Work Begins Soon

[Landscaping Wiz 808]

Re: Work Begins Soon

a70eliminator - I haven't had any problems with my deck...YET. The more threads I read on here, the more I worry that any foam under the deck of mine is soaking wet. I'm considering cutting an access hatch to check (and add a bilge pump). If it is wet I'm going to end up cutting a perfectly good deck out to reach it. Oh well, maybe I can add a permanent gas tank then. Anybody have any idea how much foam was in these things, and has anyone replaced it before?

I was thinking about adding some netting like they use in hammocks and sailboats to the area under the bow deck to hold loose items, but I might change my mind once I see those pictures. What type of hatch did you install?

BOB

 

[matt9923]

Re: Work Begins Soon

wiz i thought about cutting the deck out and replacing the foam. I'm pretty sure its soaked. That's a job for another year...
Matt

 

[*EdC*]

Re: Work Begins Soon

Bob,
From what i've seen. (I cut a hole in my deck under the seat) there isn't a lot to worry about. If it really bothers you.... take it to a public truck scale and weigh it. If it's close don't sweat it. I read on a post some time ago, that a dehumidifier piped in under the deck, along with a tight shrink wrap job can get it dried out.

Regards
Ed

 

[*EdC*]

Re: Work Begins Soon

Hey Bob!

Waz up? Haven't seen an update in a while. Busy doing spring clean-ups?

 

[pduquette]

Re: Work Begins Soon

Hi Ed ! I've just about finished the sand/fill/sand cycle should be painting thurs.....unless some OTHER freakin' interuption gets in the way...:redface:
so far , smooth as a bab.............And DIEING to hit the water again .
Did you get yours out early , or still waiting till the 8th ??? peter

 

[Landscaping Wiz 808]

Re: Work Begins Soon

Hey Bob!

Waz up? Haven't seen an update in a while. Busy doing spring clean-ups?

Hey Ed,

Yeah, work keeps me pretty busy this time of year. I've been spending most of my off time out in my little aluminum 12'er fishing.

I have a few updates I need to post here as far as the transom is concerned, but I'm going to wait until the Seacast is poured so as to do the whole step by step thing. I actually have a couple of contributions for the trivia thread you started too, I just need to take some pictures first...GOTTA HAVE PICTURES!!

I'll try to get motivated this week and get back to it this weekend. Stay tuned!

BOB

 

[Landscaping Wiz 808]

Re: Work Begins Soon

Well, I haven't had a whole lot of time to get any large projects like the fiberglass & Seacast on the Westfield done recently due to it being the busy season at work and a slight antique outboard addiction I seem to have caught. I have been working on some of the details when I have time though.

I mentioned in a earlier thread that I found another bow light on ebay. When I got it, the white paint was faded and cracked so I decided to chemically strip it to find out what laid beneath.

I disassembled it to find this unit has a one piece body. The one that came with the boat has two pieces.

After stripping it, a process that should be avoided if at all possible, this is what it looked like. I got as much paint as I could out of the interior, but some remained.

I was going to sand it to a shine, but the material (aluminum?) didn't lend well to this, so I decided to paint it. Here it and the corner bezels are in Rustoleum primer. The can states it works on bare metal, so I gave it a shot.

More to follow...

 

[Landscaping Wiz 808]

Re: Work Begins Soon

Bow light continued:

I decided to paint the housing gloss white. I know, I know...I stripped the white paint so that I could paint it white again. UGH!! The original paint was pretty crappy though and I was hoping the metal underneath would be nice and shiny...it wasn't. Obviously there's no need to show the unit painted white...again...GEEZ!

So here's where I decided to get fancy. I used some (a lot!) painters tape to mask off portions of the housing. I think it looked cool this way.

I was inspired by EdC to try my hand at chrome colored paint on the exposed areas. Like, Ed I first put down a gloss black enamel. Unfortunately I don't have a food dehydrator though, so I had to let time do it's work. I did my rub rail ends at the same time.

