Roberta's ZIP

[upspirate]

[darthplywood]

..........dang it! We were so close to having the same launch date....i had the same plan as you. Get the boat back today...do a few things...gas her up..and launch tomorrow. I just got off the phone with the mechanic and the part they were supposed to order didnt come in on time so it won't be done till next week.

[upspirate]

Sorry to hear that....I was thinking you were close to splashing!

[Roberta]

I'm looking more like Monday, now. Still have a bit to do and rain is keeping me from getting to the gas station. Tomorrow is my mother in law's 104th BD and we need to visit her, so motor testing may be deferred to tomorrow afternoon and launch on Sunday, if the motor runs properly.

Roberta

[Tom Drake]

Roberta, it has been delightful following your build. Your attention to detail, early on, assured us all that your finished Zip would be a masterpiece. It is absolutely beautiful. No surprise though. I'm sure that your build has inspired many others to raise the bar on their own project. We all look forward to the pics of your launching. Good luck,
Tom

[Roberta]

Thanks, Tom. Your Zip is the boat that inspired me to build the Zip. It, and others like it, showed me that the Zip could be a boat that could emulate that old Chris Craft look and still be less complicated and more economical to build. The Zip can have many personalities. I chose this one. It's just limited by the builders imagination.

Roberta

[Bill Edmundson]

Reberta

That is why we build. That is YOUR boat!

Bill

[upspirate]

Looking forward to your splash Roberta.

On another note, I had my old 1959 Mercury gone through ready for G4 last year.(carb cleaned & adj,new float,new fuel pump new water pump,points,ignition etc)

I haven't run it since then and when I went to run today, it wouldn't stay running , float stuck, old rancid stale gas in fuel system.

So tomorrow I get to clean it all out again as well as four other motors.

What I'm getting at is ,if your motor hasn't been run in quite a while, you should probably just figure on going through at least the fuel system to get it ready for splashdown.

[Roberta]

Thanks, Bill!! I'm trying to be optimistic, but you're probably right, Warren. I'll hose it down with some carb cleaner and hope for the best. So many things done today, yet I still have a bunch for tomorrow. But they are small. Just need to put on the reg. numbers and license sticker and the name. Also have to mount some small cleats for the mooring bumpers. I also want to change out the safety chain hooks for the ones with the spring latch. Then fuel 'er up for the motor testing.

Today was spent finishing up the winch mast mod and front roller. I also needed to modify the transom saver as even the shortest ones were still too long. Mounted the spare tire holder and tire, installed the HIN # plates and capacity plate, sealed up and installed the carriage bolts that hold the motor to the transom, placed the flotation foam billets in the cavity behind the rear seat. Adjusted the shift linkage to make sure neutral was correct and the reverse latch was working properly.

We rechecked the balance with all the gear on and have a tongue weight of 145# now. I now have the winch post set so I have about 1" of clearance between the skeg and rear roller when the tilt pin is in the first hole. I'm pretty sure my gross will be about 1100-1200 lbs. The trailer is 350 lbs plus about 50 lbs of mods and gear. The weight of the hull without the deck and accessories was between 250 and 300. The decking and interior has to be about 150 lbs. The deck hardware and windshield has to be about 50 lbs. Battery and instrumentation and electrical has to be at least 50 and the motor is 170 lbs. Steering,controls, and other miscellaneous and sundries has to be 50 lbs. And a full tank of gas will be another 70 lbs. I think I will meet the 10-15% rule. I have a Class III hitch on my Explorer, so I should be just fine.

I'll get some pics tomorrow of everything and how I did it. I want the next pics to be in the SUNSHINE!!!!

Roberta

[kens]

Thanks, Everyone!!

Jeff, my GPS is a Teleflex Amega.

In retrospect, I'm not real happy with my GPS antenna location, esthectically. There is a small clamshell vent in front of it that I thought would make it less obtrusive. Not. I will be doing something, though.

Roberta

GPS antennas will shoot thru wood. I have my GPS ant under the front deck. Out of sight, out of mind.

[upspirate]

As far as the tongue weight,if it's too light,it'll fishtail.

If too heavy, the tow vehicle will sag.

That's kinda the theory anyway.

I once had one that came in so light that the latch held the tongue down....negative tongue weight!!!!

But it was such a small/light boat/load that it still towed fine.

[psychobilly]

COME ON SUNSHINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Roberta]

Thanks, Everyone!!

Jeff, my GPS is a Teleflex Amega.

In retrospect, I'm not real happy with my GPS antenna location, esthectically. There is a small clamshell vent in front of it that I thought would make it less obtrusive. Not. I will be doing something, though.

Roberta

GPS antennas will shoot thru wood. I have my GPS ant under the front deck. Out of sight, out of mind.

VeeThree was very adament about mounting it in clear view of the sky, so that 's what I did. I've had GPS''s in planes and was able to keep the antenna under the canopy. This one may be more susceptible to interference. Oh, well!!! Just call it a pimple on the face of beauty. I'll think of something to help blend it in.

When we set the loaded trailer on the hitch yesterday, I did not see the Explorer sag at all. So we should be good to go. Thanks for all the help and suggestions in getting me all rigged up.

Roberta

[slug]

Roberta; I've been hanging around the forum all day waiting anxiously for some news. I'm certain I'm not alone here.
Have enjoyed your well-documented and fantastic build right from the start, and you have inspired many of us to up the pace and quality of our builds.
Thank you very much.
Doug
ps Got the trailer loaded and ready for the galvanizing trip, so the boatshop is now a go!
Hope to be doing the final install on the Titan driveline next week,

[Roberta]

Today we finished up all the things I wanted to do on my list. About 3pm we headed for the gas station and put 9 gallons in the tank and checked the fuel gage at 3 gallon intervals. Seems to register just fine. Got back home and proceeded to set the motor up for it's first run in God know's how long. I squeezed the primer bulb 'til it seemed like the full system was full. I hit the ignition and she fired right up. Idle was pretty good and it accelerated without hesitation. It was a little cobby at first, but I think it was clearing it's throat of all the cobwebs from sitting for years. I cleaned the plugs and that was a definite improvement. It seemed to run strong and idled very well, so we will splash tomorrow and see if running some nice fresh gas through her for a bit improves things a bit more.

Roberta