My addition, the Magnum 27

[mphatc]

Last fall I lost my senses .. again . .
I bought a Magnum 27 that was on Ebay, but only after the auctions ended w/o a sale.
The details are here:
http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=54735
This boat was a MESS . . .parked for 12 years without any care or use, but thankfully properly winterized and prepped for a long term storage.
When I last posted my wife did not know that I bought this . . :biggrin:
But I made sure that everyone else knew, the whole family! and we all kept it a secret . . . till she found it in my shop on a Saturday after Thanksgiving . .
Her reaction was worth everything . . from a WTF . . to elation! A story by itself!
So with this thread I thought I'd share my trials and frustrations since my initial post . .
The boat was dirty, messy and full of turds . . as the old pics show. After some extensive cleaning, some with dust masks as the animals had been everywhere . . fortunately no signs of urine . . but everything else.
Inspection after cleaning showed an old boat but absolutley no signs of hard use. I've crawled every inch of this hull and deck and found not one stress crack in the hull, and the only stress in the deck is where an inner bulkhead was removed to increase below deck space. Someone added a thru hull head, about 6' from the bow . . I think you need to be 2' tall to have used this! I've since removed this.
After the cleaning, it took all of 20 minutes to get the engines to run!! The seller told me that the fuel tanks were full . . and had been topped with 5 gallons each of octane boost . 12 years before!!. . after removing the spark plugs, ensuring proper oil level, and a new battery, cranking brought oil pressure up, immediatly! With spark pugs reinstalled both engines came to life, on the old fuel, which fwiw, does not smell like varnish, but like good fuel . .
In the process I found that all the gauges function, the steering is tight and one drive won't pivot freely, the trim tabs are junk, and one tilt motor doesn't function. The bilge pump is new, the blowers I'll replace regardless.
Before Xmas we pulled both engines to replace all the freeze pugs and oil pan gaskets . . and while they were out it gave me a chance to clean the bilges. I also flushed the water jackets of rusty debris . . there was lots!
Next we removed the name which was painted on and 15' long with one can of generic oven cleaner . .amazing how this came off, with no staining of the black Imron.
Then the ugly Vee windshield was removed . . this will be replaced with a black lexan unframed winshield, 1/3 as high, much like the new Banana 24.
All fuel lines are being replaced, along with filters to be compatible with the ethanol fuels.
The interior was chewed to chit. I gave this whole pile of stuff to my upholstery guy who will restore it . .
The bottom will be refinished in white . . the drives will be refinished in Volvo white.

Mario L.

1968 Magnum 27
1969 Corsican

The pics below show some of the work

[Ghost]

Wow, there was more work there than I thought when I was poring over the ad. Great boat though--can't wait to see it start taking shape. Congrats. -Mike

[Conquistador_del_mar]

Congratulations on buying such a great boat! Were you a little scared to try the oven cleaner on the black Imron? I would have guessed that it would have softened the Imron. You will be running when I am probably building a new floor in mine - lol. Bill

[Morgan's Cloud]

What year is that one again ?

I know there weren't many with the " V " windscreen , and it kinda is a matter of personal taste , but you can't deny that it's as retro as it gets.

Now , if you take off those redundant exhaust tab outlets on the lowers , that's supposed to be good for a few MPH eh ? :cool!:


(oops ... it's a '68 ..... duuh )

[mphatc]

Ghost,
Yes it's a lot of work !! The sellers description was from memory when he stored the boat 12 years before! He never saw it until the day I picked it up from the yard where it had been left for all those years. It was very apparent that this boat was from a better time in his life and the sale was a final goodbye.
Yet, I can see how everything he told me was accurate, his memory was good, just that time ruined what he had. I will say this reflected in the price. :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

Conquistador_del_mar,
I had no fear with the oven cleaner once I knew it was Imron. I run a restoration business, and the idea came from my paint guy who told me that they used this all the time to remove lettering on vehicles back in the day of painted graphics . . The Imron will buff out , there is some flatness where the paint was applied. No one will know.

Morgan,

The exhaust outlets on the drives are gone. . .I have one engine out again to rebuild the shaft from the flywheel to the drive, the tops of the drives off to replace seals and rubber boots and rebuild the CV joints.
The Vee windscreen is not my choice . .although a Magnum 27 was my desire after the Squadron 27 project ended . . but then I have to say that this boat chose me . . .

A few more pics
one of the jack set up inside the bow , where a bulkhead was removed and the deck sagged. I'm rebuilding this with another full bulkhead like the original.
One of the head in it's location . . I really don't know what they were thinking!
the fuel tanks, all clean and dry aluminum. No electric gauges here.

