Blaxell 24 refit project

 Hi guys I have recently purchased a 24ft 80s Blaxell flybridge and am in the early stages of attempting my first nautical refit! 

Im looking to move the drive console as it currently in an awkward position for my planned refit and I would like to get the whole tub professionally rewired in the process as it is an absolute mess at the moment!

does anyone know what it is worth to get an auto elec to rewire a whole boat? 

And how hard/expensive is it to extend/replace the hydraulics for the steering, throttle and gear shift?

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 Lifes better fishin'

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Lamby's picture

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Date Joined: 04/08/09

Good luck, a few of us here

Sun, 2014-06-08 15:18

Good luck, a few of us here froth over these threads so please keep the pics rolling (if you could add a few more of the rest of the tub that would be sweet)

Some handy members should be able to steer you in the right direction for those questions also, I assume you have THT website too?

Posts: 5739

Date Joined: 18/01/12

 are those controls hydraulic

Sun, 2014-06-08 15:45

 are those controls hydraulic or morse cable?

Given the age of the boat I wouldnt be suprised if the hydraulic lines are copper, not to hard to extend.

Should be able to get the parts from any hydraulic shop (even Bunnings?) and its pretty easy to bend and route, just anneal the copper first. Fittings either flare or nut and ferrule.

Slightly unusual having the steering station on the port side, are you moving it to stb or just to another location on portside?

The reasoning for most being on stb side is that is the side where a standon vessel will be coming from that you need to avoid hence easier to see.

But if moving it running lines across the boat will be harder, and better option to start again from the stern.

You can also buy flex lines to use.

 

As Lamby said, keep the pics coming-if nothing else you'll have people geeing you along.

Been a bit of a shortage of home refurbs and builds lately!

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 Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...

 

 

The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.

Everyone's just winging it.

 

milsey's picture

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Date Joined: 22/08/07

 What they said , once exams

Sun, 2014-06-08 16:21

 What they said , once exams are done next week i have my latest refurb to put up.

Cant help with any hydraulic advice but in regards to rewiring i would be doing it myself, 12V is very simple and i find it enjoyable for some strange reason. Heaps of diagrams and info online also.

hardyakker's picture

Posts: 17

Date Joined: 20/05/13

 Cheers guys the hydraulic

Sun, 2014-06-08 18:20

 Cheers guys the hydraulic lines are plastic (or whatever it is not copper) so can i join that or re run them? I just want to push the drive console up closer to the windscreen, hopefully it will make vis better but also allows space for bench seats for 3 people down each side, and a  collapsable table in the centre that will fold down to be a second double berth (accross the boat). If you guys are interested in this project ill be more than happy to post progress photos in exchange for advice!

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 Lifes better fishin'

Posts: 5739

Date Joined: 18/01/12

Its probably the

Sun, 2014-06-08 19:30

Its probably the Seastar/Baystar type hose. You can get joiners or just replace all the hoses?

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 Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...

 

 

The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.

Everyone's just winging it.

 

hardyakker's picture

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Date Joined: 20/05/13

 Whats the THT website tamby?

Sun, 2014-06-08 18:35

 Whats the THT website tamby?

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 Lifes better fishin'

Posts: 5739

Date Joined: 18/01/12

The Hull Truth, the worlds

Sun, 2014-06-08 19:29

The Hull Truth, the worlds biggest boating forum, US but still pretty handy

http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-forum-14/

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 Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...

 

 

The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.

Everyone's just winging it.

 

nico's picture

Posts: 226

Date Joined: 17/08/10

 Cracker boat I was talking

Sun, 2014-06-08 19:46

 Cracker boat I was talking to Tom Blaxell few years ago, he told me about his boat building days that hull is a descendent from the Formula 233 hull a legend above all trailer boats.

As Rob H said you can replace the hydraulic lines you can buy them through BLA ,Whitworths or Bias boating same goes for the control cables. I hope you enjoy the Fibreglass itch boys and be prepared to open your wallet look forward to more pics as you go.

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In Mocean

Lamby's picture

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Date Joined: 04/08/09

Cheers Rob, sorry hardyakker

Sun, 2014-06-08 19:58

Cheers Rob, sorry hardyakker I should have included the link

If it's a total refurb then your controls on the starboard side will be far more beneficial

Ps. Cheers for the pics, looks like a joy rig for the job & something I would love to be trolling for bills in

Adam Gallash's picture

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Pics

Sun, 2014-06-08 20:03

 Yup keep the progress pics coming, looks the goods

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Date Joined: 18/01/12

 whats it got for power?If

Mon, 2014-06-09 10:34

 whats it got for power?

If its petrol sterndrive as Im guessing, then DONT skimp or bodge anything in the engine bay.

Good quality fuel fittings, intrinsically safe electrical equipment (not automotive starters etc), vent blower etc and get advice from an expert on this aspect if needed.

One litre of petrol in vapor=1 stick powergel is the formulae I was told while doing Advanced Shipboard Fire Control

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 Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...

 

 

The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.

Everyone's just winging it.

 

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Date Joined: 17/06/10

Old engine room saying

Sun, 2014-06-08 20:38

One flash and you're ash, as Rob H said don't think about skimping on fittings in the engine room

hardyakker's picture

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Date Joined: 20/05/13

 Cheers guys yeah i was itchy

Wed, 2014-06-11 20:10

 Cheers guys yeah i was itchy AF on sunday! Haha its a 5.7L volvo penta yeah the petrol, mercruiser manifolds and leg. So can anyone recomend a good auto elec to rewire her? I think im gonna keep the drive console on the port side because it works better with the layout, the vis is pretty good from there (or atleast it will be) and theres always the fly if you want more.. Which brings me too my next question- wheres the best place to get a couple of sheets of persex to cut some new windows?

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 Lifes better fishin'

sarcasm0's picture

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Date Joined: 25/06/09

Some tips

Wed, 2014-06-11 20:23

The place I work for uses Active auto electrics Renewal Ch Bibra Lakes for full rewires and sealed marine windows on Wellard St Bibra Lakes.  With your hydraulics, the cabling provided in the kits from BLA/Hydrive is often brittle and provided with an olive and nut connection which are virtually one use. This means next time you service/disconnect a hose/emergency you need a replacement set or you are fubar.  Or you can get a decent hydraulic hose mob or local marine place to make up custom hoses that are more supple(less bend radius/easier to install) with swaged fittings that can screw on or off just about as many times as you like, the hose is about 15-20$ a metre and the fittings swaged are 15-30$ea from some places.  Just make sure you get your cable runs right and measure with a string line twice if you arent confident.

PM me if you need some advice 

Bryan 

 

Posts: 5739

Date Joined: 18/01/12

funny you mention that Bryan,

Wed, 2014-06-11 22:12

funny you mention that Bryan, I noticed a while back that one of the hoses on my Seastar/Baystar steering had been kinked and once it has-its puckeroo.

Do you know where I can get a joiner for them? BLA seemed pretty vague on it?

____________________________________________________________________________

 Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...

 

 

The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.

Everyone's just winging it.

 

sarcasm0's picture

Posts: 1396

Date Joined: 25/06/09

Im pretty sure that I have a couple at work

Thu, 2014-06-12 06:19

 PM me your number and I can give you a call.

Bryan

hardyakker's picture

Posts: 17

Date Joined: 20/05/13

Taking on water

Tue, 2014-06-17 18:21

 Cheers sarcasm0 we had a mobile auto elec come and have a look on sat arvo and i dont think he was really interested he said it would take a day and a half and $700-1000! Seemed rediculous too us, he didnt seem to confident either... We took her for a spin on the weekend and shes taking on a bit of water.. Not sure how old the bellows are but they seem quite supple still no obvious perishing or cracking. Where else is it likely to be taking on water? Is it worth trying blocking the toilet intake and testing it? How about the exhaust/cooling could the be letting water in? The rams horn had a pinhole in the top that we filled with manifold putty to avoid/put off taking the whole thing out. Does water actually run through the rams horn somewhere? We had a good look underneath the motor with a go pro on a stick and it all looked sound to us. Any tips or advice please?

