The old falcon restoration.

[Ask92]

Hello to everyone on iboats! I have been reading through the forum for a few hours researching various things and figured I would start a thread with the little restoration I am undergoing. This boat was owned by my grandfather who sadly recently passed away but was always an avid fisherman. Personally I have never seriously been into boats, mainly land going things( Cars, trucks, bikes, etc) but I gotta say after just one day of playing with this thing is starting to sway me . I have been unable to ID the boat at all, even after a bit of google research. Its only markings are on both of the aft sides it says Falcon, with Houston Texas under it. It has a 65hp 3 cylinder mercury outboard on the back with single cable steering(Seems aftermarket).

Anyway the boat had sat on his property for YEARS uncovered and due to his health he was unable to maintain or use it so it was covered it quite a lot of debris. We hauled it home a few months ago, covered it up, and it has been sitting ever since( In the middle of a ford condor restoration as well). Finally today I had some spare time to bring it up to the house and finally tear into it. After a good cleaning and throwing away all kinds of old stuff I began to seriously look at the boat. I noticed that between the seats was a bit weak so I investigated, sadly to my discovery the plywood had rotted out due to the fiberglass cracking. Being the kind of person that I am, the entire floor must come up and everything replaced to insure its done right. Here are the pictures:
IMAG0250.jpgIMAG0251.jpgIMAG0252.jpgIMAG0253.jpg

The plans are listed below and will be completed in this order:
-Cut the rest of the fiberglass seating out and take up the old plywood
-Grind and sand the inside of the hull clean and smooth
-Fill the center channel with expandable foam
-Lay down plywood treated with copper green(Any recommendations on plywood?)
-Strip the boat of everything(motor, steering, ignition, etc)
-Cover the floor in fiberglass
-Install the seats again with fiberglass
-Paint the bow and interior(I'm thinking gel coat due to it lasting so long)
-Reinstall everything and add in an audio system
-Install new seats, windows, and canopy
-Profit? Haha

My questions for you guys is:
-When reinstalling the fiberglass seat mounts- Just get them flushed up and then put 2-3 layers of fiberglass on the edges and call it good?
-Should the center channel be filled with marine foam or will it not matter?
-The current windshield is plexiglass, is that material fine to replace or should it be upgraded to glass?
-How many layers of fiberglass should be put down for the floor?
-How many quarts should be bought to do the interior?(The current red/white color scheme will be kept)

[Ask92]

For some reason its now allowing me to advanced edit the first post, so here are a few more pictures of how it sits now:
IMAG0255.jpgIMAG0256.jpgIMAG0261.jpgIMAG0262.jpg

[oops!]

-Paint the bow and interior(I'm thinking gel coat due to it lasting so long)


My questions for you guys is:
-When reinstalling the fiberglass seat mounts- Just get them flushed up and then put 2-3 layers of fiberglass on the edges and call it good?

yep....3 layers of csm will do the trick....if you wish l... a 1708 tabbing as well.

-Should the center channel be filled with marine foam or will it not matter?

this depends on the current construction of the boat....usually the center is left foam free for the water to drain to the bilge.......but wait till you get the deck up and inspect what is there

-The current windshield is plexiglass, is that material fine to replace or should it be upgraded to glass?

tempered glass would work good......however those windows open...so plexi is a good choice.

-How many layers of fiberglass should be put down for the floor?

see link below....


-How many quarts should be bought to do the interior?(The current red/white color scheme will be kept)

none..... im betting that after the restoration you can just re surface the old gell....and it will be show room be-u-tee-ful !

http://forums.iboats.com/boat-restoration-building-hull-repair/how-fiberglass-deck-foam-hull-543161.html

[Ask92]

Thank you! A few questions:
-What do you mean by a 1708 "tabbing"?
- Also this "channel" was completely sealed(Or was supposed to be) as the plywood was right above it. So will there be any issues with sealing it and having all drainage just be on deck?
--How many quarts should be bought to do the interior?(The current red/white color scheme will be kept)

none..... im betting that after the restoration you can just re surface the old gell....and it will be show room be-u-tee-ful !-The bow is chipping and is very badly faded so it is obvious it is not getcoat, also the floor will obviously need to be redone, so id like to just repaint the entire interior. So any idea on amount needed? Thank you!



I have compiled this shopping list of things to get(West Marine?):

-Gel coat in white and red
-Fiberglass, 2 layers of 1.5 csm(Chop standard matt), 6 oz woven (I will get out the tape measure today and see how much ill need)
-Resin ( How much should be bought?)
-2 tubes of 3m 5200 sealant

[Cadwelder]

I'm gonna lets Oops! take this one since he's been following along, but you need to do some shopping around because West Marine is by far the highest place to buy fiberglass materials, and also you don't know how old the resin is when you buy it (and they don't either)

CW

[oops!]

i can tell from your second post.......you need to a little reading here.

if you read how to do things......it will save you a world of hurt later.....

we have had people here do it with out understanding why or how....only to have the boat need to be thrown away after they were done.

1708 is a type of knitted fiberglass cloth.

i buy my stuff locally.

you wont know about the drainage till you get the deck fully ripped up.....but in most cases.....the under deck has a drainage channel.

click the link in my sig....or the sticky at the top of the forum..... and follow the links......frisco has some good vids that you can use as a tutorial

[Ask92]

Yes I understand what 1708 is, I have used fiberglass in the past for automotive purposes and to seal a concrete pond. My question was regarding the term "tabbing". I'm guessing its just laying strips of 1708 down for strength or drainage? Here are better and up to date pictures of the boat:




I am trying to discover if there will be any ill effects If I fill the center channels with foam. What was the purpose of keeping them open? The deck was sealed with fiberglass and above the channels was exposed plywood, so I really dont think they thought water would get in there...Any ideas? Thank you.

[Ask92]

I have calculated it out and I need about 5 gallons of resin for 3 layers of 1.5 csm, one of 6oz woven, and 1708 tabbings. I will have 142.5 square feet of csm, 95 of woven and about 66 of 4" 1708. The deck is only 12 by 5 so obviously I will have a lot left over, but I wanna make sure I have enough to make it stronger than OEM.


Because of this huge amount of resin needed I've decided to go with polyester resin instead of epoxy due to it being a good $300 cheaper, which is a lot in the scope of this build. I will be sanding and ace toning the 5 ply plywood before I glass it, which should help it adhere. I will also sand and acetone the inside of the hull when tabbing. I plan to leave the center channel clear and just fiberglass the underside of the formed plywood to waterproof and add some strength.

Also as you can see there is a rear tray in the boat, I want to remove it to free up some space in the back, but I am wondering due to large drains being on each side if it was meant to catch back splash when decelerating? Anyone have any ideas?