Mario L.

[Morgan's Cloud]

Location ... What's that ? ?

That has to be by far the most bizarre head installation ever .
Mind you , any sport type boat becomes instantly attractive to women as soon as they find out it has a head ! :wink:

[mphatc]

Poodle,

There will be a head, otherwise cruises will be short . . and I can't deal with a porta potti! BTDT NO more . . so help me out here guys . .

If I mount the head just one bulkhead further aft . .right in front of the fuel tanks, with the holding tank in the bow . . . which will be a bit higher . .

I need all the headroom I can get. These pics are of that area, which still requires that someone crawl across the fuel tanks . . .

Mario

[ITTLFLI]

Cool project!:shades:

[gcarter]

I like this boat!!!!
Well done Mario! :eek:

[gcarter]

Can the deck come off easily on this boat?

[Ghost]

I need all the headroom I can get. These pics are of that area, which still requires that someone crawl across the fuel tanks . . .

How self conscious are you and your guests? Put in a hatch and all you need is shoulder room... :)

[mphatc]

George,
Deck removal would be a huge job . . and it's not needed . . everything below is solid. It is built so much better than a Donzi . . . The only obstacle is access . .

Ghost,
I can't add a hatch, as ultimately I will reinstall the wood inlay on the deck. The outside of this boat needs to stay period correct. I just sent all the deck hardware, and the stantions out for plating . . I really like the look of the old offshore life lines down the middle of the deck . .

Does anyone know a source for the correct color paint for the Volvo drives?

Mario

[Ghost]

George,
Deck removal would be a huge job . . and it's not needed . . everything below is solid. It is built so much better than a Donzi . . . The only obstacle is access . .

Ghost,
I can't add a hatch, as ultimately I will reinstall the wood inlay on the deck. The outside of this boat needs to stay period correct. I just sent all the deck hardware, and the stantions out for plating . . I really like the look of the old offshore life lines down the middle of the deck . .

Does anyone know a source for the correct color paint for the Volvo drives?

Mario

I TOTALLY agree. (Was just kidding about the hatch--kinda funny to think of someone using the head with his head sticking up through the deck. Funnier still thinking about whoever put the head where it is up there.) It's a really cool boat. F_inscreenname just painted a volvo for his Monza, but I don't know if he had a line on the exact color, or just picked a white that he liked.

[gcarter]

kinda funny to think of someone using the head with his head sticking up through the deck.

Kinda like an outhouse with a dutch door.

[scippy]

Mario,
On a different note concerning the one piece windshield. How are you intending to fasten the one piece windshied to the V-box? By looking at
the banana pics it appears to be screwed from the inside along the lower perimeter into a raised outside portion of deck that's about 2" higher than the inside. would that be enough ?

[Conquistador_del_mar]

Ghost,
A few more pics
one of the jack set up inside the bow , where a bulkhead was removed and the deck sagged. I'm rebuilding this with another full bulkhead like the original.
One of the head in it's location . . I really don't know what they were thinking!
the fuel tanks, all clean and dry aluminum. No electric gauges here.

Mario L.

Mario,
You definitely need that bulkhead that was removed with the wide span of the deck. In my case, I am almost certain that I will be adding one more over the fuel tanks, but it will be a partial overhead support. Even with my new core in the deck, it flexes more than what I would like to see. Bill

[mphatc]

Scippy,
I'll do it just the banana boat, mounting a solid piece on top of the Vee deck section, and mounting the windsheild to that , with it flush with the forward surface of the Vee section.
It will be plenty strong . . till it breaks :wink:


Conquistador_del_mar,
The bulkhead I am addiing will come down the hull sides like the original, and will be 2 layers thick and laminated with West System across the top, screwed and sandwiching a 1/8" thich piece of aluminum. My deck is solid and firm everywhere except where this was removed, and it is also right under the rear most stantion, obviously applying a large load.
The deck on this boat is 3/4 inch thick, . . with a wood core . . the hull is 11/16" thich where the thru hull head outlet was . ..solid glass.

All of this is tomorrows project. I made new floors for the area over the tanks today . . .
More pics Sunday eve.

Mario

[Conquistador_del_mar]

Conquistador_del_mar,
The bulkhead I am addiing will come down the hull sides like the original, and will be 2 layers thick and laminated with West System across the top, screwed and sandwiching a 1/8" thich piece of aluminum. My deck is solid and firm everywhere except where this was removed, and it is also right under the rear most stantion, obviously applying a large load.
The deck on this boat is 3/4 inch thick, . . with a wood core . . the hull is 11/16" thich where the thru hull head outlet was . ..solid glass.

