1984 Checkmate Enforcer restoration ? Part IV ? The Finale
For the history of this restoration, see First-timer's Follies Part I ? Intro and Paint, Part II ? Floor
and Part III ? Cockpit.
I ruptured a tendon in my arm this winter, so I got a late start picking up where I left off, but it's finally done.
The links to pictures are scattered throughout the text (links should be in different color than text and show an underline when you hover over them), but most are in the What's New section.
Graphics
Beyond stripes, I couldn't quite figure out what I wanted. Since the Enforcer doesn't have flat sides, it's hard to find a graphic shape that fits. So I decided to go for long stripes that come to a point. The side hull kits were $500+, so I decided to try to cut stripes from a roll of striping tape (folly). I cut them with a razor blade following along an 8' aluminum router straight edge. When I put them on the hull they were noticeably squiggly. I tried to trim them straight by laying fine-line tape over them in a straight line and trimming anything that stuck out. No good. Still squiggly. (folly) So I squirted some label remover and pulled the tape off. A small area of paint came up with it. I had to feather sand the spot and paint it again. Come to find out, the straight edge I used wasn't straight anyway. It had a 1/8? dip in the middle.
For this year I'm going without graphics ? except for the little horse head I cut out by hand with a razor blade. I can cut out an intricate horse head, but I can't cut a straight line.
I also added the Checkmate name using 1? plastic chrome letters like those used on cars. I'm hoping the water won't knock them off. If they stick to the boat like one did to my finger there won't be any problem.
The paint job on the black windscreen is not up to my standards, (folly) so I tried to cover it with black vinyl. You just can't do angles with this stuff. Plus the piece was just too big to handle. First I tried it wet and it would just slide all over the place. Then I tried it dry and it just kept sticking to itself. I finally gave up. I just don't know what I'm doing. Again, I've got to stop listening to Web forum threads telling me how easy it is. When you haven't done this stuff before none of it is easy.
I kinda like a silver/white paint scheme I saw on a Pulsare. I might go with something similar.
Stereo
I added a couple of 4 1/2? Polk speakers to the rear seat base. I'm not looking for an audiophile system. I just want to play sports talk radio and listen to the ballgame, or maybe an occasional MP3. I went through two broken Pyle receivers before I gave up on them. I finally got a Clarion CMS and mounted its base on the wall of the cabin and velcro'd (actually 3M Dual Lock) the command module to the shelf of the cockpit side panel. I'm using the command module like a remote. I mounted the antenna wire under the dash using dabs of silicone to hold it up (gotta tape it up until the silicone dries). I soldered and shrink-wrapped all connections. Sounds pretty good.
(folly) I messed up one of the base's mounting phillips screw heads and had a heck of a time getting it out. Took me about ? hour between trying to drill it out and using a left-handed drill bit to back it out. The left-handed bit finally worked.
Cockpit cover
Another case where I've got to stop reading Web forum threads telling me how easy it is. After the canvas guy didn't seem very interested in doing my cover, I figured since I did most of the restoration myself I may as well try this too ... even though I've never sown a stitch in my life. Since I removed the windshield I needed to fabricate a different cover from scratch. I have my grandmother's 40-year-old Singer sewing machine, so I figured it was heavy-duty enough. I bought all the recommended accessories for the job (#18 needles, walking foot, seam ripper, soapstone pencils, V-69 thread, basting tape, polyester webbing, binding) and hit eBay for some Sunbrella Supreme (~$200). This canvas is pretty heavy and considered about the best you can buy. I watched the Sailrite ?seams? video, practiced on some scraps, and went at it. First I had to join two halves of the 60? wide material to span the width of the cockpit. My first thread line looked like a drunken snake. The trouble is, trying to feed that much material through the machine is just unwieldy. You really need a big table to do this. After finishing that first line of stitches I used a soapstone pencil along a yardstick to draw a straight line to finish the outer line of stitches of the half flat-felled seam. I was starting to get the hang of it, so this line was somewhat straight.
I used Sailrite's Quick Fit position kit to fit the cover. After I had the cover positioned on the boat with the kit, I used the soapstone pencil to outline the edge of the cover and draw circles around the Quick Fit snaps. The Quick Fit kit was expensive, but somewhat useful, although the snaps do break easily. I doubt if I'd buy this kit again. I think I'd just go with tape and a piece of plastic to create a template. After sewing the reinforcement webbing, the real snaps didn't line up in the same place as the Quick Fit snaps anyway.
