My Chieftan project

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Weep'n Willy

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Re: My Chieftan project

Love it! Did you use the Nautolex adhesive or something else?


No did not use the Nautolex brand adhesive. After plenty of google research and info from other boat resto forums I deemed that the Weldwood Contact Cement would fit the bill. At $29/gal from Home Depot vs 90+shipping for the Nautolax brand was a no brainer for me. My test sample on a scrap of the sealed flooring wood showed it to adhere solidly and with no discoloration or distortion of the Nautolex. I am not sure about the aroma of the Nautolex brand adhesive but this stuff sure is potent. Even with a good breeze going my buddy and I did get a bit of a buzz from this stuff. He opted to hang out for a while after we completed it before driving home. This is not an adhesive I would desire to use indoors.

Prep consisted of rough sanding the floor with 100 grit then vacuum and wipe down. Nautolex was positioned and fitted to my desire then we folded it lengthwise in thirds. Applied the cement with a 6" by 1/4" nap roller by dipping it in the gallon and rolling it out on the floor and then on the Nautolex. Gave it approx 15 minutes to get tacky then laid a section in and used the J-roller to roll it out. Gave it about 10 minutes or so to set well then did the next section. As you can see in the pic the Nautolex was wide enough to go up the sides of the hull a couple inches, which we applied lastly. My intent is to have any rain water run straight back the floor to the bilge and not run down the sides of the hull and under the flooring. Overall I am well pleased with the results.
 

Jeffjessing

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Re: My Chieftan project

This looks like a great boat. You are making good progress too. How much bigger are these Chieftains over the Starchiefs?
 

Weep'n Willy

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Re: My Chieftan project

Jeff, I really don't know as I have never seen a Starchief up close and personal. A couple years ago a guy had one not too far from me and had it for sale. I told the wife I was going to go up and check it out when I wasn't towing our other boat but when I went back to look it was gone. It appeared to be a 22' so size wise I think pretty much the same but different cabin style. It did appear though to have less deck space in the rear.
 

barato2

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Re: My Chieftan project

the Starchief is based on the ubiquitous 18'4" hull....it looks like the "coupe" version of a 22' Chieftain. hull weight is i think about 400# difference for similar configuration. cockpit/deck space is pretty tight compared to your boat.
 

Weep'n Willy

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Re: My Chieftan project

The holiday was quite productive as far as work on the Chief. After tackling the flooring, stripped off the bow rail, lights, fuel fills, water fill, bilge exit, water exit, antenna mounts, elec anchor winch, and the top windshield. Then the fun :rolleyes: began.....sanding the hull of the scratches and then starting the wet sanding. Well let me say I don't think my shoulder and right arm will forgive me for this one. My buddy brought over the required equipment, (sandpaper and orbital sander for ) and demonstrated the proper technique to sand out the major scratches with the sander and then wet sand by hand. Good lord that is a lot of boat to hand sand. He laughed and assured me that this was only the beginning of the hand sanding as it will be done throughout the painting process.. My, something to look forward to I guess. But he did assure me that it will look good when finished.

The boat looks kinda naked without the railing and the top windshield.


Some of the sanding work done.


I certainly am glad that I decided to do a somewhat complete resto of this boat instead of trying to run it as is. I have found numerous issues besides the known bad transom. Wiring issues that were unsafe, non working bilge pump, and other minor issues but this one really caught my attention. While fuel fills and vents when pulling the hoses off I found this on the port side vent line. The hose would normally be under the gunwhale and behind a side panel - out of sight where most people would not think to check these if it was supposedly a "water ready" boat. This hose was rotted and severely split and would have allowed a lot of fuel to just be blown into the side of the boat instead of out the vent. Very dangerous indeed.

 
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dozerII

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Re: My Chieftan project

Great, progress WW. That fuel hose looks very similar to what I found on the 201, only it was the fill line buried in pour foam.
 

classiccat

"Captain" + Starmada Splash Of The Year 2020
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Re: My Chieftan project

Wow WW! I wonder if any of that fuel-line crud made its way to the fuel cell.

