my formula 233

[captain rednut]

hey opti i would suggest you fit the rudder feedback unit as it makes perfect operation, i wont have another one with out it. they are useless without it.
cheers jim

[OPTI]

thanks jim,my mate said the same thing ,ive mounted it in the side pocket and will use a morse cable to attatch it to the engine,i didnt want in in the engine well

[julian1]

you will have to pinch yourself the first day that you actually put this thing in water to believe its true !!!! then you will be bored with no project

[OPTI]

ha ha,hope to tow it down to portland someday so you can show me all the hot tuna spots,thats if i can keep up with your cat

[Jarrah Jack]

ha ha,hope to tow it down to portland someday so you can show me all the hot tuna spots,thats if i can keep up with your cat

Better add a heater then.

[julian1]

ha ha,hope to tow it down to portland someday so you can show me all the hot tuna spots,thats if i can keep up with your cat

i'm only running 175's so i'm sure your twin 225's will keep up

plenty of EC233's down this way in the height of tuna season, and in true Vicco style plenty of HP on them

[OPTI]

thought id show you what i come up with for my clears and canopy,this is the first time ive had this done ,but im pretty sure it will work well .as most of you know i made a hard top for this boat but i wasnt happy with the look of it or the weight ,so i went the old t top route[again]the reason i wanted a hard top was its so much easier to seal them up [clears to roof ].i really hate going out the seaway at the crack of dawn in winter and cop some spray on the clears that ends up on my face and electronics,it either comes up the windscreen and under the clears or the t top roof opens up with wind and creats a gap that the water gets through so this time around ive put on the wave breaker on the top of the screen [i stole this idea from the victorians]its not so much for breaking waves but keeping air pressure off the clears and stopping water running up the windscreen and under the clears,it also has made the windscreen very strong,i sika flexed it to the top of the windscreen frame it takes the original frame self tappers and then ive through bolted it to the hand rail,then the clears press studs are through bolted to the wave breaker .i think a much better way than just siloconing the clears to the window [like kevla cat do],so hopefully that will fix the lower leak.now to fix the top i had the trimmer add a piece of material to rap around the second pole on the t top where the clears will go onto.this will stop the roof parachuting and making a gap,its held with press studs ,then the clears get pressed studded over the top of that piece [not done yet] and there is a second flap [in pic] that has velcro sewin into it that will stick to the outside of the clears making it pretty hard for any water to track through.ive used strata glass for the clears ,its quite thick so hopefully wont stretch too much,il give it the hose test ,but im pretty confident it will be good.
got the radar mounted ,they give you washers to use as spacers to angle the radar,which looks crap,i know you can buy angled mounts,but i wasnt sure what i needed, anyway il get a piece of nylon machined up and make a propper spacer for it.
i know there are some really nice 233's down there julian ,hopefully il blend in with the locals.

[OPTI]

well not much of an update im affraid ive had a delay with shipping ,motors will now arrive on the 9th of may,i was hoping for last week so i might get it wet for easter ,but not to be .
all the clears are on ,and look great ,i think the strata glass is worth the extra dollars ,very thick .
i got the radar mount sorted out ,edson make a wedge kit for the mount so just had to order some extra bits ,the gps aerial and all about light mount of the radar mount as well wich makes it all look neat [wont fit on in the shed]
i wasnt impressed with the stereo output with the standard head unit so i added a amp and 4 6/9 speeakers and mounted them in boxes that fit on the cabin shelves ,i seriously have no room to mount them in the cockpit so this was the best option ,100 watt rms ,should crank pretty hard .
fitted the merc moniter guage ,and just sorting out the nmea connections .
i fitted a cannon down rigger to the port corner ,its a digitroll v1 electric.
so next update will be some engines on her ,ive sika flexed the transom plates on ,10mm aluminium ,anodised plates inside and out .
plumbed the slimy tubes ,the well fitting has a gate valve for on off and it runs directly off the live well pump.will also plug into the bait board when fitted.
finally finished the dive door

[captain rednut]

mate im still jealous its awesome.
cant wait to see her in the water, ive just started the hardtop on mine and then off to get the hull gelcoated.
cheers cr

[Jarrah Jack]

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/haines-formul...item35b163ad7c

You've got one as well Rednut can we see some pics, here's another. Very origional.


