83 SN restore in Idaho

It is a labor of love for certain.

Good luck Seth!! Post tons of pics. You better get crackin quick! Snow is going to gone out there pretty quick.

Mike

Sorry, I'll make them even smaller..

every time I see this pics I get nightmares
I do have some soft spots @ the same areas. didn´t tear it appart yet but I´m worried of finding this scenario....

Had a break in the weather, removed the right side floor and foam. About to start on first secondary. Need to get the rest out first though.

I've been reading the posts and can't find a good description of how to support the boat or if I even need to. The boat is currently sitting on its trailer and I will be doing one stringer at a time.

What are everyones thoughts on that?

Well it's been a wet spring and since I'm doing this outside I haven't been able to work on it a whole lot untill recently.

So here is the progress report.

I got the boat supported. It's on the trailer and I supported both sides of the bow and the transom as well as a piller under the center of the hull. Removed drivers secondary and main and started ginding.....oh that's fun.

How much do I need to grind? Does it need to be down to the hull, flat or just enough to get the stringers in place? I got the channel for the secondary flat but the main has about a 1/4 inch of material, especially on the bilge side. I am planning on repainting the bilge, so do I need to remove all the old bilge paint, will the new glass stick to the old paint, and is there any worry that the old layers of glass aren't bonded well enough to the hull to support the new stringers???

Okay, so I did some grinding yesterday, love that - it's soooo much fun!!

What do you all think, is this looking like it's ready, or do I need to grind the channels out more? Just asking because I've never done glass work before and I want to make sure I'm going to get a strong bond.

Cheers









I am planning on smoothing things out more and grinding off more of the old bildge paint.

Thanks Pete, I still need to cut out the blocks on the transom. I won't grind the hull any more though.

Just ordered some supplies.

US Composites

8.5 oz glass tape
50 yds each
2"
4"
8"
80 yds 4" mat
8 Gallons Epoxy resin
1 gallon Carbosil
and some rollers and pumps.

I am starting here because I haven't decided how to do the floor yet - wood or glass.

US Composites suggested 8.5 oz tape, does that sound right?

BFN - I was going to smooth things down with that flapper disk also, mainly on the bilge side.

Should I cut out the blocks on the transom that hold the platform and exhaust? They are wet/partially rotten. There were no problems holding the platform before. And if I reinstall with 5200 they might be fine???

Good luck Seth. It's well worth it. My project is a bit further down the road and i'm getting pretty damn thrilled for summer....keep the end in mind while your hands go numb holding a grinder.

Seth,
I sure would not take the chance on the transom wood reinforcements. The wood is already wet and it will rot. You're down in there now with the grinder and will have the resin/glass out soon so it's just logical to do it now.

Yes, thinning resin with a solvent has been around for years. When the Grougon (sp?)brothers of West heard about it years ago they came out with a hugh warning. They are very concerned with the compatability of certain solvents with the epoxy resin. Personally I won't take the chance and will continue using the CPES.

Buffalo - do you remember how much CPES you used??

UK - I'll take another look but I think that everything that is left is strongly bonded. But I don't want to take any chances either.

Has anyone had any problems with the epoxy resin setting up in direct sun light - UV rays. I am doing all this out side and someone mentioned to me that the UV might affect the set up. I know it will change the cure time, just as long as it doesn't have any negative affects on the bonding properties or such.

Seth,
The UV won't speed the cure rate but heat will. If you are mixing large batches then pouring the mixed epoxy into a roller pan will spread it out so the heat isn't concentrated in a small cup. You may want to go to a slower cure hardener too.

The UV comment you caught may have been it's effect on cured epoxy on clear coats. It turns white with age from the UV. It has to have multiple clear coats with UV inhibiting in it such as a marine spar varnish.

I'll respond to this more a bit later, but I have to ask if you read through the pumpkin patch?!!?   

Like I said before...I basically agree with pete on this. The kicker is the amount of 'first timer' info in the patch. Read through it and even jot down some notes....and make sure to have a pot of coffee on standby.

Please don't get me in a scrap with Pete...much of the 'first time' info came from him!    

Cheers always!

I was being overly careful not to step on toes...some of us have been aroud here and have become as good of friends as one can be over a forum and the coconut telegraph. Others who have driven all the way south(or flown) have actually met me and would probably tell you to run! (2 jokes in there GL folks...maybe 3 )

You'll find that there is some resin poured in that has no glass in it...very brittle. The white fibers on the edge of you cutouts is glass that was never saturated. I figured the best structure was to go back to the foundation(which is super solid) and build up from there.

Pete, feel free to fill in!