I didn't want to restore this 1997 Islander this summer

[redneck joe]

Me too brother, me too...

I keep telling myself that this one season mostly missed will be rewarded with many trouble free ones.

 

[Fj40fiji]

I regret this. If I could get half of what I’m into this boat, I’d get out of it right now.

 

[Fj40fiji]

Every time I go to do something on this boat I think to myself that if I don’t go the extra mile and then have trouble I could have prevented while I’m on the water I’ll never forgive myself- particularly where the safety of my kids are concerned.

 

[redneck joe]

Get out of your own head. When you are on the water with the boy and you KNOW everything is good you will not regret anything you did this year. I was there with you, about this stage. In pushing 60 with a grandkid on the way (hoping for a girl I can make into a tomboy) and that kept me going.

 

[BWR1953]

I’d rather be fishing. . .

I feel your pain.

 

[airshot]

Work faster so you can go fishing !!! Lol....

 

[Fj40fiji]

Stripped and pressure washed. If my buddy comes through tomorrow I’ll start putting rivets IN.

 

[Fj40fiji]

I had done a lot of drilling and hammering out rivets already, but today is the first day I started cleaning them to get ready for new ones. Some of them were patched over by the PO with presumably JB weld. I opened up this. Most of the corrosion is minor and all the rivets are going with 5200. I think I’ll cut a little 1-1/2” washer out of the 5052 .80” sheet I have to go on this one.

 

[Fj40fiji]

Progress. I need just a few 5/8” rivets, had to put pop rivets for now.

 

[cyclops222]

Why are you sweating about doing foam on the bottom ?
My small Aluminum boat has all the foam in the space under the full width bench seats. Do some L X W X D to see if you can get enough floatation there and under any raised decks.
Plain old Closed Cell foam block would work Since gas and E10 would not splash & soak them.

 

[Fj40fiji]

Well, about 40 rivets all together. Two needed a little “patch”, essentially cut a fender washer from 5052 Al.

 

[Fj40fiji]

Why are you sweating about doing foam on the bottom ?
My small Aluminum boat has all the foam in the space under the full width bench seats. Do some L X W X D to see if you can get enough floatation there and under any raised decks.
Plain old Closed Cell foam block would work Since gas and E10 would not splash & soak them.

Sweating foam because it’s hard to get out and expensive to replace. I need about 2200 lbs of floatation, or 36 +/-cf of foam.