Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Hey strick,
I'm definitely going to build a lip around the compartment. In the last shot, I had put the inner transom panel in place to get an idea of how I want to make the transition there. The PO had strips of plastic screwed and caulked to the edges of the deck opening. I want to do something that looks and feels a little more permanent.

I hadn't thought about gas shocks on the engine cover, but I don't think I'll need them. It's not very heavy and the front is sloped so it lays forward on an angle when it's open. That should make it unlikely to close accidentally unless I have to open it offshore for some reason.
Dave

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Blue Heron and Stick,

I just thought I'd let you both know what I did with my Scepter. I got a pair of hinges that take a "balled" pin as a hinge pin. With that I can leave the pins in and lift the cover up for a quick look or short job or pull the pins and slide the engine cover forward out of the way with no chance of it falling injuring someone or something. I can also take the cover completely out of the cockpit should the need arise, and trust me, I have done that more than once. FWIW!

http://www.suncorstainless.com/hinges/S3824-00.jpg

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Just FYI, Mine has a box made originally for twins. Its long and wide and fairly heavy. At 30, I don't think I would have noticed, but at 60 it gets my attention when I open it. A little help would be a nice thing. Once open, it stays open just fine even if the boat is jumping. If you are cutting down the box as well as the opening (assume you are), it should be a lot easier to handle than mine.

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Hey, Lew, I like those hinges. The ones that came on my boat are also two piece hinges, one male, one female. In other words, the pin is on one and a hole in the other. You open the box and then slide it horizontally to disengage the pins. I expect I'll be taking advantage of that feature when I have to get access to the front of the engine compartment. I'm planning to mount all my pumps and my raw water strainer there.

Connor,
The PO made a smaller engine box when it was converted to single engine. It's constructed with a structural foam core and it's strong and light. I ordered my new engine with riser extensions, so it's taller than the the one that came in the boat. I will need to modify the engine box to make it a couple inches taller, but I don't think it will add much weight.

On another note, your PMs last week got me thinking about hull flex under the cabin. So I bit the bullet and cut in a hatch like strick's in the cabin sole so I would have better access. The PO had put in flotation foam topped with a 1/4" plywood cored deck about 10" below the cabin sole. The foam was wet and the deck tabbing had delaminated from the hull on the starboard side. Hull flex may have been a factor, but the workmanship wasn't anything to write home about, so maybe it just didn't hold up.

My plan is to add a bulkhead below decks forward of my water tank. It will fall right about where your chine damage was and should provide good lateral support to the stringers. I'll post pics and details when I've got something to show for the work.

Dave

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

I think it's a good idea to have access to that area of the hull. I put a cross member in there (prior to Conners issue) to act as a bulk head for the fresh water bladder. Hopfully the problem that Conner had is not indicative to all the 25's. Time will tell.

http://www.casdvm.com/photos/25%232internet/195.JPG

strick

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

I think if it was a defect in the design, time would have already told on these old boats. I've got a couple theories about what is going on with Connor's boat, but I'm as likely to be wrong as right, so I'll leave it at that. The bulkhead I'm planning will go from the keel to the underside of the cabin sole and from stringer to stringer. If either of my theories are correct, the bulkhead will provide strength where it's needed. Even if I'm wrong, it will provide a forward stop for my water tank and an aft wall for the storage compartment under my new hatch. :)

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

I think adding some reinforcement is a good idea.

Further info: When mine was built, they added a bunch of foam under the bunks,between the two innermost stringers, from the bulkhead just aft of the forward hatch under the bunks aft to the next bulkhead. All of this has separated from the hull, big gaps where it used to contact the hull, a couple of big cracks in the foam. Looks like compression damage to me.

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

I guess it’s time to get caught up on the rebuild. I suppose any time you get into one of these projects it’s a can of worms. Based on PMs and conversations with Connor, I took a little detour from my rebuild plan to do a little exploratory surgery.

First, the stringers in the 25 Seafari are not the box stringers we’re all used to seeing in the Potter 20s and 23s. The main stringers in the 25 Seafari are farther apart than those in a 23. That, combined with the deeper deadrise, makes for a pretty wide hull area that’s not supported by a stringer.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...IMG_3299-1.jpg

And the stringers are vertical, while the hull panels they support have a deadrise of about 30 degrees in the forbody of the hull. So with a tall narrow stringer, the forces pushing on the hull panel could potentially kick the legs out from under the stringer something like this:

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/Stringer.jpg

That’s my best guess as to what happened to Connor’s boat.

