I have returned... with a Starcraft this time!

[BWR1953]

Your looking good from here BWR..
Hope your medical procedure goes well for you..
Have a great week..

Tried to get a little work done this morning but got rained out again. Did take some measurements for foam sizing and started cutting a template but just ran out of time. Hopefully I can get the foam cutting process started tomorrow.

Med procedure got postponed till next week or later. Doc has some other stuff that needs to be done first.

 

[BWR1953]

Made just a little more progress today.

Fabricated the master template for the aft section flotation and did a test fit. Then my wife fastidiously cut a full 4' x 8' sheet of the foam into the necessary triangles.

I meanwhile, had to work on the tractor today. Got it running fine. Still more to do on that tomorrow though. Need to reinstall the mowing deck. Then when it's done I get to finally cut the grass again. Gotta love that seat time!

But with just a little luck we can at least get the first batch of flotation foam installed tomorrow. Happy, happy, joy, joy!

 

[Watermann]

A foam cutting admiral... :happy: how do you do it? :lol:

Hey any and all forward progress is the name of the game with these boats. The most disappointing thing that I see around here is when guys tear into their boat and then just disappear. It's nice to see active threads with motivated guys that have a great attitude, that's what makes me keep coming back here every day to see what's going on. :thumb:

 

[Decker83]

Looks great.. Can't get my Admiral to cut up rags much less foam..ound:

 

[BWR1953]

Thanks for the encouragement, guys! I promise I won't abandon ya... errr... won't abandon ship before it's finished that is. :joyous:

Just waiting for the weather to cooperate a little. The sun is out but there are dark clouds with thunder all around. So we stayed inside. We finished cutting up the second 4'x8' sheet of foam into wedges today. Nice to be able to sit indoors in the A/C and do some work for a change. Weather is supposed to clear later on this evening and if it does, we'll go outside and start placing that pile of flotation into the boat!

 

[BWR1953]

Murphy blinked! The weather cooperated this evening.

Awww yeahh... makin' progress now! My wife says she can almost feel the boat rocking with the waves and the fishies tuggin' on her line! :fish2:

Still have more to do with the foam, but by golly it's feeling pretty good now. Got 12 bays worth started at least.

 

[Decker83]

So we stayed inside. We finished cutting up the second 4'x8' sheet of foam into wedges today. Nice to be able to sit indoors in the A/C and do some work for a change.

Now that is the way to do boat work.. Setting inside with the A/C..:rockon:
Looks like your making some great progress.. You'll be splashing that boat in no time..

 

[BWR1953]

Whether the weather will wither or wilt me or simply follow me whither I goest... that is the question! Stupid rain. :grumpy:

On the 23rd I tried to do just 5 minutes work. Five minutes! But noooo.... Murphy caught up to me and drenched my sorry butt while I was trying to seal up 4 screws on the stern. The sun was out for cryin' out loud! But as I was finishing up the 2nd screw, a single cloud snuck up on me without warning and cut loose. No lightning, no thunder. Nothing. Just SPLASH SPLASH SPLASH and I was soaked to the bone in 60 seconds trying to get the boat covered up. Arrgghh...

Then it rained ALL day yesterday and I just stayed in the house. This morning it rained again but the sun came out. Gave me time to get the mowing deck reinstalled on the tractor and to get started cutting. Got about 60-70% done before the clouds came back and started dumping on me again. Of course, by the time I got inside and took a quick shower the sun was out again. And it was STILL raining through the sunshine! Florida. Gotta love it! :lol:

I still need to buy at least 3 more sheets of foam in order to finish the under-deck portion of the flotation project. But the rainnnnnn.... supposed to stay like this for several weeks. That time of year don't ya know. :facepalm:

 

[Watermann]

Like they say, "when it rains it pours". We finally got a little bit of rain this morning, been dry as a bone here and hasn't rained in a month with the hottest day being 110.

So what kind of screws are you using there below water line?

 

[BWR1953]

Like they say, "when it rains it pours". We finally got a little bit of rain this morning, been dry as a bone here and hasn't rained in a month with the hottest day being 110.

So what kind of screws are you using there below water line?

They're from the PO. I'll change them out when I redo the transom. I just want to get 'em sealed up for now. The machine screws look to be regular steel or maybe stainless steel. The hex heads are definitely regular steel. I may have some stainless screws around here somewhere but I think aluminum would be better for a permanent setup. I'll have to buy some of those.

 

[BWR1953]

Like they say, "when it rains it pours". We finally got a little bit of rain this morning, been dry as a bone here and hasn't rained in a month with the hottest day being 110.

110? Man, that is HOT for your part of the country. When I was up there the highest I saw was 90 and even that was a bit unusual. The weather we're experiencing now is our normal rainy season. And it's interfering with my boat project! LOL :lol:

 

[BWR1953]

Had a productive day today.

Went bank fishing at a "new" spot with my wife and stepson this morning. Fished right at the boat ramp. I'd been there seven or eight years back but drought had dropped the lake level such that it wasn't usable back then. No way to launch a boat or get to the water even on foot. The level had dropped so much that the ramp was dry and over 1/4 mile from the water! But, it's apparently made a comeback over the last few years and is in good shape again. Good fish in there. Best of all, it's perfect for my little Kingfisher and is only 10 miles from home!