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 Lifes better fishin'

Posts: 341

Date Joined: 10/08/09

big project! as others have said keep the updates coming

Tue, 2014-06-17 22:25

food colouring in water and fill your hull until visible from outside? large hull lots of weight dont break your trailer

Posts: 5739

Date Joined: 18/01/12

definitely be careful with

Tue, 2014-06-17 22:39

definitely be careful with that.

Archimedes principal=fill the hull to the waterline will make a 3 tonne boat weigh 6 tonnes.

____________________________________________________________________________

 Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...

 

 

The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.

Everyone's just winging it.

 

carnarvonite's picture

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Date Joined: 24/07/07

Not just weight

Wed, 2014-06-18 14:03

Not just the weight on the trailer, boats are designed for the water on the outside not inside. Too much internal unsupported pressure can cause major damage.

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Date Joined: 10/06/14

Perspex

Wed, 2014-06-18 12:45

Mr Hardyakker,

 

CDC laser are doing a special on 3mm and 4.5mm perspex sheets 2400mm by 1700mm at $85 a sheet. They'll cut it to whatever size and shape you want for another $20. Dont know if those sizes would work for you. They operate out of 48 Prindiville Drive, Wangara WA 6065, andrew@cdclaser.com.au 0429 966 184.

hardyakker's picture

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Date Joined: 20/05/13

 Bit of an update guys we ve

Sun, 2014-08-10 22:31

 Bit of an update guys we ve been chipping away at it slowly but surely, done some work on the trailer including electric winch and rollers. Built the new drive console and have it glassed in, and working on our bench seat setup. The boat feels HUGE now with the new layout and we re pretty happy with how things are going.. We have the wiring setup under control having been through and deleted all the excess/dead/superceeded circuits and we re ready to hook it all up as soon as the console is finished! Plenty more to go and I feel like summer could sneak up quickly! But hopefully the fibreglass itch will be a distant memory by then and we ll see a few of you at rotto! As usual im open to any comments/hints/tips or cautions so please fire away!

oh and also the windows went back in today with new perspex and resprayed frames (forgot to get a pic but they look sweet!)

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 Lifes better fishin'

hardyakker's picture

Posts: 17

Date Joined: 20/05/13

 Oh i forgot to ask we need

Sun, 2014-08-10 22:35

 Oh i forgot to ask we need hydraulic hoses, morse cables (longer than whitworths or bias or boating hardware stock) and more understanding of how the speedo works! Any stuff you have lying around that you want to get rid of and you think we might be interested in let me know and we can sort out a price! Especially black antifoul we re gonna need a heap of that!

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 Lifes better fishin'

hardyakker's picture

Posts: 17

Date Joined: 20/05/13

 Also it no longer takes on

Sun, 2014-08-10 22:38

 Also it no longer takes on water it was just a dodgy skin cver on the drain from the the old built in esky..

ok now you definately up to date! 

Cheers guys look forward to hearing from you!

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 Lifes better fishin'

hardyakker's picture

Posts: 17

Date Joined: 20/05/13

Hydatulic steering

Tue, 2014-09-09 20:10

 Hi guys dont think anyones reading this anymore but we are having an issue with the steering. We have extended the lines to a new console and bled the system but it still feels a bit stiff and doesnt turn smoothely.. Any bleeding tips or suggestions on what might be happening greatly appreciated!

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 Lifes better fishin'

The Saint's picture

Posts: 453

Date Joined: 30/01/13

Still Reading !

Wed, 2014-09-10 09:52

I'm still reading hardyakker, just don't have anything to add.

Just following your progress as others most likely are (and waiting for more pics)...............

Cheers.