Scull boat project--Done!

All the glass is off, the initial sanding is done, and I have one coat of epoxy and some thickened epoxy filler on the top side. Depending on how well the filler coat I put on this afternoon sets up, I may finish with the filler tonight and be on to sanding the topside to prep for the glass tomorrow. One layer of 6 oz on the top, which I think I can get done solo. Then I'll flip the boat and get some help glassing the bottom on the weekend.

Got to get my paint order in to Lou . . . . . .

I've been slowed down because all my duck buddies have reached middle age, and three different people have told me their neck/back/hip is giving them too much trouble to help me move and lift the boat. My long suffering wife helped with the last move, and it only cost me a half day of replacing curtain rods.
 
Jeff,
I'm in Richmond.. My back, kneck, hips, and knee's are still somewhat healthy. Give me a shout on here, I'll give you my cell number, and if you need help
you can call me anytime.
I probably should do the same thing to mine so becareful, I may call you to help me.! hahaha

Thou, I'd rather trade my 17' scull'n boat for 2 small layout boats. 10-13 footers..
 
Since the last set of photos, I've sanded, faired, and glassed the deck. Then I flipped the boat over and went to work on sanding and fairing the bottom. Getting the old glass off left a mess behind, as it had been applied with staples, and I ended up tearing the wood with every staple as it came out. On top of that, even with the heat gun, it took a good deal of force to get off the old glass, and a force behind a metal scraper applied to cedar and pine is not a good combination.

After about 15 hours of work with an orbital sander, a fairing board, and some thickened epoxy, I had something resembling the original surface, although it sure doesn't look like a nice stripper anymore! The good news is that all the damage was on the surface--no deep gouges, and of course I'm painting the boat. Here's a photo of the worst spot--all the red you can see is patches of thickened epoxy used to bring the surface back to fair.

View attachment DSC_1806.jpg

With the surface as fair as it was going to get (three rounds of filling and sanding) I had taken several areas of the hull back down to bare wood (I put an initial coat of epoxy on before the filler), so I decided to recoat the entire hull.

Me rolling on epoxy:

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Here she is with the epoxy still wet. My buddy Mike is showing up in a few minutes to help me glass.

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Project is looking very good, I was there not too long ago. When you filling remember that the tiny stuff don't matter all that much because when you go to glass the epoxy will find level and fill it in. Good luck with it. Chris
 
No photos, but despite 90+ heat and high humidity, we got the first coat of glass down. My buddy Mike is a perfectionist and has only glassed boats he built himself in the past. We started with a sanding and fairing marathon that definitely improved the quality of the final job.

Tomorrow night I'll piece in around the keel and some other small pieces and be ready for the final layer of glass next weekend.
 
After all day Sunday with my buddy Mike, a late night Monday solo (to bed at 3 am!), and 3 hours tonight with my buddies Mike and Dave, there are two layers of glass on the entire bottom; 1 layer on the transom, and a tiny spot on the stem I need to cover tomorrow.

I'll be ready for painting this weekend! Pictures to follow.

FWIW, Raka epoxy can be successfully applied in 90 degree heat, but it ain't much fun. I think the results are OK, though.

One lesson learned--do not glass in an open barn at night with lots of lights in mid summer unless you really want some subtle 3D camo from moths, beetles, and caddis flies! Fortunately they were easy to whisk off with a little 120 grit sandpaper.
 
I'll get some photos by the weekend. I'm just in the door from a 14 hour day, it's still 87 degrees, and I'm doing nothing but taking a cold shower and hitting the bed tonight.

I will probably use the boat on Cobbossee, and a friend just offered me the chance to store it at his camp on Merrymeeting Bay. Late season it will see some use in the salt, too--Great Salt Bay, Scarborough Marsh, and Maquoit Bay.
 
I'll be bringing my sculler up to my camp on the bay this October too. I'll have to keep an eye open for you. Be sure to post some pictures, would love to see your progress.
 
Well, not great photos, and they are a couple of days out of date, but here are a couple near the end of the glassing.

Two layers of glass on the bottom, one on the transom and topsides, epoxy still wet:

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Why you shouldn't glass in an open barn under lights at night (they brushed out easily the next morning):

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And a big caddis fly!

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,
Since then, I've added a couple of layers of extra glass on the bow, glassed the skeg, sanded the gunwales, and put another coat of epoxy on the hull. I'm on a work trip this week. Paint should be here when I get home Thursday night.
 
Dandy job you did there... no one ever thought of putting fly decoys on there boat for the fish...

take care have fuun...

shermie....

i smell stinky black ducks a cooking in the future......
 
Paint from Lou and a second round of epoxy from Raka arrived today. Left work a couple of hours early, sanded the old paint on the interior, cleaned up the dust, and put a final coat of epoxy on the topsides. I'm headed out now to paint the interior.

How long do I have to wait for the epoxy to set before painting over it? Fast hardener. It was around 65 F when I put it on, will drop to around 50 tonight, and back up to around 70 tomorrow. Will 24 hours do it, or do I need to wait a couple of days for full cure?

Once the topside is painted, I'll flip her over, paint the bottom, and we'll be ready to put the hardware back on and have our sea trials.
 
Nice work Jeff. I hope to find a scull with some history to restore myself one day. Problem is, they're far and few between in a reasonable distance from NC! Can't wait to see the finished product!

Brad
 
Jeff, I'm late to the forum and just read through the progress you've made. Good job. I'm an avid hunter and come to Maine for the opening two weeks from s.c. I bought a boat of similar origin and did the same thing you've done... Stripped polyester glass and replaced with glass set in epoxy, new transom, new sport's seat, floors and shell rack. A new addition was a foam top for the voyage north... I'll send photos, but You might guess it looks like some sort of camo green colored Thule travel accessory. Our small family will be staying on the Cathance this year and I would like to possibly meet up. I'll pm you later. Anyway great job.
 
Geez Frank, you're putting the pressure on. I'll be cutting it close to have the boat ready for the first two weeks of the season! I was going to chase some brook trout this afternoon--it's finally cooled off and we got some rain, so they ought to be thinking about spawning at a certain spot I know. You've guilted me into staying home and working on the boat. LOL. Just as well--all the time I normally spend tying streamers for fall spawners went into glassing and painting the last month.

Pending inspection under natural light, the topside paint is done. (May need one more coat, and I may decide to add light brown and tan accents along the gunwales and coaming to break up the silhouette.)

I put the hardware on last night--need to paint that, then flip her over, paint the bottom, and hope for dry weather so the paint is fully set by October.

I'd also like to add some throw-away wood on the transom to protect it from the motor. And, almost forgot, have to remount the oar locks and find a pair of oars. I have a pair of sculling oars that need testing, but I am not trusting my sculling skills if the outboard fails--especially on a going tide in the Cathance or Abby!


What I will not get done for this season is to add slatted floorboards and a back board for both the sculler and the gunner. This year I'll have to improvise, and leave myself a project for next season. I'd also like to build a better rowing thwart/divider, as the existing one is just a plain board. I'd like something with some small amount of storage underneath.

I think I'll be leaving the boat at a friend's house over near the Cathance mouth, and picking a day in the early season to meet up could be fun. Let's make it a week day so the crowd on the Bay isn't so bad.
 
Scott, What's that in the photo off to starboard. Your gun butt is landing on some sort of burlap, and it looks as though you also have a small shelf over there. By the way, nice black. Were you on the salt water that day?
Frank
 
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