81 Sea Ray 26 Sedan Bridge I/O to OB Conversion/Restore (Pics)

[guitarkev77]

Re: 81 Sea Ray 26 Sedan Bridge I/O to OB Conversion/Restore (Pics)

Hi Kickback,

I've just read your entire thread from beginning to present tonight. It has been a fun read, and it looks you are doing very nice work! That boat will look sweet with twin 200's hanging off the back.

Regarding your question about straight-lining lumber, it is really a 2 step process. If you had a jointer, you could straight line one long edge on the jointer, then use that edge to run against your table saw fence to get a straight cut on the other side.

If you don't have a jointer, you can still get a straight edge, it's just a little more work. You need a perfectly straight board to start with, that is longer than the piece you are straight lining. Home Depot, (or better yet, a decent lumber yard) sells S4S (surfaced four sides) hardwood lumber that you should be able to pick through until you find a perfectly straight board. An Oak 1x6 works well, and you should be able to find one around 10' or so.

I would add a couple coats of wax to the board, and your table saw, buffed out. This will make it easier to rip your lumber.

Measure the width of your straight line board. Add this to the thinnest clean (you want a clean, continuous cut) width dimension of the board you are straightening. Set your rip fence to this combined width. With your straight line board against the fence, position the board to be straightened with the crown of the board on the blade side. Since the board is convex out, you will have two points that will sit against the straight line board. Run the board through the saw while holding it firmly in place against the straight line board, which is riding tightly against the rip fence of the saw. This will clean one edge of the board. Now, measure the narrowest dimension of the board and set your saw fence so it will take a 32nd or 16th past this. Run the board again with your newly cleaned edge against the fence. You should now have a straight board with edges that are parallel to each other.

I guess you could accomplish this with your router table set similarly to a jointer, with your out feed fence set to the depth of your cut, but you would still want to run the other side of that board on your table saw to ensure that your two edges are parallel.

Geez, I got a little long winded there... Hope this helps.

-Kevin

 

[CaptainKickback]

Re: 81 Sea Ray 26 Sedan Bridge I/O to OB Conversion/Restore (Pics)

Hi Kickback,

I've just read your entire thread from beginning to present tonight. It has been a fun read, and it looks you are doing very nice work! That boat will look sweet with twin 200's hanging off the back.

Regarding your question about straight-lining lumber, it is really a 2 step process. If you had a jointer, you could straight line one long edge on the jointer, then use that edge to run against your table saw fence to get a straight cut on the other side.

If you don't have a jointer, you can still get a straight edge, it's just a little more work. You need a perfectly straight board to start with, that is longer than the piece you are straight lining. Home Depot, (or better yet, a decent lumber yard) sells S4S (surfaced four sides) hardwood lumber that you should be able to pick through until you find a perfectly straight board. An Oak 1x6 works well, and you should be able to find one around 10' or so.

I would add a couple coats of wax to the board, and your table saw, buffed out. This will make it easier to rip your lumber.

Measure the width of your straight line board. Add this to the thinnest clean (you want a clean, continuous cut) width dimension of the board you are straightening. Set your rip fence to this combined width. With your straight line board against the fence, position the board to be straightened with the crown of the board on the blade side. Since the board is convex out, you will have two points that will sit against the straight line board. Run the board through the saw while holding it firmly in place against the straight line board, which is riding tightly against the rip fence of the saw. This will clean one edge of the board. Now, measure the narrowest dimension of the board and set your saw fence so it will take a 32nd or 16th past this. Run the board again with your newly cleaned edge against the fence. You should now have a straight board with edges that are parallel to each other.

I guess you could accomplish this with your router table set similarly to a jointer, with your out feed fence set to the depth of your cut, but you would still want to run the other side of that board on your table saw to ensure that your two edges are parallel.

Geez, I got a little long winded there... Hope this helps.

-Kevin

Thanks for the info. If I'm reading you right, I would have the fence, the straight piece, the target piect, then the blade. Is that right.

Then, I assume I would be moving the straight piece and the target piece together. But won't I need to shim between the two pieces to get the angle of the cut line correct?

 

[guitarkev77]

Re: 81 Sea Ray 26 Sedan Bridge I/O to OB Conversion/Restore (Pics)

Thanks for the info. If I'm reading you right, I would have the fence, the straight piece, the target piect, then the blade. Is that right.

Then, I assume I would be moving the straight piece and the target piece together. But won't I need to shim between the two pieces to get the angle of the cut line correct?

Kickback,

That is correct. The straight line board would be up against the fence, with the board you are straightening up against it, feeding through the blade.

