california marine- catalina dragster

[ando79]

Made a little progress tonight. Lifted the Hemi, it will be getting a good tidy up and paint. The floor and stringers will have all uneccesary holes filled, and a fresh coat of resin. There is a little rot around the rear engine mount holes, is this repairable? the boat will not be raced and the engine will remain reasonably standard. Also does anyone know whether the hulls were originally made from polyester, or epoxy resin?
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/c...do79/008-1.jpg
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/c...do79/002-1.jpg

[Billdoe]

good luck on the project .. i juss noticed theres No cav plate controls for it ... ive had 6 v-drives since last year and only 1 was a Fixxed plate and was a true flat bottom .. yours being what looks like a 3/8th runner bottom i would think they would atleast put a lock out handle in it since no foot pedals but Nothing wow ... juss currious this is kinda rare for a runner bottom to have NO cav plate controls wouldnt it? specially with a Hemi for a motor thats alot of motor to have to control .... i know in my flattie if i didnt have the pedals and lock out handle it would be a damn scarey ride compared to what it is now ... if you plan on doing much with the motor power wise you may want to add some kinda cav plate controls to be able to control it easier ..
also looking at the trailer the front of it looks like it was designed for like a wake board style boat on a flat bottom .. looks like the nose is supported by brace coming up that the winch is mounted on .. how does it ride on that trailer? kinda seems like its gonna teeter totter and slam down on that eye hook area of the boat .. reason i saw it looks like a wake board ski boat trailer is the way the boards are angle all my flat bottom trailers the boards were all level flat acrosss and yours tapers like made for a semi v-hull which looks like the bow is supports on that brace .. might not be a problem but to me i would think that might need attention too .. juss my thought from a newbie v-driver .

[ando79]

good luck on the project .. i juss noticed theres No cav plate controls for it ... ive had 6 v-drives since last year and only 1 was a Fixxed plate and was a true flat bottom .. yours being what looks like a 3/8th runner bottom i would think they would atleast put a lock out handle in it since no foot pedals but Nothing wow ... juss currious this is kinda rare for a runner bottom to have NO cav plate controls wouldnt it? specially with a Hemi for a motor thats alot of motor to have to control .... i know in my flattie if i didnt have the pedals and lock out handle it would be a damn scarey ride compared to what it is now ... if you plan on doing much with the motor power wise you may want to add some kinda cav plate controls to be able to control it easier ..
also looking at the trailer the front of it looks like it was designed for like a wake board style boat on a flat bottom .. looks like the nose is supported by brace coming up that the winch is mounted on .. how does it ride on that trailer? kinda seems like its gonna teeter totter and slam down on that eye hook area of the boat .. reason i saw it looks like a wake board ski boat trailer is the way the boards are angle all my flat bottom trailers the boards were all level flat acrosss and yours tapers like made for a semi v-hull which looks like the bow is supports on that brace .. might not be a problem but to me i would think that might need attention too .. juss my thought from a newbie v-driver .
Hey Billdoe,
I'm also a newbie when it comes to this type of boat, so not sure about the cav plate and controls, never driven a boat with adjustable ones. What is the difference between a runner bottom and a flattie and their uses? The reason the boat looks funny on the trailer is becuase the running boards droop at the rear, lifting the front of the hull off the boards. There is no weight on the bow and it tows really well. I will be fixing up the boards so that they are flat. If you could explain more about the adjustable cav plate and how it is used whilst driving, I would appreciate the advice.
Cheers. Ando.

[Billdoe]

the adjustable cav plate is used for mainly when you take off you push the pedal in which puts pressure on the plates on the rear of the boat pushing them down so when you take off Fast it helps the bow of the boat stay dow so your not pulling a Wheelie ...it basically helps push the front of the boat in the water under heavy acceleration .. and a runner boattom and flat bottom the difference is a true flat bottom is Straight from side to side in the rear and a runner thew center of the rear has a slight bit of a lower section of the hull kinda like a mini mini tunnel design . see how the middle plate on the rear of your boat from the pics it looks like it drops about 3/8th of an inch .... the bottom isnt flat it is a channeled bottom , better for higher speeds so might be a good idea to put a down pedal set up in it if that Hemi has any power..but honestly i would get input from a not so newbie boater .. but ill tell you what for a newbie boater i love havin the ability to use the Pedal in certain situations specaily taking off full throttle . would cost quit a bit to change it over to an adjustable plate set up tho .. if you want pics i can take a couple of my sanger runner bottom and show you the difference .
Bill

[ando79]

the adjustable cav plate is used for mainly when you take off you push the pedal in which puts pressure on the plates on the rear of the boat pushing them down so when you take off Fast it helps the bow of the boat stay dow so your not pulling a Wheelie ...it basically helps push the front of the boat in the water under heavy acceleration .. and a runner boattom and flat bottom the difference is a true flat bottom is Straight from side to side in the rear and a runner thew center of the rear has a slight bit of a lower section of the hull kinda like a mini mini tunnel design . see how the middle plate on the rear of your boat from the pics it looks like it drops about 3/8th of an inch .... the bottom isnt flat it is a channeled bottom , better for higher speeds so might be a good idea to put a down pedal set up in it if that Hemi has any power..but honestly i would get input from a not so newbie boater .. but ill tell you what for a newbie boater i love havin the ability to use the Pedal in certain situations specaily taking off full throttle . would cost quit a bit to change it over to an adjustable plate set up tho .. if you want pics i can take a couple of my sanger runner bottom and show you the difference .
Bill
ok, that makes sense, thanks Bill. I will not be racing the boat, nor touching the Hemi just yet, so I will see how she goes when I get it on the water. Pics would be good.
Cheers. Ando.

[Catalina]

Ando.
Me and Catalina455 have the same plate setup as you, non adjustable.
We both run around 70 to 75 he runs abit faster since his motor was just rebuilt and my 454 is getting a little tired, but my boat ran around 80 when brand new and never had any problems with the plates as long as their adjusted properly. And as Catalina455 said earlyer Catalinas were not ment to run much over 90 they start going wonky at that speed.
And looks like your making some good progress on the boat keep it up!

[ando79]

Ando.
Me and Catalina455 have the same plate setup as you, non adjustable.
We both run around 70 to 75 he runs abit faster since his motor was just rebuilt and my 454 is getting a little tired, but my boat ran around 80 when brand new and never had any problems with the plates as long as their adjusted properly. And as Catalina455 said earlyer Catalinas were not ment to run much over 90 they start going wonky at that speed.
And looks like your making some good progress on the boat keep it up!
Sweet! one less thing to worry about. 90 is fast enough for now, my old clinker peaks at 45!! blew up my belt sander yesterday, so off to the shops to get a better one.

[ando79]

Have spent the weekend stripping no less than 4 layers of paint off the hemi. She is now ready for a fresh lick.
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/c...do79/006-1.jpg
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/c...do79/004-1.jpg

[Catalina]

looks good. Keep the updates coming!

[ando79]

looks good. Keep the updates coming!
will do