Texas Flats Boat

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Jeff
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Re: Texas Flats Boat

Post by Jeff »

That stinks wwsmith!!! Jeff

TomW1
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Re: Texas Flats Boat

Post by TomW1 »

Dang ww, that doesn't sound right. Sounds like it might have it might have been to cool. Generally the foam will expand upward and not outward. What a bummer for you. :(

Tom
Restored Mirror Dinghy, Bought OD18 built by CL, Westlawn School of Yacht Design courses. LT US Navy 1970-1978

pee wee
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Re: Texas Flats Boat

Post by pee wee »

I've seen builders warn not to trim the foam too soon, as it continues to expand for a day or so; that's doing the opposite. Very frustrating, Thanks for sharing the experience. I guess lining the cavities with plastic sheet would isolate the foam, pouring in stages would keep it cooler (I thought the warmer the better). How would pouring through a hole be an improvement?
Hank

wwsmith
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Re: Texas Flats Boat

Post by wwsmith »

Yes, I still don't know. The temps were pretty good when we mixed and poured. The material was at 60 degrees when mixing and the air temp was about 8.. I know because my kids were shooting the material with an infrared temp gauge partly as an experiment to see how hot it would get while it was reacting (ended up being well over 100 degrees).

Got home yesterday and the boat had taken back some of its form, which it good. I can only guess the relief cuts helped. I went ahead and sealed the tops just to prevent any water from getting trapped.

Pee Wee, I think with the deck on, there would have been enough strength to keep the panels from bowing. I had the same thought about a plastic sheet. Would be an easy way to prevent this.
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wwsmith
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Re: Texas Flats Boat

Post by wwsmith »

Weighed the boat. 1450 lbs. The console weights about 150 lbs. so figuring 1300 for the finished hull. That's about 100 more than I was hoping for, but my goal number was completely arbitrary based on other hull weights I've seen.
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Jeff
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Re: Texas Flats Boat

Post by Jeff »

wwsmith, really nice work!!! Jeff

TomW1
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Re: Texas Flats Boat

Post by TomW1 »

wwsmith looking good. When you decide on a motor let me know and I will help you get a triple cup prop to get up on plane fast and run super shallow.

Tom
Restored Mirror Dinghy, Bought OD18 built by CL, Westlawn School of Yacht Design courses. LT US Navy 1970-1978

wwsmith
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Re: Texas Flats Boat

Post by wwsmith »

Thanks, Tom. I ended up with a 2021 Mercury 115 with the command thrust lower unit. Had my mind made up to get the powertech SWW that everyone likes so much, but they don't make that model in the size I need for my gearcase. The folks doing my rigging are big mercury fans, so they'll be pushing for a mercury prop. Really hoping for the added cup to be able to run the motor jacked up much higher than normal. Any help is appreciated.

wwsmith
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Re: Texas Flats Boat

Post by wwsmith »

Scheduled to take boat in for rigging this week, so last weekend was the last chance to finish up. Truth is, we needed another complete round of fairing and priming, but the boat has received as much time a we could allow. Time for other projects.

I planned to use soft sand for the nonskid and was intending to paint the boat all one color with EMC. Since it was all one color, I decided to put down the nonskid first to save time. I had leftover Snow White EMC from the LM 18 that I was going to use to put the nonskid down, then top coat with spray Pure White EMC. I called EMC to confirm my plan to roll on a base, sprinkle nonskid, roll on a seal coat, then spray the whole boat. EMC said no need to do the roll of seal coat and that it would look much better to spray directly on the nonskid. I was concerned about lack of paint with their kit made for a 28' boat. They assured me I had PLENTY of paint. NOPE! I'll give them the benefit of the doubt because we didn't specifically discuss the type of nonskid we were using. Maybe then they would have realized the amount of paint we needed.

Worked late nights to get it ready. Built a temporary paint booth in 18 MPH winds. It was a bitch but held up. Started spraying. The painter is a friend/neighbor and is a professional bodyman. Very experienced painter. He was disappointed in my level of finish on the boat and there were a number of pin holes. His work looked very good, other than the blemishes from my work. But the real issue was the small volume of paint. We sprayed the 28' kit of EMC and it would have been enough to cover the boat without any nonskid, but there would be nothing leftover. Only two coats. EMC told me we'd easily get 3.

As the painting was proceeding I could see the writing on the wall. No way we could finish. My buddy just shrugged and said, sand it all off and try it again next week. We sprayed out what we had and he went home.

I was determined to finish so I rolled another top coat of the old paint on top of the nonskid only. It took the same volume of paint to cover the nonskid as what was provided in the 28' kit, if not a little more. About a half gallon of paint, plus activator and reducer, a gallon total. We were lucky to have that old paint (old, but not beyond the shelf life). Otherwise, this would have been a redo.

I was actually really happy with how it turned out. It looks good. There are 5-6 areas where a small cluster of pinholes is present, but all in all, no complaints. I still really like EMC, but be aware of the volume needed.

Will install hatches and rub rail this week the send for rigging.
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cape man
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Re: Texas Flats Boat

Post by cape man »

Beautimous! Glad you had the old paint available. Sanding that beast again would suck!

I bought a 4-blade Solas prop for the OD 18 that is great when jacked all the way up. Was a bit cheaper than the comparable Power Tech.
The world always seems brighter when you've just made something that wasn't there before - Neil Gaiman

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