Project Boat Advice - Deck/Painting/Flotation
Hey all, I'm just trying to plan the way forward with my project boat and thought I'd pick a few experienced builder/renovators brains for the best options for some of the main aspects. Project boat is an 80s Savage Lancer 530 runabout (pressed ally hull)
Painting
I had initially planned to do a full paint strip down to bare ally and then etch/prime and finally paint with a 2 pac polyurethane. I was going to apply the paint using the 'roll and tip' method as I don't have access to or much experience with spraying and also I'm on a small block with the boat on the drive and dont want to start drifting paint onto neighbours cars etc.
However, looking at the current (factory I think) paint a bit more closely, there are a lot of chips in the usual areas (bow, rails, corners), but overall it still seems to have a pretty good bond to the metal so I am wondering if I can get away with a very thorough sand down, etch the bare metal areas, high build prime and then overpaint. I realise that a full bare metal respray is always going to give better finish and lifespan, but this is a budget renovation so things like sandblasting, professional respray are pretty much out of the question. Also, having read a few of the rebuild threads on here, paint stripping seems like a real nightmare.
Deck
Current deck (warped and rotten) is 12mm Ply consisting of 4 main pieces and 3 small bilge access panels screwed down to the aluminium deck stringers. Previous owner has already cut new pieces of ply for the two main sections and should be pretty easy for me to cut out the rest using old sections as templates. After that though, I have found a lot of conflicting and confusing info on the correct/best way to seal and cover the ply. Main queries are...
1. Where is the best place to buy 12mm Marine Ply? Bunnings had some but not big enough panels to cut out the sections I need.
2. What should I use to seal the ply? I've seen recommendations of Poly resin, single layer fibreglass matt with resin, nothing! At the moment I'm leaning towards the single layer of glass, but if this is uneccessary or there is another way that avoids having to handle glass matt then I'm all for it?
3. What should I use for the final deck covering? Initial plan was for ribbed marine carpet glued down to the sealed ply. However, I've been looking into alternatives like removable tube matting (as used in Baden01's Swiftcraft rebuild), but not sure what I would cover the ply below with (gelcoat?)
FLotation
When I removed the two front sections of deck, there were some ugly-looking offcuts of hard, yellow foam stuffed randomly between deck stringers. I assume this is what was under all the deck sections but had been chucked by previous owner. What should I use to replace it? I want something that can be easily removed to clean/check under deck. There is an aussie company (Thermotec) that makes pool noodle type insulation with a fire retardant in it that I was considering, as it would be easy to cut short sections to fit between stringers and then maybe bind them together with PVC tape for easy removal. Otherwise I could try make molds for that expanding pourable foam (would I need to cover the blocks with something to avoid reacting with the ally?). Any other ideas?
Sorry about the long-winded post - any advice on one or more of these aspects will be appreciated though.
chris raff
Posts: 3257
Date Joined: 09/02/10
Rolled and Tipped my complete
Rolled and Tipped my complete upper deck on my 21ft glass cabin cruiser...pretty happy with the end result 8/10 ..but in hindsight I think it's a better idea to do all the prep yourself right up to taping up etc which is 90% of the work done ...then take to a workshop and have them spray it properly much better finish...maybe have a talk to the workshop prior about your intentions but I wouldn't think you would need to take it right back..
Marine ply is already treated ...however a few coats of resin plus maybe few coats oil based paint should suffice on both sides also put sikaflex in with your screws as well ...Collie and Sons may have larger sheets if required ...I'd be using ribbed marine carpet but thats just me...
Not sure about floatation however would have thought shaping your own styrene blocks would be easiest ...
Need to get that tub on the water and catching fish asap ...good luck
“Intelligence is like a four-wheel drive. It only allows you to get stuck in more remote places.”
tigerfish
Posts: 88
Date Joined: 20/08/10
Thanks Chris, getting an
Thanks Chris, getting an opinion on the current paint and a price on just spraying from a workshop is probably a good way to go.
grantarctic1
Posts: 2546
Date Joined: 03/03/11
Painting
I wouldn't worry about painting at the moment.
1st - strip all the fittings and deck. Then check for cracks in the hull, transom and anyware thing have been bolted and screwed . Also check for corosion around theses points. You might want to fill the hull as much as you dare with water and get under it to check for leaks.
If you find any problems now is the chance to fix them. Its also the time to do any mod's you may want. ie - extra holders , transducer mounts , bait board mounts, bilge pump position etc .
With the deck , check why there is a problem . I have found most ply decks do not have enough support under them, usualy wear the joins are is the point the start to flex and break without proper support. If this is the case you might need to add more structure to support the deck .
Structual ply is almost as good as marine ply and half the pirice. I dont see why you cant just etch primmer it and paint it with the same 2pac that you paint the boat with . ( someone might have more info on this )
I would put down carpet, but if you can get away without glue it would be nice to remove it for a clean every now and then. Try a search on FW about carpet ,there are a few theads about different ways to fix your carpet.
I would not have any floatation touching the hull even if it is treated. This is just asking for trouble with corosion ( imo ) One way is to fix the floatation to the underside of your ply floor panels, this will keep a gap for air between the hull and the foam cells .
I have just painted my boat and left the origonal paint on as a base coat. I used a quality bog for all the small chips and sanded back all the shine on the old paint. Then etched any bare aloy. Used a 2pac high build primmer , then finished with the 2pac colour .
Inside the boat i used Aquafleck . This is water based and was quite easy to apply. On my friends boat we did the same and we were impressed with how much it helped with noise reduction . It also (once dry ) was very tough and easy to wash and clean after fishing .
Let me know if you find any problems with the hull, i might be able to help but cant make any promises at the moment. If you want any details about my paint supplier send me a pm .
Cheers Grant .
tigerfish
Posts: 88
Date Joined: 20/08/10
Hey Grant, you're probably
Hey Grant, you're probably right....getting a bit ahead of myself. This afternoon I did what you suggested and filled boat with water - I only put enough in to cover across the whole transom area and up the length of the keel - no leaks except a few drops from the hull plugs which I will be replacing anyway. Then started stripping off some of the fittings. There were quite a few screws and rivets through the transom for transducers, plywood for the outboard etc so have a few holes to fill from that. Haven't found anything too bad so far (touch wood) a bit of corrosion around some screw holes in non critical areas.
How did you clean out the inside of the hull before painting? There's a fair bit of debris in mine, and with only small drain holes between each of the deck stringers, I've been struggling to clean it out well enough to even check for problems, let alone paint.
dodgy
Posts: 4578
Date Joined: 01/02/10
Paintbrush and a vacuum
Paintbrush and a vacuum cleaner
Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
tigerfish
Posts: 88
Date Joined: 20/08/10
That could work, but might
That could work, but might have to do it when the missus is not around to see me using her beloved Miele vac........
grantarctic1
Posts: 2546
Date Joined: 03/03/11
As dodgy said
As dodgy said, brush and vac, . I only painted to the deck line inside the hull, paint can cause problems too if it chips or lifts up, corrosion can start between it and the aloy.
I used a wire brush wheel (stainless ) on a grinder to do most of the work. If you use any wire brushes make sure they are stainless steel, mild steel will imbed itself into the aloy and start to corode.
You could also use an aloy cleaner such as Alubright. Don't use any acid based products unless the are designed for uluminium. Don't use degreaser ,this will contaminate the hull and make painting a nightmare.