60's Sportsman runabout

[MWAK87]

Wow! Can't wait to see the finished product!

 

[BaitCaster]

Wow, that's a great project boat. Can't wait to see the finished product!

 

[bobberboy]

I feel like we're in the tropics - a rain shower every few hours so I can't start anything long-term. I did take the mouse nest out of the motor tonight - kinda of wish I hadn't. The following pic kind of tells the story. I'm going to post the motor work on another thread in the motors section under 18hp Johnson in intensive care.

 

[RBuffordTJ]

From what I can see it doesn't look THAT bad. I have seen some in much worse shape.

Bufford

 

[jasper60103]

edit: deleted. wrong thread.

 

[bobberboy]

So I took the day off and when I got tired of cleaning out the garage, I took the runabout out to get some advice/estimates. I stopped at a nearby welding shop to ask about all the little holes I need to patch. I want the fixes to be permanent and had thought of having the holes welded shut then grinding and finishing. The welder was a nice guy and his advice was to get a two-part epoxy material he said he's used a lot and is confident will do a good long-lasting job. I bought it at a welding supply shop. I'm going to give a try and hope for the best. It was about $7.50 for a 2oz. kit

Next stop was at the sandblaster's shop. The welder and the sandblaster both told me that sandblasting may not be the way to go because it leaves the surface pitted (do you guys agree with this?) and the bead blaster will slightly distort the metal (due the the pressure, I assume) and may cause the rivets to leak. He suggested soda blasting @ $250/hour. He figured it would take 1-2 hours if I have him do the inside too. That's a lot of dough and I'm not going to pay it. I looked into small portable units and found this one for about $280 and the soda media at about $40 for 50#.

I know some of you here have recently written about soda blasting and blasting in general to get the old paint off. I don't know what to do. After all those years in art school I can't afford to lose anymore brain cells. I figure I will have just barely enough as it is. So do I use aircraft stripper, or blast the thing myself? When the boat's finished I will have to sell it due to no permanent storage space. I don't plan to make any money on it, I just don't want to lose any. So far I have about $250 into it.

 

[altimas]

Are you trying to get it like a mirror finish? If so I would strip it with aircraft thinner and then use Sharkskin Mirror Polish with maybe some Sharkskin protectant too.

 

[bobberboy]

Are you trying to get it like a mirror finish? If so I would strip it with aircraft thinner and then use Sharkskin Mirror Polish with maybe some Sharkskin protectant too.

No, I want to get an automotive finish. It'll be primed and painted when it's done. I just want to have the best start I can without a lot of misc holes and so on in it. I suppose the sand used in blasting is fine enough that the surface might be ok after it's primed. I was talking to my brother about it and he wondered whether the sand blasting would also distort the surface due to pressure. Is there any heat generated during sandblasting?

 

[bobberboy]

I got a response today from the company that used to manufacture the boat. I am excited that there may be some info available. Here's the email...

Happy to hear that you are in the process of restoring a Sportsman boat. We
do have some information on them, but most of it is from memory. The boats
were manufactured during the late fifties and early sixties. During this
time three abnormally wet years were experienced in the Central-states
region, making it difficult to sell irrigation equipment. In order to
survive, the company turned to other metal working trades including the
manufacturing of aluminum boats.

I am curious where you are located and a little history of the boat you are
working on. (who was the owner)?

If you need any specific information on the rebuild, drop me an email or
call. Information is limited, but we would try to help.

Later in the day I also got a scan of a brochure from the company showing some of the models/specs of the Sportsman Boat co.

 

[bobberboy]

I did some more work today. I started by getting the boat off the trailer in order to remove all the junk and install temporary supports so I could turn the boat upside-down and start stripping the paint. Everything I removed made the trailer look better. It's actually a really good trailer. It tows perfectly, it just needs the bunks to be rebuilt and once painted, to run the wires inside the frame. I do have a couple of questions though. As you can see in the pics, it's a tilting trailer. I don't really care about that option but its design makes the boat ride pretty high. I am wondering if, short of rebuilding the cross-members of the frame, if there is any way to lower the trailer. The new bunks will be flat and not on edge so that will gain a couple of inches. I saw someone on this site once who bolted the axle above the springs to gain another inch or two but I'm not sure about that. Anyway, I'll be glad to get any ideas.

Pretty ugly bunks

The bunks gone

Temporary supports for the boat

Waiting for the paint to come off

Here are two closer looks at the frame

It's too hot to strip paint today. The stripper dries within a minute or so on the hot metal so I'm wandering around on Tinboats instead. Hope to get the paint off soon.

 

[Pruitt1222]

I really like this boat and hope it cools off for you here soon. That way I can see more progress. On another note you really need to get busy that way I can watch and learn. I might be picking up a 50's lonestar about like yours and am chomping at the bit like a old horse. Cant wait to see more, Keep up the good work.

