One of the five becomes a Six
#23
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...meanwhile, back to our story. The decision to go with extension boxes for the Six drives meant néw driveshafts. Our man Colabella recommended a driveshaft builder in Orlando, so we measured everything and placed our order. ZP made sure the drive angles were within specs and all the bolt patterns were correct.
#24
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At this point in our story, I took a hard left turn. While waiting on parts to be built, I decided to fix a paint issue that had been bugging me for quite a while. Lock & Load's paint renovation was the result of the considerable talents of Chris Cruz Artistry. Chris did all the art and I had the clear coat applied "back at home". BIG mistake! We were constantly experiencing de-lamination issues with our clear. So, while we had the chance, the boat went back to Chris' shop for a proper clear coat job. Thank you Chris for not saying " I told you so!"
#27
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The Sixes we traded for came with MASSIVE tie bar set up. As Lock & Load is a stagger set up, the bar was way too long. ZP arranged to have it cut down and machined to our specs.
#28
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Sixes on boxes are LONG. I decided to modify the swim platform while we were updating everything else at the stern. Our local aluminum builder fabricated a platform frame mod with a new top plate and our artist Chris designed art to tie in with his overall paint design.
#30
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The inner transom brackets on the Sixes are much beefier (thicker) than the number Five hardware we removed. That required modification of the driveshaft covers. Old ends were removed, new pieces fabricated in cardboard and test fitted. Once ZP was happy with "the fit", aluminum was cut, fitted and welded.