Disclaimer time: I’m not an engineer, and I don’t play one on TV. All this is just head scratching and taking a best guess about a potential weakness in this hull. Connor’s boat is the only 25 Seafari I’ve heard of with any kind of problem. But I decided to take a closer look at mine and take a “better safe than sorry” approach.

The space under the cabin sole had a “deck” of sorts. It was a piece of ¼” plywood with a thin layer of fiberglass over it and pourable foam below. I don’t have a good pic of it, but the tabbing between the “deck, and the hull delaminated on the starboard side. This could indicate some movement in the lower hull panels. Anyway, I decided to pull it out. Before:

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...IMG_3293-1.jpg



And After:

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3474.jpg

It is interesting to note that the engine bed stringers don't continue forward of the fuel tank compartment's forward bulkhead.

To be continued…

Dave

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Every 23 Sceptre I have owned or looked at crackeds in the bow area under the hatches. There is a lot of flex in the bow area of these boats. My 23 cc does not show the stress of the Sceptre's.

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Yep. Entourage posted the same comment on Connor's thread. If my line of thinking is correct, the reason these cracks appear in the Sceptres, but non in the CCs is the storage box in the casting deck. It limits the movement of the hull panels between the stringers and the keel so they can't flex to the point that the chine step cracks.

Dave

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

For what its worth the 21 showed stress in those areas also. [img]/forum/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

While inspecting the stringers and tabbing, I discovered that the tabbing on the starboard side looks twice as thick as the port side, and extends farther down the hull bottom and farther up the side of the stringer. It looks like a QC glitch and the second layer of mat and roving got left off the port side. It’s probably not a coincidence that the tabbing on the port side was showing signs of delamination.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3468.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3464.jpg

So I trimmed the port tabbing back to within about ¾” of the stringer and ground everything down to good fiberglass so I could tab the stringer more securely. The tabbing was pretty thin and wasn’t hard to peel off.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3496.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...IMG_3497-1.jpg

In addition to replacing the tabbing on the port stringer, I decided to add a bulkhead forward of where my water tank will go. The bulkhead will form the aft wall of a below deck storage compartment, and the forward wall of the water tank compartment. Because I took it from stringer to stringer, it should add a lot of stiffness to the forward sections of the lower hull panels. Here’s the bulkhead tacked in place and coated with thinned epoxy resin, ready to be glassed in.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3506.jpg


And the port tabbing redone with four layers of 2408 biaxial and epoxy resin. Using epoxy resin may be overkill, but it makes a stronger laminate that will bend farther before breaking than polyester resin will. I only want to do this once, and the difference in cost between polyester resin and epoxy for this little structural adventure is less than $50. And using epoxy with a fast hardener allowed me to do this work at temperatures that were cooler than ideal for polyester resin.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3513.jpg

That’s all for now. Gotta go finish my Christmas shopping. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Dave

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Great post and great work!

I had a very similar tabbing failure on my boat. I used a grinder to trim back the delamination...it was awful job under the deck. Yours looks very tidy. How did you do it?

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Perfect!!!! Waiting until the very end!!!! A true CSC member holding up the male end of the "last minute shopper".

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Dave must be very skinny to be able to get under there :D I've been under that area as well and to be able to do the work he accomplished is no small feat.

I've been trading e mails with both Dave and Conner about this. Sorry I have not got back to you guys sooner on this issue. I wanted to inspect both my boats before I made any comments on the subject.

The 25 that I just re did does not have any evidence of delamination on both the starboard and port stringers. The other 25 seafari that has been sitting is difficult to inspect the starboard stringer but I did not see evidence of delamination on the port side.

I can see from Daves pictures and from looking at both my boats, there seems to be some inconstancy in the way that these stringers were glassed to the hull. On the 25 that I just re did The woven roving that glasses the stringer to the hull extends about 10 inches down from the inboard side of the stringer onto the hull. On the outboard side of the stringer it extends another 8-10 inches and stops partly going up the side of the hull. On the 25 seafari that is sitting it is glassed the same on the inboard side however on the outboard side the glass extends significantly more up the side of the hull. On both boats the woven roving goes up the side of the stringer on both sides and over the top to overlap each other. In Daves pictures it looks like the glass only goes up half way on the side of the stringer.Both my boats were built in 1973. Here are a few pictures.

