1985 18' rebuild

[thealife]

Ok, so I picked up my third seacraft last week, the two previous ones got sold before I could even get started, but this one is staying for good,

overall the boat is in good shape, the transom is solid but there is rot around the outboard holes, the deck is also pretty good with a few soft spots here and there,

The plan is to separate the deck liner from the hull in one piece, keeping the fiberglass cutting to an absolute minimum as it is all in very good shape and I want to keep as much of the original as possible,
Full paint job and new everything,

But I will post pics as I progress,

[thealife]

16 June Progress

demo and cleaning,

Bleach scrubbing bubbles is your best friend when it comes to dirty fiberglass (don't use it near new gelcoat of paint)

tank well was full of water, to my surprise the tank was a newer 50 gal tank (8"x24"x60") not leaking but it did have heavy corrosion below,

Look at the four holes I drilled at the back of the tank well, on boats, water always gets it, it must have a way out,

The console on this 18 does not look like the others, it's definitely taller, there is no evidence of modifications tho, either way, this is one of the main things why I chose this particular boat,

[PigSticker]

Sometime in the very early 80's the consoles changed to the taller ones on the 18 and 20sf

[thealife]

Pretty much done with the removal of hardware, Just waiting to get a day off during the week to take the boat to my local mechanic so we can take the outboard off,

Beginning to remove the core from the hatches, I am re-coring everything with coosa,

sending the console to get sandblasted inside as they used some shitty paint inside and I can't be bothered sanding it,

Thinking about doing all the bits and bobs first and once they are all done, go ahead and replace the deck and transom,

Just bought a fein multimaster and it is an absolute godsend,

[db3155]

you need to pull the motor so you dont twist the hull

[thealife]

Originally Posted by db3155

you need to pull the motor so you dont twist the hull

Thanks, yeah I just haven't had a chance to take it to my mechanic to get it removed

[thealife]

Demo Continues,

Itchy as hell today, it was so hot and humid I went sans tshirt all day, removing core all day, i'm down to the side coamings now, the core was basically liquid,

I have the week off work so Im hoping to get the all the cores off this week and get the outboard removed,

[sidelock]

sorry wrong place. wish there was a delete option on this site !

[thealife]

grind, sand, sand, grind, grind, sand, grind, sand...



I am currently sanding and prepping the console, it was gel coated on the inside and there was a bunch of different types of paint in there which had to be sanded off, will sand the entire inside back to bare glass, reinforce and add a coosa core to the sides as the new t-top is being bolted directly to the console, also adding coosa further up to screw electronic components into, and then seal the whole inside with an epoxy primer,



I wanted to share my power tool quiver with you guys,

3" makita belt sander, using mainly with 40 grit belts, it eats through uneven glass and gelcoat, I love this tool, connecting a vacuum to it is a very clean way of prepping fiberglass surfaces,

1-1/8 belt sander, with 40 grit belts This is an awesome tool for spot grinding and getting into corners, the radius on it is ideal for edges and corners, I saw a guy on youtube using this tool to do clean fiberglass prep a while back and bought one, it really keeps the dust to a minimum

Multimaster, I use my oscillator mainly for precise cutting of glass as its also a very clean tool, I love this tool for getting right into the edges when cutting glass from core,

Rotary sander, Angle grinder, and a 3.5" saw,

I try to avoid using the angle grinder as much as possible as it is so god damn messy, I really am trying to keep the dust to a minimum, to keep the neighbours and the admiral happy and off my back,

[steel686]

Nice quiver. I bought a 1/2” Harbor Freight belt sander when I really wanted a Makita. Figured it was a throw away but so far so good. I’m a contractor and a tool snob but there is enough money going out the door in epoxy. Agree with you on avoiding the 4.5” disc when possible. Looks good.