1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

[JDA1975]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

looking good! I am looking forward to getting some glass work going soon myself....nervous about it, but man the guys here can really make ya feel more confident about your first time!

 

[rrumba]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

those clamps look like they worked out very well for you. Looking good and some good progress made as well. i envy the weather you have just south of me.

 

[zopperman]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

Those clamps are intense!!

Sounds and looks like you're doing well!!

 

[KC4ZQZ]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

Tnx Guys, I appreciate the comments.

JDA, don't sweat the glass work. Just make sure you have everything available before you need it - especially acetone, gojo, and liquid handsoap, in that order. Two things to remember abt glassing - keep the air bubbles out and don't float the glass with excess resin.

rrumba and zopperman,
Yes the wx has been nice but in the upper 40's at night. The clamps worked great. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of pressure that could be applied to the lower end and the 1x2's allowed me to apply it evenly.

 

[Cadwelder]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

The clamps are nice and will put WAY more pressure than is needed. Too many tend to "overclamp" transoms. Just need enough for an even pressure all over. Doesn't need to be torqued down, too much pressure just squeezes out all of your CSM and resin.


Good looking job so far...keep it up.


CW

 

[KC4ZQZ]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

Thanks Cadwelder,
I don't know where the clamp idea came from but it was a good one. I made one out of scrap to try then decided they were well worth the effort.

I'm thinking of adding a little more of the fiberglass tape before I add the layer of csm. It may be overkill but I don't want this thing to ever come loose.​

 

[Cadwelder]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

Well the clamp idea has been around since colonial times, if not before. It's just a standard woodworking clamp with extended jaws. Check out this link on the clamps.

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2082620/33229/Jorgensen-10-Adjustable-Handscrew.aspx

And also, there is nothing wrong with a bit of an overkill....I'm guilty as well as most others on this forum.

CW

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

I'll fess up! I'm the one that started the Transom clamp stuff. I saw it on the web somewhere and made some modifications and used em on a restore. I posted pics and plans here on iBoats last year. Several of the guys on here been using em ever since. CW is right in that they are a bit of overkill but I am a life long woodworker and thought they were great since I use their baby sisters in my woodworking all the time. As long as you don't clamp em down to hard the work really well.

 

[KC4ZQZ]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

cw, when I put another of fiberglass tape on the transom do I need to samd first or just wipe with acetone?

Wood, i started searching and it WAS one of your messages where I saw the clamps - thanks for the heads up.

One of the best things about getting old is being able to forget some of the things that used to aggrivate the crap out of you!

 

[KC4ZQZ]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

Well, I certainly blew that one.

One of the best things about getting old is being able to forget some of the things that used to aggravate the crap out of you!

 

[KC4ZQZ]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

Added another/final layer of tape around the transom today. This stuff really takes a lot of resin. I'm going to add a layer or two of csm tomorrow and call it a day on the transom. Time to move on to something else.

I came almost square off the plywood and ran this layer diagonally on the wall.


Three layers should allow me to double up on the hp. (yeah, wishful thinkin')

 

[KC4ZQZ]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

Tuesday and Wednesday I decided I'd take a break from the transom and work on the deck. I made a pattern for the front piece out of cardboard. Then a lot of trial and error to get it to fit. The rest was pretty straight forward. The problem is that the center stringer is a little higher than the others. (Maybe 1/4" or so in the worst place) Originally, the deck was screwed down then the foam was blown in so the irregularity wasn't a problem. Also, where the front piece goes into the curved area it runs off the stringer for ~ 1'. It was just setting on the foam before.

My foam is supposed to be here today and as should have been expected the temp dropped to 38* this morning. It's forcast to be ~ 80* Monday and Tuesday so I'll wait till it warms up since my garage isn't heated.

Deck ply layed out -still need to cut bilge area out and drill the drain hole in the front.

 

[KC4ZQZ]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

Back to the transom Thursday with a layer of csm over the plywood and 18" down the walls. All thats left is sanding the top edge and adding another layer of glass. I'm going to use cloth (as it conforms better to sharp curves) and run it over and down the back edge of the skin to tie it all together. This was one of the areas where it had broken loose before.

One thing I've learned - csm may be cheaper but I'd rather work with cloth any day. I had to heat it for a while under cover as temps were dropping.

View attachment 121709

 

[KC4ZQZ]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

Here's that pic again since it probably won't show.


And here's one of the bilge and stringers I cut out to work on the transom. I've got to figure out what I want to do here. I don't like the way they had it. The stringers are hollow and have to be drainable. I'm thinking maybe a drain hole for each that can be plugged while on the water and opened for air circulation when not. Anyway I'll have to figure out something before I add the foam.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

Looking real solid. Nice work.

 

[KC4ZQZ]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

I did a little clean-up/demo work on the rotten wood under the cap today. I thought it was gonna be a pain to get it off but it wasn't bad at all. Hammer and wood chisel and a couple of hours.

Don't know why this piece rotted - what with all the drain holes in it!


This is what the top of the inside wall panels attach to.

 

[KC4ZQZ]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

I had to drill the rivets on the trim and coast guard capacity info tag on the top cap in order to get the wood off. So I've been wondering abt how to replace the tag. I think I can make a close copy using photoshop and then copy it onto rice paper then tranfer that to something suitable to put back on the boat. The only problem is I can't quite make out all of the bottom line within the black banner. Maybe some of you who are more familiar with this info can help me out.

Here's a pic of the tag. Not sure how its gonna show up.



I even found a pic of the logo.

 

[Cadwelder]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

Just rivet that one back on....

 

[rrumba]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

looking good ther KC

 

[KC4ZQZ]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

Ok, back to this nasty stuff ... if I'm going to put the foam back underthe deck for safety/flotation, then I need to do it while it's still going up into the 80's*F. I can paint (at least I think) when its a little cooler but the foam wants 80*F or higher to get the full expansion. And, I don't want to buy any more of this stuff (did I mention nasty and expensive) than I have to. The only way I see a positive return (and I hope it never happens) on this investment is to crash the boat. But... I don't want somebody bad-mouthin' me while treading water thru-out a cold winter night because all his junk took off to the bottom at lightning speed. Anyway - here we go ...

I had to tent and heat the boat because (as mentioned) the temp dropped the night before the foam was delivered. At least the temp came up as they predicted -you never know. If they could put a leveling agent or something-or-other in this stuff it would sure help.