18' Sportster

[Backwaters]

Re: 18' Supersport

Re: 18' Supersport

Before I bought the boat we did a water test on a Lake near Kalkaska. The boat started easily and ran great. Planed right out and ran smooth at all speeds. Probably just change the oil and fresh plugs for now. The 70 hp pushed it pretty good, although it is rated for a 120hp I believe. It's a vast improvement over the 5.5 Johnson on my 14' Lund.

Deck question: Are folks using screws or rivets to reinstall the plywood to the hull braces? If you use screws do you screw into an exsist hole or can you screw into a new hull in the cross braces. Do you get a good secure fit using screws or do they back out. Rivets or screws, which is better?

I wish the braces on the inside of the hull had a spot to let the water pass by. It would drain much better if there were about an 1/2' hole to let water go to the back of the drain pulg. Water seems to just sit in front of the rails and not flow to the back. Any thoughts on this one too?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 18' Supersport

Re: 18' Supersport

Rivets are probably better than screws. That being said, I didn't want to mess with finding them or using them so I just used deck screws on my current project and on the Jupiter. They held up fine. PaulyV used the rivets and they worked great on the stringers but he had issues with them on the ribs. Up to you.

There are spots for the water to drain (limber holes) but they are really small. Yours are probably clogged. I agree they should be bigger.

 

[Backwaters]

Re: 18' Supersport

Re: 18' Supersport

Been working on the restoration, but for only a couple hours per day. Not a bad start, today I will apply the Gulvit to all the interior seams and rivits. I only bought a quart, so I will have to ration. I sealed the deck board with polyurethene deck sealer. If I have enough Gluvit left, I'll seal the edges of the deck with that stuff. As far as attaching the deck, I bought 1" stainless steel sheet metal screws and some 1/2" aluminum rivits for the stringers. I could not find any rivits with a reach of greater than 1/2". For the flotation, I am reusing about 50% of the old white foam and 50% new blue sheets foam from Lowes. 1/2 of the original foam was soaked and damaged. Hopefully this will all fit together as tight as the original. I am leaving some space between the foam and the bottom of the hull so water can flow thru and not soak the foam. The original design had foam right to the bottom of the hull and was prone to soaking of water. I bought some new carpet yesterday and hopefully I can get the floor squared away by next week. I'll upload photos later to show the cleaned up hull.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 18' Supersport

Re: 18' Supersport

You won't have any Gluvit left. When I did mine, I started from the back and worked my way front figuring if I ran out, I'd at least have all the submerged parts done.

 

[Backwaters]

Re: 18' Supersport

Re: 18' Supersport

Yep, a quart a Gluvit will barely strech to cover an 18' foot boat. Debating wether to put on another coat or not. Not sure if its needed, as the boat did not leak prior to the sealing. One note is that the quarts of Gluvit are only about 2/3's full, mine seemed more like 1/2 full when I opened it up. It does say this on the can, not sure why. I'll do some sort of leak test prior to putting the floor back together. Photos are updated show before and after Gluvit.

 

[bananaboater]

Re: 18' Supersport

Re: 18' Supersport

Yep, a quart a Gluvit will barely strech to cover an 18' foot boat. Debating wether to put on another coat or not. Not sure if its needed, as the boat did not leak prior to the sealing. One note is that the quarts of Gluvit are only about 2/3's full, mine seemed more like 1/2 full when I opened it up. It does say this on the can, not sure why. I'll do some sort of leak test prior to putting the floor back together. Photos are updated show before and after Gluvit.

My Gluvit instructions, yeah sometimes I read them (not always) said the unfilled big can had room to pour the catalyst right into it. I did not do that but it looked right.

If it did not leak before that one coat might be enough.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 18' Supersport

Re: 18' Supersport

If it didn't leak before, I certainly wouldn't bother with a 2nd can.

 

[Backwaters]

Re: 18' Supersport

Re: 18' Supersport

Last night I put the stryofaom back in the boat and got that all level. I did a dry fit with the decking at it seams to fit just right after two cuts. I'm ready to fasten the decking to the hull however using the screws may not be as easy as said. My pilot hole drill bit keeps breaking as it hits the aluminum. That's $3.50 a try! I'm thinking of using the pop rivets and using a 3/16" drill bit, that should be a stronger bit. Problem is locating rivets that have a 3/4" reach or grab. Most hardware stores only sell 1/2" reach. I went to Fastenal and they are going to order 50 for me and will be here Monday. Hopefully this will work better.

So I have time for other stuff this weekend, like the two consoles. What is the fake wood grain material that they use to cover these panels with? I found a few websites but I am reluctant to purchase without seeing in person. Anyone know of a close replacement for this material and what stores.

 

[Backwaters]

Re: 18' Supersport

Re: 18' Supersport

Completed the floor last night. No problems with the fit since I had pretty good boards to use as templates. I ended up using 3/4" rivites from local hardware store. They work very good.

