First attempt at boat repair

[Railcar]

Re: First attempt at boat repair

Sorry for the lag, but here are the photos I promised


it looks like the floor section under the bow seats was just chopped in, and not tabbed. looks like a decap is not a possibility any more, i will have to do it.

pulled trim pump and drained it. oil looks a little cloudy? only had it on the water 3 times after replacing the valve body, might be a leak or water in the system from the damaged valve.

 

[Railcar]

Re: First attempt at boat repair

And the real demo begins

 

[Railcar]

Re: First attempt at boat repair

and the PPE/workspace 6000 series respirators (i have 3 from rail work) tyvek suit, pads and assorted tools. also using a modified welding hood for a grinding shield, and if I can find the rest of the parts, I do have a forced air respirator for all that glass fumes and dust. I am using p100 filters for now, when I start the glass if I dont have my forced air hood up and running, I will use VOC canisters.

 

[Railcar]

Re: First attempt at boat repair

Also I have a photobucket account opened with far more photos and videos than posted here. some are too big to post to this thread.

http://s1309.photobucket.com/albums/s630/Railcar79/1978 Ebko Executive Restoration/

 

[glnbnz]

Re: First attempt at boat repair

Wow I can't believe the trouble you are having with supplies. Here in Illinois you can get acetone at any local Walmart for 17 bucks a gallon. I don't understand the 1 gallon per month rule

I ordered my stuff from Uscomposites and it wasn't too bad except for the shipping. I am sure that there are other places to look and maybe some of the other people on here will have suggestions.

 

[Railcar]

Re: First attempt at boat repair

I am going to end up going US Composite. The restrictions I am sure come more from the counter guys lack of knowledge. The guy had no idea what a lot of the supplies were. It seemed, over the phone it was to make sure I did not shop with them. Srurdevants, the only local parts store that carries resin is off the table. Only other supplier is the marina that lied to me about the boat when I got it, and doeant want to see the boat again. I just have to figure out this whole glassing process. From what I gather reading, use a roller 3/8 nap or so to roll the resin on, till the glass clears, then use a fiber roller to get rid of bubbles?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: First attempt at boat repair

A fiberglass bubble roller looks like this...

USComposites sells em.
I like to use the 6" Whizz roller covers from Lowes to spread the resin...

The key is to pour the resin in the middle and work it out towards the edges. Don't "Over Roll" it and Don't use too much resin. Just enuf to wet it out and make the glass go clear. The bubble roller will help get the resin into the glass. It really doesn't take all that much resin. Less than you think. Over rolling will make the glass Lift up and cause air pockets. BAD!!! Once it's Down, Flat and clear...Move on.

 

[Bill3434]

Re: First attempt at boat repair

Welcome to drydock. I'm doing a 42yr old boat I got for $500. Like others have said, you could have spent more money on a newer boat and have the same problems. Suggest your look at Oops forums and look for friscoe's videos. Spend some time on learning what needs to be done and your options. Then start cutting and a grinding, keep reading. When you do a good job you know your boat will be sound and better than what the manufacture did in making the boat in the 1st place.

so basically I got a motor that is good, and the rest can pretty well be junked? seems a bit rediculous to dump $2500 into repairing the deck and another 900 or so to replace seats and cushons on a 34 year old boat, when I could get a mid 90s bayliner capris 2050 cuddy for around $3500.

 

[Bill3434]

Re: First attempt at boat repair

Very Carefulllllllllllly. I bought a new small circular saw to keep from going through the hull. Within 30 mins of its use I cut two holes. I would have been better off with a flap disc.

also how in the H#() do you cut the floor out of a Tri-Hull without cutting clear through the whole hull?View attachment 169253View attachment 169254

 

[Railcar]

Re: First attempt at boat repair

I am using a circ saw set to 1/16 less than the thickness of the wood and fiber, I have to break a ply, but it is better than repairing holes. I also have a High Frequency Oscillating tool, to help in the removal.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: First attempt at boat repair

I am using a circ saw set to 1/16 less than the thickness of the wood and fiber, I have to break a ply, but it is better than repairing holes. I also have a High Frequency Oscillating tool, to help in the removal.

Both great ways to keep from daylighting the hull, but it happens, often & to almost everyone

When it happens, it can be fixed while using PB batches for fillets & filling. May force the paint vs gelcoat or doing any exterior hull work decision to change.....

