Another BFN Rebuild

Keegan, even in these low-res pictures, you can see how the last coat of epoxy ran and seperated in the bottom right of the 2nd pic. I had that bilge mirror smooth prior to coating so its frustrating how rough it ended up- but at least its uniform everywhere and not splotchy or inconsistent. Oh well, it will look good with the motorbox closed anyways!

Joel, we're leaving the tips just like that. Flappers are for sissies.

Ha, same weights Pete- the PBR box broke but we havent drank any of the beers yet! Maybe we'll save them for the celebratory first cruise. I figured somebody might comment on those.

Nope, no extra pigment. We had too much in the first batch (first coat only) at roughly 2oz of pigment per qt, which at the time I thought might have contributed to the splotchiness. According to USComposites, 1oz/qt is recommended, but you can go slightly beyond that- but you get weird stuff happening after 1.5oz/qt. To be safe, I did some extra sanding after the first coat, and adjusted the ratio back down to ~1.25:1 for coat #2. That came out good, but there were still areas of transparency (especially the vertical surfaces), which drove me to a 3rd coat. Since it looked good, I only sanded with 180 grit (I think I hit it with 60-100 grit between coats 1 and 2), which might have been the cause of the runs and "repelling" the last coat seemed to exhibit. It stuck fine though.

Each coat got a good wipedown with soap and water to get rid of any potential amine blush, followed by a wipedown with clean rags. I dont think we had issues for lack of prep.

Next time, Ill either have a little more forethought and do the last layer of glass with tinted resin (which hopefully would require fewer top coats to cover), or do a vinylester conversion and then (opaque) gelcoat. Or maybe Id even consider bilgekote again, with a primer of course. Anything would be easier than 3 frickin coats... the end result does not reflect the amount of work invested!

You sure know how to make a guy feel real good about his decision to just slap down some bedliner and move on...

Looking good though, any chance of getting that thing running before the water freezes or what?

Joe, I havent given up all hope, but I have to admit that its not looking very promising. We could probably slap the engine in and break in the cam easy enough, then reinstall valve springs before a lake test- lawn chair style of course- but Id really like to get the carpet in while the engine is still out... and thats a few day project to do cleanly. We shall see.

Thanks Alan. Here I am struggling with a simple glass boat- good thing Im not messing with wood! That stuff is way beyond my skill level.

Love the blue! would look good in on of my seps. Jeff

Hollywood wrote: I should have mentioned this before, but there is no plaque for Best Bilge.

LMAO

Looks great Tim. It is exciting to see it going back together.


Donald

M3Fan wrote: FWIW (not much), not feeling the non-angled chrome tips w/o flappers on a 79. Seems like the wrong era for that style tip. Too modern of a boat for a 40's era exhaust tip.

The intent was to emulate the original look (minus the flaps) as much as possible. These were the shortest 4" straight tips I could find- though I still would have liked them shorter.

Original 3" vs. new 4":



The tips on my Skier and sister's Mustang were a different style- straight through pipes with seperate rings to seal... so these actually look pretty modern in comparison. I think theyre appropriate for the age of the boat.

As far as the flaps go, Ive never had an issue with any of my boats that dont have them- so Im not convinced they really perform any function and I like the cleaner look. I thought the Ski Tique looked good without them too.

Pete, are you being serious? That thought had crossed my mind... would it leave a sharp edge or would it appear smooth and polished like the finished edge thats on there now?

Tim,
I'm serious if you want me to be. I'd be happy to cut them down. It's really pretty easy and anyone with a lathe could do it. No sharp edge. After you turn them down to length, you go back and put a slight chamfer on the inside and out side of the end.

Tim,
85 Wagner rd.
Northfield, Il.
60093

I'll be looking for them.
Don't worry, the cut edge will look factory or better!!!!

Tim,
Before I cut them down, think about the exact length you want them. I'm just thinking out loud here but due to the larger diameter, you may not want them as short as the originals. Make a chip board mock up and see how the proportional length to diameter looks.

Tim,
We both get anal with certain items. I would have done the math as well! Sounds good with the 1".

That boat is looking nice. Those tips will look great at 1". I don't like the look of the flappers either and have noticed a boat is actually a little louder without them. I lost one on our older Malibu and could tell right away that it sounded different. I've noticed Reid runs them on his boats, he must have a reason.

Joel,
Since it's round, it will go in a 3 jaw chuck. It can be gripped on the ID or OD. A 3 jaw will self center unlike a 4 jaw which has independant adustments on each jaw for odd shaped items.

The only caution I need to do when cutting, is to keep the tip from getting too hot and heat tinting.

Typical 3 jaw:

8122pbrainard wrote: Tim, We both get anal goo.

You should move them up above the platform.