So its been a while since my last post. Between work, kids and bad weather, there has not been much to report. Weather is a big one. I have a metal pole-barn thats bigger than my house, but the boat cant make a tight turn in between the mother-in-law and a retaining wall. So until I get her a carport, work on the boat has to wait for fair skys. In the mean time, ive kept myself busy perusing iboats for info and supplies. But finally the factors came together and ive had a few days with time-off and good weather.
Got the bow cover plate stripped down, and even rough and unpainted, it looks so much better without that tore-up carpet.
Found a couple of vise-grips made a good second set of hands when I needed a nut held tight below deck while I turned bolts from above.
I used a few fender tools to work some dents out and then I proceeded to clean, scuff, fill and sand 48 holes on the bow plate with j-b weld. Cant wait to get to all the rest on the gunwells:untroubled:.
I picked up some Skid-No-More which Im going to paint on the bow cover. It was locally available, got mostly good reviews, comes in a color to match my eventual painting plans and isnt overly abrasive. Does anyone have experience with this product? The directions on the can say that bare aluminum and painted surfaces only need cleaning and roughing before application. Before reading that, I was planning on cleaning real thoroughly with 50/50 water and vinegar, scuffing the bare metal and paint up good, water/vinegar again and then spray Rusto's self-etching primer followed by Rusto metal primer. What do you guys think? Skid-No-More primer or no primer? I believe its acrylic based...
Got the old wire ripped out. Boy, was that a good idea. Lets just say it was not by the book.
More to come soon. Or, at least soonish. I have all the electrical supplies now, so that should be progressing. Also have materials to go with some ideas i have about reinforcing the bow cover plate. Any ideas, tips or suggestions are always appreciated. Thanx again Everybody!
Oh, and classicat, good looking out on the tinned wire :joyous: