SRowells Fletcher Arrowsport 155 GTO

[declantg]

It still needs heated floors

[Eeyore]

More work has happened and will happen as ive got a mate coming over tonight to do some work... Will see if we can get it sorted D:

[Eeyore]

right not much has happened due to the weather and when it has been sunny ive been at work. Right I got some new sanding bands and got to work tonight and stripped out the last of the wood and just squared corners etc. Also I took out the side supports that the side panels mount onto.

SO NOW THERE IS ONLY THINGS TO GO IN!!! wooop woopp!

floor was cut a while ago so if the weather is nice it should be fibreglassed in tomorrow





all vacuumed up since that photo!

[Eeyore]

its been a while where nothing has happened due to shit weather but it has really picked up today so cracked on with work! I properly fibreglassed in a new rear support as the old one was nackered.



and fibreglassed in the four side supports... they still need a bit of reinforcement but theyre good to go!



next we test fitted the floor and i had to powerfile a bit more out to get it to fit properly but in the end it went in perfectly.




We threw the 306 seats in and had a sit around thinking where best to put them and how to do it. it has literally taken most of yesterday to think of how best to do it and today it took a lot of measuring to do it. In the end stainless steel bolts were bought at vast expense and some hardwood beams. These were then bolted to the floor which was a task as the boat seems to be slightly uneven on each side. We also had to make sure that the bolts wouldnt fowl on the buoyancy foam or on any of the stringers! Anyway hardwood beams added for the seating and then the floor was out and bolted together! We also painted the entire floor with resin to give it an extra layer of protection. Im planning to never take it out ever again so thought id best do it.






next we made up some really really thick resin and troweled it onto the stringers and the area that the floor would be sitting on in the attempt to make a seal. This needed a lot of weight so after standing on it for a long time we got 2 bins and filled them with water to keep the pressure on the floor!



i then went around the outside of the floor with fibreglass matting which is the final part of fitting the floor!

I have 5x2m of lining carpet arriving int he next few days so that will be the next job as well as fitting the seats. Then its just mounting the controls and going for a blast!

[declantg]

Sam if you want some other seats i have the original ones out of mine?

[Eeyore]

Sam if you want some other seats i have the original ones out of mine?

theyre the same as what i got i think mate! The problem with car seats it that the go horribly manky after a few weeks/months of getting wet so if you still have them once this set is dead then ill have them off you.

[declantg]

they look different to the ones you have? mine are black cloth with red ticks on it,

chances are i will still have them

[Eeyore]

right! set up some lighting and pushed on from 7.30 till 11 tonight. I got the rear sections cut to size, hatch covers cut and screwed in, fibreglassed underneath and then fibreglassed over the top of the back sections and then finished fibreglassing the floor! Hopefully itll look decent in the day light! I also got some of the planks cut to size which the seats will mount on to... so tomorrow i literally have to cut a few more planks and screw/bolt the seats in! Carpet still hasnt arrived but if i can get the seats in before 10am tomorrow ill take it out for a spin!

[Eeyore]

yes! finally on the water! the beach was packed and i had to reverse the 306 all the way in with the back bumper in the water. it came off with a push and even the handbrake worked on the car! My mate drove it to a mooring and i went out in a work boat and we then swapped! Obviously i had to be gentle on the engine not knowing what condition it was in... for two minutes and then it was flat out all the way to the ski area. ned off here whose old boat it was was on the water. I radioed 'bermuda' this is 155 and he replied and you could hear the excitement in hios voice to see his old boat on the water!

unfortunately only two of the three cylinders of the 1.3L 70hp engine were firing but still manged to go stupidly fast. From time to time the third would occasionally kick in and the acceleration was amazing!

[samass]

to be fair, looks like fun. the only time id actually enjoy being outside in this damn weather!!

[Grant]

Can you tow skiers on the back of that, and if so how much per tow? lol

[Eeyore]

Can you tow skiers on the back of that, and if so how much per tow? lol

yeh ive got the pole for it just i havent got round to fitting it yet. Engine is first priority. Basically it has a 25L tank which will last a days worth of play so its £40 to fill up so like £10 a session if you have 4 people!

