Restoring my 1988 Blue Fin Bass Dominator

[wasilvers]

Thanks for the tip on the brightener. I used some today and that is just the ticket to get the look I wanted.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

thank you very much for the info about the decking!

so i want to treat the ply before it goes down. i was confused what to use because everyone says that treated wood causes aluminum to have pitting....

and yeah it was a steal the owners were older...and i mean it needed alot of work so they just wanted it gone...i put a new battery in the boat and it fired rite up i was excited...

This weekend i am painting over all of the rivets with Glove-it to ensure that the boat will not have any! leaks since it is riveted.

Pressure treated wood is what you want to avoid.

 

[BassDominator]

Thanks for the tip on the brightener. I used some today and that is just the ticket to get the look I wanted.

did you go to napa??? i feel it did a decent job for 10 bucks would have loved shark hide but for the price and the fact that i didnt want to wait for shipping...and sharkhide gives to much shine for my liking...wanted shiny but not a mirror

 

[wasilvers]

Yes, went to NAPA. The guy tried to sell me 2 other products, then I saw what you had used in the spray bottle. He tried to talk me out of if! Myy fam couldn't believe the difference. I was REAL happy and it only took part of an afternoon.

 

[BassDominator]

yeah i was skeptical at first but i read carefully and it said it could be used on pontoons so i said ehhh ill try it its only 10 bucks...just wish i had a better respirator that stuff is very strong

 

[BassDominator]

The boat is completely gutted. we are getting ready to paint the riveted seams with a product called glove-it. the couple we originally purchased the boat from told us there was a small leak at one point. however when we tore the boat down there were probably 30 different ways for this "leak"

could have been water from the front from their bad storage of this boat coming to the rear upon acceleration...
a plug that was from 1988....its pretty corroded.
we found the foam to be waterlogged and we were glad we tore it out.
all the fittings on the back of the boat were damaged and could have leaked...
and all the hosing for the live wells etc were dried cracked and damaged and the fittings were all rusted.

*the trolling motor was functional however it had seen better days it was cracked and the paint was faded and dull. i disassembled it and bought a can of rustoleum and clear coat.... painted and repainted then upon the last coat of clear the paint peeled and now it looks crappy...i think i messed it all up. it still works but looks like crap in my opinion....

here are some current pictures.

 

[Troutman3000]

Now comes the fun part.

Keep up the good work.

 

[BassDominator]

for me the fun part was ripping it apart now it feels like there is so much work ahead that its overwhelming!!!!
i'm mostly looking forward to just screwing in the deck after its carpeted and being DONE! i want to get this done before june is over so i can go catch some monster bass and maybe fish a tournament or two.

 

[wasilvers]

You should have that done before June for sure. Your foundation is already laid. Carpeting stuff isn't all that hard. Wiring might be fun.

 

[BassDominator]

yeah no kidding did you see that rats nest of wires!?!?!
:shock:

and i just got done testing the hull for leaks and found a fair share...i am pretty disappointed and dont really know where to begin...either i need to seal it or take it to get welded....does anyone know how much it costs to have your boat re welded?

 

[Rat]

About $70 if you buy the HTS 200 and do it yourself; lots more if you don't. :mrgreen: I know, not much help huh? Call a local welding shop that welds Alu. and get a quote, that way there are no surprises.

 

[Rat]

HTS 2000
Lots of vids on youtube as well.

 

[wasilvers]

does anyone know how much it costs to have your boat re welded?

Careful with getting welded. Mine was is an old 1978 riveted boat. Between the rivets is a sheet of tar paper type stuff. When the seams were welded, this paper burned out and the rivets leaked more :evil: He put some type of aluminumepoxy on it on the inside to stop leaks. It seems to hold right now. So I would caution against getting it welded unless it is metal on metal. Mine cost $450 to get about 9ish feet of welding done - but he picked up the boat late at night and dropped it off on the weekend for me.

If I would do it again, I would just rebuck the rivets. Cheaper and pretty fast (so I hear).

 

[westeed]

get an automatic bilge pump and call it good. Mine leaks too.

 

[Troutman3000]

get an automatic bilge pump and call it good. Mine leaks too.

Float swithc and thats it. As long as the floor is above the water its not gonna hurt anything. My new Tracker has a feew small leaks but unless you go through it and rebuck every rivet and apply 5200 on top of them, then there are bound to be a few leaks. Furthermore, if you dont rebuck the rivets there is no point in using the glove it.

 

[tccanoe]

How about Steelflex up to the water-line?

 

[Troutman3000]

If there are loose rivets the steel flex wont hold them under normal stress. Mine had some rivets that came loose. I plan on pulling my floor out of my tracker this winter to rebuck the rivets and then any small leaks will be filled with gluv it from the inside. That shoudl do the trick. The steel flex is a good tool but not a fix all.

 

[free jonboat]

hey, ill take that old fish sonar off of ur hands if u dont want it

 

[thatcanbefixed]

HI
:LOL2:
I just acquired a similar boat for 450 dollars and it's structurally sound. There are a lot of little issues with it and what you did with yours caught my eye. I was hopping you could give me some tips on what to do because at this point, I'm just trying to figure out where to start.

Thanks

Sam Fritz

 

[mmf]

DAY 3​

I purchased some aluminum polish you might say. its called Aluminum brighten and it is sold at NAPA, 32 oz for 10 bucks and a gallon for 30. i went with this stuff just because i didn't want to wait a week and i had 3 days to work on it so i HAD to get something done!


this stuff is strong, i wore rubber gloves, jacket, pants, and eye protection, since i was outside i didn't feel a face mask would be necessary. i duluted it with some water in a spray bottle...BAD idea. spray bottles just cause it to sploch even the one provided by the manufacture didnt mist enough and caued it to pool and made run marks all over the test areas. the trick! pour some in a plastic container and use a sponge or a spong brush and distribute the stripper evenly. stick to small areas it is easier to control!

In these pics i spent about 20 mins with my friend trying this stuff out on the front of the boat. Tomorrow i am going to hit the rest of the aluminum with this stuff, i think the 32 oz bottle will do the entire boat!. Well worth the 10 bucks

NOTE: in the pictures that are up close the LEFT side is the finished product and the dingy rite is untreated!

I thank you very much for posting your find on this cleaner, it works FAR better than anything I have tried and cheap too! Thank you again!