1966 Crestliner North Star project

Snow was pretty light and fluffy so I took the backpack leaf blower to the boat and blew most of it out of my way. Cut some more bolts out and removed an old bracket that probably held a radio at some point. I got the bow floor out and now have a good template for making the new floor.

While cleaning out the debris from under the floor, I found a 1/4 inch breaker bar. It still had a socket attached to it, but I don't think any amount of soaking in oil or PB blaster will ever bring this back to life.



Dave
 
I had another thought on the trailer wiring. Instead of splitting the harness at the rear end of the tongue run all 4 wires to one side or the other then across the rear with the brown (taillight), green (ground) and the appropriate turn/ brake wire to the other side. Simplifies the harness and makes the eventual troubleshooting easier. Also if you run the wires inside some 1/2" PVC it will last longer.
 
Tom, great suggestion. I will keep this in mind as I patiently wait for some better weather to get back to work on the boat.


Dave
 
On the lights. Make sure the ones you posted are flood lights and not spot lights? The ones shown look to me to be spot lights. Check the specs and look at the beam angle. If it is under 40, these are spot lights and you would not be happy with them.


I would also check the lumen output of the light (how much light does it put out). 18W draw I am guessing will put out around 1500 - 2000 lumens depending upon the LED's chosen and how they are driven. A typical fluorescent tube light that draws 32 watts will put out 2000 - 2500 lumen as a comparison.


I have used an LED tube that put out 2000 lumens to illuminate an ice fishing area and it lit it up pretty good. 2000 lumens should be plenty bright for you to see what you are doing.


One more thing. Make sure the lights you choose are rated for wet applications. Most reputable LED list their lamps as either dry (indoor), damp (can get some water, but not continuous exposure - think can light under and eve outdoor) and wet (can get soaked).


Mark W
 
Mark, thanks for the info. I had done some research and think that I selected correctly on what I ordered.....time will tell. They are in an aluminum housing and are supposed to be waterproof, dustproof, and corrosion resistant with 1800 lumens. The beam angle is 30 so I'm guessing by your info that these are more for spot lights. This still might work since I will need lights for different reasons. I think the spots will be more effective in the front and floods will be better suited for the rear of the boat. Hopefully it's what I wanted and will do the job, if not, they are going back. What are your thoughts?


Dave
 
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What a difference a day makes. Almost a foot of snow yesterday.......30-40mph winds with torrential rains this morning.......and into sunny skies and 53 degrees by this afternoon. So, I got home, changed my clothes, hooked up the pressure washer and was able to pressure wash the inside and out. This simple little step has been holding me up for several other steps which will follow. Now that it's out of the way, I can figure out my next tasks for tomorrow evening after work. The registration and new trailer plate came in today so they have been installed. I can also get a piece of aluminum and my engraver and build a new trailer registration plate and mount it since the other one has dissolved. Do we really need to make registration plates out of a foil sticker? How many years have we known that this doesn't work for a very long time? I'm done ranting and I am done for the evening. More tomorrow.


Dave
 
Good morning, Dave~

I keep scratching my head - and smiling - when I see all the snow everyone south of me is getting this year. I have not fired up the snowblower yet - much less put the chains on my tractor.

I am wondering about those electrical box covers: Aren't they zinc-plated steel? I'm thinking they will shortly become companion pieces to that breaker and socket. I believe I have seen plastic covers for plastic boxes - might be a better choice. Or, just makes some from aluminum sheet.

Best of luck with your weather!

SJS
 
Good morning, Dave~

I keep scratching my head - and smiling - when I see all the snow everyone south of me is getting this year. I have not fired up the snowblower yet - much less put the chains on my tractor.

I am wondering about those electrical box covers: Aren't they zinc-plated steel? I'm thinking they will shortly become companion pieces to that breaker and socket. I believe I have seen plastic covers for plastic boxes - might be a better choice. Or, just makes some from aluminum sheet.

Best of luck with your weather!

SJS
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Yes and where the box covers are stamped for pop outs and edges and the screw slots are not even plated. Looks like a lot of zinc plated chain, washers, bolts, nuts... That are going to rust instantly. Lot of headaches to be caused in the near future.
 
Steve, thanks for pointing that out. I was wondering about them corroding, but I don't think I had ever seen one corroded. If you think this will be the case, I will definitely look into getting some aluminum and cutting some plates.


