3-26-2005

I thought about a new boat but to be honest I love the ride of this little 15-foot deep V hull. She is the ideal little boat for running around the Great South Bay and shooting video from. When the sea breeze kicks in she is dry and her narrow beam cuts through the chop like a knife. What makes Captain Al’s and I unique is that we produce our videos with just the two of us. This little boat is very agile and I can actually run the boat and shoot at the same time.

3-26-2005

Well I finally had a nice day to get some work done on the camera boat. For over 15 years I have used this boat as the chase boat in our video productions. The boat is a 1981 Answer and was built down in Hialeah Fl. I am not sure if the company is still in business, I did a google search and I didn’t find much info about the company.

3-26-2005

Today I started stripping the boat down and getting it ready for the complete overhaul. The old 60 hp was taken off as well as the center console. I will be re-rigging this boat from scratch. The next step will be to bring the boat down to Burrnett’s Marine in Bay Shore where Gene and his experienced crew will help me select the right engine for the boat.

3-27-2005

Today I stripped off all of the hardware and gauges from the center console.

Happy Easter!

3-29-2005

Today I brought the camera boat down to Burnett Marine service in Bay Shore. I had Gene and Dave check out the boat and help me decide on the power options for the re-powering of the camera boat. They were a great help and we decided to go with a new 60 hp four stroke.

4-18-2005
I Finally got a chance to get back to work on the camera boat. I filed in all the deep scratches in the hull I received over the years with fiberglass filler.

4-25-2005
Mike Mcgrath my neighbor was kind enough to help me with my project by cleaning and oiling my teak trim for the camera boat.

5-1-2005

I must admit I was intimidated at first about using Awlgrip but after talking with different people over the last couple of months I decided to tackle the project. One of the big factors was having Marine Mate of Lindenhurst around the block from me. Marine Mate has been in business for over 25 years and that's quite an accomplishment considering the competition with the large marine stores. The personal attention and real on water boating experience is the key to their success. Charlie helped me understand the Awlgrip system and the products needed for my application.

5/9/2005

Before applying the top coat of Awl Grip you must first prime it with the Awl Grip Primer. This is a 3 part mix, 1 part primer, 1 converter then when mixed I add 1 part reducer. This can be brushed or rolled on.

5/09/2005

After priming I sand the primer smooth and then apply the first coat of the top coat. I use small mouthwash cups when mixing you do not want to mix to large of a batch because you only have about 20 minutes to work with the mix. This mix is 2 parts top coat to 1 part Converter when mixed you can then add up to 33% reducer to the final volume. The reducer is the Awl Grip thinner.