Another BFN Rebuild

Thanks Mark, hopefully it doesnt disappoint.

I gave it hell and came pretty darn close to where I wanted to be by the end of this weekend. I didnt get all of the bulkheads in- the rearmost full width one is only tacked in place and still needs glass. All the others are down, though clearly I have a lot of trimming to do.



We also got a second coat of glass on the bottom of the rear floor panels, and the rear lifting ring backer is in process.



The goal this week is to get the last bulkhead glassed down, then get the boat back onto the trailer and turned around in the garage. Then we can pull it outside and finish grinding the walls. After that's done, we'll do the final leveling and then the rear floor can go down. Just have to get the blower line glued in place first. I expect to get the front floor section shaped and glassed this week as well... if all goes smoothly, the floor could be finished in a week.

Looking good Tim! Can't wait to see that new wheel on there!

Thanks Chris- the same thought crosses my mind every time I look at that old POS wheel! Will you be making the trip to GL this year to see the new one installed in person?

Thanks Tim- Im hoping it makes for a decent footing boat when done. So long as I can use the boom without pulling the pylon out like last year, Ill be happy! Im really hoping that the weight loss will shrink the wake and help the holeshot- that combined with the nice table would be helpful in getting my LL backdeeps solid. The back has been feeling better the last few days- Im cautiously optimistic that I'll be skiing again this weekend. We'll definitely have to get out there again before too long.

Id love to ski in the morning, but I think it will be tough- I leave for work by 6:30. Evenings (and Fri afternoons) will be an option though.

Tim, the build looks awesome!


You are going the low eight option on your BFN, while I wanted more weight, as in ballast, for my martinique.

A little cured epoxy on the "weights" won't hurt them at all.

Those last pictures show the result of a lot of work.. not to mention a fair amount of coin not a project or method for everyone but I do think the result should be serious piece of boat. No more places for water and rot to hide, no flexing.. just serious. Almost makes we wanna do the mustang the same way... almost... really makes me want to get you to do the mustang..

When you start to get that floor down things really begin to speed up.. it will be a good feeling standing on a hard flat floor after all this time crawling in, over, and around stringers standing or kneeling on the hull.

That's mighty fine praise coming from you, Joe- thanks. I would definitely build another boat using this same method, but certainly not for a while. I need a break!

I have to say that Coosa is a pretty impressive material. Very light (barely more than half the weight of ply) yet very strong once its glassed down. This thing is a tank. I find myself staring at our work- not to compliment ourselves, but its beautiful, in a strange sort of way. I wish the glass photographed better- the pictures make it look very odd. Maybe when we pull the boat out of the cave and into some ambient light this evening it will become more photogenic.

We are only a few steps away from having a floor, which I am very excited about. The progress from this point on should at least appear to speed up. Sitting down in the cavernous V-hull hasn't been too bad, but it only took a climbs over the front bulkheads to make me sick of them. Ive enjoyed this project and learned a lot, but I sure am ready for it to be done now- I want to go skiing!

The front bulkheads do have a little bit of flex still- at least at their tallest point from the hull (~14") where even the heavily layered ones only have one piece of glass on either side. Once the floor is on, the structure will be a brick. 2 layers of glass are going on the bottom side of the floor (plus some biax where the front seat frames will fall), 2 glass and one mat on top. I really want to weigh the thing when its all back together- Im betting it will be a tad lighter than it was from the factory, even with all the extra structure.

Still chipping away, havent uploaded the pics yet though. We got the garage cleaned out and the boat spun around this week. Walls are now cleaned for the floor- did I mention how much I love grinding? The last remaining sub-floor pieces (batt box side supports, small bits framing the front of the engine compartment) have been cut, bedded and filleted. The rear lifting ring assembly is built, bedded together and ready for install. The rear blower line is cut to length, assembled and glued in place with 5200. Final trimming has been done on the rear panels. Final leveling of the ribs/bulkheads is almost done. Im hoping to get the front floor sections cut and preglassed and the rear sections bedded down today (among other things).

Phil, a few day trips may be in the cards starting in Sept. Tyler is supposedly being drawn down early in order to repair the dam, so we may need to find water elsewhere. Where exactly do you boat- do you head up to Zoar like Mark Mel?

Ok, time for an update- with pictures this time.

The batt box has been reinforced at the lip, and new holes cut in it for the inspection port (front drain point) and the rear cable conduit. HW will be happy to hear that we nixed the drain- we couldnt come to a good consensus on fittings at both ends, so we scrapped it. Hopefully this thing wont fill up with water- worst case, it should drain out of the cable conduit pipe before shorting the terminals, at least. No pictures showing the drain glassed shut.







The battery box compartment side supports were bedded, filleted and glassed.



So were the little side panels that framed the front of the engine compartment.





We measured, test fit and preglassed the front floor section, the panels that will make up the air box, and the rear lifting ring assembly.



Here's a closer look at the rear lift ring assembly. Much more glassing will be done in the boat.





Rear lift ring bedded and filleted- ready for glass.



Rear floor panels have been bedded.





Ill have to get a shot up later of the blower line fully installed... here is where it sticks through at the back.



Front vent and conduit pipes were test fit, cut to length and then sealed in place.



We decided that all seals that MUST be water tight would get an additional coosa trim ring bedded with 5200. These trim rings were cut in half and got 5200 on the face and inner diameter, and were placed at the bulkhead at the bilge end, as well as the end where they entered foamed compartments. Aint no water getting in the new foam. Also trimmed up the ends nicely.





Before installing any of the front floor, we took a quick look at where the fins would mount. The spacing of the screws is such that they would just barely catch the keel board where they entered in front of our rearmost bulkhead. The thought was that if we were to tear the front fin off, we would be left with holes in the hull that could potentially swamp the boat... so we put some small backers in hopes of keeping the screws from protruding all the way through the hull and into an empty compartment.



The last thing we did was to install the small piece of doubled up floor. This was bedded down and will strengthen the floor where it cantalevers over the bilge, as well as provide a full 1.25" thickness for the pylon flange. Probably overkill with the cradle, but that's ok.







You can see in the last picture where I traced on the hull- a backer board will be bedded down and glassed in and will serve as a backer for the rear tracking fin, a base for the pylon cup, as well as the bilge pump.

And thats where we stand at the moment. Hope to get the front floor section down tonight.

Incredible.

Tim hopefully you got my v-mail about airbox on how we formed ours, we poured to hold the vent lines in place almost level on port side and smoothed it out then put some trim peice that would be coated with wax release agent so it wouldnt stick to the foam. then it setup and took it off. Sanded the airbox down to our liking then we were done. Glassed and Filleted the foam to make smooth and couple coats of it. front all done.

Looking good though there. Alot of time you put in aswell lol I hope you call me with a voyage run to see that thing go. Hows the new Job as I heard your ct resident again now. Going out tonight on the 85 on Zoar after work, I brought it up to Marks place last night so we can take it out for once.

Ah ha! Looks like Im on the right path. So what is this stuff, Phil- where do I get it and how expensive is it?

Thanks Phil. Looks like Azek is PVC trim/decking. Any idea if you can get a bigger piece of it? I want to make an L shape for the top of the box- roughly 40" x 25". The coosa will already be on the front and side. Might be sort of expensive, though. I wonder what else would keep the foam from sticking- from what I remember, it will still adhere to epoxy covered ply. I wonder if applying mold release would do the trick?

Tim,
For a cheap forming material, I'd go with the white (or any color) melamine covered shelves. You can get the real thin ones and usually on sale at one of the box stores. It's a nice smooth surface and solvents won't go after it.

For mold release, I have a spray can of silicone specifically designed for it - Good old Mcmaster!!!

Holy crap Tim, this job looks awesome. I can't wait to see it GL.