight. I read the tongue should be 7% of the total weight but not sure if that's just the boat or boat and trailer.

Anyways right now this is where my rear rollers are sitting. Should I try to get them closer to the transom or should this be good?

[3 Squids]

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[3 Squids]

Man, forum has been quiet the past few day. Guess I'll break the ice. Finally got some work done on the V.

Stripped it of all the rest of the purple crap. Canvas is at the upholsterer getting a dove grey canvas made up. Also the purple front cushion in front of the console will be getting recovered also.

Ordered a hatch door to put up on the bow where the purple plywood homemade door was. I ordered a bit bigger hatch so I'll have to trim the glass out some but I think the bigger door will be nice.

Also popped out the fishing rod boxes and am getting those prepped for paint. That will complete the de-purpleizatiion of the green machine. Should have some pics of the progress soon. If I get the canvas and seat cushion back this week I'm hoping to take her on the maiden voyage this weekend. Spent all this weekend out on my Striper and I'm itching to get the V out there.

[Troutkiller2006]

slowly but surely, rite. sometimes the finish line seems close, some times it feels miles away. keep at it man. and post more, i need the motivation

[Jeb]

It HAS been very quiet on here!

I appreciate seeing your progress, too. I'm a fan of the Green Machine.

[bradford]

Sounds good. I kinda like the green, the purple would def have to go.

Look forward to seeing the progress.

[3 Squids]

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I have the boat covered up and haven't really gotten to work on it because of all the rain we've had. Looks like it's going to be dry the rest of the week though HALLELUJAH!! Also I got a couple very interested people coming to take a look at my Striper which if I could just get that sold then I'd have no choice but to get cranking on the V. And I'll have a few extra bucks to fool with it also.

Told the wifey we're gonna have to go ahead and invest in a carport for the boat as I feel it will be a good investment to protect the old girl. The boat has been kept in dry storage for so long I'd hate to leave it out in the weather now. I found a nice used one on Craig's with enclosed sides for $500 but it's only 12' tall at the peak and I haven't checked but I'm pretty sure the boat sits taller than that. But I don't think a new one will be much more than that so we'll see.

Might try to put the new hatch door in this evening but everyone in the house has come down wth some freak cold virus so hard to get motivated after working all day. But seeing the interest you guys got in the green beast (I wanted to call her Shrek but the wife won't let me) really makes me want to get going. Thanks again.

[SkunkBoat]

Originally Posted by 3 Squids

I had to make a few adjustments to get the rollers off the chines. I got that all straight but I think I have a bit too much tongue weight. Looks like I may have to bump the axle ahead a bit. I'm gonna take it to my buddy's race shop and put the tongue on one of his scales and see what I got. Anybody know about how much tongue weight I need? I guess the best thing would be to put it on 3 scales (under each tire and tongue jack) to get the exact weight. I read the tongue should be 7% of the total weight but not sure if that's just the boat or boat and trailer.

Anyways right now this is where my rear rollers are sitting. Should I try to get them closer to the transom or should this be good?

No reason to get closer to transom. You might even move the boat back to adjust the tongue weight. (somewhere just shy of 300 lbs.)

I got a new trailer last year and still haven't got the rollers right with the strakes. the problem is that the lowest set of strakes don't go all the way back but they set the boat position when you pull the boat up.
I tried different positions and they always seem to get caught on the middle strakes and twist.
I think the rollers are going to have to be pushed close together at the lowest position so they almost touch.

[Troutkiller2006]

ive always read and been told that tongue weight should be 10% 0f total weight. but i dont think there is an exact percentage formula cause very heavy trailers would put too much on the hitch and very light ones... how far back the axle assembly is will also affect more than just tongue weight. seems like it will affect the rate of the swing on the vertical axis among other things.

keep in mind also that weight placement will change with fuel load, gear, etc... i think 7-10% is a good starting point and probably good enough for our little boats. but i think it is also important to have the heaviest part of the load over the axles and just a bit forward. so keep that in mind too.

truthfully, you can and should put a good bit of thought into it but its gonna come down to feel and seat of pants adjustment. start at 7-10% and expect to make some minor adjustments to get it just where it feels right

[3 Squids]

Been a while. Been busy working and not playing unfortunately. However this happened today.



This was my big plan I was hiding unfortunately it didn't go as planned. Originally I was trading labor (floor work) for a hardtop and e-box from a local shop. But after I looked into it a bit I realized I was getting screwed. Turned out I could get the top from the same manufacturer for over 1/3 of the price this guy was "hooking me up" with. So I've been too busy to go and get one made but turns out a buddy of mine had one that was 6 months old and the owner went with a different top. It's a cored 5x7. It had a tuna tower on it so my buddy's gonna repair those spots for me. They also notched part of it for rod holder and he's not a fan of that so he's gonna fix that also. Best part is he also needs some floor work in his house so looks like this top all fixed up is just gonna cost me $200-$300 in materials for his floor. Sounds like a good deal to me.