Boat Builder Central - Builder Forums

Posted: **Mon Dec 01, 2008 1:40 pm**

Here we go. After floundering around on the forum for many months, and many times of balking at the last minute on my order, I finally worked up the guts to click the purchase button for my new boat. I wanted a boat that would be multipurpose, as I am long time crazy duck hunter and recently striper fishing machine at Clark's Hill lake. I debated forever between the GV-15, GF-16/18, OD-18, and most recently the low shear FS-17 (Thanks alot Joel. Just what I needed another boat to ponder endlessly over.

). I want a mod v/v hull for the big lake water, but as shallow a boat as possible. I finally decided on the GV-15 mostly because of the shallow draft, low freeboard, it's easily modified, low horsepower requirement, and stability. Of course I think this accurately describes most of the boats above. I've rebuilt aluminum jon boats from the ground up many times, but haven't had alot of fiberglass experience. So I took one of CL's many pearls of wisdom and started with a console. I quickly learned you guys make this look way too easy. In the end the console looks great! (At least to my eyes). I'm not done fairing/painting but that will come later. Here's a rough sketch of what my ultimate goal is. We'll see how close I come. All critiques/ideas are greatly appreciated. One interesting part is that I am thinking about using Joel's pool noodle carbon pole technique to build the built in duck blind. We'll see. Gotta a long road and ALOT of sanding to do before then.

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Posted: **Tue Dec 02, 2008 5:15 pm**

Welcome to the forum

It is great to see another build about to get underway. Your sketch looks pretty neat and has some cool custom features. You will have plenty of help here with your build...

Richard

Posted: **Tue Dec 02, 2008 5:39 pm**

Thanks Richard, I'll certainly need it. I got the jig done today (who knew it would take 2 hours to build, straighten, and level

), and confirmation that Joel is shipping the goods

. Right now the jig has no roof, but I am probably going to pick up a portable cover in the near future. Any suggestions on good/bad brands

Posted: **Tue Dec 02, 2008 6:04 pm**

wegcagle wrote: Right now the jig has no roof, but I am probably going to pick up a portable cover in the near future. Any suggestions on good/bad brands

I guess it would depend on your neighborhood. I have seen these boats built outside, in garages, in livingrooms, porches, and in portable structures. Cold now in Georgia so that needs to be taken into account. If you have a garage you should build her there...

Posted: **Tue Dec 02, 2008 6:54 pm**

Shelter Logic is about the only brand with any name recognition. A polyester cover will be more sun resistant than other fabrics, but more expensive, too. I've been building under a tent, originally with plastic tarps for the top. Last time around, I went with a Harbor Freight canvas tarp. Nothing has lasted more than about 6 months. After all is said and done, I would have been better off if I had spent my money on a $700 metal carport. Now I still need a carport for storage of the finished boats.

Posted: **Tue Dec 02, 2008 7:25 pm**

The Costco ones are nice if you have them in your area. They're fully enclosed with zippered entrances on each end. They run about $220. Mine is from k-mart. Zippered entrance on only one end and runs about $260.Here's an old pic before mine was full of boat

Posted: **Tue Dec 02, 2008 8:20 pm**

gk108 wrote:Now I still need a carport for storage of the finished boats.

Gary, that's what I like

Not boat, but boats

Every builder needs a 3 or 4 boat garage, of course with a design for future expansion

Good luck on your build Wegcagle...

Richard

Posted: **Tue Dec 02, 2008 10:19 pm**

That boat should work real good at Clarks Hill. That lake gets a nasty chop at times and it sure is getting shallow

Sounds like a good choice to me.

Good luck with the build. Making the decision on what to build may be the hardest part. Or what to build next

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2008 9:50 am**

Thanks for the input guys, I'm headed to Target, Kmart, Academy sports, and Harbor freight today before my wife changes her mind and tells me I gotta build in the open. (She just got something shiny for her birthday that has temporarily changed her mind about a large "tent" in the backyard

)

I know what you mean, CL. I've already been drooling over the AB23, LB26, CS23-25, and of course the upcoming GS28. I had to tell myself more than once to simmerdown

Just because they're incredible boats, doesn't mean they are the boats for me.....YET

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2008 10:13 am**

(She just got something shiny for her birthday that has temporarily changed her mind about a large "tent" in the backyard )

If you first set the tent up in the front yard, she'll probably feel a lot better about it being in the back. I need to shop for one of those tents myself. My OD just spent her first night outside, it won't fit under my shed with the T-top on it

Where do you boat at Clarks Hill? My family owns some property and a cabin on the Lake at Modoc. Modoc Shores I think it's called now. We've had it 50 years. It's in a cove and there used to be 20' of water under the floating dock. Now the dock isn't floating and it's another 100' just to the waters edge

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2008 10:36 am**

If you first set the tent up in the front yard, she'll probably feel a lot better about it being in the back.

Great idea

(and if it doesn't work out I'll send you the hospital bill

)

I'm in Augusta, so it's always a 30min-45min trek wherever I go. Depending on the time of year and where I've been scouting the most I've put in anywhere from Keg Creek to Fishing Creek. It seems like if all else fails you can always spot a few scattered big ducks near the coves around Double branches. When I'm striper fishing I alway put in on S.C. side; somewhere between Parksville and Plum branch. S.C. always has the best herring, and the guys at the Herring Hut have always treated me well.

Will [/quote]

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2008 11:01 am**

It's a beautiful area. I've spent all my time on the Carolina side of the lake, used to stay for weeks at a time when I was a kid. Now I go about twice a year for family gatherings. I'll be up the weekend before Christmas, and we always have a big gathering in July, so I'll probably bring my boat up then, if there's any water.

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2008 11:52 am**

Wow, that sucks from 20' deep to 100' away. One of my old charter boat customers lives on a lake some where in North or South Dakota ( my mind is going ). He said the lakes edge used to be 350' away and now its 50' away from the back of the house. They had to put up a small sea wall. They need to share a little of that water with you guys and us here in FL.

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2008 12:57 pm**

wegcagle and Larry this drought has got to break sometime the lakes in N. Georgia and W. NC are just as bad off as SC. Have not had any real rain since we got back in Sept from our trip to Iowa. The soil is so dry it is rediculous. I get the 2 SC news channels so can follow there drought reports. Saw a reposrt from SC Wildlife Resouce boating division couple of weeks ago asking boaters to run slower due to uncharted hazards in the lower water.

Tom

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2008 1:17 pm**

Good luck with the build Wegcagle.

Your layout appears to be well thought out.

Daniel

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2008 3:16 pm**

Tom and Larry,

I don't know if the problem is the rain.....or the corp? My yard and azaleas never looked so good as they did this spring.

and we've had a ton of rain recently, CL can probably vouch for that. Either way this low lake makes for tougher duck hunting, but easier striper fishing. Hell if the water level drops far enough I may not even need a boat

Larry,

Shoot me an email if you want to go after a few striper over the break. With this cold weather I'm sure they're deep, and VERY inactive. I am working at the hospital, so my time is scarce. But as long as I've been drooling over your build I'd sure like to see No Excuse in person.

Daniel,
Thanks for the complement on the layout, I've spent many nights on call at the hospital and many more at the kitchen table belaboring the tiny details until I feel like I've got the right layout for me.

Will

Posted: **Sun Dec 07, 2008 3:55 pm**

Currently I'm in waiting mode...I'm ready for the plywood to get here

It's scheduled to get here tomorrow. In the mean time I made the ever sexy tarp canopy purchase and have set it up. Got it at Autozone on clearance for $149 with the sides. Also I have built the jig, leveled and squared it off....Well at least as level and square as a nonengineer can do

. Pictures to come if and when my camera starts working.

Posted: **Sun Dec 07, 2008 5:12 pm**

Thinking you'll probably finish within a year, if you keep it simple, otherwise, I'd suggest you see if you can get a few spare sides for that tent in case the build goes a couple years. If you never use the spares before the GV is complete, you could always use them as general purpose tarps. But if autozone has the right sides now, at a good price, it is not a bad idea to get a spare set of sides. My tent was up about six years, (

) ) and I had to replace the sides two or three times, depending on which side the prevailing winds and storms went through. It was annoying to try and fit general tarps to the dimensions. If I had it to do again, I would have bought a spare set up front, and built a plywood end with a door on *the open end*.

Looking forward to your progress when the wood arrives.

Posted: **Sun Dec 07, 2008 7:13 pm**

Good point on the sides. I did add a second tarp to the top. I figure double the roof thickness can only help.

Probably won't sleep well in anticipation of incoming plywood

Will

Posted: **Sun Dec 07, 2008 7:29 pm**

I'm not sure which enclosure you have, but a thought... If you double the roof thickness, it may actually chafe and not last as long. Might be better to use one layer, but hang on to that spare in case the first blows out.

When hurricanes were expected while I was building in the tent, I would also wrap the boat in another tarp, in the tent, in case the tent failed...

Here it was a very steep gradient high that blew in with violent gusts from the west (60 to 70 mph gusts), that blew out the second roof (cheap polytarp) that was then maybe one year old (the original roof lasted about four or five years with that sort of wind possible once every couple of weeks in the fall, winter and spring), and the boat was already in the inner *cathedral*. The original roof also held about two feet of heavy wet snow a couple of times! I had to sweep and rake that off very carefully. The stock roof, depending on manufacturer, can be very tough stuff, but you need to duct tape any small holes or splits immediately before they grow quickly.

The sides fail much sooner because of all their flapping. Be sure to use the bungies to secure the roof if that is what came with your tent, as they help vent, ease and distribute loads and greatly increase the life of the roof.

Earlier, before the cathedral was built, I just wrapped the hull well with a second set of tarps... and secured it to the cradle, and weighed that down with buckets of rocks and sand and other weights. Begin well, build well, finish soon and well.

Posted: **Sun Dec 07, 2008 7:54 pm**

I'm not sure which enclosure you have, but a thought... If you double the roof thickness, it may actually chafe and not last as long. Might be better to use one layer, but hang on to that spare in case the first blows out.

I got the shelter logic 10'x20'. By the looks of your poles they are the same. Good point on the double roofing. I'll probably just use the second tarp to wrap the boat....when I get to that point.

By the way I was looking over my plans tonight and have noticed that the transom is for 15" outboard, but it looks like most outboards in the hp area I'm looking at (35-50hp) are 20" shafts. Any recs on the best way to raise the transom when it's already level with shearline???

