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Beginning my 1987 Fisherman 20 Restoration
What a wealth of information on this site! I purchased a 1987 Fisherman 20 last weekend from a young lady who was granted the boat in her divorce. According to the HIN search she started her life in Florida, then moved thru Georgia and South Carolina before landing in Indiana where I found her and dragged her back to Kentucky. I've started digging into her to assess what all I need to do.
The trailer is woefully under sized and in terrible shape but it survived the 20 mile trek from Indiana to Louisville without incident and will serve to jockey her around while I focus on the more important aspects. I'll replace with a tandem axle bunk when she's closer to being seaworthy as I plan to trailer her up to the Lake Erie Islands to visit family on a fairly regular basis. The 1989 Yamaha 200ETXF doesn't run and best info I have is that it hasn't since 2017 or earlier. So far I've discovered it has three broken head bolts on the starboard bank that I'm fairly certain I have the tools and ingenuity to remove and repair. The #3 cylinder has some aluminum deposits so I'm also rather confident the rings went and that's what prompted a PO to attempt to pull the head. I think the cylinder can clean up but I haven't mic'd it yet. The port side head came off cleanly with the assistance of a little carefully applied heat and that bank looks in great condition, I just need to separate that water jacket so I can attempt to replace those zincs and descale the passages. There wasn't a trace of carbon on that head. After that I'll investigate why the #3 cylinder's ring took a :cen: I've got a realistic idea of how much effort and cash I'm willing to sink into this engine before I part it out and look for a solid used replacement in the 150-175hp range. This will be my first time working on a two stroke that doesn't cut weeds so it should be interesting, but it is well within my comfort zone, I've got a small machine shop in my basement so must anything short of boring a cylinder myself is at least plausible. The transom is surprisingly solid. I can't flex it one bit by tilting the motor and bouncing on it, and the couple abandoned screw holes in the transom I've explored don't show any signs of mush. The stringers and the floor haven't fared as well. The open tops along side the coffin...my screwdriver just dove right on thru. I knew the floor was bad when I got her, the stringers were a minor surprise, though by no means unexpected. My plan is to build a couple wood gantries, hoist off the outboard to continue evaluating and then I can pull the cap to get full access to remove the tank and all the foam, replace the stringers and bulkheads and recap them with glass (I've had more experience laying up epoxy than polyester but I haven't decided which I'll use for this project yet.) The gel coat on the hull below the seam shows a little oxidation that I think will rub out nicely, and all the OE graphics that remain will be fully removed and I'll probably upgrade from the OE rope rub rail. The forward portion under the flare is still shiny and quite reflective, so hopefully I can bring the rest of the hull up to a similar level of lustre. The cap will require painting though. The fish locker and live well lids both appear to have been painted at some point and of course every bit of non-stainless hardware needs to be replaced, along with a nice new leaning post and a T-Top. I don't expect this will be a speedy project, I'm gonna do it as right as I can and I really enjoy long complex projects. So wish me luck! Here's a little introductory boat porn: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/vx...00-h300-p-k-nu https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/0R...00-h300-p-k-nu https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ZP...00-h300-p-k-nu https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/lc...00-h300-p-k-nu https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ln...00-h300-p-k-nu https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ld...00-h300-p-k-nu https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/2e...00-h300-p-k-nu Sorry the pics are all on overcast days. Like most of the US, Louisville has been waterlogged of late! Thanks for looking! - Greg |
Welcome aboard. You will find a lot of info on this site and we have quite a few people here that have done what you are doing. Help is just a question away. Thanks for the boat porn.
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Welcome! And thanks for a proper intro. Kudos to you for bringing this girl back to life. I'm a Kentucky native 30 years removed south, so I've been watching the state become another great lake this spring. Hope it dries out for you soon and best of luck with your project. Keep us posted and there are a lot of knowledgeable folks here (not me so much) to help you.