restored boat:


http://www.casdvm.com/photos/25%232internet/529.JPG

http://www.casdvm.com/photos/25%232internet/649.JPG

http://www.casdvm.com/photos/25%232internet/652.JPG


Un restored boat:


http://www.casdvm.com/photos/25%232internet/651.JPG


Another potential problem in any of these old boats is the forward bulkhead under the V-berth. In most of these older seacrafts they consist of 3/4 inch plywood tabbed to the hull. There is a drain hole in the bottom most part of the V and water can get to the exposed bare wood. Once this bulkhead begins to rot out it creates instability and can lead to flex. Below is Daves diagram were I've added an arrow pointing to the bulkhead.

http://www.casdvm.com/photos/25%232i...gerfailure.jpg



happy seacrafting to all

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

You got that right, Sean. I spent about 4 hours under there with a belt sander. I've got a 4"x24", 8 amp Porter Cable and used 40 grit belts. If I'd tried to do it with my little POS Black and Decker belt sander, I'd still be under there. I turned the sander up on its nose so the front roller acted like a drum sander. I’ve found this method leaves a very coarse surface so the laminate can get a good mechanical bond.

To remove the old tabbing, I slid a wood chisel under the loose edge and then cut it loose at the fillet with this:

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3519.jpg

For laminating the tabbing, I wet out the biax on a sheet of visqueen on a workbench, then rolled it into a tube, climbed under the deck, and unrolled it into place. What a mess. I spent a good 20 minutes with a fiberglass roller rolling out the bubbles and wrinkles. There was quite a bit of cussing involved. The bulkhead was easier than the tabbing because of its smaller size and went pretty smoothly.

Dave

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

But not skinny enough to do what came next.

I need to build a deck for the water tank to sit on. The deck I removed had no support underneath other than the floatation foam. I wanted to do something that would both support the tank deck and stiffen the hull. So I took some 4” extruded foam I got from a friend:

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3501.jpg

got out my ACME hot wire foam cutter…

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3500.jpg

…and after a little sanding to round off the corners, I had foam cores for my stringer/ deck supports.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3504.jpg

It was at about this point, after considerable puzzling over how I was going to get under there to laminate the new stringers, that I decided to cut another hole in the deck. Given the amount of cussing involved in getting those stringers laminated, I’m pretty sure the effort would have failed completely if I’d tried to do it from underneath the cabin sole.

I put in a new partial bulkhead between the fuel tank compartment and the water tank compartment and then glued in the stringer cores with thickened epoxy and laminated and tabbed them with three layers of 2408. I still have to clean up the limber holes and a few rough spots on the tabbing, but all in all, I think it turned out ok. While I was at it, I reinforced the tabbing on the starboard stringer with three layers of 1808.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3517.jpg

The hole I cut in the deck:

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3518.jpg

The forward hole will get a hatch like strick's. The larger hole will get closed back up. The balsa core is in good shape, so I'm just going to laminate the piece I cut out back in place once I'm done with the work below decks.

Well that pretty much brings us up to date. And I finished my Christmas shopping.

Merry Christmas,
Dave

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Ok. A little more progress.

I put a bottom with a sump and drain in the forward compartment created by the new bulkhead. Before:

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3508.jpg

I used styrofoam to form the bottom and the sump. The foam just provides a flat surface for laying the glass. It is not structural and not a core.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3531.jpg

And the compartment bottom after it’s glassed in:

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3532.jpg

I also glassed in the decks for the fuel tank and water tank compartments. Fuel tank compartment before:

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3535.jpg

And after:

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3547.jpg

Here’s the water tank compartment looking forward from the fuel tank compartment before the deck went in. The PVC pipe will go from the fresh water tank to the pump, which will be located in the engine compartment.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3533.jpg

Here’s roughly the same view after the deck is in. I also put in a partial bulkhead at the midpoint of the water tank and a couple pieces of fiberglass angle that I fabricated and then laminated in place. These will hold the tank in place laterally.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3548.jpg

Tomorrow, I will install my rigging tubes from the helm to the engine compartment. Once those are in, I can close up the deck over the water tank compartment.

Dave

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

I started patching the cabin deck over the water tank compartment. I ground the edges of the deck and the piece I cut out and suspended it in the hole with a couple strips of plywood.


http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3551.jpg


Then I crawled under the deck and glassed the seams from underneath. What a job that was. The vertical space is about 9".


http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3550.jpg


Tomorrow I'll glass the top of the seams.

Dave

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Definitely not for the claustrophobic. Must have been pretty tight quarters in there.

