I don't know if this qualifys for a build but it's close. I will be overhauling a chris craft
speedboat that is owned by Kelly Phillips. He purchased this a while back and the hull was never really properly finished and waterproofed. I will be stripping it down completely , restaining, glassing and refinishing back to show room condition. As you can see the bottom of the hull has some serious issues with the planking and spacing. Follow along and comments are welcome.
Thanks,
Fred

Always fun to see a refurb ...

Thanks Tim,
follow along. This hull was never glassed , just painted over the hull planks.
Fred

A long time ago, I found out that resin (or paint) over planks by itself is NOT enough... you need the 'glass matrix to keep the planks from shrinking and opening seams.

I built a PT boat, almost finished it, when after 2 years in my Michigan basement's humidity swings, the planks visibly opened up-- without ever having been in the water!

I stripped that hull, glassed it, and repainted... very delicate, as there was so much detail on the topside. I made a special stand to hold it inverted while doing the rework.

You'll have fun with the C-C too!


.

Hi Pat,
Basically I'll be doing the same. Your stand is a great idea. There is not a whole lot of detail on top but I do need to make some sort of work jig. Thanks for the input.
Fred

Got the boat stripped to the deck. I started scraping with just a razor and then resorted to the chemical stripper. This made short work of removing the paint and varnish. The boat is well made just never glassed.

We were wondering in another thread if chem stripper would drive paint pigment into the grain... Do you see any of that?

Nice project, i always wipe off the surface of what i stripped to get rid
of all the chemical before i apply anything on it.
Paul.

Didn't see any of that. I removed the stripper with a razor blade and the grain is clean. Worked really well. I buy this stripper at Home Depot. Hope this helps.
Fred

Fred,
The rebuild looks great, you sure did not waste anytime getting this project started. Since your doing the refinish on the bottom and sides don't you think it makes sense to remove the fittings on the top sides and refinish it also. Refinish everything except the cockpit. Will the top need fiberglass or is it normally not required. I work a computer job 13 hours a day so it sure is nice to be able to watch the progress online as I sit behind 2 20" monitors all day. Being able to find someone like Fred is such a benefit of the Ezone website. Fred thanks again for your time and interest in this project.

Hi Microman,
Thanks for the interest. My client is only interested in getting the hull watertight
so he can run it. He has the same type of job as yours with little to no spare time. He contracted me to do the work and I'm hoping it will be a help to other boat builders. My background is in giant scale radio control WWII Warbirds in the 85 in. to 100 in. category.. I find building and repairing these boats a nice change. The deck has quite a bit of urethane on it so water seepage shouldn't be a problem. The hull is sitting in the water which definetly needs to be sealed properly.
Thanks,
Fred

Originally Posted by MICROMAN

Fred,
The rebuild looks great, you sure did not waste anytime getting this project started. Since your doing the refinish on the bottom and sides don't you think it makes sense to remove the fittings on the top sides and refinish it also. Refinish everything except the cockpit. Will the top need fiberglass or is it normally not required. I work a computer job 13 hours a day so it sure is nice to be able to watch the progress online as I sit behind 2 20" monitors all day. Being able to find someone like Fred is such a benefit of the Ezone website. Fred thanks again for your time and interest in this project.

After thinking about it, Microman is right about the total refinish since it only involves a little more work. I removed all the hardware and stripped and sanded the deck. I then cleaned the whole boat with lacquer thinner. It cleans deep and evaporates quickly. I then restained the whole boat. Next the glass goes on.
Thanks,
Fred

Hey Fred, thanks for posting this overhaul project. Looks like you have it totally under your control, even stepping up & adding the top deck re-work as a bonus...

I'll gladdly follow along because I have barrelback runabout that is in dire need of a similar overhaul. Please recommend your favorite products - stain, varish, etc - that works best durring this overhaul...

Happy RC Boating,
Doug

~~~/)~~

Hi Doug,
Glad your following along. Your boat looks great!! As far as the stain, I used a water based mahogany stain that came in my Dumas Boat kit. I'll be posting the other products as I go along.
Thanks for following and the comments.
Thanks,
Fred

OK guys the glassing begins. The techniques I use has been proven on my Warbirds for years and works great with a minimum of fuss. I use 3/4 oz. cloth, you can buy this from Nick Ziroli Models. To put the cloth down, I use a product called Envirotex Lite. Mix equal parts of epoxy and resin and then thin it 100% with Denatured Alcohol. Lay the cloth on the hull and blow on it at an angle and you can get most of the wrinkles out, I also dry brush it starting at the center and working your way out. You don't have to go crazy, just work out the large wrinkles. Start applying the resin at the center of the hull and work it out from the middle to the sides and bottom. You will be pleasantly surprised how easy this is. One major hint. Once the cloth is down if you have a wrinkle work it out with the tip of your brush out to the sides. DO NOT LIFT THE CLOTH AND TRY TO REPOSITION IT> YOU WILL HAVE A MAJOR MESS. If you have a stubborn wrinkle just slice it and fold the edges over. This will disappear with subsequent fill coats. I covered the whole bottom of the hull with one piece of cloth. Good thing about this mixture is you have at least a good two hours of working time. You don't have to scrape, or wipe up excess epoxy, since it's water thin and soaks right into the wood bonding the cloth instantly, When it dries over night, I sand the edges of the excess cloth and it cleans up beautifully. I then will glass the top of the deck and the transom using the same techniques.
Hope this helps.
Thanks,
Fred