Dave
 
Steve, thanks for the lookout. I will look into aluminum plates this week.
Todd, I am trying to replace as much as possible with "better than original" parts. I'm using stainless hardware on the boat and some on the trailer. The boat is my biggest concern and watching a budget is a significant factor (stainless adds up fast). I agree with the corrosion aspect, but I'm pretty good at taking care of and maintaining my gear. Thanks for the info.


Dave
 
Steve, thanks for the lookout. I will look into aluminum plates this week.
Todd, I am trying to replace as much as possible with "better than original" parts. I'm using stainless hardware on the boat and some on the trailer. The boat is my biggest concern and watching a budget is a significant factor (stainless adds up fast). I agree with the corrosion aspect, but I'm pretty good at taking care of and maintaining my gear. Thanks for the info.


Dave
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Dave, you complained about the amount of rusted bolts on the trailer and those that were rusty on there started out as the plated you are putting back on (not plain steel). You are putting the same stuff on as was there. There is a much better option and that is hot dipped galvanized, which is the dull gray bolts, nuts and washers (compared to shiny plated that rusts very fast). The plated will rust very quickly, the galvanized is much better. Stainless is best, but hot dipped galvanized is much better than the plated you are using.
 
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Tod - thanks. I will stop at the hardware store on the way home and see what they got. Fortunately I didn't get very far with replacing much of the bolts on the trailer because of the weather.


Dave
 
I didn't get a lot of time with the boat tonight but I did manage to stop at the local hardware store and pick up some stuff. I got plenty of galvanized hardware as suggested and just need to find an uncomfortable position under the trailer to finish cutting off the old bolts . They didn't have any aluminum sheets so I bought some plastic electrical box covers which I will see if they will do the trick or not.....I can always cut aluminum plates later if needed.


I did have a small piece of aluminum which I used to engrave the trailer VIN into and rivet it to the fender.



I got inside and started to apply sealer into the floor which I hope will a) seal up any leaks (not that I have found any) and b) quiet the hull down some.



I also began to apply primer. Not a bad evening of work.



QUESTION - The boat appears to have never had any type of floatation in it and I would like to add some. My thought is to apply floatation into the two side pockets (on each side) fore and aft, into the bow and stern areas. I would leave the two middle compartments open (fore and aft) to use for storage. Would sheet floatation or expanding foam be better? What does everyone use when building or restoring boats?


Dave
 
Christmas came today in the form of many new parts. The new LED lights for the bow came and a quick hookup to a battery looks like they might work just fine for spot lights off of the bow. I will get floods for the rear in time. New tires came and I installed them when I got home.



I "loosely" bolted the spare tire on the tongue but I doubt that is where it will stay. Still weighing my options on the trailer real-estate.



The new boot for the controls came but I'm not ready to install it yet so it will have to wait. The weather is supposed to be great this weekend so I'm hoping to get some painting done and maybe get started on the floor. Still need some input on what to use for floatation....sheets, foam......combo of both?
More tomorrow.


Dave
 
I ordered some 2-part from Raka that I'm going to pour tomorrow. One thing I noticed is that it needs to be a least 75 degrees to get maximum expansion. That might be an issue for you're if your wanting to get it done soon and you are working outside.
 
Mark, thanks for the info. I had done some research and think that I selected correctly on what I ordered.....time will tell. They are in an aluminum housing and are supposed to be waterproof, dustproof, and corrosion resistant with 1800 lumens. The beam angle is 30 so I'm guessing by your info that these are more for spot lights. This still might work since I will need lights for different reasons. I think the spots will be more effective in the front and floods will be better suited for the rear of the boat. Hopefully it's what I wanted and will do the job, if not, they are going back. What are your thoughts?


Dave
Click to expand...

30 degree spot means 15 degree spread of light on either side of a center line. The most common household LED spot is 25 degree and it is a pretty tight beam of light. I don't have the info in front of me but you can check beam illumination sizes of various beam angles. It will tell you the diameter of the illumination at various distances from the source. You can them determine if this will work for you or not.

Cree makes good products and controls their beam spread well. It they say 30 degree spot, it will be a 30 degree spot.

For comparison. A true spot light will have a much tighter beam spread than 30 degrees. The 25 degree spread I mentioned earlier is the most common beam angle used in houses, museums etc.
 
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Good info J.P., I figured temperature was going to play a part with the two part style. I need to do some more investigating online to see what might work.


Dave
 
Hey Tom.....I will fasten a wooden ski to the trailer tongue also in case I lose both tires at the same time. What do you think?


Dave
 
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