1986 Formula 311 SR-1

[Thomas K]

My wife and I have been wanting a boat that we can camp on at Lake Powell for while, no more tents!. Our 1995 25' Kachina icon is not a suitable camper and we get beat up going through any kind of chop. So we decided to look for something bigger. We looked at a few cabin cruisers but I kept coming back to the offshore powerboat idea, ones that have a v berth and toilet on board and has some speed. The Formula cabin is much more roomier than the Chriscraft stinger and we just don't really care for the styling and look of a Fountain. Back in September we pulled the trigger and flew out to New Jersey and bought this ol girl. 1986 Formula 311 SR-1. twin 498 ci bbc, bravo 1 drives.

My wife found a great deal on a one way truck rental through Enterprise and we began the 4 day journey back to Prescott, Az.
Less that 50 miles down the road, one of the wheels on the trailer came off. Luckily it happened at a traffic light and I watched it happen in the mirror. I just hopped out and grabbed the wheel, limped to Autozone for some new lug nuts and slapped it back on.

The trip was very slow going. Burned up a hub in Oklahoma City. It wasn't until we made it home that I realized that we had zero trailer brakes the whole trip. Lots of stopping to check the tires and lug nuts.

By the grace of God we made it back with everything intact!

We were really trying to buy a boat that did not need a ton of work.....but here we go!

 

[zhandfull]

We were really trying to buy a boat that did not need a ton of work.....but here we go!

I love the positive attitude.

 

[Mcob25rg]

That was when they were built to last. You’ve got a GREAT hull, and it will be a show stopper everywhere it goes. Congrats!

 

[sonicss31]

Great find and a great old school Formula. Trailers suck no matter what but after some general maintenance you should be in good shape. If it were me I would convert the rollers to bunk which will give the old girl much better support. Plus it will be much lees $$$ than buying new.

 

[Backlash]

I love the Formula SR line and think the 311 is probably the best bang for the buck. Big enough to run almost anywhere, but not so big it's a pain to store/tow. I hope you keep up with this thread and share updates with us.

On a side note, double check the areas where the engine mounts are bedded into the bilge area. Formula used to build up big blocks of wood and then bolt the engine mounts down through the fiberglass and into those blocks of wood. Over the years, the mounting areas would rot out from the inside, while the fiberglass cloth on the outside of the beds still looked good. Just make sure those areas don't need to be addressed before you guys head out to enjoy your new boat.

 

[RichL]

Welcome to the Formula family. Hauled mine from just outside Houston, TX to NE Ohio. Enjoy.

 

[Thomas K]

The inside...

Going into buying this boat we were fully aware of Formula's issues with rot in the stringers and bulkheads. I asked for multiple videos of transom, stringer and bulkhead tapping. All seemed very good, until personal inspection. I found that the bulkhead at the step in the cabin and the stringers inside had some issues. Daaaguummm! We negotiated the price down because of it. So the carpet needed to come out to fix all that inside. Upon spending some time in the cabin and getting all of the dryer sheets out that were masking the smell, we could smell the nasty stank of mildew.

We tried running our Ozone machine and cleaning out the inside. The smell persisted. So we gutted the inside. In doing so we found the source of the problems. The hatches, rub rail, and stainless railing were not water tight. Also the floor in the cockpit right by the step down had some stress fractures that was allowing water in.

We are going to do new foam, headliner, cushions, toilet with a storage tank, lights. We opted to remove the fridge and use that space for storage and drawers. New shore power converter. What have we done?

 

[Thomas K]

Once everything was out it was time to tackle the rotten parts. To my surprise, bulkhead and stringers were "only" partially rotten . The problem area was right by the step. Also the stringers and all of the structure inside is just 3/4"plywood wrapped in fiberglass with foam filled cavities. I was expecting the stringers to be 1 1/2" at least. My initial thought was to cut the fiberglass and remove the plywood etc, but the more I thought about it I decided to leave the fiberglass and foam undisturbed and add new fiberglass and stringers to the existing structure.

