Starting the AA Broadbill project

[Eric Patterson]

Cheap or High quality?

Cheap (<$100) - Parker's duck boat paint over their house primer. I've had good results from this combo.

Parker Coatings

High quality (>$300) - Two-part automotive paint matched to your color with matting agent over two-part epoxy-based primer. I use Nason brand available at Finishmaster at 1795 Sportsman Ln just down the road from the old Wiley's Sporting Goods location, 256-539-1669.

 

[RM Anderson]

Scott,
One alternative to a high quality automotive paint as Eric recommended is a relatively new type of waterborne silicone paint which can be applied with a sprayer or if you are a novice like me, with a paint roller. I've had outstanding results with a product called Wetlander. Very slippery and tough finish that is easy to touch up when needed. Richard

 

[RM Anderson]

Scott, If you have any questions contact Scott Hogan. He is the guy who can answer any Wetlander related questions you may have:

Scott Hogan

(518) 469-3612

scott.hogan@wearloncorp.com

 

[William Reinicke]

Scott,
One alternative to a high quality automotive paint as Eric recommended is a relatively new type of waterborne silicone paint which can be applied with a sprayer or if you are a novice like me, with a paint roller. I've had outstanding results with a product called Wetlander. Very slippery and tough finish that is easy to touch up when needed. Richard

I almost mentioned this, but I have only applied to it aluminum hulls. Never to any wood or fiberglass. Although many of their pics on the website show fiberglass being done with the stuff. It really is outstanding stuff. I second the durability and the slickness of it. I too hand roll it on and have very good results. Great recommendation if it is appropriate for this build.

 

[RM Anderson]

William, Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the Navy uses this type of paint as an anti fouling paint on their hulls because it is so slick and it is non toxic unlike the ablative paints normally used. Richard

 

[William Reinicke]

William, Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the Navy uses this type of paint as an anti fouling paint on their hulls because it is so slick and it is non toxic unlike the ablative paints normally used. Richard

You may be correct and it wouldnt shock me if that was the case. I honestly do not know, but its outstanding stuff and I have always been very impressed when I have applied wetlander to any of the boats i have put it on.

 

[ScottCK]

I have a call in to Scott at Wetlander to discuss. However, I may lean towards the Parkers or FME for this project. I am not being cheap but just don't know that spending more on the paint than I did on the boat and trailer is how I want to go with it.

The next decision is do I go with an open water gray or a traditional OD green? I want to use the boat as more of an open water layout than a bank hunting boat. Birds around here DO NOT like the bank or even the grass islands. While I don't expect that I will be quite as effective as my true pumpkinseed layouts, it would give me the option when it is just me. But I do love the traditional OD Green look....

Thoughts?

 

[William Reinicke]

I have a call in to Scott at Wetlander to discuss. However, I may lean towards the Parkers or FME for this project. I am not being cheap but just don't know that spending more on the paint than I did on the boat and trailer is how I want to go with it.

The next decision is do I go with an open water gray or a traditional OD green? I want to use the boat as more of an open water layout than a bank hunting boat. Birds around here DO NOT like the bank or even the grass islands. While I don't expect that I will be quite as effective as my true pumpkinseed layouts, it would give me the option when it is just me. But I do love the traditional OD Green look....

Thoughts?

Ive done all my boats in traditional Green or in a color that is close to the camo the boat comes in. If you intend to hunt out of it in open water, you absolutely should do some sort of gray. I have never owned a boat that color or hunted out of the middle open big water like that. So I am out on that color, but even then, I use my boats for transport only. Hunt bank lines or back marshes with my kayak if I need to get out in the middle. I am going to build a boat blind this year as I found some sneaky little pockets, but deep deep water. Ill grass mine to look natural with the environment. I get a lots of flooded little brush trees, almost kicking around the idea of making some custom PVC trees to attach to the front of the blind to give it more depth and break up the blind. Wouldnt take anything to to just attach them to the netting on the blind and then unclip it and haul them home. Not sure what that looks like. But thats neither here nor there... back on track Scott.

The REAL question........... you cutting from the inside or the outside. The suspense is killing me.

 

[ScottCK]

The REAL question........... you cutting from the inside or the outside. The suspense is killing me.

I was trying to avoid this topic


Decided to go the inside route. The wood was so far gone that it only took me a couple of hours to get all the wood out and most of that was sanding on the last ply that did soak up resin and cleaning out the channel between the end of the floor and the inner skin of the transom. I was able to do it without exposing any of the wood in the floor. You can see a section on the outer skin where the wood was never bonded to it.

It is now ready for Coosa board but the supplier is out of stock until the end of the month.

The original transom was built with 1/2" plywood across the whole transom and a 1" board where the motor mounts. As the transom is small and I have to buy a 4x8 sheet, I am going to run 2 3/4" boards across the full transom. I will need to shape the outer one to fit down in the 1/2" slot at the bottom but that should not be a big deal. This should make the transom bulletproof. If I ever decide to put a small mud motor on it, the transom should be plenty strong.

