Keep up the great work what a project.

Thanks man! Not a project, just some completely normal boat maintenance :lolhit:

With the STBD side all finished up, I turned back to the Port side which I have been dreading ever since the PL incident. In order to fix the problem I had to rip off all of the glass I already laid to be able to get rid of the bubbled up PL that was causing the glass not to bond completely to the stringers. I got after it with a paint scrapper and a hammer to peel up the 1708.

Here you can get a better idea what the PL did under the glass. Still not sure why this happened, both are Poly based so they should be compatible. Nothing I hate more then doing work twice.

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...20/null-66.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...20/null-67.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...20/null-65.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...20/null-68.jpg

Tomorrow I will take a utility knife and cut off the remaining PL, and s sand down the glass remittence, and restart tabbing in the stringers with PB and wet on wet 1708 tabs till I run out of resin, then order more.

In the meantime I have been thinking of ways to re-mount the tank. I am leaning towards building a complete square frame that will be bonded to the stringers and floor, that will actually suspend the tank 2-3" off the hull allowing water to run aft. Then I will have aluminum L brackets welded to the perimeter of the tank, and bolt directed to the glassed frame on all four sides. I will move the tank as far forward as I can to alleviate some of the weigh from the back of the boat, and place a bilge pump in the back of the tank compartment. The frame will run from bulkhead to bulkhead and from stringer to stringer with 1.5" x 12" "stringers" wrapped in 20 oz mat. I also plan to redo the bottom of the hull between the stingers with 20 oz matt to strengthen the keel. Should also serve to really strengthen the belly of the boat. Needless to say, this boat will be 10 times stronger then the day it came off the showroom floor :D

Billy

Today I got the gas tank compartment side of the main stringer tabbed in with 2 layers of 1708. Did the PB and both layers of 1708 all at the same time wet on wet. WAY easier and faster then letting it dry and sanding, and I also think it is a better bond. Not to toot my own horn, but I'm getting pretty damn good at glassing :D Tomorrow I will try to get the rest of it cleaned up and tabbed in so I can make my drain holes and then fab up the deck. Won't be able to get the deck on till my new 5 gallon bucket of resin is here.

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...20/null-72.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...20/null-71.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...20/null-70.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...20/null-69.jpg


Billy

Hey Guys,
Been rough going here in Columbus, still raining like everyday, I never got the memo that we were the new Seattle. Grr. Anyway, progress has been slow. I'm now ready to concede that the boat won't splash till next season. I'm probably going to go ahead and tear her the rest of the way down, and do the transom before it goes to get new gelcoat. Anyway, on to the recent "progress.

Finally got the port side striped down, the old PL removed, tabbed back in, drains in and decks on.

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...20/null-73.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...20/null-82.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...20/null-83.jpg

Then I went to work getting my gas tank ready to go back in since I was almost ready to engineer a frame. When I removed the tank with a homemade metal wire rope to cut through the foam, it got caught up and cut into the tank in a couple of places. So I had to fix those first. Here's the grooves I needed to fix.

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...20/null-74.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...20/null-75.jpg

I filled them with low temperature aluminum welding rods. Cool stuff, you actually heat up the surrounding material to like 700 degrees and the welding rods go on like solder.

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...20/null-76.jpg

After it cools completely you can grind down the slag.

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...20/null-77.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...20/null-78.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...20/null-79.jpg

Then I took a fine wire brush on the angle grinder to the whole tank, wiped it down with acetone, and coated it with Coal Tar Epoxy. BTW that **** is $$$.

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...20/null-81.jpg

Then I started working on a way to keep the tank in without foam. I kind of scrapped the L shaped bracket idea, although I think it would have worked well, just too complex and I needed a quick easy solution. I came up with two 2x10's (covered in chop strand of course) tabbed to the stringers and the forward bulkhead, to act as front and aft stops for the tank.

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...20/null-84.jpg

Then I added 2 3/4 boards for the bottom of the tank to rest on, with beveled edges to match the shape of the hull, sitting up high enough for water to drain aft underneath, and the 4 4x4's tabbed to the stringers to brace the sides of the tank and keep it snug in its "hole". Should be a pretty tight fit when I add the rubber braces that the tank will sit on at the points of the 4x4's, and the belly straps going across the top of the tank and screwed to each 4x4.


http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...20/null-86.jpg


And all finished up and tabbed in.

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...20/null-87.jpg

And the tank all the way done with 3 coats of Coal Tar Epoxy and ready to be dropped back in.

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...20/null-88.jpg

Next dry day I get Ill finish the rest of the tabbing in the tank hatch and then paint the whole thing with the rustoleum industrial paint with hardner, and then drop the tank back in.

From there I havn't decided if I am going to move to the cabin or start on getting the decks back in. The decks I cut out have wood tabbed to the bottom of them, and of course its rotted so I will have to cut that out and put new wood back before I can put them back in the boat.

I've also decided to add a bulkead in the cabin that will be tabbed to the hull 360 degrees at the entrance of the the V berth. This will brace the top new gel coat and keep it from spider cracking after its redone. Then the 2 little stringers will run from that new bulkhead to the one thats already in the boat.

Anyway thats the plan for now, but it can change at any minute lol.

Billy

Wow, I like your gas tank design and rework. Good find on the aluminum welding rod. Gas tank and inner stringers are on my inspection list for one winter in the future. Only part of the boat I have not explored so far. How bad is the transom? Thought that was solid? Of course, I thought mine was solid and I could get it on the water for $8500! Hah!

Motor is wrapped up and on a skid, no hurry on that one. If mine runs next week, maybe you head over later in July and you can head out with us on one of our test runs? That is if they hold together this time......

Project is looking great, really like that gas tank!

Brian

Hey Brian,
Yes that sounds like a plan on the test run! Let me know a date that works for you and I will make it happen! Id love to get out on an old bird to get an idea what I'm busting my butt for! :D Good luck on your upcoming splash!

The transom does seem solid, but I think I'm just going to do it for peace of mind. Does't make much sense to me to put the whole bildge back together with new glass and paint and then have to rip it all out a couple years down the line if it ends up needing it. That way Ill know 100% the whole boat is rock solid without a doubt.

Thanks
Billy

Have you pulled the transom assemblies yet? Or the thru hulls? That will tell you a lot about the wood ondition. You can always use a drill and pull some samples of the wood core. Or one a small hole saw. Pop out the core piece of wood, weigh it on a sub gram scale and then dry it in an oven at like 140 to 160 degrees. Weigh again and see he moisture level.

Brian

Thanks Brian, thats good info. I have not got that far yet, the transom will probably be the first thing I do when I get into the engine bay, as it will have to go in before I set the battery trays and center stringer. I can tell you that someone at somepoint tried to move the thru hull's lower down on the transom, they were not fixed the proper way when they moved them back to the correct location. Thats my main reason for wanting to do the transom, if that had never been done I highly doubt I would be doing it just for the sake of doing it. But to fix the holes properly I think the whole transom should just be replaced.

Billy

Last night I got the rest of the glass done it the tank compartment and everything painted with rustoleoum with hardener. I was impressed with the outcome of the paint. It went on REALLY thin after you mix it with the hardener, but it did dry really shiny and hard. I will do multiple coats in the engine bay to make it really really hard but I think the one coat for this area that no one will ever see is fine. Actually probably an overkill to even paint it at all, but I'm being a bit OCD on this project.

Anyway heres the final outcome. I will probably throw the tank back in tomorrow and start cutting out the rest of the stringers and large bulkhead in the cabin. Out of resin yet again...3rd 5 gallon bucket empty, I'll probably buy like 2 or 3 more next time to make sure I have enough to do the cabin, transom, engine bay, and tab my fiberglass decks back in the boat.

I also have some plans to change up the design of the fiberglass bulkhead where the door is. I would like to get rid of the glovebox area and make room for a sliding L shaped door like the newer boats, and also make my dash out of gelcoat as well, to match the rest of the boat in that area. Obviously these things will be much later lol.

Anyway, heres the pics of how the paint turned out.

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...20/null-90.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...20/null-91.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...20/null-92.jpg

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July on the water! I was on my boat, just not exactly in the way I would have preferred!

Billy