1st restore on a 14ft ski boat

Hi,

Due to a rush of blood to the head ( and a broken piston ring :facepalm, I have decided to start my winter project early. Seening as i have my Johnson 60 off my boat being fixed, I thought I might as well sort out the bad transom and check on the stringers and deck.

Now I know there are those of you out there going "not another small boat restore " so apologies but until I can get my 26ft cruiser i am currently stuck with my little boat.

It's a Fletcher Arrow, they are fairly popular over here so I hoping to make mine a bit different somehow along the way with help from you Iboaters..



Now I jumped in head first last week and when i got home from work, I first removed the steel plate ! over the transom (never a good sign is it)





then I took off the rub rail and removed all the staples holding the top cap on. Then with a little help I separated the top from the Hull

Re: 1st restore on a 14ft ski boat

more pics of 2 halves

Re: 1st restore on a 14ft ski boat


I first removed the foamthe stern on the port and starboard sides it was wet as I thought it would be, then I grinded around the transom. My tiphere is to make sure all fibreglass is grinded out as I missed a spot or twoand the job was that little bit harder.



I thought I had picsbut can?t find them , I?ll post them when I come across them.



Next to go was the bowarea the foam here was heavily wet and easy to remove. The deck was easilyspotted at where it joined the hull so I cut it out with little bother going carefullywith a grinder (only went through the hull once ) The deck was bad but not toobad.

The stringers were cutout but removing the cap and one side and these were just awful, they wererotten through and soaking wet. I?m happy I started this now as this needed tobe done.



Nex t came the awfuljob of sanding and may I just say that I really tried but after 2 evenings , 2grinders, 1 modified power drill, 4 sanding discs, 5 sanding belts I decidedthat I was not meant to go on. That job is terrible! I had coverall taped atthe cuffs, goggles, gloves and respirator and it was the most uncomfortable jobI ever had to do. It?s sanded approx 60 ? 70 % so it?ll stay that way unless Idecide to go at it by hand as I have no tools left and that ain?t happening.



Frisco and co have seta high standard on here so don?t expect this to be a thread like that



I?m using poly resinas it?s cheaper (waay cheaper) ?? for the transom (doubled) ? ? for thestringers and ? ? for the deck and bow area. All will be coated with resin orfibreglass or both ?. Advice here needed?

1708 is hard to findover here so all this will be done with CSM and woving roving ok??



Gelcoat is faded andyellowish, I have tried to bring it up but it just doesn?t come out well so I?mgoing to fill any scratches , gouges etc with filler, then fair it out andpaint white flocoat over it ? will this do ???





The topside colourwill be changed but as of yet I don?t know what to.. The pink foam that you useas as flotation can some one describe it?s makeup or texture to me so I canfind and equivalent over here please.



My motor is gettingrebored and I?m doing the rebuild so I?m hoping ( fingers crossed ) to have althe work in a month or 5 weeks thus giving me time to get out before autumncomes..



I have asked my mam toshow me how to sew new upholstery together cause I might redo the seat and trim?

Re: 1st restore on a 14ft ski boat

View attachment 105344


Now can I cut some of this splashwell away to give me more room in the boat?? I have traced in the dust roughly what I like to cut out.. i'm going to mount the petrl tank in the bow and the bbattery will be mounted in the port corner so the only thing under the splashwell will be fenders , toolbag, 2s troke oil and one or two other bits needed for the day. If it is a structural thing then can we look at strengthing that area some other way? i want to try and use the most of the room as possible in this little small craft..

Re: 1st restore on a 14ft ski boat

Re: 1st restore on a 14ft ski boat

Your Pics aren't working

Re: 1st restore on a 14ft ski boat

sorry about that ,hopefully sorted now.

Re: 1st restore on a 14ft ski boat

Like your boat, its pretty neat.
Your doing a great job.

You need to use fiberglass with that resin. Its a must on the transom, stringers and deck.
Resin alone will crack and break in time and allow water intrusion.

Re: 1st restore on a 14ft ski boat

hi,
quick question, my transom is made of two parts of 3/4 inch ply one on top of the other. Top one is half the width compared to the bottom one. Should i reporduce this or would it be benificial to have both peices cut the exact dimensions as the larger one?

Oh i'll post those pics up too of the bits i removed shortly in case you don't know what i'm on about..

Re: 1st restore on a 14ft ski boat

What is the overall thickness of the transom? Is it the same thickness at the top as it is at the bottom and the sides?

Re: 1st restore on a 14ft ski boat

yeah, it's same thickness top and bottom.

