'78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

[Trooper82]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

I was reading andgott's thread on his 1959 Lake N' Sea Restoration and saw that he really liked his Oscilating tool. I had thought about getting one but have never used one so was not sure it would do the job. My goodness this thing is worth it's weight in GOLD, even at todays prices. Knocked the tabbing from the stringers down to the nub in no time flat. I would highly recommend one of these. I went out under the boat cover....yes still raining here, to try it out. In only a few minutes I had about three feet of the stringer glass out. It also allows you to take it as close as you dare go to the hull.

Not sure that you can see it in the picture very well, but I took the top of the one of the 'bumps' I described in the first picture of post #29. It was an air bubble from previous repair from the looks of it. I think it was just holding some water that came in from elsewhere, not this location.

Did not get anything done to the boat today due to the rain we are having. Later this week things should slack up and I can get back at it. I have looked into several options for working cover. One I looked at was the "Canopy Carport" looks like it will cost $200 - $300. The other option was a steel carport. 12' x 24' for $1176 installed. I do not have the extra cash for either right not though. Maybe towards the end of the month I can get the Canopy.

Until then I am waiting on better weather.

 

[zopperman]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

HOw about some PVC, 2x4's and tarp?

 

[GT1000000]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

HOw about some PVC, 2x4's and tarp?

I was just tryin to come up with pics of my temporary structure, total cost under a hundred bucks...but at the moment these are all I could find...

 

[Trooper82]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

The blue elephant! My dog would go nuts....

Actually that might not be a bad idea, would let me be out there working instead of in here dreaming

 

[GT1000000]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

The blue elephant! My dog would go nuts....
Funny you should call it that, That's the same name I came up with...LOL
Actually that might not be a bad idea, would let be out there working instead of in here dreaming

If you need some info on how its thrown together, be glad to give it up...only one word of caution...it gets hotter than a Habanero Pepper on Steroids in the Desert in there if the temp is anything over 60 degrees and the Sun is out...

 

[Trooper82]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

So it looks like you are using pvc to make arches? I was checking out pricing on building a frame with pvc, using Tees, 90s and 45s. Will go check out the pvc tomorrow after work. Let you know what I find.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

I'll get some good pics of the set-up tomorrow and post 'em here, but basically I used 1" PVC schedule 40 [ schedule 80 is much thinner walled stuff, and may not hold up too well, but as usual, I could be wrong], a couple of 90 degree elbows...I have my hull support that I duct taped the PVC to, but if you don't have it set up that way, you can get some rebar, a couple of feet long and drive them into the ground and slip the PVC over it, then repeat for the other side, then do it again to create your two archs...Using a couple more pieces of PVC, long enough to go front to back, use the rebar in the ground to anchor it, and tie it off to the top of the archs with rope or duct tape, then cover the whole shabang with a relatively inexpensive tarp...I used a 30' X 40' blue tarp that I picked up at my local Ace Hardware for 80 bucks, Harbor freight has a 20' X 40' available for about 45.00, but of course they were out of stock when I was looking for mine...
I tried to whip up a quickie drawing for you, hope this helps...

 

[Trooper82]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Thanks GT1M. I swear that drawing reminds me of a dinosaur skeleton like you see at the museum or something. But you know what, makes perfect sense

 

[GT1000000]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

I swear that drawing reminds me of a dinosaur skeleton like you see at the museum or something.

You know you are absolute right...LOL

Anyhoooo, here's the pics of the dinosaur's skeleton, I just took the tarp down this past weekend and had removed the parts of the ridge pole that go all the way to the ground on either end...

 

[Trooper82]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Good thing I have an understanding wife. She puts up with alot when it comes to the weird things i do. Like building a frame from pvc in the living room. Stopped and picked up some parts on the way home this evening. 2 tarps 8x10, this will give me 16 feet of dryness to work under for now. May add more to it later. Ran out of pipe so could not finish it tonight. Should be able to have it up tomorrow evening. I may have went a little overboard(pun) with the frame but don't want it blowing over. Not decided if I will pin it together or just use some pvc cement on it. Drawback with cement is once it is together it stays that way. If I pin it I can take it apart.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Always good to have an understanding Admiral...

Even if you glue it together, you can always cut it apart leaving enough exposed pipe to put it back together with some couplers...

 

[Trooper82]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

I almost have the shelter complete. Ran out of pvc cement. Will share pictures tomorrow once I get it finished.

Good night iBoats.....

 

[ben2go]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Can't wait to see how it turned out.

 

[Trooper82]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

The shelter is up!


Not 100% ready but the hard part is done. Had some help from 2 of the grandkids.

Learned a few things on this part of my adventure.

1. I over engineered this structure.
2. Do not always believe the stated size on a tarp. 8' x 10' actually means somewhere between 7.5' to 8' and 9.5' to 10'.
3. PVC pipe is not as strong as you think!

