86 SN rebuild

you got lucky on that one... Glad all is ok..

It looks as though the recent rain has canceled all baseball games for the weekend. So, it looks as though I might get a full day to work on the stringers. I'm hoping that I have something to report on Monday.

Also, I want to share a story from last weekend. My son and I took off late Saturday to fish. On the way home early Monday morning (I was going to drop him off at school on the way home) we ran into a rain/snow storm coming through Campo. I slowed down to about 45, when my truck started sliding from the right lane across all lanes towards the left side of the freeway. I could see my bass boat out the side window trying to pass us. I threw it in 4 wheel drive trying to gain control. I then started spinning with the boat still in tow. But this time we were sliding to the slow lane again. Again, I could see the boat out the side window. I told my son to hang on, as we went off the freeway (slow lane side) and hit a huge hill. Thankfully we hit a hill, because there are lots of cliffs in this area. Once we hit the hill, I gassed it and jerked the boat out of traffic. Now we were sitting on the right side of the freeway, facing the wrong direction, but safe from traffic.

The boat is what saved us. It came around and hit the right rear quarter panel, but as the bow hit the truck, it stop the trailer from completely going around. If it was a flat bed, we would of been toast.

Pretty scary.

Amazing, no damage to the boat and only $1,500 damage to the truck.

Jeff

I have to agree with Tim and Pete since they're both Poobies. I started my learning curve on the slow side and learned what worked as I went. Temp, humidity, hardener, and your wife's general attitude will affect hardening time...in more ways than one!

I spent a good bit of time on the phone with Billy discussing the importance of 'keeping it green'(Thanks again Doc!). All that means is the difference between chemical bonding and adhesion. When you're planning to work on a stringer, try do do it all in the same run. Maintain the tack between the layers and it cures as a unit. Otherwise each layer is only glued to the next.

In smaller and less structural areas, 2,3, or even 4 layers in one 'set' makes good sense.

And I haven't seen much talk about amine blush in my e-mail. Yall must have that figured out.

I agree with Tim with the bonding but you do need to let the previous layer resin "kick" slightly so it's starting to harden up before you lay in a layer over it.

Ranger wrote: I just spoke with U.S. Composites and according to them. I was doing too much too fast. Simple enough. I just need to slow down. Jeff

For those of us taking notes, can you give a rough idea of how long you were waiting in-between layers, and how long USC recommended?

Yes, I did. Actually, I thought I rolled the crap out of it. I started with the 2 inch, ran the length of the stringer. Came back and did it again. Then went to the 4 inch, did it the same way. Ended with two layers of the 8 inch. I didn't wait for it to go off between layers. Maybe, I should of waited for it to get a little "sticky"

It's really not that bad since it's only in a couple of spots, but I want it right.

Jeff

We are making slow progress on the glass. One of the mains has the 2/4/8 finished, but we didn't get the biax in yet. It was our first try and to tell you the truth, I'm not all that happy with the results. I had a couple of air bubbles develop that I will have to grind out and repair. Maybe I was moving too fast. I'm sure I'll get better at the lay ups as we go.

Our plan for the weekend is to lay up more of the E glass. I think I will slow down a bit and make sure that I get the air out of each layup before moving on to the next size. If anyone has had similar experiences, let me know how you corrected it.

Jeff

any updates?

id love to work on one of those to lol. Ive always liked the old barrel back style of the chris crafts. But dont get me wrong id love to restore a atom skier!

Nick

Id love to work on a old chris craft, But one that i could take my sweet time on!


Jeff,
Hope you and your son are having fun working on your 2001!Im sure your son will grow up and cherish your 2001 just like i cherish my 79!

Nick

Jeff,
I'll say it again that the job is looking great and you're doing a good job.

Now, the next step is for you to continue with your woodworking skill but on a hull that you don't put fiberglass over it!!

looks very good so far! I cant wait to see my boat in the same state as yours!

Keep it up you are looking great! How much of that cabosil do you still have left? You can pass it along to the next guy and see how many rebuilds we can get out of that 10lb bag.

Here is what we finished last weekend. All of the filets are finished and the blocking is cut and ready. We're finally ready for glass, but since we are going to be hit with a storm this weekend, it might be a week are two before I get to it. Here are the pict's of what we finished.







Jeff