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

[BWR1953]

This afternoon my old nemesis, the bow brace, rose from its watery grave to hassle me one more time! The boy and I fought with it for a few hours and finally got half of it beaten. :mad-new:

Tomorrow is a "lost" day for me since I'll be running the roads to doc appointments and whatnot. We worked on the port side today. The starboard side shouldn't be as bad though. Hopefully.

The port side hull bracket needed to be trimmed a little; above the black line.

 

[BWR1953]

I'd hoped to get a little KF work done this morning before leaving for my doc appointment.

I wanted to drill pilot holes for the top side of the bow brace and then screw the brace up tight so that we could move straight on to the starboard side this afternoon.

Not happening. Too cold for us out there! :smow: This is the kind of weather when we'll have the AC on in the afternoon and overnight, then turn the heat on for a few hours in the morning.

More frost on the Genesis this AM.

 

[Monmouth00]

Not happening. Too cold for us out there!

You do not have my sympathies......

 

[BWR1953]

You do not have my sympathies......

Haha! Yeahhh... I don't miss those days. Been in Florida 20 years continuously coming up in May. My third time living here and I won't leave again. :nono: :bounce:

Here's my dog at my Spokane WA house in 1981.


And here he is acting like a snow plow! He'd put his head down sideways, then start running, sending the snow flying! :lol:

 

[Renderwurx]

South Carolina to Florida has my eye for retirement. I want to be able to go out in the bay anytime I want and fish... maybe do an offshore excursion once in a while. Probably want to switch teams to fiberglas then... but we will see....

 

[BWR1953]

South Carolina to Florida has my eye for retirement. I want to be able to go out in the bay anytime I want and fish... maybe do an offshore excursion once in a while. Probably want to switch teams to fiberglas then... but we will see....

My original "plan" was to retire on Lake Norman in NC. Lovely place. Had intended to get some lakefront property and sit back and relax. That area gives enough of winter to make seasonal changes nice, but not horrendous like it gets farther north.

But then life intervened and I ended up down here. Bought this property and had the home put up and retired 7 months later. Lovin' it in spite of the tough heat in the summer.

Here's what's happening now. It's 65 outside and 73 in the house. We were out in the garage working on the KF and came in for coffee and pie. :hungry: Might as well cruise the forum while I'm here!



Still working on the bow brace. Almost done. Will be applying OTF soon.

 

[BWR1953]

Bow brace construction and trial fitment completed.

Got all the holes drilled, clearance cuts made and OTF applied.

The boy mocked the bracket into place so that we could make sure that all the holes lined up properly. He struggled mightily but got the job done.

 

[Brackett221]

My original "plan" was to retire on Lake Norman in NC. Lovely place. Had intended to get some lakefront property and sit back and relax. That area gives enough of winter to make seasonal changes nice, but not horrendous like it gets farther north.

But then life intervened and I ended up down here. Bought this property and had the home put up and retired 7 months later. Lovin' it in spite of the tough heat in the summer.

Here's what's happening now. It's 65 outside and 73 in the house. We were out in the garage working on the KF and came in for coffee and pie. :hungry: Might as well cruise the forum while I'm here!



Still working on the bow brace. Almost done. Will be applying OTF soon.

I wish you was here in NC. Lake Norman is just a little over an hour from me. I would come visit and see the project 1st hand.(May even lend a hand!) Yeah we have 4 seasons here in NC. We have a little of all terrain from Mountains, Coastal and everything in between. Even have Inter-coastal Waterway, Sounds and Outer-banks. Today it got up into the upper 60s, this past Wed. it was snowing. So spring is coming, but winter won't leave. Boat seems to be coming right along! Keep up the work!

 

[BWR1953]

I wish you was here in NC. Lake Norman is just a little over an hour from me. I would come visit and see the project 1st hand.(May even lend a hand!) Yeah we have 4 seasons here in NC. We have a little of all terrain from Mountains, Coastal and everything in between. Even have Inter-coastal Waterway, Sounds and Outer-banks. Today it got up into the upper 60s, this past Wed. it was snowing. So spring is coming, but winter won't leave. Boat seems to be coming right along! Keep up the work!

This morning we had frost again. Coldest temps in awhile. Very nice! And the forecast shows warmer temps for a few days, then back down to the 60s again later next week. Fine by me. I very clearly remember what August is like around here! :lol:

 

[BWR1953]

Had to run around doing errands and whatnot again today. No chance to work on the KF but I did pick up a gallon of gloss black paint for the hull while I was out and about.

