Magnum Marine Stories: TJ Kaltenbach and a 1968 Magnum Marine 35
Originally shared on thehulltruth.com in November 2015 with progression updates and photos through December 2017.
Posted 11/11/15:
The hull was built by Don Aronow, who was also behind Cigarette, Donzi, and Formula.
It sat in my yard most of the summer with very little physical progress mostly due the the heat and rain. I did a lot of thinking and planning and picked up a few support items such as steering rams/helm etc. and did some prep work on the fuel tanks to convert them from diesel to gas use. I finally got inspired and picked up a canopy and so the last month has seen more work.
The updated concept was sketched out… this boat will be set up for diving.
Posted 11/13/15:
The boat will be finished in stages. First stage is getting her powered just to see how she runs and sits in the water. If all works out after test runs we will continue with the build.
With that in mind I went down to Armstrong in Stuart with a template for the bracket. That design should be finalized next week, with about a month for production.
In the meantime I plan to get the hydraulic steering hoses made and installed, as well as the helm/cylinders I already bought.
For fuel I would like to test run her on portable tanks and account for the weight and balance issues maybe by placing some 50 gallon drums on board and filling them with water. The permanent tanks are 2×108 gallons which can be moved forward or aft to some degree.
For starting batteries I’ll also rig them up temporarily near the transom. They will eventually be in the cabin but I don’t want to invest a few hundred in long thick cable runs just yet.
I decided to paint the hull and bottom as a way to keep me motivated – it will be hard for me not to finish her if she’s looking pretty.
Posted 01/04/16:
Update – ran into a hiccup with the transom/bracket that we’re working out, but got hullsides painted. Color is blue tone white. Bottom will be VC performance in white.
If she runs out good with trip 300’s, we’ll add another 200+ gallons of fuel for a total of 400+ capacity.
As for the painting process, it took three coats. It was shot at least 6 times with primer, filling pinholes, sanding and fairing after each time.
We took the tarp off the frame the morning of the shoot and let her soak up some sun before spraying. Left the cover off til the next day.
I’m happy with the finish and am chomping at the bit to finalize the transom/bracket.
Posted 07/01/16:
It’s been touch and go finding time to work on this project. Motors arrived Monday so I scrambled to get the bracket mounted, hull dropped onto temporary trailer, and motorstemporarily bolted on bracket.
Looks like this will be the month she goes in the water.
Posted: 07/17/16
Put her in at noon and did 3 hours of motor break-in. Sits high – chines not in the water – boat still gutted except 40 gallons fuel.
Towards end of day got her on plane a bit – motor height and props will need tweaking. Didn’t note numbers much – saw about 40mph at 4500 rpm.
Need to build the house and finish rigging – brutally hot – still have 7 hours of break-in.
Posted 06/15/17:
Check out “Maggie” from start to finish:
This story/photos was originally posted on TheHullTruth.com.