However, you don't need to shim anything. The board you are straightening will have a crown to it in one direction. You can think of this crown as a "C" shape. If you position the board so that the apex of the C is facing the saw blade, then the other side of the board will have two points that are your contact points to hold against the straight line board. You are trying to cut off the crown of the board. As you move the two pieces through the cut on the saw, the cut you get will be dictated by the straight line board running true against the rip fence. Since you are firmly holding the crowned board against the straight board by means of the two contact points, it will not rock and make the cut run off. The key is measuring you board so that you are taking enough off to get a continuous, straight cut from one end of the board to the other.

Once you have a straight cut, just flip the board over and set the fence to whatever dimension you are looking to achieve (max would be the smallest width of the board before re-ripping) and run the other edge. This gives you two parallel edges.

-Kevin

 

[CaptainKickback]

Re: 81 Sea Ray 26 Sedan Bridge I/O to OB Conversion/Restore (Pics)

Kickback,

That is correct. The straight line board would be up against the fence, with the board you are straightening up against it, feeding through the blade.

However, you don't need to shim anything. The board you are straightening will have a crown to it in one direction. You can think of this crown as a "C" shape. If you position the board so that the apex of the C is facing the saw blade, then the other side of the board will have two points that are your contact points to hold against the straight line board. You are trying to cut off the crown of the board. As you move the two pieces through the cut on the saw, the cut you get will be dictated by the straight line board running true against the rip fence. Since you are firmly holding the crowned board against the straight board by means of the two contact points, it will not rock and make the cut run off. The key is measuring you board so that you are taking enough off to get a continuous, straight cut from one end of the board to the other.

Once you have a straight cut, just flip the board over and set the fence to whatever dimension you are looking to achieve (max would be the smallest width of the board before re-ripping) and run the other edge. This gives you two parallel edges.

-Kevin

I see what you are saying. And I see that would work for many boards. But I was envisioning a board with both sides so irregular that the angle of the board cuts too much off part of it, such that the resulting board is not useful (too thin) for it purpose. HOWEVER, while I was reading your post, I realized I could make a "freehand" pre-cut to get rid of most of the irregularity.

Thanks for the tip. I haven't seen it in any of the multitude of videos I have watched.

 

[craigweaver]

Re: 81 Sea Ray 26 Sedan Bridge I/O to OB Conversion/Restore (Pics)

Hey kickback, You have taken on an awesome project. I've been following along but just wanted to let you know I think you're doing an awesome job.

 

[CaptainKickback]

Re: 81 Sea Ray 26 Sedan Bridge I/O to OB Conversion/Restore (Pics)

Hey kickback, You have taken on an awesome project. I've been following along but just wanted to let you know I think you're doing an awesome job.

Much appreciated cw. Its comments like this that keep us going. Glad you're watching.

 

[guitarkev77]

Re: 81 Sea Ray 26 Sedan Bridge I/O to OB Conversion/Restore (Pics)

I see what you are saying. And I see that would work for many boards. But I was envisioning a board with both sides so irregular that the angle of the board cuts too much off part of it, such that the resulting board is not useful (too thin) for it purpose. HOWEVER, while I was reading your post, I realized I could make a "freehand" pre-cut to get rid of most of the irregularity.

Thanks for the tip. I haven't seen it in any of the multitude of videos I have watched.

No problem. It's a technique I use almost daily to allocate lumber for face frames and doors before I mill it. I haven't really found a board where this process wouldn't work. If the board is too irregular, it can be crosscut down to sizes that would reduce the amount of crown needing to be cut off and make it more manageable. Keep up the great work on the boat!

-Kevin

 

[CaptainKickback]

Re: 81 Sea Ray 26 Sedan Bridge I/O to OB Conversion/Restore (Pics)

[h=1]Cockpit Hatch Hinged And More[/h]I finally got away from the salon about mid-afternoon to work on the boat. The first thing we did was to install a hinge on the cockpit deck hatch. This thing is huge (5’W x 3’L) and very heavy. When you lift it up, you have to stand it somewhere, usually in the way, and you always have to worry about it falling on you.

So today, we installed a hinge on it. We originally planned a continuous hinge, hoping to find a black one that could be used outside. No luck, only stainless steel. At some point we came across these 3” wide black plastic/rubber hinges. My first reaction was to laugh, thinking who in the h… would use a plastic hinge on a boat. But they say they are tested for one million openings and closings, supposedly UV protected, so I started giving them some consideration. In looking for them online, almost everyone sells them in 50’ or 100’ rolls. I did find one place that sells them in 25’rolls. I don’t need that much. Finally, I did find a place that sells them by the foot ($4 something/ft). So we bought 4 feet.