I was looking at Joel's low shear FS17 and REALLY like the rounded look. I may duplicate that here. I figure if Joel did it, I can't go wrong

Posted: **Mon Dec 08, 2008 1:06 am**

Rounding is probably easiest and best. Just remember to add the extra height to the clamping boards or all the peices of the transom.

Tom

Posted: **Tue Dec 09, 2008 1:52 pm**

I started drawing out my sides, bottom, and stringers....Then came the rain.

I guess I'll get started again on Friday

Isn't that some purty plywood. BIG difference between cheap and quality plywood.

Posted: **Tue Dec 09, 2008 2:04 pm**

I started drawing out my sides, bottom, and stringers....Then came the rain.

Same here. Was soldering and heat shrinking and testing electronics, when up came a pour. It killed my battery charger that was pretending to be a battery

Isn't that some purty plywood. BIG difference between cheap and quality plywood.

You are right about that. No comparison

Posted: **Sat Dec 13, 2008 6:23 pm**

Just an update. Today I was able to draw, cut out, and splice my panels/stringer. Tomorrow I will try to cut out all of the frames/transom, and see if I can get something that looks like a boat by the end of the weeks.

PS I get the feeling this pic will make some of you neat freaks cring

Will

Posted: **Sat Dec 13, 2008 9:43 pm**

Either you are using fiberglass splices, or you may have a problem with duplicate panels.

You think that's messy?

The first batch... hmmm... I don't think I remember that anymore.

Posted: **Sat Dec 13, 2008 10:30 pm**

I get the feeling this pic will make some of you neat freaks cring

It's fun to make neat freaks cringe. Like the plastic under and over the splices

Otherwise you might glue them to the floor

Posted: **Sat Dec 13, 2008 10:41 pm**

Either you are using fiberglass splices, or you may have a problem with duplicate panels

Yep, using fiberglass splices.

It's fun to make neat freaks cringe. Like the plastic under and over the splices Otherwise you might glue them to the floor

If I can glue epoxy to concrete I'd be pretty damn impressed, but then again this stuff nevers ceases to amaze me.

Posted: **Sun Dec 14, 2008 1:23 am**

"If I can glue epoxy to concrete..."

An overnight drip of epoxy cured on my smooth concrete floor. It was half a sphere about half the diameter of a glass marble. Found it with my foot in a couple of days. Tried to kick it off with my boot - no go. Got out a cold chisel and a ball peen hammer. One good hit and I had a complete small marble - half epoxy, half concrete ... and a hole in my garage floor.

Posted: **Sun Dec 14, 2008 1:38 am**

Some composite concrete modular bridges have their sections glued together with .... epoxy. Maybe its not exactly SilverTip.

No doubt some hefty through bolting may be involved too.

I liked the Old Carlton Bridge seen next to it. When it raised to let a ship pass into or out of BIW, it was a reminder of the role BIW has been in the community. Now the ships scoot under the new bridge with no fuss or muss. Not all fuss or muss is bad.

Anyway, epoxy and concrete can be effectively inseparable friends.

Posted: **Sun Dec 14, 2008 9:50 am**

Webcagle
Be sure to use the bow jig and go to NAPA now and get the strongest ties that they have for the bow section. It is a real pull.

Terry

Posted: **Sun Dec 14, 2008 1:08 pm**

Lots of us with epoxy on the concrete to grind off.

Tom

Posted: **Sun Dec 14, 2008 2:51 pm**

Be sure to use the bow jig and go to NAPA now and get the strongest ties that they have for the bow section. It is a real pull.

I was planning on making the bow jig after reading about the Zen Basser. Will do on the zip ties. Thanks for the FYI Terry. That's what I love about this forum. Learning from each other's difficulties

Will

Posted: **Fri Dec 19, 2008 5:53 pm**

Just a few update pics on my way to the big family christmas bash.

Will

Posted: **Sat Dec 27, 2008 4:14 pm**

Here's a few more updated pictures. I'm obviously not done tinkering with the stitches but it's actually REALLY close. I never would have imagined all of those pieces of meranti would come together this easily. The designer needs to get a huge credit on how well these boats come together.

I've quickly learned that if something isn't working the way it is supposed to, it's MY fault

Usually it's a lack of reading the plans. Luckily so far so good though

Posted: **Sat Dec 27, 2008 5:59 pm**

"Lots of us with epoxy on the concrete to grind off."
Or: heat, scrape and rub with old towel.

Posted: **Sat Dec 27, 2008 6:39 pm**

She's coming together quickly!

I haven't built a planing hull. I'm just wondering, looking at this shot, is there a bit of hook in those stringers, or is it the camera lens distorting things? Maybe the design is supposed to have a slight bit of hook to push the bow down? I don't know. Just thought I'd toss the question out there. I can't tell if it is in the bottom panels, at least not from the pictures with the panels in place.

Hope the Christmas bash was/is a good time!

Posted: **Sun Dec 28, 2008 9:19 am**

I think (and hope) that it's the camera. Before I stitched it up I checked my diagonal distances and tryed my best to check the lines. I thought it was all correct. After I stitched it up I tied a string to the bow and pull it tight across the transom from keep to chine to make sure there's no rocker or large gaps. (I tried to learn the lesson from the Zen Basser and his adventure with a nasty rocker in his hull). After I get the boat completely stitched and situated I plan to recheck diagonals and recheck the boat for any rocker before doing ANY epoxy/fiberglassing. So far this has been a very enjoyable, addicting, and fairly pain free experience (which scares the hell out of me that I'm forgetting something.)

Will

Posted: **Sun Dec 28, 2008 11:09 am**

Will
Mine looked like that also, but when stitched up, I put a long level on the keel and above the stringers. They all checked out ok,but not perfect. It didn't take tomuch fairing to take care of it. After the flip ,the stringers needed some triming bht not drastic. Double check and carry on.

Terry

Posted: **Sun Dec 28, 2008 11:27 am**

wegcagle wrote:So far this has been a very enjoyable, addicting, and fairly pain free experience (which scares the hell out of me that I'm forgetting something.)

Don't forget to secure the flimsomflogga in place before starting the seams. I imagine the less hell inside, the better.

Posted: **Mon Dec 29, 2008 5:07 pm**

I became a little more anal retentive today (no big suprise if you know me

) and put a long 2x4 across the keel and across the hull to check the lines. I noticed that there was a pretty big rocker in the hull between motorwell frame and frame 2. I would guess maybe 1/4" deep. After an hour of scratching my head and consuming a couple of bottles of brain juice I realized that the problem was at the bow bend I didn't secure it tight enough at frame 1 and bow mold. So I cussed alittle, broke a few zip ties cussed some more. Climbed under the boat and on top of it a couple of times, until I finally got it right (as good as I can do anyway

) Now the gap is somewhere around 1/8"-1/16" deep. I hope this is acceptable???? All ideas are greatly appreciated (and much needed

)Checked my diagonal measurements which were still good, and I started puttying the seams. I tried a couple of methods and I gotta say, the caulk gun method seams like it would be great, but it sucks trying to get the putty into the gun

. I probably did something stupid. So on the next batch I used Joel's ziplock freezer bag method. MUCH BETTER. You just put in the putty/hardener and mix it around in the bag with your hands, cut a corner and go

No pictures because I broke the camera after my last set of pictures, but I will post some after the next big step.

Will

Posted: **Thu Jan 01, 2009 7:55 pm**

Worked like a beast yesterday from sunup to sundown. My goal was to work wet on wet, but so far it's only a one man show. I got all the seams double taped and finished laying down all of the fiberglass sheets on the hull

, but ran out of time and energy before the New's Years bash to fiberglass the sides

More pics to come in the near future. Just waiting for the new camera to arrive. The coolest thing is that it looks like a REAL boat now. I love this part everyday is instant satisfaction. My wife keeps telling me how suprised she is at how fast I've been working. I just keep telling her that the easy parts over now I will become one with the fairing block.

By the way I did notice 4 areas that had small air bubbles at the corner of the hull and the transom.

Just wondering what everyone does about air bubbles (besides avoiding them completely) I grinded them out, painted with epoxy, filled with putty and then layed a small amount of 12oz biax. Is this good enough???

Will

Posted: **Thu Jan 01, 2009 8:03 pm**

wegcagle wrote:W Just wondering what everyone does about air bubbles (besides avoiding them completely) I grinded them out, painted with epoxy, filled with putty and then layed a small amount of 12oz biax. Is this good enough???

Will

It depends how big and where they are located. If they are small and not right on the joint, I will normally just cut or grind them out and fill the hole flush with a woodflour/epoxt mix

post a picture of the air bubbles when you get the camera

What you really want to avoid is air voids right one the joint, you loose a lot of strength if so

Posted: **Thu Jan 01, 2009 8:22 pm**

It depends how big and where they are located. If they are small and not right on the joint, I will normally just cut or grind them out and fill the hole flush with a woodflour/epoxt mix

post a picture of the air bubbles when you get the camera

I can't take a picture since I fill them in

But I will say that they were at the corner of the side panel's attachment to the transom (at the joint

). Do I need to add a layer of biax there to improve the strength?? I already ground them out fill with epoxy/wood flour, and put 1 layer of biax over it. Thanks for the imput.

Will

Posted: **Fri Jan 02, 2009 7:59 am**

Will, When I was a kid (1970's), there was a legendary open wheel modified dirt stock racer named Will Cagle that raced in the north east. Would he happen to be any relation to you? I have very fond memories of watching him win almost everytime he showed up to race.

Dave

Posted: **Fri Jan 02, 2009 11:45 pm**

Dave,
Sometimes I act like I'm related to him

, but the truth is I have no proof. I will say that after a few months of dating me, my now wife came up to me and said, "I was looking on the internet... Were you this crazy SOB I googled about???" At the time I wanted nothing more than to impress her, so I said...."Yes, Yes I am."

Will

Posted: **Sat Jan 03, 2009 12:00 am**

By the way here are a few updated pics taken from my cell phone.