Preventing additional work is obviously preferred, but, yeah it happens:facepalm:

 

[Railcar]

Re: First attempt at boat repair

I take extreme care with setting the saw. one common mistake that I am not going to make, I check the depth after every cut, and sometimes during cuts on the longer parts. Use my digital calipers to make sure depth doesnt change by more than a few thousandths between cuts.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: First attempt at boat repair

OCD much?

A few thousandths, well that should certainly minimize the cut thru risks. This is a DEFINITE indication that it will be put back better then it was before I don't think Ebko used calipers of any sort when they built it originally. The prototype, and the first few off the molds, and then maybe a random test measurement every so often to make sure they were still within specs. I suspect that being a few 64ths off would still pass...

You can start calling the Admiral, Jamie Summers (sp?) and the Ebko, Steve Austin........... I guess that makes you Oscar Goldman

 

[Bill3434]

Re: First attempt at boat repair

Railcar you are doing it right. Just don't blow a headgasket when you cut through the hull. Somebody told me I would do it and I said I would not. I had some crow to eat. hehehehehe. The place that I found difficult was where the hull met the deck on my tri-hull, that where the grinder and flap disc came into play. Just on a side note, my work place ended up being a powered storage unit that allows that kind of work. Not exactly cheap but beats working outside or towing the boat to somebody's workshop which became a pain.

I take extreme care with setting the saw. one common mistake that I am not going to make, I check the depth after every cut, and sometimes during cuts on the longer parts. Use my digital calipers to make sure depth doesnt change by more than a few thousandths between cuts.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: First attempt at boat repair

The place that I found difficult was where the hull met the deck on my tri-hull, that where the grinder and flap disc came into play.

That's also where the multi-tool shines:

Use the circular saw or grinder to cut the deck out an inch or 2 from the deck/hull joint, then run the multi-tool up along the hull from below the deck & cut the deck off about flush to the hull. Quick pass w/ the flap wheel or sanding disc, and done

Then when you're ready to prep for put back, scuff up & beyond the deck/hull joint to give you a good surface for new glass & resin.....

 

[Bill3434]

Re: First attempt at boat repair

The one tool I didn't buy or use but should have.

 

[Railcar]

Re: First attempt at boat repair

I wouldn't call it ocd, I am just careful. Working metal fab for all those years taught me that you can make a square peg fit in a round hole, but it is much cheaper and easier to make the peg round first. The caliper trick I learned while restoring airplanes for the Mid American Air Museum. Apparrently some people were dissecting a plane to bring back and they kept cutting vital parts. The reason? The cord saw they were using to cut the skin had a habit of drifting deeper. I found mine has a habit of adding 3-5 thousandths every time I plunge cut. So I chalk line the cut path, core drill every foot, and take a depth reading, to make sure I have plenty of space. If I have less than a 1/16, between wood and hull, I use the oscillating tool.it has worked well so far. Takes longer but it saves a lot of work fixing problems that could be avoided.

As for work space, I have a 2 car tandem garage, so I will be inside, plastic sheeting is going up next Friday to help seal out the dust from the parking side of the garage, and I have started designing a downflow dust collector to cut down on the dust when grinding time comes. Most every manufacturing plant has a torit downflow system, I am just scaling it down, and making it from parts on hand. Big plans I know but the clock is ticking, not many days at home before launch, got to make them all count

 

[Railcar]

Re: First attempt at boat repair

Forgot to mention, I got a guy with autocad to draw up prints for the stringers and floor. Taking measurements every 6 inches off centerline to the sides and top down on stringers so I will have hard numbers for a hopefully perfect fit. How much should I take off the stringers to account for glassing?

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: First attempt at boat repair

That all sounds great, I'm not sure if you're asking about how much to allow for fiberglass while you are measuring the current setup or for your stingers & deck at put back....

 

[Railcar]

Re: First attempt at boat repair

Both actually. The bulkhead I have exposed was chopped in, in places it was not glassed at all. When I glass in the right way, need to have an idea about how much will be on top of the stringers. I was thinking about bowing the floor, about a 1/4 lower at the centerline so water is channeled to the bilge and doesn't pool. But all that is a long long ways away. I got over 300 measurements to get into Excel and autocad first

As for tools, electric tools are only being used in initial demo. Once grinding starts it is all pneumatic. Don't want the dust reacting with the sparks, and don't want a mixer incident like the one trooper had.