SoCal Jet Boats
Tech Talk => Gelcoat / Paint / Fireberglass Repair => Topic started by: bbhawaiian18 on April 19, 2013, 08:31:38 PM
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I picked up a 18' Hawaiian hull a few months ago. Put it in storage and now im ready to get it together... To start I am replacing the floor in the morning. I've never worked with fiberglass but after a little homework it doesnt look too hard. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated. Just looking for some pointers before I get started. Also I want to reinforce/replace the stringers.. This is my first jet and is a bare hull. I've built a 350_0.30 over w/ speed pro forged flat tops and a GM steel crank with camel humps 2.02/1.60.... no carb, intake, or cam picked out yet.. this motor is for my el Camino project and I thought about putting it in the boat but after reading about some of the setups on SCJB i'm thinking go big or leave it in storage.O0
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step 1: get yourself on of these guys. it cuts thru fiberglass like butter and it doesnt make a huge itchy mess like a cutting wheel. harbor freight has em as well if you're lookin to save a buck.
(https://www.socaljetboats.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ftoolmonger.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2009%2F05%2Fcraftsman-vectec.jpg&hash=e62d6e652a149e91b702f347ef60bcace0206364)
cut out that rotten floor and if the 1/4 stringers are rotten they gotta go too... get the hull CLEAN, spotless. an angle grinder with a wire wheel makes short work of scrubbing gunk and grime off of fiberglass.
when you're all clean then its time to put in some stringers and a floor (if you have extra time, slap in a bulkhead i noticed a HUUUGE difference in deck strength and ride quality after doing one.. might as well while you have it all apart!) floors are nothing more than some 3/4" plywood but stringers you need some good quality, straight kiln dried douglas fir. as far as making it all stick to the hull, if you're a noob with fiberglass west marine makes a great easy to use epoxy resin called "west tec" and its 1 pump resin to 1 pump hardener. its pretty much impossible to screw up and it'll adhere to almost anything, as long as its clean.
take a peek at my thread of my current float or my old float for some visual aids.
http://www.socaljetboats.com/projects/21-bahner-io-project/ (http://www.socaljetboats.com/projects/21-bahner-io-project/)
http://www.socaljetboats.com/projects/78-tahiti-project/msg180336/#msg180336 (http://www.socaljetboats.com/projects/78-tahiti-project/msg180336/#msg180336)
good luck and dont forget to start a build thread in the projects section and post up lots of pictures. we love pictures!
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Cool8). Thanks for the advice. I'll post pix in the morning before and after I get it all ripped out.
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Do some research before you replace the stringers. I've been told that you want it supported at the transom and the bow only when installing new stringers (not on the trailer). I don't know if this applies to 1/4 stringers but I don't see why not.
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Ok. Thanks... I'll do the research.. I tore the floor up today. The plywood and 2x4 were saturated. I've had the boat in storage for months and still had water on the bottom. check out the pix. Let me know what u think
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Thanks again at kaotyk.... Always fun when u get to by more tools;D
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Harbor freight run!
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yup looks like you made great progress so far in your other thread. you made short work of the old rotten wood. lookin forward to what gets put back in!
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please keep this thread going. nice pics. I gotta do this to mine as well. I have zero fiberglass experience as well!
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My only advice with fiberglass would be to get a hardener that gives you plenty of work time. I think the last stuff I bought had 45 min. The stuff can get pricey so try and only use what you need. With that being said make sure you use enough and wet out thoroughly. Good luck and don't be afraid to ask even the most simple question. We're all here to support each other.
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So i just got a wild hunch to get on ebay and see if i could find some fiberglass at a decent price... And WTF... I find fiberglass cloth 59" wide x 15 ft in length for $20.. located in LA... shouldnt take but a day or two to get it shipped to me in Rialto.. I checked the price on resin and that price just doesnt seem to budge anywhere i look. Has anybody ever used this stuff off of ebay???
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So i just got a wild hunch to get on ebay and see if i could find some fiberglass at a decent price... And WTF... I find fiberglass cloth 59" wide x 15 ft in length for $20.. located in LA... shouldnt take but a day or two to get it shipped to me in Rialto.. I checked the price on resin and that price just doesnt seem to budge anywhere i look. Has anybody ever used this stuff off of ebay???
are you sure its $20 or does it say "LY" or "LR" aka linear yard? i dunno who would sell 15 feet for only $20...
as for my stuff i have had great results with this stuff. its easy to work with.
(https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/476421_10151439225449833_1667163699_o.jpg)
but you're lookin at $100 for the big jugs and $45 for the hardener.
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Looks like a good start I am loving my Hawaiian
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Lol. More so leaning towards u get what u pay for.... Looks like i'm headed to west marine before work today
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Went to harbor freight and boughta grinder today... About 3 hours worth of work and i'm just about done with the old fiberglass. Next up.... Full stringers.. Hopefully...
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After taking my boat to a friend in Lancaster to do some work he realized that the previous owner jammed the bulkhead in and caused the hull to be deformed, so I gave it to my brother who would rather deal with it. I picked up a 20' 1978 anthony. Full stringers are in great shape as well as the rest of the floor. Paint is decent and should work for a season or two. Tandem axle trailer needs a little work. And he threw in a Berkeley 12 je pump. After looking on the internet it seems these mostly came with panther pumps. Would anybody be able to tell me what brand pump this hull was set up for??? Also went and picked up a 4bolt 454 with 0.30 flat tops with single valve reliefs from a old suburban dually at rialto ecology
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I'm pretty sure that thing is isn't set up for a je
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Pretty sure it's a panther. Anybody got one for sale?
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I'm pretty sure that thing is isn't set up for a je
It would be a better combo to 'fit' the JE pump to that hull than finding a panther...
Dan'l
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thats a box for a panther pump. you can either put a panther pump in it (a full pump isnt gonna be easy to find) or you can take it to someone like JBP who knows how to do a panther conversion. its not easy.
sorry for the bad news.
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This guy ernie in highland has one for 400. Or trade my je + 200 for his panther. I like the idea of the conversion to a Berkeley. Any ideas on how much something like that would run?
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Paying a shop to do a pump conversion is pretty expensive but worth it. There on some threads on other forums showing people doing it themselves. If you can fiberglass and have a good grasp of math to be able to lay out where the new pump needs to be set it in go for it.
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If your looking for a solid project I have a full stringer boat with tanks and a berk intake still In it on a single axle I'm letting go for cheap
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Pm sent. Let me see some pix. I'm interested
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Never mind on the pix. Seen it on the other thread.. also on craigslist... you're in mo val. I'm in rialto. Let's do this maaan. I'll come by Thursday or Friday and take that off your hands;)
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