It looked plenty strong and it went on easy. Once on, it seemed to perform well. Again, plenty strong. We just put it on temporarily with SS screws since we’ll be taking it off later for gel coating. We plan to look for some kind of black (more decorative) bolts we can use outside. Otherwise, we’ll just have to paint the bold heads. The hinge will be sitting in the sun, and we’ll be working a lot in the engine compartment soon, so we’ll keep track of how it does. I’ll take/post pictures tomorrow.

Next we trimmed and fit the two floorboards. Looking good. Level. No wobbles. Ready for FG.

After that, we made a template for the small bulkhead that will be at the forward end of the main water tank between the two main stringers. Hope to cut, fit, and glass this piece tomorrow.

Lastly, we worked on the companionway and I’ll post that separately, to follow.

 

[CaptainKickback]

Re: 81 Sea Ray 26 Sedan Bridge I/O to OB Conversion/Restore (Pics)

[h=1]Companionway Progress[/h]As I said in my last post, we worked on the companionway today. We placed the top piece (shown several posts back) in place such that its slight down angle (for water runoff) matches the angle of the bridge deck (to which it will be mounted). Then we measured and cut the vertical pieces (2.75? x 51? x ??), held them level (forward/back and side to side), and measured for the bottom pieces. Once those were cut, we held it all together to make sure everything was plumb.

We will FG these tomorrow, but before we can FG them in place we have to grind off the gel coat everywhere we need to tab them in, and we need to cut off two small corners of the bridge deck to allow for the doors to swing and recess into the companionway. I?ll post picks when we do this.

So, it was a good day on the boat. I noticed there were a lot of boats missing from our storage yard today, I assume they were on the water. Lucky them. Would have been a great boating day. Hot, D? hot. Hope you all had a good boating day whether on the water or working on your project.

 

[CaptainKickback]

Re: 81 Sea Ray 26 Sedan Bridge I/O to OB Conversion/Restore (Pics)

[h=1]Guitarkev77 – Used Your Tip Today[/h]I was at the boat today, where the table saw is, and the router table, as well as my fancy new edging sled, where back at the salon. I had two opportunities to use the tip you gave me to get straight edges from irregular scrap pieces. Worked great!

So, those first two uses of your technique will be forever enshrined in the companionway on my boat. Thanks.

 

[CaptainKickback]

Re: 81 Sea Ray 26 Sedan Bridge I/O to OB Conversion/Restore (Pics)

This gun from HF will do the job IF.... YOU buy a 2.5mm tip/nozzle for it.
http://www.harborfreight.com/professional-hvlp-spray-gun-kit-93305.html

I'm pretty sure this nozzle will work on that gun.
http://www.amazon.com/NEEDLE-NOZZLE-G6600-SERIES-SPRAY/dp/B003FYNBO0
You'll need to confirm

You really need a helper to watch the time and have everything ready to do the Acetone clean up though. It's not that bad. Dump the acetone in the guns cannister slosh it around and open the guns nozzle full bore. Unscrew the nozzle cap after a bit and take a wet acetone rag and wipe the nozzle down, screw it back on and shoot some more acetone. pour out the acetone shoot some air and then reload some more Gelcoat and shoot the next coat. You got about a 20 minute window before it starts to set up in the gun so with a helper watching the time you should be able to do it without any hitches.

Hey Wood,

I just ordered the nozzle you suggested. However, the spray gun you linked was one I originally bought, and I believe it was Yacht Dr. told me it was the wrong one. There is another one at HF that looks Identical (#93312) that Yacht Dr. recommended. The 93305 HVLP is a bit more expensive, uses a bit more air, and the instruction that came with it gave the impression it could not be used with thicker materials (such as gel coat).

Which one should I get? Are they the same except for the nozzle? Confused.

 

[CaptainKickback]

Re: 81 Sea Ray 26 Sedan Bridge I/O to OB Conversion/Restore (Pics)

Floorboards Glassed

OK. Got a lot done today despite another very hot day. At least we were working in back of the salon, so we could step into the A/C to get cool. Before going in to what we accomplished, I have to show you a picture. I call it ?Me And My Tornado? (new Walgreen?s going up next door):

Back to the boat: We cut all the FG pieces for the floorboards, acetoned them, put down an initial coat of resin, a layer of CSM, and a layer of 1708. Let them tack up, flipped them, and did the other side.

Now they are ready to install, but first, we?re going to spray gel coat (see previous posts) on the hull and stringers. I ordered the 2.5 mm nozzle we will need for the sprayer yesterday. We have a cheapy Harbor Freight spray gun, but plan on buying the iboats recommended spray gun from HF very soon. That?s going to be a real experience, first time and all.

