the fun of refinishing a predictor

[illMATTic]

it dint take me long at all to pull everything off. the motor is sold. new one will be in my possession next week. notice all the dust fron the vaccume on the dash and carpet.whoops. im going to tack up a bunch of drop cloth to keep the rest of the garage clean. im starting the sanding and grinding in a couple days.

 

[175checkmate]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by illMATTic:
so i purchased a small inexspnsive shop vac. i went right out and started using it yesterday. i pulled it out of the box and sucked up the very large pile of dust i had swep up. just as fast as it was picking it up.... it was going right out the backside of the vacume and all over my garage. well.... apperently they do not come pre assembled.

sure enough the wheels, filter and instructions were inside the vacume amidst all the garbage. i have never cussed so much in my life.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Oh that is to funny.

 

[JUPITER PULSARE]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by illMATTic:
so i purchased a small inexspnsive shop vac. i went right out and started using it yesterday. i pulled it out of the box and sucked up the very large pile of dust i had swep up. just as fast as it was picking it up.... it was going right out the backside of the vacume and all over my garage. well.... apperently they do not come pre assembled.

sure enough the wheels, filter and instructions were inside the vacume amidst all the garbage. i have never cussed so much in my life.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


L.O.L. NOW THAT REALLY SUCKS....NO PUN INTENDED....

 

[illMATTic]

damn i have been lazy. i just didnt want to go out and see the mess i had made with the vaccume. i finaly went out and picked up some supplies to get started on the floor. man, the west system epoxy is not cheap. its a good thing i know a guy..... i can get it at a price.

i picked up a gallon of resin and the nessesary parts to go with it.

 

[Chris E]

it may be pricy but it works great! as usual you get what you pay for.

 

[jrumon]

Matt... You ought to get it CHEAP... It's MADE right near you!

Like the other guy's said... and I'll add that it's the BEST on the market and EASY to work with!!!

 

[bakedgoods222]

I'm a West System dealer and it is made a 1/4 mile from our marina. It dosen't get any cheaper if your close, but it works great and like you said you get what you pay for.

 

[supergenius74]

Looks like a great project, check out my site to see what a little hard work and determination can yield you. Shane

 

[illMATTic]

well i got a couple more here. now keep in mind this isnt done. it finaly warmed up here.
i still have to build a bit around the bilge area.

dont worry im going to cut that part out to let water flow. i figured i would put two stringers in. cant hurt.

here i ran the stringers 10" up where i cut a portion of wood to block off the water flow to the front. the front half is pretty solid yet.

 

[jgreen]

Looks like its comming along real nice.

 

[orangecrush]

Excellant job .looks great giving me insentive but its pouring outside and my yard is soft was going to pickup my other enchanter and park the black one at my friends shop .have to weld broken shock mount on van. caught hell last week for messing up lawn with the black. later Oc

 

[175checkmate]

Doing a great job. Looks real good.

 

[illMATTic]

well i have the stringers and some braces glassed in. how many layers of glass should i do? this is one layer.

this is hard working at these angles. my legs and knees are killing me.

 

[jrs1958]

When I did my floor last summer I did 2 layers of glass mat on everything. I used an old bed comforter that I folded to match the angles and topped it off with an old bed pillow to kneel on.

1984 Predictor 1968 Mercury 1250SS I-6 125 HP

 

[AP]

Went throught the exact same thing with my 83 exciter get all that foam and rotten stringers out dead weight. I used 3/4" cabnet grade for my stringers and glassed it all in . And useed 1/2 salt treated for the seat boxes you look like me 5 months ago .... Good luck ....

 

[85Predictor]

Great info and pics!!
I am faced with the same job this year.
I have already saved all of your pics for reference!! Thanks!!

Lookin GOOD!!

 

[illMATTic]

you may want to replace the whole floor... i didnt. i did just as much as i could get away with not wrecking all the carpet i had just put in last year. keep in mind, this is the first time i have ever done this. ask me if it worked in the fall.

ILL

 

[85Predictor]

I pulled the carpet out last Fall so will have full view of the entire floor. In fact, I do think the whole floor should be replaced. I am planning on setting up a thread like this one so everyone can see what I have. Love to get advice and comments from other members!!

 

[jrs1958]

Start doing your floor now if you want to run it anytime this summer. It’s a very time consuming project. If you think something will take about 2 hours to do, it will really take 5 hours to actually do.

Remove the motor before you take out the floor. Get a good shop vac with replaceable filters and a good face respirator with replaceable filters; this is a dusty project. Take your time and make sure everything is right the first time. I replaced my floor up to the toe board under the dash. I put a splice on the center beam and bonded the new section to the hull with kitty hair and glassed it in. I replaced the foam and also enlarged the bilge to hold a bigger pump (800gph), and a float switch.

If you take out the flotation boxes in back, now is the time to check your wiring. It’s easy to get to with the boxes out. My engine wiring harness fell apart along with the control harness and I didn’t have to replace my boxes; that made it tougher to run the new harness. It’s also time to replace your original nylon thru the hull bilge fitting to a stainless steel one. My original nylon one had snapped off inside the hull at the nut. So I drilled it out from the outside and replaced it. It was a long reach inside with the box there.

1984 Predictor 1968 Mercury 1250SS I-6 125 HP

 

[85Predictor]

Was wondering about taking the motor off first. What is the reason? Is it because you are removing support by removing the floor etc and do not want too much stress on the transom? I am not sure what condition the transom is in. I hope that the trailer will keep the hull in check during this process. I am guessing that after the floor and stringers are removed the hull might want to flex.
Thanks!
Great Info!