1963 Sea Coaster Deluxe project

Questions/concerns/issues. How did the other guy do it? Find out here.

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chvjillson
Posts: 34
Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2008 6:56 am
Location: Boscobel, WI

Post by chvjillson »

Thanks Andreas for the reply. With a DeWalt DW421 5" random orbital sander, I was able to take the rest of the paint off.

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As you can see in these images, I discovered several areas where somebody patched up the boat using different kinds of putty. Most of these areas still look good, but a spot or two I do see some cracks. All of the repairs looks like it's only a layer or two deep into the 5 layer plywood lapstrake.

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Should I try to remove as much of this old putty as possible? If so, what should I use to patch these areas up again?
LancerBoy
Posts: 1417
Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2008 3:47 am
Location: Minneapolis

Post by LancerBoy »

If that putty filler is really stuck, I would just leave it.

Andreas
W Guy
Posts: 199
Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2008 10:30 am

Post by W Guy »

I would look at the INSIDE of those areas to see if there was more damage that required wood replacement. If there's a HOLE there that is just "fixed" with putty, then new wood is required. (my opinion)

Verne
chvjillson
Posts: 34
Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2008 6:56 am
Location: Boscobel, WI

Post by chvjillson »

Last night I was able to check all of the patched up areas, and all of them are just on the surface ... none of the patches go through the entire laps, so that was good news. I did chip away some of the loose putty, but most of it is solid.

I also removed the outer keel and stem and didn't find any rotten wood.

Before I start applying CPES, should I first patch up the remaining dings with Smith's Fill-It epoxy filler, or allow CPES to treat the wood before applying the filler?

Also, should I tighten all the brass nuts before applying CPES, or after to allow it to penetrate between the lapstrakes first?
Portside
Posts: 40
Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2009 8:38 pm
Location: Wisconsin

Re: 1963 Sea Coaster Deluxe project

Post by Portside »

On my 62 T&T I tightened all nuts after I CPESed the bilge and before I CPESed the exterior hull. Then new epoxy putty, epoxy primer, Kirby Hull and Deck semi gloss white. Boat Life caulk on strake seams. Bilge is Interlux Bilgekote. Two years and zero leaks. Looks great.
chvjillson
Posts: 34
Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2008 6:56 am
Location: Boscobel, WI

Re: 1963 Sea Coaster Deluxe project

Post by chvjillson »

Well we're finally getting around to working on the boat some more! A while ago I was able to find a long white oak board that I would be able to use for the keel and stem ... it's about 170" long, which is a few inches shorter than the original, but it was the best I could find.

A guy in town did a big favor for me as he was able to take that board and shape it to what you see in the first image. He did a great job! Taking the original stem, he then created a mold and a bunch of clamps that I can use to shape the stem part of this long piece.

This past weekend I created the steamer ... taking a 4" diameter PVC pipe, capping one end of it, and adding a few 3/8" wood dowels to help support the wood piece inside the steamer. I'm hoping this weekend I can steam this board and clamp it to the mold.

Question for the group, how long should I steam this board until it's ready to be bent?

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Torchie
Posts: 270
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2010 4:55 pm
Location: Alden, Michigan

Re: 1963 Sea Coaster Deluxe project

Post by Torchie »

Rull of thumb for steaming is one hour per inch of thickness.
When I bent my ribs which were approx. a half inch thick I steamed then for 30 Minutes.
Not knowing how much experience you have with this I will offer some unsolicited thoughts from my steaming experience.

1.DO NOT totaly block off the end of your steam tube. You want the steam to flow thru. Think of steam
coming out of the spout on a water kettle. I use a shop towel that is loosely stuck in the steam box end.
If the steam doesn't flow thru the tube you will not achieve the desired results.
2. Drill a small hole in the side of your tube and put in a cheap kitchen thermometer. You will want 212 dgrees F as that is the boiling point of water.
I would puy it towards the open end of the tube. Seal the hole with a little RV type casket coumpond.
3. Don't be suprized if the PVC tube gets soft. The steam will do that.
4. Have a good pair of heavy gloves on to handle the steamed wood with. It will be hot.
The pics shows my steamer going at a full boil. The shop towel is laying on top. The thermometer is on the backside of the box about where the towel is. I blocked about half the opening with the towel.
IMG_0106.JPG
IMG_0106.JPG (56.15 KiB) Viewed 31552 times
Hope this helps and good luck. Let us know how it turns out.
Torchie.
chvjillson
Posts: 34
Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2008 6:56 am
Location: Boscobel, WI

Re: 1963 Sea Coaster Deluxe project

Post by chvjillson »

Thanks Torchie for the great tips! The other night I got my steamer going ... with an old Coleman single burner camping stove and a tea kettle, and a heater hose running from the kettle's spout to the end of the tube. After about an hour and a half of steaming I quickly clamped the stem/keel to the mold. It worked!

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Torchie
Posts: 270
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2010 4:55 pm
Location: Alden, Michigan

Re: 1963 Sea Coaster Deluxe project

Post by Torchie »

Good for you. Where there's a will. There's a way.
Nice use of the coleman. I used a turkey fryer setup for mine.
Keep at it.
Karl.
W Guy
Posts: 199
Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2008 10:30 am

Re: 1963 Sea Coaster Deluxe project

Post by W Guy »

I love the engine-nu-i-ty! I hope I never have to do it, but now I know how. Very cool! (I mean HOT)

Verne :D
chvjillson
Posts: 34
Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2008 6:56 am
Location: Boscobel, WI

Re: 1963 Sea Coaster Deluxe project

Post by chvjillson »

We're back at working on the boat after some time off. I'm going to get the '63 Gator model 417 trailer sand blasted soon, and I plan to apply the primer and paint. I'm wondering what color would be closest to what Gator applied to their trailers in '63? It seems to me that earlier trailers made by Gator had a bright yellow color (like Rustoleum sunburst yellow) where those made in '62/'63 had more of a cream color. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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chvjillson
Posts: 34
Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2008 6:56 am
Location: Boscobel, WI

Re: 1963 Sea Coaster Deluxe project

Post by chvjillson »

We had some great help this weekend working on the boat. We wanted to start filling in some dings and scrapes on the hull using Smith's Fill-It Epoxy Filler. This stuff works really well ... easy to mix and apply. The 12oz kit wasn't quite enough to complete the job, so we'll need to get some more this week.
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LancerBoy
Posts: 1417
Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2008 3:47 am
Location: Minneapolis

Re: 1963 Sea Coaster Deluxe project

Post by LancerBoy »

There are bunches of old boat trailer brochures at www.fiberglassics.com in the Glassic Library section

Someone is making or had made "Gator" decals.

Andreas
chvjillson
Posts: 34
Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2008 6:56 am
Location: Boscobel, WI

Re: 1963 Sea Coaster Deluxe project

Post by chvjillson »

I spent some time today tightening all the fasteners ... starting from the inside with a 5/16 socket. As my son and I did some inspecting, we noticed most of them will not tighten unless somebody on the other side holds the bolt securely with a phillips head screwdriver. Change of plans ... now we're working on removing the old filler from each bolt before tightening.
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Last edited by chvjillson on Fri Jun 26, 2015 4:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
chvjillson
Posts: 34
Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2008 6:56 am
Location: Boscobel, WI

Re: 1963 Sea Coaster Deluxe project

Post by chvjillson »

Today I pulled back the wood strip that covers the last set of fasteners on both sides of the boat, and noticed a strip of plastic behind this wood piece. Does anybody know why that's there?

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