First section I completed last night. Was a little flimsy, I hoped adding more sections would fix that.

Getting the first section inplace.

Push!!!

Sticky is it?

 

[Trooper82]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

More pics....

My helpers

Done for the night, hope the wind doesn't blow!

 

[GT1000000]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Nice job Trooper, Once you get it covered you'll be all set to grind away...

By the way, great pair of helpers you got there...

 

[Trooper82]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Thanks GT....


Decided I had to have another tarp. Pulled the first to apart, added the third on top, overlapping by the first set of holes. Zip-Tied the tarp to the PVC. Added some extensions on the end of the first two tarps, these are at the highest part of pitch. Made some cross members added legs on these and things look pretty solid. I have enough coverage that the boat should stay dry unless there is a driving rain coming in sideways....or so I hope. If not then next trip I will come back with a much bigger tarp, cover the frame in one piece.

Any way I should be ready to get a full day in tomorrow.


I noticed a strong smell of gasoline vapors when I first went under the tarp this evening. Not sure where they are coming from. I do have a shower curtain covering the motor. I also had attempted to siphon the gas a few days ago, 36 gal tank and gauges showed half a tank. I was not able to get anything out with the cheap siphon kit I bought. Guess I will try a length of garden hose tomorrow. Not liking the idea of trying to lift the tank whle it is half full.

Plan for tomorrow is get the tank out. Pull up the remaining deck, get the sringers out. I need to get my little vac out so I can get things cleaned up. Think I buried it in the shed...under everything I took out of the boat.

Question 1, can I just pry the tank up to take it out? I have not tried to pick it up yet. Seems like soft metal so I know I'll have to be careful not to puncture it. I don't like having it in place walking on it all the time.

Question 2, should I wait to grind (rough and scuff) the fiberglass in preparation to put in the new stringers now or wait till I am ready to put them in, as in last thing to do before putting down new glass/resin? I won't be ordering material for fiberglass for a month or so I need to have 60 degree weather for laying glass, right? and there is a shelf life for the MEKP Hardener of 2 months?



Oh update: I got the bill of sale from PO in the mail today. The trailer is now registered!




You can see the cross member supports in this photo.

Job well done!

 

[zopperman]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

i had to use my engine hoist to pull out my empty tank because it was so stuck in the foam. I would try a fluid transfer pump.

 

[Trooper82]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

zop, No funds for one of those unfortunately. I was worried it might be held down tight with foam too. Will find out tomorrow.



Edit:

I did buy one of these.....problem with this thing is that you need to have the outlet lower than the inlet. you have seen the gunwhales on the boat, not happening with the length of tubing they supply.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Hey Troop,

Use the fuel line you already have and route it out through the bilge drain or if that isn't long enough, get yourself a long enough piece of cheap automotive fuel line that you can hook up your fuel primer bulb to and that reaches from the gas tank all the way out of the bilge drain hole, use the primer bulb to start the flow and dump the fuel into 5 gall cans...if you only have one fiver, when full, pour it into one of your vehicles, and repeat...you should be able to get 99% of the fuel out that way.

Yes, I would definitely pull the fuel tank before doing any grinding, since you might be needing to get at those stringers anyway? And like you said, you really don't want to be walking around on it and possibly damaging it in the process...or even making a spark and...well you know
If it is held in with just the foam surrounding it, just dig it out till it is free, but check to make sure there is no hardware holding it place.
And it should be made out of at least .125 thick aluminum, so it isn't really soft, per say, but you could easily puncture it if you try to pry directly on it...if you must pry, use a piece of wood to spread the pressure point out as much as possible.

Finally, if you are going to be gutting the hull, make sure it is properly supporteed to keep it from flexing out of shape when you remove the stringers, and you take lots of measurements, notes and pictures for references. Here's a couple of pics that show how I threw together my hull support from some scrap lumber.
<a href="http://s1182.photobucket.com/albums/x447/GT1000000/?action=view&current=DSCF1342.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1182.photobucket.com/albums/x447/GT1000000/th_DSCF1342.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" ></a>
<a href="http://s1182.photobucket.com/albums/x447/GT1000000/?action=view&current=DSCF1341.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1182.photobucket.com/albums/x447/GT1000000/th_DSCF1341.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" ></a>
South Texan came up with a really good way to take the stringer measurements by laying out a grid with strings. Here is a link... http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=487463 ...POST #67.

The gutting and grinding can all be done ahead of time well before you get your materials. It is going to take a while to get done anyway, and once its done, you can start the rebuild process without delay, once you get the materials. The raw fiberglass will not be affected in any way by exposure to the elements, and you shouldn't have a problem with the cover you have built.

Regards,
GT1M