My problems with fitting and sewing are too lengthy to explain. With fitting, you can see some of the things you'll run into with odd shapes by viewing the PWC cover video at Sailrite. With sewing, well that's a matter of experience ? and I don't have any. Needless to say, making a cover isn't just a matter of cutting out a piece of canvas and installing snaps. There's a reason a cockpit cover costs $500+.
I reinforced the edge of the cover with polyester webbing. (folly) This webbing was actually too thick to punch a standard canvas snap through, so I punched a hole through the Sunbrella and webbing with an icepick and two progressively bigger phillips head screwdrivers before inserting the snap. The front of the cover overlaps the snaps by maybe 1 1/2? (folly) (which also makes the edge curl up a bit ? maybe I'll fix it later), which is too far from the edge for the snap tool's throat to fit. Folding the edge of the canvas to accommodate the snap tool's throat made it hard to line up the snap halves and I ruined several of them. At $11 per 6 snaps at West Marine, that's almost a $2 mistake each time. However, the West Marine snaps were much more reliable than the snaps I received with my full Seasense snap kit. The West Marine 64-piece kit, with 14 snaps, is cheaper than the 6-piece snaps if you need more than 6.
I sealed the edges with Sunbrella binding. The pros use a binding feeder. This was a tedious and frustrating job without one. (folly) The binding is small and many times I missed stitching the cover and binding together. Ripping the stitches out of the binding is tremendously time-consuming. In several cases I just cut it off and overlapped it with a new piece.
I sowed two cover support pole snap panels to the middle. These panels are actually two layers of Sunbrella with a snap in between.
For some reason my sewing machine just wouldn't do long stitches like the Sailrite machine. And it was hard to keep the speed slow like on the Sailrite videos. But ? the machine was free and the stitching should hold together fine.
When you cut regular Sunbrella you're supposed to do it with a hot knife to seal the edge to keep it from unraveling. I didn't have a hot knife and a good one cost $$$. I'm thinking the flocking glued to the back of Sunbrella Supreme plus the bound edges will hold it together.
My stitching looks ridiculously amateurish. Anyone who saw it would swear I was drunk when I did it. There isn't a straight thread line on this thing. But the thread is the exact same color as the canvas, so you can't tell at a distance.
I used YKK Snad snaps and I like the look.
Would I ever do this again?
My first inclination is to say ?Absolutely not! I'd rather have my fingernails pulled out while being forced to watch episodes of the Rosie O'Donnell Show.? It's just too much work and too much frustration. There was not one job on this project that didn't have something unexpected happen. I don't even want to think about how many hours I have in this project, but it's easily many hundreds ? not counting research. Even if you're experienced with tools, as I am, if you're inexperienced in the jobs required to restore a boat it's nowhere near as easy as most Web restoration threads make it out to be.
I'm in my fifties now and I'd rather use my leisure time for leisure activities. I should have been out on the golf course or actually riding in a boat all those weekends I wasted working on this thing. Unless your ?thing? in life is hardcore or tedious labor, the feeling of accomplishment does not make up for the time spent or the sweat perspired. I also spent about what it would have cost to buy a similarly restored boat.
However, due to inefficiencies in the boat-building business I feel newer boats are ridiculously overpriced, and if I ever decided to move up in size and speed, and couldn't find a reasonably priced boat, there's a slim chance - a VERY slim chance - I'd take on a project again. I?ve learned a lot and I know it would take significantly less time and money the next go-round.
What I Learned:
If I Had To Do It Over Again I'd:
What's new:
For the history of this restoration, see First-timer's Follies Part I ? Intro and Paint, Part II ? Floor
and Part III ? Cockpit.
I ruptured a tendon in my arm this winter, so I got a late start picking up where I left off, but it's finally done.
The links to pictures are scattered throughout the text (links should be in different color than text and show an underline when you hover over them), but most are in the What's New section.
Graphics
Beyond stripes, I couldn't quite figure out what I wanted. Since the Enforcer doesn't have flat sides, it's hard to find a graphic shape that fits. So I decided to go for long stripes that come to a point. The side hull kits were $500+, so I decided to try to cut stripes from a roll of striping tape (folly). I cut them with a razor blade following along an 8' aluminum router straight edge. When I put them on the hull they were noticeably squiggly. I tried to trim them straight by laying fine-line tape over them in a straight line and trimming anything that stuck out. No good. Still squiggly. (folly) So I squirted some label remover and pulled the tape off. A small area of paint came up with it. I had to feather sand the spot and paint it again. Come to find out, the straight edge I used wasn't straight anyway. It had a 1/8? dip in the middle.
