From broken to beautiful in 180 days...

[Cap’n Ray]

Re: From broken to beautiful in 180 days...

Thanks Cadwelder and Luhrs, I will compare the price of the SO and the marine stuff I found and just go with the most economical.

May be going on a cruise next spring, I ALWAYS carry my leatherman tool, do you think they'd mind if I pulled a fixture off the wall to check out the wiring? :grin:

Thanks for reading and stay tuned!!!

 

[Cadwelder]

Re: From broken to beautiful in 180 days...

LOL, you won't need anything. Just look up on the deck areas. You'll the cord everywhere. Good luck on the cruise...the wife and I love them.

The metal detector will find your leatherman. LOL

 

[Cap’n Ray]

Re: From broken to beautiful in 180 days...

Lol... Ya, I kinda figured it'd be hard to hide! I'll be sure to look around a little, hopefully this boat is done and in the water before we ever go though!!

UPDATE:
Well, it's been all planning, organizing, and such lately. I've run out of easy inexpensive projects for the moment, so it's mostly cleaning, organizing, planning and helping the Admiral 'decorate' the interior! We are anticipating our first order soon though (gonna be about $600) and then the real work can start. The PLAN is to have her in the water at her slip before the first hard freeze, if we can't meet that deadline we will put the winter cover on and wait till spring. Keep your fingers crossed gang, this'll be a close one!!

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned!!

 

[oops!]

Re: From broken to beautiful in 180 days...

total for that hull repair is only about 8-10 working ours.....if you can put 2 hrs an evening on it....the repair could be done we.. before the hard water comes.

start with your grinding now.....while you are waiting for your resins...then its glass and go !

 

[Cap’n Ray]

Re: From broken to beautiful in 180 days...

Lookin forward to getting started on the repairs. I'm holding off a little longer before starting the grinding and prep, want to be a little closer to having supplies first. Great motivator on the timeline tho Oops!, I appreciate that!!

Quick side thought here. She's outta the water, I'm gonna re-bed the thru-hulls, replace the sea cocks, and generally go over the boat prior to the new bottom coat and such. On that note, is there anything else I should replace or whatever? Cutlass bearings, shaft seals(props and rudders) etc? According to both previous owners, she had a dry bilge when she was pulled last October. Input and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned!!

 

[Cap’n Ray]

Re: From broken to beautiful in 180 days...

Update time. Not one of my better weekends, was cleaning out the bilge and discovered a 'repair' likely made by the owner prior to the one I bought the boat from... Not real pretty FG work, I'll have to pull the port transmission to get a good look at it and make a proper repair. I can tell that he didn't get a very good bond as I was able to simply peel up the 'new' glass. Real tight spot but I'll try to get a couple pix and post em up. Feelin a little beat down, but no where near ready to give up!!

Thanks for reading and stay tuned!!

 

[Cap’n Ray]

Well, as promised- here is a pic of the "new" damage I found. This would be nearly impossible to repair without removing the transmission and V-drive. The line is where the POs repair separated from the original FG. Core is damaged too. Gonna have to open it up and explore before I know how bad it is. Gotta get that V-drive out first tho... Let the fun begin!

 

[oops!]

Re: From broken to beautiful in 180 days...

yeah......the po didnt grind off the top layer of wax.....it de lamed. one simple step and the repair was ruined.

one thing to remember......the mental ups and downs of a restoration can really mess you up.

during the tear down. you are full of energy....the work is hard and messy.....as you rip it.....you are excited because you still see the finished product, and want to get her done. after the gut......you walk away proud of your self of a good day....but then you look at the boat....and its totally wrecked.....you think of the grinding....how you have to "fix this part" then you start thinking of the rub rail....and how you are gonna do the motor mounts......and you actually go to bed quite dejected.

the next time you are working on the boat......it takes you an hour or so to get your head in the game, due to all the little detailes that you have not worked out yet.
this is usually at the grinding stage. grinding is boring, long dirty hot sweaty and tedious. after 4 hours of it....you are just about ready to haul the thing to the curb with a "free hull" sign on it...
things dont start to get better till you start the build......after you are in the building stage, more detailes come back to you.....and you get more dejected.

the key to avoiding the "blues". is to keep working on it....make a simple objective.....and do it. if you have time for something else, then try and start that step.
once you have done a few simple jobs....you will notice that your discouragement is not as bad. you will also notice that the questions about little details you were worried about just seem to answer themselves.
you still have a lot of work to do.....but at least you see progress.
a builder only slows down when they dont know how to do something or dont know what to do.
thats when the progress stops. and thats when the dejection comes in....its a real mental low. it can stall a project for a long time.

