SK14 in Katy, TX

[TexasCoastReds]

Progress update:

• The sole, hatch, deck, and side cubbies have been installed, glassed, faired and sanded.

• The skeg has been installed and the underside has been faired and sanded. For the skeg I used some hard maple I had lying about the shop; it's also been glassed.

• The fairing process took much longer than expected. I used my drywall taping knifes and feathering knife to do most of the work. Both the upper and underside took two coating of fairing compound with sanding between coats.

• I've sent the templates to Marine Mat for quote.

To do:

• The upper side has been curing for about a week, so it'll be ready for primer and paint this week. The underside will be sanded back tomorrow and ready for primer and paint next week after Christmas.

• I am using S3 Pennant (yacht) primer with the EMC Quantum 99 top coat for the sides and deck. I will be applying a graphite/epoxy coating to the below waterline section.

• Once the paint is on, the lights and hardware will be installed. I've got Tessilmare R30 rub rail cut, and all holes epoxied and drilled.

Nearly there...

[cape man]

Looking good!

[TexasCoastReds]

Thanks Cape Man!

Got the top coat on the sole and deck. Had some small issues with the first 3 coats that didn't resolve them selves.....so I ended up wet-sanding the whole lot and applying another 3 coats to get the finish to level out properly. Wishing I had just built a spray booth and used my HVLP system in the first place....lesson learned.

Got the lights installed and hatches in place. Next up is to sand, prime, and graphite/paint the underside.

I'm having a bit of a nightmare with my Total Boat bilge paint inside the hatches. I prepped, primed and cleaned the surface and applied per the instructions. I've ended up with a wrinkled and blistered mess. I'm currently about half way through scraping the entire finish off, and I'll just use the left over EMC stuff I have to paint the inside of the hatches.

[fallguy1000]

It wrinkled because your solvents had not flashed off. Those low places require a final step of blowing a fan in there to get any remaining cleaning agents out; even H2O. I know because I had the damndest time getting some areas dried for paint.

[TexasCoastReds]

Ahh that makes sense, so the solvent in the fresh coat was lingering there and causing the previous coats to soften up? I'll scrap, sand, prep and try again with the fan tip.

Thank you.

[TexasCoastReds]

Well the hull is completed.

I have my game warden inspection this week and at the beginning of the week the underside of the hull was.......uncoated. It was a little bit touch and go with the local temps that have dropped below freezing. This, and the fact that I had laid out my coating schedule based on the 70F re-coat time, which would have left me plenty time before the inspection. Fortunately, I have some oil filled heaters that were able to keep my shop in the 60s. With the heaters and a couple of late nights, the hull is complete.

On the bottom there is 3 coats of Cracker Larry recipe graphite, 2 coats of 3S Pennant, and 3 coats of EMC Q99 top coat (same as the topsides).

[TexasCoastReds]

The boat is 99% complete, the only thing left is to install the my decking once that arrives. I got the game warden inspection done the other week and the boat registered.

[cape man]

Awesome rig!! Gorgeous.

[TexasCoastReds]

Thank you. While I am waiting for my Marine mat order, I was able to get the USCG safety check completed. This morning I took her for the maiden voyage...It was interesting.

One thing that I found was that the scupper hole made it rather tricky during trailer launch at the ramp. As the boat was backed down and then backed off the trailer, the reverse gear combined with the bow being held up at the trailer, resulted in a LOT of water being brought onboard. This was with just me on the boat. I took my buddy along with me and I think at a combined 400 lb, we were running heavier than I would have liked. For future trips, I will most likely keep it to just myself and my kids (300 lb total)

Overall, I'm very happy. I can't wait for it to warm up down here and to get out into the flats/marsh. I will post another update once the marine mat comes in.

A couple of things I am going to figure out:

• A better tiller extension, the Helmsmate once I'm use feels very flimsy

• Check/flapper valve at the scupper. I wonder if I can have a rubber flap on the outside of the scupper to act as a check valve to stop water from flooding the sole during launches and when I'm sitting towards the back fiddling with the outboard. It would not impeded the scupper hole draining the sole.

• Trailer mods.....I need to get a spare

[TexasCoastReds]

Well I figured out an way to change gears without having to sit back and lean over the transom, this will be handy during launch and pulling the boat in and out of water.

I didn't want to drill into the new outboard, so I used the existing handle bolt holes. I need to swap out the fasteners to aluminum to prevent galvanic corrosion; I also need use wear bushing washers.

One issue I have with the outboard I have is the tiller handle kicks off the outboard at quite an angle. With a 36" tiller extension this makes right hand turns quite awkward. I can't use a bent tiller exntsion for obvious reasons...the throttle rotation would cause the bent part to sweep in an arc. I can see three options that fix this, one is less than ideal, the other two are rather involved.

• Option 1 - Universal joint tiller extension. I'm not a fan of this option because when the tiller is not in use, it's sitting on the floor.

• Option 2 - Tapered washer shim existing tiller handle at the interface to the outboard motor. I like this option, but the throttle cables will have to lengthen to accommodate the shim thickness. This will push the tiller handle closer to the centerline of the boat so I can use a standard tiller extension.

• Option 3- remove the tiller throttle handle and add a bent tiller section closer to the centerline of the boat. Then add the throttle handle at the end of that. This way I can use a shaft and u-joint at the interface to where the existing throttle handle sits. Alternatively, I could use a flexible shaft from a weed eater to make the bend and transmit the torque. This lets me leave the existing throttle cables intact.

• Option 4 - the radiator hose. I think this is the option I'm going to try first. I will just add a section of stiff radiator hose to the end of the tiller extension. This will allow to bend the tiller while still transmitting torque to the throttle. It will also allow me to push and pull the tiller like a universal joint, but without falling to the ground when I let go.

Has anybody else encountered this issue, or is it unique to the single cylinder (4-6hp) Yamaha's?