Giving my boat a new life

[lew]

20 minutes ago, Sinker said:

, so I will rebuild what i have one more time, and get another 20 years out of it. I love that boat! 

Be good if you could give us a play by play with pictures as you go thru the rebuild process, I think everyone enjoys following that sorta thing.

[tomkat]

Hey Sinker. I got my vinyl flooring at Basspro across the border in Niagara Falls area as I didn’t see it listed on the Canadian site but maybe they have it now or Cabelas. I used adhesive from Home Depot. Spray on for compartment lids and trowel on for the floor. I did it a couple years ago and it seems to be standing up well.

[CPH]

Sinker...If you paint the boat yourself that's one thing. If you paint it for a paying customer and not done properly that's a whole different ball game.  I have seen some very unfortunate people asking me to re-do paint jobs that they initially paid big bucks for. Like I said, I try to stay away from painting if I can and source them out to my contacts. I'm not saying not to paint. I'm trying to say be careful do your homework, ensure the shop is reputable and will warranty their work. We have done paint on boats where we have had to repair damage, which meant painting after the repair was done and then replace the decals such as Legend Boats. Yamaha PWC's which have that new  light weight NanoexCell body is painted.  When we repair the damage to the hull or sides, and we have done a lot lately( because no one else wants to touch them) we have to repaint them. Again, a very expensive job as we use a three part Yamaha OEM paint made by colorite out of the U.S. very durable and specific to ensure adherence to the plastic body and the abuse these wave runners get. We use the same vinyl flooring that Lund Boats use. Can be purchased from any Lund dealer. I'm sure there are others, however we have found it to be durable and nice to work with. A high premium outdoor floor adhesive should suffice however you mentioned aluminum plate flooring. I have never worked with aluminum floors, only wood and fiberglass. So that may be something you want to look into as far as vinyl to aluminum adhesion goes. I do not know anything about that. Wood would be much easier to work with, easier on the feet. Coated properly with fiberglass resin would give you those 20 years again and much cheaper?  Also, if the transom is wood, coated and sealed properly, will give you years of no problems. few of pics of different floor and transom repairs may give DIY's some ideas.

[Bill]

Your boat looks great Chris.

[Bill]

I have a 1961 18 foot AceCraft that I repainted. I stripped it using an orbital sander. Then epoxy primed using Southern Polyurethane.The blue is 1973 Corvette medium blue metallic base coat. Matrix is the paint company. The clear coat is Limco 4200.

I bought the carpet in Barrie and used automotive carpet adhesive glue. The seats I bought from Extreme Marine near London.

I did this during the winter of 2016. It looks the same today.

 

[Bill]

This past Saturday, November 21, I finished replacing the transom. I used 3/4" Birch plywood laminated to make it 1 1/2". Left it vacuumed sealed overnight at 750psi to get a uniform bond through out the whole transom. Then gave it two coats of West system epoxy. Sanded the epoxy and gave it two coats of automotive clear coat. Sealed the edges with Marine silicone. When I get it out of storage I will replace the over length bolts. I had to get it together and into storage Saturday or I would have lost my spot so I just used carriage bolts I had.

[Bill]

Alumacraft, I hope you enjoy redoing your boat as much as I did doing mine.

Edited November 24, 2020 by Bill

[CPH]

Great Job Bill, looks great. Did you paint that hull as well? Its fun working on these old boats and bringing them back to life, and even throw in some modifications..Its a labour of love..lol . I have another project I'm doing right now on a 16ft 1992 Sunbird bowrider. Took out the 3.0 OMC  motor and replaced it with a rebuilt 4.3 OMC, gutted the interior, have re-upholstered all the interior panels, replaced the gauges on the dash from another boat I scrapped. I took off the decals and got custom new ones, instead of Sunbird its going to be a Superbird..yes I'm a mopar fan. At one point I was even thinking of putting a wing on the back, like the 1970 super bird car, as I have a nice radar arch from a Thompson cruiser that I can cut down to size. After I shared my idea about the wing on the boat my guys won't let me near that arch now. I wonder why? (yeah I know..Cheesy). I am now in the process of wet sanding buffing and putting everything back together. I'll get some pics out once its done. Hoping some of these builds we post help others with their projects or at least gives them some ideas and info on different methods and products....or what not to do like put a wing on the back.

[Bill]

Yes I have painted the complete boat. I posted my pictures to help give others ideas on what they could do with their projects.

[misfish]

Whats that sitting in the back corner Bill ?

 

Well done on the reno,s guys.

Edited November 24, 2020 by misfish

[Bill]

I have a 1969 Chevelle that I never got painted. I did the body work on it and epoxy primed it in 1981. Then I backed it into the corner of the shop and put it on stands. I needed the money for my wedding that I had saved to finish it. I had the idea that after I got married I would get it painted. I am the second owner and it has less than 70,000 miles. It is the 300 Deluxe model with a 307 and 3 peed automatic transmission.

