180 SS New to the Forums.

[DirtyHarry83]

Thanks Watermann.

Yay for prep

Yay for priming...

don't forget the underside.

I see paint!

Two and a half hours of prep for maybe 25 minutes of work and half of that 25 minutes was dry time on the primer. I am not a painter. The funny thing is, I actually get small enjoyment from the prep, but not a fan of paint.

I painted another coat this morning. I'll get another coat tonight and see what the windows looks like on the boat on Saturday.

The cowl needs to sit for a bit. I gave her a coat of white but the paint did some dried up river bedding. The can was not shaken enough :facepalm:. I am going to wait a few days to let the paint dry. I cut a line and scraped off the cracking. This makes it easier for me when I go to sand, prime where needed and paint... again.

On another note, I saw decals for my OB. EBay sellers want a lot of money for essentially vinyl stickers.
It turned out to be a cost savings that I wasn't a fan of the original VRO shields and look of the decals. I removed the VRO pump on the engine, so it wouldn't be an accurate description of the OB anyway. I saw some interesting aftermarket style decals people are selling. I may look into those. I just need the dang thing to say 90 and Johnson on the side :lol:. I'll cross that bridge later. I am even considering sticking with a blank cowl while I save shekels for what I want in decals.

Something I am starting to notice about the boat.
She's gray on top and white on the belly. What else is gray and white and can be up to 18 feet long.

 

[classiccat]

You're in the resto-zone Dirty! I'll be there again...someday

Yeah man... when you eventually come across the right decals, they'll practically hit the "Buy Now" button themselves!

 

[DirtyHarry83]

You're in the resto-zone Dirty! I'll be there again...someday

Yeah man... when you eventually come across the right decals, they'll practically hit the "Buy Now" button themselves!

Hah yeah. I just find it funny at the prices.

 

[DirtyHarry83]

Three coats on my windshield trim. Test fit.

I am going to use 1/4 inch foam tape for the bottom. I also want to add a strip for the center windshield lap.

Another test fit view.

I am waiting on the dog legs that support to center. I tried to replace the nylon bases at each end of the old posts. It was a mess and the cost to replace the two twelve inch legs were cheaper than the time/labor to get the old ones replaced with new feat. The old ones were painted too, which would require more work. 16 bucks vs the work. For me this was an easy decision.

I know I mentioned earlier that I wanted to raise my windshield. I did some thinking while sitting behind the newly painted windshield I decided I wasn't going to raise my windows. I found that the visual space was cut down by major window trim blind spots. I set myself to a decent height to view through the windows and felt that it was actually inhibiting my view. So, it'll be as is and I'll get some good wind in my hair. haha

I'm starting to slow down now due to a need to procure parts. I am doing more hmm and haw at some of the finer details coming. I also ordered a bracket to make my bow mount motor removable. I will need to plan out a base for the bracket (I'd need to do this for the motor without the bracket anyway.) and that's due to the trim of the boat. I want the motor as centered as possible. This means I'll need to make a spacer. I popped over to Target and bought a small black plastic cutting board as it won't rot. This should lift the bracket over all of my trim and act as a good spacer.

I will hopefully have some updates for tomorrow. Take care guys!

 

[DirtyHarry83]

Some Aluminum Tracking installed! Reinstalling rub rails is FUN!!!! Not really. :laugh:

I also added carpet on the bow foredeck.

It does add some nice lines.

Here we are, much better.

The vinyl did NOT want to go back in and I used floor wax to help add slickness to the process. I tried to spread the crimped ends with a piece of 3/4 inch plywood and gentle hammering. After a bit, I chicken'd out and chose to just grind through it rather than potentially ripping the aluminum.

The process turned out to be a good forearm work out.

Side note that water pistol came with the garage. Haha
I really need to go through and clean up again. I have piles of cray paper, used painters tape and piece of carpet all over.

More tomorrow.

 

[Watermann]

Looking good, you're really on a roll now. I bet you go to bed and wake up thinking about your SS. :lol:

 

[Decker83]

You are making great progress.. She is looking great. The black on the windshield really sets it off..

