PITFALLS: things i wish i'd known before i started

barato2

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Dec 7, 2010
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along with the testing thread, this is another i've been meaning to start for some time as i suspect we've all learned something the hard way that we'll do differently on tinnies #3, 4, 5,.........and like that thread, all opinions are welcome.........so here goes:

1. go back a few hours after you do a coat of epoxy or varnish, before it's fully dried hard, and trim off the drips with a utility knife or chisel....much easier than sanding em off later

2. if your old transom is too shot to be a good template, when you cut the transom, just rough out the upper edge an inch or 2 oversize, then glue sections up and drop in place in boat, so you can then mark an accurate upper edge that follows the alum skin closely

3. hunks of inverted alum L-channel make good stands for epoxied/varnished wood to sit on....do the non-visible side first, then flip it over and do the visible one
 

starcrafter65

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Jun 9, 2009
Messages
645
Re: PITFALLS: things i wish i'd known before i started

1. I would not have stripped the paint completely off the hull - if it aint coming off after 44 years and a wire brush....probably still works.
2. I would have discovered the wonder of rivets earlier!
3. I would have made sure my trailer was 100 percent (3 bearing failures + one flat trailer ride).
4. The Decko Dot flooring on my Nassau (first resto) I would not specify again.
5. Has anyone figurered out how to get the nice mahogany dash piece out w/o cutting it?
6. I would have done a better job masking/tenting when I sprayed.
 

North Beach

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Sep 29, 2008
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Re: PITFALLS: things i wish i'd known before i started

1. I would not have stripped the paint completely off the hull - if it aint coming off after 44 years and a wire brush....probably still works.
2. I would have discovered the wonder of rivets earlier!
3. I would have made sure my trailer was 100 percent (3 bearing failures + one flat trailer ride).
4. The Decko Dot flooring on my Nassau (first resto) I would not specify again.
5. Has anyone figurered out how to get the nice mahogany dash piece out w/o cutting it?
6. I would have done a better job masking/tenting when I sprayed.

haha Clark. The dash is dropped in before the deck skin goes on and is angled to the outside of the tapered hull so the answer is it HAS to be cut......

And if someone had told me my motor was gonna blow I could have removed it and the entire resto would have been a little easier.
 

jbcurt00

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Oct 25, 2011
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Re: PITFALLS: things i wish i'd known before i started

1. go back a few hours after you do a coat of epoxy or varnish, before it's fully dried hard, and trim off the drips with a utility knife

3. hunks of inverted alum L-channel make good stands for epoxied/varnished wood to sit on....do the non-visible side first, then flip it over and do the visible one

Not that I don't agree w point #2, but #1 & 3 for sure are great!

Running 2 drywall screws thru 2pcs of scrap plywood also gives you nice small cross section to support green epoxy when you flip a work piece to coat the other side.

WoodOnGlass's helpful tip #1001, not my original idea. His transom glue up clamps are helpful too......
 

ezmobee

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Mar 26, 2007
Messages
23,767
Re: PITFALLS: things i wish i'd known before i started

I put a pressure treated deck in the Jupiter :eek:! It was right around the time of the changeover though so it may have been the older stuff that wasn't corrosive. I know it was really green compared to the new stuff. Either way, not my problem now.

Everyone knows about my disaster paint job. I should have primed, and not used Easypoxy. Junk. If I had it to do over again (which I won't because I'm not flipping a boat with a full interior) I'd have stripped and left the bottom bare aluminum.

Bow deck, also a disaster. Areas around the hatches not properly doubled up/supported and have cracked.

Cutting my console front panels before putting them in the boat and aligning the windshield.

My "awesome" multi-function gauge. FAIL.

Perhaps this winter whenever my basement finishing project is completed, I'm thinking of going from the bow to the stern and redoing everything I'm not happy with.
 

cj8mule

Senior Chief Petty Officer
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Apr 7, 2012
Messages
660
Re: PITFALLS: things i wish i'd known before i started

Hmmmm ... would I have ever bought that first tin can... if I knew it would lead to MBS...







YEP!!
 

jbing81

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May 22, 2010
Messages
421
Re: PITFALLS: things i wish i'd known before i started

The most upsetting part of my rebuild was deciding to replace the original floor with 1/2". This upsets me every time I step foot into my boat! And will without a doubt be a thorn in my side with it comes time to sell it... I should have just eaten the cost and ripped it out and gone with 3/4" while everything was out.
 

bananaboater

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Jul 27, 2009
Messages
932
Re: PITFALLS: things i wish i'd known before i started

I used the original ply decking as a pattern for the new. BUT did not take into consideration how much bigger the pieces (2) would get after applying the vinyl decking which had to be rolled over the edge and stapled to the back. I wound up pulling back WELL stuck on vinyl to saw off about 1/2" so they would fit into the hull. I documented the oversight in my pics of the resto.
 

64osby

Admiral
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Jul 28, 2009
Messages
6,826
Re: PITFALLS: things i wish i'd known before i started

My big pitfall was buying a FG boat thinking I could/would fix it up, NOT!

Made up for it by finding a splash ready Starcraft.
 

Bwana Don

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Oct 20, 2009
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Re: PITFALLS: things i wish i'd known before i started

Great thread.

Stripping a boat is very hard work. Scuff and paint if you can. If not use vinegar wash on the bare aluminum and then Zinc-Chromate primer after it's dry. Prime and paint with Rustoleum. Use a respirator too.

ps
Citristrip works as well as Kleen Strip and is less noxious. Keep it moist, remove it before it get too dry. Use a BRASS wire wheel to clean around the rivets.
 

starcrafter65

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Jun 9, 2009
Messages
645
Re: PITFALLS: things i wish i'd known before i started

I also would have been born to rich parents!!
 

bunker108

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Jun 26, 2011
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482
Re: PITFALLS: things i wish i'd known before i started

The next time I paint a boat I will surely paint the entire boat at the same time. I did not pull the interior out or pull the engine off to paint the hull. I will gut it next time because I realize now that it is too easy not to. I spent so much time masking things off when I should have just removed them!
 

bryanwess2000

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 16, 2008
Messages
240
Re: PITFALLS: things i wish i'd known before i started

1.)I would have to agree about not stripping the paint to bare metal.
2.)Don't buy a boat that has a hack paint job that has to be stripped due to poor prep. A faded ugly original paint job is a much easier project and a good foundation for new paint.
3.)Paint a sample piece with the type paint you wish to use and let cure then check adhesion,hardness, abrasion and chemical resistance.
4.)Use a catalyzed urethane paint if you plan to keep the boat for a while.
5.)Don't settle for a basketcase project when there could be a clean "boat you've always wanted" about to be listed you may be able to
buy for a little more money.
 

Bwana Don

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Oct 20, 2009
Messages
1,951
Re: PITFALLS: things i wish i'd known before i started

1.)I would have to agree about not stripping the paint to bare metal.
2.)Don't buy a boat that has a hack paint job that has to be stripped due to poor prep. A faded ugly original paint job is a much easier project and a good foundation for new paint.
3.)Paint a sample piece with the type paint you wish to use and let cure then check adhesion,hardness, abrasion and chemical resistance.
4.)Use a catalyzed urethane paint if you plan to keep the boat for a while.
5.)Don't settle for a basketcase project when there could be a clean "boat you've always wanted" about to be listed you may be able to
buy for a little more money.

Easier said than done. Sometimes you just can't stop true love. Great advice though.
 
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