1995 SNOB winter overhaul

Well, the time has come to put some time and money into my SNOB. . I sold my 82SN earlier this year. I am really glad I did, because the young guy, 24, had a great time this summer with it and is really excited about having the SN.

I have never liked the purple and teal, but the boat was in such good condition when I bought, I just couldn't let it go. It has been a great boat. It has about 825 hours on it and has been well maintained over the years. This is my problem list and plan:

Problems:
1. Leaking rear main seal
2. Worn out interior
3. Water jacket on one head has been leaking water for the last 3 years and the JB weld just isnt cutting it any longer
4. Rub rail has seen too many of my kids (and wife) learn to drive.
5. Stereo head unit is dated.

Plan:
1. pull motor and replace heads with GT40 heads, maybe do a full engine rebuild.
2. New skins, paint new stripes on the boat.
3. New rub rail and stereo
4. Redo packing, and anything else that looks like it could be refreshed.

So far:
Earlier this summer, I sat with the family and threw out a bunch of color swatches from Christines and we decided on a new color scheme. I ordered all new skins. They have arrived and look great.

Today, I pulled out all the interior, removed the rub rail, and got the engine ready to be pulled out.

I would have pulled the engine today, but a friend of mine recently got diagnosed with cancer (50 years old), and it isnt good. His wife called a friend early this morning in a panic that his treatment has him so weak that he cant walk and is in a wheelchair. So, a group of us got together and went over and built a ramp. Sometimes life just sucks. I have known him since HS.

I will post some pictures as it gets done.....hope you like the color choice! If not, its my oldest daughters fault.

Agree, I will probably end up rebuilding the bottom end just because I am already in there.

Blamy,
I would appreciate the link for the rub rail. It looks like the replacement kit runs around $650. That is a bit steep, so I have been searching for options.

I skied behind a new SN and loved it. I thought about upgrading until I found out a used one was still fetching 50K! Crazy. So, I decided to go this route and change it up a little to make it seem like a new boat. It will have all the CC logos, just different colors.

ernest

Chemo sucks so go visit that friend ....do what you can to help even if it's just letting him know you want to stop by.

Ernest, looks like we are practically neighbors.....spent all summer weekends up at Clarks Hill

Good Luck on the repairs!

emccallum wrote: we usually spend most summer weekends OT pulling a tube!

tubing overtime!

GlassSeeker wrote: Chemo sucks so go visit that friend ....do what you can to help even if it's just letting him know you want to stop by.

Well said, when times get tough, true friends shine. Keep shining, your friend and his family are going to need it.

Motor is out, Oil leak looks like the oil pan more than the rear main seal. I tore it down to the long block and took it to my engine guy. We talked about the build, and he is going to get back to me about the bottom end, but we are leaning towards doing it right, once.

He did throw me a pearl about #1 cylinder. He said the easiest way to find #1 on a V8 is to look at the head that sticks out the most. That is always #1.

More pics to come.

Number one cylinder is the head that sticks forward the most if looking down on the engine from the front on V based engines, V-6 or V-8, V-12.
Not the rear or flywheel side.   years ago I saw a boat with the Jag V-12 in it.
Can't remember what kind of boat it was but the Jag engine sure stuck.
Don't see those in boats.

Looking good! Keep it up.

I am just changing the color of the two hull stripes to match the new interior.

I picked up the motor today and I am going to put it back together this weekend. I also dropped off my tranny to a guy in Chapin, SC. He used to work for PCM and has rebuilt a lot of them. He is going to go through it and put in new seals. If anyone needs his contact info please PM me. It is probably overkill to open up the tranny as it was running fine, but I want to try and cover all my bases while it is apart.

Thanks, I hope so. Last spring I had the pleasure of skiing behind a SN200. Pretty much skied a personal best. I loved the way it pulled. I told myself, I have to get one of these. Then I got sticker shock. Just over 50K for one that is three years old! I was really expecting 25-35K. With two kids in college, high property tax in SC, depreciation, etc I just couldn't justify it. Plus, when I ski a course I never use my boat anyway. My boat is used at the lake on the weekends. So, I decided to create my own "new" boat and save about 45K! These old SN are built tough and I dont see much downside to putting some money into the boat. It has perfect pass, an excellent slalom wake, and will not rot. Dont get me wrong, I still want a new one but this should keep me sane for a few more years.

Motor picture with most of the accessories back on. Note my $170 crankshaft pulley! My old pulley was bent and this seems to be the only replacement for the three bolt design. My carb had a blown power valve. I have new blue plug wires to add some bling.

Update.
Motor and tranny are back together, and installed in the boat. I figured it would be a great time to do the alignment, Well, after a couple of hours of playing with it, I am still not happy. I think I may have an issue with the strut. I need to check how it is going through the log, as it seems to be too far port side. I ran out of engine movement port /starboard, so something is wrong. Time to take a break, regroup and search CCF.

Ernest,
Alignment should always start at the strut making sure the shaft is close to center in the log and the shaft turns freely in the cutlass bearing. Then, move forward to the engine. Do you know how the alignment before the engine was pulled? Was the strut ever removed and if so, were there any shims between its base and the hull? Do you have any pictures you can post?

Its probably bent. These things are pretty soft. If you wind up removing it the strut can easily be checked with a carpenters square.