Opti..Looks like that long spending trail is nearly over. The last one for the fuel should have you smiling, neverlone that first run. You certainly deserve it.

[HH565L]

I've been watching this thread from the very start. IMO, this would have to be the best fit out of a Formula in Australia.

You've done an awesome job here Opti. It's a credit to you mate.

As far as American Formulas go, I don't think there's anything better than Aronow's #16 F233 race boat. Boat number 3 out of the mold and still the most beautiful example of a 233.

[OPTI]

more final fit stuff today ,proably the only real compromise ive had with this boat was cabin access with the new dash ,as i had to loose the access hatch to the cabin in order to flush mount my sounder and still keep the dash low enough to comfortably see over and the second compromise was having to mount the batteries in the cabin.
im happy to mount the batteries in the centre line of the hull as it helps with stability at rest ,something that wouldnt of been possible if mounted aft,and as low as possible so thats two pluses ,i had to have a battery box made and a checker plate lid that sort of acts as a step into the cabin ,i had it powder coated satin black,im using 3 /920cca dry cell batteries one for each engine and one house all controlled by a bep cluster vsr switch panel also mounted in the cabin.
theres a total of 66 kg in those batteries so im hoping my balance calculations are correct,i had the fuel tank moved back to the original haines hunter/formula position starting at the cabin bulkhead [edencraft have it another meter foward of the bulkhead].so fingers crossed im on the money.
i ended up using a morse cable ss bulkhead fitting to run the wiring harness for the down rigger through the engine well ,it comes with a water proof plug for removing the down rigger,which il have to do as im keeping the boat at the marina.the harness has really thick insulation so i drilled out the bulkhead fitting making a snug fit ,the pic also shows the little gate valve running to the slimy tubes ,i would of prefered something in stainless but the stainless ball valve was to big and ugly by the time i added the elbows to it,i wanted it mounted at easy reach so its no hassel to adjust the flow rate.
tested everything i could now the batteries are in ,the stereo cranks now i might add a sub down the track ,you can see the front speakers on the shelf,blue mode lights in the cabin they are a dual function light,pretty cool,and the merc moniter is in just need some engines to plug in as see what happens.
and a pic of the nmea wiring ,i could get a job at telecom i rekon
thanks for that comment spiro , i know youve see plenty of formulas down there so thats a big comment to me,il have to take it down to maltona when i get a trailer and a new tow rig and see what the locals say

[ScottB]

Hi OPTI,

First things first, I just have to say WOW!!! That is some seriously impressive fitout work!!

Any chance of a couple of more details on the plumbing of the slimey tubes?? Particularly the fitting that you have used to go through the well? I am about to put the same tubes on my boat and will have to go through the transom. I've been looking at a way to do it in stainless but the fitting that you have used looks like it would do the job (not to mention be significantly cheaper!!!!).

Keep up the great work, I look forward to seeing your updates.

Thanks


Scott

[OPTI]

cheers scott,that fitting is a through deck hose fitting BLA part number 138800 page 208 on thier catalogue,and i just added a right angle elbow and hose connect fitting.
if i could of found a stainless fitting that was compact i would have it

[HH565L]

thanks for that comment spiro , i know youve see plenty of formulas down there so thats a big comment to me,il have to take it down to maltona when i get a trailer and a new tow rig and see what the locals say

Yes mate, seen a lot of Formula's but nothing like this.

Shoot me a pm when you intend to head to Maltona. I'd love to see this boat in the flesh

PS: And it would be good to meet you too.