Thunderbolt by Bob Atwater, Seneca, South Carolina
16 November 2010 Update (Cont'd)
Covered the hull with a couple of coats of white primer and
sanded to relive some high points, primarily at the frame
locations. Stopped sanding when the epoxy was reached.
Tired of white primer - - shifted to gray.
Coated the bottom and sides with three coats of Interlux
Royal Blue. I did the rolling with a fine foam roller. My
wife, a reluctant volunteer, followed up using a good quality
3 inch foam brush to quickly tip out the rolled paint.
Back to the mockup. The drive train I settled on is a GM 502
cubic inch, 502 hp, big block, performance, crate engine
coupled with a BTE 1.76 racing powerglide transmission and a
22% overdrive Casale V-drive.
The drive shaft was custom made of high tensile strength
aluminum by Denny's in upstate New York. The exhaust
ports were located on the mockup and exhaust hose installed.
After we connected the water lines we actually cranked up the
engine on the mockup. Shortly thereafter, the proprietor
asked my mechanic to move his business elsewhere.
Time to flip the hull. I used a small hole saw and drill to
cut around the cement nails holding the building form and
strong back to the floor. I could not get the nails loose
with the hull overhead. I built a frame of 2 x 4's
slightly wider that the hull at the sheer line. The frame is
bolted and braced to the building form.
Three of us wheeled the hull out of the garage on a set of
wheels attached to the transom end of the building form.
The rope is actually attached to the rails, not the end of
the 2 x 4 frame. Using the opposite side as a skid, the
forklift gently lifted the hull onto its edge supported by
the opposite end of the 2 x 4 frame.
About 16 bags of pine bark mulch covered with old blankets
served as the bed for the hull.
At this point, the hull started to move toward the forklift.
Oops.
The hull was placed on a frame with bunkers adjusted to
accommodate the hull shape. The hull was wheeled in and out
of the garage on the support frame. I preferred to work
outside when conditions allowed. Pictures of the installation
of the front deck, rear deck and dash were lost.