However, we didn?t rest on our laurels and continued working in the heat. We cutout and resined one side of the bulkhead I discussed yesterday in my posts. Then we did some cutting to modify the staircase frame so the cockpit hatch would clear the stairs when it opened. We took the stairs to the boat for fitting and found out we need to take ?? off the forward edge of the stairs.

That was our day. Hope yours was great.

 

[CaptainKickback]

Re: 81 Sea Ray 26 Sedan Bridge I/O to OB Conversion/Restore (Pics)

[h=1]Blasphemous Foaming Question[/h]I know most everyone here on iboats describes how to pour in your foam through holes in the floorboard, and then how to plug the holes. But, I’m considering another method that seems like a lot less work than doing the math to calculate the volume of these weird shaped spaced, pouring the foam and hoping it doesn’t explode your deck, plugging the hole, several layers of FG, fairing, sanding. Whew, I’m tired. So I’m considering pouring it in and trimming it level before the floorboards go down. OMG, did I say that?

Yep, I did. Several reasons:

1) The floorboards are in the salon, not exposed to the elements. Most boaters here on iboats have decks exposed and eventually, they all get some water under the floorboards. If I ever have water in these compartments, it will be because I hit something and knocked a hole in the hull.

2) I know that cutting off the top of the foam will damage some of the closed cells, but I’m not putting in the foam for floatation. So if I lose one tenth of one percent of the closed cells, I won't lose any sleep over it.

3) I don’t think this small amount of foam will “float my boat” anyway.

4) The main, primary, #1 reason for foaming is weight down low (you all know I’ve talked about this a number of times before. Did I say this is the main reason for foaming?

So, I’m just throwing this out there. I’ll probably do this method unless someone has a really good argument against it. Thanks all.

 

[CaptainKickback]

Re: 81 Sea Ray 26 Sedan Bridge I/O to OB Conversion/Restore (Pics)

[h=1]Sealing Fiberglass (Polyester Resin) ???[/h]Several times, I have had people say I need to seal the fiberglass. Are they talking about fairing compound and/or gel coat? I just want to make sure there is not a step I am missing.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 81 Sea Ray 26 Sedan Bridge I/O to OB Conversion/Restore (Pics)

Maybe they are talking about the last & final resin step getting the wax additive. Which then 'seals' the resin & allows it to fully cure. It takes a while for un-waxed resin to get cured past tacky...

 

[CaptainKickback]

Re: 81 Sea Ray 26 Sedan Bridge I/O to OB Conversion/Restore (Pics)

Maybe they are talking about the last & final resin step getting the wax additive. Which then 'seals' the resin & allows it to fully cure. It takes a while for un-waxed resin to get cured past tacky...

I didn't think of that one, but you could be right. At least on person, and I'm not sure who it was, but I think it was here on iboats somewhere, was talking about the tiny pits in the FG that had to be sealed up. Since you didn't mention some extra step, I'll take that to mean you don't think there is one. Thanks for the quick response.

 

[PMP]

Re: 81 Sea Ray 26 Sedan Bridge I/O to OB Conversion/Restore (Pics)

Wow! This is one hell of a project! Well done and I think its great that you have stuck with it. I just picked up a 79 Searay 26 Hull. I will be keeping my eye on this project of yours!

 

[oops!]

Re: 81 Sea Ray 26 Sedan Bridge I/O to OB Conversion/Restore (Pics)

hi cap.....

adding wax to any layer that is exposed to the air is allways best.....

but if you didnt do it.....dont loose sleep over it. it helps....but it is not crutial......what you have done there will get you 30 years of life any how

 

[CaptainKickback]

Re: 81 Sea Ray 26 Sedan Bridge I/O to OB Conversion/Restore (Pics)

Wow! This is one hell of a project! Well done and I think its great that you have stuck with it. I just picked up a 79 Searay 26 Hull. I will be keeping my eye on this project of yours!

Welcome pmp. Glad to have you on board. I'll be watching for your comments.

 

[CaptainKickback]

Re: 81 Sea Ray 26 Sedan Bridge I/O to OB Conversion/Restore (Pics)

hi cap.....

adding wax to any layer that is exposed to the air is allways best.....

but if you didnt do it.....dont loose sleep over it. it helps....but it is not crutial......what you have done there will get you 30 years of life any how

Hey oops! Good to see you on the thread again. I always look forward to your comments.

So I think you have confirmed there is no extra sealing step before gel coating. In my case, I don't have any unwaxed areas that won't be getting gel coated, so no problem there. Thanks.