'76 MFG Fishin Caprice II Center Console Rebuild

[Goldie627]

I kinda had a similar situation, wasn't as big of a gap as yours so I was able to get away with a jumbo fillet . Only tip I can offer is if you decide to redo the foam with tape, watch out for air bubbles. Air bubbles/pockets are potential holding spots for water. I'm paranoid, so I would cut some strips contoured to the area, coat them with resin, then PB over that.

Woody - You're batting 100% with me and a whole lot of other people here on the forum that you've unselfishly and continually helped over the course of your 20,000+ posts... "you tha man!" and classy, and humble, and... ok let me quit before I get kicked off this thread

 

[Shakedownscott]

Heres what it looks like after being scraped out. look like something you would expect to see underneath a bar counter



At this point thinking about waiting for it to harden up and deal with it later. Hopefully I can I will wipe it off and just fill with PB or PB with wood strips.





Just a minor setback and learning experience, don't think I will be doing this one again any time soon .

 

[Goldie627]

I used these as spacers to help keep my stringers off the floor. The beauty is the sticky back helps keep them in place. They are easy to trim and also kinda act like a non skid device to keep your stringer from sliding. In the intersest of avoiding trapped air i mixed the PB kinda thick and pushed it through to the other side where possible then finished the edges as smooth as i could on both sides.

Your style of boat is awsesome!

Your doing a spectacular job over there, keep up the good work! Dont let the setbacks discourage you.

Self-Adhesive Vinyl Square Bumpers

 

[tallcanadian]

Boat looks great. She's going to be a beauty when your done. Don't beat yourselves up on the set back guys. IT happens. We have all become smarter because of it.

 

[Shakedownscott]

Thanks for all the encouragement guys, I really appreciate it.

After I pulled out the melted foam and exposed it to air everything hardened up pretty quick. I ground it back a bit to clean up the rough edges and wiped it out with acetone.

I ended up cutting strips of plywood to fill the gap and put it together just like before with the foam. I think it came out pretty well.





I went back after it cured a bit and added some fillets. A few more fillets here and there and this area will be ready for some layers of 1708.

 

[Shakedownscott]

Been making slow but steady progress on getting all the stringers glassed in. Finally getting the hang of working with 1708 and the poly resin. It is starting to go quicker now that I have some experience working with the materials and learned from my mistakes.











I have a few more spots to finish up the stringers, then on to the decking. Ran out of resin, so gonna have to wait on a new order of supplies. Used 10 gallons of resin already, thats a lot more than I was expecting.

Starting to wonder if I am adding too much extra weight to the boat. Originally the stringers were just tabbed in with 12" strips of heavy woven roving. Most of the stringers were not covered in glass, just bare wood. Now they have two layers of 1708 and a bunch of PB.

I think I am going in the right direction though. Original stringers broke free from the hull in some location and a lot of the tabbing was dry and cracked. Just hope she floats high enough when I am done with her.

 

[tallcanadian]

Your stringers are very deep so I'm not surprised you are using that amount of resin. It will be a whole lot safer, stronger than before. And no worries it will sit just nice. I know on mine the plywood was water logged so you can imagine how heavy it was. It's lighter now for sure.

She's looking great. Keep up the good work.

 

[JoshOnt]

Think about it though, if you don't cover them you will have a much better chance of running into rot in 20-30 years unless you keep the thing perfect which we all know almost no one does it perfectly every time. You are making the right choice by glassing them in.

 

[Shakedownscott]

Thanks guys for the advice and encouragement. I am sure it will be fine when its done. Definitely going to be a lot stronger than before.

 

[Shakedownscott]

Starting to make some progress fitting the deck into place, Definitely starting to look like a boat again.







I have a few questions about putting the topside pieces back together. I have read that there should be a 12 to 1 ratio between the thickness of the glass to length of taper. The fiberglass is 1/4" thick so I am shooting for 3" width of taper per side or a total of 6" wide seem. Does this sound about right?

This is my first attempt at a repair to the outside of the boat, not sure exactly how to do it. I have 1708 and 1.5 oz CSM for materials, not sure if this is appropriate for the seams. Also not sure about when to add wax to the resin. Does the fairing compound go over the waxed resin and do I add wax to the fairing compound I mix up?


Thanks,

Scott

 

[Shakedownscott]

I ordered some 6oz cloth, so I would have some options on thickness and would be smoother for the surface. Still not sure about when to use the surfacing wax.

 

[Chrisravosa36]

WOW! This boat is looking GREAT! Keep up the great work! Im sure your gunna get alot of good looks with that boat! Ive got an MFG myself, personally they have some of the best lines!!

 

[Shakedownscott]

Thanks Chris for the encouragement. What type of MFG do you have? I've always liked the lapstrake look of the MFG's

Can't wait to get her on the water and see how she handles.

 

[Mikeopsycho]

I think you should use the wax on the very last lay-up on the deck, which in my case was gelcoat. Looking real nice!

 

[Shakedownscott]

Thanks Mikeo.

Does anyone have suggestions on fixing holes and cracks in the deck skin? I have quite a few holes and cracks in the deck that I would like to fill. Do I need to sand off the gelcoat or can I just put fairing compound in the holes?





How much should you grind into the cracks and what is a good filler for them?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Chrisravosa36]

Thanks Chris for the encouragement. What type of MFG do you have? I've always liked the lapstrake look of the MFG's

Can't wait to get her on the water and see how she handles.

Ive got a little runabout, the lines on her look SOO good! and im sure she will get alot of looks As for your cracks I would get a dremal, and follow through the lines with it, I know that sounds like a pain. But if you dont the fairing compound will not settle into the cracks. For the holes, the only advice id have is for you to put a layer of glass under them, and then work your way up with small pecies inside the hole, and then a good few peices at the top to cover it up, and and grind it down. A good filler would.

Shop IBOATS!!! This would do the trick! http://www.iboats.com/Awlfair-Lw-Tr...548789--session_id.056298942--view_id.1184156

 

[sphelps]

From the looks of the cracks are you sure the plywood inside is not rotten ?
The holes can be filled with hairy pb then glassed over .. Just like any glass patch your going to need to grind the gell off and tapper it around the holes ....

 

[Shakedownscott]

Great looking MFG, she really shines. What dremel bit works good for grinding out the cracks?

From the looks of the cracks are you sure the plywood inside is not rotten ?

Yes, you are correct, the wood under here was rotted. I am in the process of glassing in the new deck. I am going to re-use the glass skin over the new wood.

 

[sphelps]

My thinking is if your using the old skin then go ahead and pb the skin in place first ... Then start your grinding /dremeling after cure ... Round up some heavy stuff to lay on it while it cures for good even coverage ....
You will loose your texture where the patches are ...

 

[David Young]

I'm happy to see your fixing up an old MFG. Looking good