1987 Supra Saltare

[wotan2525]

Just a quick cell phone pic... wanted to document the first day out surfing (58F water temp, brrr!) SS rub rail turned out pretty nice.

[87SunSportMikeyD]

Sure looks nice!!!!!

[wotan2525]

Man... what a WINDY weekend! 30MPH winds all weekend kept the riding to a minimum. Found some protection yesterday and some glassy water but the cruiser and racing boats were in the way all over the place. Thought I'd post some pics showing the new rubrail and pop-up cleats... the winds were a good test since none of the cleats pulled out as we stress-tested them with anchor lines. (Quick note... the midship cleats are not reinforced from the factory. They are only attached to thin fiberglass with no backing material or washers. Not worth anything more than holding a bumper, imho.)

How big of a PITA were the pop-up cleats? A HUGE one. Attwood is not the brand to buy as their templates suck and the backing plates (unlike some smart companies) don't serve as a bolt-on guide. Hours and hours spent with a dremel tool and then contortionist type acts to reach the undersides. Glad to be done and really happy how they turned out.

[Hematoma]

Looks good dude, yea attwood does suck. I wish I could find some pop-ups in black I would be all over them. How hard was that rub rail to install?

[wotan2525]

It wasn't difficult, it was just time consuming. I can't even tell you how many hours I spent with a putty knife and razor blade to remove the old silicone bead. Then, every single screw (~120 for the rubrail, ~120 for the stainless insert) has to be drilled out... siliconed... screw inserted. Nothing difficult about it... just turned into the project that would not end.

Next up? Either Z5 rack (fingers crossed it will fit) and/or integrated ballast since I have a real rear seat again.

I suppose you guys don't know this.... but my rear bench used to contain 4x12" MA-Audio subs. I took it out at the beginning of the season to try and fix the neon and realized how rotten the box was. It won't be going back in. I've put a 12" Kicker Solobaric under the drivers console (plan to upgrade to a 15" but the box I have won't fit.) So far... you can't hear me from 6 miles away.... but you can really BUMP IT if you're inside the boat.

[saltare inverts]

I would like pics of your boat. It helps me with ideas. I have two Arc audio 10s right now. Sounds clean but not real water shaking. Want to try different subs or sub. How much do you having pushing you sub?

[mapleleaf]

Sorry to hear the pop up's were a pain....it was definitely worth it, thanks for the rubrail schooling, I'm doing mine this weekend!!
What kind of silicone did you use???

[87SunSportMikeyD]

Ballast dude you gotta have good weight for boarding and surfing! I have two more Simer pumps on the way now!! Z5 looks awesome though, or the Monster Cargo.

[wotan2525]

I would like pics of your boat. It helps me with ideas. I have two Arc audio 10s right now. Sounds clean but not real water shaking. Want to try different subs or sub. How much do you having pushing you sub?

I'll work on some more pics... (sorry to say) the stereo wiring is absolutely embarrassing (as is the battery wiring.) Get's the job done but it's like building a ship in a bottle to have 3 big amps (plus crossovers for the components) all in the compartment under the glovebox. Having 3 batteries and constantly upgrading/changing things hasn't given me the time to add bus-bars or distribution blocks -- so that's a pretty big tangle, too.

Previously, I had my amps in the ski locker but I was just too constantly worried about water coming over the back while surfing. The ski-locker was surprisingly dry but.... not worth the risk with all that $$$ in amps sitting back there.

I was pushing the 4x12" setup with this amp http://www.realmofexcursion.com/ampguts/MA_HK4000D/ -- I did have it running my single 12" but it became really finicky (overheating? moisture? not sure...) so I've swapped it out with an older Kicker DX700. I'm running the components in the boat on an older MA Audio 4x100w and my tower speakers off a PPI 4125 (holy balls are they loud!)

Anything specific you'd like to see? I'm jealous as hell about that tower you scored. Is it back on, yet?

[wotan2525]

Sorry to hear the pop up's were a pain....it was definitely worth it, thanks for the rubrail schooling, I'm doing mine this weekend!!
What kind of silicone did you use???

Let me know if you have any questions.... I just used clear 100% silicone from home depot. Viper Customs said this was just as good as anything marine specific (and a lot cheaper.)