Mike's 77 22-2 Rebuild

[mshugg]

Looking good & solid.

[Tampa Bay Mike]

Thanks!

I finished laying up the last of the gutters I should need for the hatches. I've been able to knock out one, maybe two a day when I get a chance to get out there. I have about 25 linear ft now. Just need to clean up the last three.

[Tampa Bay Mike]

Deck cleats are all glued in place on the bulkheads and I made a few blocks out of some scrap coosa to wedge the tank into place. I picked up some of those tank tie down straps as well so that thing shouldn't go anywhere.



I also tossed the floor back in to do a final dry fit and level. Even just sitting there loose it feels super solid.



I think I am going to glue and glass it all up into the two big pieces instead of five before the final install just to make sure all the seams are perfectly aligned, etc. Still a lot to do before I get to that though..

[RickK]

nice progress. I glassed mine on the garage floor - make sure you let it sit flat for a couple days to cure before you flip it to do the other side. I did 2 layers of 1708 on top and one on the bottom.

[Tampa Bay Mike]

Thanks for the tip, Rick. I'll make sure to plan for a few extra days.

Any tips on bonding the seams? Do I just need some thickened epoxy or should I add in some biscuits to make sure it's strong?

[wingtime]

Looking great!

Are you going to foam fill the square spacers supporting the casting deck?

[Tampa Bay Mike]

Thanks!  And I wasn't planning to. I know how water has a tendancy to get into anything so I want to make sure it can get out as well. They are PVC fence posts wrapped in 4 layers of 1700 and then another two layers up the side to tape them down. They are crazy strong. I propped one up on a brick and jumped on it a few times and it didn't budge.

[RickK]

Thanks for the tip, Rick. I'll make sure to plan for a few extra days.

Any tips on bonding the seams? Do I just need some thickened epoxy or should I add in some biscuits to make sure it's strong?

I think the main thing is to have a flat surface.
In the pic below you can see that the bottom of the deck is already lam'd. I used poly on the top of the deck and epoxy on the bottom (epoxy on all things below deck).
If I remember correctly I didn't tape the top seams (I would need to get my rebuild thread), just lam'd the 1708 and layed cheap painters plastic dropcloth on top of the seams and some cinder blocks just to keep it flat at the seams.


Finished

 BTW my wife was really happy with me using her side of the garage for this

[Tampa Bay Mike]

Hmm, I already have a layer of 1708 on the top and bottom of each. The original plan was to add a second layer to the top of the whole thing once it's in the boat and glued down. I may have messed up the best bet of glassing it all together by doing that.. Guess I'll just have to figure it out when I get to that point.

And btw, I used poly for both sides and planned to use epoxy to bond it down.

[Tampa Bay Mike]

Managed to get a little work in around Christmas. I started filling and fairing the holes in the transom. I made the mistake of not mixing the fairing putty well enough and parts of it were still soft a few days later when I went to sand it. (That stuff is stiff when it's cold out.) I decided to just grind it all off and start over to be on the safe side. Looking back I'm glad I did because I found a nice void behind a gel coat blister that I was able to open up and fix. You can see it on the bottom left. I filled it with thickened epoxy and 8 layers of 1708 to build it back up. I'll try my hand at fairing again soon.



I also made a little progress on the floor hatches. I got them cut out and started to dry fit the gutters. I have the week off so hopefully I can get them glued down and cleaned up in the next day or so.

[mshugg]

Those hatch gutters are looking good.  You may want to try storing your fairing mix inside.  That way it will be warmer when you mix it, and it will have a head start on curing.  I do the same with my epoxy when the nighttime temps start getting lower.

[Tampa Bay Mike]

Thanks, and I'll give that a try next time it cools down. Looks like we have some good weather for glass work on tap.

[Tampa Bay Mike]

Got the gutters glassed down today and they are nice and stiff.  Next I need to figure out a drain for them. I also drilled the holes in the bulkheads for the rigging tube and skimmed on a layer of fairing compound on the transom. I mixed it up with an old spade bit so we should be good this time around. I'll give it a few days to fully cure before I sand it.

[Bencarpenter112]

My work is no where near as clean mate. very impressive and quality work

[RickK]

Looks good Mike.