I've found that when sanding or scraping, its best not to look left-or-right...to avoid seeing how little you've done AND how much more you have to do :lol:
 

jasoutside

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Re: My Chieftan project

Good lord that is a lot of boat to hand sand.

I hear ya brother. When I was sanding out the Islander I had this song in my head that played over and over....

"This is the hull that goes on and on, and it never ends......"

Repeat, repeat:facepalm:
 

barato2

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Re: My Chieftan project

it will all be worth it. some day, people will stand in awe of your gorgeous boat, women will swoon at the chance for a ride, and heads of state will roll out the red carpet.

or something. at least you'll get kudos from the peanut gallery here...
 

Yeonik

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Re: My Chieftan project

And dirty looks from the Admiral whenever the UPS man arrives!

That fuel line looks ugly! I seriously cringed when I saw that this morning.
 

Weep'n Willy

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Re: My Chieftan project

One thing for sure is that this is a great site for anyone doing a restoration or repair on their boats. Plenty of knowledgeable and skilled people that not only provide compliments but also suggestions or techniques that assist particular situations.
As far as the UPS man, the wife doesn't complain at all as she is anxious to see the boat completed and being out on the water in her.
 

Weep'n Willy

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Re: My Chieftan project

Strange, another double post...
 
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barato2

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Re: My Chieftan project

As far as the UPS man, the wife doesn't complain at all

just remember, sauce for the goose,...........:D
 

pckeen

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Re: My Chieftan project

Nice progress over the last little while - look forward to seeing it done.

How many people would that Chieftain sleep?
 

Watermann

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Re: My Chieftan project

Jumping on board your big Chief thread, figure my mini Chief could benefit from another rebuild thread like yours. Nice work!
 

Weep'n Willy

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Re: My Chieftan project

Can I send my wife down for some training? :laugh:

Only if she can drive a boat and troll a fairly straight line, the wife has gotten pretty good at it.

As far as the UPS man, the wife doesn't complain at all

just remember, sauce for the goose,...........:D

The goose gets more than here share of the sauce, I usually get the crumbs. :)

Nice progress over the last little while - look forward to seeing it done.

How many people would that Chieftain sleep?

Thanks, I intend it to sleep 2 but 3 would also fit with no problem.

Jumping on board your big Chief thread, figure my mini Chief could benefit from another rebuild thread like yours. Nice work!

Thanks for directions to your thread. Always seeking more info from other Chief restos.


Not amused with the weatherguessers today. Said clouds would move out this am and be a dry day. No sooner went out to work on the Chief and it started to rain. After it quit went out and pulled the tarp off over the cabin so I could begin sanding. Yep just as I expected, get part way into the task and the rain cometh again. Cover back up and wait it out. Next attempt still didn't get too far when again it comes. Guess I wasn't supposed to get anything done today on the hull so spent some time in the garage with the donor motor, attached the new starter and then tore into the carb and gave it a good cleaning. Also found that the mounting bracket for the power steering pump was broken, cast iron, gonna have to find a replacement bracket. Hopefully tomorrow the rain will have subsided and I can return to the joyous task of sanding.
 
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Weep'n Willy

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Re: My Chieftan project

Well it has been a while since I last did an update so progress has not went as expected. Spent an awful lot of time doing the sanding in prep of paint, I believe I would rather watch the paint dry than than endure the endless hours of hand sanding.......
but I believe I finally have all the sanding done that I need to do now. Wanted to get some primer going but unfortunately my father took a 3 week stint in the hospital that required a lot of my time. Now that he is out I can get some things done.

My buddy was kind enough to coat the cabin walls for me and I will have to say they turned out great!! The grain in that mahogany stands out proudly. So today I was able to set them in place and get the dimensions for the piece that I will need over the cabin door. Got to winterize the glasser this weekend and take care of m electronics and fishing gear so probably won't get much done on her this weekend........just got to keep plugging away....slowly I guess.

 

jasoutside

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Re: My Chieftan project

Nice Willy, those bulkheads really pop buddy:thumb:
 
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