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nice project looks like a good one to restore. if the transom is solid and just deck is soft, might want to cut out rotten deck to see how much of the stringers will be exposed, possibly address that issue and leave cap in place.
also while your on the engine, i think that vintage yamaha is the one with the shift shaft coupler that gives problem. make sure its ok before going too deep in that motor. looking forward to the build |
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Yeah, that s the issue. The shaft would corrode at the adjustment turnbuckle. I m not positive on the years, but i remember they had the old style decals. Maybe ferm or spare will chime in
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Gotcha. Thanks phat. I'm sure the shaft will need replacing - it looks quite thin between the cowl and the drive and sure ain't shiny like SS would be. After the little bit of further inspection this evening, I've determined the powerhead is going to have to come off anyways if I do in fact rebuild this motor - the sleeves for the 1, 3 and 4 cylinders are spun - their ports are IMHO badly out of alignment with the passages in the block. So once I get the motor off the transom middle of next month following next week's vacation up north I'll focus on the hull structure while the weather is "nice" and leave the OB for the winter - if I can get the powerhead free without mangling the drive. It's clear it saw salt for much of its life, and clearly was allowed to run hot so the outlook is grim. I'm fine with the labor of tearing it apart to see if it's possible to salvage but I'm not spending another dime on the motor (already ordered a Yamaha Service Manual though it hasn't shipped yet) until I'm positive it's a wise course. Worst case I can part out the good bits on eBay.
Cyl 1: https://drive.google.com/thumbnail?i...WHWV3S1V4zW9Vj Cyl 3: https://drive.google.com/thumbnail?i...lmym3xKCg2HaJH Cyl 4: https://drive.google.com/thumbnail?i...bL6q3jeQkK5zrq |
WELCOME TO THE SITE!!! Looks like you have the right outlook for her restoration. Too often a person will try to do the whole thing in one huge bite and get discouraged when they see how large the job is. Remember, it is possible to eat an entire elephant if you do it in several meals. The same holds true for a restoration... take small bites. Concentrate on one problem at a time, solve it completely and then move on to the next one.
Some thoughts::head: The shift shaft used to be a major PITA to repair, but some enterprising engineers came up with a 2 piece fix that makes the job much easier. Look for it online. Not liking the spun sleeves, nor the alum scuffing on #3. I think a new block or engine is in her future. Soft decks are most often caused by the wood that's glued to the underside of the deck rotting out. Caused mostly by not properly venting the underside after usage and during storage. Ditto for the stringers. Not really hard to fix, just time consuming. All foam, including closed cell, will, over time, absorb and become water logged. At 8.34 lbs per gallon it's amazing how many pounds it adds to the total weight of your boat. Check it carefully... Take core samples from several different places, and if it's waterlogged remove or replace it. Good luck with the restoration and we look forward to seeing more boat porn in the coming months as the job progresses. Welcome aboard Capt.:beer: |
Slowly plugging away. I've got all the wiring removed except for the running lights and the bilge & live well pumps. Removed the outboard yesterday and started power washing and stripping off the well worn vinyl decals today. More power washing on tap for tomorrow. Then I'll start fabricating 2x4 supports for lifting the cap off. I plan to get a half dozen guys from the office and feed them lunch one day to lift the cap up and roll it upside down. The gel coat is looking even better than I thought as I get it power washed. A number of spots where I'll have to spot repair the gel but paint might be limited to the floor itself.
Outboard off! https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...1YsfXU7fZ4Z0H8 Outboard parked behind the Harley: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...ld682PKhcEG3ZN Freshly naked transom: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...3N7-LoU33zNFHn Transom cap removed: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...TmphSSh1cTRi6t Found this penciled on the back side of the aluminum transom cap: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...T4hgLJAHvNij7G Just before power washing started: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...qEIYOJJH43tm8v Side by side comparison of the dirt coming off: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...AwS3civnc3aY7o Results of day 1 of power washing: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...drMt7XmL_rEJTU |
Making sound progress! :sun:
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Made some good progress this weekend. Got the tank emptied and all the suspect fuel recycled - it was 25% water. The interior of the tank looks really good, but I'm going to pull it anyhow to be sure since I'll have unfettered access with the cap off.