We are redoing the bathroom to be a little more accessible as well

 

[Backlash]

Man I hated to say anything, but I could see this coming. I know how Formulas were in the late 70's - 80's. Your stringers are going to be rotted and there is a good chance the lower half of the transom is too. Once moisture gets into the coring, it's almost impossible to prevent further rot. You've definitely got a project on your hands my friend.

So, it sounds like you are adding fiberglass cloth to the areas you can reach, but are leaving the wet coring intact? Is that correct? I'm referring to the areas where it looks like you wrapped and stapled 1708 to the horizontal and vertical surfaces in the bow area.

 

[Thomas K]

Man I hated to say anything, but I could see this coming. I know how Formulas were in the late 70's - 80's. Your stringers are going to be rotted and there is a good chance the lower half of the transom is too. Once moisture gets into the coring, it's almost impossible to prevent further rot. You've definitely got a project on your hands my friend.

So, it sounds like you are adding fiberglass cloth to the areas you can reach, but are leaving the wet coring intact? Is that correct? I'm referring to the areas where it looks like you wrapped and stapled 1708 to the horizontal and vertical surfaces in the bow area.

Yes, leaving it in place. I added new plywood to the bulkhead and stringers. You have got an eye for fiberglass, that is 1708. Those staples were to hold the glass in place and help with forming it around the surfaces.
The boat was fitted with bravo's a few years ago and the X-dimension was raised so there was a lot of work done on the transom. From what I can tell it seems to be solid.

 

[GregG]

That is a great hull and it looks like you have the skills needed to deal with anything that comes up. The transom being solid will save you a ton of money and time.

Colors are timeless btw

 

[Thomas K]

One thing my wife insisted on was to convert this ol girl to EFI. We did a Holley sniper efi conversion on our Kachina a few years ago and really like it. Holley now has an updated version, the sniper 2. I'm very familiar with the sniper system so I decided to go with the new and improved version.
The motors had Holley carbs and fuel pressure regulators on them and swapping them out was very simple.
Here is the old carb setup

I reused the mounting bracket for the fuel pressure regulator. The new fuel pressure regulator is almost identical.

The new stuff installed and prepping for fuel lines

One thing I can't get over is how much room is in the engine bay. Makes life so much better.

The exhaust risers are off to get an 02 sensor bung welded in. I'm waiting on parts for that.

I took out the old fuel filters and added new ones with a water separator bowl.

Currently I have all the fuel lines ran except the return line connection to the fuel tank. I need to make up the electrical connections for the efi system, fuel pumps and run wires to the ignition switches

 

[Thomas K]

That is a great hull and it looks like you have the skills needed to deal with anything that comes up. The transom being solid will save you a ton of money and time.

Colors are timeless btw

Thanks man. We are super excited about it... even with all the work

 

[Joe mama]

So far this is an awesome thread. Keep the updates coming.

 

[Thomas K]

I removed the fresh water tank in the v berth along with the water pump. The water pump was seized up and the tank had a few cracks in it around the plumbing connections and it was definitely not water tight. I found a new tank with very similar dimension but it wasn't perfect. I was sure it was going to fit. Haha nope. Missed it by that much! Sent the new tank back and that got me to thinking on how I could salvage the old one. From what I can tell about how the tanks are made is that the fittings are just melted into the side of the tank. The thread size looked like regular npt so I went the depot and picked up a couple metal fittings that matched the plastic ones. I threaded the metal fittings into the areas with the cracks and used my heat gun on the metal fittings to bring the plastic up to melting temp. Once it was really soft, I twisted the fitting around a little to get the plastic to melt back together. Once that plastic and metal cooled off, the metal fitting easily backed out and Bam! New threads and cracks be gone. The plastic is slightly deformed a little around the fittings but I think it will clean up nicely. I think I just saved my tank.

 

[Thomas K]

With all the upholstery that we need done between all of our boats and ski's, we decided to get a good machine and do it ourselves.

My wife is killing it! Her very first attempts at different style seams!

 

[Thomas K]

Yesterday I worked on getting the new walls cut and fit for the toilet room and the new storage/sink area. I saved the old walls to use as a guide for the new walls and will reuse the original doors.

