Done

Wiring 90% Complete

I just got back from Cape Carteret, NC and the home of Joe Ward. Joe has been really into fishing for his whole life too, and just learned how to work on boats (including wiring) out of necessity over the years. He had the wiring all run and ready for everything to be connected when I got there. He was nice enough to let me work with him so that I could learn a little about wiring. It was really exciting to see the various components come alive. The trim tabs are hooked up and moving, the hydraulic jack plate is moving that 70 Yamaha, and speakers and stereo system are live, and the depthfinder is on. To Joe's credit, everything worked just like it should the first time, so today was a pretty efficient day. Joe knew how much time I've got in the boat, so he waited for me to come up and cut the holes where the components needed to go. We decided to put the speakers up front on the bulkhead instead of on the center console, which was a good call. It's almost there. Hoping to get wiring complete and get the outboard fired up on Tuesday of next week.

Here's a picture of the tunnel hull.

Joe Ward making sense of the chaos

Stereo, speakers, and depthfinder all hooked up.

About Set

The boat is just about ready. I got the topside painted. Then I taped off all the areas that needed to be non-skidded. I sanded the non-skid areas, and then rolled on more paint mixed with non-skid particles. I ran the cables for the controls, steering, trim tabs, and jack plate. Right now, Joe Ward (former owner of Joe's Bait and Tackle in Atlantic Beach) is helping me out with the wiring. I got the Yamaha mounted on the jack plate, so it is almost ready to hit the water for the first time--just in time for speckled trout fishing time!

Topside getting painted

Transom with trim tabs and jack plate. Blue tape is for non-skid.

Here's a picture of the front deck with non-skid

Here's the console.

Final product

Ready for wiring.

Hull Side Paint Complete

I got the boat hull all primed and prepped for painting, and started looking into the cost of painting it myself. It was going to be a lot in materials, and then I still would probably waste a lot of material learning. I decided I have put enough time and effort into this thing to get it finished right. There is a guy that I see at the coffee shop in Hampstead who owns Mirror Image, Inc. His name is Shawn Fuchs and he specializes in auto painting and repairs. So, I talked to him about the boat one morning, and he felt good about being able to do it. Shawn was completely rigged up to help me, as he has a trailer with all of his gear so he was able to paint the boat right where it was in the garage. He did a hell of a job, and was very meticulous. Here are the results.

Suppliers

Just thought I would include some stuff I learned about buying stuff for a boat build for any who may be beginning the process. Hopefully I can save others some time, headache and money.

US Composites is great (http://www.uscomposites.com/) . I used them for all the glass, peel ply, cabosil, fairing compound, and epoxy. The pink fairing compound they make is TheBomb.com. It mixes smoothly, sands easily, but it also cures pretty dense. I like it better than the fairing compounds that West System makes. The US Composites fast cure epoxy is super fast, and the slow is super slow. I would only get the fast for extreme cold building conditions, and I don't think i'd really use the slow again--you have to wait like 1-2 full days before you can sand it.  Their peel ply and their glass are both good quality and priced competitively. They ship anything from a huge load of epoxy to one container of cabosil.

I got a few things at West Marine, but only when I needed it right away. Many things at West Marine can be found at literally 1/3 to 1/4 of the West Marine price, but when you are in a bind they are good. Also, know that they will price match--even if you give them online store pricing. I got three hatches from them for a total of $120. If I didn't do the price matching thing they would have cost me over 200 dollars.

Discount Marine Supplies (http://www.discountmarinesupplies.com/) is great. I have to say that I was a little leery of ordering from them because there is no phone number listed on their site. If something doesn't work out I can't even get a hold of them, right? But as it turns out they are great and very responsive. I ordered trim tabs, steering wheel, steering system, fuel vent, fuel tank, gauges, and a few other items from them. I found out that my steering cable was too short. I just emailed Cristian at Discount Marine, and he called me back to say a new cable was in the mail. I didn't have to send back the whole thing--they just swapped me out cables. That was great. I spent a lot of time looking for the best deals on stuff that I bought, and I just stopped looking around because this site had either the best prices, or the best prices when you include shipping.

Another online company that I used was Wholesale Marine. I wouldn't suggest using them. Their operators are not very informed on what they are selling so you have to really know exactly what you need. Also, their shipping prices are high (I paid 22 dollars to have a fuel water separator, one keel roller, and 17 feet of fuel line shipped). At Discount Marine shipping is like $10 standard, and sometimes they waive shipping on larger orders.

Divinycell was a tough one. Just by chance, I found some locally and got it at a really good deal. I still had to buy another 10 sheets of 1/4 inch H80. This stuff is a killer. I ordered directly from Diab since that was the best price I could find, but it still set me back a pretty penny. I paid a ton in shipping because I had them keep them in 6 foot sheets, but I would do it again as opposed to having cut up and trying to joint them all back together for the build.

Crunch Time

A WHOLE lot has gone on since my last post. I have worked on the boat for the past three weekends (except one day--the day the hurricane came through). Also worked on it just about every week night too. Here are the things I have done since last post:
1) Faired the entire topside, including fine filling filling small lows and digs as well as pin holing.
2) Faired underneath gunnels where the rods will be stored (this part was miserable due to working in tight place).
3) Cut out deck holes for the read hatches to go, and cut out center console hatch hole.
4) Cut out front deck hatch, and built a ledge for it so it will lie flush with the deck. Borrowed my friend Scott Lindsay's router to make a trough around the lip so water won't go in the bilge.
5) Cut out access holes in the bulkheads so I can get to the below deck areas where different items will be mounted.
5) Put in reinforcing substrate material under the front deck so the deck will be able to support the weight of the trolling motor.
6) Built up strakes - they waved a little bit, so I used west systems 403 which has a little glass in it to even them out. I basically took a 2x4 and cut out the shape of the strake all the way across one end of it using the table saw at a 45 degree angle. Then I lined that cut out with plastic wrap, packed it with West 403, and then turned it over on top of the strake. This way, it cured in the shape of the strake. Once cured, I sanded it down, and then faired again using Interlux WaterTite.
7) Faired the spray rail using US composites fairing compound and epoxy.
8) Faired center console. It isn't perfect, and the reflection will walk a little on the sides, but it is close. Plus it will have things like speakers mounted on the sides, so hopefully that will cover some imperfections.
9) Made mount on floor using divinycell where center console will mount.
10) Primed topside of the boat, and sanded down to be ready for slick coat.
11) Ordered the rest of the hardware I need for the boat. All I have left is the spray rail, poling platform, and seat cushion that Tommy from Salters Marine is going to make. Plus the wiring materials that Luke Donat will need.

Here are some pictures of the progress:

This is the fore deck taped off and ready to be cut out.

Fore deck after cutting out the hatch. I made it large enough so the fuel tank can be easily removed.

A load of fairing work, but she is finally ready for prime coat.

Robert, the friendly ghost.

Topside primed and sanded.

Boat flipped over thanks to the help of Kyle Hines, Juan Echevery, Robert (my helper) and the other Robert, my neighbor.

Robert and I getting the strakes lined up.

Got the Logo Done

Had a guy here in Wilmington, Derek Schmidt (DesignLoud.com) do the logo. He did exactly what I described, and was really patient with all my edits. Really reasonable rates too. The logo is the silhouette of a fiddler crab (a food item preferred by redfish) .

First Float

Robert and I have been absolutely busting tail working on the boat. Having it back in the garage has been wonderful--can work on it every time I get an hour free. I've worked on it every night for between 2 and 6 hour blocks.

Took Kendell with me, an we floated the boat at Mallard Bay, and it sits just right. The chines come up out of the water about 3/4 of the way up so that's going to result in a little hull slap, but I am okay with trading that for a better ride than I had on the old Pathfinder.

Back to fairing.

1 Step Forward, 18 Steps Back

Got it all primed on the topside, and it looks slick in a picture. Problem is that it there is still another round of fairing to be done. So I have since gone back and started filling, and now it looks rough again with blue streaks of fairing compound all over it. Soon enough I will seal it all up though.

And it continues...

Topside Fairing

Flipped the boat right side up and started fairing. I used a fairing compound I got from US composites along with the US Composites epoxy. This epoxy is actually really good for fairing because it is already kind of thick.

I mixed it up and poured it over the various sections of the boat. Once it cures I just sand it down with the polisher with 36 grit, and then move on down to about 80 grit at the end. It sands pretty easy, and spreads nicely over the glass, filling the weave.

I got Robert to help me sand it, and this day was tough for both of us. It was a lot of work, and a lot of glass particles down the shorts and all over.

Carp Fishing

I took my dad along with me to go after carp on the fly rod. I thought it would be a good way to get him into fly fishing--to catch a few 5 lb fish on the fly rod. It wasn't easy though. In fact, it was quite challenging. We were sight casting to them in about 2 feet of water with little bead head nyphs and wooly boogers. You had to drop the fly right on the fish's head to trigger a strike. We went ona  lake near Gastonia with Capt. Paul Rose: http://www.carolinabonefishing.com/

Primer Coat

The hull has now been sprayed with Interlux Primer paint. It looks damn good, but needs a touch more fairing before the final coat can go on. Robert and I got it pretty fair over the past couple of weeks so that is really going to save on time and material as I move forward. Here she is:

Bonnetheads

Since I had a little down time I also took the liberty of going out fishing a couple days. Went with a buddy of mine, and we pounded the Bonnetheads in one of the creeks behind Wrightsville Beach. Found some stacked in a creek in the Masonboro area, and so we caught some small blue crabs and put them on #9 circle hooks. They couldn't resist those crabs, and it only took a couple minutes to get a bite. Caught on medium heavy inshore tackle, and 14 pound test line. We stopped just because we were tired of slinging them into the boat. Pretty fun time.

Center Console

Been kind of on hold, as I need Beau's help to spray the hull. In the interim I finished up the center console. This consisted of cutting a slick sheet (gel coat and fiberglass sheets) into the shape of each of the faces of the center console. Then I just basically epoxt the sheets to the substrate. Have to lay a board over it with some weight on top in order to get a fairly smooth surface. Sure saves on fairing time, but I was surprised at the amount of weight it adds. Center console is probably 30% heavier now that it has been slick sheeted.

Here's a little step by step on the console construction:

Built the plug out of wood

Then here it is after I foamed it, and pulled it off the plug.

This is what it looks like now after slick sheeting it all, and sanding all edges to round everything off.

I also faired out the substrate that goes on top of the poling platform. Used a fairing compound from US Composites, and was pretty pleased with the results. It smoothed itself out easily, and sanded nicely.

More Fairing

This past weekend was Memorial Day weekend. Kendell and I opted to stay in town, so I was able to spend another couple days in the boat shop. I am fortunate to have the help of a guy who lives here in Wilmington to assist in fairing. His name is Robert, and the guy is both a really hard worker, and someone who picks things up quickly. He has been a really great help, and I got him to help me both days that I worked on the boat this weekend. Between the two of us we put in just shy of 20 hours of sanding in this weekend.
Here are a couple pictures of Robert and I in the boat shop:

Fairing

Since waterboarding is no longer an acceptable method of torture for the US to get detainees to talk, I would suggest that they consider boat fairing. They could simply line up a bunch of boats, hand the detainee a sanding block, and have them start fairing--with the understanding that they can stop at any time they decide to start sharing their secrets. Believe me, they will talk.

As I was fairing the boat this weekend I found myself thinking, "How could I describe this activity to someone who has never done it?" Here's what I came up with:

Imagine you are driving down a highway; let's say Interstate 40 in North Carolina. But you aren't on the part of 40 at the coast that goes over the Cape Fear River and cypress wetlands, nor are you driving through the stretch in the mountains that snakes up hill through hardwood forests. No, you are driving on that stretch of 40 just east of Smtihfield where there is nothing but flat, manure-covered fields with a few short pine trees scattered about. Regarding the scenery, think Kinston, NC.

Okay, so you start off driving along this highway at mile marker 214. You keep driving, and keep driving, and keep driving...for 6 straight hours. The scenery is still just about exactly the same, and a mile marker finally comes into view. Once you are able to focus on it you see that it reads, "Mile 216."

"What?!! How in the hell have I only traveled 2 miles?" It is at this moment that you realize that your entire body is completely covered in fiberglass.

That's what boat fairing is like.

Here's a picture of the boat after 16 hours of fairing.

  

Primer Coat #1

So the paint process has begun. Pretty excited by the fact that I can see light at the end of the tunnel, but I also realize that there is still a ton of finish work ahead.

Before the paint could actually be put down I had to put a little more glass down on a low spot at the edge of the tunnel. I also needed to reglass the strakes in order to reinforce them. Of course, after the epoxy cured I had to grind all the edges down in order to avoid more fairing later. Also, Beau recommended using epoxy paint as the primer without thinning it. The paint went on super thick, and filled in some of the low spots, which will save on fairing compound later.

Here's the boat after I prepped it to be painted.

And after primer coat.