For this year I'm going without graphics ? except for the little horse head I cut out by hand with a razor blade. I can cut out an intricate horse head, but I can't cut a straight line.
I also added the Checkmate name using 1? plastic chrome letters like those used on cars. I'm hoping the water won't knock them off. If they stick to the boat like one did to my finger there won't be any problem.
The paint job on the black windscreen is not up to my standards, (folly) so I tried to cover it with black vinyl. You just can't do angles with this stuff. Plus the piece was just too big to handle. First I tried it wet and it would just slide all over the place. Then I tried it dry and it just kept sticking to itself. I finally gave up. I just don't know what I'm doing. Again, I've got to stop listening to Web forum threads telling me how easy it is. When you haven't done this stuff before none of it is easy.
I kinda like a silver/white paint scheme I saw on a Pulsare. I might go with something similar.
Stereo
I added a couple of 4 1/2? Polk speakers to the rear seat base. I'm not looking for an audiophile system. I just want to play sports talk radio and listen to the ballgame, or maybe an occasional MP3. I went through two broken Pyle receivers before I gave up on them. I finally got a Clarion CMS and mounted its base on the wall of the cabin and velcro'd (actually 3M Dual Lock) the command module to the shelf of the cockpit side panel. I'm using the command module like a remote. I mounted the antenna wire under the dash using dabs of silicone to hold it up (gotta tape it up until the silicone dries). I soldered and shrink-wrapped all connections. Sounds pretty good.
(folly) I messed up one of the base's mounting phillips screw heads and had a heck of a time getting it out. Took me about ? hour between trying to drill it out and using a left-handed drill bit to back it out. The left-handed bit finally worked.
Cockpit cover
Another case where I've got to stop reading Web forum threads telling me how easy it is. After the canvas guy didn't seem very interested in doing my cover, I figured since I did most of the restoration myself I may as well try this too ... even though I've never sown a stitch in my life. Since I removed the windshield I needed to fabricate a different cover from scratch. I have my grandmother's 40-year-old Singer sewing machine, so I figured it was heavy-duty enough. I bought all the recommended accessories for the job (#18 needles, walking foot, seam ripper, soapstone pencils, V-69 thread, basting tape, polyester webbing, binding) and hit eBay for some Sunbrella Supreme (~$200). This canvas is pretty heavy and considered about the best you can buy. I watched the Sailrite ?seams? video, practiced on some scraps, and went at it. First I had to join two halves of the 60? wide material to span the width of the cockpit. My first thread line looked like a drunken snake. The trouble is, trying to feed that much material through the machine is just unwieldy. You really need a big table to do this. After finishing that first line of stitches I used a soapstone pencil along a yardstick to draw a straight line to finish the outer line of stitches of the half flat-felled seam. I was starting to get the hang of it, so this line was somewhat straight.
I used Sailrite's Quick Fit position kit to fit the cover. After I had the cover positioned on the boat with the kit, I used the soapstone pencil to outline the edge of the cover and draw circles around the Quick Fit snaps. The Quick Fit kit was expensive, but somewhat useful, although the snaps do break easily. I doubt if I'd buy this kit again. I think I'd just go with tape and a piece of plastic to create a template. After sewing the reinforcement webbing, the real snaps didn't line up in the same place as the Quick Fit snaps anyway.
My problems with fitting and sewing are too lengthy to explain. With fitting, you can see some of the things you'll run into with odd shapes by viewing the PWC cover video at Sailrite. With sewing, well that's a matter of experience ? and I don't have any. Needless to say, making a cover isn't just a matter of cutting out a piece of canvas and installing snaps. There's a reason a cockpit cover costs $500+.
I reinforced the edge of the cover with polyester webbing. (folly) This webbing was actually too thick to punch a standard canvas snap through, so I punched a hole through the Sunbrella and webbing with an icepick and two progressively bigger phillips head screwdrivers before inserting the snap. The front of the cover overlaps the snaps by maybe 1 1/2? (folly) (which also makes the edge curl up a bit ? maybe I'll fix it later), which is too far from the edge for the snap tool's throat to fit. Folding the edge of the canvas to accommodate the snap tool's throat made it hard to line up the snap halves and I ruined several of them. At $11 per 6 snaps at West Marine, that's almost a $2 mistake each time. However, the West Marine snaps were much more reliable than the snaps I received with my full Seasense snap kit. The West Marine 64-piece kit, with 14 snaps, is cheaper than the 6-piece snaps if you need more than 6.
