MFG Gypsy Project

[Njbassman48]

Hey guys! Got another project on my hands! This time its a big boat. Sold the little 12 footer today, to fund this project. Me and this boat go way back. My neighbor has had this thing FOREVER lol. I moved into my house when i was 6, and i remeber him always starting it up and cleaning it. Well the other day i got the call, that he was willing to part ways with the old gal. Ran up and picked her up after work yesterday. Here i am, today. Got all the old rotten floor out except under the cap. Removed the motor, which runs like a gem, and prepped cap for removal. Once the cap is off the grinding begins! Im hoping to have her back in the water before the end of this boating season, so wish me luck im gonna need it! New transom and stringers and floor are coming soon!

 

[sphelps]

Welcome Nj48 !! Nice Gypsy you have ! This may be some help along the way .http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat...and-hull-repair/571211-1978-mfg-gypsy-rebuild ..TC did a great job on his Gypsy ..
Let us know how we can help !

 

[kcassells]

If that is YOU in the boat you may be a little too young for the rehab...
Welcome aboard and the boat looks great. You're already on your way. Take a lot of pics for later when you put her back together. Looks just like my old MFG 15, that was a fun boat. Lots of info here. Ask away. That Johnson will fly your boat!
KC

 

[Njbassman48]

Thanks guys, ive read TC's thread twice now, i will be full steam ahead now. Starting to get materials together. Hopefully sunday i will have enough help to lift the cap off and stick it in the garage so i can rock out on the rest of the demo and cleaning work. I really wanna get this thing done for labor day weekend.... its gonna be alot of late nights and pissed off neighbors haha

 

[Njbassman48]

Quick update time! All materials are en route, so hope to have that stuff by Monday. Got the transom out, surprisingly, it was one piece of 1/2" ply and one piece of 3/4" dowled and glued together (barely). Luckily i was able to save one of the boards in its entirety so ill just have to trace that onto new wood which should save a few hours itself. Tomorrow i should have my tyvek suit, so the grinding begins!!! So far im ahead of schedule, so hopefully splash before labor day. Either way she will be ready for striper season here in south jersey! tallcanadian do you have a rough guesstimate of how much resin you used in your rebuild? I have 5 gallons coming, hoping that will be enough!

 

[Njbassman48]

I almost forgot! Heres a progress pic from today!

 

[tallcanadian]

I'm having flash backs. Deja Vu. Good looking boat. Looks like you won't have to worry about a motor. I'm not sure if 5 gallons is enough. I went through 10 gallons or so. Good luck with the build. I truly enjoy mine. For me, it's the perfect size for what I need.

 

[Njbassman48]

Hahahah, i love this boat, i cant wait till shes done. 10 gallons isnt terrible, hopefully if i work efficiently ill be able to stretch the resin. We shall see. thank you for the reply!

 

[sphelps]

Yep 5 gal will get you started but you will need some more .. Making good progress !

 

[Njbassman48]

spent about an hour or 2 this evening grinding fiberglass. Unfortunatley using my big 7" dewalt gridnder apparently makes a big dusty mess, and the neighbors didnt like it. So, had to downsize to the 4.5 inch and hold the vacuum hose next to it. Ended up getting a little more than a third of it done tonight. Still on schedule though. Ive allowed myself 3 evenings to get the grinding done.

 

[sphelps]

Try taping the vac hose to the grinder ... That way you can put two hands on it ... Might be hard to get a good position to get the most dust though ..
Grinding is never fun .. lol !

 

[Njbassman48]

I have an idea how I'm gonna tape the hose to the grinder with a wedge of wood to angle hose where grinder throes dust. I'm hoping it works. I just need like 2 or 3 more hours to finish it up. Then onto woodworking. Should have resin and mat tomorrow

 

[Njbassman48]

Time for the daily update. Got all the grinding done, minus a little bit in the bilge area, and where im gonna tab the side of the transom to the hull. Also got the transom boards rough cut. Tomorrow i should be recieving my resin, hardner and mat. Hopefully i can get the transom final fit, glued and screwed. Im also gonna head out and pick up some lumber and stuff to build transom clamps for when i do the final install pb glue in. No pics today, everyone knows what a transom board and ground hull looks like haha

 

[Woodonglass]

Take a Look at the Dust Collection post in our "Sticky" Section at the top of the Forum Home Page.

 

[gm280]

Oh yes that itchy grinding dust. Amazing to see how far that stuff can spread when grind your hull. I am so glad that part is over for me though. But I will say that the grinding makes you appreciate your project that much more when you get finished. :thumb:

 

[Twainer]

You better not get to splash that by Labor Day! :mad-new: I set a date of 4th of July for mine to be finished now I am starting to have my doubts on Labor Day as well. Mine started out this spring as just new vinyl for the interior, carpet, & new exhaust manifolds. Found out the whole motor was trashed after removing the manifolds so an engine swap & tweaking to the trailer was added to list. Most of it is done but there is just a lot of little things... & I mean A LOT! Between the heat & the rain I have not been able to do much during the week. All weekends have been at my work where I can keep it dry with big fans blowing on me. I am at the point now where I will be grateful just to get some test runs in before winter.

 

[Njbassman48]

Im really pushing for Labor Day! Haha, or at least be able to use it for the fall striper run.. Today i did some more fitting of transom. Got it glued and screwed together. Gonna let that setup overnight. Also got two transom clamps fabricated, still have two more to do. Its just been so damn hot, i dont even want to be outside. Resin and glass also got dropped off today, so i have no more excuses. I have everything here i need to get the majority of the work done.

 

[tallcanadian]

I can't wait to see it done. I'd be interested to see how that 70 pushes this thing along.

 

[Njbassman48]

tallcanadian you and me both my friend!!!! From what the PO told me, she boogied. No T&T though.

So today was a very productive day! Started the day by fabricating my last two transom clamps. Followed up by a finish fitting of the transom boards. Then a bit more grinding of spots i missed, or didnt clean up as well as i wanted to. Threw a coat of glass over the transom. While i was waiting for that to kick, i fabricated my stringers and center support boards. Once the transom setup i decided to give everything a good cleaning, mixed up some PB and glued the transom to the outer skin. Went inside, had dinner, then mixed up some more PB and did my filleting. Ran out of PB to do the spots under the transom clamps so i will have to mix a bit more tomorrow when i tab the transom into the hull. The Admirals car needed brakes, so i took care of that real quick and then took her and the kids for ice cream! all in all a productive day. I was so busy i forgot to take pics. DOH!!! So far so good, im still on schedule. Hopefully no major hiccups and we will be golden!

 

[Njbassman48]

TRANSOM IS DONE!!!! Next up glassing in stringers. Shes coming along, cant wait for it to be finished! It has taken alot out of me so far. Couple more days off and she will be all back together. Man i cant wait. Does anyone have any experience with LEXEL for sealing bolt holes and whatnot thru the transom?