1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

[archbuilder]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Hey Mick, might not be a bad idea, I would think getting parts for those things might be hard. Hope your progress is better than mine today....getting frustrated with the interior!

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

I'd wait on the other Starflyte until you know you like yours. They are good stout motors, but heavy and thirsty. If you like running the old 50-horse however, see if you can get the other one for a few bucks. It's worth more than $400 just as a parts horse.

 

[BobsGlasstream]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Hey Mick,
When are you planning to pour the seacast? I'm looking forward to seeing the pic's.
Hope all goes well.
Bob

 

[SKIBUM1M]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

are you going to back the inner skin with plywood or something else when you pour the seacast to keep it from bowing in? also how are you going to clamp the inner and outer skins since you sealed all the holes in the transom? I am just currious on your plans?
I dont know what motors go for there but I got my 1977 mercury 850. 85hp for $300 with a boat and trailer that I sold for $500 with my 1966 Johnson 50hp. All I had to do is transfer the motor and power trim as well as clean the carbs.

 

[micks110]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

tmcalavy- I actually have the 1961 75hp starflyte III with the unicharger- not a 50hp. The motor that my boat place has is a starflyte 4 75hp. I am going to wait on it for a while though- don't have the extra cash for that at the moment. They said they've had it for close to two years so it should still be there in the spring.

Bob- Not sure when I will get to the seacast- maybe within two weeks(two weeks tops I hope)? I go back to school/work on Monday so I have to lesson plan tomorrow so no boat work unless I sneak out in the afternoon. Tonight I got the other side of the hull glassed so that is done. I also got the inner skin trimmed where is soaked up to much resin at the top on each side and it fits like a glove now. Before that goes in though I want to do the stringers because I will be laying them up like archbuilder did and on my boat the stringers sat under the transom. That will be the next thing I start on though- taping up foam for the forms. I am going to have to do alot of wood work though like archbuilder did to get my deck height and such. My hull has so many different angles and heights too so that is going to be a pain. Like I said though hopefully within two weeks- maybe sooner.

Here are the pics from tonight.

I started by throwing up my make shift shelter- It is -1 wind chill with gusts up to 50mph here tonight so it was only about 48-50 with the stove in the garage but under the tarp with heat lamps on it was 70.

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First I sanded down the inner skin front and back to get the wax off it and then trimmed the top on each side and now it fits like a glove and I still have the tabs that I will be able to tie into the hull, except for the top areas.

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I will just have to tie the top areas into the hull with strand and matte I guess

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Then I laid out my strand, and oh yeh I forgot to mention- before this I had to sand/grind the bilge area and the other small area(pic below) where I saw the fiberglass was cracked. Then I had to vacuum, and wipe everything down with acetone.

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This is the area there was a crack in the fiberglass- it was just on the inside- no sign of anything on the exterior

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The hull all finished and drying

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Goodnight

 

[micks110]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

skibum- I plan on using polly and putting in the spacers to glue the inner and outer transom skins together. Plus with all the tabbing in of the inner skin it should be pretty firm- what do you think?
The other thing I was thinking was using the spacers heavy on the sides of the transom areas. And then a piece of ply on the exterior and interior, 2x4's running parallel to each other and to the boat attached and clamped down on top on the ply with bolts through the 4 motor mount holes(kinda what Bob did for his transom). This way should definitely be more than enough support- prob overkill.

Thanks

 

[archbuilder]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Hey Mick, glad you got your inner skin to work out like you planned! Sounds like you have a good plan to brace it while you pour the seacast. I didn't brace mine, but I had the cap on it . The spacers also worked pretty good to hold the two sides together.

Nice tent....I haven't been out yet today, but it just looks cold out there!

 

[SKIBUM1M]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Sounds like a good plan. I was afraid that the seacast waould run out the smallest pinhole but it is pretty thick stuff. Make sure you have a helper when you pour it.

 

[archbuilder]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

A helper is a must! And make sure you have the funnel handy!

 

[SKIBUM1M]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

The shape of my outer skin formed a nice funnel on the sides where the outer skin extended back for the swim platforms. make a very wide funnel if possible.