 

[William Reinicke]

The REAL question........... you cutting from the inside or the outside. The suspense is killing me.

I was trying to avoid this topic
View attachment 64048View attachment 64049

Decided to go the inside route. The wood was so far gone that it only took me a couple of hours to get all the wood out and most of that was sanding on the last ply that did soak up resin and cleaning out the channel between the end of the floor and the inner skin of the transom. I was able to do it without exposing any of the wood in the floor. You can see a section on the outer skin where the wood was never bonded to it.

It is now ready for Coosa board but the supplier is out of stock until the end of the month.

The original transom was built with 1/2" plywood across the whole transom and a 1" board where the motor mounts. As the transom is small and I have to buy a 4x8 sheet, I am going to run 2 3/4" boards across the full transom. I will need to shape the outer one to fit down in the 1/2" slot at the bottom but that should not be a big deal. This should make the transom bulletproof. If I ever decide to put a small mud motor on it, the transom should be plenty strong.

Excited to see the progress of this. Ive never built a boat, never really intend to but this shit is cool that you all do here. Seeing that I almost killed myself and half the household with a fiberglass mishap, I will sit back and watch the pros do pro things. Picking the harder route... you brave soul. Not sure what I would have done, as I was seeing both sides of the argument. Stuck to your gut and you're going for it. Good for you sir. Todd hopefully will forgive you for this one lol.

 

[tod osier]

Excited to see the progress of this. Ive never built a boat, never really intend to but this shit is cool that you all do here. Seeing that I almost killed myself and half the household with a fiberglass mishap, I will sit back and watch the pros do pro things. Picking the harder route... you brave soul. Not sure what I would have done, as I was seeing both sides of the argument. Stuck to your gut and you're going for it. Good for you sir. Todd hopefully will forgive you for this one lol.

There was not a doubt in my mind that he was going to cut from the inside.

 

[Clinton John]

I have a call in to Scott at Wetlander to discuss. However, I may lean towards the Parkers or FME for this project. I am not being cheap but just don't know that spending more on the paint than I did on the boat and trailer is how I want to go with it.

The next decision is do I go with an open water gray or a traditional OD green? I want to use the boat as more of an open water layout than a bank hunting boat. Birds around here DO NOT like the bank or even the grass islands. While I don't expect that I will be quite as effective as my true pumpkinseed layouts, it would give me the option when it is just me. But I do love the traditional OD Green look....

Thoughts?

Wetlander is absolutely worth every penny.

I have used in on every one of my boats the last two years and all my friends and families boats as well. Not just hunting boats either, we did up my friends ranger bass boat and my 17.5 foot pro crappie fishing boat.

 

[ScottCK]

Tod, the deciding factor was the fact that if my limited skill with fiberglass was going to be an issue, I would rather it be on the inside of the boat and not the part that keeps it from sinking. I do appreciate the advice even if I decided to go against it. The point is to get differing views and perspectives.

Wetlander does look like an awesome product and Scott was very helpful. I am moving into analysis paralysis at the moment.

 

[ScottCK]

FYI There is a sealant scrapper attachment for multitools that does an OUTSTANDING job of removing 5200 from the hull. There was a bead around the top edge of the hull where the top attaches and the tool "cut" it off without damaging the gelcoat. Took me maybe 3 minutes to go around the complete hull with the tool. As a note, it did leave some residue that I am not sure if I need to clean or not as I will be resealing with 5200 when I put the boat back together.

 

[William Reinicke]

Tod, the deciding factor was the fact that if my limited skill with fiberglass was going to be an issue, I would rather it be on the inside of the boat and not the part that keeps it from sinking. I do appreciate the advice even if I decided to go against it. The point is to get differing views and perspectives.

Wetlander does look like an awesome product and Scott was very helpful. I am moving into analysis paralysis at the moment.

If it helps, I would spend the money on it because it does a fantastic job of sealing stuff as well. You miss something on that repair job, this will prevent leaking. Ill be honest the first time I used it was because I was poor and bought a riveted jon boat that had leaky rivets all over. I took that boat EVERYWHERE but I be damned if I didnt park it and had to run the bilges for 10 min to get it floating again after 3 seasons of the hell I put it through. Ill never forget the final straw, when I took it out, shot my geese and in 2 hours, the hole ass end was under water. The bitch LEAKED! Instead of drilling out every rivet and redoing all of them, I took the motor off, flipped it over on the trailer and got to work with wetlander. That boat still floats to this day in texas and the old man that ended up with it absolutely loves the little thing. I ask him all the time if its leaking yet, and he says its still one of the driest jon boats hes ever been in. I know the cost can be scary, but look at all the Hard (extra hard) work you are putting into this boat. Buy once cry once, put the good shit on it and never have to worry about it again.