Stevecris
Active member
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2010
- Messages
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Hello everyone - My thanks to all contributors to this site. I have wanted to do a project like this one, but I am not really that handy and never worked with Aluminum before, or rosin/epoxy. The helpful posts on this site made it so I could try this project and feel pretty good about the possible outcome. We will see...
Below are pictures of the boat. I gutted the inside and started building a floor support out of 2" squares of aluminum. The kind we use for screen enclosures here in FL. This stuff is easy to work with and can be bought cut to any length you want. It is very strong and light weight as well. Also this boat has a 25 HP motor on it and since I wanted only one bench type seat/structure in the middle of the boat, I want to beef up the transom and inner structure best I can.
While doing this I wrote to Henry Hefner <Mino Bucket> who told me about Steel Flex and this site. I decided before progressing with the inside to do the bottom with SF. I never used any power tools before and had to buy a 4" angle grinder and a bunch of wire wheels and sanding disks to figure out how to rough up and clean the aluminum. See pictures. In the end a good wire brush did most of the work around the rivets. I Figured out how to work with a cup brush and got most of the course stuff off while roughing up the surface. Then I went over the entire surface with a sanding disk (60 G), went over each rivet with a wire brush and then vacuumed off all lose grit. Then I wiped it down 2 times with an Acetone soaked rag.
Finally it was time to mix the SF. I did 16oz at a time, 8 oz of part 1 and 8 oz of part 2. The stuff hardens quickly. It went on easy at first, but then got really tough. Found out later to just drizzle it on and keep working it. It will spread out. Instead of thick coats, I did three thin coats. I have 1/2 of the SF left. I am thinking of using it to seal the inner bottom of the boat which will be under the floor.
The second and third coats went on very fast as I become much better at putting it on, spreading it out and mixing up the right amount for what I wanted to do. It was great to have my wife do the mixing while I drizzled and spread. Also she took the foam brush and made sure that a good amount of SF was covering all the ribs, rivets and seam areas. In the end, it came out great and I feel the bottom is well sealed/protected.
As for the overall design - I am trying to keep this as simple as possible. I am older and don’t like the instability of a high deck in a 14’ V boat, so I will have a low flat floor from bow to stern. However, I want a center bench like structure to give the hull needed support and to have a live well and cooler section with some additional storage. I have an idea on how to make this work, but have not firmed it up yet. Please provide and ideas, comments etc that you like. Also, ask any questions and I will do my best to answer them.
Steve
Below are pictures of the boat. I gutted the inside and started building a floor support out of 2" squares of aluminum. The kind we use for screen enclosures here in FL. This stuff is easy to work with and can be bought cut to any length you want. It is very strong and light weight as well. Also this boat has a 25 HP motor on it and since I wanted only one bench type seat/structure in the middle of the boat, I want to beef up the transom and inner structure best I can.
While doing this I wrote to Henry Hefner <Mino Bucket> who told me about Steel Flex and this site. I decided before progressing with the inside to do the bottom with SF. I never used any power tools before and had to buy a 4" angle grinder and a bunch of wire wheels and sanding disks to figure out how to rough up and clean the aluminum. See pictures. In the end a good wire brush did most of the work around the rivets. I Figured out how to work with a cup brush and got most of the course stuff off while roughing up the surface. Then I went over the entire surface with a sanding disk (60 G), went over each rivet with a wire brush and then vacuumed off all lose grit. Then I wiped it down 2 times with an Acetone soaked rag.
Finally it was time to mix the SF. I did 16oz at a time, 8 oz of part 1 and 8 oz of part 2. The stuff hardens quickly. It went on easy at first, but then got really tough. Found out later to just drizzle it on and keep working it. It will spread out. Instead of thick coats, I did three thin coats. I have 1/2 of the SF left. I am thinking of using it to seal the inner bottom of the boat which will be under the floor.
The second and third coats went on very fast as I become much better at putting it on, spreading it out and mixing up the right amount for what I wanted to do. It was great to have my wife do the mixing while I drizzled and spread. Also she took the foam brush and made sure that a good amount of SF was covering all the ribs, rivets and seam areas. In the end, it came out great and I feel the bottom is well sealed/protected.
As for the overall design - I am trying to keep this as simple as possible. I am older and don’t like the instability of a high deck in a 14’ V boat, so I will have a low flat floor from bow to stern. However, I want a center bench like structure to give the hull needed support and to have a live well and cooler section with some additional storage. I have an idea on how to make this work, but have not firmed it up yet. Please provide and ideas, comments etc that you like. Also, ask any questions and I will do my best to answer them.
Steve
Attachments
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ThirdCoatSFTrans.jpg105.2 KB · Views: 5,171
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ThirdCoatSF.jpg105.6 KB · Views: 5,171
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PreSteeflex2.jpg174.8 KB · Views: 5,171
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Leakmarks.jpg135.8 KB · Views: 5,171
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FistCoatSFTrans.jpg111.3 KB · Views: 5,171
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FirstCoatSF.jpg125.4 KB · Views: 5,171
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EasyOff2.jpg169 KB · Views: 5,171
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AcetoneWipe.jpg107.8 KB · Views: 5,171
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ACB14floor-bowtostern.jpg121.4 KB · Views: 5,171