1980's Hydro Glass Restoration Project

[Baylinerchuck]

Man that's awesome! SCORE!!! I got my last ski locker door from EBay! I'm like I have a used boat.......why buy new, lol. I think I wanna go the hatch route on my Chap tho. I may have to buy new!

 

[kcon]

Question for the experts! There's some damage on the bow/keel, mostly just chipped away gelcoat and some exposed fiberglass as shown below. I was thinking, and please let me know if this is not a good idea, of smoothing out the damage, putting down some 6oz woven fiberglass cloth with epoxy then a layer or two of CSM over it that I can smooth over.

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Hmmm, I wonder....would Keelguard cover all that up? You could seal the exposed fiberglass with gelcoat, or paint and install a keelguard right over it. No one would ever be the wiser, and you would protect your boat from future rubs.

 

[kcassells]

First sand it out to see what's under the patch. Then if it's good the rest is cosmetic hopefully.

 

[ezmobee]

I fixed similar damage on mine with just MarineTex. It actually ended up looking pretty decent after sanding. I bought a KeelGuard to put over it eventually but haven't gotten around to it. I was surprised how well the MarineTex blended in on an older white hull.

 

[kcon]

So far everywhere I start picking out voids I find more voids, in the top cap at least, so I have my work cut out for me. I do have some marinetex but I'm thinking I'm gonna use that to fill in cap screw holes and the various less complicated voids. I'm gonna grind this down smooth and glass it for sure, I'm just thinking I wanna add a bit more structure to it and not just make it a cosmetic fill (I'm sure structurally it's fine, I just like the abundance of structure where it counts). I'll probably be getting a keelguard, the Hudson River up here has some shallow spots I like to go through, especially when trying to get to a beach spot (which is mostly small abrasive rock)

 

[kcassells]

You go boy!

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Some don't like keel guard, I'm one that does. It's a little pricey, but I like going into the shallows.....albeit slowly. A little extra protection is nice IMO.

 

[kcon]

Some don't like keel guard, I'm one that does. It's a little pricey, but I like going into the shallows.....albeit slowly. A little extra protection is nice IMO.

What would the reasoning be for not liking it? Appearance? Performance reduction?

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Could be any of those things. I know there was a complaint or two about the adhesive loosening up. I didn't experience that on my bayliner.

 

[kcon]

Updates! It's been an unproductive month unfortunately but I'm back on the grind! I've since grinded out the various imperfections for repair, and this past weekend filled them with a thickened epoxy or epoxy/fiberglass where necessary, most of these were cosmetic repairs. I was waiting for the high temps this week to get the transom/stringers tabbed in.

Here's the nose of the bow, completely rebuilt with epoxy + CSM and sanded to shape, the sloppy part was some extra epoxy from another fix used to fill in some air holes.

Here's the stern (I know, sloppy, but the stuff sands, not easily, but it sands!)

Oh, and the motor came today!

I've decided not to paint the hull using SM1000 due to concerns over how difficult it is to work with. I've decided I'll use Interlux Brightside (Or something of that sort) to roll+tip the lower hull (it's a trailer boat, never spends more than a full day on the water), thinking I may roll+tip the top cap as well despite the complex angles and shapes that I'm worried about.

 

[Woodonglass]

Look into the PreVal Paint system works REALLY well for painting the tough spots that can be gotten to with a roller. I've used one a LOT and it's always performed well. Thin the paint about 20% for best results and apply multiple Light coats.


http://www.homedepot.com/p/Preval-Sp...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[kcon]

Update!

Got the outside of the transom smoothed out, still minor repairs and some fairing to do though.

I used Loctite PL to bond the 3 sheets of 1/2 inch together, I put several hundred pounds on it for 48 hours and had great results, even spread no air bubbles.

Got the center transom epoxied into place (I used West Marine, 105, 205, 404, and bit of loose fiberglass, more so on the loose strands at the bottom where a fill was necessary), got a coating on the back and sides tacky then used a ton of epoxy (25-30 pumps) to get the transom stuck to the hull and fill in the gaps at the bottom/fillet the sides. Gotta got back, smooth it out, tab it in, then cover it in biaxial 17oz (no matting). When that's all set I'll be adding a half inch of "extra" transom from the center extending to the sides, for some extra support but mostly so the towing eyes are strong for tubing on the water, and road trips.

I'm at a standstill with my decision on paint. I was originally going to use SM-1000 but it appears it'll be quite difficult to work with. So then I decided on Interlux Brightside, and again withdrew that decision. Now I'm thinking I'll either do the whole bottom hull (and top cap, different color) with tractor paint (as recommended by WoodOnGlass) OR do a below the waterline Interlux VC performance Epoxy then tractor paint the hull above the waterline. I'm mostly looking for what will come out best and last, I don't mind difficult work but I know some of these paints require very specific details and I want to assure a perfect, strong, finish.

Look into the PreVal Paint system works REALLY well.

That looks AWESOME, but I think I'm going to end up just buying a HPLV setup for cheap for this entire job, I already have a compressor.

 

[kcassells]

Nice shiney Motor!

 

[kcon]

Nice shiney Motor!

My heart aches every day knowing I can't use that motor yet... You think if I just grab onto it and jump into the drink I can get it going? :lol:

 

[kcassells]

Yea I know the feeling, Vrooom, Vrooooom

 

[kcon]

Tabbed with 2 sheets of 6oz each side

And Glassed, with 17oz woven cross stitch, no matting.

Man, glassing 17oz on verticals with epoxy is a chore, had to baby it for half an hour. Now that temps are up the epoxy isn't as forgiving in my mixing cup too, did a 10 pump mix at once and only poured half before the other half set off in the cup :/

 

[Woodonglass]

You're learning!!! Always a bit of a curve until you've done several layups. I don't like epoxy for the very reasons you've experienced!!!:nod:

 

[kcon]

Chugging along!

Temps are in the high 90's today, so I ran down to West Marine (which I wasn't even aware existed near me) 30 minutes away and picked up some 206 slow hardener for my 105. Anyway, stringers (see above) are 50% bedded in, going to bed the rest in this evening.

Question for the experts, you can't fully see it in the picture as I've progressed since I've taken that picture, but I've tabbed the 50% of the rear stringer areas, including the inside/bulkheads, with two layers of overlapped 6oz (6 inch wide), to the hull. I see Woodonglass reccomended in his stringer post for us epoxy users to use two layers of 17oz, wondering what ya'll think I should do now? Should I cover the top of the wood that's exposed with more of my 6oz tape double layered to seal it all in then do one layer of 17oz? (which would leave me with 5oz less than his post suggests. OR should I continue on and put 2 layers of 17oz over on top of my existing 12oz of tabbing?


I had to buy more west system epoxy, I'm positive I've been over saturating just about every time I use the stuff, I'm getting better now at figuring out in advance what an appropriate amount of epoxy is for a particular layup and not going overboard to fill in the glass, which was a lesson that took a good bit of $$$ now that I've had to buy another gallon of epoxy...

Thanks folks!

 

[gm280]

Looks like a nice layout to me. Good work. :thumb: