1960 Atom Skier Fin Boat Recondition

SNobsessed wrote: That's a great way to get to the dash wiring!

I can see it but I'm not touching it Chris! Good for the most part except a couple pieces of Romex cable I'd like to replace. Romex has no place in boat wiring.

8122pbrainard wrote: Blond areas of wood get a "natural" color of paste wood grain filler.

Thanks for the information Pete.

You don't suggest the Romex cable is original do you? What should I use as a replacement to be more authentic? Seems to feed the electric fuel pump and nav lights.

That deck is gunna look fintastic!

Looks great, Jack. Do you have a windshield for that boat?

I am presented with a new situation here as I progress. The gas tank had been blocked up on one end so I decided it should be down in the cradles provided. As I lifted and removed the blocks I realized why it had been done. The neck on the tank had been repaired at some point and the weld job had left the filler at an angle. The only way to get it through the deck was to block the tank. Question is do I try to get it bent back properly or get a new tank?

I am not sure how much room there is on Nomad, but on the '59 there is a good 3" between the tank and the filler neck. I plan on making that connection with a short section of rubber (fuel rated of course). Maybe you could cut the pipe back to the tank and do the same. But with that "thirsty" V8, your tank maybe larger and not enough space. The deck is looking great! Can't wait to see some varnish on that!

FINS wrote: I am not sure how much room there is on Nomad, but on the '59 there is a good 3" between the tank and the filler neck. I plan on making that connection with a short section of rubber (fuel rated of course). Maybe you could cut the pipe back to the tank and do the same. But with that "thirsty" V8, your tank maybe larger and not enough space. The deck is looking great! Can't wait to see some varnish on that!

I think there is about three inches space Brien so I may be able to cut the nipple going in and sleeve it with rubber hose to make the slight angle necessary to get through the deck. Hope I cab find the proper hose in the proper size. As of today I have one more piece of ply to bond on and then the sanding and finishing begins. Been watching the calendar and realize I must stick with it or I may be going boatless to Mt. Dora this year. I need to return to Ct for three weeks in March so no work will get done during that time.

I'm curious, how do you put the pattern in the decking? A router perhaps? Is the pattern copied from the original, or is there a standard width for the "planks" in the pattern? Do you have to make a template for the radius?
Whatever the method, it looks very nice.

I have always had the idea of owning another wood boat in the back of my mind. A fin boat like yours or an Atom like Pete's would be my choices. There is a beautiful looking 57 Atom in the "For Sale" forum that seems reasonably priced. I love to look at it and dream. The fin boats seem to be few and far between, but they are beautiful, as the photo of yours on blocks illustrates.
I know enough about woodworking to buy one that was a very nice original or had been completed by someone else. Maybe it will be on the radar after 2015 if I finish all the projects I have now.
Thanks for sharing your "Finnish" boat!

juniorwoody wrote: It did take some careful setup and steady hand as there are no second chances and the marine ply is rather expensive.

LOL, No second chances and NO turning back. There are so many ways to screw this up, lets see: trip on the power cord, power cord snags on the saw horse legs, slip on saw dust, Wife yells Dinners ready, an untimely sneeze, or the phone in your pocket is set to vibrate and neighbor calls asking if you can put their cat out. Been there done that.    Great work Jack.

I have to agree since I've been there with the router!!

LOL, any who have run a router has been on edge with the potential for disaster. Allen hit on many of the demons out there waiting to strike. The one he missed was the one where you are trimming off the excess overhang and the bearing on the flushcut bit loosens up. Saw that developing as I was routing on the deck and caught it just in time before it dropped and I ended up chowdering the rail. I also have routed miles of corian and agree Porter Cable and sharp bit. Only forgivness with the Corian is that`you can add back on and never see it if there is a problem.

I now have to find the materials to finish the deck and locally there isn't much. Guess I may have to buy on line. I need the appropriate stain for the dark and grain filler for all also. Then there is the bleach to be located. Any advice would be a big help.

Yeah that was just an attempt at humor. I'm actually a fanatic on safety, before my current job I ran a manufacturing plant with over 100 employees. HR would give us unskilled people off the street and we had to turn them into machine operators running 20" saw blades that could take a hand off in the blink of an eye. I once rode in the ambulance holding a co workers foot as it dangled off his leg because of a forklift operator mistake. That accident was 30 years ago and I still see it every time I jump on a forklift. Back to boat building.

juniorwoody wrote: I now have to find the materials to finish the deck and locally there isn't much. Guess I may have to buy on line. I need the appropriate stain for the dark and grain filler for all also. Then there is the bleach to be located. Any advice would be a big help.

Jack your best bet for supplies is going to be Jamestown Distributors, they'll have what you need except for the bleach. I found that on line also but don't recall where. Make sure you get a two-part wood bleach of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) and hydrogen peroxide.

As for filler stain I used Interlux #0573 Chris Craft Red, call for a color chart because the color names don't represent whats in the can very well.

Jack,
Besides Jamestown for more marine type items, I've used Woodworkers supply for years. Besides the Behlen paste grain filler, they also have the two part bleach.

I'm not a fan of the Epifanes. I know plenty of people that have issues with it. Adhesion seems to be the biggest problem. Have you used it before? My favorite is Flagship by Pettit/Interlux.

I got all of my stain and paint supplies from Sandusky Paint Company through online ordering for the little Tollycraft. They have the Chris Craft stains and filler formulas used originally inuding the blonde filler. Really happy with the "red" filler stain from them but would love to hear more from the Correct Craft side of things. I feel like the "red" is a little too dark but have no reference for what an "original" Correct Craft color was. Had the same issue with the Tolly but finally decided to go with the Chris color. Mre just curiousity than anything, but where the Correct Craft boats a little lighter from the factory or was it just that they were a little lacking on coats of finish?

Jack, the progress is looking great! Can't wait to see that little sucker in the water zipping around. In your spare time (right!) you should be restoring water skis. With that 327 you should be able to pull 10-12 skiers!

Sandusky Paint