1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

[archbuilder]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

One more thought, since you have the cap off, why not just cut some foam pieces out and hot glue them to the transom....put some plastic on the front side, then just lay up your glass on the foam. Once you have a couple layers on, just slide the plastic and foam out....then pour the seacast in the void? All you would really need is some foam that is the right thickness. Once you get the cap back on, you can tab it to the transom.

 

[micks110]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Archbuilder- yeh what you said in your first reply abot what your friend did. That's kinda what I was thinking of doing. I like your idea about the foam though too... But how would the Fiberglas stay standing while I was wetting it out?
I'm still leaning the first way though.

Later when we get back I will post a video on what I am thinking- I know it's hard to comprehend or express what you are trying to read/say when typing.
Thanks,
Mick

 

[micks110]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

here is what I got today.
Archbuilder- I will try to do a video a little later

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Running out the door.
Mick

 

[archbuilder]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Hey Mick. I notice that the resin you have is waxed....that means you will have to sand between layers. I would see if you can find some that is unwaxed...it will save you a ton of time grinding and wiping down with acetone!

As for laying up the inner transom skin, good question. I usually wet out the back side of the glass, then pick it up and lay it where I need it. A piece that large would be pretty hard to handle.....maybe someone on here has a suggestion on how to do it. Maybe if you made a "table" right in front of the transom you could wet out the glass and lift it up into place? Probably need two people for that.

 

[micks110]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Archbuilder- the guy at the boat place said I'd only need one layer for the stringers and hull with my "little boat." If I do several layers in some areas do I need to go as deep sanding as I did before or will a few passes with an orbital sander rough it up enough(that way I can collect some of the dust as I go)? This brand poly or $98 epoxy is all they carry there.
Thank god for bathrooms and iphones
thanks,
Mick

video later... Still at the inlaws

 

[archbuilder]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

have fun at the inlaws..lol! You will need to rough up the surface enough to give it tooth. One layer sounds a little thin to me....

 

[micks110]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Archbuilder- thanks for the info. The video will be on my photobucket site in about 15-20 minutes. I'm not gonna do youtube- it's taking to long.

http://s816.photobucket.com/albums/zz86/micks110/
Thanks,
Mick

 

[BobsGlasstream]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

micks110,
I think, if it were me I use archbuilder's idea and go the foam sheets and plastic, to build the transom up then glass over it and remove the foam and plastic. I'm not an expert but I would not want to try to tie it in later. I just think that there is to much room for error.
I hope your material comes in soon and good luck with the pour.
Good luck
Bob

 

[archbuilder]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

You can try it that way Mick, but I think you are underestimating fiberglass.....it isn't "neat" in anyway...very sticky, messy, fussy stuff. I sill think you would be better off to make some kind of form out of foam board....then cover it with packing tape like I did my keel beam.

 

[micks110]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

I'm sure I am underestimating fiberglass. I have never used it before so I don't no what to expect other then what I read.
Archbuilder- if I use the foam as a spacer in between the two skins then I wouldn't be able to use the spacers from seacast.

I slept on it last night and was thinking more about the foam idea. Here is what I though of- what if I buy (2) 2'X8' pieces of pink foam, and cut out the middle of one of them the size of the transom. Then tape the full piece with packaging tape, then hotglue the other piece with the middle cut out on top and I have a mold for the inner skin!

This way when it sets up I can pop it out, poly the spacers to the back of it, and attach it to the outer skin.

So poly and the biax won't stick to packaging tape?
Thanks,
Mick

 

[archbuilder]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

No it won't works great where you don't want glass or foam to stick. Sounds like you have a pretty good plan. The glass is hard to work with because its a sticky mess that sets up really quickly. I used to mix up about a pint at a time...usually about the time I was done it was setting up. I also used qt plastic paint buckets from home depot to mix up the resin. Works good since they have oz measurements on the sides. I measured my hardener in one of those 1 oz medicine cups you can get at the drug store, worked great. I let excess resin set up in the buckets, once it hardens you can pop it out.....kind of cleans the buckets. Once the glass starts to gel up, your pretty much done with that batch.

 

[micks110]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

I tried my hand at fiberglass work this afternoon! I also went to home depot and got (2) 1.5" thick X 2' wide X 8' long pieces of the pink foam to use for a mold. I also got an 8 pack of packaging tape at Sam's Club.

I also made a couple stands that I can throw a tarp over and put a heat light in to keep it a constant temp.

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So I did the section on the inside of the stern eye bolt. I crumbled up the painters hat the boat place gave me and taped it up real good with packaging tape. I needed to have something that I could build out a couple inches and that I can pull out. In this area before there was a piece of rotted wood. So what I planned on doing was this area first, fill it with seacast, then glass the top in, and then re-drill the eyebolt hole.

I used a piece of matte at first and then over that while it was still tacky I used the fuzzy fiberglass. It has been three hours at a little over 60 degrees and it is still tacky though??? I used the right amount of drops for the hardener to poly so I don't know why its taking so long to set up?

Here are some pics. The dark spot is a piece of a leaf that got in the packaging tape when I was taping and the one area that looks really white is the brim of the hat.

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So how did I do???
Thanks,
Mick

Archbuilder- yes there is know way that I would be able to do with what I was planning for the transom originally. I will use the tape and styrofoam to make a mold, wet the whole thing, and pop it out when it dries.

Seacast came today! Actually only 1of the 3- 5 gallon container showed up.