[Eeyore]

So this has been used for 2 years now for wakeboarding and skiing. Not bad for £280 and a roll of cloud 9 carpet underlay! Here is a video of it in action! Few bits of me wakeboarding too!



Sun has been out so it has been the right time to get it ready for this season. I went to a boat jumble and bought a new steering wheel becauseraceboat.

Old:


New:


Then I pressure washed off the mould from the blue hdi interior I had kept in storage specially to replace the old cloth one.


Rear seats went in with stainless steel bolts instead of screws



Then the old interior went in the bin!



I launched it with the 1.8 which meant most of the car was under water. Didnt have a battery so pikely had to take it out of the car and fit it whilst the boat was on the water. This engine is a 800cc 70hp 3 cylinder 2 stroke and always needs easy start... and when i say easy start I mean Lynx of the Dark Temptation Variety. For anyone wondering you can get through about £40 worth of fuel in about an hour. One time i spent £160 over a weekend. The engine didnt sound right so drove parallel to the beach before it stopped working. It runs on carbs which have had fuel and 2 stroke sitting in them for the best part of 6 months so next weekends job will be taking those apart and cleaning them

[Tom]

Epic, would love a boat.

[Eeyore]

Epic, would love a boat.

Its such good fun. Even better because i got it cheap. I want to get something bigger but I dont need a towing licence for this, you can launch it by hand with 3 people and if it beaches itself you can push it off. Anything bigger and id need a licence and a truck to tow it and id never be able to move it on my own!

Also because this was so cheap its not the end of the world if it breaks or sinks again!

[Tom]

Just went on ebay right, theres exactly one of these like 3 miles down the road from me for 500quid! What are the chances!

[Grant]

Love it mate. Such a bargain. If you hear of another for a similar price let me know

[Eeyore]

Yeh its doing alright. Got to clean the carbs up this weekend and hopefully it will be working perfectly!

Things to check when buying one are that the engine is well looked after. The boats are worth nothing without the engine. The engine on this was £1250 2 weeks before it sank!

Also you need to check that the wood in the floor, supports and transom isnt rotten. If it is then dont buy it. Its a lot of work to replace and it will never be the same as it was new.

[7057sam]

Got some gti seat you can have for free for this if you want

When we having a boat party??

[Eeyore]

Got some gti seat you can have for free for this if you want

When we having a boat party??

For free sounds tempting. They have to be base mounted though so id have to change the frames.

[7057sam]

Well when the recaro's go in you can have seats and mounts so we could bolt them in some way?

[Niall]

Please find a cheap set of vinyl buckets on ebay. Would be epic!

[procta]

looking great there rowell! have you not thought about changing the gauges to blink it up with the new steering wheel?

[Eeyore]

Gauges are around 45 each for speedo and rev second hand. 100+ for new ones. I'm always on the lookout but it's very expensive.

Its better having soft seats Niall. Seriously painful smashing waves with hard seats!

[Niall]

Gauges are around 45 each for speedo and rev second hand. 100+ for new ones. I'm always on the lookout but it's very expensive.

Its better having soft seats Niall. Seriously painful smashing waves with hard seats!

Good point didn't think of that. Would be epic to have a race boat though lol

[Grant]

Harness yourself in for when it sinks or rolls. Assisted suicide!!

[willJspears]

(Thread Revival) just seen this, love these little fletcher boats, ideal little run arounds and in your case, a cheap bit of fun. has it had much use over the summer months?

[Eeyore]

We started wakeboarding in March. Its been a bit windy so havent had it out for a few weeks! Ive just bought an impact vest and helmet which should stop me getting hurt when I try out new tricks. Heres the latest video which has my catamaran in it too. Its a brand new replacement after the old one blew away D:

[willJspears]

Ive got a little Avon searider 4m rib, that me family use for wakeboarding and kneeboarding, havnt been out in it as much as i would have liked due to crappy winds, but its good fun. I know what you mean by getting hurt doing tricks, the amount of painful faceplants I used to get when practicing Fs 180's was terrible. But once you've got them down its absolutely lovely.

[Eeyore]

Yeh its all good. I now have a replacement beast so expect a thread up soon. Hopefully this will be sold in the next few months.