Re: 1st restore on a 14ft ski boat

Here are a few photos of the stringers, tansom and bow area. Kinda surprised how wet and rotten they were. Considering I'd be bouncing along the harbour at about 35 mph in this rotten mess is a bit shocking.

Re: 1st restore on a 14ft ski boat

And some of the rotten transom which I'm wondering to replicate or to make all one size. Plus this is all the grinding/sanding I'm going to really do in the hull ( i know i need to do more but power tools don't lie and the loss of 3 of them means STOP)

Next in line is to cut out the stringers and transom and then PB them in place then tab them and then cap them. Install front bow section and do the same and then do the deck. All to be covered with fibreglass before installing.

Plan then is to flip her over and redo the exterior of the hull with a flowcoat, which i'm told is gelcoat with the wax additive already mixed in.

I'm wanting to totally redo the paint scheme but am having a hard time in deciding what to go with and how to do the lines. Can anyone suggest a site or program i can use that will help me make my choice easier to come up with. My first mate/accountant/boat interior designer (herself) is wanting to try out orange and black.. Seeing as we don't get great weather over here I'm hoping black will hold the heat.

I stripped the windshield and electrics and cleats, etc.from the top half so all that is left is the bare shell which looks like sieve due to all the holes in it..

Did you ever wonder that maybe something was a bad idea???? I hope I don't fall down halfway through and leave all my good intentions go to waste and have it sitting out there uncompleted for the whole winter.......

Re: 1st restore on a 14ft ski boat

I would replicate the transom and stringers to the manufactures specs.
I know it looks grim now but your already almost half way their, your doing great.

Re: 1st restore on a 14ft ski boat

Thx produceguy, I'll replicate them it as it was so.

Another question,

there was no foam under the deck just at the bow and 2 peices in the each corner at the the stern (there was standing water on these), should I or should I not put some flotation foam under it ??? will it help or hinder the boat. The way i see it is that it can't be too bad of a thing to have more bouyancy ...

Re: 1st restore on a 14ft ski boat

I had a thread a while ago about re-foaming a boat and basically the answer (someone will surely diasgree with me) is it's up to you. What you lost in weight from the wet foam will help your performance. I used foam sheets cut to fit. http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=492483&page=4 See post #86. Here's more info on wet foam and foam replacement: http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=493407

If it were me, I like the anti-crush support provided by foam, and god forbid, you start taking on water, I'd want something under my deck supporting me..

Just avoid the "great stuff" foam or any other spray in.. either closed cell sheets or 2 part pourable foam, probably in 2 lb density.

Re: 1st restore on a 14ft ski boat

good info thanks zopperman, I think i may go with foam sheets underneath the deck just to be sure.... i asked before but can anyone give me a brief description of the oink foam board you get from home depot, as i am looking into closed cell boards here and what i find is floor/ cavity wall insulation which is "thermoset closed cell rigid foam insulation" wiould this suffice instead of two part pourable foam??

Re: 1st restore on a 14ft ski boat

Dow 1/2" x 8' x 4' R-3.3 Polyisocyanurate Rigid Foam Insulated Sheathing









Dow 1/2" x 8' x 4' R-3.3 Polyisocyanurate Rigid Foam Insulated Sheathing

Item #: 42729 | Model #:263063

Overall Rating:
Overall Rating:

5/5



I 'm pretty sure this is what they use.

Re: 1st restore on a 14ft ski boat

fishfeatures said:

Thx produceguy, I'll replicate them it as it was so.

Another question,

there was no foam under the deck just at the bow and 2 peices in the each corner at the the stern (there was standing water on these), should I or should I not put some flotation foam under it ??? will it help or hinder the boat. The way i see it is that it can't be too bad of a thing to have more bouyancy ...

Click to expand...

Any holes or cracks in the hull.
Did the water come in thru the deck to soak the foam?

Re: 1st restore on a 14ft ski boat

Hi, i am currently doing something similar to mine. I also have been wondering on the foam topic. i am going to replace with construction insulation sheeting. Most of the kingspan construction insulation sheets are closed cell and easily obtained from your local builders merchants.

Have you got a supplier for your glass products yet? if not try MB Fiberglass they are based in belfast (mbfg.co.uk) and have an immense selection of products.

They also carry pourable foam if you decide to go down that route.

For the grinding i used a flap disc. You can pick these up at your local autofactors. I went with a 60 Grit and an 80 grit. They were about a fiver each. Two did my whole boat. 18.5 ft - deck out, stringers engine mounts etc. Just search google for flap disc.

Looking Good. The grinding is the worst but worth it for a good strong bond.