Hi Guys, haven't posted for a while so here is an update on the Scarab 2600 rebuild.
After taking out the Scarab for a test spin it was necessary to make some changes to the trailer, first off, not enough weight on the tow ball when towing, as the trailer swayed at 80km plus, weight on the tow ball was 180kg and I need about 320-350kg, the boat didn't want to roll off the trailer unless it was submerged to the wheels. Going back on the trailer, my missus didn't have the strength to winch it up even a little bit so that the boat could still swing about, which meant that I couldn't jump off and continue winching.
So I the replaced the manual hand winch with a 4000lb electric winch plus a battery box and also made a little bracket with a roller to use the winch to pull the boat off the trailer. To use it, I basically unwind a length of cable off the winch, loop it over the roller which is under the boat about a third of the way back, and then connect it to the boats bow hook, as I wind the cable back onto the winch it pulls the boat backwards. I have tested it out on the trailer and it works so shouldn't have any dramas getting it off at the ramp now. Also added another pair of keel rollers and moved the front wobble roller frames back a little bit further towards the back end of the trailer.
Pulled the winch frame off the trailer and removed the manual winch, made up a new longer stepped up winch frame as the rope height on the manual winch was different to the electric winch and also to give me a bit more room away from the boat. I moved the boat forward about 200mm more to add more weight on to the tow ball, drilled some extra holes in the new winch frame in case the electric winch stops working and that way I can put the manual winch back on temporarily if I need to as a last resort.
Tigged up an aluminium box for the battery and also one to house the electric winch, that way I can lock them up when not in use. The battery box has a 1.3m lead to connect the battery to the winch as well as the remote controls for the winch, the winch can be operated directly from the battery box or by a radio remote when I am in the boat after my missus has hitched the boat to the cable.
Made a little s/s frame with a polished 13mm bar on the winch frame to stop the braided winch line from rubbing on the frame when pulling the boat off.
Haven't tested the rig on the road yet but it should have improved the road handling and stopped it from swaying.
Apart from that I have finally fitted a HD sway bar which arrived from the States last week, made a big difference to the Jeeps handling, it now goes into corners more like a car than a 4WD. The original was 14mm and the new one is 25mm, so 3 times the amount of steel and about 5-6 times the stiffness. Should help with the swaying I hope.
The bracket for the roller is made out of steel and fitted over the existing frame holding the keel rollers, and moved the U-bolts over the two brackets to hold them both down, the roller and the bar holding it are out of stainless and are TIG welded to the bracket so there wasn't much point in painting them. I tigged the joint with some 309 rod I had lying around so it shouldn't crack the weld bead as it should be a good transition between the two metals.
Made a 30lt footrest/water tank to fit in front of the front passenger seat, it has a hatch to put ice cubes through so the water will be nice and cool, it has a electric pump attatched to a tap so getting water is easy. Tigged up a ally lockable toolbox for the trailer to put the ropes and straps in when I put the boat off the trailer.
And finally added some pics of the boats interior after it was all refitted apart from the rear lounge, which will go in after I sort out the issues with the leg and motor are they are running properly.
Just getting the little 2.3mt inflatable ready now, I ordered a new 5HP Tohatsu outboard and now buying all the safety gear for it, it will be mainly used as a tender for the Scarab, but if I decide just to go fishing on my own fishing somewhere, I can just throw it in my box trailer and go, where as, the 26ft'er definitely needs two people.
So to sum it up, it is loud and fast, as I didn't have the rear lounge fitted over the motor, although I couldn't get up past 3200-3500RPM as it would suddenly loose power, I suspect a fuel suction issue or a ignition coil pack/lead/spug plug problem, however at 3200RPM it was doing about 32-35 knots. There is also a steering problem as the leg has about 50mm movement at idle speed under power, so that needs to be sorted out as well.
Seemed to grab a few guys attention at the ramp, I think it is the shape and the growl of that big V8, must be a guy thing.
Cheers
Ed.
After taking out the Scarab for a test spin it was necessary to make some changes to the trailer, first off, not enough weight on the tow ball when towing, as the trailer swayed at 80km plus, weight on the tow ball was 180kg and I need about 320-350kg, the boat didn't want to roll off the trailer unless it was submerged to the wheels. Going back on the trailer, my missus didn't have the strength to winch it up even a little bit so that the boat could still swing about, which meant that I couldn't jump off and continue winching.
So I the replaced the manual hand winch with a 4000lb electric winch plus a battery box and also made a little bracket with a roller to use the winch to pull the boat off the trailer. To use it, I basically unwind a length of cable off the winch, loop it over the roller which is under the boat about a third of the way back, and then connect it to the boats bow hook, as I wind the cable back onto the winch it pulls the boat backwards. I have tested it out on the trailer and it works so shouldn't have any dramas getting it off at the ramp now. Also added another pair of keel rollers and moved the front wobble roller frames back a little bit further towards the back end of the trailer.
