1962 Mandella

[rightytighty]

My son rolled in from college for a week, with a few friends, and my nephew showed up as well! Fed them all. Kept the ski boat fueled for the day time and had a captured work force for a few hours each day. Put them to work sanding the interior LP paint and my son and nephew rolled and tipped new polyurethane. No. Skid added to th

e walking areas.

 

[Spudsbud]

Living history right there,your old stories and pix and now thier stories about the resto Waaay back in '21 they'll tell their kids !
Dad you were young then...... Grampa.too!
20 years from
now !

 

[rightytighty]

This is so bad ass that it needs its own post!! Rudder stuffing box has double o rings and had a Zerk fitting between for grease. When the battery, steering and engine is installed there is no way to get a gun to the zerk. Confirmed zerk was 1/4x 28 and my buddy Scott ( boat anchor) whipped up a 24” extension with bulkhead fitting to attach where easy access. Every v drive needs one of these!

 

[rightytighty]

Boat Anchor‘s School for the mechanically challenged in session:
Scott agreed to come up and give me a hand reinforcing the stringers and transom ( so stringer washers wont pull through).
Needed a grinder, drill press and band saw anyway so off to harbor freight I went. Spent a weekend learning all about transfer punches, self centering bits, radius corners and grinding to a line , lol! But it’s so bitchen when you mark an 8 ft piece of 5” flat stock with a variety of different size holes from 5/16 to 1/2 inch, transfer punch and then drill the holes and reinstall the plate and it fits PERFECT!!!! No finished pics but all are done. Now

gonna get polished up a bit.

 

[rightytighty]

Dropped the boat off for repaint today with Mark Foxen. Gonna be 4-6 weeks.

Motor to be dropped off with Big Pete Fleming for a refresh As soon as he’s ready.

Movin’ and Groovin’ but progress to slow a bit, I suspect.

Still have plenty to do with trailer and interior...

Dammmmm

 

[rightytighty]

You know what makes a guy feel old? Littlest guy and guy tuning his PGF are the same guy. But it all started at Pine Flat. Maybe I can get him to tune the Mandella when it’s ready?

 

[rightytighty]

Hull and trailer need some love to be brought back.

 

[rightytighty]

Mark Foxen and Tony took care of the hull. It now looks beautiful again!
Gary Stephany redid the trailer including powdercoat. New stands for the bunks and new bunks as well. All SS hardware and rewire. The trailer is nicer than the old days,

 

[rightytighty]

 

[RiverDave]

Amazing project! Really enjoying the thread!

 

[rightytighty]

Lots more trailer pics than boat pics because Gary underwent hip replacement surgery during the rebuild due to a delay in powder-coat (sandblaster broke), which screwed his schedule. So I helped where i could. It was 3:30 am (on a worknight) when we reloaded the boat on the trailer... Gary and Mark are animals... lol

 

[rightytighty]

The boat never had a name but I decided to add “Home Waters” as a tribute to Dee and Dave Buckley (original owners). We always put the houseboat in the same cove and the cove just became “Buckley Cove” to me and our group. We boat on Pine Flat (PFL)

So happy We did this! Mark added the Home Waters and CF #’s as well- all under the clear.

 

[rightytighty]

Boat’s at the house now. I will take it “home” to PFL this weekend and continue the refresh.

 

[Willie B]

…Correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t Buckley Cove real close to where Ronnie Wooldridge is still playing hermit on his 66 acres up there… I remember being up there one summer and people were able to launch their boats from his front yard???…
…And kudos to all involved in the restoration of the Mandellla …nice work guys…

 

[lenmann]

Update: Wiring is mostly done. After PM’ing super cool board member who is obviously THE wiring guru, we received a detailed list of materials to do a clean job. (Thanks Dave! ) . My buddy mocked up a dash and transom out of 2 x 4’ and got to wiring. Gages and transom all wired . Ready for final install and looming / pretty up after boat paint. Back in a storage box and ready for final install. I’ll post finished pics when installed. View attachment 997043 View attachment 997044 View attachment 997045

Great build thread and a great family boating story to boot. Not sure how I missed it from the start but I am watching now.

Any chance you could message me the secret sauce on wiring supplies and such referred to above? I have a wiring project coming up soon and any help I could get is much appreciated.

Keep up the great work and thanks for bringing us all along.

 

[Boat211]

Such a great thread. Thanks for sharing. Great job!!

