Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife

[wtenglish]

Dave, your restoration is looking great! I hadn't logged on in a while but am thoroughly impressed. Keep up the good work.

[strick]

The clay is oil based and if you don't get good coverage over the clay with the PVA then your gonna get some alligators as the oil from the clay reacts with the gel coat. The problem with alligators is that there are many causes so you have the try and determine what caused them for each particular incident. For big parts I've learned it's best not to cut corners and to take each step carefully. Alligators suck.

strick

[Blue_Heron]

Last night I laid up the sole for the fuel tank compartment. The PO scabbed onto the keel stringer to bring it up to the same height as the stringers on either side of the compartment.



I took advantage of that support to make my sole almost flush with the tops of the stringers. Basically, the sole is built like a hatch with ¾” plywood cores between the stringers, and about 3/16” laminate over the stringers. The tank compatment sole I removed was a piece of 1/2" CDX plywood with glass mat on the top only. It was waterlogged and slimey. This should be an improvement.

First, I cut ¾” plywood to fit between the stringers with about ¾” space all the way around. Then I used my table saw to cut a 16 degree bevel around the edges of the plywood and scabbed them together at the correct spacing. I put 6 mil visqueen on top of my work bench and then screwed down the cores from underneath.



I cut two layers of 1808 to go between the cores and around the outside edges, and one layer to go over the whole thing.



Then I laid it up using epoxy resin.



Flipped right side up:



Trimmed and excess resin ground off:



And trial fit in place:



When I’m ready to glass it in, I’ll use thickened epoxy to glue it down to the stringers, and then go over the whole thing with another layer of 1808 to tab it to the stringers and bulkheads. Before I do that, I need to run the discharge pipe for the fresh water tank underneath. The pump will be located in the engine compartment.

Dave

[strick]

Good idea Dave. What kind of shape is the deck in? You probably remember I added some support by glassing plywood from the tops of those two stringers to the deck. My situation as a bit different then yours as I was trying to repair the area were the PO has cut out the fuel hatch. I like the extra support as the deck is solid as a rock now. Looks like you have a nice supply of fiberglass there.

strick

[Blue_Heron]

Dave, your restoration is looking great! I hadn't logged on in a while but am thoroughly impressed. Keep up the good work.

Thanks, Will. You haven't posted on yours in a while. Been off stalking Bambi? I'm trying to stay focused on mine so I don't lose momentum.

Good idea Dave. What kind of shape is the deck in?

Thanks, Chuck. The deck's in good shape, but there's a little deflection forward of the tank hatch. There's a stiffener laminated into the underside of the deck, running side to side, but it was notched to allow the forward tank fill and vent to pass under. I'll either repair the stiffener, or throw some support in there similar to what you did to stiffen it up.

Dave

[seafari25]

Coming along very nicely Dave!

You've got some great ideas

Brandon

[NoBones]

I need to make a trip to Newberry!

Dave you are on the right track....

See ya, Ken

[gofastsandman]

The clay is oil based and if you don't get good coverage over the clay with the PVA then your gonna get some alligators as the oil from the clay reacts with the gel coat. The problem with alligators is that there are many causes so you have the try and determine what caused them for each particular incident. For big parts I've learned it's best not to cut corners and to take each step carefully. Alligators suck.

strick

Could you use patching plaster instead of clay for the radius? I`m about to make my first mold.

Resto is looking very nice.

Cheers,
gfs

[Islandtrader]

Could you use patching plaster instead of clay for the radius? I`m about to make my first mold.

Resto is looking very nice.

Cheers,
gfs

All I know is when I go to the Fiberglass Supply store all they say is use clay.

This store sells to all the repair people in SW FL. so I would think stick with what everyone is using.

[Blue_Heron]

Could you use patching plaster instead of clay for the radius? I`m about to make my first mold.

Resto is looking very nice.

Cheers,
gfs

Thanks for your kind words, Sandy. On the clay, I agree with Terry. It's easy to work with and makes a very smooth fillet. I'm pretty sure that the only reason I had problems was that I had some pretty tight spots in my mold and didn't get good coverage with the PVA. I'll be sticking with clay fillets, but I'll watch my PVA coverage closely.

Brandon and Ken,
Thanks for your encouragement, too. Ken, If you want to stop by, you're welcome any time. Just be forewarned, I may stick a sander in your hand and put you to work. Of course, I'll have a beer for your other hand.

Dave