77 Skeeter Restoration

[Seasonally.boating.jon]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Nice work Fishbone. Your moving along with a quickness.

 

[fishbone77]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Nice work Fishbone. Your moving along with a quickness.

Thanks Jitterbug - Yeah, up here in Michigan it's a race with the weather - I'd like to finish all my epoxy work, and paint the hull if I can before it gets too cold...we'll see if I make it!

 

[fishbone77]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Got out tonight - I sanded down the bondo-glass that I used on the console and laid a layer of 10oz glass over the new dash...then I finished waterproofing the inside surfaces of the panels for my inboard-tackle storage box... should be able to assemble tomorrow!

 

[sevanseriesta]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Are you going to put anything in the box to help with drainage?

 

[fishbone77]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Are you going to put anything in the box to help with drainage?

Yeah, definitely - I'll put drain holes in the bottom, but I want to line it with a layer of glass first - the challenge will be dealing with the slots that I dado'd for the dividers - still thinking on that one...off the top of my head, I'm debating: only putting glass over the bottom of the box vs. bilge-koting the inside of the box vs. altering my design in terms of the grooves for the dividers... I def. don't want it to rot, it would very difficult to replace later...

In the existing box there is a drain fitting that ran through the bottom of the box, through the deck, and into the bilge - I may do the same for the box.

I also need to put drainage for that shelf that I built on the console - I'm thinking of a small fitting at either end, but haven't found a product I like yet for that purpose - would have to be something pretty small...

 

[fishbone77]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Off for a job interview today and tomorrow, but hopefully will get some more work done on the boat this weekend! I have a few finishing touches to do to the console - I want to shape some drainage grooves in the sternward lip of the shelf I installed - and then lay one more layer of glass over the entire thing. I also have a bit more work to do with the bondoglass on the cap in general.

Later this weekend (sunday maybe) I plan on lifting the cap off and flipping it upside down to work on the front fishing platform, build in my inboard rod storage, and inboard tackle storage... I'm sure that when I look at the underside of the cap, I'll end up wanting to do more in the way of re-enforcement under the gunwales - there are some fractures in the fiberglass that lead me to beleive that whatever is underneath it in the way of support is not sufficient...

Also, I'm hoping to get the hull trailered over to the inlaws sometime next week, flip it and get it ready for paint if the weather holds...

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Nice work fishbone, mods to console & livewell look great!

There may be some small brass fittings that could be adapted to work as your console shelf drains, flanged brass bushings come to mind:

They come in a lot of lengths, widths & flange sizes. Slightly counter-sunk canted & angled into the back left or right bottom corner (both) to bury the flange & make the inner hole about flush w/ the shelf.... and if you need it to be longer to reach all the way thru the 3/4" ply you could braze a short length of pipe to be back & then attach a hose w/ clamps to further direct the water......

 

[fishbone77]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

There may be some small brass fittings that could be adapted to work as your console shelf drains, flanged brass bushings come to mind:

Thanks Jbcurt! I can't tell you how many different places I've looked to see if there was a brass thru-hull fitting that was of a smaller diameter to try and find a nice-looking way to drain that shelf! Those bushings are a great idea!

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

I needed 8 for my plywood boat in my signature line, took FOREVER to find 8 that matched :facepalm: Found a deal online, just had to buy 50...

 

[fishbone77]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

I needed 8 for my plywood boat in my signature line, took FOREVER to find 8 that matched Found a deal online, just had to buy 50...

Haha - well, at least you know you have spares!

Yeah, I've been trying to find a way to drain that shelf that looks good and that I won't lose stuff in - most of the drains I looked at are too big, I don't want to have exposed plywood - a fitting is the ideal situation, but until now I hadn't seen anything small enough! This looks like it would be perfect! I should be able to use those in the bottom of the tackle storage too, which will be really nice...

 

[fishbone77]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

A little cold and rainy today, so I didn't dare do much with epoxy, but I did get out for a bit...

Started off by cleaning up some of the margins from the glassing I did in the splashwell, around the hatches, and on the console. I just used an angle grinder, then touched it up with a sander in a couple of spots - I want to put one more layer over the top edge of the transom to tie it in to the sides, then it should be set...

Then I did some more work on my inboard tackle box - I haven't been very happy with my design so far - I think the dados that I put in the plywood will end up attracting water and moisture, and I'll end up with problems as the dividers wear through the epoxy layer. So I decided to get some aluminum C-channel that will be epoxied into the dados - should give a better seal to the plywood.

