The Boat Project

[Brake Weight [Veteran Member]]

Shined up nicely.

[mdawg4x4 [Veteran Member]]

There is a wax called Rejex that is unbelievably slick and long lasting.  Josh used it detailing airplanes and I used it on my Jeep. Attracted a lot of dust, but everything came right off with just spraying.
Rejex

[Reserector [Veteran Member]]

I'll look into rejex, Mike. Thanks.

I took a vacation day because of a midday doctor appointment in Hattiesburg. Making the most of it by finishing the hull buffing. Later, I'll go for a bike ride on the Longleaf Trace while I'm in town.

Got the hull buffed. Next step is polish.



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[Reserector [Veteran Member]]

I repaired the damaged portion of the keel with glass reinforced filler, and sanded it to shape.  Since the plan was to add a keel guard, I was able to skip the gel coat step.

I went with a Megaware Keelguard in basic white to match the hull.  These things are amazing.  They are guaranteed against wearing down or coming unglued.  The cost is around $100 on up, but you have to take into account that it comes with a sticker which will add about 5 knots to the top speed.

All I lack on the hull bottom is a little gelcoat repair and a final polish.

Saturday was national Refurbish A Trailer Day so I finished what I had parts and materials for.  New carpet on the bunks.  New inner fenders and New carpet on those.  All new wiring and lighting.  New winch and a New urethane vee stop.

I also weighed the trailer for reference.












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[Reserector [Veteran Member]]

I had a fairly productive weekend. We got the hull back on the trailer, which allowed me to set up a tattoo enclosure to work under. This will be important when I begin adding the plywood parts and the fiberglass.

Now that I have shade I was able to start cutting out the rotted plywood transom. I'm using a multipurpose tool with a carbide tooth blade to plunge-cut through the fiberglass tabbing around the edges. Non-carbide didn't hold up, and the carbide grit blade was slow.
Planning to use a sawzall to level what's left of the stringers.

The factory really cut corners on fastening the plywood parts, but there is no sign of structural failures. That shows me that if I do my work at least that well, it will hold up.
I will be putting emphasis on waterproofing below deck to make it last a good while.

I used the pressure washer to clean the deck. There is some repair to be done before it's all over, but for now my goal is to pre-fit the deck to the hull so I can mark out where I will need additional reinforcement, and to see if I'm going to need the deck in place when I fit the floor.



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[Reserector [Veteran Member]]

Progress: got the rest of the wood structure out, along with the fiberglass tabbing that held it in place. Only exception was the outer edge where the floor was, and those mystery bolsters along the sides.

I took advantage of some visitors by having them help Dustin and I test fit the deck. Let me tell you; that was a struggle. The hull has relaxed a lot in the past 15 years. Having the deck inverted and wedged in the hull only made things worse.
But now I can mock-up, measure and mark where things need to go.
I may have to keep the deck in place while I build the new inner structure just to hold the shape.

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[Reserector [Veteran Member]]

I couldn't resist putting the windshields on, and I'm glad I did. I thought I was being childish, but when I tried to close the center section, it missed by about 1 1/2". The hull and deck were still spread too wide!
I used a ratchet strap to draw the deck together. I'm pretty sure I need to do the same a few feet farther back before I put the floor in.

The deck is going to be a hindrance to installing the inner structure, but there's no avoiding it. I have one shot at getting this right.

I won't lie; it's exiting to get a glimpse and a feel for what it will be when it's done.





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[Brake Weight [Veteran Member]]

She’s cleaning up nicely.

[Reserector [Veteran Member]]

I'm getting pretty stoked. Hoping to pick up the pace a bit as the weather starts cooling off. Still much to be done, but it's coming along faster than I imagined.

[Reserector [Veteran Member]]

The weather was great Saturday, so I got as much done as I could physically endure.
I chisled the rest of the plywood off of the transom, and then ground it down to smooth fiberglass with a belt sander and 36 grit belt. I also used an angle grinder where I had to, but the latter makes horrible clouds of fiberglass dust.
The belt sander, rigged up to the shop vac, is much more user-friendly.
I think I'm ready to cut and install the new transom, and go from there.
At that point I need to support the hull at the correct width, and remove the deck again.
So, with all that said, I did a lot of nasty grinding. It's one of those steps that is a ton of work, but doesn't look like much at all.
The last pic shows where I cut open a pocket that should be adhered to plywood, but the plywood is rotted. This needs to be cut out and replaced as well.





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