Wifes new cheetah wildcat build thread

[2FORCEFULL]

Well, it all started about 6 mo. ago,.. we had decided to upgrade the power in sues wild cat..
we wanted to go to 525 power,and full hydraulic steering,...She had had the boat for 4 season
trouble free, and figured,... might as well screw with it till it doesn't work anymore..

A little about the wild cat;

the Wild cat is a gary lench design and were layed up by them( same guy that did most all of the havasu and so cal builders hulls)

the wild cat bottom is very fast and forgiv'n .. very easy on plane , rocket out of the hole...
with the 496 ho, it was tested by HOTBOAT and top speed of 73 mph was obtained..

I added exterinal steering, and dana exhaust, and had prestige tune it... with enough prop changes to open a prop shop,..
I settled with a top speed of 77 mph...(GPS)

after doing the math over and over, and listening to sue keep asking when am I getting the new motor....

(lol... she's like a wheel bearing on a boat trailer that needs grease, everytime you take the boat out you have to listen to it till you do some thing about it.....:love: )

we decided that it would be way cheeper and make way more sense to just buy a new boat.. (you can buy the new wild cats for middle 60's with a 496 ho).. not bad for a custom built boat...

here's her old boat.... sure a few of you have seen it on the river and at havasu......1562615627

[2FORCEFULL]

Ok, on with the build,
If any of you have ever delt with Cheetah bob, what a treat....no pressure kinda guy,, if you want it fine , if you don't ... well that's fine too:smilies_mit_hut019:

so now the build starts... very first thing , you have to decide on colors, and grafix on the hull..

this is were it get skechy..you have no idea what it's gonna look like till it comes out of the mold, and guess what....

yep....YOU OWN IT!!,,..

so when ever you see a boat that's bad ass, or horrible, that isn't production made copy.... keep in mind what the owner had to go through:idea:

so after about a mo. of waiting... they finally popped it out of the mold:TinkerBell:156291563015631156321563315634

[kevnmcd]

Looking good Steve!

[HB Vic]

Looks good so far. But feed us more details. Are you doing the 525 or going with the new 520?

[2FORCEFULL]

Now we need a new trailer, with the stock option, you get a painted fender tandum axel trailer trailer...
the trailer is a 7000 lb gross weight..... well, by the time you add fuel and gear it just too close for comfort for me
so for a couple grand more we setted with a triple axel, stainless fender trailer:wink_002:



156361563715638

[2FORCEFULL]

Looks good so far. But feed us more details. Are you doing the 525 or going with the new 520?


hold on, it's all coming...

[2FORCEFULL]

so now we have hull, well, two halfs of a hull on dollys... and a triple axel trailer..

we also up graded to the 525 power package and full hydraulic to the helm steering....

we ordered the whole sterndrive package from merc, I believe it comes with an xr drive:popcorn:

all kinds of storys from every one on what they think the boat will do speed wise with the 525 power,:popcorn:

but I'm gonna start with what NODIGG on the boards said be cause he had one with the 525 power....

he said GPS'd 92 mph gps'd:smile::wink_002:

we will be happy to be able to cruise 70 with out having to be on pin and trimmed to the moon:kissykissy:

the power package arived:love:1563915640

[2FORCEFULL]

the actual hull build is a lengthy process with little to show for progress,

the two half are prepped , there are (I think), two types of hulls,... a clam shell(top and bottom mate together) and
a "shoe box".. top over laps....this is a clam shell...

another wait and see deal here..... you have to hope the grafix line up:badidea:

how they even get close is a mistery to me, you have to tape inside out and backwards...:secret:

while the halfs are apart, all the bulk heads and balsa core is installed, this boat has a 90 gal belly tank and it must also be in stalled1564115642

[2FORCEFULL]

Once the two halves are prepped, tank and bulkheads are in stalled,... they bond the two halves together,

these boats have a full fiberglass inner liner , way better IMO than plywood floors... the top bonds to the bottom way better making a very solid hull...

after 4 years of pounding havasu in the old one... not one crack anywhere:wink:156431564415645156461564715648

[WMC]

Wow great thread

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[Wendi]

Sue is a lucky girl it's beautiful!!