 

[rightytighty]

S

…Correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t Buckley Cove real close to where Ronnie Wooldridge is still playing hermit on his 66 acres up there… I remember being up there one summer and people were able to launch their boats from his front yard???…
…And kudos to all involved in the restoration of the Mandellla …nice work guys…

Yep! Buckley cove is the next cove past Sycamore (where their place is) on the right. It's just big enough for the houseboat and it's at the beginning of the kings river. Ski right from the house boat up to "The Wires" for a normal run.

Pretty cool that Buckley Cove is world renowned, LOL!

 

[Willie B]

Yep! Buckley cove is the next cove past Sycamore (where their place is) on the right. It's just big enough for the houseboat and it's at the beginning of the kings river. Ski right from the house boat up to "The Wires" for a normal run.

Pretty cool that Buckley Cove is world renowned, LOL!

… oh the memories of Pine Flat from about 1962 and on…

 

[rightytighty]

Been a while since last update-- Got sidetracked with the Houseboat/Barge. Built it in 1996 and it's never been out of the water since. Been putting the rebuild off for a few years, but we reached the point where we couldn't ignore it any more. So-- the dreaded two front war began.. We are back on the Mandella now but a few pics of the HB project that is finally finished.

As it was pulled out after 24 years of faithful service.. Ugg..

stripped the lower deck and closet. Upper deck has already been scabbed back together from the floor that was still in good shape

 

[rightytighty]

Put the dentist to work grinding fiberglass-- it's kinda like teeth, it'll be fun!

Top done. Seams and edges cloth and glassed. top coated with roofing elastomeric

 

[rightytighty]

re skinned the outer pontoons with 12 Ga sheet. Riveted to the old skin. Flat stock welded to the new skin and wrapped under, around and attached to frame-- (just in case every rivet falls off, the skin won't drop to the bottom of the lake, lol! )

new noses made to protect the foam-- Interesting tid bit-- The foam was purchased from the set of "Water World " movie with Kevin Costner. So something good did come from that cruddy movie.

 

[rightytighty]

With the price of wood sky hi, remaking the closet out of steel became feasible.

bent up some sheet metal to make new shelves. replaced the stereo and insulated that back wall so it didn't become a hot box all summer.

 

[rightytighty]

time to paint

Gettin' better!

 

[rightytighty]

Gotta stay hydrated when flooring. ( notice how clothing has switched from winter clothes to shorts?)

Mo betta! New flooring is bad ass! Made of plastic and fiberglass only. No wood bits ( Trex can't say that..). Can span 24" OC and rated for underwater use. Called Wear Deck. Sucks only in that had to ship from Wisconsin but very impressed with initial quality and stiffness at 24 OC. Zero flex. Heavy though.. 600 pounds heavier than the original FRP deck. I added floatation to offset the weight of new steel and decking.. If the bitch sinks, hopefully it's in shallow water and then we'll just take the party upstairs. Gotta have a plan!

 

[rightytighty]

And finally, the piece that started it all.. lol! The 18" transition piece between 4' fixed swim step and 10' free floating swim step extension ( not shown) . all new attachment points ( 6 instead of four and all twice as strong as original). It' ready for whatever happens next and it's the kid's project next time..

 

[brgrcru]

From 1969–1985 we would be at pine flats . driftwood trailer park . Aka island park camp ground , every other weekend .

Family Slept in boat on those pulled out seats sister and I on floor, me under dash , sister in between seats

Until parents bought a bubble top camping van
Learned to ski by the dam , but the best water was up past trimmer
Probably go around that dam cove 10 times skiing
Letting go next to that huge dam
Thinking I’m going over the falls . When it was high .
Then park boat by dam and walk. Up hill to walk on dam

Pine flats got my dad hooked on boating and waterskiing .
I was 4 when we started to camp at pine flats
53 years later I’m still hooked on boats and waterskiing
Don’t visit much of that lake anymore
But my fondest memories are at pine flats
Sorry to hi jack your thread
Have lots of stories about that lake
Cheers

 

[MOUZER]

i can dig it" great thread

 

[done]

My uncle was killed in his flattie (Sanger I believe) at Pineflat in 74 or 75.

There used to be big ass logs just below the surface, My dad would point out the debree in the water.

 

[4Waters]

There used to be big ass logs just below the surface, My dad would point out the debree in the water.

My uncle made hundreds of passes without any issues until.... he let the front come up a little to high and it blew over

 

[rightytighty]

From 1969–1985 we would be at pine flats . driftwood trailer park . Aka island park camp ground , every other weekend .