Checked the OTF status on the bow brace pieces tonight. They're drying nicely. Tomorrow night I'll paint them with the porch paint that I used in the hull interior.

 

[Watermann]

Was that bow chock screwed into the cap when you got the boat? Normally they come in pairs, on either side of the bow with a cleat in the center.

 

[BWR1953]

Was that bow chock screwed into the cap when you got the boat? Normally they come in pairs, on either side of the bow with a cleat in the center.

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Yup, it was there already. Along with a zillion holes in the topsides and gunnels. I'm going to have the boy start filling those today.

 

[BWR1953]

Progress today.

And some expensive and time consuming lessons.

Today I received the large rivets I ordered a week ago for $25 and added them to some I bought at the local big box store yesterday. And the big ones unexpectedly turned out to be the wrong size. The grip range is too short. I did the math when I ordered them and when tested this afternoon they fit the brace pieces okay with adequate grip range.

However, when I actually tested them on my scrap wood brace and aluminum, the rivet pulled right through the wood. Yes, I could put the rivet in from the reverse side, and it did work correctly when tested that way, but it would look bugly with the head end of the rivet showing. :blue:






Once this thing is completely put together, it'll be stronger than the Hulk. :lol:


After finishing the backing plate, we finally painted something! The plywood braces are done!


Tomorrow we reassemble everything using bolts in lieu of rivets (temporarily while I order more rivets) for the front. Then we will rivet the assembly to the hull sides which will enable us to flip the boat and continue prepping for painting. The front bolts will work okay and I can replace them with rivets of the correct grip range once they arrive.

 

[Watermann]

You can't get a bucktail on wood, way too soft and it wouldn't be tight without at least a washer. Can you use those blinds for the decking?

 

[BWR1953]

You can't get a bucktail on wood, way too soft and it wouldn't be tight without at least a washer. Can you use those blinds for the decking?

Am in the garage now. I did some experimenting this morning and yes, I will be able to use the rivets for the deck. Pics to follow...

 

[BWR1953]

Lunch break. Time to upload a few pix.

I had some 0.05" AL angle stock on hand and used 2 pieces stacked to simulate the thickness of the rib ends and center stringer in the KF.

 

[BWR1953]

We went back out later this evening and did a bit more. Not as much as I'd hoped though. We were chugging along when my buddy texted me for help with his new-to-him boat, so I got interrupted.

Then later he came over to my place with some freshly smoked mullet and another item that he needed help with, so that pretty much ended my evening.


Parts laid out.


The bow brace parts are all painted and ready to go back into the boat. Maybe tomorrow.

 

[BWR1953]

Nothing really happening here again today. Rested my knee. No, not the burned one, that's just fine. :flame:

The other injuredknee! :lol: I think I messed it up when I was moving the 90HP mid-section forthe Chieftain. Started feeling it the next day. And like most other stuff with me lately, it just doesn't want to go away.

So today I just chilled and watched TV. Then this evening I went to Office Depot and printed out the Starcraft logo again. And printed the wrong version. :facepalm:

But I did print a larger version of the Split-S logo. And I don't like the size of the logos because thet're too clunky looking. Reminds me of cars in the 70s that had their names splattered all over in giant letters. Ugh.

I've resized the Split-S and the Starcraft text logo to an even smaller size now. Will have those printed out tomorrow for further evaluation.









Today I received the 3/4" diameter wire loom that i ordered a few weeks ago. The slow boat from China must have finally arrived. The minimum length was 50 feet, so I have plenty!

 

[Watermann]

Good to see your still kicking around on the KF, you'll be having some boating fun with it soon.

Looks like you used to big of a spade bit for your counter sink test. Just sayin, don't want you to make that mistake on the real deal.

 

[BWR1953]

Good to see your still kicking around on the KF, you'll be having some boating fun with it soon.

Looks like you used to big of a spade bit for your counter sink test. Just sayin, don't want you to make that mistake on the real deal.

Yes, I used the only spade bit I had. For experimentation purposes only. I'd thought that I'd purchased a new set over the last few months but can't find a trace of it anywhere. Senioritis I reckon.

Went to HD to pick up some other stuff this afternoon and looked at their selection of spade bits. But they didn't have what I wanted. I want a set with a case. For some reason, individual units disappear around here. :lol:

Researching options now.