[2FORCEFULL]

so now we have the hull together.....we decided to cap the front and back...
and also upgrade to stainless rub rail....

the engine bay was susposed to ge flo coated,,,..but we ended up just making it blue


I hate the splatter web stuff156491565015651156521565315654156551565615657 1565815659156601566115662156631566415665

[2FORCEFULL]

Sue is a lucky girl it's beautiful!!

I think you got that backwards...she has worked the whole 30yrs we been married,.. she gonna retire in jan....
kind off a retirement boat...lol... i'm a luk e fuk r

[Paul65K]

I think you got that backwards...she has worked the whole 30yrs we been married,.. she gonna retire in jan....
kind off a retirement boat...lol... i'm a luk e fuk r

That's for GD sure.....Sue is the second nicest person I've ever met.....and a very close second for sure :D

Hey Steve !!


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[GotHalos]

Nice build, I like the color choice :thumbup:

[yzfrider]

looks incredible. I see that all decks with inner liners are white inside and was curious if that is how it has to be or if you could have made the dash blue, etc...

[2FORCEFULL]

That's for GD sure.....Sue is the second nicest person I've ever met.....and a very close second for sure :D

Hey Steve !!


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thanks for posting,... come back and visit

[2FORCEFULL]

looks incredible. I see that all decks with inner liners are white inside and was curious if that is how it has to be or if you could have made the dash blue, etc...

thanks for the post,..you can have it any color you want,.. the herbst boat was all red...

[2FORCEFULL]

Nice build, I like the color choice :thumbup:

thanks,... that was was a spooky deal,,..

[yzfrider]

thanks for the post,..you can have it any color you want,.. the herbst boat was all red...

When is it going to be ready? Was following the build over on RDP and it seems like its been on going for most of the spring and summer. But since its not your boat I guess you can wait patiently! ;)

[Slacker]

Excellent,,,,That's going to be one SWEET RIDE!!!! Thanks

[2FORCEFULL]

When is it going to be ready? Was following the build over on RDP and it seems like its been on going for most of the spring and summer. But since its not your boat I guess you can wait patiently! ;)

the cap set it back over 2 weeks,i'm guessing some time in oct.

[rschap1]

I really like what the capping does to a hull.
VERY sharp looking.
Nice job on the pics and thread too.
Congrats on the new boat.

[ChumpChange]

I'm really diggin that design.

[2FORCEFULL]

I really like what the capping does to a hull.
VERY sharp looking.
Nice job on the pics and thread too.
Congrats on the new boat.


I'm really diggin that design.

thanks, she's happy... happy wife=happy life

[niceguyeddie]

Looks really good! The gel design is really cool! Keep the updates coming!

[Stainless]

Congratulations Sue and Steve! You really came up with nice graphics and color combinations. Will be watching your thread all the way till it hits the water. ;)

[2FORCEFULL]

heres a little peek of how the interior is gonna look, just change the orange to candy blue..

still up in the air a little.... might pipe it in black to match the pin lines in the gell

I don't really like the way they do the interior to match the grafix design...15704

[HB Vic]

heres a little peek of how the interior is gonna look, just change the orange to candy blue..

still up in the air a little.... might pipe it in black to match the pin lines in the gell

I don't really like the way they do the interior to match the grafix design...

Just a thought, but if I were you I would put some tufting or something (similar to the lower backs) in the bottoms. If you leave them flat, they will stretch and you'll get wrinkles.

[ChumpChange]

Just a thought, but if I were you I would put some tufting or something (similar to the lower backs) in the bottoms. If you leave them flat, they will stretch and you'll get wrinkles.

Tuck and Roll baby!

[HB Vic]

Tuck and Roll baby!

A lot of the manufacturers made their hatch covers absolutely flat. No tuft, no stitching, nothing. After a season or two in the sun and traffic, the hatch cover material flaps in the wind like sheets on a clothesline in Oklahoma :D

[yzfrider]

heres a little peek of how the interior is gonna look, just change the orange to candy blue..

still up in the air a little.... might pipe it in black to match the pin lines in the gell

I don't really like the way they do the interior to match the grafix design...15704

I would pipe in black and then add that grey carbon inlay look to the middle. Make it a but more modern.

[ChumpChange]

A lot of the manufacturers made their hatch covers absolutely flat. No tuft, no stitching, nothing. After a season or two in the sun and traffic, the hatch cover material flaps in the wind like sheets on a clothesline in Oklahoma :D

I had a great comeback in mind for this but google images is just not giving me the results as demented as my mind.

[2FORCEFULL]

I would pipe in black and then add that grey carbon inlay look to the middle. Make it a but more modern.

we're done with the carbon, bout 8 yrs of it done...

[28eliminator]

Lookin good :thumbup:

[2FORCEFULL]

Lookin good :thumbup:

thanks...when you going to the river again

[28eliminator]

thanks...when you going to the river again

Coming out Friday night, be there through Monday... Let's hang :partyguy:

[2FORCEFULL]

Coming out Friday night, be there through Monday... Let's hang :partyguy:

we'll be in vegas....come to vegas...

[Ziggy]

Vegas, schmegas.........c'mon down to the lake and play

[2FORCEFULL]

Vegas, schmegas.........c'mon down to the lake and play

how the house coming?

[28eliminator]

we'll be in vegas....come to vegas...

Too far for me... Lol

[HypNautic]

Great build thread. Boat looks awesome in person too.
I think you should have made it purple though ?!?!?

[BigDog]

Fantastic Build!! Love the graphics!!! Can't wait to see the rest of the build.

[28eliminator]

Great build thread. Boat looks awesome in person too.
I think you should have made it purple though ?!?!?

Purple boats suck :D

[Patyacht]

Nice Build Steve & Sue!

[HypNautic]

Purple boats suck :D

Wait.... WTF????
I thought it made the boat faster!
;)

[GRADS]

Awesome gelcoat! If I ever build another boat I might splash it in red. ;) Just curious...I didn't know Mercury was still selling 525's I thought they had moved to 565's?
15837

[2FORCEFULL]

well' progress is slow...16930169311693216933169341693516936

[HB Vic]

Coming along nicely. Looks to me like you'll be using it before the weather turns. Congrats!!

[WMC]

Looks great thanks for the update

[Stainless]

Looking great Steve!

[westair]

Why the slow progress, Bob got a lot going on? ..... looks really nice!!

[SummerO]

Why the slow progress, Bob got a lot going on? ..... looks really nice!!

Awesome thread and fantastic looking boat! Those colors will look great on the water...trust me!

The most impressive pic in the thread was one of the last ones that had the shop vac in it! Keeping the boat spotless during construction is not something a lot of builders do. It tells me they have a lot of pride in their work!

[270]

You got more projects going on than anyone I’ve ever known.

Boats looking good...... :thumbup:

[2FORCEFULL]

Why the slow progress, Bob got a lot going on? ..... looks really nice!!

the fiberglass shop took forever, almost 3 extra weeks to make the engine area blue and to cap the front and back...

[2FORCEFULL]

real close.... susposed to be done next saturday... 20248202492025020251202522025320254202552025620257 2025920260

[Stainless]

That is so nice, congrats Sue and Steve! Beautiful boat! ;)
I have a suggestion if your gonna name it.
How about a name Sues Cheetah contest? ;)


Carbon aka Stainless

[Paul65K]

Looks nice guys.......very good looking :thumb:

[2FORCEFULL]

202612026220263202642026520266

[82daytona]

Sweet!!!

