ZX sundeck weight??????

[SilverBack]

I guess that you call that a sundeck and not a hatch?? You guys need to fill me in on the lingo.....anyway......I had some problem with my pump for the ram that opens the sundeck and I lifted it by hand and ........WOW....that sucker is WAY heavier than the one from my Ragazza.....How much are they supposed to weigh??? Has anyone built a lighter weight one? Has anyone built a fiberglass one without the pad that is like the ZR hatch? Are the hatches on the ZRs all fiberglass or do the have a balsa or aluminum frame?

[SilverBack]

Oh yes.....How is the hatch on a classic made? How much does a 22C hatch weigh?

[Trueser]

my guess 250-300 LBS unless wet.

[The Hedgehog]

my guess 250-300 LBS unless wet.

Yep, every bit of that.

I am playing around with a few hatch ram ideas. May use a trim pump and two rams on the side. That ought to throw it up there.

[SilverBack]

Yep, every bit of that.

I am playing around with a few hatch ram ideas. May use a trim pump and two rams on the side. That ought to throw it up there.

We are going to fill up our engine compartments with trim pumps at this rate....One for the drive...two for the trim tabs.....one for the hatch....

Did your boat have a single in the middle in front of the engine stock? That is the way that mine was...I had to move it when I went to the procharger and the HP 500 EFI intake. Now it is on the side of the engine and does not lift the hatch evenly. I am thinking about those Dana car hood hinge type pumps or a ram on each side but I bet my hatch is close to 400 lbs if not more. I wonder if it would not be better to buld a lighter one or do an polished aluminum frame and maybe 1/2 inch lexan with glow lights in the engine compartment or just do a fiberglass one that is much lighter?? I would think the lighter the better......

[Conquistador_del_mar]

Bennett makes engine hatch rams of 3 length and throws, I believe. If you already have Bennett trim tabs, they have a "manifold" that sends the pump pressure to either the tabs or the engine hatch lift rams. In this link, hit on the installation or schematic diagram links. The rams are rated to 250lbs each. You can also call one of their service reps at the bottom of the provided link. Bill

http://www.bennetttrimtabs.com/catalog.php?vID=270&cID=5

[VetteLT193]

try to find pictures of the Factory 1 and Factory 2 race boats from the early 2000's... a lot of them had fiberglass hatches. Formula F1 comes to mind for sure.

[The Hedgehog]

We are going to fill up our engine compartments with trim pumps at this rate....One for the drive...two for the trim tabs.....one for the hatch....

Did your boat have a single in the middle in front of the engine stock? That is the way that mine was...I had to move it when I went to the procharger and the HP 500 EFI intake. Now it is on the side of the engine and does not lift the hatch evenly. I am thinking about those Dana car hood hinge type pumps or a ram on each side but I bet my hatch is close to 400 lbs if not more. I wonder if it would not be better to buld a lighter one or do an polished aluminum frame and maybe 1/2 inch lexan with glow lights in the engine compartment or just do a fiberglass one that is much lighter?? I would think the lighter the better......

The hatch thing is a good thing to ponder. I could see 400 lbs. I was doing some work in the engine compartment and lifted mine without the hatch. Well, I am surprised that someone did not have to come get me out! I was having that very embarrassed "oh crap, now I will be stuck here until someone finds me" feeling. It took some pretty heavy lifting.

No, all that weight can't be good. On the other hand, it would cost a pretty penny to fabricate one. I had to move mine forward for the cooler but not offset. A while back the guy from Germany found a pretty good solution. I will send you pics if you want. I know that your hinges are different than mine but it might work. I also have a sight for some different rams.

I know what you mean about the trim pumps. It is starting to look cluttered in there. I may have to move one forward for better weight distribution. JK!

[SilverBack]

try to find pictures of the Factory 1 and Factory 2 race boats from the early 2000's... a lot of them had fiberglass hatches. Formula F1 comes to mind for sure.

I am not having much luck finding any pictures. Can you give me a link or post a few pictures?

Does anybody else have an idea on building a better looking lighter hatch? Any opinions on how it would look on my ZX?

[SilverBack]

The hatch thing is a good thing to ponder. I could see 400 lbs. I was doing some work in the engine compartment and lifted mine without the hatch. Well, I am surprised that someone did not have to come get me out! I was having that very embarrassed "oh crap, now I will be stuck here until someone finds me" feeling. It took some pretty heavy lifting.

No, all that weight can't be good. On the other hand, it would cost a pretty penny to fabricate one. I had to move mine forward for the cooler but not offset. A while back the guy from Germany found a pretty good solution. I will send you pics if you want. I know that your hinges are different than mine but it might work. I also have a sight for some different rams.

I know what you mean about the trim pumps. It is starting to look cluttered in there. I may have to move one forward for better weight distribution. JK!