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d..._6WWYgb3EQvQn4 That out of the way I cut off the top of the splashwell at the transom so that I could get a bunch of chisels down thru to separate it from the transom. Then set to work on breaking the adhesive joining the stringers and the sole. A piece of 1/8"x1-1/2" steel 36" long with an edge ground onto one end made for a handy long reach chisel to get the hard to reach bits between the tank and the transom and the tank and the casting deck. With everything broken free and disconnected I set to building the support structure that will be used to lift the cap. 2x4 spanning the gunnels tied down to 2x4 under the sole placed in at the bilge, fuel tank and insulated fish box. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...snOWKDucUMKnuv I used 12 footers across the gunnels as I originally planned to get a crew of guys to come over and help lift and walk the cap off but now I don't feel that's realistic so I'll be building a gantry to use a chainfall and hoist it off then pull the hull on the trailer forward and set the cap down. I jacked up each section and had the cap 2" clear to make sure that I had released all the adhesive. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...-tr96DI6Xex_7M https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...7uWxW1NdDtcgSI https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...OUud7DNWNpZ-XP Looking in between the halves on the port side from the transom: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...50bf6LjTvlD0HM and on the starboard side: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...DsyDg_QH4Y29bf 2" of clear lift achieved the full length: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...ndrqAF_rBS06XT |
Looks like tremendous progress. I tip my hat to you!
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Today was the big day - lifted the cap off!
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...MFNOErkLdCJ23n https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...Xtpqqri-iXZa7l https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...t6ECj9ih2V1Nej And rolled it over: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...A1HST2jc9gvesM https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...T29cDtNaLuNGss Just seeing the hull without the cap in place was overwhelming. First thought was "what in the hell did I get myself into..." https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...WntXy24kSj2BkE The transom has rot up high even though down low it feels solid. This is the port side: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...9VQENo-5zAC3Rp Though the starboard side looks pretty solid but we'll see when I pull the interior skin: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...OAbpm0-qSPcuVP https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...J9o_XLxl9_rdk2 Timelapse video of the lift and the roll over on my Facebook page: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10215784076969907&id=10836330 13 Tomorrow I'll pull out the shop vac and start getting the junk out of the hull then begins the task of chunking out all that foam. Placed my order from US Composites yesterday, should arrive late next week just in time for my vacation the week of the 5th. |
:clap::clap::clap:
Great job! You took your time and did the lift right. It is completely overwhelming when you see it, but it is sooooo worth it! You have room to work, and you will always find a problem you didn’t see before. The form is a *****! The first v20 rebuild I did had from like your, I used an ice chipper and it worked well. https://www.menards.com/main/outdoor...4445290308.htm I will recommend if you don’t have a full face respirator get one. They are hot as hell but so nice when grinding. |
Thanks Twist! I know it'll be worth it, just an overwhelming moment, partially because I was exhausted and sweating gallons! I got this - just a thousand tiny steps to get to my goal.
Spent 7 hours Sunday chopping out foam. Plenty of rest breaks to let my ankles unkink and guzzle water by the super size Yeti full. I started with a floor scraper which worked great until the final cell on the starboard side when the cast aluminum head of it cracked. Picked up a long steel chipper from Harbor Freight on the way home from work tonight to replace it, along with an air chisel to assist with removing the globs of adhesive. Wish I had thought to bag the adhesive chunks separately - it weighs a ton and there's a massive amount of excess everywhere. Is that really 3M 5200?? I managed to get all the foam on the starboard side out. Port side remains along with the fuel tank. I think I will remove the rear bulkhead from behind the tank and use the long reach chisel I made for breaking the adhesive between the floor and stringers to break the foam from under the tank then tab that bulkhead back in or replace it altogether. Another option is the stringers either side of the tank where they weren't fully capped are mushy so maybe I'll cut those sections out and go in from the sides. Still not sure and it's a couple steps off so I've got time to think and evaluate. Picture time! Working on the first cell: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...oxe7j-VVyKlW9y https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...KuViMRVcVMkajB Found this nugget of history encapsulated in the first cell under the conduit: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...8z0Xxu8VVmLtDQ You can see my scraper in it's handy holster (foam yet to be removed) in the background: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...FbT-2aNuU5itZH Three cells down: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...Trfba2P8xLfdFm I must not have taken a photo at the end of the day LOL. Lugging all the tools back down to the basement is enough of a chore let alone remembering to document as much as possible :) 4 lawn bags filled with foam done, so likely 4 more to go. There wasn't as much waterlogged material as I feared there might be. But there was some. Nice how the waterlogged foam releases from the fiberglass of the hull rather easily. I'll go back in with a wire brush after everything is stripped to clean up the remaining residue. |
Nice work,
You got the right idea tons of small steps. The foam is a huge pain, just from amount of physical labor to get it out! The white hard globs on top of the stringers is not 5200. It’s some type thickened epoxy, wellcraft used as glue. I used a sledge hammer to knock it off where I needed to take measurements and get levels. I didn’t bother with most of it since I was cut out the stringers anyways. Once you get the foam out you can get a real good idea of how much needs to be replaced! |
Great job. Wish u were closer, i d drop mine off for the winter, and pick it up in the spring, all ready to go.
