246 Aquasport FF Rebuild/Mod

[bhdykes]

Thanks Rick, it’s encouraging to finally be building something new.

I’m using vinylester resin from US Composites. I know there are going to be areas I won’t be able to get gel coat into since I’m buiding from scratch and don’t have a top cap. And I need part of that to adhere so I can really pre gel coat So I’ll probably put a layer of mat on top of the biax I’ve laid and add wax to that last layer in those areas

Gas tank, don’t know for sure yet, I think I’d prefer aluminum. That’s what I took out, not sure how to secure it. And I know some guys say don’t foam in aluminum because of corrosion and condensation reasons. The one I took out was not foamed but was coated with some kind of black stuff and had metal straps that were actually glassed into the bottom of the bin, then bolted to tighten around the tank. I’m open to suggestions on tank material and securing. Would love to see what other guys have done.

[RickK]

I have no experience with vinylester so cant be any help on it.

[mshugg]

You do not need to add wax to Vinylester.  It will cure to a tack free surface.  Only thing is make sure you don’t under catalyze.

I think there are three main schools of thought on tanks:

1  Replicate original tank installation with straps holding the tank down.

2  Pascoe method.  You can google it, but the theory is that by eliminating areas that will trap salt water in contact with tank, the natural anti corrosion properties of aluminum can work.  Strips of plastic are glued with 5200 to the bottom of the tank, and once cured the strips are glued to the bottom of the tank coffin.  I modified this method for my CCP by adding chocks to trap the tank in place.

3  Foam the tank in place.  This used to cause problems because the foam can trap salt water against the tank.  I think current practice is to coat the tank with coal tar epoxy or paint and then glass the top of the foam, so no water can get to the tank.  A lot of high end builders and rebuilders use this method.

The coal tar epoxy or paint can be used with 1 & 2 as well.

[d2dykes]

ok thanks, I thought that wax might just add another potential problem with my secondary bonds. even though I've been grinding every time. which might have just been significantly reduced. I bought a pretty large roll of peel ply that should be in today. I sure hope I can grind less with this stuff!!

I read up on Pascoe and that looks like a smart simple solution for the gas tank, thanks for the input. I'll look into this a little more but I think this is what I want to go with. I'll probably coal tar epoxy as well just for good measure

[d2dykes]

glassed bulkhead cutouts for waterproofing before glassing to hull.

[d2dykes]

2 layers of 3/4 oz mat and 1 layer of 1708 biax for added structure. really just want to keep the polyurethane foam waterproofed

[Levi]

Looking good man wow I thought our rebuild was extensive!!
You can raise the stringers if you want to but with our bracket we have about 2 inches of freeboad between the top of the deck and the waterline