After a couple of weeks, out came the chrome (spray paint). Like Ed, I applied multiple light coats.

Before the paint fully set I peeled away all of the masking tape. Most of the lines were pretty crisp and I only had a few areas to touch up.

Almost done...

 

[Landscaping Wiz 808]

Re: Work Begins Soon

Bow light completion:

Today, I hit everything with a couple of coats of clear. I cleaned the lenses and reassembled everything. Here's how it turned out:

I'm not sure why the chrome paint doesn't look shiny in the above pictures, but it does in person. Here are the rub rail ends next to a chrome cleat so you can compare "paint vs. chrome".

I'm still waiting on a couple of parts for the light fixture, but for the most part it's done. I'll use this one as a stand in on the boat until I get all of the original hardware re-chromed.

Also, thanks again for the idea Ed! Now, I should probably get some work done to actually get this boat in the water some time this decade!

BOB

 

[matt9923]

Re: Work Begins Soon

Nice job man, an div been so busy i haven't been around as well.
Matt

 

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: Work Begins Soon

Really cool job on the Nav light man!

 

[pduquette]

Re: Work Begins Soon

Great job Bob ! I think that style light is supose to be on mine too . I got the old perko tho . maybe in early '61 they were using old stock ???? Realy good tricks to make my tired hardware fresh again . peter

 

[Landscaping Wiz 808]

Re: Work Begins Soon

Thanks guys, this light is really starting to grow on me. It might just stay up on that bow for a little while.

pduquette - I think your bow light looks cool on the boat. Are there holes for a different light up front?

BOB

 

[pduquette]

Re: Work Begins Soon

I don't remember seeing any holes other than the 2 on the side of the light . It dose have a cool '50's look to it , and I like the flag holder too .
Has anyone tried to "upgrade" their old light with L.E.D.s ? peter

 

[57chris]

Re: Work Begins Soon

Very cool boat, i'm a fan!

 

[57chris]

Re: Work Begins Soon

Any updates? we just passed the one year anniversary of your project!

 

[Landscaping Wiz 808]

Re: Work Begins Soon

Not too much, I think it's safe to say I've fallen behind schedule. I have all of the fiberglass stuff I need to seal the transom as well as the Seacast in the buckets ready to pour. I plan finishing the transom and mounting the motor as soon as I get back from vacation in August. I'm just working the bugs out of the Johnson right now and have started a new thread for it over on the OMC page if anyone can help.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=334280

Other than that, I've decided that I'm going to paint the exterior of the boat instead of cleaning up the gel coat. There are WAY too many gouges for me to try to re-gel. I have a feeling once I get back into it, things will progress pretty quickly!

BOB

 

[Landscaping Wiz 808]

Re: Work Begins Soon

While I'm here, I need some of your opinions on the through-hull fittings. I got three new brass 3" drain plugs because the old ones didn't survive the "rotten wood removal" phase. Here they are (sorry about the filthy boat):

I purposely bought ones that were longer than I needed so I could cut them to the length I need. Do you think I should cut them a little long and try to flare the cut ends?

Here is how they'll be situated, the bilge tube will need 1" lopped off before it will fit properly:

Lastly, should I install the tubes before I pour the Seacast or should I drill new holes after the new transom has cured? I think the tubes could serve as spacers and I also wouldn't have to worry about drilling perfect holes either. Here's what the inside looks like with them in:

BOB

 

[57chris]

Re: Work Begins Soon

Wow, you did a great job cleaning out that transom! It looks to me like the Seacast would work around those thru-hull fittings just fine, I would go ahead and pour with them in. As far as how to cut them...I was wondering the same thing, I bought one as a replacement for mine and haven't tried to install it yet. I'll be interested to see how that works.

 

[pduquette]

Re: Work Begins Soon

Hi Bob , I'd put them in first and seal em' inside an out with 3m 5200 .. but I can be nurotic that way....pouring the seacast arround the tubes should give the best seal .