1973 196 rebuild question

[Duffy1470]

the deep portion will hold two 5 gallon buckets and a 45 qt cooler..

[Duffy1470]

Generated the bilge and added a block for livewell thru hull. It is a 3/4" piece of Coosa bedded in a layer of Matt and thickened resin. Advanced plastics honeycomb supplier sold and they can't get any right now so thought I would gelcoat bilge.  Needs another coat. So far so good.

[Duffy1470]

Spellcheck really is such a pain. Didn't generate, I gelcoated.

[Duffy1470]

Gelcoated other storage area

[Duffy1470]

Put a capful of "wax" in 2nd coat

[Duffy1470]

I have a few questions:
1. With Gelcoat being a polyester product, can you laminate right on top of it, assuming you sand and acetone it first? 
2. Speaking of waxed gelcoat, should I expect the flat finish I got or did I do something wrong?
3. If the flat finish is expected, how does one go about getting it to shine, if so interested?
Stuff is awesome.

[Duffy1470]

Working on cap while honeycomb source, Advanced Plastics, works out supplier issues.  Figured the cap is old and brittle so a layer of 1708 on the underside and around the edge where the 14 million flathead screws connected it to the hull would be a big improvement.  Also added a piece of Coosa over, under when flipped over right side up, a rod holder hole. Will see how that works.

[Duffy1470]

Hole about half the size of a dollar bill in cap. Taped the other side of it (the top side or part you would see if not upside down) with packing tape. Laid down a healthy amount of resin, then 3 layers of matte both cut and torn, finally two layers of 1708. The side everyone will look at needs cosmetic work but the hole is fixed.



Glassed  underside of starboard gunnel and up the rail with one layer of 1708. Everywhere there were holes I added Matt, both cut pieces and torn pieces.

[Ulysses485]

Duffy, in a nutshell...you want glass on glass. No gelcoat in between. Gelcoat is a finish, not structural. Polyester resin based products require wax or something to seal the final surface from air to final cure and be tack free. Getting the gelcoat shiny you'll want to wet sand starting around 400-600 and go up to around 1000-2000 depending on preference. Then you'll buff. I like Aqua buff 1000 and 2000 and has served me well.

[RickK]

Duffy make sure you don't build out the inside edge of the cap edge or it won't fit correctly over the hull top. Fits like a shoe box.

[Duffy1470]

Thank you Ulysses.

Rick, I already added a layer of 1708. I figured that's two layers total from side to side, so 1/16 of an inch give or take. I did not add any around the bow. We will see if the cap flexes enough to accommodate the extra. If not, I will build a new cap. This one has significant damage from a past wreck any ways  we will have reference for future builders.

My plan B, which I saw somewhere on AS classic, is to cut the bow section of the cap off, where all the damage is, and only build that portion new.

[Duffy1470]

Gelcoated forward storage.

[Duffy1470]

[Duffy1470]

Rick, you have me thinking about what to do if the cap does not fit. Cutting the bow section off is an option, also splitting the cap right down the middle might work. Probably need to figure that out before I proceed.  I guess now would be the time to see if it fits before I glass the below in permanently



Or



Or

[Duffy1470]

I sure hope the cap fits