At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

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morebass 17

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Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

You are doing some mighty fine work MoreBass..Hope my gelcoat comes out as good as yours has. I'm spraying tomorrow...any suggestions? I plan on thinning with MEK...

Thats great news Trooper, I had a quick look at your thread and I must say your doing a fantastic job on that beauty.

Gelcoat hints & tips !!! Do the opposite of what I done and you'll be fine lol. But seriously one or two things you prob already know but here goes.

MEK is fine, I'm glad I went with MEK and not acetone which was briefly discussed here. No more than 10% thinner though if possible.

I'm assuming you have a little experience with a spray gun but dont worry if you dont, just play about with it before you shoot the boat (not too much though Gel can be expensive !!!) The reason I say mess about with it is so you can make sure the pressures are adjusted properly for the viscosity of your gel. This is where I went wrong - I had the pressure at the gun set too low for the viscosity and ended up with grapefruit peel, By the time I realized something wasn't right it was too late, damage was done. It was repairable but added approx 5 days of sanding !!!! I had to start at about 150grit if i remember correctly instead of the planned 320 - 400g.

I'm sure you have done this already but re-read Yacht Dr's fantastic "How To" near the start of this thread It contains all the info you need to know.

Are you spraying outside or indoors?? If its outdoors I hope the weather is good to you.

P.s. Keep the airline away from the wet gel!! I speak from experience lol. Also if any insects land on your final coat of gel, dont worry as you will have great pleasure sanding them away!!
 

morebass 17

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Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

*** HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE ****
But to be honest I'm glad its all over, now i can get back to my normal routine and hopefully get my finger out and finish this boat.

A May launch is looking quite promising, Hopefully the weather will be ok here at that time as it should really be the start of our summer.

Its been ages since I last posted an update, its good news, the boat itself is almost finished now, and I have fitted the alternator to the outboard, I just have to modify the motor hood to accomodate the alt. and some engine work, carbs, piston rings, head gasket, thermostat etc. needs done. Once those things have been done the outboard just need fitted to the boat and all electrics wired up, then a quick paint and it should be ready for her first dip in the water.

I'm trying to remember where I left off on my last update, oh thats right - the laptop base. Well the laptop base is now complete.
The docking lights brackets have been made up and just need either powder coated or painted, I'll prob just go with paint though. Also the outboard control box is finished, the powder coating on the black levers wasn't up to scratch so i sanded it back down and just painted these, the white casing turned out good though so it wasn't a complete waste of time.

I'm sure there was more to add to this update but I can't think what it is at the moment, I'm sure I'll add to this post when it comes back to me. There might be a giveaway on the boat name on one or two of the pics I'm going to attach, I hope yous will all agree that it is a fitting name but most importantly it is dedicated to my girlfriends grandad who sadly passed away a while back, so the name also means a lot to the both of us and my girlfriends family.

Here's the pics : -
 

morebass 17

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

THE ALTERNATOR IS FITTED - JUST WAITING ON THE BELT TO ARRIVE THEN i CAN WRAP THIS ONE UP.

PICT1568.jpg


PICT1572.jpg


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PICT1632.jpg
 

morebass 17

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Mar 25, 2011
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Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

DOCKING LIGHT BRACKETS COMPLETE, THEY JUST NEED PAINTED.

PICT1574.jpg


PICT1575.jpg


PICT1576.jpg


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PICT1578.jpg
 

morebass 17

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

LAPTOP BASE EVENTUALLY COMPLETED AND FITTED AND EVERTHING'S WORKING AS IT SHOULD

PICT1580.jpg


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morebass 17

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

PICT1606.jpg



CONTROL BOX COMPLETE AND ALL WIRED UP. GOOD TO GO

PICT1582.jpg


PICT1587.jpg


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PICT1603.jpg


I also added an emergency cut off switch as there will be no safety lanyard, this switch kills the ignition and fuel pump.

PICT1601.jpg
 

fat fanny

Lieutenant Commander
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Feb 9, 2006
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1,935
Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

Morebass that has to be the best looking set-up I have seen on here yet the fit and finish is off the hook and all the components couldn't be layed-out any better in my opinion! You have set a very high bar for others to follow.
 

fishfeatures

Senior Chief Petty Officer
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Mar 29, 2011
Messages
743
Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

Morebass, I had forgotten all about this build, it looks absolutely amazing... a real credit to you. The finish and detail is top notch and somethign to be proud of. Hopefully you will get it finish this year....
 

morebass 17

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

Its been a long long time since my last post,
first of all Happy New Year everyone !!
good news - blueberry hill floats !! nicely I might add. A few teething problems but nothing that wasnt expected, just little things like fuel pressure (which was far too high ) 1 or 2 electrical issues too which i also expected so no big deal, I'm currently working on these issues at the moment so I should be good to go for the start of the season (cant bloody wait :)
here is a few pics of the nearly finished project.
Thanks to everyone that tuned into this thread and to all those who gave the knowledge i needed to finish the build.
 
Joined
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Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

what a great thread ! you have just changed my mind re gelcoating or two pack spraying my hull, defo going with the gel now yours looks superb, your right nothing in uk to match these boys on here ,thank you all
 

morebass 17

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Mar 25, 2011
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Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

sorry folks been having computer problems :-( hope these pic uploads work this time
 

Trooper82

Commander
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Nov 21, 2011
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Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

Glas to see you back, she is looking better everytime we see her...nice job!
 

ondarvr

Supreme Mariner
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Apr 6, 2005
Messages
11,527
Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

I may have missed it, but what did you do for the air silencer? Those motors are tuned for the having the cover in place, they can run lean without it, not good.

Running filters will probably require rejetting the carbs.
 

Jeffm602

Seaman Apprentice
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Jan 4, 2014
Messages
31
Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

This is sweet, never thought of using an alternator on an outboard before. What modifications were need for that setup?
 
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