1978 Skeeter Wrangler Sport w/ 79' Johnson 140

[a1964rn]

Re: 1978 Skeeter Wrangler Sport w/ 79' Johnson 140

I hope you got a chance to get some work done on your boat today.

 

[jgarciajim]

Re: 1978 Skeeter Wrangler Sport w/ 79' Johnson 140

I did manage to get some work done. Not as much as I had hoped, but that will change soon enough.

I will post some pictures later, really tired right now. But I got the rest of the deck removed as you guys saw in the pictures. Removed the stringers and removed the in hull bracing. Went ahead and bought some wood for the stringers, deck, bracing and some stuff to glass in the transom. Transom has been sanded and corners have been rounded off. Its just waiting to be glued and tabbed in.

In other news. Received some goodies for the boat a few days ago.
-Foam for the deck.
-Red and White Vinyl to Completely re-upholster the bench seat and casting seats. Ordered marine grade vinyl and thread from this excellent ebay seller.
-Courtesy lights for the deck
-5 switch marine panel and 12V charger for drivers area to have switches for new lights being installed.
-Livewell LED lights. Excited about these. :thumbs:

Well guys, I'm going to get some rest, big day tomorrow and hopefully going to get stringers cut and glasses over, same with resin being applied to deck plywood.

I noticed that my deck and inside of hull is painted with some black paint, is this that so called bilge paint I read about? is this even necessary?

Thanks guys.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 1978 Skeeter Wrangler Sport w/ 79' Johnson 140

Looking real good Jim!

Yanno, if you had asked us about that boat before you bought it we would have told you it was rotten.

I noticed that my deck and inside of hull is painted with some black paint, is this that so called bilge paint I read about? is this even necessary?

Thanks guys.

Probably some kind of waterproofing bilge paint, and as you can see... it ain't a workin' too good. It's not necessary.

Keeping rain, snow, and ice out of your boat when not in use will do better than all the waterproofing bilge paint in the world.

 

[jgarciajim]

Re: 1978 Skeeter Wrangler Sport w/ 79' Johnson 140

Looking real good Jim!

Yanno, if you had asked us about that boat before you bought it we would have told you it was rotten.

I am enjoying this project a lot. Would I buy the same boat knowing it was rotten? Maybe. Maybe I would have just bought a different rotten boat. Who knows. But I can tell you this, this won't be the last rotten boat I am going to restore. :happy:

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 1978 Skeeter Wrangler Sport w/ 79' Johnson 140

I am enjoying this project a lot. Would I buy the same boat knowing it was rotten? Maybe. Maybe I would have just bought a different rotten boat. Who knows. But I can tell you this, this won't be the last rotten boat I am going to restore. :happy:

Ha! Another one bitten by the bug!:joyous:

All used fiberglass boats over 10 yrs. old are rotten to one degree or another... unless you can find a one owner garage kept one, which are rare.

Buying a rotten boat you know you're going to have to restore is a lot better than buying a rotten boat you don't know is rotten.

Make the next one you buy the most dirtiest rottenest one you can find.

 

[jgarciajim]

Re: 1978 Skeeter Wrangler Sport w/ 79' Johnson 140

I shall make the next one the most rotten boat I can find! However I must finish this one first.

Had a little time to work on it this weekend, and when I mean a little, I mean a little... I was pretty busy with a lot of other things around the house.

However I did get the deck cut out and now I am struggling with the stringers... The problem is that I can only find 3/4" x 8(7") x 12' and I need something that is just an inch wider so that I can make the stringers one long board. At the moment in the garage I have two boards glued side by side and hopefully it should hold up while I trace the original stringers onto the new ones.

Also cleaned out the boat a little more, some grinding here, some there. Transom has had a long time to set and I think it is more than ready to prep for tabbing.

Tomorrow I am going to resin the deck to make it water proof (especially the edges).

In case anyone is wondering I am using 1/2" Birch Plywood for the decking. And extremely straight 3/4" Cedar for the stringers (except it isn't wide enough), hence the gluing together.

On a side note, did finish up 2 - 8' work benches for the shop, didn't want to steal the ones from my garage.

Hopefully I can get some pics up tomorrow. I hope everyone's week went well and you get enjoy the day off tomorrow.

 

[a1964rn]

Re: 1978 Skeeter Wrangler Sport w/ 79' Johnson 140

Glad your making progress on the boat. I understand about other things to do around the house. My Honey-Do list is getting pretty long. Women think "If he's got time to work on that old boat, he's got time to do....".

Are you gonna lam two of the cedar boards together for the stringers? That should be wide enough, right? Mine just had 3/4" plywood stringers, but were divided between the front and rear deck (not one continuous stringer). I'm going to glue some 1"x1" cleats to the sides at the top of the stringers for support for the sole, like the ones shown on this link.
Boat Builder Central - Howtos | Transom, Stringer and Sole Repair

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 1978 Skeeter Wrangler Sport w/ 79' Johnson 140

In case anyone is wondering I am using 1/2" Birch Plywood for the decking. And extremely
straight 3/4" Cedar for the stringers (except it isn't wide enough), hence the gluing together.

On your next restoration you'll want to use an exterior grade plywood for the decking. That Birch is nice and pretty, but it is interior (indoor) grade plywood and isn't made with the waterproof glue... it'll work as long as it never gets wet, but if it does get wet the wood plies will come apart before the wood rots.

Stringers will be stronger if they're made out of plywood, a 1" wide stringer can be made by laminating 2 pieces of 1/2" plywood together. Your Cedar will work ok though. If you Cedar needs to be wider you may want to glue 1/2" plywood to it if 1-1/4" isn't too wide, the plywood should stiffen it up nicely.

If you're using polyester resin for waterproofing, you need to lay some CSM on it at least. Polyester resin isn't strong by itself and will crack and flake off after about a year.

I'm not trying to be a PITA, just thought you should know these things for the next time if you don't want to change your materials for this project.

ABX or BCX are the 2 grades of plywood you want to use in boat building.

 

[a1964rn]

Re: 1978 Skeeter Wrangler Sport w/ 79' Johnson 140

On your next restoration you'll want to use an exterior grade plywood for the decking. That Birch is nice and pretty, but it is interior (indoor) grade plywood and isn't made with the waterproof glue... it'll work as long as it never gets wet, but if it does get wet the wood plies will come apart before the wood rots.

Stringers will be stronger if they're made out of plywood, a 1" wide stringer can be made by laminating 2 pieces of 1/2" plywood together. Your Cedar will work ok though. If you Cedar needs to be wider you may want to glue 1/2" plywood to it if 1-1/4" isn't too wide, the plywood should stiffen it up nicely.

If you're using polyester resin for waterproofing, you need to lay some CSM on it at least. Polyester resin isn't strong by itself and will crack and flake off after about a year.

I'm not trying to be a PITA, just thought you should know these things for the next time if you don't want to change your materials for this project.

ABX or BCX are the 2 grades of plywood you want to use in boat building.

Absolutely correct. If using epoxy, you can seal the deck by "painting" it with at least 2 coats. If not, it needs to be sealed per JNG's advise. I also agree with the use of plywood. The cedar is rot resistant, but not that stiff/strong lengthwise.

 

[a1964rn]

Re: 1978 Skeeter Wrangler Sport w/ 79' Johnson 140

BTW.. I tried to send that Outboard manual, but my freakin' email server won't allow any attachments larger than 25 MB. Sorry!