21 Hull #136...Restoration...Started

[Islandtrader]

Over the last few weeks I have been working on my front deck. Previous posts showed that all the balsa core was wet beyond saving. I decided to save weight and use a product called Tuff Stuff. It is a polyurethane 1/2 inch and was scrim and scored.

I first made my check list, and then built the bridge to reform the crown. After that was done the old bottom glass was cleaned up and prep with epoxy. The tuff stuff was also prep with epoxy and then the score side was filled with epoxy,cabosil, and micro balloons. This same mixture except a little thicker was troweled on the bottom and then the tuff stuff placed scored side down.

The pictures will show some of the process. All pieces were numbered on the dry fit and then marked so I could line them up easily. The crown is back and looks good.

Now I will prep the old skin and put that on in the next week.

Thats it for now.

Check List...



Bridge Work





Under Deck



Work Table and Cabosil



Score filled in



New deck core



Thats it for now.

[Bushwacker]

Terry, you're off to a great start! Denny

[65Bowrider]

Very nice, clean work!
How does the Tuff-Stuff compare to Divinycell? Weight,cost?
Also curious as to how 'flexible' it is in making a crown...
Could you have made a bigger crown if you wanted?
Nice welcome mat too!

[Islandtrader]

Finally got 95% of the front deck done. Just a little more fairing and on to the front cap rails and dash.

The first 3 pictures show how I used strips of wood and dry wall screw to hold the deck in alignment with the seams. Sand bags just would not hold the crown down...so this seemed like the easiest way.
I got tired of mixing epoxy and cabosil together so I bought a product from Systems 3 called. Gelmagic. It is an epoxy that is premixed with the solids. All you have to do is mix the resin and hardener and the stuff trowels out perfect. I will never mix cabosil again for a big job.

After removing the fasteners I then used epoxy and cabosil (small job) and filled the seams. Then covered the seams with fiberglass tape.

After a 1/2 gallon of QF3 and a lot of sanding by hand, it is ready. I have every sander known to man, and yet I still like to block the areas by hand. I guess that hark ens back to my street rod days when there were more rounded surfaces.
Now I will work on the cap rail and dash. Then continue towards the transom.

Thats it for now!

Mechanical fasteners Left,Center, Right.






Seams filled and taped.





First coats of QF3 working forward and center.





You can see the crown.



That enough to bore you all.

[Capt Chuck]

Very Nice Terry! Keep the pics coming.
I drool on my keyboard every time I see your SeaCraft

[CaptLloyd]

Terry,

Lookin Good

I marvel at your ingenuity

Lloyd