GF18 ramblings

[gstanfield]

Still looks nice, good to see you got it on the trailer and heading south. I'm sure you guys will slay some redfish with her down there in Texas. I like the textured finish inside and the hatches looks to be pretty convienent too.

George

[mecreature]

that is a nice looking boat Prarie Dog... No fair having 2 helpers..LOL

Good bang for the buck on the GF18..

[Prarie Dog]

Thanks for the comments on the build. I had more than two helpers I had 5. Two lady epoxy mix specialist, the two retired guy helpers and perhaps the most important one was the painter/body guy I begged, cajoled, cursed, threatened to take sublet jobs away from, and then finally bribed to help me get it fair and paint it. I am a boob at fairing and sanding. I think I applied and sanded off three gallons of quick fair before I went and got mr bondo. He inspected my work, told me to stay away from the body business and went to work. He accomplished more with one gallon of quick fair than I did with three, that was humiliating. I think the guys that do this well have sniffed enough bondo dust and controlled substances to put themselves in another state of consciouscness that allows them to look at a panel and see low spots that guys like me cannot. It was amazing to watch him get this boat almost perfect in about 12 hours after I jacked around for thirty or so. There is a moral in there somewhere, something like if you need help, go get it. I did manage to fair the topsidesl with Mr bondo supervising my efforts. After watching him I think I can do the next one myself. He used an airfisle and an absolutely fantastic professional grade DA sander that is branded Snap On. IR probably built it. Without all these people and the support of the guys on this forum this project wouldn't have happend this quick.

[gstanfield]

Looks nice with that outboard hanging on there

[Prarie Dog]

Thanks for posting the pic. George. One of these days I'll figure out how to do that.

[Cracker Larry]

That looks awesome! Have you run the Tohatsu yet? Sure looks good on there

[Aripeka Angler]

Looks nice with that outboard hanging on there

Prarie Dog, that looks killer nice. Now I see what you were talking about with it looking kind of like my boat. I had to do a double take I can see I am not the only one with a boat addiction, you got boats all over the place man I took this pic today of my boat. They must be at least cousins



Richard

[Prarie Dog]

CL, that is the first Tohatsu I have ever owned. I'll let everyone know how it works out. The 50 horse was only $500 more than the 40 horse. Kind of a no brainer, same physical size and same weight. AA, I didn't know that you had painted your boat. They look like first cousins. I like to fly fish for reds, the shallow draft of this boat and all the deck area were the main reasons I picked it. Grandpa wanted to build the XF20 but the size and cost of the thing were a little overwhelming. I used enough epoxy on this boat to build a XF20. Thanks for the compliments, I really appreciate them!!
PS. Those boats are customer boats at a shop in Texas called Fiber Works, they aren't mine.