1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

[JDA1975]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

nice to see ya back, was wanting to post asking what happened to ya, but did not want to revive an old thread lol...glad to see you are back on it, and nice pinewood car! we wont be doing district this year, because they scheduled it for the same time as the mommy and me campout....go figure that one out....I really wanted to go too, had a couple cars I wanted to show off lol

 

[GT1000000]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

Now for the question part of this post. My main concern is going to be how do I tie the new wood in to the cap to where it will be structurally sound? Would I simply use the cutout as a template, cut a new piece of ply (and wrap it in 'glass as per the normal guidance of course), 'glass the cutout back onto it, and then tab it back to the top cap from above and below?

Glad to see you are back. Sorry to hear 'bout the operations, hopefully both you and the Mrs. are healing up well

Sounds pretty much right on the money...use PB much the same way as installing a transom, then tab and glass...

that's the way I was planning on doing it when the time comes...

 

[fmjnax]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

Thanks guys! I'm doing fine; the surgery kind of snuck up on me. I knew it was going to have to happen at some point in the near future but I didn't think it would be THIS near. I'm good now, though. I still don't have 100% strength in it, but it's getting there. My wife is really the one I'm worried about. She's got a large cyst on her ovary and ovarian cancer runs in her family. We're hoping all goes well, though. So far, the doctor (who has been the doctor for pretty much her entire family) hasn't seemed to alarmed by it so I've got my fingers crossed.

I'm really anxious to get back into the garage! We have set a goal of having the boat ready to go by Memorial Day. There's still a lot left to do, but I'm hoping 2 months will be plenty.

 

[fmjnax]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

Ok, I need some help figuring out how to build my hatch and still keep the structural stability. I scrapped the drafted idea that I posted yesterday after physically mocking it up. It just wasn't going to work. Going with 3 hatches made the access holes much smaller than the picture draft appeared. I would have been lucky to squeeze a battery through any of the three. Also, the dimensions for the recessed floor tray made the idea of the smaller tackle lockers up front a no-go. So now I've decided that just a single large hatch will be my best solution to being able to access the most storage as possible.

So with the move to a large single hatch, I came up with the dimensions of 18"x32". I went ahead and made the cut and I think the size is going to be perfect... until I started thinking about the structural integrity. With a lid of this size, did I just create an invitation for my foot to punch through the deck?

My plan for building the hatch is to use 1/2" plywood as the core. It will be fiberglassed as normally suggested. I will allow an extra 1" perimeter around the hatch cutout (thus making my actual hatch dimensions 16"x30"). I will shave 1/4" of this extra 1" perimeter so that I have an edge to staple the carpet to. For the lid, I will use the plug from the cutout and attach 1/2" plywood as the core to it as well. I will shave it back about 3/8" or so to allow the room for the lid to close snugly after being carpeted. It too will have a 1" perimeter that I will shave down about 3/8" so that it will interlock. Of course, it will all be 'glassed after a successful test fit. I've attached a picture below to kind of show it better.

Now, my concern is if this is going to provide enough support. My wife suggested I run a support down the middle and glass it to the boat sole and to the underside of the casting deck. We would still have the single hatch, but it would essentially be 2 under-deck compartments (which is all fine and dandy). This would certainly provide the support down the middle to help distribute the load, but will even that be enough?

Oh, and here are the pictures. Just a little showing of how it looks with the carpet glue all ground off and the enlarged hatch opening. The 4th picture is the design of the hatch opening.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

OK, my first suggestion is to round the corners...this will distribute load pressure more evenly as opposed to possible cracking...

If you make a Z-shaped lip, out of several layers of glass, deep enough to accept a fully glassed piece of 3/4" ply, and wide enough, say about an 1" to an 1-1/2", for the hatch to rest on...I am pretty sure that will give to the strength and support you need...

However, and this is my disclaimer, I completely defer to any other ideas or suggestions given by those with much greater knowledge in structural engineering and working with fiberglass...:redface:

Sort of like this...

Photobucket is not responding, so I attached them the "ol skool" way...

That big hatch is the mechanical locker and measures approximately 20" X 48"...all of the underlying wood in both the deck nd the hatch, was rotten back then, yet it still supported my 265 fatazz pounds...

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

Been here, done this. Epoxy 1 1/2" piece of Arauco Plywood coated in epoxy to the underside of the glass. The epoxy another 3/4" x 2 1/4" piece of coated ply to that. Then epoxy a piece of 3/4" x 3/4" Aluminum channel to the plywood lip. the wood reinforces the glass and the aluminum make it look "Fancy" The backer plates give you something to screw to for the lid hinges as well. Use 5 Min epoxy from Lowes precut all your pieces, wipe the underside down with acetone and you'll be done in less than and hour.

