The inevitable 1973 15 Reinell tri-hull restoration!

[dOb]

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

I pushed the boat out of the garage and into the driveway. It needed some air. And I needed a change of work space. Not one cloud today. Luckily the driveway is mostly covered by trees. I started by sanding the areas where I re-joined the cap. It?s close. It?ll still need a little filler and sanding before painting.
I ended up using one more layer of CSM and then a paste made of waxed resin and micro-balloons. This is after sanding down the paste.

It?s not perfect, but I think it?ll pass when it?s painted.

Then I did some work on the deck. I finished the recessed living room for the gas tank. After I pull all of the wood out and glass the underside, I?ll probably put it back in with PL. I want to avoid screws when possible.

The original deck didn?t have a tapper to fit the hull as it angled towards the bow. They filled the gap that was left with thick resin. I decided to tapper the deck for a better fit. I used a skill saw set at 45 to start, the used the grinder to remove more material, and finally a belt sander to smooth it out.

Overkill? Probably. But it fits well. And it should make tabbing go a little smoother.

I used some left over insulating panels for a template in the bow area. It worked well because it was the same thickness as the plywood.

I finished the rough cut of the last piece. Then it started getting dark, and I pushed her back into the garage. I hope to have the underside glassed tomorrow, maybe even installed if all goes well. I still haven?t decided if I?m going to use PL or peanut butter on the tops of the stringers when I install the deck. I have about 7 gals. of resin left, so I should be fine either way.

Here?s a question: On my last order, I forgot to get talc for making peanut butter. It?s not worth another order, and would take too long to get here. I?ve seen some people here use flour. Can I use flour? All purpose flour from the store? I?ve also seen people use wood flour. But I?m not sure where to get wood flour. Any suggestions?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

I noticed you said you were going to thin your resin... can I ask why???

 

[dOb]

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

I'll try this again...I'm having some computer issues...

I noticed you said you were going to thin your resin... can I ask why???

Yeah, I probably didn't explain all of that very well. A couple of weeks ago we had a string of 100 degree days. I noticed that the resin was pouring thicker, straight out of the container. Instead of maple syrup, I was getting gravy (thin gravy). I was concerned that the resin wouldn't saturate the glass as well. I called the distributor, and they are the ones who told me to be sure that I wasn't forming a "Jelly Fish" in the center of the tub. That would mean that I was getting less bonding agent in my pour. There wasn't a Jelly Fish. But it is thicker than normal. I'll probably only thin it a little. I'm concerned because I'll be doing large sections of CSM on the deck, and I don't want to have to push it around any more than usual.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

was this BEFORE you added the MEKP?

 

[dOb]

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

It also occurred to me that I could use the new 5 gals. for the deck, and the thicker stuff for all of the PB I'll be making to fillet the edges of the deck.

 

[dOb]

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

We were typing at the same time. Yes, before the MEKP.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

That is odd usually high temps causes resin to actually flow better if the MEKP is not present. What mfg/Brand is it?

 

[dOb]

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

USComposites. I've always heard to store it somewhere cool. He also said that I am close to the end of the shelf life. That combined with the hot garage, I just figured this is what happens. I did use it to finish the repair to my cap. All went well. It saturated the cloth, but it seemed that I had to work it a little more. But that could just be my imagination.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

Well yes, you want to store it in a cool dry environment to extend the shelf life especially the MEKP. You can even put the MEKP in the fridge in the summer to help keep it from "kicking" so fast. But the resin itself should actually flow better in warm temps and act like it has been thinned.

 

[dOb]

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

I haven't noticed it getting any thinner. But I'm not too worried about. The rest of it I'll just use for making peanut butter. I have a new 5 gal. bucket for tabbing and putting CSM on the topside of the deck. I also have to make new supports for the console. I didn't know you could refrigerate MKEP. Good to know. I keep mine in a closed box on the floor of the garage when I'm not using it.

I got the underside of the deck covered with one layer of CSM today.

Having the edges tappered made sealing the sides a lot easier.

There will be a little touch up on some of the flat edges, but I can get that during the week.

I decided to use Peanut Butter on the stringers when I lay down the deck. No screws. The original didn't have screws. And that's surprising because just about everything else was screwed to the deck.

For the PB, I found out that West Marine sells wood flour. So I'll probably go that route. I'm still curious about the wheat flour though.

 

[Robert D]

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

I wouldn't try wheat flour......completely different stuff than wood! It's only called wood flour, because it is similar consistency as the flour you use in the kitchen. In reality, it's just fine sawdust. I needed a bit more one day and didn't want to wait for UPS......underneath my table saw I found some, and then I hit the jackpot. My random orbital sander with the little bag that collects the dust.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

Real nice job on the templating and floorboard fitment.

 

[dOb]

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

Thanks EZ! I spent a lot more time on it than I expected to. It was a lot of fitting and cutting and sanding and fitting and sanding?I think I climbed in and out of the boat about a hundred times that day.

RD ? I know you?re right about the wheat flour. It was just a thought. I?ve used a little bit of dust from my sander before, but only to fill small gaps where I had wood joints. It?s probably full again. I?ll check it out. I can use it to add to what I have. I had the missus pick up some wood flour at West Marine. Man that stuff is pricey. You?d think I was buying gold dust.

