74 Starcraft Holiday resto

[SkidRowBill]

For my money I think like grandad... The flomica thing is spot on for longevety... I need to find the very best adhesive for such a job... I have read, I beleive, that the 5200 is an adhesive... can anyone confirm this...

 

[SkidRowBill]

God... I hope that you guys are not dissapointed in me... There is no doubt that I am a square peg in a world of round holes... But I mean well... truley I do...

 

[hayko1971]

5200 is adhesive yes, very permanent

 

[g0nef1sshn]

All good in my book skid! And your truck is sweet!

 

[jbcurt00]

3M 4200 is similar, but semi-permanent.

Many use the 5200 only for below the waterline, then the 4200 above.

 

[SkidRowBill]

Thanks fella's... I am not in a good place this evening... But your comradery is most helpful... so if I can remove the screws that seem to hold the gasket in( I have no idea what to do with the screw that I broke the head off) I should try to fit the T bolts into the grove that is apearant... for me that would be fantastic... I am asuming that you see a grove that is familiar to you while using your T bolts... tell me... do I have to dismember the frame(pull it apart) to insert the t bolts... I see many pop rivets that hold the frame together... by looking at it, it seems a little small(the groove I mean)... I am going to rip the other half of the windshield off the bow... and let the chips fall where they may... I want to get started on the paint... I have just now decided to Paint the bottom and sides white... and the top red... insides white... and leave the OEM stuff the way I found it.. the bottom paint seems to be in very good shape(when I get it turned over we will discuss this) I am hoping to just rough it up and apply paint,,, I want to do it myself just to say that I did it myself... God help me... There is no doubt that I will not be in the running for the SORTY... whatever that is... but at the end of the day I hope to have accomplishd my goal... Until then and In twenty years if I am still here I will be an advocate for what we have done... all my best... Bill from Maine...

 

[SkidRowBill]

We will do this together...

 

[hayko1971]

Once you get the trim off, you won't have to dismantle anything t get the t bolts in. They just slide in the gap.
To answer an earlier concern you had about flipping the boat... I gutted my boat on the trailer. Once you have an empty shell, it weighs very little. You can just roll your trailer to some grass, slide the boat off and roll it over.

 

[SkidRowBill]

Roger that...

 

[SkidRowBill]

Hey Grandad... I have purchased the 3/4 Merranti plywood for the transom... I can get a 4X8 sheet of Formica for $42.00 at lowes(white)... my question is this... Post install what are your thoughts... any regrets... concerning instalation of formica what should I pay attention to... I will use the specific formica adheasive in addition to 5200 on the parimiter... what do you think??? for all of you that are following... I have ordered the 1/4 inch diamond plate aluminum$$$ but am still stimied by the windshield... if I do not have a breakthrou soon I will mussle the thing to death... as of late... I have been obligated to chorse's other than this boat... but will follow with photo's apon my return... so stay tuned... One real novice on his way to ??? All My Best... Bill from Maine...

 

[SkidRowBill]

So... finaly I am back at it... I have drilled those nasty screws out and removed the aluminum mounting gasket for the starboard winshield... they were welded to the frame being not aluminum or stainless steel... I had to drill from the head down through the screw shaft !@#$%^&*()!!!... real butcher job... anyway the next pics will show you what I have... it appears not to be OEM... there is only one grove in the frame(on the bottom) so I do not think that the standart T bolts will work... I think that if I modify the T bolts that I have that I can make them work... we will see... The gasket is certanly not made for this installation, due to the arc in the winshield frame... I have yet to remove the port side windshield... let us see if there is another way to install the starboard side(without the old gasket) that is acceptable...

 

[SkidRowBill]

I noticed a very small grove(compared to the lower grove) on the top windshield frame in the third pic... and it appears to be in the right place to have the T bolt fasten the windshield down at the correct angle... unfortunately the T bolts that I have are too large... but I will investigate this tommorrow and let you know if I can modify my T bolts to fit... does this look like anybody's frame???

 

[SkidRowBill]

as you can see in this pic the gasket does not bend to the curve of the frame...

 

[dozerII]

I'm pretty sure the t bolts will slide in from one end or the other then you position them over the holes in the deck to reattach.

 

[Grandad]

Hey Grandad... I have purchased the 3/4 Merranti plywood for the transom... I can get a 4X8 sheet of Formica for $42.00 at lowes(white)... my question is this... Post install what are your thoughts... any regrets... concerning instalation of formica what should I pay attention to... I will use the specific formica adheasive in addition to 5200 on the parimiter... what do you think??? Bill from Maine...

Hi Bill. I have no regrets using the Formica. Be very cautious though about your dimensions before covering the plywood. Note that the thickness after adding the Formica must still allow the new transom to slip into the existing aluminum Z brackets. Do a trial fit before covering. Once covered, you can't chisel or sand any rub points to ease the transom into place. In the picture below (taken before removing the previous transom), the tape measure clearly shows that the overall thickness on mine was 1-3/8", NOT 1-1/2". Nominal plywood thicknesses aren't full measure, either. I found that one 3/4" plus one 5/8" plus two layers of Formica totaled the 1-3/8" that I needed. I assembled the 2 plywood sheets on a dead flat surface using moisture activated glue and stainless steel wood screws spaced 6" apart across the entire area. I used Formica on all the edges too. The only place that I used 5200 was on the curved contours of the I/O cut-out. - Grandad

 

[SkidRowBill]

Granddad... do you recall the thickness of the Formica... I believe that what I am looking at is .048 inches in white

 

[SkidRowBill]

Thanks Glen... the T bolts are at least 1/8th of an inch too wide... if I spread the frame it will not fit together... I am headded to the range today... My few friends are dieing to run there new rifles(I build ar's and M4's but with custom barrels)... the grove in the top is less than 1/16th deep as seen in the third picture above... also see the 4th pic to see the difference between the size of the T bolt and window grove and frame... I am thinking that I may grind and glue the T bolt... not sure yet... do you think that I have the wrong T bolts for this frame... it does not appear that the boat came with T bolts but rivets instead... Bill

 

[Grandad]

Granddad... do you recall the thickness of the Formica... I believe that what I am looking at is .048 inches in white

Hi Bill. I just measured some scrap. Mine was .046". You may find something suitable in a surplus construction materials place much cheaper than at lumber yards. I also used some thinner material (.025") where I covered the inner gunnels and cabinets, but it's kinda fragile stuff to work with. The thin stuff can be scored with a knife and snapped, but the heavier stuff is best cut with a rotary blade in a tablesaw or circular saw. I'd recommend using the heavy stuff. It's similary priced. If you've never worked with the stuff, make sure your pieces are properly aligned before pressing into the contact cement. Trying to pull it off for a second try will likely break it. Ask me how I know. - Grandad

 

[SkidRowBill]

Thanks for the info Grandad... I will measure many times and measure again before I cut anything... the weather sucks here and its been very hectic at work... althou I feel like I have taken a great vacation after going through over 400 rounds at the range... My niece was dinging a 2 inch gong at 200 yards with open sights on an M4 colt that I perked up for her(she joined the Gaurd and has been through basic... I.T. is in august... she just turned 18)... she loves to shoot and has been a great student... she burned up over 500 rounds in 6 hours practicing her drills... 2 to the chest, one to the head... Please sir if you would... could you look at the tiny grove on the top of the windshield frame in pic #3 and tell me if that is desighned for T bolts... the lower grove is much larger and deeper... Hope to get time to work on the boat this week... got well over an inch of rain today(rain again wensday and friday)... what a drag...

 

[Grandad]

Thanks for the info Grandad... could you look at the tiny grove on the top (?) of the windshield frame in pic #3 and tell me if that is desighned for T bolts... the lower grove is much larger and deeper... .

Hi Bill. I agree with Dozer's assessment. The bottom extrusion should accommodate your T-bolts that should slide into place from the end, once you have ground them down to size. Keep the T head as large as possible, but still able to slide. I would not fix them in place with glue as you suggest. You'll need to slide all the T-bolts into place before lowering the frame into place and then align the bolts with the holes as you go. I don't understand your question regarding the top of the frame, but I don't see anything usable there. - Grandad