After sitting in our boat for a few minuets we knew the first project to tackle would be getting the strong diesel smell out of the boat. We knew that the tank needed to go, as there was a hole rusted through on the top and we were fairly sure there were more on the underside as well.
We removed the old gas tank and vacuumed up the rust and debris, but the diesel smell was still very strong. Upon further investigation we discovered that all the wood in the area was soaked in diesel an needed to be removed.
Jeff used a grinder and chisel to remove all the old plywood. At the same time we removed all the old wiring and tubing and basically anything that was in the area.
After taking all the wood out Jeff ground down the fiberglass tabbing and did a quick wipe down of the entire hull surface and we were ready to paint.
Jeff used a grinder and chisel to remove all the old plywood. At the same time we removed all the old wiring and tubing and basically anything that was in the area.
After taking all the wood out Jeff ground down the fiberglass tabbing and did a quick wipe down of the entire hull surface and we were ready to paint.
We used an awesome bilge coat paint that covered and filled in very well. The high gloss white immediately brightened up the back. We left the areas where we would be fiberglassing unpainted for better bonding.
Jeff took the old berth/storage bays and used them as patterns to build the new replacements. We decided to stick with the same configuration as before but with some better support along the cross piece, in between the two access holes. After test fitting, coating the bottoms with resin, then securing with stainless screws, it was time to fiberglass.
This was not Jeff's first experience with fiberglass (he completely refurbished a 1984 Ski Centurion back in 2005/06). This was however his first experience with an epoxy based resin. We loved it! as you can see Jeff is not wearing a respirator, this is because there was no smell! Even in a small enclosed space like this we were able to work and breath just great!
This was not Jeff's first experience with fiberglass (he completely refurbished a 1984 Ski Centurion back in 2005/06). This was however his first experience with an epoxy based resin. We loved it! as you can see Jeff is not wearing a respirator, this is because there was no smell! Even in a small enclosed space like this we were able to work and breath just great!
We used two different epoxy resins due to the fact that we ran out in the middle of the project and had to run to the store and use what they had. But the MAS was Jeff's favorite. We took a large weave fiber first then came along with a fine chop fiber to create a solid and sand-able surface.
After the fiberglass had a day to cure we came back and Jeff sanded out the entire surface. Then we coated the area with a two-part filling compound. Jeff came back and sanded the entire area smooth and we were ready to paint!