Like skunk said, mines an 83 or 84 and no foam, only in fuel cell compartment |
Well Phat we've yet to see if I can get this thing back together or not! Plus without a garage I'm limited to what I can get down to the basement to work on in the workshop over the winter :)
Glad to know that's not 5200 that I see mentioned so often. I thought maybe peanut butter but didn't get any sense of glass content so must have been just a powder filler with the resin. It's for sure hard - using a brick chisel and a 20oz hammer was still a helluva lot of effort to get the overhanging globs clear so I could easily run the scraper down the stringer. Got the shipment notification from UPS for my US Composites order this evening. Should be here Wednesday if my normal driver doesn't murder me for the 4 hefty boxes coming. So if I get the foam out Saturday and open up the problem spots the first half of next week I should be starting glass work the following weekend. I've decided to go with readily available MDO plywood for the cores in lieu of marine ply. |
i wish they d built their transoms as stout as they built the pencils
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Excellent progress made this weekend. Got all the foam stripped out. 8 lawn and leaf bags worth:
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...tV26juuapFd2sM Then cut out the rotted bulkhead aft of the fuel tank: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...eUDDUO6hnf_RKo Ran the chainsaw down the sides to free the tank from that foam and then drove some 15 deg 4x4 wedges under the back edge of the exposed tank and it popped out nicely: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...Nk2Y1dQNjJnP5_ The tank looks mediocre but there is too much pitting and corrosion for me to feel good about putting it back in so it'll get replaced., The Moeller FT5007 looks like it might drop in with just a slight drop in capacity (that I don't feel I need anyhow) - https://www.oceanlinkinc.com/product...0-25-folt5007/ https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...AhwMGZX3-_oFbO https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...iWHYBuS09GGWwN I did my exploratory holes to evaluate the condition of the stringers and sadly every 12" was at a minimum waterlogged, many spots of plain mush, so I began the work of getting it off the trailer so I can fully support the hull under the stringers: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...z8UymgFwF_Ffj9 I'm presently supported at 7 points - keel and both chines at the transom, keel and both chines about 5' to 6' forward of the transom and at the keel at the forward point where it begins to curve up. Tomorrow I'll begin making supports that are directly under the strakes at the stringers. I always planned to replace the trailer with a stouter tandem axle but here's an example of how poor of shape the rollers are in: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...7ZiC1uCjytYaeK Everything is clean and ready for me to take my measurements and start cutting out the foul wood: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...GpjgpV9zmI1Ewx Gonna be a busy staycation this week. I hope the weather holds! My 30 yds of 1708, 7.5gal of slow epoxy and some gelcoat showed up this past week but I don't think that will be enough now that I've confirmed all the stringers need replacing. More demo the next few days than had been anticipated so FG won't get started till late week at the earliest. I'll see how far I get before I order more materials in case I need to modify the set speed for lower expected temps. |
Excellent progress. And good decision on the tank.
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Progress continues, although today was less progress than I wanted. I'll get to that.