 

[Mcob25rg]

Nice work!!

 

[Boat211]

What a great job you guys are doing. Thanks for sharing.

 

[mesquito_creek]

Nice job! That should be a great Powell set up. How much fuel does it hold and what’s the burn rate?

 

[Thomas K]

Nice job! That should be a great Powell set up. How much fuel does it hold and what’s the burn rate?

150 gal tank. I'm not sure on the burn rate with the bravos and motors that I have. I found an old performance chart for the 311 with TRS drives. Hopefully I will get a little better performance with the bravos, a higher x-dimension and efi system.

 

[17 10 Flat]

That is a sharp lookin boat. You have some skills I wish I had. Love the pictures and narrative.

 

[Mcob25rg]

They were built to last, not be the fastest. They ride better than the fast ones

 

[Cooter01]

Look forward to the progress!

 

[Thomas K]

Over the weekend I used the 3/4" ply scrap leftover from the interior walls to build the new storage drawers that are going in place of where the little mini fridge used to be. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out.

The drawers will go in this area here

 

[Thomas K]

They were built to last, not be the fastest. They ride better than the fast ones

It should be able to handle anything Powell has to offer! It sure gets nasty up there.

 

[Thomas K]

When x-dimension was changed on the boat, some clearance issues happened. With the drives fully up in the trailer position, the tie bar between the drives hits the middle two exhaust tips. Not good.
I have the exhaust for the motors pulled apart at those locations for the oxygen sensor mounting, so this is a perfect time to remove the tips and cut them back a bit.

I shortened both of them up about an inch.

 

[OkHallett270]

One thing my wife insisted on was to convert this ol girl to EFI. We did a Holley sniper efi conversion on our Kachina a few years ago and really like it. Holley now has an updated version, the sniper 2. I'm very familiar with the sniper system so I decided to go with the new and improved version.
The motors had Holley carbs and fuel pressure regulators on them and swapping them out was very simple.
Here is the old carb setup View attachment 1329392

I reused the mounting bracket for the fuel pressure regulator. The new fuel pressure regulator is almost identical.
View attachment 1329391

The new stuff installed and prepping for fuel lines View attachment 1329395


One thing I can't get over is how much room is in the engine bay. Makes life so much better.


View attachment 1329396

The exhaust risers are off to get an 02 sensor bung welded in. I'm waiting on parts for that.
View attachment 1329390

I took out the old fuel filters and added new ones with a water separator bowl.
View attachment 1329393

Currently I have all the fuel lines ran except the return line connection to the fuel tank. I need to make up the electrical connections for the efi system, fuel pumps and run wires to the ignition switches

What’s the make and part number for these bowl style filters?

 

[mattyc]

Over the weekend I used the 3/4" ply scrap leftover from the interior walls to build the new storage drawers that are going in place of where the little mini fridge used to be. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out.
View attachment 1331285

The drawers will go in this area here
View attachment 1331286

Super nice! Enjoying following this

 

[Backlash]

^^^ I was thinking the same thing!!

 

[Instigator]

Only thing I would offer is that you could have used sea board instead of plywood and avoided and future chance of rot. Other that that, well done sir.
Congrats on the boat. We had a 353 Fastech with pro charged HP 500's and Vacuflush head and loved it so much that I put Air Conditioning in it. Was great to over night in and ran 95 or so.
Great boats.

 

[Thomas K]

What’s the make and part number for these bowl style filters?

This is what I used

S3213 Boat Fuel Water Separator Marine for Mercury Yamaha Outboard 10 Micron | eBay

Replaces Racor S3213, B32013,18-7932-1,18-7932,18-7928-1,18-7928. Run engine and check for fuel leakage. For diesel transfer tank to filter the fuel before it enters the main tank.Only thing is you have to make sure to get the proper sealant for the threads.

www.ebay.com

It comes with a new mounting bracket, which I used, and hose connections, which I did not use. I wanted to go with all 6an fittings.
I have been running this on my Kachina and I have not had any issues. And its nice to be able to visually look at the fuel in the bowl for water and empty if needed.