 

[*EdC*]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

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The I started with the keel and while messing around with that I noticed they were is small two to three foot sections mitred together and the wood was soft so I started pulling them out till it was down to the thick fiberglass keel under there.
I gotta cut out the bilge area next and get that small section out. I'm gonna order a gallon or two of seacast tomorrow and that is what I am going to use to fill the keel area rather than messing with cutting and routing wood to try and fit back in there(I'm doing the transom with ply because of the cost- can't afford it). And I am just going to do the section where it stops in the pic a little over half the boat- approx 7' because it was hard wood there and I really had to pry to get the wood to come up(will the seacast stick to poly- cause I'm gonna poly the small section of wood first)

Hi Mick110
Been following along.... nice job! I can't help but wonder what the manufacturer's reasoning was for the wood in the bilge. It's there for a reason, or they wouldn't have gone through the expense to do it.
You mentioned, you would like to use Seacast there. Seacast is a good product, I've used it. But I think it's not the way to go in application, and here's why .......
First, after pondering this for awhile....I think, the wood in the keel acts like a "backbone" . Also, it allows for some flexibility down the center.
Second, filling this area solid may effect the way she handles. Boats do alot of "bobbing", so a solid center line of Seacast might not want to "give" a bit . It's conceivable, the Seacast could pop out.
Seacast is still do-able, but, I'd add some reinforcement to it. Sorta like re-bar in concrete. Maybe, add some aluminum rod the length of the pour.

I'm certainly no expert here! Just wanted to add my .02 cents worth.
Keep up the good work.... Looks like your having a good time

Bet it keeps you up at night just thinking about it. Heh?

 

[micks110]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Edc- thanks for following along and for your opinion on the keel. The people at seacast assured me it was fine to do that section of the keel area as long as I have a few layers of glass over it. And yes, the boat is in your thoughts and dreams nightly!

I will definitely have a helper for the seacast. I said something to my buddy Jarad who's following along my thread. When I get to that point everything will be ready. Doesn't look like I'm getting out today- the wife and I are cleaning and organizing the house- fun stuff!

 

[micks110]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

I got out tonight and I started to work on the braces that I will need to create my forms for the stringers so I can pour seacast into them. I got my idea from what archbuilder did for his- the only difference is he had one stringer down the keel and I have two.

The purpose for doing this is because there is not a piece of wood attached to the deck with adhesive that you can just fiberglass over. So you have to come up with a way to stabilize your taped up foam that is that you will be glassing up the sides of without it moving. Later, the package taped foam that is basically your future seacast will come out before the pour.

I started out by cutting 5 pieces of wood to go from side to side and spaced them approximately 2' apart. These rest on either side of the boat where the future deck will be.

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Then I measured the distance from the floor to the bottom of the board(deck) on the inside edge and outside edge of the stringer. I did this for each of the five boards because with each board the height is different on my deck. I transferred those measurements to wood and cut them out.
I also put the measurements on the top of the board so when I am ready to cut my foam I have a general idea how high it will need to be. Archnuilder left his whole beam 2" higher- I will leave everything higher and cut it later except at my 5 boards- there they will be the exact height as it needs to be.
Here they all are cut and ready to be attached to use as the side supports for the foam.

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Then I broke out the exterior wood glue, compressor, nail gun, and 1 3/8" nails.

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I used a 1.5" square and marked lines on my boards for the stringer location and I marked my edges on the floor where the boards sit so when I put them back in I know exactly where they go.

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I then put on a bead of glue and shot 3 nails in each side support piece of wood to make it stronger since I was only using 3/4"X1.5" poplar for my forms.
Here is what it looked like with a piece of 1.5" foam. I left about 1/16th of an inch on each side to give it a little room.

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continued...

 

[micks110]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Here is a close up shot of what the finished product looked like.

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And the whole deck minus the front one not in the picture

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When I glass these in I will be glassing in between each support section. Once that sets up I can take out the wood forms and glass the areas where the form where and then pull out the foam and move on to the two cross supports that I had in my boat as well that supported the stringers.