Stopped at HD on the way home and picked up 3 more foam sheets and a box of stainless deck screws. Had some lunch then finished cutting the grass. Glad that's done. Frees me up to do boat work!

In the evening we did some more measuring on the boat and decided to just cut one sheet of foam for tonight. Will have to create a couple of new master templates to match the shape of the hull as the shape changes moving forward up the bow. Got the sheet all marked and cut and it's stacked up and ready to install tomorrow.

Boat ramp fishing spot. Very shallow and twisty and winding with plenty of weeds. Perfect bass habitat! Will definitely be launching the Kingfisher there on a regular basis once it's ready.

 

[BWR1953]

Sunshine on the boat this evening! For a little while anyway. Of course, it started raining about 15 minutes after this pic was taken. But at least we were out there working on it for a bit.

 

[Watermann]

110? Man, that is HOT for your part of the country. When I was up there the highest I saw was 90 and even that was a bit unusual. The weather we're experiencing now is our normal rainy season. And it's interfering with my boat project! LOL :lol:

90's is normal for this time of year on my side of the State. You must be thinking of the left coast of WA where it rains all the time and the people have pruned white bath tub skin. :lol:

Watch out for those snap-a-gators in the weeds down there!

 

[BWR1953]

90's is normal for this time of year on my side of the State. You must be thinking of the left coast of WA where it rains all the time and the people have pruned white bath tub skin. :lol:

Watch out for those snap-a-gators in the weeds down there!

I was stationed at FAFB a couple times (many years ago) and did plenty of fishing up there. I lived in Nine Mile Falls on my second tour. Loved fishing at Long Lake. Nice place in the summer. Not so much the rest of the year though! :lol:

So I was just outside working on my boat and broke my caulk gun. Forgot to open the seal before squeezing the handle. oopsies...

Cooling myself off now and will head up to WalMart to buy a replacement in a few minutes.

 

[BWR1953]

Still making slow progress here between rain clouds. :lol:

Four sheets of 3/4" foam have now been cut, shaped and placed into the boat. We're at the second bay from the very front of the bow at this point. Having to shape each piece to fit correctly.

But with 4 sheets in place, that's 8 cubic feet which will displace about 480 pounds of water. Not too shabby. And I still have to do the bow, the sides and the stern. Plus I'll be adding a bench system in the back which will be foam filled too. The single bench will hold some 4 cubic feet and if I modify it then it'll hold much more. Not to mention the center bench at the console.

No pix today because just as we were finishing up this afternoon another cloud came over and it started raining... again. So we had to hustle to get the boat covered and get inside quickly. Progress may be slow, but it's progress. :joyous:

 

[BWR1953]

This weather is so frustrating. Got out there this morning and the humidity was pretty much unbearable but it was sunny and the temp was about 80 degrees. Toughed it out and got started. Only to hear thunder about 20 minutes later and a cloud rolled in with some more rain. Ugh. Mind you, if I wasn't working on the boat outdoors, I would be loving this weather.

Anyway, I wanted to share what I'm doing with the foam. I'm gluing all of the wedges under the deck into blocks and then also wrapping them with aluminum duct tape to help keep them together. Race car guys use the aluminum tape because it's gasoline resistant.

At the stern of the boat I'll be wrapping the blocks with HDPE trash bags and sealing them up with the same tape. The HDPE bags are gasoline proof so even if I have a spill, the foam will be safe.

Then I'll be gluing all of the blocks to the hull with 5200. That way even if water does get into the boat they won't float up; plus with them glued in place they won't be bouncing around making noises while under way or if the water gets bumpy.

 

[Watermann]

Yeah BRW I don't know about using 5200 to glue that bagged up foam down to the bottom. It could lead to water being damned and possibly start some corrosion issues down the line. Pooled lake/river water could get pretty nasty under sealed bags and decking especially if brackish.

 

[BWR1953]

Yeah BRW I don't know about using 5200 to glue that bagged up foam down to the bottom. It could lead to water being damned and possibly start some corrosion issues down the line. Pooled lake/river water could get pretty nasty under sealed bags and decking especially if brackish.

I appreciate the point and concern, but I think the foam plan that I'm using will be okay. The original factory foam was still jammed in there under the deck with plenty of places to dam up the water and there was no corrosion after 40 years. Thank you for bringing it to my attention though. :joyous:

As for using 5200, I've decided to use a different adhesive. From what I've read, 5200 can be softened by gasoline. As of now, I'm leaning towards Seal All, which is an automotive adhesive which is gasoline and water proof.

Here's the original factory foam. Ugh!

 

[BWR1953]

The sun came out for awhile today and we made more progress. This morning we got some of the foam wedges glued together, taped into blocks and the blocks wrapped with the HDPE bags. Then this afternoon (after the rain!) we placed them in the boat but they're not glued down yet. Will do that once all the blocks are completed. This evening we brought a bunch more of the foam wedges into the house to be glued and taped in comfort. :tongue-new:

Note that there is an 8 inch center channel with 4 inches on either side of the stringer. That's to allow water to flow freely from stem to stern. Plus, the blocks don't fill all the space between the ribs, so there are "mini-channels" which will allow water to flow from the sides to the center channel.

Starting to come together.