I have returned... with a Starcraft this time!

[Watermann]

You just trying to be different? Nobody uses cloth on their transoms, makes it too thick and it's fiberglass :nono:

and you have to use paint or spar over the glorious epoxy just so it's wonderful glory doesn't get ruined by the awesome sun. :kiss:

 

[strokendiesel002]

I believe I've read on the itchy side that cloth with epoxy is wasting cloth and epoxy, and that Poly w/out cloth is a disappointment in the making(it'll crack). Any more knowledgeable to confirm this?

I believe I used West System 105 Epoxy to laminate and seal the transom on my Sylvan 16 Sport. I did paint it the areas that are exposed to the sun, but kept it au-natural beneath the splashwell so I can admire her true inner beauty from time to time :lol:

I've tried to edit my signature with links, hopefully it'll show up below

 

[BWR1953]

Got a little more done today. Removed the seats and storage unit because once the 50 is mounted, I'll be rearranging everything anyway. The console and old steering needs to come out but that's going to have to wait until I have some help. Where the console bolts underneath to the gunwale is a real bear to reach.

Removed the corner caps and top cap from the transom without problems. Got pretty lucky with the top cap; the tiny little nails popped out pretty easily because of the punky, rotted transom wood.


The boy helping out.




Rare and worth their weight in gold. :lol:







Yeah, I know, the deck really should be replaced but I'm just not gonna mess with it right now. Especially since we may sell the boat anyway. The deck isn't soft but it's a little lumpy. LOL




Stern cleared away.

 

[BWR1953]

One minor problem I ran into was that the bolts going through the stern will have to be cut off, including the ones in the knee brace. Now I have to find my angle grinder and cutoff wheels.

 

[Watermann]

Your decking ply is delaminating that's why it's a little lumpy. :fear:

 

[BWR1953]

Got a little more done today, mostly in the afternoon.

Found my angle grinder and last cutoff wheel this morning.



Sooo... after I went to HF this afternoon and bought some more cutoff wheels and a chisel set, I came home and used the tools to finesse the old bolts off the transom.

Finesse tools.



After all was said and done, I did manage to save one bolt. :lol:



The other bolts all required extra-special finesse!

And a little more stern clearing done.



And now we come to the end. Well, the end of the gunwales anyway! :wink-new:

So now I'm at the point where I have to deal with clearing a path past the gunwale end pieces for removing the transom. Different folks here have different methods; bending the ends up, cutting the ends off, etc.

I've been thinking of removing the rivets along the gunwales up toward the bow to a point where I can just raise the stern end of the gunwales up enough to provide clearance without cutting or permanently bending.

What say y'all?

 

[Candutch]

That's exactly how I did mine. Couldn't bring myself to bend or cut the gunnels. I had my trim off though so it made it pretty easy. I would think you will have to probably loosen the trim pieces off about 6 feet to give enough room to get the gunnels up. I just hooked into one of the rivet holes and tied it to the rafters to get them out of the way while I did the transom work.

 

[Watermann]

I took everything off my SS so I could replace all the old blind rivets in the gunnels under the rubrail. You'll find they're all loose with the steel mandrel rusted out.

 

[strokendiesel002]

I went that route also, drilled out rivets clear up to my windshield, still ad to trim a little bit. No one would know though, as it's under the cap

 

[BWR1953]

Today's progress.

I heard WM's message loud and clear. Pull up those gunwales and it'll be like opening a big ol' can of worms! :lol: :biggrin-new:

So I took the easy way out...


And just cut the tabs at the ends!




Okay, so I was kidding a little about that can o' worms. I did explore a bit by removing the rub rail. I was trying to remove the stainless screws spaced 12-13" along the channel and realized I couldn't do it myself. Was going to just call it a morning when my neighbor buddy came rolling down the driveway. So I put him to work!

He held the retaining nuts under the gunwales while I removed the bolts. Got a few off and we loosened the aluminum rub rail channel so that we could take a look at what would be required next. And once I realized that I'd need to remove and replace a zillion rivets, I grabbed the angle grinder and 30 seconds later the starboard tab was cut. A minute later and they were both cut!
If you want quick and easy, the cutoff wheel is the way to go! Don't beat me! :cower: eep:




Many of the holes in the transom went through the stern sheet metal and the transom wood as well. After we gouged the bathtub caulk and silicon out of the holes, getting the wood out was easy. I just lifted it up from the rotted port side and it levered itself out slick as could be.




Sure, that old transom could handle that 50HP Mercury!



Got the old wood out and then a quick vacuum to clean the channel. More cleanup to follow later.





And like many of these old boats, the transom skin looks like it lost a battle with a machine gun!

 

[Watermann]

I cut the gunnels on my Chief too with a sawsall, that got rid of some screws that were underneath through a bracket.

