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96 185 Pulse restoration.

The deadline I had set to get this thing on the water has really been a tough one to meet, thus the lack of update pic's.
Here are some, Better yet though the Pulse made it's Memorial Day debut as planned! (we were scrambling hard the last month)

Deck being wired and loomed

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Well of course I'd have to rebuild Seat Bases for Pilot and Co-Pilot.......

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I ended up having to enlist the help of my wife and daughters to have a shot of getting this thing floating. Thankfully they all agreed with my stern voice saying PLEEEEEZE! ;)


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Not sure how much help these two were but at lease they had a good time with Dewalt....

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Deck on!
Rub Rail is from my 288 sunsation that I had replaced a couple of years ago due to a small boo boo. Sunsation did not piece together the rubrail on my 288 so no way was I gonna. Thus it worked out well in that I did not have to pay for new.
The deck is thru bolted every 3' thru a wood backing strip and the screwed every 4" or so with S/S screws. MUCH better then rivets and overkill for this type of boat probably

P.S something now hanging off the back as well.........

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Rub rail is finished right up to the j/p.

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Matched up VERY well!

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Time to get some interior in! My son in law used to lay carpet so I lweft this all to him!P1015378.jpg

Cablea's best stuff was on sale so it was a no brainer.

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While he was carpeting I kept busy as well rigging the transom. (only pic you'll se of me actually working!) Also was able to enlist the services of my grandson to nut the thru bolts where we could not get!

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Dual batteries (switched) along with the oil tank are all fitted in the area previoously filled with foam freeing up valuable space. with room to spare to carry along supplies such as oil etc.

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Well we were spending every available second right up to the last second to get this thing water tested and then on the water for the real thing so I really did not get anymore pic's of the interior and finish rigging taken. AND there is still work to be done including installing the amp for the stereo, gel work left yet, and some finish interior work yet to be done. never had time to re-do the trailer other then re-wiring it and doing new trailer bearings. Paint will be left for next winter....

BUT these pic's are what has made all this effort worth it........ :D
The kids getting ready to actually go for a CRUISE!

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Some pic's of the almost finished project I took yesterday. The first is of the big cup holders I installed that became possible after making the shelf wider then factory by 1/2" approx. Also added a 12V plug for phone charging and ease of blowing up tubes, etc. by the rear seat.



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Well now the numbers.
23P Renegade spinning 5500-55250 RPM with just me in the boat, 3/4 tank of fuel, propshaft set about 3 3/4" below pad.
59.7 GPS was it's best and not bad considering it's a 150HP and still needs to be dialed in. I am now looking for a 21P Renegade since the one I have bought off another board is for a small gear case. (BTW it's brand new shipped to your door with new thrust washer for $225 :sssh:) Also will likely keep my eye out for a 3 bld to see how it handles and preforms.

My impression of this boat is summed up in one word. SHOCKING!
For a 18' boat the ride was better and in some cases MUCH better then a lot of boats much longer. (as in 19-22' bow riders, including some of which I have owned personally over the years) Very solid, and stable ride. (unless you over trim then it would walk a bit on ya) I could not get over how well this thing handled some pretty damn good chop and a lot of holiday traffic on the good ol Mississippi river. No beating, no rattles, nada, just a fine craft in every way.. I'm way giddy over this Pulse! :banana:

The 2010 Etec is equally as impressibve and very deserving to be mated to the Check. Smooth, VERY quiet, powerful, and a flick of the key start every time. I'm giddy over my decision to go with this Etec as well!:banana:
So in reality I'm VERY happy, the kids are happy, the wife is happy (that I'm about done spending money on it) hell, even the dog is happy!

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cmpulse170 said:
Nice Job!!! The mate turned out great!!!:thumb:
Click to expand...

Thanks CP, it would not have been possible without the wealth of information I gained following yours and others projects on this board.
It's all been priceless.

I'll start plugging away slowly now on making this a 100% complete project over the rest of the summer.. :D
 
Nice work!!!, Great job following through on the whole resto!!
The pulse hull does handle chop very nicely, I was out running this weekend. it was Extreamly wake choppy at some intersection on my lake, No bone jarring landings, and with the 23p prop I could whack the throttle skip accros the tops of the mess. Felt like I was offshore racing. My 12 yr old son was smiling ear to ear!
 
Outstanding!:lol: When I finished the resto work I did last year on my '92 Pulse I had the same feeling. These are to this day some of the best running and stylish rigs on the water! Excellent work! The time and sweat are well worth it!

Tom
 
SunTime your boat looks fantastic. Great work!!!!!! I too have a cheap ebay find that I am trying to finish up. By chance, where are you located in Iowa. It looks like you boat on the Mississippi and the dock pictures appear like Burlington? Just curious, I grew up in Fort Madison and am an old (so to speak) river rat myself.
 
MateFever said:
SunTime your boat looks fantastic. Great work!!!!!! I too have a cheap ebay find that I am trying to finish up. By chance, where are you located in Iowa. It looks like you boat on the Mississippi and the dock pictures appear like Burlington? Just curious, I grew up in Fort Madison and am an old (so to speak) river rat myself.
Click to expand...


They don't stay cheap for long though! LOL
Live south of Waterloo about 20minutes and boat up in the McGregor/ Marquette pool of the Miss. I have a slip with a lift up there that I keep my Sunsation at right under the Hwy 18 bridge pretty much..
 
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