1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

[KC4ZQZ]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

Come on Guys. Surely I'm not the only one to buy this stuff. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

Never shot it but this is straight from Pettit...

APPLICATION INFORMATION
Stir both components thoroughly. Mix the two components together
in the ratio of 3 parts of Component A to 1 part of Component B by
volume. Allow to stand 15 minutes at approximately 70 before using.
(Allow to stand at least 30 minutes if temperature if between 50
and 65F) May be applied by brush, roller, conventional or airless
spray. Thinning is not normally required for brush or roller application,
however, small amounts of 97 Epoxy Thinner may be used if necessary
to facilitate application. For spraying, use 97 Epoxy Thinner at
levels of 5-10% by volume to ensure a smooth finish with minimal
orange peel. Wet fi lm thickness should be 7.1 mils per coat, which
yields 4 mils dry fi lm thickness. A wet film thickness gauge should be
used to monitor paint application. Total dry film thickness for a three
coat application should be 12 mils minimum for maximum coating
performance. If this has not been achieved with three coats, additional
coats are recommended until 12 dry mils is reached.

All fiberglass surfaces, regardless of age, should be washed at least twice with Pettit 95 Fiberglass Dewaxer. Change rags frequently to ensure complete removal of wax, mold release, or other contaminants. Sand the surface thoroughly with 60 grit sandpaper and rewash with 95 Fiberglass Dewaxer to remove sanding residue. Apply at least three coats of Pettit Protect High Build Epoxy Primer

 

[cudaboy]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

Hey Charles,

first let me start with Great work on the boat/skiff. thank to your thread i will be restoring the one i just bought 1 week ago.
i bought a 1974 Ouachita Convincer 16'. its very similar to yours i believe. i will post picks soon and start a thread.

i was wondering if you have any updates on your restoration with pics.

Jose

 

[KC4ZQZ]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

Hey cudaboy,

I've got to fill and sand a couple of small spots that I'm not happy with then she'll be ready to prime and paint once I settle for sure on the color/colors. Unfortunately, lately everything seems to be getting in the way. Right now I'm recouperating from two heart catheters and two more stents installed. Nothing like having the old pipes rodded out. Also waiting for all these stinkin' lovebugs to go away - no hope of painting till then.

All the old paint has been sanded off and the jelcoat has been sanded way down to get rid of the cracks and I built a small box which will be mounted just ahead of the throttle/gear shift controls. This will house the switch panel, horn button, fuse panel, trolling motor breaker, and the neg and pos terminal blocks. There's still a lot to do and everything has cost 2-3 times what it should have but I don't think when its all said and done that I could buy one in as good of condition for the money.

Get some pics posted when you can and lets see what you've got. Be glad to answer anything I can but I'm no pro by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[cudaboy]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

Hey Charles,

Sorry to hear what you went through but glad your ok. I went ahead and started my post, here's the link

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=579448

i posted some pics i had but i will post more tonight.

hope you feel better soon so you can get back on your project !


cudaboy

 

[KC4ZQZ]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

I've been looking at paint options so long that my brain is starting to feel scrambled. I have already bought Pettit 2 part epoxy primer and was thinking about Pettit one part easypoxy for the paint with the Majic hardener from tractor supply added to it per Woodonglass' formula. I'm also kickin around the idea of some pearl additive and automotive clearcoat - top and bottom. Anyone have any thoughts, suggestions, warnings, etc. with this idea? Any help would be much appreciated. I've been reading about this for 2 weeks and still at a loss. There's just too much info to sift thru. Thanks in advance.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

I would NOT recommend adding Pearl to the Pettit and from all the posts here on the forum, Clear coat is not that popular for marine use. Not saying you can't, but the high gloss paint seem to be good enough and without the clear, it makes it really easy to do touch ups when needed. Your boat, your decision. The guys that use Imron usually DO use Clear Coat, that's about the only one's I've seen use it but again your choice. I wouldn't overthink it to much. Make a decision and go with it.

 

[KC4ZQZ]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

Thanks Wood, I've been looking at the pics of your resto and it seems to have good gloss as best I can tell. Also, I've been wondering if there would be any benefit to using Pettit ez-poxy 2 over the way you went with the one-part and the Majic hardener added. (well other than carrying around a much lighter wallet) And, yes overthinking a project is one of my downfalls and when analysis-paralysis sets in not much gets done.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

I'm thinking the 2 part epoxies might be a bit more durable but I'm not certain of that. By adding the Hardener to the Regular paint you basically ARE making it a two part paint. I like mine and it IS very glossy and very Hard. It chips like car paint it is certainly NOT like a soft cheap paint. Again... Your Boat, Your Choice.

 

[KC4ZQZ]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

By adding the Hardener to the Regular paint you basically ARE making it a two part paint.

Thanks Wood, that's kinda what it looked like to me. I guess we all want that "perfect job" but unfortunately for most of us the price tag shows up to see how bad we want it. A guy just down the road has a boat similar to yours and I've been tempted to stop and see what it is but heck I haven't even finished mine yet. I just hope the finish looks close to yours.

 

[cudaboy]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

hey Charles,

Will you be putting the foam and wall covers back up or are you going to just paint the wall and leave it open?

Not sure yet on what i want to do with mine on that part. im still in the process of removing the deck, its been a slow start since ive had
other things come up.

Jose ( cudaboy )

 

[KC4ZQZ]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

Jose,

Yea, I know what you mean about other things getting in the way. I'm waiting for my remaining supplies (including paint) to arrive. Unfortunately my air compressor wasn't big enough so I bit the bullet and ordered a new one which may take two weeks to get here. I sure didn't want to add that to the list at the moment.

I'm planning on putting it all back the way it was. Right now I'm cleaning up and sanding the seat pedestals, livewell cover, and a few odds and ends so I'll have a place to put any leftover primer and paint when I do the boat. (If I ever actually get to that point.) The only things that will be different will be the box I built to house the switch panel, fuse block, etc. I'm also going to add a trolling motor receptacle and a horn.

 

[KC4ZQZ]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

It's hard to get going sometimes, but I managed to get the deck glued and screwed in place toady. I shot some canned foam around the perimeter and around the livewell to fill some voids. Maybe Monday I'll get started on glassing it in. I ran a piece of awg 14/2 thru the foam under the deck to the livewell instead of running it 4-5 inches across the top of the deck like it was originally.

I don't know what you guys are using to get PL Premiun out of the tube but a $3 caulk gun doesn't cut it. That stuff is hard to squeeze out. Oh well its history now. Here's a pic.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

Just wondering why you chose Canned Foam to fill the gap between the deck and the sides of the hull?

 

[KC4ZQZ]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

The canned foam was used to fill a void underneath the edge of the deck sides. My boat bottom has a step in it just before it reaches the sides. (pic -post #75) This step is actually angled downward to grip the water when turning so it creates a void under the sides of the deck ~2-3 inches wide. In post #63 pics you can make out the downward slope. The deck will still be filleted and tied into the walls and livewell with heavy tape prior to glassing.

 

[KC4ZQZ]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

Thanks to my wife mixing about 3 gallons of resin for me, the deck is tabbed in and glassed with 2 layers of mat. I re-enforced the seat locations with a piece of 3/4" marine ply before glassing. The plywood edges were beveled but relief cut still had to be made before the glass would lay down. Here's the pic.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

That's some very nice glass work!!!!

 

[KC4ZQZ]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

Thanks Wood,
It was kinda tough getting it to lay down over the two compound curves in the front, but it finally all worked out. I'm very glad to see it starting to come together.

 

[tallcanadian]

Re: 1974 Ouachita Tri-hull Bass Boat Restoration

Nice work indeed. Boat is coming along very well. That glass work on the deck is sweet.

 

[KC4ZQZ]

No Title

~~Hi everyone.
Charles (KC4ZQZ) was my dad. This was the thread that he started when he began to restore his 1974 Ouachita. I know that he really enjoyed and appreciated the opinions and advice that he received from many of you on this site. He passed away on March 6, 2013, with this boat in mid restoration. The backdrop is that he purchased the boat new in 1974 (it was an orchid/pinkish color) and soon after painted it blue. Years passed, the boat got a lot of use, and eventually dry rot and some other issues necessitated a restoration (I think he starting at least thinking/planning sometime in 2011). When he passed in 2013, the boat was mostly rebuilt (see previous posts on this thread for a run-through), and he was waiting for the paint to arrive so that he could finish up.

When he passed, my mom and I were left with empty holes in our hearts and an upside down (almost finished) boat in our garage. After his passing, we immediately starting looking for someone to finish it (we had no clue what to do but a strong urge to NOT leave this business unfinished). We talked to friends, family members, coworkers, etc, and a lot of people initially agreed to help but eventually just stopped calling us back. Ultimately, my mom remembered this website and got in contact with Wood-on-Glass (Mike) because she remembered that my dad had discussions with him and admired and appreciated his skills and knowledge. Mike lives far from us but said he knew someone that could probably help, and soon after we got a call from another iboats member named Sam (I don't actually know what his handle is). Anyway, this man has been our hero. He is finishing this boat for, taking up where my dad left off, and it's not a small job. Sam drives far to help us, is so cool about it all, and is making the boat look awesome. We are so thankful for Mike and Sam and thought we'd start posting some updates and pictures, as things go along. So we’re posting a few progress pictures below. The first is my dad with the boat back in 2006, and the rest show some prep work. We will post some painting pics next.