 

[BWR1953]

Thanks for that tip! I'll keep it in mind for when I get started on my Chief later this year. :joyous:

 

[BWR1953]

No boat work to report, guys. I was busy with other stuff yesterday and today I've been having medical issues. As in "that boy ain't right" stuff. :dispirited: Can't tell if it's because of symptoms or medicine side effects. Either way, it's been unpleasant.

But I continue to read iboats and other non-boat boards and am also doing more research on the KF project.

And getting my truck transmission repaired. :blue:

And researching new laptops cuz this one's on it's last legs.

So I am staying busy! :lol:

Oh! Today in the mail I did receive the custom winch strap that I ordered. So I'll try to get back on the job tomorrow and get that installed and get back to work on the KF.

New winch strap is ten feet long by 2" wide.

 

[BWR1953]

Busy today but I did get the new custom strap installed on the trailer winch. It's 6 feet shorter and fits much better.













Not related to boat stuff but I did get my truck washed today too. First time in months! Man, it really needed it. :redface:

 

[strokendiesel002]

Looking good!

 

[BWR1953]

I felt great today! Not just "okay" or "tolerable" but actually healthy and energetic!

Spent hours in the garage working on the KF and also had the boy do some design computation stuff for the Chieftain! :becky:

Made good progress from my point of view. The KF is now stripped and ready for layout rearranging and installation of the new transom and the 50HP Mercury.

I'd really like to redo the deck right now, I really, really would. But funding is an issue at the moment. I don't have enough set aside to even buy the tools, much less the supplies needed to do that job. And we're saving for our summer vacation too and that's a priority which will not be demoted in priority! :nono:

The concrete for my new garage absolutely destroyed my "projects" money! :ambivalence: I went 33% over budget but got 50% more slab, so it was a good deal. I honestly wish that I could have done even more but I used up all I had, so that's that! :tongue-new:





Any value to these old steering systems? Should I put it on craigslist or just trash it?



Gonna have to buy some circlip pliers to get the steering wheel off.



Saved the most important part! I think I can clean it up and reuse it on the wheel from the donor boat.




Donor wheel.







Everything out and nice and clean!

 

[Watermann]

Busy working on a boat and feeling good, nothing better in my book. :encouragement:

 

[BWR1953]

Sold the little Johnson 8HP motor this morning. I think the buyer used an old Jedi mind trick on me though. :der:

Been a long time but I think it is a trick. And as a result he offered me $75 less than my asking price, which I did accept in the "heat" of the moment. Ah well. I still made $100 more than I paid for it 2 years ago and I've done nothing but use it during that time. Didn't have to do a thing to it at all. Just run. So I wasn't hurt financially. :subdued:

That little motor has been stone reliable for me over the last 2 years. I always started it by slightly cracking the throttle, setting the choke and giving a pull. It always started by the 2nd or 3rd pull every time. When warm, it would start on the first pull.

The buyer this morning set the choke, opened the throttle wide open and started yanking repeatedly, severely flooding the engine. Then he pulled the wet plugs, dried them and then put them back in and repeated the whole process. Several times. Anyway, we futzed around with it for about 10 minutes, then the buyer low-balled me and we did the deal.

This evening I used the funds to buy a new laptop. If I hadn't been under "computer pressure" I probably wouldn't have dropped my price. I'd mentioned elsewhere that the laptop I'm using to type this (8 or 9 year old Dell 6400 Latitude) is on its last legs. Tomorrow I'll set up the new machine.

Then I think I'll take the Dell to a local repair shop and see if they can make affordable repairs. If so, I may keep it and get a refund for the new one or maybe give the Dell to my wife. She's been hinting. :director: :lol: In order to use the Dell at all right now, I have to use a wireless keyboard and mouse. Inconvenient for a laptop!

Anyway, I was busy all day as a result of all this stuff. Wish I'd been working on the boat instead! The weather was perfect for it too! :frusty:

 

[BWR1953]

Okay, back to boat stuff. Specifically the deck.

To do it "right" I'd estimated that it would cost about $500 to redo the deck.

$150 for plywood
$150 for tools
$50 for supplies (sealing stuff and rivets, etc.)
$100 for vinyl flooring
$50 for miscellany

Is that pretty close?

Because as it is right this very moment, after selling the Johnson today, I only have $500 in the total cost of this Kingfisher including all the work I've done and the costs thereof and also including the 50HP Mercury! Plus some stuff that I haven't even installed yet.

Yup, the repaired & sealed boat with extra goodies, 50HP Mercury and the trailer and the total investment so far is just $500! I did some serious horse trading on this one.

Spending another $500 and putting in more time and effort on the deck is a tough "sell" at the moment. :lol:

 

[BWR1953]

Yesterday I explained all the costs for a deck redo to my buddy. He suggested just adding another layer of plywood, but I just raised my eyebrows and gave him "the look" and he knew I didn't want to go that route.

But THEN... he said I could just uninstall the existing plywood, flip it over, screw it back down, paint it and call it good! Extremely frugal!!

Hmmm... :eyebrows: :bolt: