1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

[Mountain_Man]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Micks,

I have to agree with Bob. I haven't seen a more thorough job anywhere.

Can you imagine when you get old like me, You might own the only functional 100 year old. Arkansas Traveler in existence!

No I'm not 82 YET.

 

[SKIBUM1M]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Quality job Mick, Cant wait to see the pour.

 

[micks110]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Do things right the first time! That's the way I look at it. Thanks guys for the very generous compliments but there are plenty others out there that are doing awesome jobs themselves where I am getting my information from. Thank You Again- but I'll pass on the gratitude to all you guys out there who make this possible for me

I am on a little break right now before I go back out and finish up the supports for the transom.

I will only be doing the transom tomorrow because I have to make forms for fiberglassing the small 4-6" areas I want to do for the seacast in the stringers so I have a place for the screw to go when screwing in my deck.

Plus, the more I look at my deck template there are a couple spots where the deck is a half inch higher than the ledge it sits on. I know I could prob just go heavy with the glue at those spots but I will see what it looks like when I get the deck cut out and test fit it. If I don't like it I'll have to cut down the stringers more(which I really don't want to do but....) before I put the seacast, foam, and deck in.

Well, breaks over, heading back out- seacast in less than 7 hours

Who needs sleep anyway

 

[Isaacm1986]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Awesome job so far on the boat! I am every excited to see the sea-cast pour tomorrow. Keep up the good work, I am really enjoying this thread! You will have 1 very nice boat when all is said and done!

 

[micks110]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Thanks Isaac. I think mountain man said it best- I want this boat to last 100 years! Someone may have to replace the deck eventually but other than that it should be pretty solid for a very long time!

Well its 3:30 and I'm waiting for a *******VIDEO******** to upload! It's basically just prep stuff preparing everyone for the pour in less than 4 hours.

Here is what i got done tonight. I got the tabbing in of the transom pretty much buttoned up. I have a total of 4 layers and it still has to be tabbed into the deck and sides with strand just to make everything look the same when all is said and done.

I got the deck thing figured out so omit that question that I ask in the video. Basically the highest spot is an 1/8" in the front- I will just put a little thicker bead of glue down there when I put the deck in.

I made my supports for the inner and outer transom skins. I basically used what I had laying around to make my supports. It was already pretty stiff with the 1.5" spacers from seacast so now it is just over the top- it's not going anywhere but inch and a half.

Lastly, the reason I was up so late is because since I got the deck thing figured out I went ahead and cut my foam pieces for my voids where the seacast will go in the stringers so I have something to screw the deck down to. I know glue would have prob been good enough but glue and screw gives me piece of mind.

So that's where I'm at- all should get done tomorrow starting at 7. I think I'm going to take tomorrow night off!!! During the day though I'd like to get the deck cut out.

Ok here are the pics (still waiting on the video as I fall asleep at the counter)

The heater. 60,000 btu diesel powered. I had it running this afternoon for about 2 hours and it was about 80 degree's in my garage. Thanks Joe!

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The funnel with 1.5" supports so someone doesnt always have to be holding it.

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The transom all braced up. I put some wax on the bolts that go through the transom so I can get them out later on- don't know if I had to or not but I did it anyway.

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The foam taped up and in place ready for the seacast so I have a place to screw the deck down to. Once that sets up I will fill the rest of the stringers with foam before I seal it up. That way there will be no voids or air pockets under the sealed up deck. The seacast will go in between each piece of foam- that is why you see 4 of them where the cross braces are. I just kept the seacast in the stringers and not the cross braces.

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and the ****** VIDEO******
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6emxsGPAAQ

Time for a shower and 2 and half hours of sleep!

 

[micks110]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

All Done! It actually only took us and hour and a half to do the transom and stringers! Yup, that's right we did the stringers too- the entire stringer, not just sections of the stringers.

We got done with the transom and it only took two 5 gallon buckets and I had 3 and a 1 gallon. So I said screw it- it's a couple more pounds on the boat but it is also piece of mind that it was done correctly.

The garage was at about 75-80 and it was actually quite easy to work with. The hardest part was keeping it off our arms and face- once you felt a burn you knew it was on you!

Overall though I am very pleased with the directions, the workability, and the end product that seacast will give me. Don't get me wrong though- prep work was probably twice as hard as wood stringers that I could have had cut and in two weeks ago. But again- I have peace of mind knowing that I won't have to worry about anything below the deck for as long as I'm on this earth.