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

You got that right, Scott. When I came out from under there I had epoxy in my hair and in my mustache. Decided it would be a good idea to get a shower with a stiff brush and lots of soap and shampoo before the epoxy set. I woulda looked like Buckwheat if that stuff had set up. The sleeves of the sweat shirt I was wearing are pretty crispy now.

Sunday, I got the top of the seams laminated. Just have to grind it flat and do a little fairing.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/IMG_3554.jpg

Dave

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Looking REALLY good.

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Dave,

Youre building a battleship there. I think you have addressed the structural issues very well and wont have to worry about a thing down the line.

Id like to thank you, as well as Chuck and Connor for taking the time to look in to the matter as closely as you have. Im curious to have a look at ours more closely now as I have some cracks in that area as well. I will try to get some pics and tell you what I find.

Looking forward to your progress,
Brandon

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Well, hopefully not a battle ship, maybe a battle wagon? The way I’m looking at it, I’ve added strength without adding weight. It can’t hurt and might help.

Brandon, honestly, I wouldn’t have attempted an undertaking like this without a site like this. The knowledge, expertise, and support available here are unmatched. The info you’ve shared is part of that, so thanks back at ya. And I’ll second your thanks to Chuck and Connor. I’ve been on the phone with both of them swapping info on these boats.

I’ll tell you now that I intend to take a page from your Gramps’ book and modify my trim tabs to follow the step in the hull. Believe me when I tell you imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Meanwhile, back at the shop…

After spending the past couple weekends under the deck, I went back into fabrication mode this past weekend and made the lip for around the engine compartment. I tried out a new (for me) mold material. Since I was dealing with flat surfaces, I tried out some masonite for part of the mold surface.

The process was to first, build and trial fit the mold.


http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3556.jpg


Then I sprayed the mold with 3 or 4 coats of lacquer sanding sealer, let it dry overnight, made clay fillets and then sprayed 3 or 4 coats of PVA.


http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3558.jpg


While I was at it, I made a mold for the hatch lip for the remaining hole in the cabin deck. That’s in the background of these pictures on the second set of saw horses.

Next step, sprayed gelcoat.


http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3559.jpg


Then after layup with a little help on the cure from a space heater.


http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3560.jpg

And the trimmed piece trial fit in place.


http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3561.jpg


I still need to grind the perimeter of the deck around the engine compartment and epoxy/cabosil it in place. Then I’ll lay a couple more layers of glass on the inside and wrapped under the deck to make it bullet proof. I don’t want it to break if someone steps on the edge.

Dave

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

beautiful.

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Thanks, Padre. It’s not quite as purty as it looks. It’s got a little alligatoring in a couple spots. But I think I’ve figured out what I did to cause it and I’m looking forward to testing my revised technique on the next part.

But the clock is ticking and it won’t be long before Spring has sprung here in paradise. The redbuds are abloom and in a few weeks, we’ll be in the thick of pollen season. Around the middle of March in these parts, everything, and I mean everything, will be covered in a thin layer of fine yellow dust when the oak trees bloom. I decided I’d better get going on my patching, fairing, and sanding so I can get a jump on painting while conditions are suitable.

So I started by patching about 175 screw holes all over the top cap and cockpit. I have a bad habit of trying to reinvent the wheel instead of using traditional methods, and I guess I did that on the screw holes. I reground an old ¾” paddle bit so it would drill a shallow countersink.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3588.jpg

Then I filled the countersunk holes with a putty made of poly resin, cabosil, and chopped glass. I put a little patch of peel ply over each patch to consolidate the chopped glass and smooth the surface of the patch.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3568.jpg
http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3567.jpg

And after peeling off the peel ply:

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3571.jpg


It seems to have worked well. But there’s one thing I’ve learned about reinventing the wheel. Most of the time, if I come up with a great, new idea, I eventually discover that either it’s not new, or it’s not great. Hopefully, this one will work out. If all the screw holes pop the first time I take to the seas, at least I’ll know what not to do next time.

I got all the screw hole patches sanded down last weekend and took Friday off to shoot the first coat of 545 primer on the cap, hull sides, and transom.


http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3575.jpg


I owe a debt of gratitude to strick for the guidance he provided in our phone conversations. He gave me some tips on prep and spraying and it showed in the results.

Next step was to go to work on the bottom. I figured it would be easier to hit one side at a time if I leaned the hull over to expose the belly of the whale:

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3579.jpg

After sanding:

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3582.jpg

For a 39 year old hull, it’s in pretty good shape. There are a few shallow scratches and scrapes, but no real damage. I hit the port side bottom with fairing compound:

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3585.jpg

And then shifted it to the other side to go to work on the starboard side:

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3587.jpg

I still need to sand, fair, and sand the starboard side of the bottom and sand the port side. Then I can shoot it with 545. I’m thinking I will shoot the keel with some gelcoat before priming so if the paint scratches, it won’t be as obvious.

