New Boat ...

[Kevin]

Before and after on the trim. Awaiting arrival of the varnish in the mail. I will put several coats on it so this should have a great, thick shine by next week.

Also, this is without the new stainless screws I have ordered.

[Kevin]

Here is a close-up of the weathered wood before sanding or anything.

[Kevin]

Carpet being ripped out last night. I've discovered the hard part of this entire project is going to be finishing the deck. First thing is cutting the plywood to fit. Not looking forward to that.

Once I get it cut, I can either sand, stain and varnish it and leave the finished plywood as the deck, or I can lay planks of a water resistant wood (such as teak) over it. Cost may decide this one.

Paint for the topside white should arrive today or tomorrow, so I'll try my hand at roll and tip boat painting this weekend. I'm going to leave the blue as-is for now. It needs repainting pretty badly, but I am going to hold off until I see how this topside paint job goes.

[ArkansasSloughboy]

teak is always the way to go in marine applications, but costly. If you are going to seal it... mahogany turns out gorgeous.
Little Rock - Paxton Woodcrafters' Store, 6200 Sears Drive, 72209 501-565-5661 - L
Working on that boat looks like a lot of fun.

[Kevin]

Unfortunately the paint did not arrive this weekend. It got here this morning, and naturally, it was not the right stuff. Thanks a lot West Marine. The varnish is the right stuff though, I'm using epithanes. It was expensive but supposedly good stuff. Will start coating the trim tonight.

Yeah I'm trying to find a good deal on ebay for either teak, or mahogany as you mentioned.

I did get the braces cut and laid out. I used cedar because it is naturally water resistant and very light weight.

I'm still going to to seal them, and alos will sand a groove down the middle of them with my Dremel so any water can easily run under them to the transom drain. Once I get that done,  I bought some 3M 5200 marine sealant to adhere them to the hull.

Here is a pic.

[Kevin]

Here is just a quick picture of the grooves I sanded in all of the 2x4 braces. Now, when water gets under the deck, it should drain nicely. I am going to seal and glue the bracing tonight.

[Kevin]

I also took a break from the braces last night in order to prep the boat for painting. One side is sanded down and ready to go!

[Kevin]

Two coats of primer. Already looks better than the original paint job.

You guys think the previous owners drilled enough holes in this boat?  

[Kevin]

Pictures of two of the three pieces of plywood deck. This was a real SOB. Because this boat has no right angles (hull is curved from top to bottom, like a canoe) and because I have never done this before (and also because I suck at geometry), measuring was tough.

Because the braces are 2 inches high, I needed to find a 2 inch high plane from the transom to the keel where the plywood would sit.

First, I set the braces where I wanted them. Then, because I couldn't think of a better way to do it, I placed a meter stick across them and marked where it hit the hull on each side. I did this all the way from front to back Measuring this way gave me a rough 2 inch high plane. Once I had the hull marked, I took a piece of cardboard, cut and trimmed, cut and trimmed, cut and trimmed, until it fit it matched up with my hull markings.

Once I had the cardboard template, I laid it on the plywood, traced it, then used the jigsaw to cut. The cuts are far from perfect, in fact, they are pretty crooked because my cardboard template was just a rough outline. However, I have a couple of ideas on how I can cover small errors later on in the process.

Here are the pics. I still have to stain/varnish, etc, but I just set them in there for now as a visual. The boards are really warped (thanks Home Depot), so that is why you see some big gaps.

There may have been a better way to accomplish cutting this, but for the love of god don't tell me!!! I'm just glad it's done

[ArkansasSloughboy]

I have made cardboard templates for several things to trace on plywood. Having done that I'd say you did a very fine job. You always seem to make those templates when it's something you really care about and want to make it perfect. Then you do it and feel like a third grader could show you up. I'm with you, there has to be a better way, but I don't know what it would be.

Is the transom reinforced or is it just fiber glass?

[Kevin]

Yeah, I definitely felt like I was trying to shove the triangle block into the circle hole, haha.

The transom seems to be reinforced with something. I'm not sure what it is, but it is solid as a rock.

The paint is arriving today, so if I have time I'm going to try to get on the first coat.

[Kevin]

Got the boat painted inside and out over the last week. Lots of waiting around for drying. I'm cutting the final piece for the deck this afternoon. Once I get it all screwed in and everything I'll post some pics.

[Kevin]

Pics of sanded/stripped interior before primed and painted, my trusty helper, and after photos of interior and exterior paint job.

[Kevin]

Now the fun stuff: the completed plywood deck. Well, almost. I still have to put in a few screws here and there, and then put on a final coat or two of varnish.

Once I find a deal that suits me, I will order and lay the wood to go over the sides of the deck. I'm also going to place quarter round in the space between the boat the the plywood. In the last picture, I set the quarter round in place just to give you an idea.

[Kevin]

A few finishing touches that will be added later, courtesy of my dad.