Hey guys, Newbie here w/ boat pics....

[77 Apollo Jet Boat]

Hello, my name is William, ive been an avid jet boater since i was 15 (im 20 now). I live in Jackson, MS. As you can tell from my member name, i own a 77 Apollo Jet Boat (Click on the link in my sig for pics but be forwarned, what you are about to see may bring tears to your eyes, i know it does to me).
As you can see in the pics, the boat has been VERY VERY well taken care of (by myself and my dad. He even admits that i take MUCH better care of it than he does...and that says A LOT!!!). I always washed before and after taking it out (sometimes waxed), oil changed before storing, waxed before storing, the whole 9 yards. You can say that i am VERY anal about how the boat is treated/taken care of. The only thing we've had to replace was the interior (re-upholster the seat cover/ carpet floor, which was back in 1989.
The boat has a stock 76 Lincoln Ford 460 motor in it, 4 barrel 750 Holley carb, dual 5in bassett racing headers (water cooled), Berkley Ski pump, ect...
I recently ran it up on the rocks at the Reservoir in Brandon, MS. Here's the story:
Well, i was cruising along the Spillway at the Reservoir in Brandon, MS "riding" along w/ cars. I come to some polls in the water and take a right turn away from the road, come back around and head toward the spillway. i go to make a left turn to go back down the spillway and it keeps going straight. so i throw it in reverse, nail it, it slows but not enough and goes up on the rocks.
the wake the boat threw up comes into the engine bay and sinks it. all i see sticking up out of the water in about 6inches of the front-end. only damage was a little gash/hole where the front hook WAS (read on) and some scatches.
and then it gets bad. the sea-tow guy comes and hooks a strap to the front of the boat to pull it along the water so that it will "come up out of the water". well, when he gives his boat gas, he snatches a huge chunk out of the front of the boat .
so now he has to hook his strap to be BACK of the boat (2 anchor points). from then on, all i see it the tip of the boat bobbing out of the water and the rear scraps along the bottom of the reservoir
when we finally get it on the trailer, i see that both the 5in Bassett headers are pushed over to the left, the 9in velocity stack in demolished, scratches and mud all over everything and im in tears. this was a VERY sad day for me and still is. i dont know why i became so attached to this thing but i did. it was like looseing a family member

[maxwedge]

That is really sad. My favorite boat I've ever owned is still at the bottom of lake MI after it was stolen and then rammed a jet ski and sunk, so I know the feeling of loss. :cry: Sounds to me like maybe the "sea tow guy?" didn't know WTF he was doing. Turned what might have been pretty minor damage into a complete disaster. Is this guy a professonal? Liscenced? Willing to help pay for the damage he caused? Do you have Insurance that might help? Very sad, but don't give up the fight. If you fly jets long enough, something like this happens. The first one dies... you die too. But there will be others... er.. Sorry uh, too many Top Gun veiwings as a child. Seriously, that was/is and maybe can still be? a very cool boat. Look at it this way. In it's current state it still looks way better than mine and I've been working on mine for a year. :crossx:

[Squirtin Thunder]

Sorry to hear !!! :cry: :cry:

[77 Apollo Jet Boat]

he tried his best to bring it to the top (apparently). i didnt know what else to do besides let him hook the rope to the back of the boat. he asked me if i had any suggestion besides hooking it to the back., i was clueless.
I do have insurance on the boat. On the bill i got he put the boat down as a "Salvage" job and i had to sign a piece of paper saying i couldnt hold them responsible. either way, insurance is taking care of it. the tow alone was $1800 ($100 per foot).
LOL, damn, you must have a WHILE to go before your boat is complete if mine STILL looks better than yours! ha. good luck w/ your completion!

[shootingstar72683]

Sorry "lil"brother. It's very hard to see something you're so prowd of, be (what you feel)destroyed. You hang in there, don't make any quick decisions. It's a real fine skiff, appologize to her and turn on the lights and roll-up yer sleeves. Now where ya wanna start? You're in the right place for all the help you're gonna need to get back to the spillway with that big smile on your face, turn'n heads as you go. Trust me there's alot of guy's on here with a passion for thier big boy toy. We all can simpathize what you're going through. Improvize/Adapt/Overcome

[Cs19]

Take on the project and fix everything. All of that can be fixed with some dedication.
First thing is get the boat taken apart and locate a GOOD fiberglass shop.
Did you get the water out of the engine?

[El Prosecutor]

There is no question that this boat must be fixed -
http://us.a2.yahoofs.com/users/43c61...4nO1DBmE1kEz3S
This is a family thing.
:idea: And be sure to post lots of pics of your progress - we are roooting for you!

[IMPATIENT 1]

fix it bro, when family members get hurt you do what ya can to fix em up. if this happened to me,i'd fell like i lost of kid or something. looks fixable to me. you can be back at the spillway by summer!good luck!

[atxwrangler]

a good fiberglass shop can fix it, thanks for sharing that compelling story!

[Blow-n-Time]

Sorry to here about your boat, did the same thing last year at cbbb on the river, it was 125 per ft to have it brought up. Glad to see you got insurance, Lookat the brite side you get all new stuff! Good luck.