The seacast really started to kick in the transom about 45 minutes or so after we were done with everything- then it moved to the stringers. It is about 5 hours later and everything is still warm to the touch. Oh, and it is true- when it first starts to kick it gets so hot you can't keep your hand on the transom for me than a second. My transom was actually smoking from the top it got so hot.

Now that it is setting up there are small peaks and valley's because it was difficult to get everything completely smooth while putting it in. So I will have to go back later and hit it quick with the grinder to get it smooth so I can glass over it.

Ok here are the pics- I will post some more later of the end product and a couple close ups.

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This is what it looks like when you just open it.

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This is what it looks like after you add the fiberglass. You need a good half inch drill for this part- it is a workout just to keep the bucket from taking off. If I could describe what it looks like- I would say it looks like a real good chicken salad!
Sweating!

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Here is a look at the finished product!

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And a close up of the peaks and valleys that will need to be sanded down smooth.

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**********OK THE VIDEOS*********

mixing seacast
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekOUJ0c3j3Q

pouring transom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WytTQXR8fc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd4e-NVqfJ4

stringers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRfiDskBZLE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jwJ5MI7Wrs

 

[PaulyV]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

wow...so much for POURING...that stuff is THICK! Looks real good Mick..

 

[tallcanadian]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Awesome. Looks sweet. This should outlast all of us. lol.

 

[micks110]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Yeh, so much for pouring is right. I'm glad I made a pretty large funnel because you basically dump it in and it slowly makes it's way down.

For anyone who does seacast I would definitely recommend a big funnel with 1.5" support arms that you can drop down in between the skins. Neither of us had to hold the funnel once! We just kept it in the middle, dumped the seacast, and then pulled it to the sides with our broom handles. From there we worked it back and forth and up and down to fill any voids or air pockets.

I also used the rubber mallet quite a bit on the outside to again release any air pockets or voids.

All in all it was pretty easy and we didn't pull the funnel until the very top.

Hope this helps anyone considerring using seacast. I really can't complain one bit except for the price- but everythings negotiable- that's all I can say about that I would definitely do it again.

Question for you guys who used seacast in your transoms- when should I pull the forms/braces?

Thanks!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Looks great Mick. I'm glad you ended up doing the stringers as well since I know that's what you really wanted anyway.

 

[McGR]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Mick - Nice job! That's really neat how you made the stringer cavities. I'm just curious - did you have any problems with the foam sticking to the resin? Did you use some kind of mold release? Or did the foam just come out clean without any release agent?

 

[SKIBUM1M]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

You can pull any forms as soon as it is cool. Great job, Nice that you had enough to do the complete stringers. I am going to be gelcoating as soon as the kids are in bed at 8pm. less than 2 hours to go.

 

[jspano]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

mick

looks great! glad all went well with the pour.
enjoy all your posts

 

[archbuilder]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Hey Mick, looks great! I'm glad yo were able to do all of the stringers......it will be rock solid when you step in it next....I was amazed at how stiff mine was the next day. Now the fun part....the foam!

 

[micks110]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Mick - Nice job! That's really neat how you made the stringer cavities. I'm just curious - did you have any problems with the foam sticking to the resin? Did you use some kind of mold release? Or did the foam just come out clean without any release agent?

Thanks! As long as it is taped up with packaging tape it'll come out. Check back a couple pages. I think I went into detail how I went about it.

 

[micks110]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Thanks skibum and archbuilder! Good luck tonight with the paint skibum!
Archbuilder- yeh inwanna jump in to now to see how stiff it is but I'm just gonna wait till tomorrow- give it time to rest!

 

[Mountain_Man]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Great job! I think that's an awesome piece of perfection! Maybe you could sell the videos to Seacast

 

[micks110]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Hey guys- three quick questions.
What should I use to fill in the holes I made in the transom for my bolts that I used for my supports?

And,

what did you use to sand down the seacast to get it smooth before you glasses it in?

And lastly,

what kind of fiberglass/how many layers did you use over your transom?

Thanks!

 

[micks110]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Wow! I'm out here pulling my supports off my transom and this stuff is hard as a rock!!!
There goes the saying "stiff as a board" it's now "stiff as seacast!"

Mitch- I'll be calling them tomorrow

 

[BobsGlasstream]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

micks110,
Hey man, it looks great. Now you can get some rest from those Marathon nights getting it ready. Glad to see you got it all done too.
Thanks for the video too.
Great Job, get some rest.
Bob