Archbuilder- I know you sealed up your floor and did not add a drain plug in the bilge area for under your deck. I was thinking of doing the same thing but the guy at the boat store told me I should include a drain plug in the bilge area for under the deck so it can breath. Since I'm not using wood- what needs to breath? I will need to hash this out before I do my cross supports. What are your thoughts?

Next I need to cut my 1.5" foam, tape it up, and put it down on the floor, and then move onto doing the same thing for the cross supports from stringer to stringer.

Goodnight time to dream about the boat

 

[BobsGlasstream]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Hey micks110,
Looks like you have a pretty good plan. I like the progress you have made too. The brace idea looks good, should allow you to lay the glass without much movement, but you will still have some. Just take it slow.
Great job
Bob

 

[SKIBUM1M]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

The forms look great. Maybe add a drainplug like the bilge drain so if you ever do get water under the floor you can drain it but normally leave the plug in. Mine has a skilocker down the center and has a tunnel under plywood that goes under the bilge and opens right in front of the transom.

 

[archbuilder]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Looks great Mick! On the drain, I figured if its full of foam, what is there to drain? I don't think it would hurt anything, but I'm not sure how useful it is. I can see it being useful if you use sheet foam, but I used the pour type.

 

[*EdC*]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

But the guy at the boat store told me I should include a drain plug in the bilge area for under the deck so it can breath. Since I'm not using wood- what needs to breath? I will need to hash this out before I do my cross supports. What are your thoughts?

HI Mick,
The guy at the boat store is right about the cavity under your floor being able to breathe. My MFG has a totally enclosed fiberglass floor and stringers. When MFG built them like this, they added a tube where the floor and bow meet. Just under the bow eye blocking.
It's nothing fancy, looks like automotive vacuum line, sticks up about 10". This allows for air exchange and pressure relief. Sorry I don't have a pic. Got a foot of snow here over the weekend, and I need to get her shoveled off.

 

[micks110]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

I was thing about cutting a piece of 1.5" conduit in half and mounting that to the floor with adhesive from the bow area where I didn't do anything to and running it back along the keel to the bilge area with a drain and then foam over it. What good it will do? But I have conduit so whatever- I'll just do it I guess.

Thanks

 

[micks110]

Re: 1962 Arkansas Traveler restoration

Tonight I just basically took measurements, cut foam, and placed it between my forms- that's about it.

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I still have some trimming up to do in some spots but it doesn't really have to be pretty- just functional.

I have to come up with an idea for the cross supports. I actually may just tape them to the main stringer foam pieces where they need to be and place a block behind it while I am glassing the opposite side for support. Rather than making another form for them- I won't have a place to kneel and work.

I also have to figure out what I want to do with the whole drain for under the deck thing. The pourable foam is close cell right? Seacast is a composite material right? My ply will be sealed top and bottom so that won't need to breath right? So the only possible reason why I'd need to put in a drain plug is because of under the bow where I didn't touch- if water somehow gets in there it would need a way to get out???

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Another option would be to glass the bow area shut and seal the deck completely- but then I have to worry about water sitting in the bow area if it gets in somehow? I know I am over analyzing but I don't really want to put a drain in if I don't have to because why leave an openeing if it doesn't need it and then one day the drain goes missing and water gets in there and makes mold or something stupid?
How much foam would it take to fill that cavity in the bow area? I wanted to sure up that little floor anyway cause that is where the gas tank will sit?

Oh yeh on the foam- the guy at the boat place told me I should get the cans from HD because they were cheaper than the pourable foam and the only difference is the pourable from the boat place resists break down from gas and oil and such. But my under deck should never even get a sniff of any of those things.

Then I have alot of taping to do on the foam!

Then I need to split alot of shims (archbuilder likes shims)

When I messed around putting in some shims tonight it really sured up the whole form and got the foam to the correct angle. So I will be placing shims and eyeballing, placing shims and eyeballing, placing shims and eyeballing- you get the point...

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Sorry for the rambling- I thought this would be a quick one tonight but it got double barreled quick!

Goodnight and Thanks!

Taping tomorrow... and probably the next day