96 Bayliner 2050 - The Dirty Rotten Baystard

[Baylinerchuck]

Thank you... I'm sure I'll get to the bottom of it.

The last couple days, I've been spending a few hours in the evening cleaning/wet sanding/compounding the hull... I'm hoping this is something I won't have to do again for a long time lol.. Its worth the work cuz it looks fantastic, but my shoulders/elbows are toast.

The buffer atleast helps with the compounding, but the wet sanding is brutal.

I’ve only done my Chap once. Did the top side a couple years ago, and finally the hull a month ago. I put that off until I just couldn’t stand it anymore. The staining from Lake Anna and the Potomac was like a gold-ish color on the hull, and chalky above the waterline, with exhaust staining on the transom. All this to say, once it was polished and waxed, (regularly), all the watermarks and Potomac gold just wipe right off. I really think keeping the gelcoat as closed pored as possible is the answer, and with regular care, you won’t need to sand her again. That’s my take anyway.

Oh and by the way, those pics look very familiar.....I’m planning on heading up to Raystown next weekend. Wife’s not too happy about being there on a Saturday, but friends of ours rented a cabin and a pontoon, so I’d figure I’d go keep them company. It gets crazy rough out on the big water on Saturdays. We normally put in at Weaver Falls which is on the south end near Saxton.

 

[AShipShow]

Yea, that was my first indication that my gelcoat was in dire need of some help... I put her in the susquehanna river to do some testing and everything that touched the water was a nasty shade of brown...

I bought this "hull cleaner" by starbrite and it worked like literal magic... you wipe it on with a sponge, and it disappeared in like 3 seconds in front of your eyes...

After getting rid of the staining, I decided to keep going with the whole other process, otherwise I'd have to continue doing this after every trip cuz the gelcoat was so porous.

I'm hoping to finish with the compounding today and then I will need to wax the hull... I need to decide what wax I want to use. It seems like one of those "whats the best oil" questions... Everyone has their version of "this is the best wax ever, nothing else works"... I've had a lot of luck with starbrite products and they are pretty cheap too... I'm leaning towards their "marine polish"...

 

[AShipShow]

Oh and by the way, those pics look very familiar.....I’m planning on heading up to Raystown next weekend. Wife’s not too happy about being there on a Saturday, but friends of ours rented a cabin and a pontoon, so I’d figure I’d go keep them company. It gets crazy rough out on the big water on Saturdays. We normally put in at Weaver Falls which is on the south end near Saxton.

Oh and yes, I can't believe how big some of the chop got on Saturday... When one of those 35' cruisers would go by at 30mph, I pretty much had to cut her back to an idle so I didn't launch my boat... Even though the best part of the trip for the kids was sitting in the bow while going thru waves...

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Yeah you’re right about the “everyone has their own” comment. I used all the Meguire’s products which worked well for me.

I did the 2000 grit wet sand, then used Turtle Wax scratch and swirl remover, then the Meguiar’s 49, then 45, then topped it off with 56 pure wax. The results are stunning and the waterline scum literally wipes right off. It truly is about getting the chalk off and sealing which means removing the visible scratches.



My arms are getting sore just thinking about what I went through to bring this shine back!!! :lol:

And that was using a buffer, lol.

 

[AShipShow]

Yeah you’re right about the “everyone has their own” comment. I used all the Meguire’s products which worked well for me.

I did the 2000 grit wet sand, then used Turtle Wax scratch and swirl remover, then the Meguiar’s 49, then 45, then topped it off with 56 pure wax. The results are stunning and the waterline scum literally wipes right off. It truly is about getting the chalk off and sealing which means removing the visible scratches.



My arms are getting sore just thinking about what I went through to bring this shine back!!! :lol:

And that was using a buffer, lol.

Did you wetsand the entire thing or just areas that looked like they needed it? Ive been doing 800 or 1000 grit in areas with gouges and scratches to sand them out... but I definitely didn't do the entire hull with wet sanding... that sounds aweful lol

But now I'm wondering if I'd get better looking results if I do the whole thing...

 

[Baylinerchuck]

I wet sanded the whole thing at 2000 grit. The transom I had to fare and gelcoat, so obviously started at 220, then up to 2000. Mine wasn’t too bad though, just had some chalking and rub marks from construction.

 

[AShipShow]

Well, ive taken a few days off of the "body work" cuz of stuff and things... I got back out for a little this morning and pretty much finished up all the top side stuff... I still need to climb under the thing and get what I can while its on the trailer...

After that, I'm going to wash the whole things off to get rid of any wet sanding residue and the meguiars oxidation remover...

Then I'm gonna give the whole thing a good application or 2 of the starbrite marine polish and see how I like it...