I?ve been busy the last couple of days, but I plan to get some time on the boat tonight.

Thanks for the input.

 

[dOb]

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

Not a whole lot of progress, but I definitely turned a corner. The deck is down. No screws. I slathered PB on the stringers, and used PL to set up the bi-level living quarters for the gas tank. I have two jobs today, so no boat work until tomorrow. But that will give the PL a chance to set up well.
I did a test fit, and marked the placement with the blue tape. Then cut the tape on the seams and removed the deck pieces so I could put PB on the stringers. The deck was in three pieces. I installed the stern piece, then the bow while standing in the boat. Then the mid section from outside of the boat. That way I didn?t have to walk on the deck until the PB had a chance to set up.

It?s strange to not see the stringers when I walk by the boat. I?ll run fillets along the deck/hull and bilge area tomorrow morning before heading to the lake for some family fun.

 

[dOb]

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

I took some time yesterday and got the deck tabbed in. One layer of CSM and a layer of roving. The tabs were approx. 10 inches, a little less. Since I had 38 inch rolls, I just cut it into 4 strips, roughly 9 ? inches each. I had better pics, but the camera walked away, so I just grabbed this one with my phone.

I like the way the weave in the roving takes a curve with out buckling. But those loose strands were a big drag.

I?m going to foam today. I?m a little apprehensive. I know I have to drill 2? holes to pour and allow air out, but I really don?t like the idea of drilling through the deck. I?ve been reading a lot of threads to figure out how many holes and where to put them. I thought I would fill the center first, and then do the sides to be sure the foam is balanced. Hopefully I?ll have some pics tonight.

BTW ? Happy fourth!

 

[dOb]

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

The foam is in. For some reason I was really sweating this part, but it wasn?t bad at all. It all went pretty smooth. Like everything else with this boat, prep, planning, and hours of reading threads on this forum make everything a lot easier.
I cut a dozen holes in the deck. Most of the holes were poured bow up, with the foam flowing towards the stern. The last two holes in the bow were poured bow down.

I had an extra pair of hands on this job. A friend outside of the boat poured the A and B cups. He poured those into the mixing cup that I was holding. I mixed and poured. It worked out, and I didn?t get covered with foam like I expected.
It?s a 15? boat with 12? of deck. I estimated 16 cf. of space to fill. On the last cup of mixed foam, I ran out of places to pour, so I poured the remainder in another cup I had standing by. This is the result. Cheers!

I can?t see under the deck, but I would bet that I got about 90% coverage. I still have a little bit of A and B left. It was warm outside, I?m sure that helped with the expansion.
I plan on replacing the plugs with PB.

For the holes in the center of the plugs, I was originally thinking of filling with thickened resin. But I?m wondering if this would be a good application for PL. Or maybe dowels with PL. Any thoughts on that?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

Check out FriscoBoaters Video on this subject...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxWkoXaC-4U&feature=player_embedded#at=229

 

[dOb]

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

Great. Thanks! Do I have to make that noise when I squish them in?

 

[dOb]

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

Time for some more of the good, the bad, and the ugly.
After I cleaned out the foam holes, I replaced the plugs as Wood suggested using Friscoboater?s method of just filling the void with peanut Butter, and squishing them in. It filled the center hole perfectly (and I did make the squishy noise).
Yesterday I sanded down the deck, and laid the first layer of CSM. I cut the glass before wetting the deck, and set it aside. I sat in the center of the boat and coated the wood with resin to let it soak in before laying the glass. I started in the bow, and stern. I left the center dry so I would be able to reach the other areas without standing in tacky resin. I still had to be an acrobat to reach those areas. When the wood was saturated I laid the glass (except for the center). When that was all down, I got out of the boat and saturated the center. I got a little bit eager, and laid the center section before I should have. It all looked fine when I was done. But after I cleaned up and went back out with the camera, I could start to see that the deck in the center was drawing resin out of the glass. This morning confirmed it.

So now I?ll need to sand this area down, and re-lay the glass. I want to do it early in the day so I can get the second layer on tonight.

Here?s a question: I got these seats for a song on craigslist last summer.

I did a test fit and noticed two things. One, when I open the seats to make a bench, the last three inches hit the splashwell. And two, I seem to be looking at or above the windshield frame. The seats that came with the boat were trash. I striped all of the stainless screws I could and threw them out. I seem to remember that the bases were smaller than these. These are 10?. I did a test with the seat cushions and a cinder block (7 ??), and it seemed a little better. I?m thinking of cutting the bases down to 6?. But I don?t want to be sitting too low. Should I be looking through the center of the windshield? Is there a standard for this?

 

[dOb]

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

Re: The inevitable 1973 15? Reinell tri-hull restoration!

I think the resin is getting to me. I need an objective opinion. I went out to sand down the white glass that was left from the wood sucking up all of the resin. I thought it would be hard, but it was actually pretty fluffy. So I thought I'd try this. I scuffed up the top of the white areas, poured resin over it and rubbed it in. Most of it seemed to penetrate the glass. There is a small area that didn't take. Is this a solid way to fix this? I don't know very much about fiberglass, and I don't want to do something that's not acceptable at this point. This is the first layer of CSM. There will be another layer over this.
Thanks.

BTW - the rectangle light patch toward the bow is light reflection.