nwcoralfarm Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 That's right, I am rejoining the workforce as of this last week, woohoo and there is a guy willing to pay me the big bucks to work on a Martini. My friend over at C.W.I just hired me to do a few different jobs but the main one is helping to rebuild a 35 foot cigarette boat called the Dry Martini. This boat has seen it's share of races in the 70's, 80's and 90's but the restoration done on the boat before it's sale has proven to be subpar. So we are taking the boat all the way from new bulkheads though out the boat to new motors, new paint, new outdrives etc, and it is all being done in the traditional Kiekhaefer parts and styling while keeping the essence of a vintage boat. The Dry Martini will be in the Cowes-Torquay-Cowes Powerboat Race 2010 and driven by Mike Bontoft, my neighbor, and his teammates. I am loving the job and glad to be back in the workforce, sorry if I have missed you at the shop, I will be around for the most part during the evenings and happy to make special requests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitricker Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 sounds like fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nwcoralfarm Posted December 24, 2009 Author Share Posted December 24, 2009 Here's a few pics, it is fun but I can't wait to be done with the fiberglass. I have been itching like crazy for a week straight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 That is sweet!! How fast dose she go? Working with the fiberglass would suck but glad to here ya got some $ coming in!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kshack Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 For a race boat, why not use carbon cloth. Stronger/ lighter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate213 Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 Dave, Im not sure if I should congratulate you or offer my condolences now that you are a working stiff. Best wishes on your new job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nwcoralfarm Posted December 24, 2009 Author Share Posted December 24, 2009 She does about 115 so I am told. A total of 1200 horsies. As for the material we are mainly using a woven roving but I make none of the decisions and don't really know what exactly the materials are. My buddy Mike has been literally doing this his whole life so I have no reason to believe that he doesn't know exactly what he is doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nwcoralfarm Posted December 24, 2009 Author Share Posted December 24, 2009 Dave, Im not sure if I should congratulate you or offer my condolences now that you are a working stiff. Best wishes on your new job. Thanks Nate, I have spent too long without steady misery so working is a great idea, ha ha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 She does about 115 so I am told. A total of 1200 horsies. As for the material we are mainly using a woven roving but I make none of the decisions and don't really know what exactly the materials are. My buddy Mike has been literally doing this his whole life so I have no reason to believe that he doesn't know exactly what he is doing. Besides since the boat is a classic and getting restored, he's prob. using the same material its made of to keep the value up. 115 is VERY respect full!! If I were to win the lotto I would def. look into buying a cig boat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racefan Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 Man I HATE fiberglass. When I used to do body & fender work I hated when a Corvette came in. We used to wear long sleeves duct tape to our gloves,button our shirts all way up,wear a head sock, I don't miss sanding that crap!DOH! P.S. your work looks good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted December 25, 2009 Share Posted December 25, 2009 congratulations man, good luck with it an if you need any help, let me know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nwcoralfarm Posted December 25, 2009 Author Share Posted December 25, 2009 Thanks guys, yeah I have to admit the first couple of days grinding on the glass I would wake up about 4-5 times a night with my face on fire. I would literally have to go and stick it in a sinkful of cold water, and I know all of the tricks to getting it out and keeping it that way I just wasn't being as careful the first few. So as it turns out, carbon fiber is not stronger then fiberglass, only by weight so equal thicknesses and weights of both and the carbon would win but with the thickness it is, it's not at all stronger. It turns out that Carbon is also WAY WAY more expensive. Plus we are talking about a heavy boat to begin with so weight is something we will cut out through better engineering versus something like that. I will post some more pics as we go, it really is amazing what a difference it has made structurally and aesthetically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racefan Posted December 25, 2009 Share Posted December 25, 2009 Plus we are talking about a heavy boat to begin with More horsepower helps everything!(clap)(clap)(clap)(laugh) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nwcoralfarm Posted December 25, 2009 Author Share Posted December 25, 2009 More horsepower helps everything!(clap)(clap)(clap)(laugh) Absolutely!!! We found that the outdrives on the boat now are rated for 700 horse a piece. Mike found some used merc outdrives that are rated for 1000 horse a piece so that will give us a little room to play with. The engines on it were rated at 600 horse a piece but the compression of them required that they burned a much higher (race) quality gas, so I think we are going to decrease the compression a little as to allow us to run a cheaper, more accessible gas and we will make up for the horsepower in other areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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