First - This was the best tool for removing all the foam. This Fiskars shovel is all steel and STOUT. I originally bought this last spring to lay the low voltage cable for my landscape lighting. It has fantastic prying capacity. I went from taking baseball and softball size chunks out with the ice chipper and floor scraper, to taking out pumpkin sized chunks. Wish I had remembered this puppy sooner! https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...QgJnT6VC6AL7iL Since I determined all the stringers needed to be replaced I had to shore up the hull to prevent deformation. First it came off the trailer and supported by concrete blocks and cribbing, then I braced under the strakes which fall directly under most of the stringers. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...Wq5punNfGGBVZo https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...3iSeIAxn30Kavy It's simply a pair of 12' 2x4 sistered together with 2x4 uprights cut to length to rest atop a handful of 2x6 PT I had left in my lumber stock. The beam did have a split for an angle change - I matched the hull's form as closely as I could. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...okyv-MJ8E2C2KN With the hull braced it was into the bunny suit to begin cutting the crap out. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...qnQGYpwlbeRnb5 https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...hW0uiZ3mIhvYB6 The transom is a little wetter here than it was when the skin came off - I had just hosed down the area when I took this photo: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...1zwMUkGHhfjxuU Here the hull is all cleaned. I am leaving the forward bulkhead and 2 short stringers for the moment. I haven't made a complete call on those yet - they are sound although...moist. I will probably remove but for the moment I wanted to keep a little form to the hull. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...rXjiqQCYDAQRYI Transom skin peeled off relatively easy: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...GdGTNhmKElUAsp The port side stringer shell and all the bulkheads with their mushy rotten fly attracting cores: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...iXyrAo6-2w3_b8 I should have tested my respirator seal - I balked at shaving my beard. As a result today I have been coughing and sneezing like mad. Ordered a full face respirator and shaved off my beard. Today sucked and I didn't get much done aside from flaking the rest of the plywood off the transom down to where I will have to grind the remainder. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...IPHmfDxQKTIT3h But I did get all my plywood. 5 sheets of 3/4" MDO Plywood and 3 sheets of 1/2" MDO Plywood - a $500 trip to Menards. But I am impressed with the quality of this stuff. They had Marine on the shelf for another $10 a sheet but it looked rather wavy so I stuck with my original plan to use the MDO. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...sgT0Nmke7whxva Tomorrow I'll putz around with some low impact stuff like color matching my gelcoat and putting together a list of all the hardware I need to start thinking about ordering. Respirator is coming by 9pm tomorrow along with a new batch of Tyvek suits - love how they always tear out in the crotch...the absolute last place I want to have the FG itch manifest... |
DAMN it feels GOOD to start seeing the constructive side of this project and not just the destructive! Started on the ply sections for the transom today:
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...srhOQwSaKsoi3w https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...PUFW3XP0ItWuWW https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...nLE0dZx3HNCoCh Once those were out of the way I prepped my stringer stock - I'm sawtooth joining like Slightly Twisted showed in his thread. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...M68siExUKL-1IX https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...pnQg_Q3Zs6cbD6 https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...aYyAlDsLsZizDE Peanut butter joints on the stringers are setting up overnight. Tomorrow it's back to grinding to get the rest of the stringer and bulkhead locations cleaned up. My second batch of grinding discs arrived this afternoon. After the grinding is done and I've washed the whole works down I'll set the first layer of the transom - hopefully tomorrow afternoon but Sunday morning most likely. |
:clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:No words needed..
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Nice job
I was watching Florida Sportsman Project Dreamboat on YouTube. This guy was rebuilding a 261 Mako and put a wood transom back in. He left out small section of wood around the drain hole. Said most failures start there and it doesn t do much structurally. |
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Today's post is light on pics as my hands were gloved and mixing/spreading thickened epoxy today. But I finished up all the grinding yesterday and today set to placing the first layer of the transom:
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...Y7XU6YLKErOIOR I think I'll grab some larger mixing tubs from Home Depot on the way home from work tomorrow. Mixing up the thickened epoxy in quart size tubs is a chore. It takes a lot more material than I anticipated to thicken up a batch. Time to do some math and see if I have enough Cabosil and milled fiber to do all the peanut buttering I have left to do. Also need to order another 20 grinding discs to cover the grinding I'll have to do on the sole as well. For anyone embarking on a similar project a word of advice - don't think that 24 grit is too aggressive like I did before starting. After grinding out the hull, if there was a lower grit I'd jump on it. I went through 20 discs and I was pushing thru with discs that should have been swapped out much sooner. If I had 40 to do the hull grinding I would have used them all and had no regrets. This isn't a cheap endeavour and just like FG and resin, grinding discs are not a place to skimp if you enjoy your sanity. |
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That's the style I'm using. These specifically:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GHY5G3S |
Damn you’re moving along fast! Nice job! :clap:
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Got the final layer of the new transom core epoxied in place after work this evening: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...N6cnGkwUnZ8QeY Tomorrow evening I'll work on the gap filling and fillets. Climbing around the clamps wasn't the most attractive thing and frankly my legs are sore from climbing in and out over the last week. I ain't as young as I once was... |
Yesterday evening I got the gaps filled and filleting in place on the transom. Went much smoother than I thought it might. I used a few PVC pipe fitting as my forms for the different radii that I was after. I may still add a little more filler at the strakes and chines to help the fabric flow better when I lay it this weekend.
