Project Cállate: Let the Rigging Begin

When Brad Stewart took on Project Cállate—the complete overhaul of a 2005 368 Skater Powerboats catamaran owned by Southern California’s Larry Guillen—he knew it was going to be a lot of work. It turns out he underestimated just how much work—it doesn’t help that Guillen keeps coming up with more stuff he wants on the 36-foot cat.

The paint job on Cállate is complete and the next step is to install the windshield and start rigging the 36-foot catamaran.

After finishing the boat’s final layers of clear this week, Stewart, the owner of E-Ticket Performance Boats in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., is glad to have the 36-footer’s paint job behind him.

“We can see the light at the end of the tunnel now that we’re moving on to the rigging,” said Stewart, who believes Cállate is going to be one of the most talked about boats at the Desert Storm Poker Run in April. “Now that we’ve got all of the sanding and painting out of the way, the fun can begin.

“The paint came out really nice—all the lines are nice and true—we’re happy with how it turned out,” he continued. “It definitely was a big project, we don’t paint stuff that large normally so it was challenging. We had to paint one side at a time in the paint booth because of the boat’s size. We’re doing the final fit for the windshield now and then we’ll start the rigging.”

{module 257]

For even more images of the cat’s paint job, check out the slideshow above.

Stewart, who also refinished and painted the bilge in a charcoal color, said all of the boat’s hardware from the pumps to fittings has been powder-coated to match the paint. He said they also grinded and sanded the engines, then sprayed them to match the boat.

“We ripped everything out of the boat so it’s completely fresh, which is way better than starting with a bunch of stuff and trying to figure what some other guy did,” Stewart said. “It’s almost like building a boat from start to finish, the only thing we didn’t do is lay it up.”

Guillen, who said that the boat’s rebuilt and repainted tilt trailer is ready to rock, can’t wait to get the boat out on the water.

“The paint job took a little longer than planned, but the end result is even better than I expected,” Guillen said. “It’s like looking into a mirror. The trailer is done and the upholstery is close. I can’t wait.”

Project Cállate: Let the Rigging Begin

Address

Quick Links