Pulled the winch frame off the trailer and removed the manual winch, made up a new longer stepped up winch frame as the rope height on the manual winch was different to the electric winch and also to give me a bit more room away from the boat. I moved the boat forward about 200mm more to add more weight on to the tow ball, drilled some extra holes in the new winch frame in case the electric winch stops working and that way I can put the manual winch back on temporarily if I need to as a last resort.
Tigged up an aluminium box for the battery and also one to house the electric winch, that way I can lock them up when not in use. The battery box has a 1.3m lead to connect the battery to the winch as well as the remote controls for the winch, the winch can be operated directly from the battery box or by a radio remote when I am in the boat after my missus has hitched the boat to the cable.
Made a little s/s frame with a polished 13mm bar on the winch frame to stop the braided winch line from rubbing on the frame when pulling the boat off.
Haven't tested the rig on the road yet but it should have improved the road handling and stopped it from swaying.
Apart from that I have finally fitted a HD sway bar which arrived from the States last week, made a big difference to the Jeeps handling, it now goes into corners more like a car than a 4WD. The original was 14mm and the new one is 25mm, so 3 times the amount of steel and about 5-6 times the stiffness. Should help with the swaying I hope.
The bracket for the roller is made out of steel and fitted over the existing frame holding the keel rollers, and moved the U-bolts over the two brackets to hold them both down, the roller and the bar holding it are out of stainless and are TIG welded to the bracket so there wasn't much point in painting them. I tigged the joint with some 309 rod I had lying around so it shouldn't crack the weld bead as it should be a good transition between the two metals.
Made a 30lt footrest/water tank to fit in front of the front passenger seat, it has a hatch to put ice cubes through so the water will be nice and cool, it has a electric pump attatched to a tap so getting water is easy. Tigged up a ally lockable toolbox for the trailer to put the ropes and straps in when I put the boat off the trailer.
And finally added some pics of the boats interior after it was all refitted apart from the rear lounge, which will go in after I sort out the issues with the leg and motor are they are running properly.
Just getting the little 2.3mt inflatable ready now, I ordered a new 5HP Tohatsu outboard and now buying all the safety gear for it, it will be mainly used as a tender for the Scarab, but if I decide just to go fishing on my own fishing somewhere, I can just throw it in my box trailer and go, where as, the 26ft'er definitely needs two people.
So to sum it up, it is loud and fast, as I didn't have the rear lounge fitted over the motor, although I couldn't get up past 3200-3500RPM as it would suddenly loose power, I suspect a fuel suction issue or a ignition coil pack/lead/spug plug problem, however at 3200RPM it was doing about 32-35 knots. There is also a steering problem as the leg has about 50mm movement at idle speed under power, so that needs to be sorted out as well.
Seemed to grab a few guys attention at the ramp, I think it is the shape and the growl of that big V8, must be a guy thing.
Cheers
Ed.
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Electric winch base frame 1.jpg71.3 KB · Views: 1,024
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Electric winch base frame underneath IMG_1013.jpg67.9 KB · Views: 1,020
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Weave weld 2 IMG_1009.jpg63.3 KB · Views: 1,021
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weld 1 IMG_1021.jpg65.5 KB · Views: 1,018
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Battery box IMG_1028.jpg96.5 KB · Views: 1,047
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Boat Pull roller 1 IMG_1025.jpg54.9 KB · Views: 1,019
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Boat puller roller 2 IMG_1024.jpg56.5 KB · Views: 1,012
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Electric winch stand complete IMG_1030.jpg82.9 KB · Views: 1,017
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Trailer Toolbox 1 IMG_0930.jpg83.8 KB · Views: 1,018
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Trailer Toolbox 2 IMG_0931.jpg88.5 KB · Views: 1,013
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Boat and Jeep IMG_0958.jpg68.2 KB · Views: 1,021
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Cabin interior 1.jpg56.1 KB · Views: 1,021
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cockpit front 1.jpg53.8 KB · Views: 1,011
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console 1.jpg75.6 KB · Views: 1,025
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Foot rest water tank 1.jpg48.2 KB · Views: 1,023
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motor 1.jpg55.4 KB · Views: 1,019
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Rear lounge reupholstered IMG_0927.jpg50.2 KB · Views: 1,027
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Thumpa transom 1 IMG_0928.jpg84.1 KB · Views: 1,014
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Water Tank complete with hatch IMG_0943.jpg94.5 KB · Views: 1,002
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Water Tank sealed IMG_0926.jpg99.2 KB · Views: 1,013
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Water Tank TIG weld IMG_0923.jpg67.2 KB · Views: 1,064