And Away We Go, Restarting The Rebuild

[wooky30014]

Yeah there is a HF about 15 miles from here, I'll get those and a suit and watch the dust fly LOL NOW a question, along with the putty blobs, sharpies, and the edges/joints of the leftover tabbing should I go over the entire inside of the hull or will the acetone wipedown be enough

 

[kcassells]

With your scenario you can also HOSE out the dust. Let dry completely and rub down w/acetone. If the glass has been unworked for a few mos. then a quick light sanding is all you need, vacuum, then acetone...hosing optional.

 

[wooky30014]

With your scenario you can also HOSE out the dust. Let dry completely and rub down w/acetone. If the glass has been unworked for a few mos. then a quick light sanding is all you need, vacuum, then acetone...hosing optional.

That Sir sounds like a plan, the majority of the glass inside is as it left the factory, relatively smooth but able to see the outlines of the woven. I have a "fine dust" filter on the vac and can get the grindings up with it

 

[gm280]

That Sir sounds like a plan, the majority of the glass inside is as it left the factory, relatively smooth but able to see the outlines of the woven. I have a "fine dust" filter on the vac and can get the grindings up with it

Unless you have plans to re-glass the entire hull there is no reason to grind the entire hull. You only need to grind the areas you plan on glassing in new part. I ground out my entire hull, but I went back with a layer of CSM and polyester resin over the entire hull. Why? I had some repairs that the previous owner botched up badly and I wanted to make sure it was covered correctly.

ut for your hull, just grind any places you plan on installing new stringers, bullheads and of course the transom. And that is so the fresh resin will attach to the old fiberglass material for a solid bond. JMHO

 

[wooky30014]

AH yes, that's it, other than the transom, stringer beds, and along the keel I planned to leave the rest alone unless I had to grind. As seen in the pics, most of the inside is in good shape, glass wise. Plan also is to beef up the stern corners as they are a bit ragged (amateur hour at the boat factory perhaps) and need a bit of grinding for smooth transom tabbing. I also am going to replace the wood that was around the gunnels all the way around that the rub rail will screw to (through bolted actually as the factory used rivets) I've got all this planned 9 ways to Sunday in my head, just getting a few details filled in now that the build is actually underway. The hull is 100% intact other than the former OMC hole and related mounting holes in the stern. I've been told of two different types of glass to cover the motor and steering cable holes (will be recut for the Volvo once the transom is rebuilt), feathering the holes is planned while cleaning up/ leveling back there

 

[Bama447]

I'm gonna follow you on this Wooky. I ain't even got started on my "project" yet....I can see you build yours while I get my act together to start mine. Good Luck!!

 

[wooky30014]

Welcome Aboard Bama, the more the merrier (data plate says she can carry 12, dunno where unless everyone is standing :faint2, what is yours ?

Let's see, 4" grinder check, Tyvek suit with hood check, goggles check, dust mask for fiberglass (package stated specifically) check, leather gloves check, dry weather, we'll have to see what tomorrow brings as a slight drip in the tarp :grumpy:, motorvation check

 

[wooky30014]

I got the grinding started, on a learning curve with it and it's slow going. I got part of the transom ground to the woven due to some rather widespread voids along the lower part of it and some across the top I haven't gotten to yet. I had an assident Thursday as I was finishing up for the day, I learned to NOT forget to wear my leather gloves :facepalm: see the pic I'm healing up but it'll be a few days before I get back to it, hand swollen a bit and finger with splint so's to not bend and pop it open again per Doc's instructions :crutch:. That Tyvek suit is amazing, yeah drenched in sweat but absolutely no itchy (not gonna say that too loudly :rockon Pics show progress as well as what I'm facing on the other side (the voids) along with whatever "filler" the factory used along the bottom, it's like grinding tar with some sort of cloth in it. It's coming off though slowly and I have to clean off the disc every few minutes with a wire brush

 

[gm280]

Well I surely hate to see the wound, but actually that is part of this type work. I imagine most of us got boat battle wounds when grinding. It seem to go with boat refurbishing for some reason. But be careful and the gloves are a must.

However, with that stated, your work looks really good. Yes there is a learning curve grinding things, but you seem to pick it up really fast. Bravo sir Bravo. :thumb:

 

[kcassells]

Nothing a little finger nail polish won't fix! Nice work...keep it up. Job is to always be careful, even leather will slice and dice. At my job where all the people use knives etc. they actually wear a metal mesh glove or suit for protection. There are also gloves at Homedeblow that are made for non cut.

 

[wooky30014]

Yeah but the 2nd day of grinding :facepalm::frusty:. Thanks for the compliment on the work, it's part of my OCD wanting it to turn out the best I can, ONCE. I'll be back at it in a couple of days :laser:

 

[gm280]

I know how you feel, with the wound and everything else as well. But honestly it will get better as you proceed. I think I spent an entire week grinding my hull. But I reglassed the entire hull as well. Just hang with it and keep posting pictures. :thumb:

 

[wooky30014]

LOL yeah I thought (before starting) that I could knock out the grinding in a day or two :facepalm: so wrong on THAT one but dat's ok, I have nothing but time being medically retired and whilst I heal up I can go check out what's killing the battery on my truck :car: , thinking it's something in the P-brake release 'cause it won't lock now and the daytime lights are hooked up in it somewhere. Then it'll be back into the Tyvek I go looking like something from outer space ainkiller:

One question I never got an answer to, the leftover mat from where I pulled the stringer tabbing (shown in previous pics, post 11) should it be ground off as well or left alone ?