All of this is tomorrows project. I made new floors for the area over the tanks today . . .
More pics Sunday eve.

Mario

How are you going to make a template for the entire bulkhead, and why are you going to sandwich in a 1/8" aluminum plate? Just asking. It just now dawned on me that I will likely add a longitudinal support for the area over my fuel tanks instead of another overhead bulkhead since it really only need more center support to take out the flex. I can tie it into the adjacent bulkheads.
Yep, they are really laid up heavy for offshore pounding. Mine is solid as far as the bottom and stringers. Bill

[Morgan's Cloud]

[QUOTE=mphatc;508062]George,
Deck removal would be a huge job . . and it's not needed . . everything below is solid. It is built so much better than a Donzi . . . The only obstacle is access . .

It's interesting that you would say this. I have to admit , there is a massive difference in the amount of glass used on my 25 and the St T .

Where the through hull for the head is on mine I measured the hull at just over five eighths and an inch and a half solid in the engine room ..*thanks to the liner)

[mphatc]

Here's some pics of this past weekends work . . .

I made the new bulkhead, all one piece, 2 layers of 3/4 " marine plywood
which will be West Epoxy laminated . .
The aluminum may still go in between . . this would allow me to narrow down the upper support for more access to the area ahead where the head will be reinstalled.

The name was also removed from the other side . .this time instead of generic oven cleaner I used "Easy Off". WOW, this stuff really took it all off real quickly!

Mario

[scippy]

Mario, How the fab proceeding on the one piece V shield?

[superhatz]

Mario,

Do you know what the original color was?

Aaron

[mphatc]

Aaron,

Best I can tell, the hull was yellow with a light blue waterline and a white deck . .
wood inlay was filled, that's next winters project.

I'll be calling you then when I need to find the marine plywood with mahoghany veneer 11' long!

I have elected to build the new windshield from 3/8" acrylic UV protected . .

Mario L.

[superhatz]

Aaron,
Best I can tell, the hull was yellow with a light blue waterline and a white deck . .
wood inlay was filled, that's next winters project.
I'll be calling you then when I need to find the marine plywood with mahoghany veneer 11' long!
I have elected to build the new windshield from 3/8" acrylic UV protected . .
Mario L.

So are you going to return the boat to original colors?....

The wood inlay is about 4x10....a hard piece to find but there's a good dealer in Ohio....I'll find it when you need.

Looking good Mario!

[scippy]

I have elected to build the new windshield from 3/8" acrylic UV protected .
Mario L.[/quote]

Mario,
E-mail me engin255@aol.com if you still intend to defray some cost
by fabricating 2 Vee's from the same sheet of acrylic. I'm interested!

[superhatz]

Hey Mario....some pointy Sports with lower plexi (wood?) windshields....:)

Thanks Mark!....:worthy:

[Staffan Berg]

Good luck with your restoration.
Will be looking from a distance :sweden:

With "Superhatz" in this forum you have the best guide when questions arrive.

I just cant stop loving the Magnum 27 Sports.

[Staffan Berg]

Nice looking 27 Sport
Is the owner known on this site ?

Like the dark color and the white outdrives and deck.

Could change the pink upholstery.

How many Magnum 27 Sport can a man have ?

[superhatz]

Nice looking 27 Sport
Is the owner known on this site ?
Like the dark color and the white outdrives and deck.
Could change the pink upholstery.
How many Magnum 27 Sport can a man have ?

Staffan....that's an old photo I "stole" from Mark (Smidgen too)....he's the real expert.....:yes:

[smidgen too]

Staffan....that's an old photo I "stole" from Mark (Smidgen too)....he's the real expert.....:yes:
Thanks Aaron, but I'm not that good.:bonk: The pictures are from around 1973. This Mag was owned by Frank Szykula and powered by twin Chrysler Super Bee 340cu engines & Volvo drives. It had dark purple sides with a light purple interior. Frank had many cool boats, the 288 Broad Jumper was one of the few single engine Magnums built, and this black Cigarette was his last race, performance boats he had around 1981.

[superhatz]

Thanks Aaron, but I'm not that good.:bonk: The pictures are from around 1973. This Mag was owned by Frank Szykula and powered by twin Chrysler Super Bee 340cu engines & Volvo drives. It had dark purple sides with a light purple interior. Frank had many cool boats, the 288 Broad Jumper was one of the few single engine Magnums built, and this black Cigarette was his last race, performance boats he had around 1981.

