Topic: The boat restore , the project, the nightmare, and wheew when its done (Read 14599 times)

White Lightening · « **Reply #75 on:** October 20, 2009, 06:26:22 PM »

Wow, that Hydo is bad a$$. I had an 85 15ft Hydro Sport andit had the same color scheme as yours. It was my first bass boat and sold it a few years back. I see yours and it reminds me of my first boat fishing days. You did a heck of a job. Mine had pretty much lost all of the top caot shine and I color sanded it about 7 times till it was dead. I wish mine looked like yours does now. Now, I have my Triton. Well, it looks awesome and great post. Have fun on the water with it.

calbass · « **Reply #76 on:** October 20, 2009, 09:28:28 PM »

Great thread, i just bought a 86 Stratos 159V, need to work on the gel coat some sprayed a automotive clear coat over it, and its peeling, new seats and wiring. I am looking at rewiring the whole boat, the wiring is so messed up and the lights and guages don't work, also need to put in a new fuse panel. Does anyone have any info, web or book to recomend for rewiring??

White Lightening · « **Reply #77 on:** October 21, 2009, 01:54:09 PM »

I don't know about any manuals but, I'll tell you that bad wiring in the Hydro Sports seems to be a common thing. My wiring in my Hydro was so messed up that the tilt and trim didn't work and the fuses never seemed right and it was impossible to get the front panel to work. Good Luck with yours I just tore it apart and re did it from scratch.

stew6371 · « **Reply #78 on:** November 15, 2009, 06:37:43 AM »

Man you did an awesome job. I am about to restore my 1977 Glastron bass boat. You have given me a lot of inspiration and knowledge. Did your boat not have any flat boards glassed to the hull under the stringers? Why did you use paint instead of gel-coat? Thanks

NRG · « **Reply #79 on:** November 17, 2009, 04:35:52 PM »

Quote from: stew6371 on November 15, 2009, 06:37:43 AM

Man you did an awesome job. I am about to restore my 1977 Glastron bass boat. You have given me a lot of inspiration and knowledge. Did your boat not have any flat boards glassed to the hull under the stringers? Why did you use paint instead of gel-coat? Thanks

Flat Boards ? I assume your talking about ribs that run the length of the boat like the stringers, but lay flat against the hull ? Yes I have those, only replaced the rotted ones, only half of one was bad.

Paint instead of gel coat .. cause paint is easier, less work, more forgiving as far as temp and humidity, and paint is easier to do special effects etc..

stew6371 · « **Reply #80 on:** November 17, 2009, 07:28:57 PM »

yes ribs are what i was asking about. will paint hold up as well as gel-coat as far as scratches and such. I plan on doing a complete color change.

Nickk · « **Reply #81 on:** November 18, 2009, 09:02:02 AM »

Great job, you should have your own TV show.

NRG · « **Reply #82 on:** November 18, 2009, 08:38:31 PM »

Quote from: stew6371 on November 17, 2009, 07:28:57 PM

yes ribs are what i was asking about. will paint hold up as well as gel-coat as far as scratches and such. I plan on doing a complete color change.

Paint is not as scratch resistant as gel coat .. put it holds up well.. unless your dragging chains over the side of the boat .. it will last if done correctly for 10 yrs or more.. but even gelcoat will scratch, the main thing about gel is that most scratches can be wet sanded out .. it is a thicker application than paint.. but with gelcoat unless your doing white or black , your color selection is limited . such as pearls , candies, etc are not available in gelcoat .

Gelcoat needs to be wet sanded after application and cure.. paint clear coat can be wet sanded ( color sanded ) or left like it is if you want a absolutely smooth finish like a new gelcoat just out of the mold boat you must wet sand.. other wise it will have a slight texture like a car.

Painting of a boat or gelcoat for proper application requires big air compressor 60 gal - 80gal .. and a dump gun for gelcoat. can be done with a regular gravity feed hlvp spray gun with a 2.5-2.8 tip, but gelcoat you have about 15 mins to spray and get the gun absolutely spotless other wise the gelcaot will harden in the gun... the gun is then trash.
If you use a dump gun you dint have that issue, dump gun cost is 100-150 bucks, plus the disposable cups.

Paint.. and gelcoat prep is the same..clean it thoroughly, degrease it all, then wipe it down twice with wax and grease remover.. then sand if your old gelcoat is cracked from the sun.. you need to sand the cracked areas smooth removing all grease and dirt from cracks, then fill the cracks with fairing compound or body filler, then use a air da sander with 80 grit down to 220 .. then blow off all the dust.. wipe down again with wax and grease remover, the better the prep work the better the finish job will be with either paint or gel coat..then if your going to paint .. prime the areas to be painted with epoxy primer.. then base coat, then 4-8 coats of clear.

If gelcoat.. after filling and sanding imperfections.. prepare the gelcoat to be sprayed.. get a gelcoat thickness guage to keep it even, you dont want too thick or too thin.. then after all has cured. then wet sand the entire area sprayed.. you will have to wet sand the boat starting with 220, 400, 800, then buff out the remaining with a good wool compounding bonnet and a heavy compound, then go to medium and finish off with fine glazing compound then wax .