Family Slept in boat on those pulled out seats sister and I on floor, me under dash , sister in between seats

Until parents bought a bubble top camping van
Learned to ski by the dam , but the best water was up past trimmer
Probably go around that dam cove 10 times skiing
Letting go next to that huge dam
Thinking I’m going over the falls . When it was high .
Then park boat by dam and walk. Up hill to walk on dam

Pine flats got my dad hooked on boating and waterskiing .
I was 4 when we started to camp at pine flats
53 years later I’m still hooked on boats and waterskiing
Don’t visit much of that lake anymore
But my fondest memories are at pine flats
Sorry to hi jack your thread
Have lots of stories about that lake
Cheers

Very cool!

Pine Flat is tough to love on many levels, and even in the best of years the lake fluctuates 100 vertical feet and more (due to it’s purpose as an irrigation lake for farmers.)

But no matter what, it is always a great ski lake and little boat friendly. Glad you got to experience it!

 

[rightytighty]

The Maiden Voyage was this morning!

A ton of thanks to Justin and Dirk Perkins. Justin has been up 3 separate times and did the reinstall of the mechanical. Several new Lines needed to be made. He resealed the Hemi plus every little detail 9 of the install. His dad Dirk came up this weekend for the final details and start up.

Dirk is a bit older than me and grew up skiing on the same boat. It was a cool day!

No interior and no throttle cable, lol! I drove and justin worked the throttle. Boat ran flawless! Wiring was perfect and all gauges were happy.

Now to clean up the wiring (loom etc) and reinstall upholstery and take the kid skiing!

 

[rightytighty]

 

[MOUZER]

"BIG TIME" Mouzer approved so bad azzzzz

 

[wash11]

This is such a bitchin thread. Great job!

 

[Boat Anchor]

Congratulations Neil on the maiden voyage. The boat looks awesome. You and your crew did an awesome job. Enjoy the boat, you deserve it.

 

[snowboat]

Very nice. I wish my '65 looked that good. I have a fixed plate, also. Have been able to tame the porpoise?

 

[rightytighty]

Very nice. I wish my '65 looked that good. I have a fixed plate, also. Have been able to tame the porpoise?L

There’s no porpoise at any speed I drive at with this.

On a “speed run” it does (from memory) but this boat is only a ski boat and will never see over 3500 any more.

 

[pixrthis]

Bitchen boat and I love Pine Flats, I had a pontoon at Lakeridge Marina from 86 to 93. I wish they still rented houseboats because it would be a yearly vacation for our family.

 

[Maw]

331, 354, or 392?

 

[74 spectra20 v-drive]

Looks so good, love the Powder coat on the trailer, the vintage tuck n roll wrapped around the boat, old school Hemi, a bunch of friends and family building it... cant get any better!!!

 

[rightytighty]

Bitchen boat and I love Pine Flats, I had a pontoon at Lakeridge Marina from 86 to 93. I wish they still rented houseboats because it would be a yearly vacation for our family.

If you wanna barge camp, lemme know. I know a guy… it has a BBQ and a stereo. Sleep upstairs under the stars. Does not suck.

 

[rightytighty]

331, 354, or 392?

392

331, 354, or 392?

 

[rightytighty]

Looks so good, love the Powder coat on the trailer, the vintage tuck n roll wrapped around the boat, old school Hemi, a bunch of friends and family building it... cant get any better!!!

Thank you! And agree!

 

[74 spectra20 v-drive]

We hang out on Kings River at Lindy's Landing in Reedley during the Summer, been going there my entire life and have never been to Pine Flats, need to take a trip up there.

 

[pixrthis]

If you wanna barge camp, lemme know. I know a guy… it has a BBQ and a stereo. Sleep upstairs under the stars. Does not suck.

That’s exactly the way I want to do it. I’ll be in touch.

 

[rightytighty]

We hang out on Kings River at Lindy's Landing in Reedley during the Summer, been going there my entire life and have never been to Pine Flats, need to take a trip up there.

Ha ha. We are exact opposites. Ive never boated on the Kings.

 

[MK1MOD0]

That’s an absolutely beautiful boat . Congratulations on finishing up the project and getting to enjoy it.

 

[rightytighty]

Upholstery is in. Just a couple of minor details and done. Sooooon!

 

[rightytighty]

Note the padded dash on the passenger side. Best seat in the house when pulling skiers.

 

[Willie B]

View attachment 1128206 View attachment 1128207
Upholstery is in. Just a couple of minor details and done. Sooooon!

…Excellent…