Chryslers?...wow, did he work for them?

[mphatc]

a quick update . .

The new bulkhead is in place, but not w/o a challenge. The last layer of mat and glass went in and as I was interupted while getting set up and I forgot to add hardener . . let's just say that I was not pleased to peel off a bunch of material and clean up that mess! Chit happens, suck it up and move on . .

I chose to strip the drives of their paint, as they had several layers of graphite bottom paint in black . . Volvo drives need to be white!
This turned into a much larger job than anticipated, but well worth the results. I chemically stripped one drive, the other I sanded with a D/A and by hand. One was more labor, the other a slimmy mess. Once stripped they were painted in an epoxy aluminum primer, then 3 coats of a urethane 1991 Volvo off white . . and they look perfect! Not to worry, the rubber pads will be replaced and not left as painted over old ones.
As it turned out I had most of the drives apart and needed to replace the u-joints, and inspection of the uppers showed that water and or condensation had done it's share of damage . . inspite of draining out clean fluids! All the bearings are standard items, I acquired them all from a local bearing supplier. The shaft between the engine and the drives which as designed sits in an oil bath with lip seals rotated very coarsely on the port engine, this I rebuilt with sealed bearings and eliminated the shaft seals.

I also chose to replace the single blower with two blowers. We discovered that the new Perko scoops which are designed to have the hose inserted also would easily accept the blowers . . eliminating the need for a separate hose between the blower and the ventilator, and making the mounting a snap.
I notched each blower to match the bottom nubs on the vent, and after the vent is mounted, I inserted the blower and using RTV sealed and secured the blower.

I do need to find one good tilt motor assembly. One does not function . . the motor runs, the mechanicals are good, but the electrics are fried . .

My bow nav light now is on the very peak of the deck, and the old lights that were on the outside of the cockpit have been removed.

The seats have been reupolstered . in the original red white stripe pattern.


The shift cables have been replaced, and the Morse controls cleaned and lubed. Nothing I've had apart shows any wear . . just dirt and corrosion from years of storage.

I'll be adding a set of Bennett tabs, as I have them, hopefully next year I can add a real set of tabs.

In 10 days I'll finally receive my acrylic . . if I'm able to build my windshield and not mess up and need the second half of the sheet,Scippy you can acquire it and possibly even all cut and prepped like what I'll build. Not to worry, I'll post pics first.
Below are some recent pics, not great quality . . more soon.

Mario L.

[superhatz]

Look great Mario....:)

I've got a near new set of 280 K-Planes for sale...complete with pumps and switches...

-Aaron

[mphatc]

Tempt me with details, I haven't started to mount the Bennetts . .
is it $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ or $$?
Mario

[superhatz]

Tempt me with details, I haven't started to mount the Bennetts . .
is it $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ or $$?
Mario

Sorry....$1600.....they look new.

:)

[smidgen too]

Chryslers?...wow, did he work for them?
Aaron I don't know if he did but I believe he is coming to the reunion, then we can here all the stories...:yes:

[superhatz]

Here ya go Mario...these would be sweet on the Mag....:yes:

[olredalert]

------Mario would have to paint them Volvo white..........Bill S

[mphatc]

Now I need to find something to sell . .

arrggh . . . . .

white tabs . . :) mmmmmm???? got to think aabout this one . .

this boat could rapidly become another drain on my retirement account!


Mario

[mphatc]

How I spent my day . . .

Mario

[Morgan's Cloud]

This turned into a much larger job than anticipated, Not to worry . . .
Mario L.



:biggrin.: Truer words ......... :biggrin.:


Sorry , couldn't resist that ...... It looks great .

[The Hedgehog]

I would not recommend putting on Bennetts to later take them off and mount some K-Planes. I just went through that exercise and wish that the Bennetts were never put on in the first place.

Oh yeah, Bill S: Thanks for selling me the planes. They work like a champ.

[olredalert]

-----No problemo, Hedge! Im happy if you are.........Bill S

[HIGH LIFE]

Mario, These tabs are 1/2 price, go for it!! Mine were mounted on 1/2" aluminum angle right under the rear cleats,easy access. Keep them black to blend in with the hull. Michael "HIGH LIFE"

[MDonziM]

Here ya go Mario...these would be sweet on the Mag....:yes:

Not trying to jump them if you offered to someone else but do you still have them, and if so, how much?

Thanks - Marshall