Fletch's 1976 170 Rebuild

[Fletch170]

THANKS! THATS PERFECT!

Also, I have 7 or seven holes in the consile where the PO mounted guages and such. I was thinking of just screwing in a piece of luan wrapped in plastic as the backing. Any best practices for backing your coring material before you glass over?

Kind Regards,

-Christian

[MJB]

Fletch 170,

There are certainly differences in cloth and application.  When I did the "re-rebuild" of the transom on my Mako 285 I opted for the 1808 (45/45).  I figured out how many layers of cloth I was going to use overall (outer/inner layers, sandwiched layers, tabbing in etc) for the transom and the knees that I added which came out to some number of sq yards then added 10%.  I shopped around online and made some phone calls and found out that if I buy the material by the sqft/yd is was almost triple what I would pay if I bought the whole roll of material which was way more than I needed.  I opted for the whole roll and saved money.  I was going to sell the remainder but kept it just in case.

What I had left over I used on my 1976 170 rebuild; 1808 for transom, deck, coffin, inside bottom hull, stringer repairs, and console repairs.  There were a few things I used chop strand for but not many.  Was it overkill on my part?  Probably, but I had the 1808.

I found it easy to work with as long as you wet the area and cloth out (both sides) prior to trying to apply it to anything.  There are times when it is hard to work with like sharp corners/angles etc.  You have to make sure you have smooth easy transitions otherwise the cloth will not want to adhere and cure properly.  Now, it will soak up  alot of resin but on the flip side it is a thick material that may require only one layer vice multiple.  On my decks I used only one layer on the back side and it was more than enough.

As for backing material that sounds fine.  The important part will be what you use to fill the holes from the gauges themselves.  For a console I would use mostly cloth/resin and a strutural filler to take care of the holes to make that area  strong.  Once you've done that then its filling/fairing/sanding/repeat.

[Capt Matt]

When I filled the holes in the console for my tower I cut pieces of coosa scraps/ wood would work. I then used cobosil to fit them in the open holes. I sanded of the gel coat on the flat service and laid a layer of biaxle on both the inside and top side then a layer of mat to finish the top side. After sanding it again I skimmed it, sanded it and primed it before painting the whole console. You cannot tell and it looks like a new console. This allowed me to mount my steering, shift and gauges where I wanted.
Capt matt

[daniel123]

I have 170 titled as a 1974 that I too, am restoring but it looks different than this one, especially the raised bow deck which opens at the front with not via topside doors, such as shown here. And the console, which surrounds the above-floor fuel tank, is simpler than this one....

[Fletch170]

Good stuff Guys!

I actually decided to gut the console, and glass in the backing. That way, when it's done, it looks good, even from the inside. I used structual filler and pressed in 1/2 ply cores I made with a hole saw. Slapped more filler in the cracks....there should be no voids. The downside..........it looks like hell at the moment, as I need to go back and grind out the excess and makes the surface ready for glass.

After I put some glass down and sand, what surfacing putty do you folls reccomend? (keep in mind, I'm on a budget here). I saw West Marine's product, It's about 77 bucks for the gallon....should this work well?

-Fletch

[kedd]

What type of resin do you plan to use?
Polyester or epoxy?

Kedd

[Fletch170]

I believe it is epoxy....I've been using the bondo/3m stuff off the shelf from homedepot:

http://www.amazon.com/Remittance-Proces ... B003VZIUGC

(sorry guys, I don't know jack about fiberglass work.....but I'm learning)

[kedd]

That looks like poly but I can't read the can.
If that's the case I would use cabosil and mix with the resin for the filler.

Kedd

[slvrlng]

It is polyester. You can use any poly putty as filler. They will be easier to sand than the cabosil mix. Plus if you continue with the poly you have a choice. You can prime and paint or spray gelcoat as a finish.

[Fletch170]

Thanks guys, I have no idea WTF I'm doing, so the help is greatly appreciated!

Any good (but affordable) brands you would reccomend?

[Fletch170]

Also, I put a few pictures up of my mess!

http://fletch170.blogspot.com/

[kedd]

Hi Fletch,

Did you tab it in with glass or west marine structural filler?
Is the cloth on the inside of the gauge holes wet out all the way through?
Its a bit hard to tell from the pic.

Just my 2 cents but the cleaner and smoother you can keep you glass job,
the easier the prep and grinding for the next step.

I know that filler does not have much working time so I would do smaller batches and get it really faired out before it goes off.

Kedd

[Fletch170]

Good advice.

The backing? I flipped the console over and glassed in the backing....but didnt not wet out the areas with the holes. When the resin was cured, I flipped the console over, I then filled the holes (about a 1/4 inch full) of structual putty, then pressed the cooring in. In hein sight...I went a little with the putty

[kedd]

The only way to learn is ask questions and dive in.
Everytime I had to pick up a grinder my next glass job cleaner.
Need I say I hate the grinder :!:  

What do you plan on using for the final fairing?


Kedd

[Fletch170]

I plan on using toothpaste and elmers glue.

I think I'm going with the west marine poly, its affordable. Apparently, you can't use regular bondo? I'm 2 hours from a west marine......so everything has to be ordered over the interweb......which is annoying.

I have to remind myself to slow down......I get excited and find myself rushing, which leads to more work down the road.