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Reply With QuoteLooking good.
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Guide Coat.......Show all defects.
Avoiding Memorial Day traffic on the river, I sprayed Guide Coat on the hull and sanded for gelcoat.
For those who do not know what guide coat is, in the custom painter's world guide coat is a Painter's Best Friend! It will show all imperfections, blemishes, defects, pinholes, or just sorry finish work. You spray it on like a really, really, bad paint job. Let is dry. Sand. All the problem spots contrast making them easy to see. Careful, it shows everything! An example is in one of the photos below. I hope Everyone has a Fantastic Memorial Day and Respect to All who have Served.
Managed to get the gelcoat sprayed today. It needs cut & polish. I had the black start spitting on the first run, curing in the gun super quick. Had to wash the gun between fill ups to maintain production.
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Love it! Some beautiful work sir!
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The Making of Sausage, some just don't want to see it.
Well after sawing off the old console I am mocking up the new one. The pictures show how the pieces are sitting in place on wood blocks. It's high right now, had to walk away for a bit. I use finishing nails to tack the pieces of Coosa together. When done a butter of Talc & Vinylester resin will be filleted into all joints and allowed to cure. Afterwards all the edges get a radius before glassing everything in.
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Console Plug Finished
After a bit of "brain bending" a final plug has emerged. My old console had a sleeker look about it but none of the angles added anything to the function. No place in these boats can a built-in 3 tray tackle box be installed. The "Box" shape of the new console will let me move my Hot Foot 3in further away while still allowing the petal to hit the stop too. Also now I have a place for a 3 drawer built-in tackle box. Crappie fishing, the tackle box will be within reach while still seated in the casting seat. Currently I have small tackle boxes with the very essentials, 6 to be exact. They are rotated out as needed by color, size, jighead weights, etc. They store under the drivers seat within a special seat base I fabricated to raise my seat 3-1/2ins. Also while I'm fishing my 25qt fish box is right in front of the console. The new console will allow the cooler to be in a better position on the floor for me to spin around and drop the Crappie in. I'm not Mad at Crappie but it may be perceived that way by how I persue them. A tall wrap around windshield and flat dash area will let me mount my Helix 10 & Echo 500c behind the windshield without needing RAM Mounts. A small, thin, strip of Oak will be screwed to the dash to keep loose stuff from vibrating off. Another problem that was worked out was the steering wheel angle. My other VL100 I added tilt steering to move the wheel to a better angle for me. Well this plug face has the correct angle for the hydraulic helm to put the wheel in a better position for driving. Since Evinrude called it quits I'm installing a 115 Yamaha on this rig instead of moving the E-tec from my other boat to this one.
We all know now I didn't go this route. The Transverse balance concerns were well founded. After operating the boat at slower speeds the prop torque from the High Horsepower lists the hull to Port but once up on the Pad I think the boat would have been uncontrollable if the side console became a reality. Riding on the Pad the hull stays dead level.
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Super nice work. I love how your thinking and planning ahead. Very good read.
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Awesome work. You really have a keen eye for detail.
“If your too busy to fish, you’re too busy!” Buddy Ebsen
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Super nice work. I love how your thinking and planning ahead. Very good read.I hold a Unlimited HP Chief Engineers License from USCG so this is kinda my thing from a earlier time in life. Stability never changes when concerning Nautical Vessels, most can't calculate it but I had to do it longhand every night for years.Awesome work. You really have a keen eye for detail.
Last edited by Rojo; 07-28-2023 at 08:51 AM.
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Looks slick as glass
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Like a few have said, some of what you’re doing and talking about is over my head. Some of it I remember from conversations when I built for correct craft. I was just listening to these conversations among the smart guys. They had just bought Logan’s Run bass boats and were working on similar problems with them. Adding and grinding and sanding and measuring and straightedges, the first three hulls got cut up and went in the trash. Thank god my Bumble Bee was in good shape when the transom had to be replaced, I caught it when it first showed its ugly head. The guys that redid it did the warranty work for bullet and stratos and a few others. Cap off replacement and they built it similar to what you did, heavier than original and extra bracing and knee boards. Rated at 150, I was told I could hang a 200 on the back and the structure of the hull would take it. No real strakes like the Stratos or champions have stopped that idea fast. Low 60’s was plenty for me. When they were done you couldn’t tell they’d been into it. They had the original gelcoat and matched everything perfect, even the big flake glitter gel. You’re into this way deeper than I could know to do, and I like to see what you’re doing and taking the time to do it without shortcuts. Good Job Mister!!
Creativity is just intelligence fooling around