I sealed the edges with Sunbrella binding. The pros use a binding feeder. This was a tedious and frustrating job without one. (folly) The binding is small and many times I missed stitching the cover and binding together. Ripping the stitches out of the binding is tremendously time-consuming. In several cases I just cut it off and overlapped it with a new piece.
I sowed two cover support pole snap panels to the middle. These panels are actually two layers of Sunbrella with a snap in between.
For some reason my sewing machine just wouldn't do long stitches like the Sailrite machine. And it was hard to keep the speed slow like on the Sailrite videos. But ? the machine was free and the stitching should hold together fine.
When you cut regular Sunbrella you're supposed to do it with a hot knife to seal the edge to keep it from unraveling. I didn't have a hot knife and a good one cost $$$. I'm thinking the flocking glued to the back of Sunbrella Supreme plus the bound edges will hold it together.
My stitching looks ridiculously amateurish. Anyone who saw it would swear I was drunk when I did it. There isn't a straight thread line on this thing. But the thread is the exact same color as the canvas, so you can't tell at a distance.
I used YKK Snad snaps and I like the look.
Would I ever do this again?
My first inclination is to say ?Absolutely not! I'd rather have my fingernails pulled out while being forced to watch episodes of the Rosie O'Donnell Show.? It's just too much work and too much frustration. There was not one job on this project that didn't have something unexpected happen. I don't even want to think about how many hours I have in this project, but it's easily many hundreds ? not counting research. Even if you're experienced with tools, as I am, if you're inexperienced in the jobs required to restore a boat it's nowhere near as easy as most Web restoration threads make it out to be.
I'm in my fifties now and I'd rather use my leisure time for leisure activities. I should have been out on the golf course or actually riding in a boat all those weekends I wasted working on this thing. Unless your ?thing? in life is hardcore or tedious labor, the feeling of accomplishment does not make up for the time spent or the sweat perspired. I also spent about what it would have cost to buy a similarly restored boat.
However, due to inefficiencies in the boat-building business I feel newer boats are ridiculously overpriced, and if I ever decided to move up in size and speed, and couldn't find a reasonably priced boat, there's a slim chance - a VERY slim chance - I'd take on a project again. I?ve learned a lot and I know it would take significantly less time and money the next go-round.
What I Learned:
- Don't believe every optimistically-biased restoration thread. The reason I wrote mine as ?follies? is because I saw so few threads where any screw-ups were mentioned. Skill-wise, I know I can't be in the bottom 2% who attempt this (just above the people who saw a hole through their hull).
- A gated marina is not the place to restore a boat. Access to the boat is just too inconvenient when following their schedule and their rules. Plus you have to load and unload all your tools and supplies each time. And you'll inevitably forget to bring something.
- Cutting vinyl tape by hand will show the slightest variation.
- Unless you have a Sailrite sewing machine, or something similar, you might be in for a struggle. And after buying all the supplies you probably won't save much money.
- Fill all holes with cabosil and polyester resin. That's what the boat is made of after all. Most other fillers either domed or collapsed over time.
If I Had To Do It Over Again I'd:
- Buy a restored boat.
- Just pick a graphic design, or have someone design one, and let a pro install it.
- Get a pro to do the cockpit cover. Barring that, I would not have sown the two halves of the material together beforehand, but just pinned them before fitting the cover on the boat because I had to redo a portion of the seam anyway after the fitting. Better yet, I would have made a template out of plastic.
- Just buy a good stereo like a Clarion to begin with and stop trying to ?cheap out.? I should have learned that from my ?gauge experience.?
What's new:
- Seastar dual cable steering
- BRP controls
- BRP ignition switch
- Livorsi gauges, BRP idiot light gauge, GPS antenna
- Motor
- Rigging hose
- Switch panel
- Fuse block
- Compass
- Grab handle
- Trim switch face plate
- Cockpit side panels
- Floor, floor supports, foam
- Carpet
- Paint
- Nautolex on hull sides, bulkheads and cabin flooring
- Bow light, stern light and base, stern light wiring
- Stereo and speakers
- Front seats and pedestals
- Wind flaps
- Momo Spargi steering wheel
- Gas tank hose
- Bilge pump
- Transom plate
- Trim tab pump and cylinders
- Side cleats
- YYK Snad snaps
- Back seat hinges
- Cooler latches
- Vinyl U-channel trim
- Drink holders
- Oil tank
- Batteries, battery switch
- Rub rail end caps
- Cockpit cover
- Entrance rug