Been gettin" TONS of e-mails, PM's and phone calls on what to use under the hulls of our GPR's to get MAX speed out of them in the last 4 foot of the hull.

As the Fountain Guys showed us all at the Bug what a 1200R (79.1 mph) can do if you pay attention to "tuning the bottom of your hull" vs just "bolting on speed parts".....the sky is the limit. In fact the "perfect marriage" is to apply what the Fountain guys taught all of us....and put it into use as we add our "speed parts". Some of us out there will see this post as useless since they do not want to spend hours tuning things in to the "thousandth".....but recent history at the Bug this last June showed that attention to detial is what takes home the "Bug Crown".

So..........here goes. Some are using assorted putty ranging from Bondo, to JB weld. Some are even attempting to use silicone.....frankly all or most of the stories coming back as they have attempted to duplicate what was seen at the Bug has been accompanied with complaints such as "I can't get the putty back out".....or "it takes too long to cure"......or "it's as hard as a brick and I cannot sand it easily".....or "it falls out on the first ride".....or "I've been asking around and nobody wants to tell me what to use".

I've heard it all.

What I am about to show you..........works. This putty will set-up in about 25 minutes, easy to work with, easy to sand, and if applied right will stay locked in place as long as you want....yet will pop out at a whim should you need to change things.

First off.........here is the putty and container it comes in...



The next couple of pics show more detail of the container should you not have it in your area and need a phone # or web-site and part # to reffer to when ordering.......






Last two pics reffer to what it looks like once finished and how to apply in the holes you are filling. The surface against the water will sand silky smooth using 300 grit sand paper. Make sure you sand "front to back" on all strokes.

Also make sure you place a small piece of nylon rope around the bolt head first....then a small piece of duct tape to hold it in place before you apply the putty. In the pics you can see the layers built in. Pretty simple.....especially when it comes to removal. Just simply tap the edge with a flat head screw driver firmly ......and out it comes entirely as you see in the pic........head of bolt is clean and ready to be worked on.

Here are the pics.........





Pretty easy and upfront for gains of about .5-1.0 mph if applied and sanded correctly. Anyone in here can do this to actually any PWC and see gains.

Just thought I'd pass this stuff along to you all in here......plus save me time in answering all these e-mails, PM's and phone calls.

GPR Grudge Racers Rule!!!!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Drink My Dust,

Good info and tips Tim

My local Home Depot carries the above pictured item.

I prefer the use a stick epoxy like that and then finish up with a paste like PC 11. (also carried by HD)

Lots of good repair epoxy's in the auto collision business that are made to be sanded and will probably work well also.

Good info DMD. I put mold release in mine when I filled them. They have stayed in so far. I'm kind of worried about how they will come out. One good thing about epoxy a heat gun and 300° will soften it substantialy. A soldering gun works well to keep the heat localized.

Interesting. Where did you find it for sale? Thanks Tim.

Jay........It's kinda hit and miss on who carries this stuff. I'd call the "800" # on the package and see who is a vendor nearest you.

The stuff is just perfect for fillin' in those holes.

quote:

Anyone in here can do this to actually any PWC and see gains.

Tim you are exactly correct, and it works. Basically a FREE speed mod.
Good you posted the "rope" still attached to the "plug".

I used this stuff. Can be found at Lowe's for 2.99.

okay, I'll bite, why put the rope in there? Is it to keep the epoxy off the bolt? Or give it something to hold onto?
SHOOTER

easier to remove

quote:

Originally posted by SHOOTER:
...why put the rope in there?

To keep the epoxy out of the bolt and threads. Otherwise you'll never get the bolt out. Will be doing this over the weekend.

if your in a hurry, you won't have to put the rope in because it will still come out--just not as easy though. I used the 5 minute epoxy (liquid) from wal-mart. It looks like a needle from a hostpital ---i put scotch tape in an "x" pattern over the hole because i did it upside down. When i did the "x" over the hole, i left enough room to stick the skinny tube in from the side and squeezed. Then put another piece over the small opening. Kind of cool because it was like looking through glass--i could see the entire bolt and the tape allowed a perfectly smooth surface in line with everything else.

Better for me to do it upside down because the liquid all stayed at the bottom portion of the hole next to the tape, never touching the bolts (well some on the trim tabs had to touch---i forgot the rope!!!).

All of that stuff works real well -- i also tried magnum steel and it was nice because it was like play-doe and easy to mold into the correct shape.

quote:

Originally posted by ramnj:
Will be doing this over the weekend.

Let us know your results ramnj. We continue to hear/see .5-1.0 gain for this mod.....just trying to keep track.

Sealed the holes and went from 68 to 70, but don't know if its all because of the mod. I had also removed the manual bilge, pluged the pump hole with JBWeld (came out pretty good), and some other stuff.

The epoxy turned out to be just as hard as using JBWeld. After applying it and waiting for approximately 3 hours, the stuff was hard as steel This time I'm not going to wait that long before I start sanding.

I'm removing the epoxy tomorrow and doing some more sanding on the rideplate, but this time I'm going to use the epoxy that RX951 recommended.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ramnj,

2 mph would be out of the ordinary.......but never the less....this mod works!!

I'm not sure if the gain was because of the rideplate or other mods I did. I redid the plate again today and will test tomorrow, if it stops raining.

Dude its gonna rain here till friday!!
bring the wetsuit!!!!!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by scittb:
Dude its gonna rain here till friday!!
bring the wetsuit!!!!!!!!

Nope, stopped raining here

It's 52 degrees right now, but I'm heading out even if I freeze my cojones!!!

cant make it today rafi. stuff is on its way

quote:

Originally posted by suckmywake:
cant make it today rafi. stuff is on its way

No problem. The weather wasn't that great...cold and damp. Thanks for shipping it and send me an email with the number I have to send you.

Again, thanks for your help. BTW, the water bypass worked out great

I'll email you a pic.