 

[bobberboy]

I did get some more stripping done last night after it cooled down. I couldn't find the Aircraft stripper anywhere locally so I bought a Zinzer product instead - some kind of heavy duty paint stripper. I got a goodly sized part of the bottom stripped with the product and some #3 steel wool. Little by little...

BTW, that Lonestar is a sweet looking boat. Hope you decide to go for it.

 

[Howard]

Did you check the auto parts stores for the aircraft stripper? Good luck on your mod. Just finished stripping mine inside and out with the exception of the bottom. I rebuilt and painted my trailer before starting on my tin. Steel wool worked well for me also.

 

[bobberboy]

I'm half done stripping the outside. I've been working on it in the a.m. before it gets too hot. Except for all the holes to fix, the hull's in really great shape. Some of you might think I'm a nut-job, but I've got a system down now that is working well to get the paint off. After getting an estimate for $250-500 to soda blast, I had to go with the stripper (I've got way more time than money). Anyway, I try to do a small section at a time - maybe 2-3 sq/ft. The first application of stripper takes off all the paint but the primer. The second takes almost everything else (there's a gray primer with another red undercoat beneath it). I put on a thin third coat of stripper and then use my drill and wire brush and start brushing while the stripper is still doing its thing. This takes most of the rest. Finally I spray mineral spirits on the newly cleaned area (I put some in a hand spray bottle) and go over with the brush again which takes the rest and polishes up the surface a bit. I'm using the wire wheel on the flat face, not on edge and with light pressure all the color shadows, etc. are coming out. It's pretty exciting to see all that shiny aluminum after I'm done. One note, using the stripper with the wire wheel requires you to be fully covered up - long pants, long sleeves, full face protection, respirator and good heavy-duty rubber gloves. Man, don't get that crap on your skin whatever you do.

 

[lucescoflathead]

I use oven cleaner to remove old paint. It also cleans off oxidation. Always use rubber gloves as the stuff is almost pure lye. Use heavy water pressure to flush it off when your finished.

You don't want to sandblast aluminum. It will warp it. Good luck on your project. Todd

 

[bobberboy]

I finished stripping the boat yesterday - 1 1/2 gal of stripper but it looks good. I had been worried about the next step which was to fill all the screw holes left after I removed all the useless screws and bolts, probably a couple of dozen in all. I decided today to try the epoxy recommended by the welder and I'm pretty happy with the result.

I started by grinding the outside of the hole flat to get rid of the ridge around the holes. I found a set of 2" sanding/polishing discs for my drill at Menard's. There are three sanding discs and two polishing discs made of that fiber stuff like grill scrubbers are made of. The 2" size worked well for the small holes.

First I ground the surface flat...

...and then polished them enough to get the deep scratch marks out. Several of the holes had silicone inside from the old screws so I had to make sure all that was out of the hole. Next I used a countersink from the outside of the hole to bevel the edge of the hole and then put masking tape on the inside of the hole so the epoxy wouldn't go drooling down the inside.

I did the last two steps to create a rivet shaped plug with the epoxy that would bond to the surface better but also be more likely to stay put. I pushed the epoxy into the hole so it mushroomed under the tape and with the angled/countersunk hole on the outside should make a shape that will keep the epoxy in place. I tried not to make cow pies of the epoxy but did anyway which makes the sanding harder but in the end the filled holes turned out better than I expected.

Pretty happy so far. I have to finish the rest of the holes and then I'm going to fine sand the outside prior to cleaning and painting. I'm pretty relieved about the result of the epoxy because all the prep work would have been for nothing if the holes would have turned out badly.

 

[RBuffordTJ]

I am enjoying your progress, keep it up.

Bufford in Orlando

 

[BaitCaster]

Looking good. I am lovnig this project. Can't wait to see more!

 

[bobberboy]

I finished filling the last of the holes this morning. I will grind and sand either tonight or in the morning and then get ready for the final sanding. For those of you who have painted boats before, should I wait to wash the surface with acetone until just before I am ready to paint? I'm not sure when and where I can paint as I have no garage or shed to do it in. I think it was either perchin or dyeguy who posted a pic of a temporary tarp shelter he used to paint under. That's probably the best option. I want to get the primer on soon to protect all the work I have done so far. I may not be able to paint until the spring depending on how the rest of the summer pans out. I suppose fall would be a good time to paint after we've had a killing frost and all the bugs are gone. No matter, I'll get to it whenever the time is right. I also want to prime the bottom so I can turn it over and begin the repair to the hood in front and start making cardboard mock-ups of the mahogany. I still have the motor to keep working on and the trailer to take apart and paint. I'm feeling pretty excited about the nice job the epoxy did on filling the holes. That'll make the finished product nice.

 

[Troutman3000]

What is a countersink tool? Also how much did that kit cost?