 

[Hack_Fisherman]

On 11/15/2020 at 6:39 PM, Chris Heinrich said:

Sinker...If you paint the boat yourself that's one thing. If you paint it for a paying customer and not done properly that's a whole different ball game.  I have seen some very unfortunate people asking me to re-do paint jobs that they initially paid big bucks for. Like I said, I try to stay away from painting if I can and source them out to my contacts. I'm not saying not to paint. I'm trying to say be careful do your homework, ensure the shop is reputable and will warranty their work. We have done paint on boats where we have had to repair damage, which meant painting after the repair was done and then replace the decals such as Legend Boats. Yamaha PWC's which have that new  light weight NanoexCell body is painted.  When we repair the damage to the hull or sides, and we have done a lot lately( because no one else wants to touch them) we have to repaint them. Again, a very expensive job as we use a three part Yamaha OEM paint made by colorite out of the U.S. very durable and specific to ensure adherence to the plastic body and the abuse these wave runners get. We use the same vinyl flooring that Lund Boats use. Can be purchased from any Lund dealer. I'm sure there are others, however we have found it to be durable and nice to work with. A high premium outdoor floor adhesive should suffice however you mentioned aluminum plate flooring. I have never worked with aluminum floors, only wood and fiberglass. So that may be something you want to look into as far as vinyl to aluminum adhesion goes. I do not know anything about that. Wood would be much easier to work with, easier on the feet. Coated properly with fiberglass resin would give you those 20 years again and much cheaper?  Also, if the transom is wood, coated and sealed properly, will give you years of no problems. few of pics of different floor and transom repairs may give DIY's some ideas.

It’s glass??? My hat is off to you Sir! I’ll only touch aluminum...glass boats go directly to the dump. Good on you for reviving one. Beautiful job and beautiful boat

[Pigeontroller]

This place looks like they do great work, some good pics on their FB page. Unfortunately they are in Manitoba...

 

www.allbrandsboatrepair.net

[Steve Piggott]

Did the floor in my lund with poly board. Never have to do it again. Easy cleaning  no rot

[misfish]

Like the first aid alert. Very nice work Steve .

[Sinker]

On 12/3/2020 at 9:09 AM, Steve Piggott said:

Did the floor in my lund with poly board. Never have to do it again. Easy cleaning  no rot

Is there vinyl on top of it? I have been considering this as well. I have a good source for it. How slippery is it? What thickness did you use? I like both that, and the aluminum plate, then either vinyl or hydro turf over top for a bit of traction. I have use the poly board for a lot of other stuff, and it is super tough, and easy to work with. Its heavy, but my boat could use a little weight. I think once I tear out the foam this time, its going to be pretty light. If the lakes would freeze maybe i could stop using it and get started on tearing it apart lol

 

S. 

[Steve Piggott]

Texture surface. I left th vinyl on the aluminum hatch covers and sides

[Fisherman]

Nice to see an end product that looks super nice and knowing you did it yourself.

[Sinker]

11 hours ago, Steve Piggott said:

Texture surface. I left th vinyl on the aluminum hatch covers and sides

What thickness? The stuff I've used wasn't very sturdy unless it was fairly thick, and the thicker it is the heavier it is, so..... I guess depending how far apart your supports are, but I know mine are more than 16", and less than 24" apart. Do you get any sag anywhere? I like this idea, and its likely cheaper than aluminum right now too. 

S. 

[Steve Piggott]

3/4 weights about the same as wood and vinyl . No change in speed in my boat

[Sinker]

On 12/5/2020 at 8:46 PM, Steve Piggott said:

3/4 weights about the same as wood and vinyl . No change in speed in my boat

Perfect. Thanks for the info. 

S. 

[DanD]

On 12/5/2020 at 10:53 AM, Sinker said:

 I guess depending how far apart your supports are, but I know mine are more than 16", and less than 24" apart. Do you get any sag anywhere?

What if you were to the have the hull sprayed; up to the level of the metal supports with high density closed cell spray foam? It'll add floatation and support between the metal cross supports; wouldn't it? High density closed cell spray foam; is supposedly "water proof" its not the same as open cell that will act like a sponge. Before suggesting this, I watch a few YouTube vids and they're using this type of foam for floating docks?

 I was curious (board actually. LOL) and thought I'd might try this the next time I'm fixing up an older boat or a dock?

Dan.

[Sinker]

15 hours ago, DanD said:

What if you were to the have the hull sprayed; up to the level of the metal supports with high density closed cell spray foam? It'll add floatation and support between the metal cross supports; wouldn't it? High density closed cell spray foam; is supposedly "water proof" its not the same as open cell that will act like a sponge. Before suggesting this, I watch a few YouTube vids and they're using this type of foam for floating docks?

 I was curious (board actually. LOL) and thought I'd might try this the next time I'm fixing up an older boat or a dock?

Dan.

Im not a fan of the foam. Its a PITA if you have to run wires, or anything else under there. If you have a problem down the road, you can't access anything, and it stops the water from flowing out of your bilge. I used the pour in foam last time in parts of my boat, and its not supposed to absorb water either, but it has 100%, and now its a PITA to remove lol......I'm using Foam board.  Easy in, easy out, and doens't absorb (as much) water. 

S. 

[Hack_Fisherman]

On 12/10/2020 at 9:39 AM, Sinker said:

Im not a fan of the foam. Its a PITA if you have to run wires, or anything else under there. If you have a problem down the road, you can't access anything, and it stops the water from flowing out of your bilge. I used the pour in foam last time in parts of my boat, and its not supposed to absorb water either, but it has 100%, and now its a PITA to remove lol......I'm using Foam board.  Easy in, easy out, and doens't absorb (as much) water. 

S. 

agreed on the foam board. Pour in is ok unless you have to trim off any that ballooned out which defeats the bouyancy as you have exposed the cells. 
 

pvc conduit is a good way to run wires you may need to fish out later. Bends beautifully with a heat gun

[Hack_Fisherman]

On 12/3/2020 at 9:09 AM, Steve Piggott said:

Did the floor in my lund with poly board. Never have to do it again. Easy cleaning  no rot

Beautiful job!