 

[fmjnax]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

WoG, is that a 1.5" piece of Arauco Plywood or did you mean it as 'one .5" piece of Arauco Plywood'? Might be a stupid question, but when I pull my carpet, would I staple/glue it and then install the aluminum channel, or can it be glued over the channel? I kind of wanted a clean carpet-only look, but I could live with aluminum showing only when the hatch is open if needs be.

I initially thought of doing it like you mentioned GT (my rear hatches are built that way; and like you, the wood was a goner yet it supported my 260 lb fatazz), but that seemed like an amount of effort that I didn't want to try and tackle. I appreciate the input, though!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

Each piece is 3/4" Arauco Plywood. Total Thickness is 1 1/2". 3/4" Aluminum Angle Don't have to use the Aluminum. You could wrap the carpet.

 

[fmjnax]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

Thanks again WoG. I think I'm going to try it without the aluminum angle.

I finished up preparing the top cap for sanding last night (removing the last of the carpet adhesive on the seat support, removing the remaining hardware, scraped the remaining decals off, etc. I'll be sanding the top cap in preparation for primer/paint this weekend as I have time (my sons birthday is tomorrow, so I may not get much done).

My wife and I were wandering around Lowes last night after baseball practice and we noticed that this particular store sells the exact same carpet that I used on my trailer... at a lower cost. The only drawback is that they only sell it in black. I was going to just walk away but my wife suggested that she thinks we should go with black instead of burgundy anyway. I can't really disagree with her, either. With the top cap being maroon and the seats being maroon/white, it probably would have been too much maroon-on-maroon. I know black is going to be hot as heck on the boat but I can live with that. After seeing how well the black and maroon worked out on the trailer, I'm thinking it will look good up on the deck. I still have a little bit left over from the trailer so once the cap it painted I will lay it out and make the final decision then.

Now on to the real point of this post. After we looked at the carpet, we walked down an aisle and noticed that they also sell Bondo Fiberglass Resin at about $30/gal. This is comparable to the cost I was quoted by U.S. Composites (with the $25/gal fee, plus shipping, it was about $40/gal through them) so I'm wondering if this stuff is feasible to use? It would really get the ball rolling on the project if I was able to buy it a few gallons at a time at this price instead of having to make a single large bulk purchase (I can't seem to be able to ever save up the $600 to make the single purchase... but I can easily scrape together $50-100 at a time).

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

From what I understand the Bono resin is waxed which could be a real pain in the butt for multiple layups.

 

[fmjnax]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

Thanks ezmobee. I'll contact 3M and see if they can confirm or not. Being that is says 'All-purpose', I'm sure it is waxed. I understand that it could be a PITA to have to sand in between layups, but what if I just lay it all up before the previous layer cures (or is that living in an idealistic world? )?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

Yep, it's got wax and is NOT good resin to use for your boat. $40.00 a gallon, delivered to Texas is not a bad price for good quality Laminating resin in 5 gallon quantities. I'd highly recommend you stick with USC Resin.

 

[fmjnax]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

Thanks WoG. I know you're right (especially since the difference in price is only $5/gallon). I guess I was just hoping that I could find a shipping-free (local) supply for resin at a comparable price. Unfortunately, I didn't see your post early enough, though. We went to dinner and stopped at Lowes afterwards and I noticed that lower on the shelf they also had a '3M Fiberglass Resin' (not the Bondo All-Purpose, though after looking as the MSDS sheets, I think they're the same thing) and I decided to go ahead and buy a gallon. I stopped by a local marine shop and picked up a few yards of 'glass as well. I figured I would give the stuff a try on the holes that I need to fill on the top cap and some small build-up projects (non-integral spots, ya know). I've never done any 'glass work so at the very least, this will give me some practice before I use any of the 'good stuff' up.

 

[fmjnax]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

I had an after-thought trying to figure out WHY the USC stuff is better than 3M. Other than having wax in it, why is the 3M stuff not good for boat use? Not trying to be argumentative, but just trying to understand the differences in polyester resins.

 

[fmjnax]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

Well, it was my sons 8th birthday today so we spent the weekend celebrating. We bought him a little 110cc 4-wheeler, some more baseball equipment, and went to the indoor waterpark at the resort so there wasn't much work done on the boat. It was blast having the 4-wheeler, the go-kart, and the dirtbike all running around the land, though!

Anyway, I did decide to take some time this evening to try my hand at fiberglassing. I had decided I was going to enlarge my casting deck hatch so last week I cut out the casting deck, pried away the fiberglass shell, and cut the existing opening larger. This cutout is what I am going to use as the new hatch lid, so that meant filling the holes in it (the old match cutout and the old seat support cutout). I had bought a gallon of 3M resin and picked up about 3 yards of 6oz cloth from a local boat yard for $5. I ground down the hole opening and tapered it down. After cleaning it up and cutting the 'glass, I mixed up some resin and went to town.