Dave

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Dave those are some unique photo angles of a 25 seafari that we are not likely to see again for some time :D

Dare devil or crazy I don't know what to call you...but you are truly a one man work force! keep up the good work.

In the photo below is a fella that took it to another level a while back...I think you guys need to have a beer together some time.

http://www.classicseacraft.com/Trayder/medium/0056.jpg

strick

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Is that what Strick was talking about when he said they bank like an f-16 fighter?? :D

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Well, I don't know about an F-16, I'll have to take strick's word for it until I get mine in the water. But the '73 brochure compares it with an F-4. See any resemblance?:D :D

http://www.flash-screen.com/free-wal...om-fighter.jpg

strick,
I've got that beer chillin'. Any time you get over this way, look me up. I'll sure give you a shout if I ever get over to NoCal.

Dave

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Oh man! Does that photo bring back some memories:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...Homestead1.jpg

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

That's a cool picture, Nestor. I think the closest I ever got to an F-4 was building a model of one when I was a kid. Thanks for serving. That was an era when armed service was a thankless job without much support from home.
Dave

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Thanks Dave, those were some of my best times ever, it's a hell of a feeling going thru the air like a bat out of hell and get paid for it! They say the Phantom was living proof that with enough power even a brick could fly but to me she was a beautiful beast, heavy, strong and powerful.

By the way, that boat is looking great already, can't wait for you to finish it.:D

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Looking really great!

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Thanks, Sean. Your Radoncraft is coming along nicely, too. I also want to thank you for posting a link to your "Shiny Hiney" blog a while back. I changed my strategy on painting the bottom and opted for gelcoat and Duratech clear gloss additive instead. Your info got me pointed in that direction.

Also, thanks to Erich who came out and helped out with some detail sanding last Saturday.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3596.jpg

I ended up going with the gelcoat/Duratech on the bottom for several reasons. It should be easier to repair scratches, It should hold up below the waterline, and it's considerably less expensive than the available paint options. My first thought was that I would like to spray some gelcoat along the keel so scratches in the paint wouldn't be so obvious, but it went on so nicely, I decided to do the whole bottom. The finish looks good, so as long as it doesn't crack or blister, it should be good. I've done the port side, but still have to finish sanding/fairing the starboard side and hopefully shoot it next weekend.


http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3599.jpg

Later,
Dave

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

I sprayed the other side of the hull bottom with gelcoat this weekend. Pollen season is in full swing here, so leaving the shop doors open wasn't an option. Bought some filter media and 2x4s and converted the shop into a spray booth.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3609.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3607.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3608.jpg


The gelcoat went on nice.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3611.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3615.jpg

Dave

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

I also made some hatch covers for my cooler/battery box.

Mold parts

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3603.jpg

Molds made up and sprayed with lacquer then PVA

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3606.jpg

The layup

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3613.jpg

And the parts

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3616.jpg



I'm still struggling with alligatoring in my gelcoat. You can see it at its worst on the piece on the left end. I'm sure it's not the oil from the clay fillets because the PVA coverage is complete. I've been using four or five coats. I tried laying up a layer of mat after the gelcoat kicked with the intent of leaving it overnight before completing the layup, but it alligatored under the mat. I suspect I'm not putting the gelcoat on thick enough. I'm spraying, and getting full coverage, but the areas that alligatored look like the gelcoat is pretty thin.

If anyone can give me any guidance, I'd apprecaite it. Other than the alligatoring, I'm very happy with how the parts are turning out. I need to get this solved before I lay up my fish box and live well like strick's.

Dave

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Everything looks awesome...you and Strick are giving me major shop envy.

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Thanks, Sean. I couldn't do half of this stuff if I didn't have a shop to work in. I'm too old to work under a shelter in the yard. My hat's off to the guys that can pull that off.

I shot some Awlgrip today. Thanks to strick for providing pointers over the phone. Chuck, you were right; that stuff is sweet to spray. I got full coverage on the fourth pass.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3624.jpg

Sean, now I've got a shiney hiney, too

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3626.jpg

Dave

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Looking Good Dave....Nice work....Rob

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Nice work!

What is all involved in rolling that pig over on its side? Mine is only a 23 but I would be pretty worried about trying that.