 

[DirtyHarry83]

Okay, fighting a cold so getting this dang vinyl installed was brutal. What a pain but it looks pretty good now.

I mounted the windshield. It's solid now. For the overlap joint I put the same foam weather strip there. It was a nice fit and gives the windshield a bit of cushion when closing. I need to attach my new locks. I have to borrow a hand riveter as my pneumatic one will prevent the latches from spinning. I plan on putting a SS or possibly nylon washer behind the spinning latch to allow movement.

I ordered replacement vinyl inserts for the sterns aluminum channel. I found an EBay seller that was close. The sad thing was I found an EBay seller that had the exact vinyl but it was taupe! HaHa. Oh well.

Work continues. I will have more tomorrow. Take care guys.

 

[DirtyHarry83]

My cold has been a burden. It just sapped the energy (motivation) right out of me and all I wanted to do was sleep.

I kept it simple and did a removable bow mount plate for my motor. I think it came out rather nice. I didn't use the zinc coated bolts/washers. I bought some SS instead. I just don't understand how someone sells a SS plate but gives you zinc coated washers/bolts/nuts. WHY!? Charge me 5 bucks more I do not care.

I did some mock placing of gauges and found out my tac gauge home needs to be a tiny bit wider.

I added the bow trim. I hesitated at first to adding this piece back on the boat. I then realized that it was useful to tying the two gunnels with the bow plate.

It does give it a nicer finish. More to come guys. I am finally back on my feet, coffee in hand, and anxious for a finish.

 

[Watermann]

Looking good, glad you've kicked the bug and it should be long now before you have her ready for the waves.

 

[DirtyHarry83]

I dislike cold weather. I should move to some place warm. haha

Progress has been slow, but the progress seems like a lot of little things left.

I made some cut outs of the rear engine well deck supports.

I epoxied them to prevent them from having water penetration.

I added the bow rails.

I am also eyeing where the two bow lights will go. I found that a stalk bow light wouldn't work due to the height of the bow motor. I didn't want to put a block in to raise the stalk light. The other reason, I couldn't have the cleat and the stalk light in the same area. I just resolved the issue and went for two lights instead of one.

Pardon the mess. I need to reorganize a bit.

More tomorrow. Have a great day guys.

 

[Watermann]

It's amazing how much time all the smalls eat up, nice work Harry :thumb:

 

[M2HB]

I've been following this thread.

Nice progress.

I can't wait to see it in the water.

 

[timfives]

I just picked up a 16 SS. Love this thread and what you are doing. Nice work

 

[Candutch]

Wow, I've been away for awhile. great progress, it's looking fantastic.

 

[DirtyHarry83]

Thank you for the complements guys!

Fall came in quickly and family stuff keeps happening. Then the house needed work. I am still prepping the house for winter and then maybe I'll get a chance to get back to work on my boat.

Good luck to everyone on their boat projects!

 

[DirtyHarry83]

I woke up this morning to a temp of minus 8. I walked out to my garage to get to my truck. I decided to store her in the garage due to potential needed maintenance. I say potential because I don't mix well with cold temps. Bless those up north.

Long story short. I looked at my boat and thought how I missed working on her and progressing through what are really cosmetic and power (electrical and gas) adjustments. If I plan things correctly. I may be able to get her launched this spring.

Take care guys and stay warm.

 

[BWR1953]

I feel exactly the same way. Temp here in Florida was 29 this morning. Too cold to do paint work. And like you, I hope to have the boat finished and on the water by spring.

Stay warm!

 

[Watermann]

Looking at my power bill from last year I spent over 100 a month heating my garage so i could work on my SS to get her out by spring. This year I miss not having a project badly and would enjoy one no matter the temps. Guess what I'm saying is don't take your SC project as a chore rather a blessing, even when it's cold out.

 

[Candutch]

It's those dang long cold miserable winters that made my project drag on as long as it did. I'll trade locations with any of ya'll down south in a heartbeat.:canada: