Ha, guess what I did today? More grinding in the bilge. Finally everything is gone, all of the grid work, all of the stringers, all of the thru-hulls, and front engine room bulk head. I'm guessing I have another day or two grinding things flat, and then I'm finally ready to start glassing things up.

Come on, no photos of your dusty work area and white hair? Sounds like you had a full work day.

Ha ok, here are some photos. Lately it seem all I post is, "here is a picture, I removed three more sections of the gird".

So everything is out, and ready to be ground flat, that will be next weekends task. I also have all three pieces of 1/2" marine ply cut and ready to be glassed together. I would've started sanding yesterday, but I wore a whole in the shoe for the sanding belt. I ordered a new one, but of course they sent the wrong one.

I also sanded a bit on the transom to see the original color and get an idea on how long it was going to take to remove all the old paint.

I believe I read on one of these forums, Glass Dave suggested to use 80 grit, I tried 150 grit, and it would take a year to strip the boat down. So I'm guessing 80 is about right. Heath, you're a paint and body guy, what do you think for this aspect of the project?

I’m not sure I’d strip the whole boat if it appears to have been sanded well before the last paint job and it appears to be adhered well and the paints healthy (not cracked or crazed). You could save yourself a TON of work and have just as nice a job or possibly better because as you strip it with a sander the surface is going to become irregular and wavy and if not block sanded correctly (most experise part of bodywork IMO) the whole boat could be wavy. If you’re going back white or a light color this would nor show as much.

Im fortunate mines in good shape gel wise except for the right side which was apparently in the sun and is cracked up in the dark colors (got hot for many years) I’ll have to sand that part back with 80 grit and prime and block sand that whole side.

Here is something a little more fun to look at. The other issue I was trying to solve was how to get the blowers under the hatches. With the 10-71 set up, I would have needed to raise the hatches 5" minimum. That was something I didn't want to do, I really like the look of the boat the way it is. However, there was no way to do it, and have the x dimension where I wanted it. So I ended up buying a pair of quad rotor Whipples. Not only does it remove 10" of height, I'll also make more power, with less cam. It was a win-win in many areas, that I just couldn't pass up.

The paint itself is in good shape, BUT they didn't prep it really well. One side is great, the other is not. On the poor side, I can see the outline of the old graphics and the name Chicago, when I look at it at the right angle. I have a 10" or 12" pneumatic board sander. I was hoping, by taking my time and being careful, I could get it straight. But I agree, it's going to be a lot of extra work.

As for color, it's going to be primarily white. So even if not 100% perfect, it should hide some flaws. Either way, I'm getting way ahead of myself. Paint is an easy eight months away.

You mean you’re not shooting for late spring like me? �� (I might make it late spring 2019)

LOL- no. I'm shooting for May 2019. Originally this spring was the game plan. I was going to "maybe" replace the transom, "if" it needed it, and then repair some gel cracks and take it to Glass Dave for paint. Then I got into this project, and it snowballed. Ha, I think a lot start this way. If I didn't like this boat so much, I would have just scrapped it and bought a newer boat, done and ready to hit the water.

my 2 cents on the belt sander,
i did a fair amount of grinding and just used the 4 inch w/ 36 grit flappy discs,
( harbor freight discs are flat not beveled, very easy to grind flat with and cheaper than the other stores)

i use my 4 inch grinder clamped onto a sawhorse as a bench grinder for shaping stuff.
those angle grinders have 2 settings surgical enhancement and amputation it just takes a little practice.

you have a substantial amount more grinding, and if it was me i would get a 7 or 9 inch, 2 handed operation, 13 amp grinder
and that engine room would be knocked down in no time. (couple hours being careful )

same deal, surgery or amputation, let a big heavy powerful tool do the work,
lift off some weight and it make it pretty, push a little and that gridwork tabbing will go away very fast.

the larger diameter will be easier than a 4 inch or a belt sander for flattening it out.

get a 7 or 9 and a 4 the for light and tight work, you'll pick up using them easy and w/ the 7 you won't have to hit the gym all summer.

it's gonna be great when your done, the worst part of the work will bring the most pride in the finished product.