1964 Arkansas Traveler Restoration

[Psiclown]

Re: 1964 Arkansas Traveler Restoration

Looks good... That's one solid hunk of wood there.

I love the 'warning' posted on it, though I DO have to wonder what kind of people you hang out with if it's truly needed... Especially that last line- If it IS really marine ply, it shouldn't have any knotholes in it

Haha yeah I find myself wondering about the people I hang out with. Creeps.

 

[Psiclown]

Re: 1964 Arkansas Traveler Restoration

Your transom is looking great.

Thanks. I had to hammer it off the floor from a little epoxy drippage. This stuff is ridiculously strong. There were only a couple little drips and I had to beat it to break it loose. At least I know there is a good bond.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1964 Arkansas Traveler Restoration

LOL, I made a friggin' mess of my garage floor with that stuff.

 

[Sea Stomper]

Re: 1964 Arkansas Traveler Restoration

My old house in Newport Beach Ca still has resin drops on the cement slab in the garage from surfboards being made in there in the 1950's.

 

[Psiclown]

Re: 1964 Arkansas Traveler Restoration

My old house in Newport Beach Ca still has resin drops on the cement slab in the garage from surfboards being made in there in the 1950's.

Haha nice.

 

[Psiclown]

Re: 1964 Arkansas Traveler Restoration

Alright I have a few questions.

1) I have been reading different threads and some people say to not secure the deck to the stringers. Some say screw, construction adhesive, expoxy. Which is it? It seems weird to me having the deck only secured to the sides of the hull tabbed in.

2) For the stringers I am using Doug Fir 2x4's ripped down to size. I am letting the wood dry as much as it can in the garage before working on that part. My question is do I even need to worry about drying? (obviously not soaking wet) Or will sealing them with a couple coats of epoxy prevent the wood from shrinking later if/when it does dry out after install.

I am going to flip the hull and get to filling and sanding some knicks and scratches. Should I install the new transom first? I figure having the lightest hull would be the easiest to flip.

Thanks guys!

 

[andgott]

Re: 1964 Arkansas Traveler Restoration

I think it's more common to attach the floor (BTW- FLOOR is a perfectly acceptable term, despite what you may have heard- Boats CAN, and DO, have floors ) to the stringers than to let it 'float'. There will, no doubt, be a lot of opinions on how best to do it. I ran a generous bead of thickened epoxy on top of my stringers, then screwed them down to hold them in place while the epoxy cured. The screws were recessed, and I filled the tops with epoxy before I glassed the floor in.

You can see how I did it on page 2 of my restore thread- http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=355668&page=2

There are other ways to do it, of course, but that's how I did it... And that's how lots of people do it.... It will work fine.

As far as the stringers go- How wet is wet?? If it's kiln dried lumber, it's probably OK. You don't want to seal too much moisture in there with the epoxy, though, and if they are too damp you could have adhesion problems with the epoxy, too.

I'd install the structure in the transom BEFORE flipping if it were me- Do all you can to make sure that the boat holds it's shape. When the cap is off, the hull will 'deform' a bit, sagging over time. Try to keep it supported, or you may have trouble getting the cap back on! Mine took some 'persuasion', in the form of ratcheting straps, to get it back together.

-Andrew

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: 1964 Arkansas Traveler Restoration

Alright I have a few questions.

1) I have been reading different threads and some people say to not secure the deck to the stringers. Some say screw, construction adhesive, expoxy. Which is it? It seems weird to me having the deck only secured to the sides of the hull tabbed in.

2) For the stringers I am using Doug Fir 2x4's ripped down to size. I am letting the wood dry as much as it can in the garage before working on that part. My question is do I even need to worry about drying? (obviously not soaking wet) Or will sealing them with a couple coats of epoxy prevent the wood from shrinking later if/when it does dry out after install.

I am going to flip the hull and get to filling and sanding some knicks and scratches. Should I install the new transom first? I figure having the lightest hull would be the easiest to flip.

Thanks guys!

Hello Psiclown..

The thing with suggesting to screw and glue or free float is IMO a boat to boat thing..

I personally try to suggest how to on the project thread..not in a "this is the best for all boats". Some cockpits are 10x8'. Some are little 180 Sea Rays ( or whatever small boat ).

Depending on Boat itself is quantative on How you deck your boat ( Screw and glue or free float ) .

Any boat Sole/Deck/Floor should NOT be Epoxied to the stringers IMHO ( Or poly bound with putty at all ) .

If your decking your new ply in ( as I have hinted before ) use clay to DRY fit the deck/floor to see how off the stringers are. You can add a Sealer/caulk to thickness where its high or low from the guage that you made with clay.

Its hard to explain and can be confusing if your stringers match the deck perfectly..but it does work..

This is for REDECK/Stringer recommendations..

YD.

 

[Psiclown]

Re: 1964 Arkansas Traveler Restoration

I think it's more common to attach the floor (BTW- FLOOR is a perfectly acceptable term, despite what you may have heard- Boats CAN, and DO, have floors ) to the stringers than to let it 'float'. There will, no doubt, be a lot of opinions on how best to do it. I ran a generous bead of thickened epoxy on top of my stringers, then screwed them down to hold them in place while the epoxy cured. The screws were recessed, and I filled the tops with epoxy before I glassed the floor in.

You can see how I did it on page 2 of my restore thread- http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=355668&page=2

There are other ways to do it, of course, but that's how I did it... And that's how lots of people do it.... It will work fine.

As far as the stringers go- How wet is wet?? If it's kiln dried lumber, it's probably OK. You don't want to seal too much moisture in there with the epoxy, though, and if they are too damp you could have adhesion problems with the epoxy, too.

I'd install the structure in the transom BEFORE flipping if it were me- Do all you can to make sure that the boat holds it's shape. When the cap is off, the hull will 'deform' a bit, sagging over time. Try to keep it supported, or you may have trouble getting the cap back on! Mine took some 'persuasion', in the form of ratcheting straps, to get it back together.

-Andrew

Nice thanks for the info. I bought the 2x4's from Lowes and they feel a little heavier than normal. I went through the whole stack and grabbed the lightest/straightest pieces I could find. I haven't cut into them but it definitely needs a little time to dry out.

 

[Psiclown]

Re: 1964 Arkansas Traveler Restoration

Hello Psiclown..

The thing with suggesting to screw and glue or free float is IMO a boat to boat thing..

I personally try to suggest how to on the project thread..not in a "this is the best for all boats". Some cockpits are 10x8'. Some are little 180 Sea Rays ( or whatever small boat ).

Depending on Boat itself is quantative on How you deck your boat ( Screw and glue or free float ) .

Any boat Sole/Deck/Floor should NOT be Epoxied to the stringers IMHO ( Or poly bound with putty at all ) .

If your decking your new ply in ( as I have hinted before ) use clay to DRY fit the deck/floor to see how off the stringers are. You can add a Sealer/caulk to thickness where its high or low from the guage that you made with clay.

Its hard to explain and can be confusing if your stringers match the deck perfectly..but it does work..

This is for REDECK/Stringer recommendations..

YD.

The clay is a good idea and make sense. What do you mean by "decking in the ply?" (Excuse the noobness) And why should I not use epoxy? I would rather use a construction adhesive for cost personally; I'm just curious.

 

[Psiclown]

Re: 1964 Arkansas Traveler Restoration

I ran into something I should have paid attention to. I am going to be replacing the stringers and I don't want to mess with the notches in the transom. Fiberglassing around those corners would be a pain as well so I am going to epoxy in some pieces to make it notchless. Any advice on this? I don't think it will be a structural issue. I have the hull flipped and 85% sanded. I'll get some pics up tonight. Almost ready to fill the nicks and glass over an extra plug that is not needed.

 

[Psiclown]

Re: 1964 Arkansas Traveler Restoration

I must be the $100 boat king. I bought a 72 Starcraft on Friday. No trailer; the guy had it hanging in his garage so it was easy to load. It came with two new seats and pedestals, windshield and a cable steering wheel assembly to swap out those pulleys. I yanked everything I needed off it and dumped it.

My buddy Ben is taking out the steering assembly. I forgot to grab a pic of the steering wheel but it's in good shape.

Steering cable out.

Got the hull completely sanded and some initial filler started. This week I hope to have all of the nicks filled and glassed and ready for primer this weekend.

The windshield fits perfectly. I took a chance on it and couldn't believe it.

 

[Psiclown]

Re: 1964 Arkansas Traveler Restoration

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1964 Arkansas Traveler Restoration

Those windshields in that kind of condition are VERY hard to come by. Good move in acquirig that one.

 

[Psiclown]

Re: 1964 Arkansas Traveler Restoration

Those windshields in that kind of condition are VERY hard to come by. Good move in acquirig that one.

Yeah for sure. I definitely scored.

 

[archbuilder]

Re: 1964 Arkansas Traveler Restoration

Looks like you got your money's worth out of it, the steering alone is worth twice what you paid for the boat!

 

[andgott]

Re: 1964 Arkansas Traveler Restoration

Nice score... That is a good looking windshield, and a great fit.

I bought a 'donor' boat for my project, too- It was headed for the chainsaw & junkyard, but I bought all the missing hardware from it- So my boat is complete now.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: 1964 Arkansas Traveler Restoration

Poseidon is with you grasshopper...good thread, more pix, more pix!

 

[Psiclown]

Re: 1964 Arkansas Traveler Restoration

I need advice on how to patch this extra drain plug. I was thinking of glassing a couple layers of csm from the inside and filling it from the outside with Marine Tex. Should I also glass it from the outside? I have never feathered in a patch before and if it's not needed, would prefer not to as it will prolly look like the pooh.

Thanks!

 

[archbuilder]

Re: 1964 Arkansas Traveler Restoration

I dished out the back side on things like that, then lightly dished the outside. I put one layer of mat on the outside, then built up several layers on the inside. Once it cured, I knocked down any high spots on the outside and filled it.