Another noob with a project boat needs help

[klassic]

Hey fellas,

Newbie here. Great site, i'm glad i found it! I could really use some guidance from the experts here.......

I recently acquired a 1989 15' Klassic fiberglass fishing boat. I am in the process of sanding off the 2 previous paint jobs and what looks like somekind on nonskid material that was starting to flake away. Very thick nasty stuff...

I'm sure you can tell from the pics that I attacked this thing pretty hard with the sander (and still am). The top of this boat was/is pretty beat up with deep scratches and a few weak spots from where the old trolling motor used to be mounted.

My question is concerning the weak spots. What is the procedure for fixing those? Is it just mat and resin over the top? I am not concerned about the looks of this boat at all....its merely being used as a fishing boat on small area lakes and I only plan on keeping it for a year or two max before I upgrade.

Also, What primer and paint would you guys recommend? Since I have sanded down to the fiberglass are there any extra steps that I need to take to get this thing ready to paint?

I look forward to hearing from everybody.

 

[gcboat]

Re: Another noob with a project boat needs help

http://www.yachtpaint.com/usa/how_to/default.asp

This is a pretty good link.

 

[klassic]

Re: Another noob with a project boat needs help

Thanks Gbcboat!

Any suggestions for the weak/soft spots?

 

[sdunt]

Re: Another noob with a project boat needs help

Any suggestions for the weak/soft spots?

As in weak floor or transom?? Generaly in a fiberglass boat, you have damage under the fiberglass if its weak. Either the wood used in the laminate, floor or transom, has gotten wet and it rotten. Or the fiberglass composite itself has gotten damaged.

Any attempts to patch the soft spots my adding fiberglass over top are just a bandaid and the problem will be back, real soon.

Here are some books on fiberglass and repairs you might look for at the library to learn more:
Runabout Renovation: How to Find and Fix Up an Old Fiberglass Speedboat by Jim Anderson
http://www.amazon.com/Runabout-Reno...0255336?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176991542&sr=8-1

The Fiberglass Boat Repair Manual by Allan H. Viatses
http://www.amazon.com/Fiberglass-Bo...0255336?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176991609&sr=1-2

Fiberglass Repair and Construction Handbook Author: Jack Wiley
http://www.amazon.com/Fiberglass-Re...9355330?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1180026258&sr=1-1

Video on Fiberglassing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6BIr0Kq0Bs

Boat Repair and Restoration Articles @ West System
http://www.westsystem.com/ewmag/proj_repair.html

3M Marine Maintenance guide
http://multimedia.mmm.com/mws/mediawebserver.dyn?ffffff5myruf_3GfT3Gff2jHoRbFFFFd-

West Systems User manual
http://www.westsystem.com/frames/tier1/usingepoxy.htm

"The Epoxy Book" Systems 3 Epoxy
http://www.mertons.com/Epoxy/documents/epoxy_book.pdf .


Good luck

 

[klassic]

Re: Another noob with a project boat needs help

Thanks for the reply SDUNT!

The weak spots are located on the bow where a trolling motor used to be mounted. It looks like it could possibly be from an old repair job......... I can literally flex the fiberglass on these spots (2) by pressing down on them with my finger.

I will eventually be mounting another trolling motor and would like to fix these spots or atleast reinforce them.

Thoughts..??


Thx.

 

[gcboat]

Re: Another noob with a project boat needs help

Usually there should be some type of lumber (ply) in that section. It won't be but 1/4" thick max. So if that's gone then you will need to replace and reglass. If there is nothing there but bare glass then reinforcing with some type of ply - and glassing, would be your best route. I don't know if you plan on using that for standing on but either way you will need to address the problem.