First Boat Restoration!

[barato2]

Re: More pics

Re: More pics

it grows on you after thankless hours with the makita buffer!
the orig color really grows on you when you contemplate even more thankless hours with the aircraft stripper and wire wheel! and it "works" well with the vintage windshield, steering wheel, and horn.

i'd just blast the affected areas if you have access to blasting rig....while glass bead is death to use on the whole boat due to how it will warp the skin and take metal off too fast, it might be OK for spot blasting of pitted areas. main thing is you want to be sure there's no copper residue left. if you don't have access to a blaster (or a big enough compressor to run it....takes a huge one), a wire wheel will probably do a decent job. then patch your pinholes pronto, before the aluminum oxide has a chance to begin to form

 

[starcraftmike]

Re: More pics

Re: More pics

So from what I surmise, I should start corrosion repair, clean thoroughly each spot and epoxy over the damaged areas as I progress to "seal"


I do have access to a sand blasting setup, however I would need to take my boat to my friends shop to do so, and having already torn everything so far down including the trailer, I believe the wire wheel setup will be my best option and already have many of those in diferent strengths of wires and setups.

 

[North Beach]

Re: More pics

Re: More pics

Mike, getting blasting residue out of the boat is no fun. If I were you I'd wire wheel/brush and hit the inside of that hull with gluvit and leave it. One quart should give you a good coat of the entire hull. You should put a couple inches of water in that hull first and make sure you don't have any leaking rivets.

And I'm not sure what the process is on refurbing that paint but remember the brochures call that vinyl based paint back in those days. I'd try the polishing approach in a hidden area first.

 

[Captmills]

Re: More pics

Re: More pics

Hey that boat looks familiar, LOL Just getting back on mine after sitting up for two years waiting for me and my wife to get healed up. Looking forward to your pics of progress and getting back to mine. Good luck!

 

[starcraftmike]

a few questions

a few questions

Been doing a lot of research but being a rookie boat restorer i have a few questions on some materials to plan ahead on.

What's your thoughts on floor wood to put in. I know treated isn't compatible and marine plywood is 100 a 4x8 sheet and need a larger size. What are options? Could I polyurethane exterior grade ply wood or maybe fiberglass, which I have not done before. Or would appreciate ideas or suggestions? I will be carpeting over.

I am planning on getting the hull finished scrubbed out and start the pitting and corrosive repair maintenance over the weekend. Once scrubbed I want to go over all my rivets and do a leak test. Any tips on what to look for on aging Starcraft rivets, seams etc?

Also... I'm at a point of several directions to head in my near future.

Transom needs replaced. Would removing it at this point be good or should I leave in until hull is finished for support or would be easier to pull transom and possibly splashboard to open up more space.... Maybe splashboard should just stay put?


Really appreciate all the tips everyone, its great having a place where other folks have been there done it!

 

[jasoutside]

Re: a few questions

Re: a few questions

Well, you sure have a lot of options for a deck out there. And, lots of opinions too!

I think you'll find that the majority of the fellas around here go with Arauco or Exterior Grade plywood, all sealed up with epoxy. But, there are a lotta other ways to do it. Some more expensive, some less. Some higher quality, some not so much. Keep on reading through the "Starcraft Rebuilds" thread and you'll see the variety of ways to do it. From there you can make an informed decision.

You can pull that transom out any time you like and carry on from there. I kinda consider that demo work so I'd tear it out right away.

Cheers

 

[ezmobee]

Re: a few questions

Re: a few questions

Best: fiberglass
2nd: epoxy resin alone
3rd: marine spar varnish
4th: paint

Most of us have gone the epoxy route. Keep in mind you are unlikely to find epoxy resin locally (like at Home Depot or something) and will probably have to order it. The fiberglass resin sold at home centers and auto parts stores is polyester resin which is worthless without fiberglass.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: a few questions

Re: a few questions

I think you'll find that the majority of the fellas around here go with Arauco or Exterior Grade plywood, all sealed up with epoxy. Cheers

This might explain why it's been hard to find Arauco plywood recently and why it's been somewhat more expensive in some areas. A huge fire that destroyed the production plant.

Underlayment plywood may use exterior glue & have void free core layers in the ply. You may need to research the brand/type of underlayment ply to confirm it's glue & void specs.

As Jas said, there are quite a few ways to deck a boat

Best of luck

 

[starcraftmike]

Re: a few questions

Re: a few questions

Are there epoxy resins that from experience better than others to use on plywood in aluminum hull boats?

I really want to do this right and get years of use out of this project.

Sometimes seems too much information to filter through!

Thanks for the help, i really do appreciate all of it.
Will post more pics as I progress.

 

[barato2]

Re: a few questions

Re: a few questions

Mike--

first off, the original floors and transom lasted how many years? they were just exterior ply with zero coating. there is no way you can make it worse than the factory did no matter how bad you screw it up, so be fearless and dive on in. this goes for the cutting on the floors too, which they did by hand and (ahem) often less than perfectly

most of us are just getting generic epoxy resin/hardener from Aeromarine or USComposites and that seems to work fine. on decking material, look at the Starmada test labs thread, i just posted immersion test results on various plywoods. you don't need oversize sheets, you just install em turned laterally in the boat like SC did

no you don't need to pull the splashwell to get the transom out. removing it makes working underneath easier but it's another thing to put back together and rivet back in

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: a few questions

Re: a few questions

Are there epoxy resins that from experience better than others to use on plywood in aluminum hull boats?
I really want to do this right and get years of use out of this project. Sometimes seems too much information to filter through! Thanks for the help, i really do appreciate all of it. Will post more pics as I progress.

For the plywood deck:

Raka
USComposites
CompositesOne
Express Composites

Are but a few.

Look around the net w/ google. HazMat shipping on heavy buckets of resins gets expensive. You may find a retail place closer that although more expensive per unit, less shipping may make the net purchase cheaper. Another tip would be to be wary of extremely low cost providers. They may be turning over older stock of resin. If you are not in much of a rush, start putting the word out locally that you are looking for bulk epoxy, someone may turn you on to a great source.


As I remember his posts & videos about it: Although Friscoboater's low cost resin hookup/connection doesn't use 5gal buckets of resin, Friscoboater was able to buy resins at @ wholesale price by getting his order 'tacked onto' his connection's LARGE bulk purchases (55gal+).

So start stopping & chatting up the locals @ a marina or 2. Now is a perfect time M-F to talk to these folks. More of them are out & about M-F since the weekends see so much boat traffic, and many live aboard their boats during the summer. And boat repair places too, they are often on a few of the main & side streets leading down to the marina. All those folks can also be extremely helpful when looking for parts & pcs, esp of vintage OBs.

For the interior of the hull:

Gluvit seems to be the most popular, it's also widely available on the net. IBoats also sells it I do believe. And the same alternative sources as above for epoxy.

Neither Gluvit or epoxy are UV stable so don't use them & leave them uncovered outside for long periods of time. Requires paint on the deck &/or the interior of the hull to be covered by the plywood deck.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: a few questions

Re: a few questions

Besides the ones JB mentioned you'll find guys around here use a lot of Clark Craft too. I like US Composites a bunch. But, if you feel like spending a lot of money West System is excellent!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: a few questions

Re: a few questions

Coat It is an alternative to Gluvit.

 

[starcraftmike]

Re: a few questions

Re: a few questions

I think I may be overthinking the plywood floor a bit! Thanks all

I have a few cans of flex seal from aluminum gutter repair. A fellow worker told me I could use that on all my rivet seams but from what I have read here the gluvit type epoxy seams to be a better route.

Should I treat my transom lumber like I do my floor? It still has green paint from 1965 on it but is soft on one side.

 

[starcraftmike]

Re: a few questions

Re: a few questions

I have a large stack of 2x12 beams in my barn. They were in an older barn I tore down as roof trusses. They seem very hard and tough compared to a new 2x12. Would these be better to use or would you guys recommend putting new lumber in?

 

[barato2]

Re: a few questions

Re: a few questions

the flex seal would probably work since it's designed for the same purpose. advantage of the gluvit is that a bunch of folks have used it and like it.

yes, by all means, do the transom too at the same time....much easier and sounds like it needs it. most important piece of wood on your boat.

what were you going to use the 2x12 for? would be very heavy for floor panels, and a glued up plywood transom will be far stronger than one made from 2x12

 

[bananaboater]

Re: a few questions

Re: a few questions

I don't think anybody has suggested JB Weld epoxy for the pitting/corrosion. I used it with great results, tough stuff after curing. Wire brush prep and putty knife application. Looking forward to watching progress.

 

[starcraftmike]

Re: a few questions

Re: a few questions

2x12 is for transom. It was what was in it originally? I never thought of using plywood for it.


I saw some locktite marine epoxy at lowes tonight among the jb weld products that looks like a winner.


While looking at fiberglass products and epoxy stuff somebody suggested the spar varnish marine stuff they had to coat the transom and floor wood... Any thoughts?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: a few questions

Re: a few questions

2x12 is for transom. It was what was in it originally? I never thought of using plywood for it.

Plywood is much stronger than dimensional lumber. Your transom is comprised of two pieces of 3/4" plywood laminated together. I believe on your boat, you can get both pieces out of one sheet of plywood.

While looking at fiberglass products and epoxy stuff somebody suggested the spar varnish marine stuff they had to coat the transom and floor wood... Any thoughts?

See my earlier post (#27)

 

[starcraftmike]

Re: a few questions

Re: a few questions

I was considering the spar varnish, then painting over that, but for what I will spend on supplies for both I believe I may be just as good to do the epoxy coating for the floor and transom.

I started working on removing the transom last night but soon realized that the old nuts and bolts are going to require a freind to hold the outside while I take the nuts off. Even my air ratchet wouldn't budge a single one!

My plan is to have the transom out and hull finished over the weekend.

I think I missed a step before the floor... Yep... Floatation foam time! I have enjoyed the test threads about foam on here, and don't want to overcomplicate things. ....

Thanks everyone for all the help and input!