Neither is quick nor easy .. but over paint is easier, and has many more color options, you can buy gelcoat in about any color you want .. but custom colors are very pricey , 120 per quart .. but you dont have to buy primer/base/clear the choice is yours .. I choose paint because I like paint better easier all the way around.. but they both have draw backs

NRG · « **Reply #83 on:** November 18, 2009, 08:40:21 PM »

Quote from: Nickk on November 18, 2009, 09:02:02 AM

Great job, you should have your own TV show.

You offering ?

Im game

jwfflipper · « **Reply #84 on:** December 13, 2009, 04:12:46 PM »

WOW!!!!!!!

This thread is AWESOME!! We need an update!! NRG you did amazing work on this boat! This is the best thread I ever read!

JEFF

NRG · « **Reply #85 on:** December 25, 2009, 09:02:46 PM »

Quote from: jwfflipper on December 13, 2009, 04:12:46 PM

WOW!!!!!!! This thread is AWESOME!! We need an update!! NRG you did amazing work on this boat! This is the best thread I ever read!
JEFF

Aint much to update, the boat is done .. Im still tweaking bits on it .. but as the weather has degraded on me.. and time and funding as well .. Im doing good to even go fishing at the moment.. Im about to change the motor to a 89 xr2 highly modified should push this boat at around 80 mph adding foot throttle and hopefully hydro steering.

I grew up in Morgantown, WV by the way ..moved here to Chattanooga, TN back in 89 ..all the boat knowledge I have is self taught, picked up from the internet, and local sources.. Ive been doing this for around 10 yrs off and on.. I love rebuilding bass boats .. started out as a way to get a low cost boat.. soon turned into a side business.. I had opened my own shop first part of 2009, but the buis fell off so drastically that I had to close up at the end of November .. If I can come up with the 5-7k cash to build a garage here at home I will do it here at home with out all the over head of a rented building, separate utils etc

I wish I could find a builder that I could trade the work out for a building .. may still happen just havent looked to hard yet.

I will take some more photos soon as it quits raining here long enuff to get the boat on the water .. river here has been running at flood stage for over a month .. rain rain and more rain.. we even saw a couple inches of snow a couple weeks ago .. Ive lived here 20 yrs and have never seen any snow in Dec that I can remember .. we rarely see snow at all .. and I cant remember ever seeing such a wet fall .. its been just about non stop raining since sept..sheesh 2 plus years of drought and now it wont quit raining lol

fishyrascal · « **Reply #86 on:** January 28, 2010, 10:40:17 PM »

that is 1 hell of a job glad to see you got her finished u need to move back to wv and build 1 for me that was absolutely amazing bring her back to wv in april we will hit the kanawha for some big smallies besides this state is in desperate need of a damn good boat mechanic

NRG · « **Reply #87 on:** February 08, 2010, 08:30:52 PM »

Quote from: fishyrascal on January 28, 2010, 10:40:17 PM

that is 1 hell of a job glad to see you got her finished u need to move back to wv and build 1 for me that was absolutely amazing bring her back to wv in april we will hit the kanawha for some big smallies besides this state is in desperate need of a damn good boat mechanic

You couldn't pay me to move back to WV .. Ive got some of the best Smallmouth and Largemouth fishing in the country at my back door lol
I moved away from the mountains of snow, -20 temps almost 21 yrs ago . not to mention lack of jobs.. well even here that is an issue at the moment lol well the job part
Im sure there must be some good boat people up there some where !>?
Not to mention no body wants to pay what it costs to get it done right .. If I charged to do all I did on this boat youd be looking at 6-8k .. but still cheaper than a new boat.

Why dont you just move to Chattanooga, TN

PickensTJ · « **Reply #88 on:** March 12, 2010, 11:50:41 AM »

NRG,

I am new to Ultimate Bass and just found your thread about the boat restore. Kudos to you my friend. You are a patient and talented guy. I am so impressed. There will be great satisfaction to pull that five pound smalley over the side of your (practically) hand made boat.

Tim

NRG · « **Reply #89 on:** March 25, 2010, 08:14:43 PM »

Well so far no 5lb smallies yet this year .. but it has already had a bunch of fish hauled in .. went out couple nights ago ended up with about 50 bass spots and large mouth.. biggest was around 3 lb ... this isnt my first rodeo .. Ive restored 8 for my self.. and many more for others

NRG · « **Reply #90 on:** April 13, 2010, 07:16:20 AM »

NRG · « **Reply #91 on:** April 13, 2010, 07:18:31 AM »

Boat modified again .. bigger motor swapped 90hp for 150 and added Jackplate

Jared LeBlue · « **Reply #92 on:** April 13, 2010, 08:02:34 AM »

I bet she moves now.

Donald Garner · « **Reply #93 on:** April 13, 2010, 08:14:44 AM »

Thanks for sharing the updates and the pictures.
That is one sharp looking boat.

News:

Author Topic: The boat restore , the project, the nightmare, and wheew when its done (Read 14599 times)