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...dL8EZ2j73t0oVq This evening I cut the sheets of 1708 I'll cover the transom with. And in doing so I came to the realization that I ordered the wrong line item...instead of getting 50" wide biax I only ordered the 38" wide. Still works for the transom but is too narrow for how I'm planning to lay the stringers. So instead of the plan to place an order for 18oz roving for the back side of the sole, the sole will now get 1708 and the stringers will be getting 2 layers of 17oz Biax without mat. I'm sure that won't be my last hiccup of this adventure! I didn't get to working out the cuts to match the patterns as my frustration with the mis-order had me too worked up. Better to walk away for a day and come back refreshed and clear. |
Nice work getting the core in!
Ok about your new plan if i remember correctly you are using epoxy resin? This whole opinion is based off that. I’m NOT even close to a expert so take this with a grain of salt. With epoxy there is no need to use 1708. You can just use 17oz biaxl. The 1708 soaks up to much resin and does not increase strength of the glass. The reason for this is 1708 is just 17oz biaxl stitched with 1.5 oz mat. The mat does almost zero for strength, but it does waterproof the core plus add thickness. The 1708 will also not make the curve on the top of the stringer. What I have picked up is this layer up with epoxy. All wet on wet for chemical bond 1. Clean everything with a chemical solution. 2. Glue the stringer down PL or peanut butter. Add fillets 3. 1.5 oz mat to waterproof the make the curve on top 4. 6 inch 17 oz biaxl tape 5. 10 inch 17 oz biaxl tape 6. 12 to 16 inch 17oz biaxl tape enough to reach the top of the stringer and 4 to 6 inches overlap of the last tape on the hull side, 7. If fairing 1.5 mat over the area. This is both sides of the stringer. Someone Else will confirm if I’m right and or close! Don’t just take my word for it!!! |
You are correct - I am using epoxy - US Composites, I've got 6 gallons of slow and a pending order for 13.3 gallons of medium along with my 50" biax. I knew I was going to have to implement some sort of solution to hold the radius at the top (I'm putting a 1/4" radius on the 3/4" boards) using 1708, switching to straight biax will make life a little easier there. I'll use the 1708 on the transom this weekend, and then on the sole, if I need to tab the edges of that layup to make the turn onto the sides of the sole I'm okay with that.
I'm not using tapes on my stringers. My plan from the start has been (2) 50" wide continuous wet on wet layups. That gives me a little over 8" tabbed onto the hull each side of the stringer for each layer. I am thinking I will break it down into 3 or 4 ft lengths and then stagger the location of joints on the second layer. |
Keep the pics coming, great job. I have been thinking of doing this to my boat. Seems like a lot more work than I thought, but I don't know a lot about fiberglass. Ill just drop my boat off at your house. Im probably 14th in line, you should have it done by next spring right?
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I got the transom glassed on today. I'll post an update on that later when I'm on the couch with the laptop. A storm is rolling in right now. Gotta keep an eye on my tarp and make sure I don't get any water in the bilge since I don't have a drain at present! |
Boat porn time! The last couple evenings I used the cardboard templates I made for the core to lay out my glass sheets and test fit them to have any nips and tucks ready to rock. Got up this morning after a poor night of sleep (nerves anticipating today) and I set up all my supplies. At roughly 26 sq ft per sheet of 1708 this was the biggest layup I've attempted to date. I wanted to make sure I had every possible supply close by so I checked and rechecked and tried to think of everything that could go wrong. Finally decided I had every conceivable base covered and I mixed up a batch of ketchup consistency epoxy to paint on the ground portions of the hull, painted it on and then mixed up 78oz of straight epoxy (US Composites Slow Laminating) and set to coating the transom and set in the first layer of 1708:
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...rUh063vXB6LjrL The glare is deceptive there, it really was much more translucent than the picture shows, as you'll see in the next photo after 2 layers. Once that was saturated I rolled it out with the fin roller and got all the voids to close up. I spent a LOT of time working bubbles out at the fillet but I got that figured out during the second layer: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...wvjc8MjXJgSLW_ Second layer in plus a 7 layer exterior patch to cover the original drain plug hole I filled the other night that I'm going to shift down slightly to minimize the lip to the bilge bottom. The faces that Wellcraft left exposed on the core are fully wrapped to the exterior - there will be no aluminum cap strip! I plan to do another wrap once the cap is back in place from the inside of the splashwell over to the face of the transom so what I did today