Restoring childhood boat. A 1972 Ranger. Help needed (pictures).

[artfan1]

Hello iBoats. I hope everyone survived the winter. We did, but cabin fever really got to me. I?m not sure which is worse, the waiting and waiting for spring to come so I can get started on the boat, or dealing with reality once spring arrives and realizing I have a long list of home repair projects that must be done first. It?s driving me crazy.

Last summer when I started on this project, I was so consumed by it that I ignored a few things that should have been done before fall. Ooops.:doh:
Now they have caught with me. Gutter repair, exterior painting, etc. Anyway, my goal is to finish those first so i can give the boat 100% of my attention. Well?50% I guess, once you figure in my real job and family.

I believe, based on what Woodonglass said last year, I need to patch any holes and thin areas on the inside first. Then he and gm280 suggested I build a low cradle so that I can flip the boat over and do repairs on the bottom. Once I have that cradle built, I will need to figure out what to do then. Pictures will of course follow once I have it flipped.

I?m going to do some brushing up on my reading, then pick out the materials for patching. I know I have lots of options.

good day! i like your project! your a few steps ahead of me but i think im going to follow along! pick up some experiance watching you construct your bateau!

Carpenter2486, sorry I hadn?t replied to your post. First of all, welcome to my thread.
For some reason, I never receive any emails when someone posts to this thread. I had no idea anyone had been on here and I?ve been so busy trying to get my other jobs cleared up that I haven?t even had time to log into iBoats.

No, I?m far from finished. I have most of the grinding done which is good. There is still some of that to do but not to the extent that I did last summer (I don?t think). I keep this thread pretty much up to date of where I am so, what you see here is exactly where I left it for the winter.

Once I finish a couple more jobs around the house, I will be back here with my list of supplies, as I see it. I'm sure everyone here will help me adjust it. :nevreness:

 

[artfan1]

Well, I'm not sure where to begin other than to say I'm sorry for the very long pause in my restoration. Life got ahold of me and knocked me down for a while. After my own struggles and recovery, my mom suffered a stroke, which required me to spend a lot of time helping care for her. Needless to say, the boat had to take a back seat.

I'm finally getting back at it. I just built a solid deck in my backyard so I can flip the boat over onto it. Right now, I'm patching the inside where I ground a little too thin and came through the hull in a few small spots. I'm laying epoxy and 1708 over those areas so that, once I flip the boat over, I can begin sanding and fairing everything in preparation for the barrier primer coat. After that, the boat will be painted all white, and later I'll add some accent colors to the topsides.

I'm not sure if there's anyone left who will see this, or even care anymore, but I wanted to check in and let everyone know that what happened was simply out of my control. Every time I thought about posting an update, it just felt difficult because I didn't know how things were going to turn out. If any of you are still around and happen to see this, I hope you're all doing well. I look forward to posting updates here again as the restoration moves forward.

 

[aspeck]

Life has a way of interrupting our best laid plans. Glad things have progressed to the point that you can complete this restoration. Keep pressing forward, artfan1.

 

[redneck joe]

welcome back

 

[DeepCMark58A]

No worries, matter of fact we welcome you back no matter the circumstances, glad to hear you are back at it and will defiantly follow along.

 

[artfan1]

Thank you for the welcome back. I appreciate that a lot. Well, I finally got my hands dirty/sticky doing some epoxy and glass work. This was my first time ever doing this so it was comical for sure. But after a little while I started to get the hang of it. Pictures will come soon, but the stuff I am doing now, is just the small areas where I ground too thin and they don't really show much in a picture.

However, I will include a photo of the bunk or deck, I built to flip the boat over onto in case anyone is interested. I included a lower level to store the cap until I am ready for it.
I don't have access to any garage, or building with a concrete floor, so I have no choice but to continue this project outside. I will have a canopy over top before I start doing any kind of painting. This deck is perfectly level in all directions and the posts are set in concrete so it should to the job for this small boat. While doing the bottom repairs, fairing, and paint, I will also work on the trailer replacing the bunks and adjusting everything. Then the boat goes back on the trailer where I will begin the transom and stringer.

Thanks again and more to follow.