1961 Boston Whaler project

[LibertyBill]

Hi all! New here and recently acquired an old hand me down that I'm looking to fix up. I'm entirely inexperienced with boats and repairs of this nature but why not, free boat! Anyway, I'm a little lost on what exactly it needs. I knew some sanding would be involved so I've stripped it of most of the parts and now I'm not sure where to go from here. Hopefully the pics will post with no problems and I look forward to any help. Thanks!

~Bill

 

[LibertyBill]

Re: 1961 Boston Whaler project

More pics

 

[tpenfield]

Re: 1961 Boston Whaler project

Welcome to iBoats, Bill.

That boat looks like a beauty. You should get the seats and wood trim out. Looks like you will need to re-gelcoat. First you want to check the hull for any signs of water penetration through the fiberglass into the foam core.

Are you familiar with the Boston Whaler construction? Fiberglass w/ foam core. . . .

I wish that I had one of those to restore :thumb:

 

[zool]

Re: 1961 Boston Whaler project

A true classic, worthy of restoration.

Heres some tips from BW

Boston Whaler | Refinish an Older Boston Whaler

 

[LibertyBill]

Re: 1961 Boston Whaler project

I am familiar with the concept of water getting in the hull but I'm not certain I know all of the signs. I know the boat is fairly light and it was always garage kept so I'm crossing my fingers that its dry. One thing I'm not certain about is once I begin sanding, I'm not sure how to know when I've sanded enough, and obviously don't want to sand too much. Is there paint over the gelcoat already or is it just fiberglass with gelcoat over that? Thanks again for the help!

~Bill

 

[tpenfield]

Re: 1961 Boston Whaler project

Not normally painted . . . A bit hard to tell in the pictures, but probably just really old gel coat .

 

[greenbush future]

Re: 1961 Boston Whaler project

Yep if you can get the weight of what it was new, then weigh it now, you might get some insight on if your foam has water in it. You do want to keep the water out, so sealing everything up before you water test would be a good idea. Looks like a really nice older example of a great boat. Have some fun with her. I think you could consider painting her too, gel coat is expensive.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: 1961 Boston Whaler project

Neat old motor too. Looks to be a '59ish 10 or 18 hp, if I'm not mistaken.

 

[java230]

Re: 1961 Boston Whaler project

Fun project, and a score if it was free!

Gel coat is a lot thicker than paint and can be wet sanded quite well.

 

[LibertyBill]

Re: 1961 Boston Whaler project

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's just gelcoat. From the pictures do you guys think I will need to sand all of the gelcoat off and respray it or is there a chance I could just smooth it down and polish it up? I want it to be reliable and am not interested in cutting corners. I just don't want to do what's not necessary and I know nothing about what I'm doing. It's all a first for me lol. It was free (minus the drive a couple states away) so definitely a score! The motor is a '61 Johnson 18 HP but I'll be lookin for a 40 before this project is over. I can post additional pics if necessary. It should probably also be noted that it leaves hands very chalky so there is some oxidation going on as well.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1961 Boston Whaler project

Is this typical of the overall condition of the gelcoat:

Those cracks aren't likely to be easily fixed w/ out quite a bit of work. The cracks need to be ground out, rebuild the surface w/ multiple layers of glass & poly resin, fair smooth, and re-apply gelcoat.

It can be done, but it's not as straight forward as paint. W/ the correct setup & equipment and an area to spray it, it can be done.

Good luck w/ your project

 

[boatbeginner1]

Re: 1961 Boston Whaler project

Looks like a great boat you've picked up! Good luck on your restore.

 

[LibertyBill]

Re: 1961 Boston Whaler project

That's exactly what is going on all over it and I don't think there is anything worse than that either. At the moment it is sitting outside of my office in my warehouse (family business) with a sander beside it so I guess Im going to start sanding away with some 40 or 50 grit when business is slow and just sand until I have no more cracks? Does the same idea apply to the bottom as the top? What about the "bumpy floor" (non-skid maybe?) do I do anything special for that? See, I know NOTHING about what I'm doing.

 

[LibertyBill]

Re: 1961 Boston Whaler project

Thanks!

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1961 Boston Whaler project

HF 4-4.5" angle grinder, some sanding discs, LOTS OF PPE, including a tyvek suit.

 

[java230]

Re: 1961 Boston Whaler project

i wouldn't use 40 or 50 grit IMO way too aggressive! Start much higher, if its not cutting enough for you step the grit up

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1961 Boston Whaler project

Based on the cracking in the pix I reposted, 40 or 50 would be where I started. You may end up working down to 36 or even 24grit to remove the gelcoat.

A random orbit sander, correct? Not a belt sander. RO sander is not nearly as aggressive as an angle grinder, and unless your really really good w/ a belt sander, I wouldn't use one on the boat. Too many none flat surfaces. You'll need to be very careful no matter what method you use to remove the gelcoat.

Fiberglass resin (gelcoat is a form of resin) can load sandpaper fairly quickly. You can use the rubber sole of an old worn out sneaker to clean the resin off & get a little longer useable life out of each sheet. Just hit it w/ the sanpaper while it's spinning, a time or 2 until it pulls the resin off.

 

[LibertyBill]

Re: 1961 Boston Whaler project

It's a 5" Dewalt random orbit. Actually all I have at the moment is some 120 grit so I'll probably start with that and adjust as needed. Would it be beneficial (or necessary) to use acetone or something before sanding or just go at it dry, dirt and all? One other thing, the non-skid bumps and the ribbed texture at the stern (in the pic), are they to be sanded away entirely or is that part of the fiberglass? I'm sure I'm asking more questions than necessary, don't want to ruin the thing:facepalm:

 

[tpenfield]

Re: 1961 Boston Whaler project

Retaining the textured surfaces will be tough, and your approach should be to sand them as little as possible. Otherwise, you will have to re-texture the surface to get back the non-skid qualities, etc.

Also, your smooth surfaces you want to keep smooth. So, the advice to use a finer grit sand paper is probably the right thing to do. As far as the crevices, you could use some filler material to get back to a smooth surface.

Keep in mind that the idea of sanding is to get to fresh material in a roughed up fashion, so that a new coating of gel coat can adhere to it.

A well done restoration of the finish and the boat in general will result in a highly valued boat.

 

[zool]

Re: 1961 Boston Whaler project

IMO, its necessary to dewax/degrease any surface prior to sanding, you dont want to push contaminates into the substrate....clean it with soap/water, the degrease it, then sand.....