1995 Crestliner ProAm interior overhaul

[ezmobee]

Re: 1995 Crestliner ProAm interior overhaul

I cut my noodles quickly with a pair of tin snips.

 

[dmoriarty51]

Re: 1995 Crestliner ProAm interior overhaul

I called menards here, i saw an sale ad for the foam board insulation... it claimed the price is to low to advertise... turns out to be $22/sheet x 6 = $132 (still aiming at 6 no idea if i will get that much in, but im gonna try) vs $29 x 6 = $174 that makes it worth my while to drive 25 miles to get it.. oh plywood is better priced there too.

however they couldnt pin down availibility on the arauco ply.

prolly gonna roll with exterior ply just because its availible now, seal the floor up nice and sort of cheat on the rest since its easier to replace, and air circulation will dry it out better than the floor could.

this brings another point, i have an in floor fuel tank. the original design of the floor has a removable panel large enough to remove that tank. the carpet was just wrapped around and it is screwed down just like the floor. i would like to retain this feature. is vinyl flooring gonna play nice with this plan? i dont want to have to build a trim or frame as the hope of course would be that i never actually need to remove that panel. but i dont want my floor covering peeling up either.

or should i just pray that i never need to access the tank aside from the 2 access plates that were in it. the large one covered the inlet, vent and sending unit, and the small covered the outlet, and just make my floor one solid sheet of vinyl?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1995 Crestliner ProAm interior overhaul

I'd stick with the access plates. It ain't like you're glassin' the deck to the boat sides or anything.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: 1995 Crestliner ProAm interior overhaul

Try a fish fillet knife for cutting foam, cuts foam like butt'a and you don't have any waste. If you are using the pink/blue foam it might not work too good, that stuff is kind of dense. I'd give it a try before hauling out the table saw and making a pile of super sticky static electric foam particles

I put my deck back together as it was made from the factory with separate panels. One of the beauties of an aluminum boat is being able to take it apart, glass all the deck together and you can't take it apart anymore. You are going to use more vinyl doing separate panels, the vinyl needs to be wrapped around the edge and stapled on the bottom side.

Here's a little story for why separate panels are good. After getting my boat finished I filled up with fuel and was going to take it out the following weekend. Upon taking the cover off I smelled fuel, jacked up the boat and fuel started running out the drain I had a massive fuel leak in the tank (I didn't find during rebuild ) and if I had glassed all the decks together I would have been skrewed. I removed the deck panel, and a couple other things, and had the tank out in 2 hours.

The only problems I've had with the vinyl and screws were; Don't let the screw spin on the vinyl face (screw & nut) or it can melt the vinyl, I only did 1... If you torque the screws down too snug and have a void in the plywood, it can blow through and/or pucker the vinyl. Add a #10 SS fender washer under the screw and you are back in business.

 

[McGR]

Re: 1995 Crestliner ProAm interior overhaul

I just used Home Depot cheapo exterior plywood sealed with epoxy on my project boat - so far, no regrets. I guess it will probably take several years before the final verdict is in.

The front and side rub rail plastic bumpers should still be available. I replaced all of mine earlier this year. I think they cost about $20 for the three pieces.

Fishrdan had recommended using some Lowe's rope for the rub rail. It worked out real nice. I would recommend using this - I would guess Crestliner will charge a small fortune for replacement rope.

Regarding the fuel tank access... my boat has a similar main deck to what you described, a large board in the center covering the tank, and two smaller sections on the sides. Vinyl won't be a problem at all with this arrangement. My Crestliner deck was vinyl both before and after replacing the boards. The main thing is just to make sure to use lots of staples to keep the vinyl from stretching up at the edges. An electric stapler is almost a must for the amount of staples required for doing the job properly. I also think that you want to keep this access panel available for possible maintenance.

 

[dmoriarty51]

Re: 1995 Crestliner ProAm interior overhaul

got my wood, got BC grade exterior, and my foam.. so i now have a sunday project while my wife is away to a baby shower. my plan is to get all my wood pieces cut and fitted. so i can trash the old ones, and at least started on fitting foam.

if anything gets accomplished there will be pictures.

also, i still havent gotten my samples of carpet and vinyl......

and i guess i need to call crestliner about the rub rail pieces, since i havent seen a response to the email i sent, or maybe find a dealer around here.

 

[dmoriarty51]

Re: 1995 Crestliner ProAm interior overhaul

Update..

Finally got my samples of nuatolex... doesnt seem like much texture to really help, but the texture doesnt seem to be slippery when wet either. Not sure what I will do there just yet.

Havent really done alot, got the under floor filled with sheet foam. Only managed to cram in 2 3/4 sheets of 2 inch, it filled it in well, and i dont think i would have gained much by using multiple thicknesses as some have. I still need to build the block for the bow, but am holding off untill I get the floor and front storage framework installed in an effort to fit the most possible.

also have most of my wood cut, this has taken extra time because we went through and traced and cut everything without considering the carpet wrapped around it. So I spent the morning trimming, and have a little left to do on that.


POLL TIME

Paint the gunwales, inside and overtop to the rub rail..

or

Spray/rollon bedliner type material. (In a light gray shade not black, and not super rough texture either)

Sorry guys no pics i forgot to snap them as i was trying to get as much done as possible in my limited window.

 

[dmoriarty51]

Re: 1995 Crestliner ProAm interior overhaul

Also, I found a Crestliner dealer near me (still almost 2hrs one way) that has the rub rail pieces I need, hoping they will ship them to me. If not a fall roadtrip will be in order, either way I couldnt seem to contact Crestliner directly. So its better than nothing.

 

[McGR]

Re: 1995 Crestliner ProAm interior overhaul

I had to drive well over an hour to get my bumpers too. We used to have a Crestliner dealer right here in town. I drove past his shop every day on the way to work for years. Unfortunately, with the tough economy, he closed shop last summer. So, it was somewhat annoying to drive so far to find a dealer for these small items, but it seemed to be the only option. There doesn't seem to be any dealers selling Crestliner parts online.

 

[dmoriarty51]

Re: 1995 Crestliner ProAm interior overhaul

Got the dealer to ship me the bumpers, that saves me wasting half a saturday driving, not to mention gas money.

Even Keel Marine in Rockford Illinois seems to be A ok.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: 1995 Crestliner ProAm interior overhaul

I agree with much of what EZ and Fshrdan have posted, I only wanted to add that I'm a huge fan of the nautolex marine vinyl, I used the shark grey and it's the perfect deck covering material.

Neutral color, very grippy, easy to deal with and looks nice too. Dan's idea for the screw washers is a great one, I need to redo a couple that way myself

Where are all the photos?

 

[dmoriarty51]

Re: 1995 Crestliner ProAm interior overhaul

In an effort to clear my mind to think about the floor covering option, I am going to turn to a different piece of this project for this weekend.

Going to sand off all the crappy house paint and whatever is left of the factory paint from the rub rail up, and get it repainted...this needs to be done while the inside is out anyhow to access the rear cleat nuts.

I already attempted to use tal strip II and while it worked ok, its going to be a mess. I would also still need to scuff the aluminum to paint it. So I tried out a 3m surface conditioning disk on a die grinder and that looks promising as does a sand paper flap wheel. Two birds with one stone, paint off and surface scuffed.

Only snag so far is the compressor I have availible cant keep up with a die grinder even tho the numbers say it should, but it is about 30 yrs old. I called a local rental place and the only thing bigger than what i have already is a pull behind diesel powered unit capable of 180cfm so I will have plenty of air for myself and dad and anyone else i can recruit.

Its surprisingly cheap to rent at $50/day especially since if you rent on friday you can pick it up at 7am friday and keep it untill 9am monday and it still only counts as one day.

If things go well, Im thinking about dropping the boat on blocks and doing the trailer as well since it could really use some new paint. It also has multiple layers on it from a well meaning but misguided previous owner.

If i could get it all to bare metal and primed i will be thrilled. The trailer is steel, and painting that I understand, the boat on the other hand, I understand it needs etching primer? or will the scuffing be good enough? Will likely use rustoleum topside or valspar implement paint both are around locally, and the valspar is uv safe also.

I'll get caught up on pics too for you hounds.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1995 Crestliner ProAm interior overhaul

You absolutely need etching primer on any bare aluminum.

 

[dmoriarty51]

Re: 1995 Crestliner ProAm interior overhaul

thats what i thought ez.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: 1995 Crestliner ProAm interior overhaul

Will likely use rustoleum topside or valspar implement paint both are around locally, and the valspar is uv safe also.

The BIG down side to using either of those paints is that they are going to take a long time to completely cure, dry hard enough to where you are not going to scuff and scratch it up while working on the boat. I learned this lesson on my project while painting my outdrive and transom assy. I had paint problems and had to wait 1 month (during the winter) for the paint to outgass and harden enough to sand it. My problem was sanding, yours will be touching it and not scratching it up, before it's completely hardened. I'd expect to leave the boat alone for 2 weeks (maybe 4?) after using those paints, so you don't mess up the paint by touching it.

If they sell catalyst for the Valspar (I think they do), I might give that a shot as it's supposed to speed the drying/hardening of the paint. But I'll never use straight enamel paint again for anything that's critical, or could hold up a project if things go ary. I shot the transom of my boat with a catalyzed automotive paint, got a sag, 2 hours later sanded it out and re-sprayed the transom,,, the same day!. Heck I sprayed the whole transom (2 colors) in the same day, even with the F'up and having to wait for the base paint to cure enough to sand out the run. If that would have been enamel I would have been looking 1-2 weeks before sanding it. (My drive/transom assy was different as it had to be hard enough not to rub off while sitting on the bench.)

Honestly, the extra expense for a catalyzed paint is well worth the expense.

Oh yeah, use a good respirator with catalyzed paint, not one of those $1 dust masks.

 

[dmoriarty51]

Re: 1995 Crestliner ProAm interior overhaul

im pretty sure the valspar stuff has a catalyst you can use, i have seen some folks use it to paint cars and they come out pretty nice and supposedly pretty durable. i have even seen where some have done a roller application on a car, they do quite a bit of sanding and such but once done you cant tell it wasnt sprayed.

at this point if i do need to let it sit a while that will be fine as i have some busy weekends ahead and im behind on my household stuff do to working at the boat.

my hope is to get rub rail up on the boat to bare aluminum and primed, and same for the trailer. i will get about 4-5hrs before work tomorrow and then all day sat and sunday so i think with a helper i can get it done.

if i do the trailer i hope to take the boat off and leave it in the shop on blocks/stands, would automotive jackstands with a board on top be sufficient? say 1 at each side at the transom and then a 3rd roughly where the keel roller of the trailer sits be good enough? gonna go do a little searching on this now

 

[fishrdan]

Re: 1995 Crestliner ProAm interior overhaul

I've used jack stands (with a board on top) and was sweating bullets doing it, one slip and... I wasn't supporting the entire boat either, just the bow or stern, with the other end on the trailer.

There are some good threads on taking the boat off the trailer. If you have a nice (soft) lawn, placing the boat there night be the best option. Without the outboard or decking in the boat, it's relatively light. When it was stripped, a neighbor and I pushed my 18'er back off the trailer by hand, a foot or so.

I've had my jon boat sitting on 3 Coleman coolers before...

 

[dmoriarty51]

Re: 1995 Crestliner ProAm interior overhaul

yeah mine still has the motor on it and for this round of repairs its staying on.

thought of just dumping it in the yard, but also thought if i can get it off in the shop it can be sprayed while the trailer is outside getting blasted/sanded.

 

[dmoriarty51]

Re: 1995 Crestliner ProAm interior overhaul

So far things have gone pretty well, got a start on the boat friday before work, and some experimentation done so we could attack with a plan and it worked out.

Rented this for the weekend for $55 since the little 35yr old 30 gallon couldnt cut it, and the rental place had nothing in between that and this.

It has actually shut itself down from idling to long since we cant use enough air.



Got the entire topside down to the rub rail strripped and scuffed, then pulled the boat off the trailer so it can have some sandblasting and paint removal done while i have the compressor too. The stand is one a friend built for a jetski, a bit narrow and not long enough to really be stable to work in the boat but I did a tip test and hung myself on the bow and it didnt move (250lbs).






I will go back and get foam pics and such when i pull the boards to trim them down and wrap carpet or vinyl.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: 1995 Crestliner ProAm interior overhaul

Great progress there!

With that much bare aluminum, I'd go with the best type of prep you can. Search "alodine" and see what's involved with using it, it's supposed to be the best for prepping aluminum. There's a guy who made an aluminum boat from scratch and posted it up in the completed boat forum, he used alodine.

I spot primed mine with an etching primer before painting, but I only had a couple bare spots. I also etched it with acid (Jasco metal prep) before priming with etching primer.