each time you stop and dont get back on it for a few days....it is harder to get your head back in the game....you just have to push thru that mental fog.
post the question here and we will have the answers.
boat building is simple.....the answers are not hard....and you CAN do it.

reguardless of how much you dont feel like it at the moment....go back out and get back working on the boat. try to do at least 2 hrs each day.

i posted this because i wanted you to be aware of the mental battles that go on in a builders mind......they are real and they can actually stop a project.

i have met over 50 iboaters in person....and talked over the phone to over 100 of them....one thing is common between all that have finished thier projects. when they are on the water, in there beautiful boats.... THEY KNOW the boat is done right......THEY ARE PROUD of the boat under them. and that just cant be bought from the local boat dealership.

right now.....im gonna take the hull extension boat....put it on the water....and go meet robj...he is up here with his iboat built boat. and we are gonna go have a blast.

if you keep on this boat.....you will be on the water soon.....KNOWING you have one of the best hulls on the water.....keep it up bud.

cheers
oops

 

[Cap’n Ray]

Thanks Oops! You and your project are HUGELY motivating!! I am doing odds and ends until I get the $$$ together to really start (will have it by the end of the month) and puttin a plan of attack together in the mean time. It does sometimes seem overwhelming, and each time I work on her I seem to find more I want or need to fix!! I have several great motivators on this project though- in no particular order: my wife, my son, my iBoat friends, myself, and the fact that I can't sell the whole thing unless it's finished so I'm gonna just finish it and enjoy the heck out of it!!

Have a great time on the water today, and have a cold one or two for me... I'll be back in the game and posting pix soon!!

 

[archbuilder]

Re: From broken to beautiful in 180 days...

Hey Mariner, hello from down south.....you guys have lakes up there ? Great looking boat, I'm looking forward to following you build, looks like you already have some great advise, just hang in there and take one step at a time.....if you get off track, just take a look at the pictures of where you started....you will be amazed at your progress!

 

[Cap’n Ray]

Thanks Archbuilder!! Ya, we have some big ponds, nothing like the real lakes further north and south though!! I have noticed that iBoaters seem to kinda become part of the project boats they comment and advise on. I know I felt a certain joy when Oops! Splashed the monster the first time, I think it's great that so many people get so involved... I know its gonna help me a LOT!! Let me just say now that I appreciate each and every comment positive or otherwise because they ALL help!! Wish everyone could be here when we splash her and do the name change ceremony- I know a lot of you will certainly be here in spirit. I WILL finish this, I can't NOT finish it!! Thanks again for the encouragement everybody, and as always-

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned!!

 

[crazy and lazy]

Re: From broken to beautiful in 180 days...

77 how's it going? Your sure got a good deal on that lil gem. Very nice! I'll be following your progress. I think I feel the same way u do. For some reason I get a good feeling working on boats but it makes me feel even better knowing that we have all the help and support here at your fingertips. Keep us posted.

Robert

 

[Cap’n Ray]

Thank you Robert, I think it's going to work out to a very good deal even after the work and supplies. I should be starting on the real work in another couple weeks- just waitin on a little influx of cash I'm expecting any time. I agree that the knowledge base and experience available here is priceless!! I don't know that I would have taken this on without access to all the input I've already had, much less what I know is available!! This project should be enlightening... I'm looking forward to a strong start soon and a great finish BEFORE next boating season opens!!

Thanks for watching, and stay tuned!

 

[Cap’n Ray]

Well, due to unforeseen financial difficulties, repairs will be postponed until mid February now. :-( I will be putting the storage cover on in the next couple weekends, fortunately it has a zipper door so I can still get inside to work on some of the smaller projects. Looks like I'll be doing the final winterizing this weekend at the latest (engines are all that need done) we are predicted to see our first freeze this week... Gonna throw a small work light in the engine compartment to ward off any possible problems. I will continue to post updates- small though they may be, until the big work begins. Patience my friends (as much for me as anyone lol) the good stuff is yet to come!!

As always, thanks for reading and stay tuned.

 

[Cap’n Ray]

Small update. She's all covered and cozy. Looks like access is even better than I thought so working on her during the winter will be easy! All space heater and I'll be set. Here's a pic of her all tucked in for the winter...

That was taken before I put the support poles in and really snugged all the ropes, but you get the idea. I'll snap a couple pix from inside when I start the next project... Until then;

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned!