Sam I am
Well-known member
Not quite...front stringer is still glassed in and I need to get rid of all the foam in the front. After that it will be time to start grinding and sanding.
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Sam I am's 89 Starliner Restore (Discussion Thread)
- Thread starter Sam I am
- Start date
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Not quite...front stringer is still glassed in and I need to get rid of all the foam in the front. After that it will be time to start grinding and sanding.
Sam I am
Well-known member
Oh yeah...forgot to mention I sold the trailer today for $350. That was about as good as I could expect. There are several for sale locally that are all in the $400 range. One of my lights was smashed and the winch was garbage so I dropped $50 bucks lower and sold pretty quick. So...Add a little more to the restore budget.
Sam I am
Well-known member
No. It's stacked on the flor waiting for the big day. I asked the manufacturer how what the best method of cutting it is and they said a carbide blade would be fine, but the stuff is tough, so expect the blade to be shot.
I'm grinding out bondo right now. What a mess.
OFFSHORE GINGER
Banned
Sam after viewing your pics in post# 125 i can not believe all the DBF that Check used in there build when doing a Transom .
Sam I am
Well-known member
That's the "bondo", right? What does DBF stand for? It makes an awful mess when sanding and grinding, that's for sure. But, it apparently sticks like none other...
OFFSHORE GINGER
Banned
Detroit Body Filler which is commonoly used in production boats and sold by the drum .
Ramifications
Well-known member
What kind of composite is it? Is it a plastic type material? If so, the biggest problem I have run into (none boating related) is the material begins to melt as the blade gets hot and starts to bind things up. Just keep the blade moving forward though the material and you should be good.
Sam I am
Well-known member
More progress...
...I got the transom cleaned up and ready to start sizing the new transom. Also got all the foam out of the front. The botom six inches was wet. Also go the floor all cleaned up and ready for the new stringers to get fitted and glassed in. Unfortunatley I won't be doing any of that until I order all the materials. So, i'll be putting together a list and pulling the trigger here pretty soon. The nice thing about the composite material is that I won't have to incapsulate it...just secure it to the hull.
I was thinking about using biscuits in the joints between transom and the stong back and knee braces...any thoughts on that?
...I got the transom cleaned up and ready to start sizing the new transom. Also got all the foam out of the front. The botom six inches was wet. Also go the floor all cleaned up and ready for the new stringers to get fitted and glassed in. Unfortunatley I won't be doing any of that until I order all the materials. So, i'll be putting together a list and pulling the trigger here pretty soon. The nice thing about the composite material is that I won't have to incapsulate it...just secure it to the hull.
I was thinking about using biscuits in the joints between transom and the stong back and knee braces...any thoughts on that?
Sam I am
Well-known member
Thermolite Transom
Got busy today and made the transom out of the thermo-lite composite material I picked up from SpaceAge Composites here in Fargo. http://www.spaceagesynthetics.com The material was dark gray, almost black when I picked it up but as I had stored it outside on a trailer, the black dye is not UV resistant and faded to light green/gray on one side. NOt a big deal, but I thought I'd mention it.
Step one was to get a true edge on the sheet.
Step two was lay out the new transom with my template made from the old one.
Step three was to get busy cutting...I used my Dewalt Circular Saw and it went through this stuff pretty well. I finished up the inside corners with a hand saw and those were easy too. Comparable to cutting 2 x Dimensional Lumber.
Resultant cut and edge from the cutting. You can see the fiber in the foam. This sheet was the heaviest they make: 30lbs/cubic foot. It's heavy and extremely strong. There are data sheets on the website.
Ta Da!
Green side out, other side against the boat. I made that decision myself as it allowed for the removal of a lot more material for shaping before I encountered the fiber.
Next was to match the angle of the transom to the floor. I SWAG'ed it at 15*. NOt idea if it's right, but is seems close. Either way there will be a metric $h!t ton of cobosil and epoxy between the transom and all hull surface to fill in space and make the bond.
Angles plunge cut got wavy.
There was a lot of material for making a custom fit to the corners and hull. I shaped the transom using my Makita Belt sander with a 36 grit belt. It was just the right tool for the job.
Fit's pretty well. Flush on the back, square to the hull, and level to the world.
Got busy today and made the transom out of the thermo-lite composite material I picked up from SpaceAge Composites here in Fargo. http://www.spaceagesynthetics.com The material was dark gray, almost black when I picked it up but as I had stored it outside on a trailer, the black dye is not UV resistant and faded to light green/gray on one side. NOt a big deal, but I thought I'd mention it.
Step one was to get a true edge on the sheet.
Step two was lay out the new transom with my template made from the old one.
Step three was to get busy cutting...I used my Dewalt Circular Saw and it went through this stuff pretty well. I finished up the inside corners with a hand saw and those were easy too. Comparable to cutting 2 x Dimensional Lumber.
Resultant cut and edge from the cutting. You can see the fiber in the foam. This sheet was the heaviest they make: 30lbs/cubic foot. It's heavy and extremely strong. There are data sheets on the website.
Ta Da!
Green side out, other side against the boat. I made that decision myself as it allowed for the removal of a lot more material for shaping before I encountered the fiber.
Next was to match the angle of the transom to the floor. I SWAG'ed it at 15*. NOt idea if it's right, but is seems close. Either way there will be a metric $h!t ton of cobosil and epoxy between the transom and all hull surface to fill in space and make the bond.
Angles plunge cut got wavy.
There was a lot of material for making a custom fit to the corners and hull. I shaped the transom using my Makita Belt sander with a 36 grit belt. It was just the right tool for the job.
Fit's pretty well. Flush on the back, square to the hull, and level to the world.
OFFSHORE GINGER
Banned
Sam , without having the natives get restless from this post i noticed that you mentioned in post #144 you would not have to fully encapsulate the Thermo board that you are using , and might i recomend just the opposite considering Coosa ( Bluwwater -26 ) & Thermo Board , are pretty much the same product , and would suggest fully encapsulating both materials other then just tabbing it in ..which will provide a better and stronger repair for years to come which is only a suggeston & recommended .................but that is your call .......................
Sam I am
Well-known member
OG...is that primarily for strength? The water absorption is almost nil: Less than 1%. I don't mean to ask dumb questions, but here it goes: I'm going to use the overlapping tab method you mentioned earlier, so even if I encapsulate it I'm still only going to get tab bonding (plus cabosil on the back) holding the transom in, right? Or will the cobosil stick to the encapsulated transom better?
Forgot to add in the earlier post...cutting this stuff does making a big ass mess.
Forgot to add in the earlier post...cutting this stuff does making a big ass mess.
SippyRat
Well-known member
Great! You should make some decent progress with the family gone. The little interruptions can really slow ya down. I know when I get movin on a project sometimes I hate even stopping for dinner. But I do because the wife knows I need fuel to keep rollin. Enjoy your shop time 
Sam I am
Well-known member
This stuff cuts like a dream and is very workable. Good stuff.
Mark
Well-known member
john lamon
Well-known member
It looks like really neat stuff when I stopped by, and man does Sam keep a clean work area, the only time my garage was that clean was before I moved in 
Sam I am
Well-known member
The factory is in Fargo, so I went and picked through their "second" pile. This is good product but didn't pass Quality Control for what ever reason...usually cosmetic. Anyway, they let the 2nd's go for $50 bucks a sheet. Otherwise it's priced the same as Coosa...i.e. a $h!t Ton of dough plus the ride which is also a $h!t Ton of dough, thus blowing most restore budgets.
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