That would be bad to be under the hatch and have that happen!!! Send me the picture that you have if you don't mind. I know that it would cost some money to have one made but it seems like you should be able to make one that would save at least 300 lbs. It would be coming off the rear of the boat but it will also be coming off the top of the boat so it may be good for your Center of Gravity.


I am going to loose the Bennett pump that runs both trim tabs now plus I can loose the other Bennett pump that runs the hatch ram now so I will still be good. Plus these Dana pumps are pretty nice looking. I think that the hatch hinge with the ram in the hinge would give you more room in the engine compartment. I am not sure how they would work with my hatch being at an angle.

[The Hedgehog]

That would be bad to be under the hatch and have that happen!!! Send me the picture that you have if you don't mind. I know that it would cost some money to have one made but it seems like you should be able to make one that would save at least 300 lbs. It would be coming off the rear of the boat but it will also be coming off the top of the boat so it may be good for your Center of Gravity.


I am going to loose the Bennett pump that runs both trim tabs now plus I can loose the other Bennett pump that runs the hatch ram now so I will still be good. Plus these Dana pumps are pretty nice looking. I think that the hatch hinge with the ram in the hinge would give you more room in the engine compartment. I am not sure how they would work with my hatch being at an angle.

Those Dana's are a nice looking product. That was what I was going to get before I found a deal on the K-planes.

I will sent you the pics.

[SilverBack]

Those Dana's are a nice looking product. That was what I was going to get before I found a deal on the K-planes.

I will send you the pics.

Thanks Bill!!! After all of the problems over the last year and all of the big time bullets dodged this winter......I had the best time this last weekend...It makes you realize that everything that we get into with these boats is all worth it. It made me want to do a little more detail stuff to the boat. The boat is running so good. The engine fires and purrs like a kitten every time you hit the key..... no leaks...no problems at all and the boat is handling so much better than I had even hoped for!!!

[The Hedgehog]

Thanks Bill!!! After all of the problems over the last year and all of the big time bullets dodged this winter......I had the best time this last weekend...It makes you realize that everything that we get into with these boats is all worth it. It made me want to do a little more detail stuff to the boat. The boat is running so good. The engine fires and purrs like a kitten every time you hit the key..... no leaks...no problems at all and the boat is handling so much better than I had even hoped for!!!

That is good news. That is what it is all about. Congrads on the 100+

We need to talk later about your intercooler. I am happy with mine for now but may ultimately move it to the firewall. I liked the looks of your setup. I would be curious how much it drops the IAC's vs the AW 504. Tex and I are going to do some data logging at AOTH so we should have some benchmark info.

[SilverBack]

No problem on the intercooler...Whatever I can do to help!! Do you or Tex have any pictures of the ski racers??? I can't find anything on them......



On the hatch....What materials have you seen them fabricated out of? Would Lexan be too slick?


What makes these things sooo heavy? I am going to have to get some glass work done in the next couple of weeks and think I may go ahead and get this done if I can figure out what I need to do!

[yeller]

Oh yes.....How is the hatch on a classic made? How much does a 22C hatch weigh?
Cored fiberglass. I've found balsa and foam coring on my 22 so I don't know which is used on the hatch.

I'm not too good at guessing weight, but I've been carrying mine around without much trouble. 40lbs? I highly doubt it's more than 50.

[Last Real Texan]

No problem on the intercooler...Whatever I can do to help!! Do you or Tex have any pictures of the ski racers??? I can't find anything on them......



On the hatch....What materials have you seen them fabricated out of? Would Lexan be too slick?


What makes these things sooo heavy? I am going to have to get some glass work done in the next couple of weeks and think I may go ahead and get this done if I can figure out what I need to do!
Having just redone my sun pad I can say that the pad itself weighs close to 100-120 lbs....now the glass part of the hatch weighs in around 100-130 lbs...I think we all over estimate the weight of them....Mine weighs no more than 250 all together I am sure.


Tex

[SilverBack]

Having just redone my sun pad I can say that the pad itself weighs close to 100-120 lbs....now the glass part of the hatch weighs in around 100-130 lbs...I think we all over estimate the weight of them....Mine weighs no more than 250 all together I am sure.


Tex


I would have thought that 200-250 would be all that it weighs too. I think something is wrong with mine. I think maybe some material was added. I didn't pay much attention at the time but...David Wade is the person that put mine on and he called me when he did put it on and ask why the hell it was so heavy. He said that he had never put one on any boat of any length that was sooo heavy and he said that usually he and one of his employees just put it on but he had to use the overhead crane to put mine on. I thought it was just more of his crap and told him to just put it on and not to worry about it at the time but after I had to lift one side of it ..... I can tell you...it is very heavy...It took two of us to lift one side when the ram did not work and I am a pretty big guy and if it weighed 250 I should have been able to lift it straight up..much less just tilt it on the hinges!!!! :confused::confused: I think that at the least it may be worth pulling it off and pulling it apart.