I learned quite a bit on this small mini-project. The biggest thing I learned is that fiberglass work is not as easy as it seems/looks! I also learned that:
- A foam brush is NOT a replacement for a cheap chip brush. I thought I had some, but couldn't find any... so I thought maybe a foam brush would work. It worked... for about 10 seconds! I ended up having to use my fingers (had gloves on, of course), which I'm sure caused unnecessary hiccups (such as using too much resin and pulling the layers out of place due to the pressure/stickiness of my fingers)

- Don't mix more resin that you can use in a 10-15 minute window and don't mix it too hot! The first part of that statement I was well aware of and apparently the second part I didn't pay much attention to. I started by mixing up 16 ounces, but apparently I mixed it a touch too hot (probably 2% in a 75 degree temp). The cup didn't get hot or anything, but after about 10 minutes it started to gum up and get too thick to pour. I ended up having to dump about 4 ounces before it fully kicked. I mixed up another 4 ounces at about 1% and it worked just fine (so I learned quick on that one).

- 5 layers of 6oz cloth is not enough to fill a 1/4" gap. I used up all of the cloth I had, so this was the most I could do with what I had. I'll either sand it down and lay up some more layers or I'll just body fill it (which will work fine for this particular application).

Don't laugh at me, but here at the pictures. Being my first time, I'm sure I probably 'effed' it up, but it shouldn't be too bad. I'm open to all criticism.

*Edit*
After looking at the pictures on a bigger screen, it looks like there are some wrinkles and a large bubble in the middle. I just went out to inspect it, and it doesn't appear that there are bubbles or wrinkles in the layers. I think it's because of the wrinkles in the plastic wrap. I guess that's another lesson learned for me (to ensure that my plastic wrap is absolutely smooth underneath and not wrinkled/bunched up. It actually looks pretty good (to my untrained eye) right now.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

Get a sheet of Coated Fiberboard (like they make shower walls out of) from Lowe's. $12 bucks for a 4 x 8 sheet. Wax it with some turtle wax and the glass won't stick. Make a perfect backer board. Practice makes perfect and you're learnin a lot. The Big Box resin has wax and that makes you sand between layers if you let them cure. As long as it's wet on wet you're ok.

 

[fmjnax]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

As always, thanks for taking the time out of your busy day to help me out WoG. Much appreciated!

I've just about finished the hatch lid. I know it's such an insignificant piece of the project, but any progress is a step in the right direction for me. My wife scored a bundle of lumber today for free. It varies from 2x4's to 2x8's. She thought maybe I could use it on the boat, but I'm not too sure. My stringers were originally 1/2" plywood. Should I stick with this or could I use the dimensional lumber? I have 3 stringers running down the middle and they're fairly close together so if I do use this wood, the spacing between them would only be a couple/few inches. The other thing I'm not sure about is if this lumber is pressure treated or not. It doesn't really have the green look that I'm used to seeing in PT stuff and it doesn't really seem as heavy as I would assume PT to be, but I'm just not sure. Is there a way to check for sure if it is PT or not? If not, I'm going to err on the side of caution and not use it.

 

[fmjnax]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

Well, I haven't put much work into the boat over the past couple of weeks. My wife goes in for her surgery on Monday so it will be another couple of weeks before I'm back at it.

That said, I have been out there sanding/filling the top cap, getting it ready for primer/paint. I'm trying to do small things here and there to at least keep the wheels moving on the project... and then today I got a call from my dad.

Dad called and said that he came across some boat equipment that I might be interested in. He works for a large investment firm cleaning up/repairing investment/rent homes in-between tenants. One home he went to this morning had some near-perfect boat seats and a couple bumpers. He took them home and figured I could use them. He said that they're not brand new, but that they look like they are in excellent condition. I still haven't seen them in person but from what I can see in this picture, they should be PERFECT! The color won't be a 100% match, but I think I can deal with that. Now that's a pretty good score if you ask me!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

If you don't want em, I'll take em!!!! Really Nice Score!!!!!

 

[fmjnax]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

Well, WoG, if they end up being an absolute no-go on my boat you can have them... but the way things have been going for me lately I am going to use them! I have been trying since December to find a donor couch/chair/foam so that I can start working on my custom seats but I have found NOTHING! I've had two people that said they had some, but then would never answer their phone/e-mail. I never would have thought it would be so hard to find a free couch around here. Even if I found something now, I'm so far behind my goal that it would take me well into the summer to put together my own seats... so yeah, I'm going to use them unless I absolutely can't get them in there for some reason. The color may not be exact, but it will do.