1984 Dixie ski boat floor restoration

[tfret]

Re: 1984 Dixie ski boat floor restoration

I'm making plans to foam the deck after it is down and have a question. Do I need to PB and tab the deck edge prior to foaming or after or does it matter? I've watched videos showing it done both ways. What is the prevailing opinion?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1984 Dixie ski boat floor restoration

I'd tab it first if I was doing it. I want the deck to be instaled SOLID before I cut the holes and pour the foam. That way all I have to do is clean out the holes, Glass in the plugs, and Glass her in with the final layers of glass. Make sure and mark the deck on the topside to reflect the position of all Stringers and Bulkheads. That way you can be certain where to drill the pour holes and the relief holes. Another thing is to really try and calculate the cubic ft of every area that you will be pouring so you will know how much foam to mix for each section. Mix just a bit more than is required.

Re-visit Frisco's thread and video on how to foam your boat.

 

[tfret]

Re: 1984 Dixie ski boat floor restoration

Yeah I have a couple of questions about the foaming also. Yes, I've read the threads and watched the videos, but I'm not sure how many pour / vent holes I'm going to cut. The hull is pretty shallow in my boat (designed to provide a small wake for skiing), so I'm thinking about one hole about every 36" right between the stringers. I plan to tilt the boat up to force the foam toward the stern, then let it expand forward toward the hole. I've also seen a lot of waste in the videos with foaming spewing up through the holes. I was thinking of putting a brick over the hole after pouring in order to force the foam to continue expanding in the void and toward the next hole. Just seems less wastefull. I even thougth I'd screw the hole cut-out to a peice of plywood, put it back in the pour hole, that way the foam wouldn't fill the cut out hole and require sanding back out. Let me know if that all sounds reasonable or if I'm way off base here.

 

[tfret]

Re: 1984 Dixie ski boat floor restoration

I got the first layer of 1.5oz csm down on the very front section of deck. Since the front seat boxes sit on this section, there is no way to put the glass on with the deck installed. So for this section only, I am putting the glass on first. Then I have to lift the bulk head and "wiggle" the deck section into position. I have learned that the warmer the temperature outside the better when working with this 435 layup resin. It was in the 60's when I did this and the resin was very think and didn't want to spread under the roller very well. This resulted in a poor spread and probably increased use of resin along with some air bubbles. So I carried the section around the house to be in direct sun light. This seemed to help quite a bit as the resin got thinner and easier to spread around. Today is supposed to be in the mid 70's so I will try to finish this peice. The 1.5 oz csm is pretty "hairy" stuff and takes a little getting used to working with. At times it would stick to the roller and pull up a small section of glass. Definately a learning curve here, but over all I think it came out ok. I should be able to do a better job on the second layer today.

 

[tfret]

Re: 1984 Dixie ski boat floor restoration

I got the second layer of glass put on the front section of floor today. Also got the two rear sections set into the boat, stinger lines marked, holes drilled and counter sunk. Then after curing good, I got the front section in place with holes drilled, counter sunk, and screwed down with 5200 sealing the holes. I went back over the screw heads good with 5200 to totally seal the tops. I may mix a small batch of resin to coat over these screw heads also. Will the resin stick to the 5200?

 

[tfret]

Re: 1984 Dixie ski boat floor restoration

Update: I have the deck tabbed in, fully foamed and all of the hole saw plugs glued back in place and resen coated. I used saw dust and fiberglass to make my PB, that worked pretty well. The 1708 seems to have two different sides to it. I wasn't sure which side went up or down. Mostly I put what looked like the more "finished" side up. The tabbing appears to dry with a white look to it if it cures in direct sun light. The tabbing that cured in the shade looks clear. Don't mix resin in plastic party cups. This will lead to a huge puddle of resin on your deck as I learned. Placing the foam cans and resin bucket in the direct sun prior to working helps raise it's temperature and makes it work better, especially the foam. I've learned a lot along the way and made little goofs here and there, but over all I'm real pleased with where I am right now. Next I'll lay down two layers of CSM. I'll post again when I get that done.

 

[tfret]

Re: 1984 Dixie ski boat floor restoration

Two layers of 1.5 csm are down and coated with 435 layup resin. A very messy job and a lot of work going it alone. I'm just glad to have some good weather finally. Having everything pre-cut and layed out prior to beginning is key. One thing any other rookies definately need to know, standard foam rollers "melt away" pretty quickly. They worked but I went through a bunch of them. Pop for the special rollers made for resin. I can't believe how much time I have invested in this. I can't begin to guess at the hours. I'm really getting to the point that I just want it finished. We are camping at the lake Memorial weekend, so I've got the added pressure of a looming dead line. That makes it feel way too much like work and less enjoyable. Next I'll sand it all down really well and prep it for the Durabak.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1984 Dixie ski boat floor restoration

You never use foam rollers with poly resin, always short nap nylon rollers, poly eats foam. Hopefully you precoated your wood prior to laying the CSM. Your last pics did not post.

 

[tfret]

Re: 1984 Dixie ski boat floor restoration

yeah, I wet out the deck good prior to glassing it. I'm having a lot of trouble with my pc at home posting pictures. It takes forever and sometimes the website logs me out in the middle of it. can't afford to restore the boat and buy a new pc in the same year! I'll try to upload them again.

 

[tfret]

Re: 1984 Dixie ski boat floor restoration

Today was really productive. I sanded down the fiberglass really well with 40 grit belt sander, then followed up with 36 grit flapper disc to get all the edges and places that still looked shiney. Vacuumed it really well. Washed it all down with soapy water and sponge to get any remaining dust up. Then wiped it all down realy well with Xylol. Let that dry for about an hour. Then started coating with Durabak. I got 2 full coats of non slip down with about an hour of cure time between the coats. Then a final coat of smooth coat with UV protection. One gallon of non slip just does a 19' boat with two coats. A quart of smooth just covers that once. It looks amazing. I think I'm going to ge really happy with this. I'm feeling really good about it now. I can wait to get the seats and trim back in!

 

[tfret]

Re: 1984 Dixie ski boat floor restoration

A full day of reinstalling the trim, carpet around the sides, rear cubbie partitions, and finally the seats. All screw holes sealed with 3M 5200. Everything is finally finished. Cranked the engine and ran it good. No leaks or other visible signs of trouble. Took it to the lake last weekend and enjoyed it with the family for 3 full days and it performed great. I can't get over how "solid" the boat feels now. Especially when cutting through wakes. The boat used to creak and pop, but now is just solid as a rock. It really has a whole new feel about it. And it might be my imagination, but it seems to be getting better fuel economy. I guess getting all that water out from below deck made the boat lighter. I can definately tell it sits in the water differently. It used to list to port by at leat an inch. Now it sits level. I'm really tickled with how this project turned out and really don't have any regrets about the way I did anything. Thanks a lot guys for all the helpful tips, feedback, and suggestions. Not too mention all the good youtube videos. I wouldn't have even dreamed of doing this had it not been for all the inspiration I got here on iboats. Great website!

 

[island mike]

Re: 1984 Dixie ski boat floor restoration

Thats the way to do it!
Good job!!
regards I mike.

 

[moritz55]

Re: 1984 Dixie ski boat floor restoration

Great article and post tfret . I love the picks at the end !

I'm looking at buying a 1984 Dixie Boat Super Skier 199 - it had 2 owners and has been garaged.
Don't have picks will get some today, but last weekend I took a quick look at it and it was in mint condition.
Garaged, all original carpets and upholstery, gauges and dash looked new, hull and engine clean.
Engine mounts and rear transom solid and no signs of rotting anywhere around the hull.

It has a 5.7L, 350cuin, 260hp Mecruiser with trailer(& spare tire).

I will be test driving it this Saturday if weather permits with my brother.

Questions on this 1984 Dixie Boat Super Skier 199:
1) Are they well built?

2) Looks like aluminum fuel tank - how many gallons?

3) Any tips to look for other than fiberglass/softness/rot and engine oil,mounts,leaks etc?

4) 5.7L 260hp Merc, prop type or outdrive type (Alpha One ??) anything to checkout special?

I was just looking for feedback on this type of boat and given the age and the price is right I figured I couldn't go wrong if it runs well and checks out fine. I'm handy and have restored several 1970 cars so engines and electrical stuff I can resolve especially with the help of this forum.

Any feedback is appreciated.
Mark