So, due to a coworkers injury at work, most of the past three months have been spent working longer hours at work, and I haven't gotten much done to the boat until today. I took it off the trailer and brought it out to the backyard where I could work in the shade as the more I look it over the more I realize that it's going to take some serious work to get her where I want her.
So first up is a picture before I took her off the trailer. Here you can see that the bow stop is below the bow eye, and from what I've read on here it seems that most folks like to have it the other way around for extra insurance in case of a sudden stop. Any suggestions on how I might remedy this sans moving the eye?
Next is a picture showing the layers of paint on the inside of the boat, light blue covered with brown and then with a textured gray. From some googling I've found pictures of the same boat with the light blue so I am going to figure that it is the factory original.
The PO painted the textured gray stuff, and it held up for a while, yet it's peeling like crazy now. As for the outside, when the PO bought her she had a homemade camo paint job on the outside that he hand sanded down to the bare aluminum.
The middle bench had this thin plywood (the only bench to have this) which I took off with little effort as the wood was never properly sealed.
I took to cutting the mixed bag of bolts and screws that held the swivel seats in place. As you can see, they have a piece of aluminum screwed to their swiveling base and that plate was bolted/screwed into the aluminum benches (front and rear). (It's fun trying to get at the correct angle when you're 6'5"! :mrgreen: )
On the port side corner brace there is a crack, that I'll be using some JB Weld to patch up.
The PO painted the bottom with some bed liner, and I came across this epoxy like patch that once I flip her over to strip the bed liner off (I have black steel flex to apply), I'll find out the mystery of. I say mystery as there is no sign of any dent or anything on the inside...
A lot of stripping ahead of me! At least it's already peeling pretty bad, so it should come off fairly easily. I may also go rent a pressure washer (worked wonder to get the loose paint off the house before I repainted the house)! Also gives me an excuse to rent a fun toy! :roll:
I've got a full weekend so I won't be able to get much work on the boat done, yet the next week is supposed to be nice, so I should be able to get some time in after work.
I'm not planning on having her done till next spring (I'll either bring her into the basement for the winter so I can work on her, or I have a carport type structure I can put up over her, either way, I'll be working on her through the winter for sure. I plan to take my time and do it right as I enjoy having a project to work on.
I'll try and work on some mock up sketches of what I'm planning for decking and the like over the weekend and will share those as soon as I've got them. In the meantime I'm continuing to follow everyone's builds and getting lots and lots of great ideas!
Cheers!
Dale