On a side note, Theres a couple areas on the hull that I had done some work last year where I laid up some CSM and resin, then gelcoat to fix some larger dings and holes that I didn't need anymore... I got them all sanded down flush and smooth, but I've noticed that the areas of the old gelcoat around them that I sanded more aggresively than the rest of the boat are much brighter white... I understand gelcoat can fade over time, hence wet sanding and buffing... I'm just wondering if that means I should sand further???

I'm worried that if I sand too much I'll shorten the life of the gelcoat and make it too thin...
I like the idea of it being as bright white as possible, but I don't want to do too much, also my shoulders probably can't take that abuse, I'd have to use a RO sander...

Whats everyones thoughts on this??

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Depends on where it is in the hull. I have a few spots near the keel in the center of the boat that I could go over a few more times and blend. But, WHY? I can’t even see them unless I lay on my back, and certainly not when in the water. They won’t leak, they’re sealed. I guess I could knit pick my boat to death, but nobody will ever even notice. I’ve reserved myself to believing it’s good enough, and it’s way better than it was, and will last for many more years. I go boating and forget about it!!! :laugh:

 

[AShipShow]

Decided to take her for a spin this evening and test out the shiny hull... glad to report there was no water staining at all so I'm super happy about that..

I also decided to check out the view from the back seat and let the admiral drive for a while... she doesn't usually like driving when there's lots of other boats around but it was pretty calm tonight...

Still having the weird stalling issue, but otherwise ran great... happy labor day everyone, be safe and enjoy the water!

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Was a nice day, I just got back from the Potomac an hour or so ago. We always stay for the sunsets. Besides the ramp is less busy in the evening. Water was still 76, so not too bad!!

 

[kcassells]

Looks like a good time for all!

 

[AShipShow]

Looks like a good time for all!

Twas.... twas indeed...

I really need a pen and paper when I go boating, because thats when all the things come to me that I still haven't finished, and then I forget everything when I get home....

 

[BruceShark]

Read through the whole thread and watched some of your YouTube videos. Learned tons thank you! Actually found you and iBoats through Zach’s Garage. Can’t wait for my own official rebuild splash day.

 

[AShipShow]

Feels like I haven't been here in years lol... Honestly just been enjoying the boat when the weather is nice and taking a little break from just working on it... Plus I have like 7 irons in the fire with other stuff right now so most boat work is probably gonna take a back seat until the season is officially over (hopefully not there yet)...

Just wanted to stop by to let you know I posted a new video on installing the Delco EST ignition in my boat... If you're merc ignition ever craps out, I can't recommend it enough.. The whole system is cheaper than just buying the module for the merc system... Enjoy

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Great video. I’ll reference this just in case I ever have to swap out my Thunder IV off the 4.3L.

 

[AShipShow]

Great video. I’ll reference this just in case I ever have to swap out my Thunder IV off the 4.3L.

Thanks, yea it's an easy job but a little better instructions would have been nice when I did it...

Hopefully you'll never have to but at least it's there if you do lol

 

[AShipShow]

I figured I'd stop by since I've not been very active around here lately and give an update... I've basically been doing nothing boat related for the last several weeks because I've been fully engulfed in a separate project of building a patio roof.

With the boating season pretty much coming to an end around these parts, I've not had much motivation to work on the boat... I still have quite a list of things I need/want to do, but I'm thinking at this point, they will be winter/spring projects to have done for next season.

One of the big ones (cost wise) is going to be replacing the gauges... However, I'm still a little undecided on whether or not to spend that money, because I had a thought in mind of building my own custom LCD gauge display panel... I also still need to reupholster my captains chairs, however, I'm kinda dreading that one, but I'd really like to convert the drivers seat to a bolster while I'm at it.

Plenty of other little things that need done as well, but the good news is, I should have a full boating season ahead of me next year now that she is splashed...

Heres a couple pictures of my patio roof project... Just about done putting the roof sheathing on now...

 

[PC on the Bayou]

I am using your thread along with many others as a guide while working on mine. I didn't see in your thread how you waterproofed the transom bolt holes and keyhole. What process did you use there?

 

[Baylinerchuck]

The great thing about boats, there’s always something to do. You’ll never be 100% done!!!

 

[AShipShow]

I am using your thread along with many others as a guide while working on mine. I didn't see in your thread how you waterproofed the transom bolt holes and keyhole. What process did you use there?

I sealed the holes by soaking them in resin and then gelcoat... I then filled the holes with 3M 4000 before installing the gimbal housing assembly... For the keyhole, I soaked it in resin and then gave it a layer of CSM and then gelcoat... Thinking that should be more than sufficient... In theory, if the bilge never fills up with water, it should never get wet anyways...