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Luvit's boat improvements


Luvit

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I pulled the transom cap off today as per Lance’s advice. I have scraped out the sealer and stuff it looks pretty good. I’ll replace the capping and fill everything with Sikafex 291. 9143D9A2-7AB3-46AC-947C-0A8D87707D91.thumb.jpeg.a294da69bf1b5a41af07e3e166056dfb.jpeg

After spending the full day on the other half of the transom. l can now see the soda blasting has etch all the fibreglass badly. On the test section it only took 1200 grit wet and dry to smooth it out. Hiwever when they started the pressure was not enough to lift the paint. So they had to up the pressure which has left a lot sanding to get it flat again. Far more than anticipated. 

Anyway got it to this stage.

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Hope to get the trim tab back on and all the holes from the transducer filled with epoxy tomorrow. Then l’ll epoxy some stern saver boards on to mount the transducers covering the repaired holes. 

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On 10/01/2019 at 9:10 PM, Luvit said:

Hey Waz

They did a sample dry blast and a sample wet blast. The wet blast was a better result. 

They have done a great job considering it was on a trailer and had to work on it sitting down. 

Here are some photos.

l asked them to stay away from any edges and l would do them by hand. The guy made one mistake where he thought some sikaflex was anti foul and left it on there too long and blasted through the gel coat. About the size of a thumb print on the transom. Considering the Swiss cheese l made of it trying to get my transducer position right. I will repairr both at the same time. 

Soda blasting claims to not damage fibreglass. I found it leaves a rough finish but on the test section l could use some 1200 wet and dry and it smoothed it out. I expected to have to hand sand the bottom to get it smooth. It will be a lot easier now 95% of the antifoul is gone. 

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That looks great , my boat was fouled and has layering of fouling applied by the previous owner. It looks sh!thouse, so even a matt finish will be a huge improvement.

 

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2 minutes ago, WAZA said:

That looks great , my boat was fouled and has layering of fouling applied by the previous owner. It looks sh!thouse, so even a matt finish will be a huge improvement.

 

That’s what l figured. It doesn’t stop me from using the boat so l can work on putting a shine on it a bit at a time. 

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Hey luvit.

Just a bit of a heads up on sika from personal experience. 

I was fitting out new boats recently as well as my own and I wouldn't go near sika. It fades to that off yellow very quickly and looks old in no time. Then it starts to lift.

Fixtech fix190 proved to be a much better product. It seals better and stays white. It does dry quicker but using the same application as sika it goes on just the same and wet fingers will mould the shape without getting it everywhere. 

All hatches, skin fittings etc as well as my fuel cell lid are all sealed with fix190. Still looks like new after nearly 2 years, has not lifted and the seal is tight.  

 

Just a heads up as your boat is in such nice condition.

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39 minutes ago, Luvit said:

Thanks Junky, 

Looks like Whitworths carry it. 

l also see that 3M make a 4200 & 5200 sealant that are widely used in the USA.

l can not see where 4200 can be bought here and 5200 is here to but is for a permanent bond. 

I don’t want that. 

Looks like Fux190 is the way to go. 

Cheers

To easy mate.

 

Boat and rv stock it also if whitworths is to far. 

They were the ones who put me onto it cause I was whinging about sika. 

 

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OK, I have cleaned up the transom and epoxied over the timber to seal it before I put sealant and capping back on.

I have investigated the issue of transom rot and after posting on a Grady White forum about rot, no one after 1998 had rot issue since they used the XL Greenwood marine treated ply that they still use to this day. GW provide a lifetime warranty on it not rotting or delaminating. So this puts my mind at rest.

I discovered while investigating this that others with the same model boat and motor had the height at bolt hole higher than mine with no problems and they even think they could have gone higher. I figured it if I lift mine one bolt hole it would make the installation of the capping so much easier and I if it causes no issues I’l Get better economy. 

At over 250kg I didn't want any mishaps. Here is what I did.

Blocked the trailer tyres and lowered the trailer jockey wheel.

Trimmed the motor down so it was resting solidly on the skeg. 

Chocked the cavitation plate to stop sideways movement of the motor.

Positioned a trolley jack under the motor for extra support.

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Loosened the bolts.

Removed the top bolts from the motor bracket holes.

Lifted the front of the trailer by slowly winding the jockey wheel up. Checking all the time as you go.

The transom moves down.

As the motor is not going to move the bottom slotted motor bracket holes with the nut still, (but loose) allow the motor to slide up the transom to the next set of holes.

Once at the correct height the bolts can be pushed back through and secured.

 

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I'm deciding whether to replace the capping with polished stainless steel or just replace with the aluminum cap as before. The first one last 15 years.

The side mouldings are shot and I need new ones or I will do them in metal as well.

I hope to have everything back on the boat after next weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Luvit
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1 hour ago, Drop Bear said:

oh aren't you a clever ****. Well done. 

Not that clever, not my ideas just googled it.

Also possibly not that clever having the soda blasting done. It is turning into one big head ache to get it back to smooth and the amount of time and effort is way beyond expectations based on the sample area they did.

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2 hours ago, Luvit said:

Not that clever, not my ideas just googled it.

Also possibly not that clever having the soda blasting done. It is turning into one big head ache to get it back to smooth and the amount of time and effort is way beyond expectations based on the sample area they did.

Bugger. It will be worth it in the end. When is the next trip? 

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  • Luvit changed the title to Luvit's boat improvements
4 hours ago, Drop Bear said:

looks stunning. Can you screw into the chopping board and the screws stay solid? 

With the chopping board I had twice the thickness and longer screws because it is softer that the Kingboard that the stern saver material is made from. I never had a problem only that it looked like Swiss cheese after so many moves to get the position right. I noticed the Sika flex I had previously used was not adhering well to the antifoul but, it didn't come off. This has been 2 part epoxy bonded for a permanent fixing to boat. I had to buy 2 plates to cover the existing holes and where the guy soda blasted through the gel coat. I have fulll sealed all this with epoxy to be sure there is no issue down the track. 

I took photos of the transducer position and height before I removed the chopping board mount. So I hope that it should be very close and only require some minor adjustment if any. Find out tomorrow when I take my son Luke out to test it off Mooloolaba  🙂

Edited by Luvit
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1 hour ago, kmcrosby78 said:

Couldn't get the chopping board in off-white Wayne ........ :whistle:  Looking great mate, the before and after shots certainly show the difference made. Cool little hoo!!

I could have if l wanted to wait and order from the US and pay $60 more. Trouble was l wanted to get this week. So white it was, doesn’t look that bad does it? 

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