[2FORCEFULL]

That is so nice, congrats Sue and Steve! Beautiful boat! ;)
I have a suggestion if your gonna name it.
How about a name Sues Cheetah contest? ;)


Carbon aka Stainless

my two entries;

PUSSY GALORE

Alota VAGINA

she didn't like either...lol:badidea:

[Stainless]

"Cheetah Sue"


Carbon aka Stainless

[Paul65K]

How about "Sue Said Yes".................which is short for "Sue said yes, can you fuckin' believe it" :D

[28eliminator]

"Cheet her"

Looks great guys!!


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[28eliminator]

Your gonna end some more of these Steve :D

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/29/6unegybu.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/29/e8u4ygut.jpg


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[270]

Looks great buddy. :thumbup:

[WMC]

Looks great



sent from WMC's phone

[Ziggy]

Name it SueShi......if you like sushi. :)

From my POS T-mobile thingie

[Ziggy]

The boat is looking absolutely beautiful.:thumbup::thumbup: Hope Sue let's you drive it too...lol:)

From my POS T-mobile thingie

[Tishimself]

Gorgeous boat Steve and Sue. Looking forward to all the badass threads on it coming in the very near future.... ;)

[ChumpChange]

Looks fantastic. Congrats again!

[2FORCEFULL]

boat got done last week, 24074240752407624077240782407924080240812408224083 2408424085240862408724088240892409024091

[Eli]

Super nice!!! I'm definitely gonna hit her up for a ride!!


Sent from my Bat Cave...

[Paul65K]

Sweet..............Very nice boat!!!

Looking forward to a ride soon :thumb:

[GRADS]

Is it for sale? ;)

[Milkmoney]

Cool looking boat. How will the dark colors be in your guys heat out west ?

[2FORCEFULL]

Cool looking boat. How will the dark colors be in your guys heat out west ?

it's actually a lot lighter in the sunlight...seats are white though

[Stainless]

is it for sale? ;)

:D


ch3no2

[Tishimself]

Coming soon....."Cheetah the King of Boats" thread... Not too far away.....B-)

Seriously....beautiful build Steve....you two nailed it....

[Unforgiven]

Steve, you should try a 2" shortie drive on Sue's boat...I'll bring it to town with me....and a 28 prop

[niceguyeddie]

Looks great. Defiantly not your "off the shelf" Cheetah. Have you got her wet yet?

[ridebig]

Great job capping the front and back!!! Beautiful boat!!

[28eliminator]

Looks great :thumb:

Let's see some pics of that pretty motor :biggrin:

[ChumpChange]

Congrats on the finished boat. One project down, one to go!

[314joey]

Throw some beer in a cooler with some ice and drop her in the water and you're ready to go, she turned out great.

[Wendi]

Wow it turned out gorgeous just like your wife!

[rivergames]

Beautiful Steve!

[Joker]

Steve, that boat looks great. :thumbup:
Congrats to you and Sue.

[2FORCEFULL]

thanks for all the kindness, she named it "WILD KITTY"

[Paul65K]

thanks for all the kindness, she named it "WILD KITTY"

That's a good one..........Wet Kitty would be a good one too :D

[JBS]

Very nice congrats Steve and Sue


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[Wheeler]

Love the colors!

[2FORCEFULL]

That's a good one..........Wet Kitty would be a good one too :D

how bout Mrs kitty.......

[2FORCEFULL]

how bout Mrs kitty.......

oh yeh....from gunsmokke

[Singleton]

Turned out nice.
Hope you get to enjoy it once the house is finished.

[ELIMINATORLIBERTY]

Very nice boat love the colors

[HypNautic]

Congrats Steve and Sue. Boat looks great! Enjoyed the build pics. See you on the water.

[KAP]

Congratulations Steve and Sue!

I hope to see you both real soon.

KAP

Note: I did not see a kill switch on the helm...have them put one in! An onboard battery charger is also really nice. Thanks for sharing:)

[240Hallett]

Nice!!

[nodigg]

Man I miss my Wildcat! At least I got to name the product. NICE build Steve

[westair]

I watched them build the mold for that ....definitely came out nice!.... I was going to buy one one but couldn't fit it in my garage at the time.