doesn't wrap as far down the transom as it should. Sorry - storms were on their way in so after cleaning up and taking that last photo I covered her back up and didn't get a pic of the exterior of the transom - which is also now sporting a number of long epoxy drips that I didn't take the time to go back and remove. Thankfully I was planning that the transom was going to get a decent amount of gel repair so no harm beyond more sanding (yay). When I do the splash well wrap I'll grind down part of the wrap I did today and glass the whole shebang together. No water is getting in THIS core. It rained pretty good for about 15 minutes right after I took the last tool inside and cracked open a Yeungling on the carport: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...z3001AUViDEN3z Cover held just fine, the storm was shorter than the last one we had. Still eager to get a bilge drain hole in place though. Back to the fillet glassing. Since this was the first glass project I've tackled with an inside curve I learned something in the fin rolling. At first I was trying to work the excess and bubbles to the edge, but with the inside corner the bubble would push past then I'd end up pulling the glass back off the fillet from the roller pressure. By the second sheet I realized that all I needed to do was force the excess and bubbles into the fillet from each side until they passed thru the glass, which resulted in much quicker rolling of the second layer. I'm really happy with how it all turned out today. Since the cloth was only 38" wide instead of the 50" I had meant to order I shifted each pattern to give more/less coverage to the top and bottom. As a result I laid a handful of 6" wide by 18" long tabs across the bilge which I think resulted in a really stout connection, and a single extra strip of 6" across the top of each side of the transom. The 1708 behaved beautifully transitioning over the 1/4" radius I put on the face layer of the ply, and even nicer over the 1" radius I gave the fillets along the hull and the 13/16" radius at the top sides of the transom. My confidence level for the stringers as a result of today's experience is markedly improved. I'm going to leave the hull alone for tomorrow and start stripping the sole. Monday evening I'll drill the pilot hole for my new bilge drain and seal up any core I expose so that Tuesday or Wednesday I can wash the cover and the hull again - the little bit of sanding I did to prep for laying today's glass has everything coated again and I'd rather not have to suit up to lay out my stringers! |
Well I didn't go outside at all on Sunday. It was just too hot to think about jumping in that bunny suit and cutting away glass. So I ventured downstairs into my nicely air conditioned workshop and prepped a PVC sleeve for the bilge drain and a "split ruler" to position the drain.
I took a piece of 1" PVC pipe and turned the outside diameter down to 1.240" on the lathe and then relieved the inside diameter a bit before finally pocketing one end to 28mm to match my new drain plug. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...N89-VB12BnvFj- Then a scrap of plywood and 2 lengths of 2x4 to make 2 legs to gauge the location inside and outside of the hull, and a couple scraps of ply to provide a starter guide for my 1.25" forstner bit to start perpendicular to the exterior of the transom. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...zsxOkGDEy7lHI6 https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...HiWuFq0ydrmvu8 Got home from work this afternoon, laid out the desired location, drilled the hole and mixed up a batch of mayonnaise consistency epoxy, coated both the hole and the sleeve and tapped it in just proud of the exterior and made sure there was a good lip of excess epoxy on the inside. That can cure up till tomorrow evening when I will sand away the excess to be nicely flush and contoured with the inside glass and proceed to power washing the whole thing without worries that there are any exposed edges for moisture to take advantage of. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...GXFYSvjnD1_vMH https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...KqQEtLH_LljH19 Since I had the forstner bits out I grabbed the 1.375" and cleaned up the thru hull holes. I ordered the new stainless thru hulls yesterday even though they'll sit until I have patched all the gelcoat and wet sanded and buffed the hull. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...WxtSG5lKFvRxBt I also took some time to grab a chisel and remove the drips of epoxy. I'm not sure if it's the highly honed edge I keep on my chisels or that the gelcoat was still waxed and never abraded (or a combination of all of the above) but the epoxy came off really cleanly from where I didn't want it. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...SJBYZDDA7tlULk |
:clap::clap::clap::clap::clap: Great job!!! THANK YOU for all the pics and descriptions Love the progress you're making on her. Keep up the great work.
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Thanks Destroyer! Lots left to do!
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