I’m trying to get ready to coat the inside of the boat before I begin construction of the deck. It’ll be much easier this way with an open boat to work in. But before I can do the coating (clear coating on the sides and white paint in the bilge), I need to make sure all the pieces that make the boat go will fit. In the process, I’ll drill some more holes, glue in backing blocks, fabricate platforms, etc. As usual, what seems like a straightforward process requires many steps.
Some things to think about:
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- Where will the raw water inlet be?
- Where to put the exhaust hoses?
- What about the pump for the JetThruster?
- Where will the batteries go?
- How will I get needed electrical cables, hydraulic hoses for the steering, fuel lines, etc. from the front of the boat to the back of the boat
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- Refrigerator?
- Will there be any room for storage?
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Gadzooks! It just goes on and on…
Great to see the PB project advancing nicely. What are the engine and the transmission you’ve picked for this boat? And what about the propeller characteristics?
Love your work!
The engine is a marinized version of a GM 4.3L V-6 made by KEM Equipment. At 293hp, it’s a little over Nelson Zimmer’s recommended size, but the closest I could get. I’m using a Hurth ZF 45C transmission.
Many thanks for that information. Is the engine with carburator or with direct injection? The reason I am asking is in relation with a discussion I had 4 or 5 years ago with a Mercruiser representative. This gentleman told me that Mercruiser Vortec based engines (GM short block 4.3l) with direct injection wouldn’t work with a direct shaft boat. He mentioned that the electronic control of the engine (I am out of my league here…) wouldn’t accomodate a direct shaft.
Hey Paul,
This engine is direct injected. I honestly don’t know why an electronically controlled engine couldn’t accommodate a direct shaft. There would have to be a throttle position sensor which would translate the fore and aft movement of the throttle control cable to electronic data for the engine, but that’s commonplace and is, in fact, what I will use. The only other thing is how you shift from reverse-neutral-forward. That’s going to be accomplished with a standard control cable from the shift/throttle control at the helm.
Scratching my head!
Thanks for the answer! If I find relevant information on the subject, I will pass it along!
Great work!
Nothing too fancy about the prop. I’d take a 30% more efficient prop in a heartbeat if I could get one, and I’ve talked to some of the “new design” propeller shops. They’re busy building their inventories for popular outboards and not concentrating on smaller inboards like mine at the moment.