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I actually have another rail for that section, to be mounted after I get a look at it in the water. If the spray back there is not too bad, it will go against the hull. If I need spray rails, it will go on top of them. I'm deferring all of this because of my hull mods leaving me in the "experimental...

mrintense, we may be in our projects a ridiculously long time (I was thinking 3 years!), but we are almost there, while many have given up. I do wonder, "What next?" sometimes, as I'll be 75 when this launches. Apologies for being blunt, but I would be concerned with wood rails (although I've seen t...

Mine is a Monte Carlo, stretched to 28' (against Glen's advice, so we shall see). Maybe big enough to be drier, however, I've also put more weight in it than designed. I'm hoping it's a tradeoff and it will all balance out. Pretty stupid approach for a 7 year project, but there it is. I'm unreasonab...

Gutsy with no cutwater! I've never seen spray rails up forward like that. Looks like a huge job to install. Was your boat a wet ride, or did you do that when building?

I've done a bit of metal work and it's amazing what some of these guys can do welding SS so you absolutely cannot tell.

Jim, Jim Thorpe provided a drawing that looks just like your "butt up" rail/strap connection. But for some reason I can't recall, we decided to just go with the dart and no flat. So I will be grinding a 1/16" relief under those for the aft strap and cutwater. I think we were concerned that we couldn...

Aussie, thank you so much for that! Is yours a Monte Carlo as well? Looks very much like mine. I was starting to get brave with a router setup, but I've decided it's not really worth it. There's a relatively small amount to take off, and the shape of the edge will be continuously variable. I'm going...

Jim, did you make up that nose piece? I had designed one to be cast in bronze, but have decided against it for now. Functionally, it helps to have a nose fairlead, but corner fairleads and a bridle accomplishes the same thing (buoy, anchor, tow). The other reason I was looking at is that my cutwater...

I'm not seeing a 100% secure way to use a router and get a consistent edge, so I'm going to attack it by hand. Not that big a job and finishing it longways with a 12" sanding board ought to make it straight.

I can't believe how long I've maintained this sharp edge on the cover boards, picking up a few nice contusions and cuts! Just in time advice, guys! My rails were made by a guy named Jim Thorpe, who also made my cutwater and straps. His are the same as originally on boats of the '30's and '40's. Beau...

On my 28' Monte Carlo, I've got 1-1/8" SS hollow rub rails to mount, with screws on 8" centers. I've found that, if the top edge of the rail is too close to the edge of the cover board, it will slip over the top, so I'm trying to get the rail just below the edge to prevent this. It occurred to me ma...

Jim, your past posts remind me of the pain I went through getting a big Ilmor 430 into my Monte Carlo. It is extremely tight, and my fingers are crossed that the alignment with the prop shaft never changes, as adjustments to the mounts will be very difficult. I probably lifted that 1000# engine 30 t...

Thanks "Aussie", nice pics and great workmanship. I notice you are using a flush mount ski tow in the transom. A couple of words of caution. Towing from the transom is not a great idea, as the transom is not usually a structural member designed for that. One of the builders at Sierra Boat (the wood ...

Just looking for the appropriate place to ask a question about engine hatch design. Each half is hinged with SS continuous hinge. Got that. But each half is also trimmed with matching width SS band, both ends and the center. Is this just screwed to the perimeter to hide the butt ends of the hatch on...

Thanks, Jim. I forgot you are in Sacto, and could have easily stopped by when we drove up to Tahoe today. But Wednesday we are out via Reno, so maybe next time. My design is a bit different, and I'm not really trying to replicate an original boat. Call it a "GarHackerCraft". But it was very helpful ...

Thanks, all. I'm not looking forward to the learning curve, sweating bullets in tight spaces. I may paddle it out of the Sierra Boat marina, where it is going to be christened! They guys there tell me to stick with what I've got until I get it in the water, and if necessary, a rudder can be custom b...