1972 Keel Up Restoration

Greg, do you have a picture of the two fins? And a comment on the slalom ability of that boat?

I think I would go with the aft pylon that you like and make it easily removable and make provisions for a removable forward pylon in case you need it.

jim

 

I think I do, but it is not a digital photo. That was before digital was all the rage. I would have to look. The fins did not come mounted on the shell when I purchased it. The were in a separate box. I had to slide the hill back a decent amount to have adequate room to mount them due to it being on the Batwing trailer. They were like the current inboard style fins, but were made of fiberglass or some other type of hard resin.

As far as slaloming behind the boat I have skied and been the boat driver while someone who is slaloming. There is no question that the boat gets pulled on its side when skiing on the far outside. I think that is honestly more because of the hull design than anything. Let's face it a 18 dyne is apples and oranges compared to a inboard. Usually if I was to go for a slalom run I would use the parent's Supra. I think a 18 Dyne is ideal for recreational skiing, trick skiing, swivel, and barefooting.

 

It seems that everyone has slalom issues with the 18 except 2mercs (Daniel). Here is a link to his comment as well as others. I have already described his set up. Basically he has twin engines slightly towed out, three fins and a forward pylon.

http://www.hydrodyners.com/forum/index.php?threads/slalom-wakes-comparison.396/page-3

jim

 

X2 to Gregs remarks.

These arn't bad hulls for open water/recreational skiing or show skiing but they are tough on the driver to hold down the center of a course. IMO personal experience, the skier can get a little miffed as well if the boat is always making adjustments, takes them out of rhythm. A strong, athletic skier can still pull an inboard around a bit but it takes minimal correction by the driver to stay down the center of the boat bouys.

Don't get me wrong, the HD 18 makes for a fun all-purpose family and small team platform (I've owned two of them and am down to two an 18 and 20) but the course handling is much better with an inboard and a way forward mounted pylon, hands down.

I think we hashed this out a few years ago. I really like the 18 for open water skiing for training without a bunch of balls to think about. Not much of a wake to worry about when going accross.

Kevin-

 

One mor thought. Jim's comments about having options for a rear-mounted pylon and a removable forward pylon have a lot of merit. The underlying problem is the clearance of the outboard(s) and how you anchor a forward mounted pull point. If you want to go forward you might consider (can't believe I'm saying it) a tower that is modified to clear the outboard but low enough to provide allow the skier to achieve a strong position aganst the boat with their body stance and ski.
Kevin-

 

I'll weigh in on this. Tournament slalom drivers are expected to hold the course centerline within +/- 4 inches. A shortline slalom skier pulling 500-600 pounds, 45 degrees off to the side makes this nearly impossible with a boat like the 18, and almost as bad on older inboards. A good shortline skier can tell if the boat is 6" offline. Lastly, without GPS speed control (is it available for outboards??) you would never be able to get consistent times. Where the dyne does shine, is outside the slalom course, longer ropes, or slower speeds. The 18's wake is much smaller than my 2007 Nautique at all speeds, but especially when pulling someone below 30 mph. Ever see a 10 year old running 26 mph long line behind an inboard? It hardly looks fun attacking a wake that big. Put the pylon where it looks good and makes your boat best from a comfort standpoint. If you want serious slalom, you need an inboard.

 

I got a little bit done as I had a 3 day weekend. View attachment 2644 View attachment 2644

 

That will really change the look of the boat. I like it!!!

jim

 

In no time I blew thru 3 gallons of resin and ran out so did not get the core in. What I did get done was installing CSM 225 3/4oz matt in the inside of the top sides of the hull (you cant see it in the pic) and the center strip of CSM in the hull. I did this thinking it is hard to reach with the deck in and the deck was going on temporarily shortly to maintain hull shape .

 

The reason I layed the CSM was advice I got from Scream&Fly from a guy named Greg Adams. He does fiberglass work on race boats and has forgotten more about fiberglass than I will probably ever know. For example did you know that CSM is measured in oz/sq ft and cloth is measured in oz/sq yard? He told me to lay the 225 CSM (Chopped Strand Mat) to make a nice bed for the 17oz 45/45 biax cloth. You can see in the pic above that the keel is now filled. I used some scrap coosa as filler and did have a couple of leaks which I promptly taped on the underside to stop the flow. I used cab-o-sil resin thickener for the vertical surfaces inside the shell and that stuff is great. I used some scrap 14-2 electrical wire to make an "egg beater" to put on my drill and that mixes the stuff like a champ. Cab-o-sill is too difficult to mix into resin by hand. Make sure your drill is variable speed or you will have a mess.

I also finished tabbing the motorwell knees in - again the cab-o-sil thickened resin really worked well.

Since I ran out of resin I did some woodwork on the motorwell. All is at this point dry-fitted but the center protrusion is a mount for the port engine's rigging hose and the right 45 degree piece is for the starboard engine. The left 45 is for cosmetic symmetry. The angles are designed to allow rigging cables to not make sharp bends.