1980 Ski Nautique restore

I have my doubts that you could get the DF from lowes or home depot or that it would be of usable quality. For you MA-NH guys, there is a specialty lumber yard in Stoughton that may be worth making the trip to.

Downs & Reader

I'm not sure what those various letter designations mean, or if any of them rule out this stock, maybe Pete could shed some light.

Don't forget that LVL (laminated veneer lumber) is an alternate. We do have one member that did go this route and there is a thread on it.

bbishop1974 wrote: Pete,i definitly look to your knowledge for guidence.iam worried about lvl because after tearing apart my 86' the only truly rotted wood was the small amount of ply that was used in the original build.convince me that this stuff wont swell/warp/come apart if it were to get wet.my gut says if there was one small entry point for water the damage could be disasterous.

Good point, I have spoke with several boat builders in my area who also stated that they use lvl, but they actualy do the laminating themselves. I think its obvious if it is glassed correctly there shouldnt be an issue, but then the "what if's" come in to play and I think it would rot quicker if water got in...I think for my Df is the best way to go. Thats just me though, I guess time will only tell...Have you got any progress done this week? Nothing new here been putting in 65 hr work weeks lately

Brian82683 wrote: Good point, I have spoke with several boat builders in my area who also stated that they use lvl, but they actualy do the laminating themselves. I think its obvious if it is glassed correctly there shouldnt be an issue, but then the "what if's" come in to play and I think it would rot quicker if water got in...I think for my Df is the best way to go. Thats just me though, I guess time will only tell...Have you got any progress done this week? Nothing new here been putting in 65 hr work weeks lately

Sanger still use LVL stringers that they guarantee will not rot. I doubt that they build them but would have them done to their specs at the LVL manufacturer factory.

Yea the one i looked at was in rought shape...the guy was firm on the price and I felt it was too high so I passed...I would like to get on in the future as they are so rare...one day!

it was $3500 i think, this was down in CT. Cracked manifold and wouldnt start when I went to look at it...At the time I was looking for a good ski boat not a project though...If had come down it would have been a done deal.

Brian82683 wrote: Its been about a week since ive worked on the boat, started sanding today. Can anyone tell me how far down I have to go? Also I would assume all the old bilge paint needs to be either stripped or sanded down correct?

I think its gel coat right? I think it also depends on what you are covering it with and how smooth you want it to be. I am grinding all mine off. 36 grit paper on an angle grinder makes short (dusty) work of it.

yup. thats what I used but dont mess around with it and pay attention to what your touching it will burn through on the edge. Just keep it moving but it will make this job alot easier. A few seconds and it will have the gel removed. Leave that orbital on the shelf.

yes, there are those, that would work. the ones I have been using specifically are just solid, no little flaps. They key is the grit. Gotta get mean with this stuff.

Thanks for clarifying pete, would that be a polyester resin I am guessing? I am considering redoing mine with a tinted epoxy resin, think it will be cost prohibitive?

I have a quart of light gray gel coat I was considering as well.

Brian82683 wrote: 8122pbrainard wrote: The bilge coating is typically a pigmented resin. In the areas where you will be bonding new glass, you what it gone as well as any heavy areas of regular resin. You should just start to see glass as that's what you want to bond to. It's the "strength" of the hull and the resin is just a "glue" to hold the glass together. Yea thats what I was thinking last night when I when I crossed this river. But waned to double check. Another question, any thoughts on how ceder would work for secondary stringers? I have a good ammount in my back yard wasnt sure..Ive been following bills boatworks thread and he used pine. thanks

Im sure you have seen these threads as well but I have seen several uses bilge paint or even garage floor paint...not sure it looked nice in the pics, I would assume gel would be ultimately the best. On a gel note, I did start chipping the grey paint off the bow last night as i was leaving...it peels right off...the sides may be different, im sure I will need all new decals, but they were painted on in 1980 so we will see...Did you get your decals from this site?

Brian82683 wrote: I will need all new decals, but they were painted on in 1980 so we will see...

Pretty sure you were right painted on, some guys have talked about replacing with decals, I know pete has brought up the gerber mask several times for originality, I dont think anyone on this site is producing a decal for an 80 (or at least is willing to admit it) if you want that might have to look at a local place. I dont think there is anyone on here producing a gerber either or at least I have seen. Maybe you could have a run done at a local place, I am sure more would have interest on the site as well, maybe you could be brian the gerber guy.

brian,read keegans thread,73' skier restoration,he has good pictures of how far to grind down.you need to get to clean glass/resin.some are comfortable with getting to clean mat,others like to get down to the hull cloth layer,just dont go too deep.i went a little deep cleaning my channels out because i was holding grinder at a angle.keep your disc flat against hull.

Ok I offically started grinding today after I got some 36 grit grinding wheels....

Ive been looking at other threads and thought I understood that I need to get everything gone...I also saw a thread that I think Keegan Posted a few years back showing 3 different layers in glass and which one that it should be takend down too.

Well I noticed a spot located in the area of the bilge which had been connected to the starboard side primary stringer and i was able to pri it up with a screw driver...This saved a ton of grinding but I ended up having to cut it horizontally, almost the length of the boat to avoid unbolting the fins and ski pole hole because the glass would have went under it...I then grinded it down at the seem. as I was cleaning up I noticed by the seem the color was lighter and I could stick a screw driver in there. My question is, should I grind any more or leave that area alone? and did ii go to far or does all that need to come up?

Yea i figured it would be ok, but It was liek 1/4" think maybe a little thinner...I think from now on if its bonded Ill leave it and if its not ill grind it, i am afraid of going too close....that would blow to rip through the gel...