The original dados:

The dados with the aluminum channel:

And with a divider:

I'll probably end up laying strips of glass on the wood between the channels too...

 

[fishbone77]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

A couple of good friends were over tonight and helped me lift the cap and flip it upside-down tonight - huge help!

Got it back in the garage and ready to work on the bottom!

Here's a pic of all the foam and fiberglass structure that I'm going to remove that was originally supporting the platform - also the bow livewell that I'm going to switch out for some inboard tackle storage...

I'll also have to finish and glass the underside of the new console:

I'll also have to lay some plywood under the gunwales - I kept seeing microfractures in the fiberglass along the gunwales and just thought that the plywood had gone bad under them - never thought that they never installed any!

Finally, I was really happy with how the new splashwell and transom cap popped off the hull - I'll lay one more layer of glass along the seam at the bottom pictured here, and I'll also put a layer of glass under where I'm patching up the old gas fill cap holes...

 

[fishbone77]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Started tearing off the glass and foam structure under the bow platform tonight - made some good progress, and should finish up the tear-down tomorrow! Looking like a warmer weekend ahead, so hopefully I'll be able to do some glassing this weekend!

 

[fishbone77]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Almost finished the demo on the underside of the bow-fishing deck tonight - I got the rest of the fiberglass cut off, cut out the old bow live-well, used an angle grinder to grind down any excess fiberglass/resin that was left over, and then I wire-brushed all the residual foam...

Before:

After:

I also cut out the bow face of the long hatch that I'll turn into rod storage so I can extend it to accommodate longer rods...

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Looks like the Johny 140 is keeping an eye on progress.... Good thing you're doing good work Looking forward to seeing some more fab @ the bow changes...

 

[fishbone77]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Looks like the Johny 140 is keeping an eye on progress.... Good thing you're doing good work Looking forward to seeing some more fab @ the bow changes...

Thanks jbcurt - haha - yeah it looks like Johny's looking in doesn't it! Yeah, I'm really excited about the changes to the bow and the rod storage...

Couple of possibilities for this weekend, kind of depends on weather - if it's nice, I'll tow the hull over to the in-laws and prep for paint...if it's raining, then I'll be doing more work on the underside of the cap...

 

[fishbone77]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Well, I didn't get to tow the hull this weekend because of rain, and I ended up not getting much in the way of "boat-stuff" done, but I did manage to get out tonight for a few hours -

I started off by glassing the deck - I got about 1/2 of it done before I ran out of glass - will have to stop by the local shop and pick up another few yards tomorrow. I also bedded the drain into the deck with epoxy PB. I also did some random filling with PB around the hull in places I hadn't gotten to yet...

It's only 50 degrees outside - a little colder than I would have like for curing the epoxy tonight, so the heater's on to help it kick a little!

 

[fishbone77]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Stopped and picked up some more 10oz cloth today - It was already getting dark when I got home, so the glassing will have to wait until tomorrow - it's supposed to be a little warmer anyway -

Fortunately some of the pressure to beat the weather got relieved this weekend - a friend of the family with a heated shop said I could bring the hull there to shoot it when I'm ready, so that's a big help - I can focus on finishing the glassing I want to get done and then can paint the hull in a couple of weeks...

 

[fishbone77]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

I finished glassing the deck today, so everyting is water-proof! I'll be able to tow the hull over to the in-laws for paint as needed...It's looking like it will probably have to wait a while though - I have more interviews coming up this weekend and next weekend, so plenty of time for the epoxy to cure with some of the cooler temps. I am running the heater on it again tonight - probably not quite needed as it's 65 degrees, but I thought I'd give it a little help...

Unfortunately, it looks like I'm going to have to place yet another order for more epoxy...haha...:facepalm: Probably will have used about 8 gallons total by the time I'm done...

Sorry, forgot to take a pic tonight, but will try to get one tomorrow before I leave for work...I put 2 layers of 10oz cloth over the deck area that will have traffic on it (even though it will be carpeted too), and then just 1 layer over the rest that is covered by the cap. I also have some left-over bilgekote that I'll brush over the whole thing just for some extra water-proofing...like WOG said earlier, probably overkill, but since I have it around...

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 77 Skeeter Restoration

Go For IT!!! It'll be the Prettiest substrucure on the lake!!!!