Posted: **Tue Jan 06, 2009 6:19 pm**

A bit of plywood and fibreglass= Instant Boat

It's fun to see it come together so quickly.
Looking cool

Posted: **Thu Jan 08, 2009 9:08 am**

A bit of plywood and fibreglass= Instant Boat
It's fun to see it come together so quickly.
Looking cool

I appreciate the compliment Bassmun. Now if I can just fix the new problem with my hull hook, maybe I can speed back up. I hope to be where your's is by the end of next month. (Although that may be a little overzealous

)

Will

Posted: **Thu Jan 08, 2009 10:14 am**

At this stage in my build I flipped the hull to glass the inside and install the stringers and bulkheads then flipped it back over to do the fairing, but most other builders start their fairing now. If you start fairing now you could finish by end Feb. I read about your problems with the hook, it's nasty to get it but it's fixable

Posted: **Thu Jan 08, 2009 10:23 am**

At this stage in my build I flipped the hull to glass the inside and install the stringers and bulkheads then flipped it back over to do the fairing, but most other builders start their fairing now

I was going to try and completely finish the outside then flip it, but now that I've got the hooks (sounds like something penicillin could fix

) I may fix the outside and go ahead and flip it and glass the inside, stringers, and bulkheads just to make sure the bottom ain't moving this time.

Will

Posted: **Thu Jan 08, 2009 12:00 pm**

That's exactly why I did it that way, I was terrified of inducing a hook when I flipped it.

Posted: **Fri Jan 16, 2009 5:28 pm**

Just an update of what I've been up to. Mostly, I cut a couple of 8ft straight edges and took a few more looks at the hull, and although I thought I would be happy with the hook and could fair it out, in a few places I'm just not happy with how deep it is (about 3/8" at the worst).

So I've decided to utilize Joel's patented bottom straightening method. So here's the game plan....

1. Lay down my extra layer of biax fabric for rock bottom proofing. (I'm doing this first for a couple of reasons. The heat from the epoxy curing will help me reach the needed 150 degrees to loosen the previously layed epoxy/fiberglass and if I lay it down before I heat everything up this layer (I think

) should become bonded to the previous layers, which equals a stronger hull).
2. Poor man's peel ply (plastic sheet) over the last 7' of the hull.
3. Lay the 4 straight edged 2x4s on top of the plastic (so they don't become part of the hull

)
4. Screw the 2x4s flush against the hull to straighten it out.
5. Get under the boat and place wedges in the needed areas at stringers/frames for support.
6. Seal off the tent on both ends. I'm gonna use my digital wireless meat thermometer in the tent with the receiving end connected to me (I guess that weird Xmas present will pay off after all

), and crank up the heat 8. with my double burner propane heater to a goal of 150 degrees minimum for at least an hour.
9. Let it all cure for a couple of days, remove the wood, overdrill the holes, fill with epoxy, lay a layer of glass tape over the top, and cruise on to the fairing/sanding. (hopefully these extra steps will minimize the fairing

)

It sucks that I feel like I need to do this, but I think it will be better (and cheaper

) than using gallons of Quik fair to make a fair hull. I plan on taking pictures and documenting this pretty well so that anyone who has to go through this process will at least have a pretty good reference. I would appreciate any ideas or thoughts on my gameplan.

Will

Posted: **Fri Jan 16, 2009 9:09 pm**

It sucks that I feel like I need to do this, but I think it will be better

Yes to both, Will

It sucks but it will be fine in the end, and it beats watching TV. I can see the hook in both of the photos above. No big deal, you can fix it, but it does need fixin'.

Posted: **Fri Jan 16, 2009 9:36 pm**

Or we can call you *Capt. Hook* from now on...

Posted: **Sat Jan 17, 2009 8:05 am**

The propane heater may put a layer of residue on the hull, so be sure to sand/wipe everything down after you do this.

Also I would not heat the entire hull, just heat the areas where the glass needs to be relaxed. I would worry about deforming the hull if you heat the entire boat up. I would make a rig where the heater was blowing right on the bottom, maybe you can move it back and forth every few minutes to cover all the area evenly.

when you add the shims under the molds add enough so that it pushes the hull further that you want to end up - there will be spring back after you remove the heat.

I would definitely add the second lay of glass after all this, the exotherm from that layer curing is not going to do much to help you - plus its just going to make it that much more difficult to push the hull back into shape with a second layer.

Posted: **Sat Jan 17, 2009 12:00 pm**

Cracker Larry wrote:it beats watching TV

Why should I watch someone else experiencing life when I can experience it myself?

Posted: **Sat Jan 17, 2009 12:08 pm**

But you'll miss out on the experience of watching TV.

Posted: **Sat Jan 17, 2009 12:33 pm**

ks8 wrote:Or we can call you *Capt. Hook* from now on...

arrrrrrrrr

Really, it sounds like your determined to get it right, you'll be thankfull you did, but I'm sure you know that already

Daniel

Posted: **Sat Jan 17, 2009 1:05 pm**

Or we can call you *Capt. Hook* from now on...

yeah, yeah yeah...Sounds accurate, but I'm okay with it as long as I'm Capt of something in the end

The propane heater may put a layer of residue on the hull, so be sure to sand/wipe everything down after you do this.

Also I would not heat the entire hull, just heat the areas where the glass needs to be relaxed. I would worry about deforming the hull if you heat the entire boat up. I would make a rig where the heater was blowing right on the bottom, maybe you can move it back and forth every few minutes to cover all the area evenly. when you add the shims under the molds add enough so that it pushes the hull further that you want to end up - there will be spring back after you remove the heat. I would definitely add the second lay of glass after all this, the exotherm from that layer curing is not going to do much to help you - plus its just going to make it that much more difficult to push the hull back into shape with a second layer.

Thanks for the help Joel. Will do

and it beats watching TV

I think that depends on the channel CL. I "here" the playboy channel is pretty dang entertaining.

Thanks for the support guys. When I get home tomorrow I'm gonna get started on the fix. Will try to post results by the end of the week.

Will

Posted: **Sat Jan 17, 2009 1:33 pm**

Now let's not be misusing the term *entertaining*.

Posted: **Mon Jan 19, 2009 3:20 pm**

Alright guys, I was well on my way to a beautiful fix and I noticed something I wasn't sure about, so I've left the beams bolted in place but haven't started "cooking" the hull at the 150 degrees yet. HELP

I think that it's tough to tell from the pics, but basically it is completely flat and even from the transom forward 7.5' and then there's a bow hump about 3/8"-1/2" in size before it tapers off to the tip of the bow. Is this expected, or am I just completed up the creek without a paddle???? Since the planeing area is flat/even I'm not worried about it while on plane, I'm just worried about getting her on plane.

Appreciate the help,

Will

Posted: **Mon Jan 19, 2009 6:01 pm**

I went ahead and built my "oven" around the area that needs to be heated. As soon as I get the go ahead I'm planning on starting the heating process, but like my post said above, I'm just not sure if the bow hump is a problem or not.

Thanks,

Will

Posted: **Mon Jan 19, 2009 7:17 pm**

Wegcagle, now you've got me all worried. I've got exactly the same thing on my Phantom. From Transom 7ft forward is perfectly flat and even, but my keel also raises slightly like yours before tapering off ahead of the 7ft area.
I think mine was bulkhead C that forced it up that way.
I'd like to see what the other have to say

Posted: **Mon Jan 19, 2009 7:35 pm**

Hey Bassmun,
I think

we're okay because I've been searching the past forums and found this quote from ks8. Since it's dark here and supposed to snow (which is freakishly weird in Augusta, GA) I think I may call it a night and start the boat hull cookoff tomorrow.

I've seen a few hulls, of various designs, seem to have a slight high spot (hull inverted) on the keel about 30% aft of the bow. There was even a thread where there was some debate about it, I think on a C17 or C19, because it actually rendered on the cad plans. So, you can look at it as *hook*, but if the panels are straight flat down the midpoint of the panels (longitudinally), then it might just be that you have a bump on the keel at about 30%, from a slight pinch of the panel development in the stitching there (or, put another way, the gap between bottom panels, when stitched, may have been too tight fore and aft of that point, and forced that bump to manifest, like the creation of a mountain range, sort of), and may not give you all that much trouble If you do nothing at all about it. But I'm no voice of authority on the subject.

That being said I sure would sleep better tonight not thinking I've got a scrap pile in the backyard

Will

Posted: **Mon Jan 19, 2009 8:02 pm**

What KS8 Explains here is exactly what you and I have, the keel section is slightly raised but the rest of the panel is flat. I've always wondered if that was part of the plans or if I made a mistake. Way to late for me to do anything about it now. I'll probably find that no matter how high I trim my motor at high speed I'll never get that section of the bow out of the water properly - I'll just have to put on a bigger motor

Posted: **Mon Jan 19, 2009 11:21 pm**

I had the same thing on my panga initially. As I tightened the tie wire in that area I used a hand saw to relive the pinching until it was fair. Not sure if you can do anything about it at this point though

Like you said, that part of the boat won't even be in the water on plane. And I wouldn't worry about it at displacement speeds since it's symetrical. Probably never know it's there and I'm sure it ain't a deal breaker. No worries mon

Posted: **Tue Jan 20, 2009 9:05 am**

Im glad we see this now...

You do not have hook in your hull.

What happens is when you tighten the two bottom panels together, the point where they meet (when you begin to bend the panels in towards the bow mold) has a lot of pressure. The panels may wan to pop up off the mold (usually its the first mold from the bow). The panels were just too tight in that one spot.

Its good news because you do not need to fix it. Iits less than 1/2" and its 7.5' from the transom. Your planning surface is flat.

Sorry to send you on a goose chase, but until I saw the last pictures and description I did not understand what we were dealing with.

For any other builders who are not to this point yet, this can be helped by securing the bottom panels with one dry wall screw on each panel to the first mold. Do not use the screws until you have loosely stitched the hull up. If you start with screws, then stitch the panels will not be able to take their natural shape. Stitch the panels loosely, then gradually increase the tension.

Also, use finish nail as a spacer at the very top of your mold - so you can see if the panels have popped up, also keep the panels straight and and ensures an even gap.

Posted: **Tue Jan 20, 2009 9:15 am**

That being said I sure would sleep better tonight not thinking I've got a scrap pile in the backyard

I think Will is going to sleep better tonight

Posted: **Tue Jan 20, 2009 9:38 am**

That's awesome news. I did have a dip in the planeing surface prior to bolting those 2x4s to the hull. For anyone else needing to fix a hull like I have. I will say this, this fiberglass is strong and REALLY hard. At first I attempted to use 4.5" long screws to bolt it down, and after I stripped the first two heads. I decided to stop messing around, and got 3/8" round 4.5" long lag screws. These did the job

I know now that the hull is completely flat because as I was bolting the 2x4s down I heard a few bangs and pops where the hull had to pull free from the frames that had been incidentally puttyed together. I then crawled under and placed a bunch of support wedges hammered in. It looked like motorwell frame was slightly higher than frame 3 (I think this was due to the bow hump) So most of my wedges are across the 3rd frame. Now that I know I'm good and straight, I am still going to "cook the area" to the 150 degrees. Let it sit for a few days, remove the 2x4s, clean off the propane film, overdrill the holes, fill, tape, and keep on cruising

Thanks for the help guys, If I keep having all these issues I may have to name her "Community Project"

Will

Posted: **Tue Jan 20, 2009 9:51 am**

wegcagle wrote: "Community Project"

Will

"Si Se Puede"

Posted: **Tue Jan 20, 2009 10:12 am**

Will, most of the good one's are community projects. We have a fine community here!

Si Se Puede

I could have gone all day without hearing that again Joel

Posted: **Tue Jan 20, 2009 10:22 am**

Will, most of the good one's are community projects. We have a fine community here!

Very true, (Thank Goodness

).

Si Se Puede

Everytime I hear that all I can think about is the cajun guy from The Waterboy. "You can do it....You can do it all night long!)

Great movie

Will

Posted: **Tue Jan 20, 2009 10:25 am**

Cracker Larry wrote:I could have gone all day without hearing that again Joel

Then don't turn on the TV today

Posted: **Tue Jan 20, 2009 3:20 pm**

Wish I'd thought about that nail trick Joel showed - seems like such an easy way to help ensure that the panels are symetrical. The best tricks are usually so simple that you slap your forehead

and sya "why didn't I think of that?

Posted: **Tue Jan 20, 2009 6:47 pm**

Alright guys... Once again I'm looking for some bright ideas. My "tent inside a tent" method for heating the hull to 150 degrees failed. The highest I got it was about 60 degrees and that took almost an hour

After that I came up with the "brillant" idea to wrap the part of the hull that needed heating with tin foil. So I wrapped the bottom of the boat over the bolted 2x4s with tin foil and restarted the boat grill. I'm using a double burner propane heater (should give off plenty of heat...I think

) I then strategically placed the heater so that it was aimed for the tin foil area (which I made a funnel from the boat to the heater) This worked REALLY well for the middle section. I got the temp up to the 150 degrees for about 10 minutes, but I noticed that the bow end of the 2x4s the temperature was only 50-60 degrees. Since the temps were so different I just stopped before I melted one end and still had a frozen boat on the other end.

Any good ideas on how to cook this sucker evenly and effectively???

Thanks,

Will

Posted: **Tue Jan 20, 2009 7:48 pm**

Will,
I'd have tried what you did so I have no new ideas, other than maybe borrow/buy another propane heater for the rest of the area you want to "cook".

I'm sure somebody on the board will come up with something that'll work, lots of smart thinking, experienced people on here, (wish I could say I was one of them but I cant

and won't)

Daniel

Posted: **Tue Jan 20, 2009 8:06 pm**

how much movement did it take to get the bottom flat, or in other words how much of a gap do you have to fill? I'm leaning towards filling/fairing it out.

Your not going to be able to "fix" the hump towards the bow, its not going to be a problem anyway.

Another solution to get any hook you may have out is to keep those 2x4's bolted to the bottom, flip the boat and glass in the stringers. The stringers will hold the flat shape. Then you remove the 2x4's fill the holes

Posted: **Tue Jan 20, 2009 8:34 pm**

Before I bolted the 2x4s I had 3/8" at the worst spot (right on the keel). That quickly decreased to 1/4" then to 1/8" at midpanel. It then increased back to 1/4" at the chines. So if I hear you right another good option is to flip the boat glass in the inside, add stringers and frames, reflip the boat, remove the 2x4s, fill, and keep going?? Will this be as good of a fix as the heating method? I want to build this boat to the best of my abilities, no shortcuts, no timelines. Hopefully it will give me many years of dead ducks, and jealous friends

Will

Posted: **Thu Jan 22, 2009 10:13 am**

Just a couple of quick questions. My new gameplan is to do pretty much whatever Joel says

.
1. I'm going to tacks a couple of 2x4s across the boat, flip it, and then fiberglass in the stringers.

Questions:
1. On my plans my stringers are only 1 layer of 3/8" ply, is this good enough??
2. Since I have bolts through my hull I obviously can't fiberglass the whole bottom prior to putting in the stringers. Will it be strong enough to hold the bottom in place if I just fiberglass in the stringers, reflip the boat, remove all of my 2x4s and finish the bottom?

Thanks,

Will

Posted: **Thu Jan 22, 2009 10:41 am**

wegcagle wrote: 1. On my plans my stringers are only 1 layer of 3/8" ply, is this good enough??

Yes, there are 4 of them.

wegcagle wrote: 2. Since I have bolts through my hull I obviously can't fiberglass the whole bottom prior to putting in the stringers. Will it be strong enough to hold the bottom in place if I just fiberglass in the stringers, reflip the boat, remove all of my 2x4s and finish the bottom?

here is the steps I would take:

flip boat carefully
glass the inside seams (chine/keel/transom joints)
glass in the stringers in
remove the 2x4's
then glass the rest of the inside (wide cloth and frames).
Flip hull (now much more rigid with the insides built)
fill holes, finish outside to the point of primer
flip boat right side up and finish the build

Posted: **Fri Jan 23, 2009 3:29 pm**

wegcagle wrote:My new gameplan is to do pretty much whatever Joel says .

Good plan.

With your concern about getting everything correct, I'm sure it will turn out to be a great boat. Just don't let your resolve weaken later in the build.

Keep up the good work. I'm interested in seeing your boat finished. The GV15 is one of the powerboat hulls I've been considering.

Posted: **Fri Jan 23, 2009 4:53 pm**

Got the boat braced well from the top and the bottom, and got the cradle built. As luck would have it, I've got a bunch of my college buddies coming into town this weekend. So (weather permitting

) the gameplan is to flip the boat tomorrow in the midst of a few natty lights (of course some of these guys from Atlanta think they're too good for natty light

I think after I finish building this boat I may try to take up home brewing, but that's an entirely different subj. Are there any forums for that

) After I flip the boat the gameplan is to putty/tape the chines/keel/transom/stringers. After they dry I'll remove the all the bolts (but leave the 2x4s in place) overdrill the holes, duct tape the outer side of the holes, putty/tape the holes, then fiberglass the inside. After that I'll probably go ahead and fiberglass in the frames before I reflip the boat and finish the outside.

With your concern about getting everything correct, I'm sure it will turn out to be a great boat. Just don't let your resolve weaken later in the build.

Thanks for the confidence Bob. As everyone around here knows. Some days are better than others. Today is an exciting one. I feel like I'm getting a sneek preview of her tomorrow.

Also thanks again for the help Joel

Will

Posted: **Sat Jan 24, 2009 8:25 pm**

Yes, there are many forums for home brewing.

Posted: **Sun Jan 25, 2009 3:34 am**

I've read that capeman makes a good homebrew, I sure he could give you some pointers

Posted: **Sun Jan 25, 2009 10:27 am**

I can vouch for that

I've got one left and I'm saving it for launch day.

Posted: **Sun Jan 25, 2009 6:26 pm**

Here's some pictures of the first flippin' party. I gotta say Joel, I don't know how many times my liver will let me flip her. Some of my college buddies still got their drinking stamina. As for me, I guess I'm gettin' old, married, and just found out I gotta baby girl on the way

Posted: **Sun Jan 25, 2009 8:38 pm**

Hey congrats on the first flip and on your little girl on the way.
I've got a 4yr old son and a 1yr old daughter - Awesome stuff!!

Posted: **Mon Jan 26, 2009 8:53 pm**

4yo?? Sounds like the perfect sanding age

We're definitely getting excited. The only downside that I can see is that I'm losing my man room, but who needs that when you've got a white tent in the backyard to build boats in

.

Will

Posted: **Mon Jan 26, 2009 10:45 pm**

Congrats on the baby girl Will. That's great news.

The boat looks good too.

Daniel

Posted: **Tue Jan 27, 2009 12:23 am**

Will congrats on the flip and the rugrat on the way. Get that boat built fast you won't have much time after she's here.

Tom

Posted: **Tue Jan 27, 2009 2:13 am**

Yes, congrats to Mommy and Daddy on the new growing life patiently (for now) waiting for that first breath of (dust free) air, and on the boat flip too!

Posted: **Tue Jan 27, 2009 6:46 am**

Thanks guys, we are also very excited.

Will congrats on the flip and the rugrat on the way. Get that boat built fast you won't have much time after she's here.

True Tom, but then again it's gotta get done as good as possible now. Can't have my baby ridin' in anything but the best.

Posted: **Tue Jan 27, 2009 7:58 pm**

wegcagle wrote:4yo?? Sounds like the perfect sanding age

Will

I tried, after 5 minutes he looked at me and said he was going to watch cartoons, Go figure

Posted: **Wed Jan 28, 2009 7:41 am**

Smart kid

Posted: **Wed Jan 28, 2009 7:28 pm**

Got all of the chines/keel/transom taped up on the inside. I did add a 3rd layer of tape around the transom/keel, because I've got a buddy who wants to basically give away his 60hp etec because he wants to "upgrade" to a 75hp honda. I figure it's the same weight as most 50hps, but maybe a little better on gas at the same speed as a 50hp. I think the original plans would easily be able to handle a 60hp, but what's one extra layer inside and out for peace of mind

Tomorrow I add in the stringers, and then after that it's Remove the Annoying Bolts That Keep Impelling my Hands While Fiberglassing Day

Will

Posted: **Thu Jan 29, 2009 4:29 pm**

BassMunn wrote: I tried, after 5 minutes he looked at me and said he was going to watch cartoons, Go figure

Short attention spans at that age. Half way through the build of the V12 for my brother and his son, my father came by to help for a week and brought my nephew (age 7) with him. My nephew kept expecting us to finish the boat within an hour. We were about a month or two away from the splash.

Posted: **Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:28 pm**

I haven't posted in a while, mostly because I haven't been able to do a whole lot. I work as a pediatric resident at the medical college of ga (kind of like grey's anatomy, but really it's more like scrubs

) Right now I'm logging in 80hrs a week with every 3rd-4th night spent in the hospital on a 30 hour shift.

The good part is that I absolutely love what I do. Kids are awesome and are so much more resilient than all us whiny adults

Anyway back to my update. It's been too cold to epoxy which happened just before I could get started fiberglassing in the stringers.

So in this weather I've done a bunching of wood cutting. I drew out my frames and have them cut to size and cut a few other things, like motorwell frames and have ripped a few inwales. I did notice today that a couple of areas on my hull which were unsupported started to sag alittle, so I added and extra support strap, and I have clamped my frames in place to pull it all back into shape. As soon as the cold weather lets up I plan on fiberglassing the stringers down. Then I'll remove the support bolts, fiberglass the bottom, add in the frames, inwales, and reflip this sucker to finish the outside (With a plan like this what could possibly go wrong....

)

Will

Will

Will

Posted: **Fri Feb 06, 2009 12:09 am**

wegcagle wrote:... Right now I'm logging in 80hrs a week with every 3rd-4th night spent in the hospital on a 30 hour shift.

I'm glad you're not an airline pilot... but then... look what you are training for! Sometimes the administrative reasoning of the medical institutions utterly escapes me, but it is an excellent work that you aspire to, no matter how they are making you qualify for it. So just drink the caffeine until the monitoring equipment starts to sound like Beethoven's 2nd (or Hannah Montana?!), or the pen keeps jumping out of your hand of its own, in moderation of course.

When you get back to the GV, don't forget to post a few updates on that excellent work of a marine kind.

Posted: **Fri Feb 06, 2009 3:26 pm**

Will,

As a Pediatric Resident, I salute you! Our last addition to our family had a heart defect (Tertralogy of Fallot) and has DiGeorge Syndrome, but extremely mild. She's practically normal. Anyways, she's doing great!

You Peds folks are GOLD! Keep up the great work! And you're so right about the kids being such tough little patients; they just keep on going!

I'm really liking your progress on the build, too. Makes me itch to be able to get started on my Phantom 22 or FS14!

Posted: **Sat Feb 07, 2009 2:35 pm**

Thanks for the words of encouragement guys. I'm currently on one of those 30 hours shifts (only 22.5 hrs more to go

) I'm already getting excited because the weather report is good for tomorrow and I've got from about 2pm until bedtime to get those stringers epoxyed in for good

Tobolamr, sorry your daughter has this difficult disease. It is certainly a tough road. I am currently spending this month working in the ICU and with the Pediatric Cardiologists. All I can say is that it is absolutely amazing what's being done about Tet

, and I'm very glad that she is doing so well. If you ever want to watch a good tear jerker of a movie you should check out "What the Lord has Made." It's a movie about the Hopkin's surgeon and his assistant who were the first people to surgically correct kids with tet. They used to call it the blue baby surgery.

Will

By the way I REALLY like the phantom series. I vote go with the Phantom 22, and post LOTs of pics. That would be a build I'd follow closely.

Posted: **Sat Feb 07, 2009 8:57 pm**

Will,

Little Liz is doing great. They may have to balloon her pulmonary artery, as it's a bit narrow, but they'll do an echo on that in May or June to be sure. As far as DiGeorge goes, so far, she's practically normal. And as far as her Tet case, she was only on the table for 6.5 hours, and the surgeon says it was a "textbook operation."

Speaking of "What The Lord has Made..." When we got to Children's hospital, we were all distraught... And then we started to learn of the other parent & children's situations. Our little girl had a speedbump! We had NO prior knowledge of her condition, my wife is DiGeorge negative and my test is still in the works... But we spent most of our time helping out the other parents. THAT was a life-changing experience. And if it wasn't for one particular pediatric resident in particular, it would have been a different ballgame. You peds folks are AWESOME!

We'll see which boat gets built first.

There's a good amount of debate surrounding that decision in our house yet!

Keep up the great work, and don't sweat the time frame!

Posted: **Sun Feb 08, 2009 6:39 pm**

Tobolamr, that's awesome that you and your family had such a wonderful experience at the Children's Hospital, but it's even more awesome that Little Liz is kickin' booty and takin' names.

As far as trying to put a time frame on the boat, I gave up on that pretty quickly I learned that the faster I do something the more I screw up

What can I say I'm no Shine

But I'll keep chugging along and get her done when she's done. PS the stringers are IN!!!!!

Will

Posted: **Tue Mar 10, 2009 11:51 am**

Okay, I haven't posted in a LONG time, mostly because February was an aweful month for me. Never the less I'm back and with a bang

I'm starting a revolution here....I thought it would be a sigh of relief to admit that we're not all the cleanest boat building group that our pictures make us out to be.

This was taken after a 18 hour weedend of installing the stringers, motorwell frames, and transom clamping board. After the stringers were dry I also removed the old hull straightening 2x4s from the bottom of the boat, (bottom is straight as a board now

Thanks everyone for the help on that one

)completely sanded down the inside, overdrilled 30+ bolt holes in the transom, hull, and motorwell frame. Needless to say yesterday my muscles ached!

Since this picture I have actually cleaned up the distgusting mess. Today I am planning to fiberglass the hull, stringers, transom, and motorwell frames. I think I may hurt tomorrow as well? I may post a new picture to appease all of you clean freaks as well

Thanks,

Will

Posted: **Tue Mar 10, 2009 5:45 pm**

You don't have to appease me, Will! Those pics look just like mine did, except we don't need heaters in Guam!

Glad you're back at it!

Posted: **Tue Mar 10, 2009 11:22 pm**

Glad you're back at it. I know that thinking about getting back to building is what helps me get through those times when work gets in the way of boat building.

Keep up the great work, both in the shop and in the hospital.

Posted: **Thu Mar 12, 2009 2:28 pm**

Keep up the great work! You'll be fine! Just think of taking the new little one out for their first ride int he boat!

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2009 6:06 pm**

Thanks guys for the support. So far this week has been one of the most productive yet. Here's the end result pics after a week of alot of blood, sweat, tears, cussing, and of course...beer. Now all I have to do before reflipping is install the frames and the inwales. Then it's flippin' time and ALOT of fairing/sanding/priming/repeat until happy.

You can see in the last pic on the starboard side of the transom the fiberglass didn't get put down perfect

Dang epoxy started setting before I could finish.

Since that pic, the next day I ground out all the airbubbles/rookie fiberglassing crap and put down a second layer of fiberglass on the transom. This time she looks a WHOLE lot better.

I got the second layer down before the 24hr mark, so I think that it still counts as all of it wet on wet

Now if this rain will just come on through and do it's business I can get back to work on her.

I appreciate any comments/suggestion. I'd be lost without it.

Will

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2009 8:10 pm**

Moving along nicely Will.
Loved the "neatness" picture

I always take pictures from angles that hide my mess

I might be right off base here, so excuse my eyes if I'm wrong, but I can't see Biax tape on the stringers. Is it there and I just can't see it or do you still have to do it? It just looks like the glass cloth that is laying up against the stringers and transom Knee joints - Sorry if I'm wrong

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2009 9:16 pm**

Good eye Shannon,

No I haven't taped in the stringers yet. I'm planning to tape in the stringers, then install the frames, putty and tape them into place. At least as much as I can do in one day wet on wet.

Thanks,

Will

Posted: **Wed Mar 25, 2009 11:31 am**

Posted: **Thu Apr 02, 2009 5:00 pm**

Not a whole lotta building been going on, but I did get a nice galvanized trailer for $500. I'll take pictures if it ever stops raining.

Next week I'm on vacation

, first one in almost a year. We gotta a little golf tourney going on over here some of you maybe heard of next week, so when I'm not trolling around Augusta National; my butt's gonna be knocking out some boat building.

Will

Posted: **Thu Apr 02, 2009 5:07 pm**

My Moms going, but you couldn't drag me into that crowd for anything. Been there, done that, got tickets and don't even like golf

I don't know if it's going to quit raining, my gauge is overflowing on 6", that just since last night. Still coming down.

Posted: **Thu Apr 02, 2009 5:40 pm**

My parents are in Moultrie, GA and they've got almost 2 ft. since this has started. For the first time since I can remember the pond is overflowing

Not good for all those old graybeard pond bass.

Posted: **Thu Apr 02, 2009 6:26 pm**

Several of the roads between here and Moultrie are flooded out. The Ochlocknee River isn't the highest I've ever seen, but it's a couple of feet over flood stage and still rising. Up towards Moultrie, it's pretty bad around Hwy 202 & 188, Lower Meigs Rd and Beeline Rd. The ground is so soft, large trees are just falling over in light wind. I only had a little 100 ft wide patch of 2 ft deep water to cross getting home. Still pouring hard right now. May not get out until late tomorrow.

Posted: **Thu Apr 02, 2009 9:34 pm**

It is pretty bad. Our house is at Bay Rockyford Rd. and hwy 111. My dad says his volunteer pines are dropping like flies.

Posted: **Thu Apr 02, 2009 10:28 pm**

Bad here too. Roads flooding, creeks and rivers higher than they've been in 10 years. Yard and driveway nothing but water and still pouring. Nobodys getting out of my swamp for a day or two without using a boat. Dang, this is a serious rain we got going on. We needed the rain, might even get Clarks Hill and Lanier back where they belong

Posted: **Thu Apr 02, 2009 10:35 pm**

Larry, it wasn't all that long ago we were talking about the water not even under the docks anymore up your way. Things can sure change in a hurry can't they.

Posted: **Thu Apr 02, 2009 10:47 pm**

I don't know about fast Brian. We've been needing water for the last 10 years. Once it finally came though, it did come in a hurry. I'm not complaining yet, but 24 more hours like the last and I may get concerned. Not terribly, got boats and canoes.

Posted: **Fri Apr 03, 2009 1:00 am**

It isn't quite as bad here, but it is still raining. I've been waiting for it to stop, to get this boat launched, but if we get what you've been getting, maybe I won't have to do anything but set it out on the lawn and wait.

NWS seems to think it stops for us after 2pm tomorrow, and the sun starts breaking through, with 25 mph wind and 30+ gusts, and a gale blowing out at the coast. Is that a good day to launch a sailboat for the first time, with no reef points in the sails yet?????

The gallery is still down anyway, so we both get a pass on progress pictures.

Posted: **Fri Apr 03, 2009 8:45 am**

Sounds like good sailing weather to me. Launch it!

Rain is over here I think. We've had over 12", a lot of roads washed out, all creeks and rivers out of the banks. Schools closed in a dozen surrounding counties. That's the rain we've been needing for a long time

Posted: **Fri Apr 03, 2009 9:41 am**

I didn't even try to measure this rain. Local weather estimates well over 20" this week. The river is now at the same level as the 1994 flood, which was supposedly a 500 year event.

I can't complain too much. Lots of folks woke up this morning and called for evac by boat.

Posted: **Fri Apr 03, 2009 10:02 am**

About the same here Gary. The 12 inches I referred was in the last 24 hours. I know we had a least 6" before that. The lucky thing is that because it's been so dry all the ponds and creeks and ditches were real low and the water had somewhere to go. Everything's full now though, we don't need anymore for a while.

Crazy weather, supposed to freeze again the first of the week. Savannah doesn't get freezes in April

Posted: **Tue Apr 07, 2009 9:16 pm**

I went and checked out Clarks Hill today and it is only about 2ft from full. I haven't seen it this high in almost 7 years, and that was before the Core was so aggressive at draining the lake for energy. Apparently they want to start making energy now, but the river is so full and the canal is currently dammed up for construction that we're just watching the lake rise by the foot.

Duck hunting should be a little better this year and maybe just in time for the new boat.

Will

Posted: **Wed Apr 08, 2009 6:39 pm**

wegcagle wrote:I went and checked out Clarks Hill today and it is only about 2ft from full.

I take it you're refering to Clarks Hill Reservoir, it's so weird to hear someone talking about just passing by there, when I sit and watch BassMaster competitions on ESPN and drool over these huge lakes and reservoirs you guys have over there.

One of these days I'm gonna have to make a trip over there and someone has to take me fishing

Posted: **Sat Apr 11, 2009 8:04 pm**

One of these days I'm gonna have to make a trip over there and someone has to take me fishing

Come on over Shannon. You'd have a place to stay, a fishing buddy, and hopefully.....a boat? If you think the bass fishing is good on this lake, you should see the size of the stripers here. I've seen and heard of many 30-40 lb fish being pulled out of the lake.

Biggest I've pulled out was around 20 lbs (meaning more like 13-15 lbs).

This week I've been on vacation and SWMBO was kind enough to give me 2 full days of boat working time. I definitely learned my lession about puttying. ALWAYS go ahead and put the tape/fiberglass on the putty wet on wet otherwise you will spend entire days sanding and grinding those putty filets to make sure the tape will lay down nice. So, that being said, in the two days and 10-12 hours of work, I was only able to get all the stringers and the motorwell frames taped into place

I was hoping to be ready to reflip the boat by the end of this weekend.

There's no way I'll have her finished before the baby, so I'm in no hurry to get the boat finished. I'm just enjoying the project. I would like to have her done before duck season, but if I don't I've got plenty of buddies with boats

Pictures of the boat and new trailer will be posted soon, once the frames are in.

Will

Posted: **Sat Apr 11, 2009 10:55 pm**

the trip is half the fun and in the case of those suffering from BBD, it's all the fun

Yeah...about that BBV. I will say I used to think I was the only freak in the world who was busting their hump on one boat while drawing and contemplating a new boat. At least until I met you guys.

Thanks God I'm not the only one out there,

Will

Posted: **Sat Apr 11, 2009 11:30 pm**

Thanks Will, I might just take you up on that fishing trip one day

A 40lb Striper sounds like fun

If it's got fins I wanna catch it.

I learnt early on (the hard way), to always do my fillets and tape wet on wet, the other mistake I used to make was to fillet too big of an area and then have to work until silly hours in the morning trying to glass them before they dried. It was tiring but atleast I got the big stuff done pretty quick.

I also gave up on using deadlines a long time ago, when it's done it's done, the trip is half the fun and in the case of those suffering from BBD, it's all the fun

Enjoy

Posted: **Sun Apr 26, 2009 4:51 pm**

When did I get to the second page??

I've been working nights over the past 2 weeks so my schedule is all out of whack. On top of that my wife is in nesting mode (but don't tell her that at the risk of death

) This weekend I was hoping to finish taping in the frames and getting her flipped, but instead I built my wife a foot stool for the chair in the baby's room, I also had to clean out the attic (not really sure why, but apparently it HAD to be done), replaced the kitchen faucet, got the yard back in order, and cleaned out every drawer known to man. Oh and not to mention rearranging a room so that SWMBO can work from home once the baby's here. After all of that I was too tired and lazy to go out in the 90+ degree weather and try to work on the boat. I have been able to get all but one of the frames puttied/taped into place.

I hope to get the last frame puttied/taped into place tomorrow when I get home from work (around 7-8am). After that it will be flipping time to finish the bottom

Will

Posted: **Sun May 17, 2009 8:39 pm**

Haven't updated in a while. All you guys with probably know where I've been. Every nook and cranny in and around our house and car apparently "must be clean and ready" for our newest arrival. Not a big deal, but I miss the 5-6 hour sessions on the boat, and getting that instant gratification to seeing what I've done.

But I actually do have a big update for me. I have finished installing all of the frames (only took a month longer than I thought it would

) Today I had a HUGE opps. I got inpatient because my crew wasn't able to come over and help flip the boat, so I tried to do it myself. DON'T do this unless you have the proper tools. I started by rolling the jig and boat out from under the tarp. I then tossed a heavy duty double pully over a thick tree limb and tied the rope around the boat, and connected the other end to my winch on the new trailer (I thought this was a brillant idea). And off to the races, I started cranking the winch just waiting for that brillant moment when the boat would lift and flip just perfectly (I also attached a support rope to make sure that the boat wouldn't flip over too far and crash, another "brillant idea") Then at the moment I thought all was right with the world the boat ACTUALLY LIFTED CORRECTLY

. Then about 2/3 of a second later I realized that the boat was going to swing and rotate, I countered the boats move perfectly just in time for the trailer to come flying over the tire wedges and STRAIGHT for me

I jumped out of the way and the boat came down quickly but was only a couple of inches off of the jig, so it didn't do any damage (thank God!).....at least to the boat. The boat actually went straight through my jig breaking it into about a dozen pieces.

but like i said there was no damage to me or the boat so I thought this was a pretty good time to call it a day. I picked up the bow and stern, placing rollers under each and rolled the boat back under the shelter. Tomorrow I will make sure I have the proper support crew before I retry this again

I have some pics of the afternoon and will post them as soon as I get a chance.

Will

Posted: **Sun May 17, 2009 10:11 pm**

WOW!!! Bill Dance aint got nothin' on you! Real glad the boat is okay (and you). That would have sucked BIG time. Even with 6 guys helping me, I don't think I ever been as nervouse as when we flipped my boat. Was sure everything was going to come apart. Your experience is testament to the strength of these designs. Can't wait to see the pics.

Posted: **Mon May 18, 2009 12:02 am**

Good to hear from you again. Glad you're ok

Posted: **Mon May 18, 2009 8:38 pm**

The boat got flipped....Again

And not a scratch on her

These boats really are built strong. Here's the pics:

Just think the next time I flip her will be to the trailer

and the last time I flip her

This week I plan to fill in the remaining bolt holes (just one or 2 left), sharpen up the chine and transom, and maybe get a layer of quikfair down. I gotta get as much done before the baby gets here as possible

Will

Posted: **Mon May 18, 2009 9:14 pm**

Looks a lot safer!

Posted: **Mon May 18, 2009 11:04 pm**

Wow! Just read your oops. Glad your O.K. Will. I know you're excited about getting that thing faired and painted.
I'm ready to see it too.

Good Luck,
Daniel

Posted: **Tue May 19, 2009 4:25 pm**

That's sounds like fun Will

Glad you and the boat are OK

It's funny but I made the same mistake when I flipped my hull, was just too impatient to wait for friends to be ready so tried it myself. I slapped some support rigs together to lift it and then pivot it around. Got it up in the air, started to turn it over and the front support couldn't take the weight and snapped. Luckily my brother had come by and between the 2 of us we managed to get it over without breaking anything. That boat banged on it's side pretty hard, not even a scratch

Needless to say I waited for help the next time

Posted: **Sat May 30, 2009 8:43 am**

No new work has been done on the boat. Pretty soon after my last post we found out that my wife was going to be induced early. So the baby which was supposed to come 2 weeks later was suddenly almost here (3 day notice

) SWMBO was placed on bedrest and given instructions to make a list of things for me to do before the newest arrival made her debut. That meant my previously dedicated boatbuilding time became honeydo time. I had to cram 2 weeks worth of "getting ready for the baby" into 3 days. It was a long couple of days and nights for both of us. Then came the big day; May 26th, my wife and I checked into the hospital and, like a champ, she labored all day

and finally our first addition was born early in the am on May 27th. Momma and child are doing awesome and we are set to go home today; plus 1.

My wife has her mom coming to stay for a few days and informed me that my job is to build away on the boat while we have backup support. (It also helps that I'm a just outside the backdoor). As a new and very proud papa I have to post her picture.....The good lord builds much prettier things than we do

Will

Posted: **Sat May 30, 2009 9:17 am**

Congrats Will, and to Momma too

Beautiful

Posted: **Sat May 30, 2009 11:00 am**

Congrats Will

, It is an amazing feeling to become a father isn't it

Posted: **Sun May 31, 2009 8:01 pm**

Thanks guys,

The wife is doing great, and true to her word she has given me a couple hours of reprieve the last 2 days to tinker on the boat. (and do the yard, dishes, kitchen, laundry, food,.....you get the idea

) I have cut my reverse chines and a small skeg down the center. They are only rough cut and not glued in yet. Let me know what you think, or what could be improved. I put the small skeg on it, because if you remember earlier in the build I have a prominent high spot (for lack of a better word) at the bow and it sank across frame 3 on the keel with about a 1/4"-3/8" hook which was ONLY on the keel. So I used a pencil attached to my quick square at 1 inch and traced across the 1x2 and cut it with my jig saw. This made the "hook" looking area disappear. Please let me know if something looks dumb before it's too late.

Thanks for your help

Will

Posted: **Sun May 31, 2009 10:09 pm**

Will just back from vacation. Congrats to you, Mom and the new Georgia Bulldog. What is her name?

Tom

Posted: **Mon Jun 01, 2009 10:11 am**

wegcagle wrote:As a new and very proud papa I have to post her picture.....The good lord builds much prettier things than we do

That is so true! Congrats to the family!

Posted: **Mon Jun 01, 2009 10:29 am**

Her name is Patricia Eileen Cagle. She's got her daddy's nose (poor thing) and her mama's big puppy dog eyes. Hopefully she will be full throttle by next year's boat builder's meeting (if I can get my vacation that week).

Will

Posted: **Tue Jun 02, 2009 4:22 pm**

Congrats Will. She's adorable.

You're a lucky man having time for the boat with a newborn in the house.

Posted: **Tue Jun 02, 2009 4:46 pm**

Congrats Will, best thing that can happen!

jaap

Posted: **Tue Jun 02, 2009 4:56 pm**

Complete missed this one

but same from me congratulations

Posted: **Tue Jun 02, 2009 9:21 pm**

Congrats Will! Nice seeing you be able to squeeze in a little building as well. It is important for every Dad (and Mom) to take some time for his/herself. But treasure every second of Patricia's first year. It's gone in no time flat.

Posted: **Thu Jun 04, 2009 10:07 am**

Little late, Congradulations Will

Fantastic

Posted: **Thu Jun 04, 2009 1:05 pm**

Thanks everyone. We really appreciate all of the compliments, and I totally agree. She's incredible. Yesterday, I was able to do a quick sanding of the bottom of the hull, and repair a few areas along the chines and keel where I had a couple of airbubbles

Better to do it right now, than pay the price later. Today I clamped up the transom with a few boards and made some epoxy glue to sharpen the edges of the transom. Along the chines I will glue down my lifting strakes to sharpen up those areas as well. As you'll see in the pics there's always a good use for duct tape

Thanks again for all of your help and kind words,

Will (and the newest boat builder...Eileen

)

Posted: **Sat Jun 06, 2009 8:52 pm**

LOVE the duct tape "clamps". Mother of invention...

Posted: **Sat Jun 06, 2009 9:06 pm**

Thanks cape man. I removed them yesterday and got a layer of Quik fair down as well. I will try to post pics tomorrow. I will say this...boat building is kinda like golf; it only takes one or two things to happen perfectly and you're sucked in for life. The duct tape clamps were one of those for me. It's so dang sharp around the transom I think I could cut myself

Will

Posted: **Sun Jun 07, 2009 6:30 pm**

Today I got the first layer of fairing down on the bottom. I probably used way too much compared to all you pros

but the bottom is MUCH more even. Before I started I took a 4 ft straight edge and sharpied the high points so that I would know where to spread thin and where to lay it on a little thicker. Here's the pics.

Half of the bottom done

All of the bottom done.

Let me know if you have any secrets that may help the process.

Will

Posted: **Mon Jun 08, 2009 1:14 am**

Now come the fairing boards!

Tom

Posted: **Mon Jun 08, 2009 8:34 am**

Tricks for fairing- can of spray paint, fairning board and Having someone else do it!

Posted: **Sat Jun 13, 2009 5:32 pm**

Got up EARLY this am and headed to Cartersville, where the GV15 got her giddyup. Tuck and I spent a couple of hours chatting about fishing, boat building, and just life in general. I got to meet his wife and very personable son. Also their pet turtle Pickles (who was too busy attacking worms to be sociable

) His boat looks great and the new Yammi certainly looks right at home on her transom. He's certainly got a great set up and family over there in Cartersville. It's always great to meet new friends. I'm pretty sure we maybe getting on some greenheads and stripers in the near future.

Got the motor back home safe and got her unloaded with no issues. (I don't have a motorlift, so my buddy and I put forth alittle more sweat and 4 letter words than Tuck and I did loading her

) I now have a lot more motivation to get on the sanding and get the GV15 done the way she supposed to be. I'll post some pictures as soon as I get something done that's worth while. Currently all I've accomplished is sanding up a storm, and getting my arms back in shape.

Will

Posted: **Sat Jun 13, 2009 6:13 pm**

Cool you got your Ponnies

I'm sure fairing boards were created as an attempt at a cure for BBV

Posted: **Wed Jun 17, 2009 10:57 pm**

hey... are you there ?.... diaper duty can't be that busy yet....No I know what it is its sleep deprivation,

Hang in there WIll,

Posted: **Thu Jun 18, 2009 8:57 am**

I'm still here cooking along in a MUCH slower lane than before.

I'm on call tonight, but have done a list of about 20 honeydo's over the last couple of days, so when I get home tomorrow am, I gotta date with the boat. I have completely sanded down the first layer of fairing, and sharpeed all of the low spots. Tomorrow I will try to fill in all of those areas and then glue down the skeg and reverse chines. If I'm really efficient I may also be able to get some fairing down on the sides and transom

But my true goal is to get that bottom straight and fair as possible.

Cool you got your Ponnies
I'm sure fairing boards were created as an attempt at a cure for BBV

I agree Shannon, the fairing board is no joke. But to be completely honest I REALLY like fairing. I used to be a workout freak until I got married, started working my 80 hour work weeks.....and 10 other excuses. So it feels really good to wake up with all that soreness in my arms, back, stomach

It's like I'm actually accomplishing something. As far as the ponies are concerned. I've got my friend/outboard mechanic coming over this weekend and we are going to rebuild and clean the carbs, check the solenoid, etc and see if we can get her fired up

I tried to turn her over at home and got life, but I didn't have time to truly run her on the hose, life is a good sign.

Will

Posted: **Mon Jun 22, 2009 3:56 pm**

Keep goin Will. Next layer goes on easier! Of course I had to remove a good bit of mine cause I forgot to put on the reverse chines, skeg and strakes first.

Man, I love doin things twice.

Jonny

Posted: **Mon Jun 22, 2009 5:15 pm**

Yep, I made the same mistake. Got my last coat (other than a couple of touch up spots) of quik fair on today. Nothing really worth showing pics, but I will snap a few after the fairing board and I have a couple of sessions

Will

Posted: **Mon Jun 22, 2009 7:28 pm**

wegcagle wrote: I agree Shannon, the fairing board is no joke. But to be completely honest I REALLY like fairing. I used to be a workout freak until I got married, started working my 80 hour work weeks.....and 10 other excuses. So it feels really good to wake up with all that soreness in my arms, back, stomach It's like I'm actually accomplishing something.

Will

I can relate to that, I used to be the same. I actually lost 5lb when I was fairing my hull

Wife wants to know when I will be fairing again

Posted: **Tue Jun 23, 2009 10:28 am**

Hey Weg

I believe that you are coming along quite nicely.

Keep up the good work

Bushmaster

Posted: **Sat Jun 27, 2009 10:15 pm**

Quick update. I've been fairing like crazy. 4 hours yesterday on the board and another 2-3 hrs today. I'm almost done, except the transom (as you can see

) I also got the reverse chines and skeg screwed down temporarily. Tomorrow am I will glue them down, let them dry, overdrill, fill the screw holes, and then lay down 2 layers of 9 oz woven tape. I've also been talked into putting a metal shoe on the skeg by Capeman. Question: What kind of stainless do you use for this, and where does one purchase one of these jokers? Thanks,

Will

Posted: **Sat Jun 27, 2009 10:50 pm**

Here is one possibility
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/us ... &page=GRID
There are others of course, Hamilton Marine, Defender probably.
Daddy

Posted: **Sat Jun 27, 2009 11:11 pm**

Will
Check onlinemetals.com I have had good luck with them

Terry

Posted: **Sun Jun 28, 2009 8:15 pm**

Thanks guys,

I'll definitely check those sites out. Not a whole lot to post, but I did want to show a pic to any potential builders just to prove/show that the wood you buy is RARELY straight. Kind of an FYI/possible screw up prevention. When I did my skeg. I measured from one chine to the keel and then to the other chine. I then marked my middle point on the keel line. After that my OCD kicked in and I found my previously marked but covered up while fairing point on the top of the transom (which marked the middle to make sure motor would be mounted properly spot). Then I used a straight edge to go from this middle point to the keel line, and magically they met at the same point (actually about 1/2 cm off but close enough for govt work

) Then I clamped a string at the bow keel line and pulled it tight to the previously marked transom keel line. I (finally

) took a sharpee and marked the skeg line. Glad I did b/c I then screwed the front and back edges of the skeg into place and checked the straightness of the skeg and found this...

So I pulled the skeg straight and screwed down the middle. Now I know its straight

Will

Posted: **Sat Jul 18, 2009 3:14 pm**

Another place that does custom stainless steel is www.thorpequipment.com Small town service, good attention to detail, and can build you just about anything. Mostly they supply the dairy/ag industry, but we've seen them do a LOT of custom fab work, and do it very well.

Posted: **Sat Jul 18, 2009 5:08 pm**

wegcagle wrote:What kind of stainless do you use for this, and where does one purchase one of these jokers? Thanks,

I would go for the highest grade marine stainless, but that's because mine is a saltwater boat and here on the Islands everything rots like crazy because of the salt climate, I don't know were Augusta

is but if it is inland's at a lake, I think you can go for a lower grade
Looks good b.t.w.

Posted: **Tue Jul 28, 2009 4:43 pm**

Where are ya Will ?

Posted: **Wed Jul 29, 2009 9:00 pm**

Alright. Here I go. What a month

Since this month has started, I have been back in the ICU, and it has been one of the hardest months of my life. I'm also currently applying for specialty training, which means I have been trying to get interviews all over the country. On top of that my neighborhood became infested with FLEAS

What the hell is that about

I have been living with the in-laws for the last 5 nights, while I have been exterminating my house. I can't have the newest one getting eaten alive by fleas. Needless to say not a lot has been done on the boat. I have done some sanding here and there, and I got the reverse chines glued in , but that's about it

I was hoping to have the boat COMPLETELY primed by now, but as the old saying goes....If you want to make God laugh, make a plan

Today I got some GREAT news. I got interviews in 4 different programs across the country, so who knows where we will be next year. Just as the month was looking up.....I went to the house today to find this......

But as I dug out the busted tent and got to the boat to assess the damage. here's what I found.....

NOT A SCRATCH ON HER

And she took a direct blow from the tree

So here's to you Jacques, you design one helluva tough boat. Hopefully next month will be a little more productive.

Will

PS: Tuck the motor is also completely okay. Just a tribute to good ole' tough 2 smoke Johnsons

Posted: **Wed Jul 29, 2009 9:42 pm**

Wow, quite an eventfull past month or so, keep us posted,
hope the flea problem gets fixed, and family can get back to normal,

Daniel, the Fs17 Daniel

Posted: **Wed Jul 29, 2009 11:10 pm**

Wow, Will that has been an eventful few weeks. Congrats on the interviews hope you get what you want. Hope you the wife and newborn are fine.

Tom

Posted: **Thu Jul 30, 2009 8:44 am**

Wow, that's a rough month, Will

Hope things improve and your interviews work out like you want them too. Bad storms down here lately, on a daily basis. Glad the boat didn't get damaged!

Posted: **Thu Jul 30, 2009 6:34 pm**

Will that sounds like a fun month - NOT!

Glad the family and boat are OK

Posted: **Thu Aug 27, 2009 9:33 pm**

Hang in there Will ! How are the stripers doing on Clarks hill ?

Posted: **Thu Aug 27, 2009 10:24 pm**

Will, I missed all of that about the storm, fleas, and job...hope it is over now and things are coming along better.

Couple things if you are still dealing with them...

1) Fleas. Fiprinil. It's what's in many of the top end flea treatments for dogs, but also works real well if sprayed around the perimeter of the home. You can buy it cheaply over the net as Termador, put it in a small sprayer and spray the exterior perimeter of the home and yard. I am totally impressed, and it is safe if applied properly (follow the directions for creating a barrier for ants). We started to use it on our fish farm for Argentine ants where toxicity is a HUGE issue. I now use it at home and we have no fleas (don't have to directly treat the dogs and cats anymore).

Skeg shoe. First, blame Larry for talking you into it, as he talked me into it.

I used a piece of alluminum that I bought at Home Depot. Glued down with epoxy, and screwed down with small stainless screws. Added a small piece of zinc to the trailing edge to help with oxidation. Stainless would of course be better than alluminum, but I was looking at alluminum being a lot better than just the wood, so it is an improvement already. Couldn't justify the $ for stainless.

Posted: **Thu Aug 27, 2009 11:57 pm**

Stainless would of course be better than alluminum,

Not necessarily in this application. 1/4 aluminum flatbar is tough stuff. More importantly it is more galvanically compatable with the majority of the outboard engine components. Most of the exposed outboard or sterndrive parts are aluminum, with stainless bolts. The zincs on the engine protect the aluminum from current flow between the aluminum casing and the stainless bolts. When you have 2 dissimilar metals, separated by a conductor (sea water) then you have current flow between the 2. The more anodic metal corrodes as the current flows from it. Zinc is more anodic than aluminum. Aluminum is more anodic than stainless. With a stainless shoe, the primary electrical current will flow from the aluminum outboard to the stainless shoe, corroding the aluminum outboard foot prematurely. Of course we would use zincs, but they would corrode very quickly. The progression is zinc, aluminum, stainless.

We lose zinc to aluminum, and we lose aluminum to stainless. And zinc to stainless, obviously. The zincs are sacrificial of course. With too much stainless below the water, and not enough zinc, the aluminum outboard acts like the sacrificial anode and the metal lost from the outboard would go to the stainless skeg shoe. We don't want that

The zincs you and I put on our aluminum skegs protect the skeg from galvanic action with the stainless components of the engine. Since the skeg and the engine housing are equal on the galvanic scale, we have no current flow between them and no corrosion.

Dang that was long winded

Sum it up, with a stainless shoe we'd double or triple our zinc replacements on the engine and if we ever forgot to replace them, the gear case would be the next thing needing replacing.

Posted: **Fri Aug 28, 2009 6:20 am**

Dang that was long winded

Thought you were KS for a second

All good points that reinforce my brilliant decision to use alluminum instead of stainless!!!

Posted: **Fri Aug 28, 2009 12:37 pm**

I have used starboard skegs on a few smaller boats, with good results.

Posted: **Fri Aug 28, 2009 12:49 pm**

I have used starboard skegs on a few smaller boats, with good results.

What did you put on the port side?.....

(Sorry everyone...couldn't help myself).

Posted: **Fri Aug 28, 2009 1:59 pm**

I thought the same thing and laughed after I typed that. Tom King who owns King plastics used to charter me for Tarpon fishing, his factory is only 15 min from me. I like using " starboard " for different projects, its really cool stuff. He has alot of different kinds now, like star-lite that is 35% lighter, starboard anti-skid or " starboard st " is what I used for skeg material, its 25% stronger and stiffer than the standard board, more like real wood but its indestructible. When you walk through the factory and warehouse you cant believe how many different kinds and colors they make. http://www.kingstarboard.com .

Posted: **Fri Aug 28, 2009 2:13 pm**

Used an old starboard sign to make new bunks and guides for my trailer. Great stuff if weight is not a factor.

Posted: **Sat Aug 29, 2009 10:40 am**

Awesome points on aluminum vs. stainless. It also helps that aluminum is a little easier on the wallet

Thanks for your help. Believe it or not I'm actually going to get a couple of hours to work on the boat today....Knock on wood. Game plan today is to fiberglass in the skeg and reverse chines. May do a little more fairing and sanding. I kind of like this part because I'm a born tinkerer, and I like messing with stuff until it's just right.

Will

Posted: **Sun Sep 13, 2009 5:27 pm**

Believe it or not, I have actually been able to log in a few hours on the boat this week. I sanded and shaped the reverse chines and the small skeg, then I fiberglassed them in with 9 oz weave. Finally I sanded down the whole boat. I think

I will have one more pass with fairing across the boat before I start priming

Don't give up on me yet; I'm moving slowly but surely

Will

Posted: **Sun Sep 13, 2009 8:15 pm**

Just before priming, show us another picture or two all prepped.

Posted: **Sun Sep 13, 2009 9:01 pm**

I think I will have one more pass with fairing across the boat before I start priming

Careful...one more pass leads to another, which leads to another, which .....well you get it.

Good to hear you're back at it. Give us pics!

Posted: **Wed Sep 23, 2009 1:20 pm**

Here's a few pics as promised. I ran out of Quik Fair. Surprise, surprise. Looks like another order

$100 on $75 sanded off, and so it goes

The last 2 pictures I took specifically to have you guys help me out. Will the prominent bow work like a hook or is it okay that the last 8 feet as flat as a board?

Thanks

Will

Posted: **Wed Sep 23, 2009 1:35 pm**

Here's a little better picture of what I'm concerned about.

Thanks,

Will

Posted: **Thu Sep 24, 2009 7:52 am**

How big/tall is the hump? I think you'll be fine as it appears far enough forward to be out of the water when planing. Have you seen any pics of this hull on plane?

Posted: **Thu Sep 24, 2009 8:26 am**

This is the only picture I can find. It's the ZenBasser, which was pretty significantly heavier than I hope mine will be. Frritz built it bassboat style which always seems to pack on the pounds

Thanks

Will

Posted: **Thu Sep 24, 2009 8:33 pm**

Man that's a tough call based on that pic. I would wait to see what Jacques says on this one. What was the "fix" in these pictures?

Posted: **Thu Sep 24, 2009 9:45 pm**

I'm with Craig, that's a tough call. I'm also wondering about that fix. Trim tabs, raising the engine, doelfin, was the hump even involved in the fix, or the problem which created the need for a fix

What was the fix?

I'm inclined to think the hump may act as a skeg or keel at low speeds, and help tracking. A good thing. Probably no effect at planing speeds, it's out of the water. That's only wet at displacement speeds. I don't know of any planing 15' boats that will have 8' of boat in the water when planing. About half that would be more normal, but I'm not the designer either. Interested to hear what he thinks, but I think it's OK. Sure hope so, it would be difficult to do anything about it at this point

sure hope you don't need to. Naw, it'll be OK

Posted: **Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:17 pm**

For what it's worth, this yellow boat hull is built like that. The bottom of the vee in the cutwater area is about 1½" deeper than its little keel in the planing area, as referenced from the flat aft section.

The only quirk to this boat is related to the fact that it has no flare.
I agree with Larry, it probably won't be noticeable.

Posted: **Fri Sep 25, 2009 1:04 am**

C.L. the fix on the Fritz's GV15 was a big hook in the bottom. With his boat he had about 3/4" hook in the planing section which created the need for his fix.He fixed it by marking the low areas, gluing plywood to them, sanding it flat, refiberglassing over the area, refairing the area, repainting the area, and then kicking butt in his new and improved boat

It was reading about his problem which has made me so picky about how straight my planing section is. I guess I should've paid a little closer attention to the bow as well

This hump is the same one that previously made me concerned that I had a hook in my hull. Shine said that it was not a hook it was a prominent bow hump which was created by not being able to pull the panels together tight enough during my stitching phase. If I had to guess tonight I would say that the bow hump is probably 2 inches deeper than the planing section.

Sounds like I may need to move my center of gravity back and raise the bow. Maybe I should add WAY TOO MUCH outboard

or maybe a couple of cases of beer worth of weight on the way out and a limit of fish on the way back would cut it?

Thanks for the input guys, I guess with this one only time will tell.

Will

Posted: **Fri Sep 25, 2009 3:06 pm**

Small accomplishments. That's the motto of this month. I've pretty much been working in 1 hour spare time increments. Todays "big" accomplishment was that I got the drain, livewell drain and intake, and bilge drain areas drilled out, filled with putty and taped up tight. I've got a paint, graphite shipment coming on the 28th, so I've got alot of sanding to do before then

Will

Posted: **Fri Sep 25, 2009 3:11 pm**

By the way. I meant to take a picture of the drilled out pieces. That damn transom got THICK in a hurry. This is gonna be one tough boat.

Will

I'll send the pictures when I get home from work around 1am.

Posted: **Fri Sep 25, 2009 3:26 pm**

I don't know if she will be able to do this ....

but let's see what Jacques says.

Posted: **Sat Sep 26, 2009 1:00 am**

I think she'll be able to handle that. All I would need is Mud buddy motor and a 12 pack of beer and we'd be in business

With transoms this thick and tough who knows what these boats can really handle.

By the way these we're drilled from the portion of the transom that don't even have the clamping board. That brings the transom up to a whopping 2+" thick. WOW. I guess some of you guys aren't as impressed anymore since you've been around the block a time or two, but Jacque's designs never cease to amaze and impress me

Will

Posted: **Sat Sep 26, 2009 11:32 am**

I think I'd need more than a 12 pack.

For some reason that sprint boat track reminds me of a flooded moto-cross track.

Posted: **Fri Oct 23, 2009 5:58 pm**

Still chippin' away at her. I started this project thinking work boat finish and done by November

Now all of these recent finished boats keep lookin' better and better. C.L., Capeman, Bassmun, KS8, The Jimzee, Wobbly's C17. Just to name a few. There's at least another 10-20 of you who deserve to be on my crap list as well. Once my wife spotted your boats, my butt has been a sweatin' and a workin' ever since.

No workboat finish here. In fact if I don't finish this thing in a hurry I might as well build her in solid GOLD.

That being said, I am about finished with my "last run of fairing." I wanted to post a picture of the squeegie I have used on this round. It has been WAY easier and WAY better results using this than the plastic spreaders I was using. I love the yellow spreaders for fiberglassing and epoxy work, but you all should try the plastic bathroom squeegie for finish work with fairing. I'll post pics of the boat tomorrow when I get home from work

Will

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