 

[Thomas K]

Only thing I would offer is that you could have used sea board instead of plywood and avoided and future chance of rot. Other that that, well done sir.
Congrats on the boat. We had a 353 Fastech with pro charged HP 500's and Vacuflush head and loved it so much that I put Air Conditioning in it. Was great to over night in and ran 95 or so.
Great boats.

Thanks man. AC is something that might be on our to do list in the future! It currently does not have any. I did pick up a new shore power converter that I will install, so I will have ability to run it. What system did you install?

 

[Thomas K]

With the weather we have had this week, I have not done much on the bird. I have been thinking about different materials for the little countertop inside. Butcher block, polished aluminum, granite. I have installed a few granite countertops in the past so I thought I might look for a remnant. Some of my clients had a piece of granite leftover from a kitchen remodel and they were gracious enough to give me the piece. I think they just wanted it out of there yard more than anything. It should work out nicely and will match well with the new grey and burgundy colors we want to do inside.

 

[Thomas K]

looking over the steering and tie rod bushings and thought I might as well freshen those up and get the correct stainless steel washers, along with new drive indicator cables.

 

[t&y]

And this is why it is called Bust Out Another Thousand.... or 10 or 20

Great thread, keep the updates coming.

 

[AZLineman]

Great project and excellent work.

 

[Thomas K]

I had some time on Thursday for a few hours on the boat so I thought to tackle the granite countertop.

Now that the top is cut and ready, my wife and I hashed out a plan for the rest of the area above the sink. On the back side of the countertop, towards the port side wall will be a small spice rack. One shelf will divide the space above the sink. On the underside of the shelf it will be for hanging our mugs and on top will be for plates and silverware. I only used about half of the granite for the countertop so the plan is to use the rest of the granite to face the shelf and the back wall with it.

This is where it goes

 

[coolchange]

With all the upholstery that we need done between all of our boats and ski's, we decided to get a good machine and do it ourselves.
View attachment 1329893


My wife is killing it! Her very first attempts at different style seams!
View attachment 1329894 View attachment 1329895

Is that a 1541? Does it have a servo motor? Sweet!

 

[Thomas K]

Is that a 1541? Does it have a servo motor? Sweet!

Yes it’s a 1541 with the servo motor. It’s a great machine.

 

[Thomas K]

Its been like Christmas around here with packages arriving just about everyday and I have no clue what it is.
New swim ladder, cupholders, rod holders, eye hooks, ski/tow hook, anode plates, table base, water pump, black water tank, drawer slides, stainless washers, through hull fitting.

 

[Thomas K]

The black water tank fits perfect. All of the plumbing should be concealed behind the step down into the cabin, that will cover top of the tank.

 

[Thomas K]

I love it when a fix only takes 10 mins! New anode plates on both drives.

 

[Thomas K]

The interior walls are coming together. I have been trying to think ahead for ease of install and have everything prepped before hand. This is the storage area and sink walls

Making sure that the pullout drawers will work. I built a frame for the side and back of the drawers for mounting ( not shown )

The original shore power converter was stuffed under the sink. We relocated the new converter to the side of the wall and out of the storage area. This will be much easier access to the breakers and allow more storage under the sink.

We are almost ready to wrap the walls in vinyl.

Faucet drilled out and dry fit.

 

[Thomas K]

The original head configuration was very awkward. You had to crawl into the very small room and turn around to us it. This reconfiguration is not as private but much more accessible. It's still a very tight fit.

 

[AZLineman]

Excellent work

 

[CLdrinker]

Great job

 

[Thomas K]

Our plan for the sleeping arrangement on the boat is to convert the couch/table into a bed, just like an R.V. and use the v-berth for storage. The couch and table bed will be about the size of a queen mattress. The original Formula table is about 20" round, so I will have to make a new table that will double as a bed frame. We are recovering the cushions with new foam and fabric. I will reuse the old plywood for the cushions, after a good sand and sealing. I placed the plywood down to get a cardboard template for the new table.

 

[Thomas K]

Yesterday we wrapped the walls in vinyl. Sorry I didn't get any after photos.

 

[Andy B.]

You sir have mad carpentry skills!!!