 

[gm280]

LOL yeah I thought (before starting) that I could knock out the grinding in a day or two :facepalm: so wrong on THAT one but dat's ok, I have nothing but time being medically retired and whilst I heal up I can go check out what's killing the battery on my truck :car: , thinking it's something in the P-brake release 'cause it won't lock now and the daytime lights are hooked up in it somewhere. Then it'll be back into the Tyvek I go looking like something from outer space ainkiller:

One question I never got an answer to, the leftover mat from where I pulled the stringer tabbing (shown in previous pics, post 11) should it be ground off as well or left alone ?

Well I can't say for everybody else, buy I ground everything down to the hull and fresh fiberglass exposed. So I would if I were doing the grinding. But others may have different ideas. :noidea:

 

[wooky30014]

Well I can't say for everybody else, buy I ground everything down to the hull and fresh fiberglass exposed. So I would if I were doing the grinding. But others may have different ideas. :noidea:

Yeah, that's my idea too, grind the whole inside of the hull JUSS in case the layout or something else gets a slight variation, rather do the "nasty" once and be pretty much done with it, my sander with the vacuum to knock down any "pricklies" in between cured layers

One more I'm still wondering on, the motor hole coverup, one says to lay mat over the hole while another says a thick layer of PB with chopped in it will work (both being laid up against a piece of ply or other bolted/clamped against the outside for the new to lay against whilst curing out then removed)

 

[gm280]

Yeah, that's my idea too, grind the whole inside of the hull JUSS in case the layout or something else gets a slight variation, rather do the "nasty" once and be pretty much done with it, my sander with the vacuum to knock down any "pricklies" in between cured layers

One more I'm still wondering on, the motor hole coverup, one says to lay mat over the hole while another says a thick layer of PB with chopped in it will work (both being laid up against a piece of ply or other bolted/clamped against the outside for the new to lay against whilst curing out then removed)

Okay I will give you my take on filling in the huge hole.

Personally I would buy some exterior grade plywood and glue up a couple pieces to make the correct thickness and then waterproof it via polyester resin and CSM. Then I would PB that into place and go over the entire transom areas with 1708 woven fiberglass and polyester. Maybe even a few times as well. And on the out side, of course a PB filler putty that will sand fairly easy. And I would use 1/4" or even 1/2" chopped fiberglass in the PB mixture on the inside as well to make it a lot stronger.

You can make a really nice polyester mixture that sands like butter and fairs out very smooth for the outside effort.

Here's WOG's recipe for making Fairing Material, and it works very well...

250ml Polyester Resin,
60ml Cabosil,
250ml 3M Glass Bubbles,
2.5ml MEKP (Methyl Ethyl Ketone Peroxide)
15ml Acetone
3ml of Surfacing Wax.

This just my opinion on how I would approach it. JMHO

 

[wooky30014]

Okay I will give you my take on filling in the huge hole.

Personally I would buy some exterior grade plywood and glue up a couple pieces to make the correct thickness and then waterproof it via polyester resin and CSM. Then I would PB that into place and go over the entire transom areas with 1708 woven fiberglass and polyester. Maybe even a few times as well. And on the out side, of course a PB filler putty that will sand fairly easy. And I would use 1/4" or even 1/2" chopped fiberglass in the PB mixture on the inside as well to make it a lot stronger.

You can make a really nice polyester mixture that sands like butter and fairs out very smooth for the outside effort.

THAT sounds like a much faster and easier way of doing it, laying in the transom ply THEN filling in the holes (motor hole and OMC steer cable hole next to it). Exterior grade was in the plans but I was going to get and use epoxy instead due to what I've read that it is better for bonding to almost anything and waterproofing plus the working time. I messed a little with poly years ago and it was setting up like 5 minutes after mixing (following the directions yes), wasted most of it and all I was doing was filling in some screw holes. I have watched a boatload (pun intended) of videos including FriscoBoater's build, his made a lot of sense and could actually see the results as it was happening. Like I first said I'm open to suggestions on this and this one of yours sounds the quickest especially since 90% of this will be done by me alone, mixing, spreading, clamping, etc

 

[wooky30014]

I got the transom grinding done, finally. Now that the "hard part" is done i'll be starting up the sides and bottom inside, should be easier and go faster because it'll be just roughing it up and knocking down the high spots



I found this creature lurking in the back yard :lol:

 

[gm280]

wooky30014, You know, now that you mentioned that, I think a lot of iboaters have those odd looking creatures lurking around their yards. Maybe the smell of powdered fiberglass draws them in. :noidea:

You could post that exact same picture up of every fiberglass iboater that had to grind their hulls and it would look the same.

It may look silly, but you can be glad you wore all the gear to protect you from what would have been. WOW, that makes me itch just thinking about it. Looks like you are doing a great job. I can easily see quality work from your efforts. Keep up the effort and posting the pictures. You are showing us where you are in the project, but also educating other newbies as well. :thumb:

I would be watching those creatures really closely to make sure they don't pilfer things. You just never know about them...OH, and don't let them probe you either. :facepalm:

 

[wooky30014]

LMAO, no, while he (it) may look like a shady character, he does pretty good work (OCD perhaps and even learned how to maintain a Mercedes), and he likes to probe (not the other way around lol, in other words a pitcher and not a catcher). If there are more of these creatures roaming around then perhaps they are all related in some way.

Believe it or not I haven't had any itchy so far except for a little around where the goggles fit, could be the goggles themselves, dunno. With all the dust flying around I don't want to take any chance of it clogging my lungs. When finished each day that I grind I break out the shop vac and get it out of the way (between the rain, lightning, grinder brush replacement and cleaning, or other duties requiring my attention).

Thanks for the compliments, it's slow going sometimes (those days you creak and pop a little extra) but I'm not gonna give up on Riff Raft. I keep thinking ahead to the day she splashes once again and I get to cruise the lake.