 

[archbuilder]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Mick,

Interesting use for the hat....don't think I have seen that before! The poly can be finicky, I did most of mine in the summer so I had to worry about it firing off too fast. I would just make sure I kept it warm and mix a little more hardener in the next batch. (make sure you don't set anything on fire with your lamps!) You will find that a little packing tape goes a long way! I think I only used 1/2 a roll on my keel beam.

You will need a good 1/2" drill for the seacast and a mixer. I would also say its a two man job, one to run the mixer, and another to add the catalyst and the "hair".....make sure you get it mixed good....and I would keep the seacast inside so that its warm until right before you use it.

Well I'm off to sand the fenders.....again!

 

[micks110]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

I thought you were back to the boat work??j/k

do I have a problem here. I just went out to check on everything quick and it was still tacky and there was a puddle of poly under it still as soft as when I put it on 4 hours ago!

Everything looks good but not at all dry yet.
Mick

 

[micks110]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Well, after racking my brain wondering why this thing was still tacky after 5 hours, I read the directions for like the 5th time and I realized I was only about 220 drops of hardner short
After talking to archbuilder we decided that I just pull it off, wipe it down with acetone, and start over tomorrow- with the right amount of hardner!
So back to where it was yesterday- chalk this one up as a learning experience

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Tonight I worked mostly on getting a mold made for the inner transom skin. Seacast recommends that you use two biaxial layers for your inner skin. I bought (2) 1.5" thick X 2' wide X 8' long pieces of the pink foam from HD to use for a mold. My plan is to:
1. copy the transom onto one of the sheets
2. cut it out
3. tape up the second full sheet and edges of the cut out sheet with packaging tape
4. hot glue the cutout piece to the full taped up piece
5. wet down the mold with poly(poly is recommended by seacast over epoxy)
6. place my biaxial cloth inside the mold and wet it down- according to seacast I will have a 2-3" tab extra all the way around that I can then use to tab into the sides and bottom of the hull(this obviously won't be wetted down during the mold process)
7. after it dries I will take the mold apart
8. poly the 1.5" spacers provided by seacast to the skin
9. after that dries I will poly the spacers to the exterior skin, brace it, and wait for it to dry
10. Once my interior skin is bonded to my exterior skin I will tab everything in to the side and bottom of the hull.

Here's a look at the work- I was able to use two of my pieces of my old transom as a template.

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A little tight but everything lines up. I just have to shave down the sides tomorrow and add a little extra tape on my mold so those dimensions are correct as well.

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Thanks,
Mick

 

[archbuilder]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Hey Mick, how about one of your famous video's on your plan for the transom? After we talked last night, I was wondering if I understood all of your plan. Your at the fun part in the process where it all starts going back together!

 

[micks110]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

I will see if I can throw one together once I have everything in place. We'll see how much work I can get done today if I get out at all

 

[PaulyV]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Mick,
I am enjoying this thread. Keep at it, your doing a fine job!

 

[micks110]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Thanks Pauly, I will keep at it as long as the wife keeps giving me leeway!
Archbuilder I will work on a video of the transom project when I get to it. I am probably going to be doing the stringers first since that was the way it was done by the manufacturer. I have been kicking the idea around of the old way or just doing the transom first and then tying the stringers into the transom.

Here's what I got done today- cut some more oak pallets for firewood and stacked it

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Then once the temp was up under the makes shift shelter I re-did the stern eye bolt area with matte and then strand over that. I think I got it right this time and I just pulled the taped up painters hat out on the first pull.

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I also patched up the hole I made in the hull with two layers of strand

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Everything set up in about 30 minutes- so I was happy.

Then I worked on the transom template a bit more and got it pretty close before I was summoned by the boss to call it a day. I just have to trim a little more on the top and then I can transfer it's measurements to the other board and then I will make the video

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Archbuilder- I also found a funnel to use for the seacast! An old downspout from the downspouts I took off the garage.

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Bent it a bit and it looks like it should do the trick. If it is to small I have a bunch of aluminum left over that I can bend and make something with a bigger opening.

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I think my next step is going to be to start laying the strand on the hull of the boat since I have a couple more days of vacation left and I can hopefully work during the day when I can keep the fire stoked.

If anyone has any other ideas on how I can go about the transom inner skin let me know. Archbuilder- you just took your template and transferred it to your cloth after it was hard and cut it out- right. That's pretty much where I could be right now. The only reason I'm thinking about making a mold is to not wet out the tabs/extra cloth on the biax that could be tied into the hull then. If I do it your way I would just need to tie it in with different cloth afterwards.
The mold is just going to be extra work that I may screw up anyway if my dimensions are off. Doing it archbuilders way I can always grind of areas if it doesn't fit properly. If I do it the mold way- if my dimensions are off a bit I'm screwed.

Well off to my grandfather's 90th b-day dinner.
Thanks

 

[archbuilder]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Hey Mick, sounds like round two worked a lot better for you! Sounds like you are making some progress now. You might want to think about making the seacast funnel a little wider.....If I remember correctly, it had a tendency to come out of the buck about 5" wide after your started pouring....as much as it cost you really want it to go into the transom, not the ground!

As for the mold, I was thinking of it more as a form I guess.....you would place it against the transom skin, then lay up the new interior skin on the face of the form. Once the skin was set up you could pull out the form. That way you could lay up the skin and tie it into the hull all in one step. The form would give you the right thickness and a surface to work on.

I did mine the way I did it mainly because I didn't pull the cap and it would have been hard to do with the limited access. I did lay up an oversized skin, then cut it to size using the template. After that I tabbed it in....you can slip that step with the cap off and just lay it up and tab it in one step.

But everyone has a different way of doing things, and different resources / skills....so just think through it and head in the direction that makes the most sense to you. I'm looking forward to seeing your progress!