77 Skeeter Restoration

[fishbone77]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Found 3m marine filler today for 60% off... Always makes for a good day!

 

[Vision91]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

hey fishbone been reading through your thread which took an hr to read..suprised i didnt doze off it usally happens when i read something its why i dont read books...but just wanted to say you are doing a good job on the rebuild and that ill stay tuned in while your doin it..im also doin the same thing to my 1991 vision bass boat..from bottom up stringers, transom and decking. later on will be carpet and whatever else..but yea keep up the good work

 

[fishbone77]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Thanks vision91! Appreciate you following! Will def be more active now for the next several weeks - I had good intentions in May, but whoops, life happened!

 

[fishbone77]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

So, over the last couple of weeks I have ironed out my goals for the next few weeks.

For the Hull:
-flipping the hull
-sanding, fairing the hull
-painting the hull

For the Cap: (more work to be done here yet)
-redo the fishing platforms and hatch lids
-finish any glassing on the cap
-filling on the cap
-painting the cap

I'm going to start with the hull. This week, I pulled it off the trailer and flipped it upside-down. I built a frame that sits in the c-channel of the trailer for the hull to sit on while I work (an idea I've seen in other iboats threads - nice because I can still use the trailer to move the hull in and out of the garage while I'm sanding/painting...)

Rolling the boat over...


Another shot of flipping the hull...


I rolled it up to the tipping point with the jeep, then lowered it down by hand...

 

[fishbone77]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Tomorrow is supposed to rain, so planning on working indoors on the cap - more to follow!

 

[glnbnz]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Looks like you are having fun!

 

[fishbone77]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Looks like you are having fun!

Yeah! I spent the last 2 days sanding the hull - I almost have it done, just a 2 foot by 5 foot section on the bottom to do yet...then its fairing, sanding, paint! It will be nice to have the hull done - it will start to feel like the project is coming back together

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

FYI, I spent HOURS Sanding, Fairing and getting my hull PERFECT!!! First time out I knocked a gouge the size of my foot in the thing and the trailer scratched it to heck. Even if that had not occured, I have discovered that the fish don't care, and no one else notices the bottom of the hull either. Take care of the big scratches and gouges making sure she's water tight and then finish her off. Spend your time on what will be seen and not on the bottom of the hull. Just an observation from an..

 

[sevanseriesta]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Thats great advice WOG. I was wondering how serious to get on it as well Cause Im almost to that point. I watched OOPS spend weeks on end, that scared the crap out of me...

Fish Why did you remove the foam rib things on the bottom of the cap. And what or are you even replacing them.

 

[fishbone77]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Thats great advice WOG. I was wondering how serious to get on it as well Cause Im almost to that point. I watched OOPS spend weeks on end, that scared the crap out of me...

Fish Why did you remove the foam rib things on the bottom of the cap. And what or are you even replacing them.

Thanks for the advice guys - haha - I should clarify - it wasn't two FULL days - on Tuesday, I spent a good part of the time just getting stickers, etc off - and Wednesday I was delayed because I had to find a new hook and loop pad for my sander - forgot that hitachi isn't carried by Home Depot and the next nearest hardware store that had them was 45 mins away... So I ended up picking up a second sander instead of wasting an entire morning... Lol - I figure I've got about 6 - 8 hrs in so far...

About the rib structure on the bow fishing platform: I had a significant mouse infestation when I picked up the boat - they had tunneled through a lot of the structural foam, etc. while I wasn't sure if they had gotten into the ribs, I also wanted to install inlaid tackle storage which was going to interrupt the ribs anyways...so I just figured it would be just as easy to replace the ribs with plywood underneath... I just got the epoxy shipment in and should have pics for this in a week or two...

 

[fishbone77]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Any advice on surface prep before using filler? I'm using 3m premium marine filler... Anything special I should do other than wiping the dust off with acetone?

 

[sevanseriesta]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Interesting on the mouse infestation. I guess that would make sense on why to get rid of it. Last thing you want is to see those little buggers ruining your newly finished work. Keep up the hard work.

For the filler I normally use forced air and then acetone. Forced air is my leaf blower by the way.

 

[fishbone77]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Sounds great! I always like some good old engine-uity! Hoping for some good weather Tuesday - I'll finish sanding and do my filling - paint by the end of the week hopefully!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Dremel tool if you have one to grind out any deep gouges and scratches then sand, wipe down with acetone, fill, sand and fair. DONE!!!

 

[fishbone77]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Dremel tool if you have one to grind out any deep gouges and scratches then sand, wipe down with acetone, fill, sand and fair. DONE!!!

Thanks WOG - I got back to the boat today... Finished sanding and filling - I didn't have a Dremel unfortunately, so I ended up using a cone-shaped file bit for my drill to open up the cracks a bit...then I wiped it down with acetone and used an air compressor to blow dry before filling... Tomorrow am I'm going to do my final sand, clean it up again and start priming!

 

[fishbone77]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Got out to work on the boat again today... I started by doing a final sand to even out the fairing compound. I used acetone and dewaxing compound to wipe down the hull prior to applying the primer. 4 coats of 2-part epoxy high-build primer and 1 coat of 45% copper antifouling paint today. The primer needed 2 hrs between coats, the antifouling paint needs 24hrs. I plan on doing 4-5 coats of antifouling paint.

The antifouling paint is excessive for what I would need for a boat that will be trailered between uses, but I do take 1-2 week trips fishing in Canada periodically and I didn't want to have to worry about pulling the boat out of the water every few days... so to me it was worth the cost of the antifouling paint on the hull. Also, the recommended application was at least 2-3 coats of antifouling paint - I'm doing 4-5 just for longevity of the finish - I don't want to have to paint the hull again while I own this boat. Later this summer, I'll use the Woodonglass Method for painting the cap.

 

[fishbone77]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

I've been falling behind with pictures, so here's some pics to catch up:

The hull upside-down on the trailer...


A couple of shots of the frame I built to set the hull on - the frame sits right in the C-channel of the trailer frame, and I used plumbing insulation as padding between the frame and the deck to prevent damaging the fiberglass I laid on the deck.




The hull sanded and with Filling/Fairing compound drying...

 

[fishbone77]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Pics catch-up continued:joyous:

First coat of primer...


Starting to paint...


First coat of antifouling paint complete...

 

[sevanseriesta]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

what method did you use to apply the primer that looks fantastic.... Was it the WOG method? First coat of paid looks great too.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration Continued

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration Continued

Great job! Looks Fantastic!:thumb: