On Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:08:54 GMT, Reno wrote:

wrote in news:53d0f7fc-0d5d-4c48-aee8-
:

I agree with all of James' points about rot. I also got a free 16 foot
boat - every single piece of wood was rotted; transom, stringers, floor,
seat bases, etc. The transom did have a solid inner liner that didn't
sound bad when tapped but when I cut the inner liner off I dug out most
of the wood with bare hands, it was that rotten.

I took the deck and floor off so I could work better and took all sorts
of cutters and grinders to the inside. Basically all I got for free was
an unreinforced hull and deck. It took 3 summers of weekends and
evenings. I learned a lot about epoxy. Mostly I used West Systems but I
did try one other brand that I found on the Internet.

The critical thing is weight - I weighed everything I took off or added
so the net weight gain was 50 pounds. If you are not careful to make
everything you add as light as possible you will exceed the design weight
of the boat and end up with a poor handling and likely unsafe boat.

When the hull is stripped of all reinforcing it is very flexible and you
need to make a huge effort to support it perfectly so it ends up
straight. I designed a set of 6 adjustable supports made from 2 x 6
bases, 8-inch PVC sewer pipe and threaded rods with large washers and
nuts. I used a waterlevel to level the boat left/right and front/back.
After that I re-checked the levels and found a need for slight
adjustments a few times. As you replace the transom, stringers and floor
the hull gets stiffer and sits differently on the supports.

I also did some filling and repairs of the outside of the hull and had to
have a system to rotate it upside down.

Use only high build paints - I got some low build car type paint for the
deck which looks great but it shows the slightest imperfections. The high
build paint on the hull looks perfect because it fills the small places.
Low build paint is much more difficult to use - it makes a huge amount of
mist that almost requires a downdraft paint booth. High build paint
doesn't mist much and needs only a dust-free garage; I lined my garage
with plastic sheets for the painting.

I used a hull paint that can't be left in the water more than a few days
so I have to trailer use the boat. If you want to leave it at a dock you
have to use an epoxy paint which costs a few hundred dollars more and is
much more difficult to use.

I had to make a lot of compromises between cost and difficulty -
sometimes I went with better materials and more difficult methods but I
soon tired of that and got quicker and cheaper as time went on.

Don't use and epoxy that is less than 3 to 1 ratio - 5 to 1 is better
because it is more water proof.

I had to rebuild the steering and shifting equipment. My uncle is a
retired industrial mechanic so he was able to make new spacers to align
the internal pieces that are unavailable and I only bought a few pieces.

I spent around $850 on epoxy and fiberglass cloth, $200 on paint and $500
on miscellaneous parts. Now I have a very nice solid boat that I know
everything about. Compared to the price of new boats it was a great deal
money wise but you have to consider the "lost" three summers. I did it as
a hobby with my Dad and uncle helping so it was a very nice time of
socializing. So I have a nice boat and an even better relationship with
my Dad and uncle. My Dad is a 'go go go' type of guy and without him
driving the progress of the project it would have taken 4 or 5 summers,
maybe never got done.

If you would consider the investment in time as work rather than a nice
hobby then you will be very unhappy with what seems like a never ending
list of problems and expenses. Then you should take the advice of the
poster who suggested sell it and get something you can use right away.

I got a lot of help from rec.boats.building and by googling.

Great information! Thanks a lot.