Geoff Cooper
Jetboaters Admiral
- Messages
- 1,124
- Reaction score
- 1,256
- Points
- 262
- Location
- Thailand
- Boat Make
- Yamaha
- Year
- 2006
- Boat Model
- AR
- Boat Length
- 23
Well firstly i hope your all keeping safe in these troubled times, Having not a lot to do and to save me getting bored a local lad had smashed up his dads Waverunner 3 and as i have known the jetski for a long time i brought it off his dad as i thought it would be a nice project while we are under a curfew also it gives you lads and lassies something to occupy your minds for a few minutes, Well to start from the beginning the young lad smashed into a boat he was ok but the Waverunner was a bit sick, I took a look at it and there was engine cover damage and frontal damage also damage to the steering etc so after a little negotiation we agreed on a price and away i went to start my new hobby, Can i just say i have never even been on a Jetski in my life and after sending photos to my grown up married kids back in England who as you would expect replied with comments like " Looks like the old man is on another trip " and " He never stops " Best was from my 8 year old Grandson who replied " Gran dad schools closed can i come and help you build the jetski " Bless him, Anyway enough from me here's my latest project.
Here's a few shots of some of the damage, Bearing in mind I'm in Thailand so parts aren't available over here.
The engine cover was completely smashed and also the front of the ski.
As you can see the damage was extensive but cut some metal plates and clean all the edges of the fibreglass but leave the decals on as there a great way of lining thing's up drill and screw the plates in position.
After a lot of grinding with the dremmel you can see the decals line up pretty good.
When you have enough steel plates screwed on to make sure it quite solid make sure it fits ok and the lock works etc before glassing starts.
Nice relaxing afternoon cutting the fibreglass and about 4 or 5 layers over the damage parts is plenty, It goes solid very fast here especially on my balcony,
Leave it over night to harden and turn it over.
Ok now for the outside, I have ground the damage into a V shape and using a fibreglass tissue put about 4 layers into the repairs, Its so easy to use and sets really strong
Ok now it's all ground down and getting ready for painting, I wont bore you with the filler and prep as I'm sure you've seen it all before, Engine cover now fits good to the ski and lid closes and locks.
Ok Engine cover and storage lid all sorted and painted, time to start on the ski itself.
Ok here's the damage to the front, Looks worse than what it is as only the gelcote is damaged so get the dremmel to work and prepare it for Fibre tissue.
Again make a nice V shape so it bonds really good.
Ok it's all been sorted and now prepare for painting, The hull itself was great no damage at all.
Damage sorted and ready for paint
All painted and looking a lot better.
Seat was a bit of a mess so needed to design something a bit more modern.
Took it to my old trimming mate who in previous post made boat covers for me etc, Let him perform his magic, I think with the conversion rate about $30
The old floor mats were not good so i found this, It's brill and only $1,50 a meter i got 2 meters, It's all coming together now fixed the steering new steering cable,
Grab rails were missing and after reading about how weak the original ones are thought i could do better so made a template and raided the stainless scrap bin,
Took me all morning but i hope you think it was worth it.
Nearly finished but went for some food and finished it later.
Grab rail works good and can remove the seat easy so nearly finished.
Engine was really good compression at 160 but not good at starting cold so new plugs and took the carb off and cleaned it and put a new kit inside also new fuel filter and now starts first touch of the button.
Ok all sorted and as i had never been on a Jetski before i sent my Thai friend out on it as he's rode plenty, All works fine and no problems with it, So a breakdown of the cost.
Jetski ........................................................................$450
Fibre and resin......................................................$3
Paint and materials.............................................$30
Floor mats..............................................................$1.50
Seat recovered.....................................................$30
Grab rail free from scrap bin
Carb kit....................................................................$14
Spark plugs x 2.....................................................$2
Hatch seal..............................................................$2
Steering cable free
Labour free it was great fun
Total..........................................................................$532.50
So it ended up a nice little ski and works really well, I'm sure my Grandson will enjoy it when he comes over after all this virus problem has finished, He's been asking for updates on the repairs everyday since i started it, He's driving his folks mad to get him over here so he can use it, He even said just put him on the plane Grandad will meet me at the airport, Well hope you enjoyed the post and take care and be safe.
Here's a few shots of some of the damage, Bearing in mind I'm in Thailand so parts aren't available over here.
The engine cover was completely smashed and also the front of the ski.
As you can see the damage was extensive but cut some metal plates and clean all the edges of the fibreglass but leave the decals on as there a great way of lining thing's up drill and screw the plates in position.
After a lot of grinding with the dremmel you can see the decals line up pretty good.
When you have enough steel plates screwed on to make sure it quite solid make sure it fits ok and the lock works etc before glassing starts.
Nice relaxing afternoon cutting the fibreglass and about 4 or 5 layers over the damage parts is plenty, It goes solid very fast here especially on my balcony,
Leave it over night to harden and turn it over.
Ok now for the outside, I have ground the damage into a V shape and using a fibreglass tissue put about 4 layers into the repairs, Its so easy to use and sets really strong
Ok now it's all ground down and getting ready for painting, I wont bore you with the filler and prep as I'm sure you've seen it all before, Engine cover now fits good to the ski and lid closes and locks.
Ok Engine cover and storage lid all sorted and painted, time to start on the ski itself.
Ok here's the damage to the front, Looks worse than what it is as only the gelcote is damaged so get the dremmel to work and prepare it for Fibre tissue.
Again make a nice V shape so it bonds really good.
Ok it's all been sorted and now prepare for painting, The hull itself was great no damage at all.
Damage sorted and ready for paint
All painted and looking a lot better.
Seat was a bit of a mess so needed to design something a bit more modern.
Took it to my old trimming mate who in previous post made boat covers for me etc, Let him perform his magic, I think with the conversion rate about $30
The old floor mats were not good so i found this, It's brill and only $1,50 a meter i got 2 meters, It's all coming together now fixed the steering new steering cable,
Grab rails were missing and after reading about how weak the original ones are thought i could do better so made a template and raided the stainless scrap bin,
Took me all morning but i hope you think it was worth it.
Nearly finished but went for some food and finished it later.
Grab rail works good and can remove the seat easy so nearly finished.
Engine was really good compression at 160 but not good at starting cold so new plugs and took the carb off and cleaned it and put a new kit inside also new fuel filter and now starts first touch of the button.
Ok all sorted and as i had never been on a Jetski before i sent my Thai friend out on it as he's rode plenty, All works fine and no problems with it, So a breakdown of the cost.
Jetski ........................................................................$450
Fibre and resin......................................................$3
Paint and materials.............................................$30
Floor mats..............................................................$1.50
Seat recovered.....................................................$30
Grab rail free from scrap bin
Carb kit....................................................................$14
Spark plugs x 2.....................................................$2
Hatch seal..............................................................$2
Steering cable free
Labour free it was great fun
Total..........................................................................$532.50
So it ended up a nice little ski and works really well, I'm sure my Grandson will enjoy it when he comes over after all this virus problem has finished, He's been asking for updates on the repairs everyday since i started it, He's driving his folks mad to get him over here so he can use it, He even said just put him on the plane Grandad will meet me at the airport, Well hope you enjoyed the post and take care and be safe.
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