Speedometers, Gel-Coat, new ballast, and such. Help appreciated

[mydogzeke]

I just finished up some work on my ballast system for this season. I bought a 95' Saltare a while back and started a project. It has come a long way, but I've got a couple things that I'm just not sure of the best way to remedy:

The dash still has the original airguide speedometers. But, they didn't work all of last season. I changed out the pitots and still nothing. All the wiring and tubing seems to be in tact. Anybody got any thoughts on this?

Also, I'm still having issues getting the color to come out in the gel-coat. The boat is red, but still looks very "ghostly" (i think that's the word someone else on here used). I've wetsanded til I thought my arms were going to fall off.

Lastly, I got caught in a crazy pop-up thunderstorm on the lake last summer as we were docking the boat. The wind pounded us up against this marina's primitive dock that really did a number scratching the starbroad side of the boat up. It really got the gel-coat primarily right near the driver seat area of the boat. Any thoughts on how to repair this. I don't know a whole lot about gel-coat repairs.

Thanks guys! I'm getting excited for this season, as the project has seen some more progress over the winter and now the sun is starting pop out!

[sybrmike]

For the speedo's, I'd try disconnecting the tubing from the back of the Airguide & blow air (not high pressure!) to see if you're getting pressure through the tubing - maybe a hole in the tubing or brass chambers hidden in the run. You can also blow (again, low pressure by mouth) into the tubing entering the Airguide to see if the needles move. If it's the speedo, there are a few places that can rebuild since originals are no longer available. Or you can retrofit a newer paddle wheel setup like I did. There are also GPS speedos available, but they're pricey.

You may need to get more aggressive with wetsanding the gelcoat. I had to go down to 400-600 grit in a few places.

If the scratches are through the gelcoat, then you'll need to get down to the true color before trying to match (I'd have to leave that to the professionals to match a red). If the scratches are surface/cosmetic, they can be sanded/polished out so that they're still visible but not as noticeable.

[mydogzeke]

Thanks for the info, Mike. I'll try to blow some air through them this week and see where that gets me. You mentioned the brass chambers in the run; what are those for? Could they be faulty, and can I eliminate those and run directly to the guage?

Looks like I'm gonna have to do some color matching, or at least try to get close. A couple of the scratches got into the fiberglass a bit.

Thanks again!

[chris young]

I just found this; http://www.airguide.com.au/index.php?p=1_4

I was a bit worried about testing my own speedos by blowing into the pitots (I worked as an avionics tech for 20 years and those pitot systems can be destroyed with mouth pressure) but as these have to deal with water pressure they are considerably more robust, it seems 30psi=50mph

It's definitely worth a read.
Hope this helps.

[sybrmike]

Many (but not all) boats with Airguide speedos have expansion chambers located somewhere in each tubing line (typically mounted on the on the inner transom wall). My understanding is that they act as a shock absorber and "cushion" the air pressure so the needle doesn't bounce around too much on the sensitive Airguides.

[NorCalPR]

Speedos not working is a common problem. What you will need to do is go under the dash, and disconnect the line. Disconnect the line at the pitot tube.

Blow the line out with pressure from the dash to the pitot. Do not use high pressure the other way around.

Reconnect and test at the pitot. Should work.


Usually crud can get in the line and clog up the line, or make the speedo's react slowly. I blew mine out last year and it didn't work. Cleaned out the pickup with a small drillbit and blew it out under pressure and blew out a piece of mud. They work perfectly ever since...

[mydogzeke]

Thanks, that link was very helpful!

I didn't get a chance to blow any air through them this past weekend, but will give it a shot this week. I'll try the methods you guys have shared. If that doesn't work, I may try to replace the tubing, as it looks pretty old and worn. The speedos themselves look like they're still in great shape. Thanks again, everyone.