It's time.. Finally starting my 77 14' Seafarer build/ rebuild.

[guyute1500]

I bought this boat two years ago and fished with just the trolling motor that year. The previous owner had told me the 86 15hp Johnson should run but he had taken the carb apart, then showed me a coffee can of parts. I didn't feel like messing with it at the time so left it for winter. Guess I should have looked at it, but over the winter with some help from Pappy and others in the motor forum, got it running with the basic updates and servicing. She ran great all year, one small hiccup with the fuel line to tank clip, but $6 part and back in business. Brought her home and it's time to rip out the seats, replace the transom, put in a floor, and a million other things. I've been searching these forums for ideas and knowledge the last couple years and probably have just enough mechanical and carpentry skills to be dangerous. I've learned a ton on this site, but will still have a bunch of questions as I go. This will probably turn into a great tutorial on what not to do, so hopefully you guys can stop me before I screw anything up too bad.

 

[guyute1500]

Removed the benches, rotten transom wood, and anything else I didn't need. The boat doesn't leak a drop and I'd like to keep it that way, so the next step will be to remove the paint around the rivets and seams and coat with Gluvit. I also have 3/4" Azek (pvc board) and I plan on gluing and screwing it together for the new transom. Does anybody see a problem with going straight across with the transom? The extra couple inches would really be helpful in the river.

 

[guyute1500]

Im going to try a Nyalox wheel to clean up the rivets and seams. Any opinions on grit? 80 or 120 ?

 

[Ray Clark]

I have not used the Nyalox wheels. 80 grit seems aggressive, based on how I would expect it to perform on wood. Think I'd try 120 first. Even at that, I'd be gentle to start to see how it impacts the surrounding aluminum.

I'm interested in hearing about longevity of those of those abrasives. I used wire wheels and a polycarbide abrasive wheel chucked up in my angle grinder when I did my tinnie.

 

[TriBull]

I used a wire wheel as well. Worked great on all the nooks & crannies!

 

[guyute1500]

I have not used the Nyalox wheels. 80 grit seems aggressive, based on how I would expect it to perform on wood. Think I'd try 120 first. Even at that, I'd be gentle to start to see how it impacts the surrounding aluminum.

I'm interested in hearing about longevity of those of those abrasives. I used wire wheels and a polycarbide abrasive wheel chucked up in my angle grinder when I did my tinnie.

I was going to wire wheel it, but I wasn't sure if the ones I had were stainless, and I wanted to try something softer first anyway. I saw your posts about the polycarbide wheels in other threads (hope sonny1 is doing ok) and purchased the wrong ones. I bought the cheap interchangeable/replaceable ones for a drill and they lasted 30 seconds into a quick test. Maybe it's just the ones I bought, but what a design. I'm going to try the 120 Nyalox and I'll let you know how they do.

 

[Ray Clark]

I was going to wire wheel it, but I wasn't sure if the ones I had were stainless, and I wanted to try something softer first anyway. I saw your posts about the polycarbide wheels in other threads (hope sonny1 is doing ok) and purchased the wrong ones. I bought the cheap interchangeable/replaceable ones for a drill and they lasted 30 seconds into a quick test. Maybe it's just the ones I bought, but what a design. I'm going to try the 120 Nyalox and I'll let you know how they do.

Good; anxious to hear the result.

If you decide to try the polycarbide abrasive wheel again, look to get this one at Harbor Freight:



It's designed for use in an angle grinder. The entire hull of my boat consumed two wheels.

 

[guyute1500]

The Nyalox wheel is definitely an upgrade over what I had. It does remove the paint without really scratching up the aluminum too much, but it does struggle with some of the original starcraft paint. I don't think the 80 grit would have been too much. i thought the individual strands of the Nyalox would help with removing the paint around the rivet itself, but I'm a little worried I'm grinding down too much of the rivet. I thought it was best to get down to bare aluminum for the gluvit, but after checking their website again, it says just sand with 80 or 120 grit sandpaper. Im thinking just hitting the rivets and seams with the wheel to remove any loose paint, which isn't much, would be my best approach. Any reason to think to gluvit won't adhere or seap around the rivets whithout getting to bare aluminum?

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

I was going to wire wheel it, but I wasn't sure if the ones I had were stainless, and I wanted to try something softer first anyway. I saw your posts about the polycarbide wheels in other threads (hope sonny1 is doing ok) and purchased the wrong ones. I bought the cheap interchangeable/replaceable ones for a drill and they lasted 30 seconds into a quick test. Maybe it's just the ones I bought, but what a design. I'm going to try the 120 Nyalox and I'll let you know how they do.

The stainless steel wire wheels I get at Harbor freight are not magnetic. I test them with a magnet before use.

 

[Makaw]

Woo hoo a Seafarer twin! I'll be following closely!

I wire wheeled mine with stainless and never felt like I was taking too much off or hurting the rivet/head at all. Didn't go crazy prepping around rivets and all the sealing work I did seemed to bond great.

 

[guyute1500]

It's been too cold here to do very much actual work, but today I got the Gluvit down and I'm happy. I was also lucky enough to get 10 pieces of 1.5" x 8' aluminum box. I'm going to rip it, hopefully into something close to 1.5" angle, for my framing. Very familiar with your boat Makaw. You really did a beautiful job By Golly.

 

[thill]

Good start gutting the boat.

Im going to try a Nyalox wheel to clean up the rivets and seams. Any opinions on grit? 80 or 120 ?

If you feel the need to open around the rivets and seams, I'd recommend using a wire wheel instead of abrasives wheels. Don't push into it hard, just lightly run the wheel over loose areas.

I personally am not into removing paint that is tightly adhered. I've seen others cause problems where they did not exist before by trying to clean or strip well-bonded paint. If your boat really doesn't leak a drop, scuff and add Gluvit if you feel necessary.

I thought it was best to get down to bare aluminum for the gluvit, but after checking their website again, it says just sand with 80 or 120 grit sandpaper. Im thinking just hitting the rivets and seams with the wheel to remove any loose paint, which isn't much, would be my best approach. Any reason to think to gluvit won't adhere or seap around the rivets whithout getting to bare aluminum?

I think your reasoning is good. Knock off the loose stuff, scuff and apply.

I see you got the Gluvit down. Good job. Now, on to the next steps!

 

[guyute1500]

I decided to take out the brackets for the old bench seats. Hopefully I get the bottom painted this week. I did rip the aluminum box into angle and started some rough framing. Can't wait to get it painted and start using the new rivet gun.