A fool and his money...

Bigtalljv · 09 July 2012, 20:03

isn't just a saying, it seems to be my way of life. fortunately it wasn't much money. My new project...

So what's first. There's a small hole in the transom, I don't have the right fitting to put air in the tube to see what kind of shape they are in, it's got a few dings in the hull, apparently no brakes on the water, they crashed into a few things. Guess I can't ever complain about being bored. Sandpaper, expoy, and fiberglass and I have hours of fun.

Jason

whisper · 09 July 2012, 20:11

Now that looks like heaven to me

Bigtalljv · 09 July 2012, 20:26

yes! that's what I keep trying to explain to the Mrs. you have to look beneath the holes, gouges, dirt, missing parts, flat tubes and see what "it can be"

Festinghouse · 09 July 2012, 21:10

thats the spirit

matt h · 09 July 2012, 21:19

What an awesome project!!

Nos4r2 · 09 July 2012, 22:03

Yeah, looks great!

steco1958 · 10 July 2012, 08:28

At least the trailer looks ok

Rogue Wave · 10 July 2012, 08:59

That looks like a cracking boat to me! I'm hoping the engine and jet are OK. Everything else looks very sturdy so easier to fix...i.e thick hulls have dings and thin hulls get holes.

toobs are relatively easy to fix and epoxy makes for stronger repairs in grp

get some truckwash on the toobs and it will start to look a lot better also if you want to pump them up and have an air line then use one of these

Schrader Tubeless Tire Valves Tr414 For Passenger Car,Brass Stem And Sleeve - Buy Brass Stem Valve,Brass Valve Sleeve,Copper Epdm Rubber Product on Alibaba.com it fits right inside the toob valve and makes a good air seal

Here is some pics of one of our restores It's nearly finished now and the reapairs have turned out far beyond my expectations. GRP and Hypalon are two materials that really lend themselves to being repaired so good luck.

What boat is that by the way?

Good Luck Stu

Bigtalljv · 10 July 2012, 13:52

It's an old zodiac 733. No engine in it. It will eventually get an outboard.

Rogue Wave · 10 July 2012, 17:53

do you still have the Jet

The Zodiacs are incredibly well built by the way. I used to look after one at work

Bigtalljv · 10 July 2012, 18:15

nope, no engine or engine parts. but then the price reflected that, it was really cheap. Also most people I have read about have converted to outboard, they say the perform better. And the US government usually doesn't surplus well working equipment. The last 733 to sell at government auction in California went for $20K US and had the diesel engine, no out drive and a smidge of electronics, and a T top. i got mine for just a little more than a 1/7 of that. But that one was all black and would have been better for night ops

Jason

Rogue Wave · 10 July 2012, 21:18

hmmmm looks like a job for a happymax

something like true blue the link below will clean your toobs if its really tough wind some in with a mixture of washing powder or scouring powder rinse it off quickly after cleaning

Prairie West Industrial Ltd.

95gstnj · 10 July 2012, 23:54

Awesome project. I'm in the market for a 733, I'm hoping to find one very similar to that...

If you need tubes, look here:

733 Zodiac Hurricane RIB inflatable boat tubes COSCOM | eBay

I believe that guy is on here as well, and he's in CA too. If you see any others like yours around, PLEASE let me know.

Troy · 11 July 2012, 02:14

Good luck with your restoration, i am about 3 1/2 weeks from getting mine on the water.

Bigtalljv · 11 July 2012, 04:59

I inflated the tubes today so we'll see how they are tomorrow. First impressions are good, one broken valve but I see they have rebuild kits for the old valves.

The guy with the tubes has several boats for sale, or his neighbor does, looks like the same location, they were just out of my price range. I'll probably end up spending that much but i will do it over a longer period of time. also I like to work on stuff so half the fun is in doing the refurb work. Also remember that a Willard 730 is the same boat, keep checking the government auction sites is you want rough or in florida if you you want running

Jason