Mike's 77 22-2 Rebuild

[RickK]

Yup it will go smoothly if you prepare. One thing you should make sure you understand is how to take the gun apart to clean. Its a bummer when the gelcoat hardens in the gun (don't ask how I know).  So learn how to take the needle out, and then the spray tip and dunk everything into a bucket of acetone.  Use the included brush to clean everything in that front portion of the gun.  Buy one that has a .18 tip or maybe .20.

For the gelcoat, mix it up 50/50 with Duratec and then add the hardener, mix and spray.  Only make what the spray cup can holdMake sure you spray it all out of the gun and then quickly disassemble the gun and even remove the spray cup and clean it and the pathway down into the front part of the gun. It takes longer to clean the gun than to spray the product.  Maybe buy a couple guns so you can break down one and soak it while you use the other? They're cheap enough when on sale.

[Tampa Bay Mike]

I picked up two of them to start while they were only about $10. I didn't see the bigger tips though and I think the one it comes with is only 1.4 so I'll have to figure that out before I spray. I'll probably do a few test sprays first for sure - maybe on the hatch covers. I started making my next shopping list as well and think I may have my colors all figured out. I've been pricing motors and rigging the past few days too.  Getting close!

[RickK]

Yeah, maybe the tips were 1.8 and 2.0, been a couple years. The gelcoat will be pretty thin after mixing the Duratec in. Definitely practice on something.

[Tampa Bay Mike]

Took a break from fairing and started molding up the hardtop. Still a ways to go but I'm happy with how it's coming along.

[Woodeneye]

What layup are you using for the top? Are you worried about weight up high?

[RickK]

Looks good Mike.

[Tampa Bay Mike]

What layup are you using for the top? Are you worried about weight up high?

I'm using 5/8" foam and some CSM to start. Once I've got the shape totally locked in I will take it off and add some cloth if needed. I haven't decided that yet.  As for the weight, I'm hoping to keep it around 50 pounds so it shouldn't be a concern.

[mshugg]

That’s a nice looking hard top.

[Tampa Bay Mike]

Got a layer of glass on each side and set it back on the frame to finish curing. I'll do a little trimming and sanding and then decide if it needs another layer or not.

[Woodeneye]

Very nice.

[Tampa Bay Mike]

So this rebuild would probably be moving along a lot faster if I would quit adding things on. While I was between fairing coats on the top, I took a hard look at the bow where I was planning to store the anchor and realized I didn't leave myself quite enough room to get it in and out easily, so I ended up building another hatch box. I will tell ya, it is hard to make that first cut into a brand new floor.







I think it'll end up working really well though. I kept thinking that I was wasting a lot of storage under there, and I wished that I had added just a touch more support across that big span. It wasn't bad, but I could feel a tiny bit of flex if I jumped around up there so now I can add some scrap coosa to the underside while I have it opened up again to really shore it up.

[Tampa Bay Mike]

Here's the box before I trimmed it up the rest of the way while I was test fitting everything. I used some leftover foam and a few scrap pieces of coosa for the frame on top. Then gave it all a few layers of mat and 1700. Once it's ready to go in I will just epoxy it in from the bottom.

[RickK]

Pretty good sized box. Not sure if you had to assemble it in the hole or what? Is pic2 above the box in the hole?

[Tampa Bay Mike]

Yeah, pic two is the box sitting in place. I tried to make it as big as I could to maximize storage but still small enough that I could fit it in at an angle and pull it up into place.  Of course it turned out about two inches too big so I had to resort to slightly more drastic measures.   



Should be plenty easy to fix once it is all glued up and it will also give me access to hook up a drain hose.

[Capt. Bob]

Lookin' good TBM.