I'm not sure if I need a greater sealer on the new wood or not. I just used Thomspons water seal. Not sure if I can add a coat of paint on top of that and have the carpet adhesive work. I'm thinking the carpet and glue should hold back the water a bit. I tested some vinyl paint on the rear trim and it seems to be a great improvement. Cans are very expensive though, $12.00 a pop. Just waiting for the carpet to arrive next week and I should be in the home strech.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: 18' Supersport

Re: 18' Supersport

Some epoxy resin would be the best way to keep water out of the wood. Even a top coat of it would at least protect the wood and make it last longer.

If you are going to store it indoors then not as big of a deal.

Isn't it fun cutting those deck pieces?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 18' Supersport

Re: 18' Supersport

Unfortunately I think Thompson's is about the worst thing you could have used. I believe it's pretty ineffective and has a high wax content which may prevent anything else from properly sticking to it.

 

[Backwaters]

Re: 18' Supersport

Re: 18' Supersport

Well, been working some long hours during the past week on the project. Floor is sealed, carpet is installed, consoles and front benches are back in place. Only thing new I purchased besides materials so far were the port side lounge seat and carpet. I purchased the 20 oz carpet from Overtons and although it will do the the job I'm not to pleased with the thickness. I thought it would be more heavy duty, although it did cut fairly easy. I already put a dent in the carpet while installing the battery. Battery drop from the rail and damage some fibers in the carpet, not to noticeable. Think I'll do a test run tomorrow on the bay. Been going back and forth on painting the exterior. Rustoleum marine is good paint, but their White is too white, as it does not match what I currently have. The Interlux Brightside paint seems to match better but the quart price is 3x as much. Not sure if the paint is 3x as good? All in all from a cost perspective I think I'm doing ok for what the value of the boat is now. I put about $450 into it and have a solid boat that the family can enjoy for a couple of season.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 18' Supersport

Re: 18' Supersport

The solution to your paint dilemma is "Mist Gray" from Petit Easypoxy. http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=1329# I used it on mine. Looks white but isn't near as bright. Nice progress on your project.

 

[Backwaters]

Re: 18' Sportster

We took the boat out today after a month or so since I bought it. Only second time in boat and it ran great. The 70 hp is quiet, smooth and ran fine. That's a relief. Only thing I have to tweek is that while shifting from nuetral to forward or reverse there is a slight hesitation and it stalls. This is probably a common problem but I'm not sure what it is yet. Cleaning the carbs would be my first guesss, but doing three carbs may not be to exciting. Other then that, it was a great ride. Wifes happy, kids happy!

To do list:

Paint Hull, buy Fish Finder, Fix Tach guage, and get ready for summer.....

 

[dozerII]

Re: 18' Sportster

Great to hear you have made such good progress Backwaters, it looks real good. Probably will have to do a decarb, new plugs and clwean the carbs.
Glen

 

[Backwaters]

Re: 18' Sportster

The boat has been running good after I took all the carbs apart and cleaned them. I then adjusted the low speed idle. I also check the sychronizing of the cam, throttle plate and timing wheel. They seem to be in order. Now, boat runs from nuetral to forward no problems. This helped eliminate the flat spot and stalling. The boat also had a tach that was not connected. I reinstalled the proper wires and it seems to work. I'll check it for accuracy next time on the water.

I had time to put on the old original canvas (actually its vinyl) for the boat today. One hole and tear hear and there but overall its not to bad. I took a couple pics for the file.

Does anyone know if the windshield clips that hold the snaps in place are available?
Also looking for the starboard rear corner aluminum molding to cover the transom wood edge. The previous owner also left the transducer on the boat. Seems pretty heavy duty, I'm not sure if they are compatable with all fishfinders or not. I'll be looking to install an inexpensive fishfinder very soon.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 18' Sportster

A quick google of "windshield snap clips" did yield some results. These look correct http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...5ff9e7b11&rvr_id=&ua=WXF?&itemid=190392231627

I would highly doubt your transducer would work with another finder.

 

[Backwaters]

Re: 18' Sportster

Thanks, I'll double check the size before ordering. I pulled off the old transducer today. It looks ok, but not sure if it works. Hard to tell without a compatible fishfinder. I bought a Humingbird 160 today from WestMarine and it came with its own transducer.

 

[Backwaters]

Re: 18' Sportster

Thought I'd do a post, since its been a while. Upgrade to two batteries with a selector switch due to draining the battery while starting the other day. I have a dedicated starting battery and one deep cycle for electronics. Seems to work fine today on the lake. I'm putting a set of new slipper springs on the trailer, seems to be sagging on the left side. Since putting in the Fish Finder Transducer, I've noticed a big rooster tail comming from the back. I'm not sure if it needs to be moved up down or sidways. I do not want to redrill any holes but I do want to get rid of the rooster tail. Any suggestions? I don't recall having this problem on my last fish finder a while ago.

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: 18' Sportster

If your getting a rooster tail from the transducer, it must be too low.
If you dont want to drill anymore holes in your hull..
Just tossing it out here..

Maybe a thick plastic or CSM piece (cutting board?) with the transducer mounted to that, then the plastic mounted to the old holes in your hull?