Skimmer Makeover

Inside and outside backers in place

Side view of backers

C-clamps in place

A better view of c-clamps holding mold backers.

Side view of c-clamps and Seacast blocks. The Seacast blocks keep the mold from moving inward keeping the spacing of the mold at exactly 1.5 inches.

The coffin liner tub all cleaned up and ready to have 3/4 marine plywood added to edges so that cleats will line up with outer edge of deck.

Cleaning out the water logged underside of the bow casting platform. This was a nasty job. It will be backed up with 3/4 marine plywood 5200ed to the underside and bolted to the pulpit for a nice solid sandwich.

We replaced the gas tank coffin so we could trace the floor outline with paper and cardboard.

Transferring the floor pattern to marine plywood which will be the base floor which will be fiberglassed over to finish the job.

I trimmed and set the 3/4 marine plywood floor pieces in place around the coffin. This is just a temporary set up. The coffin will be removed and get cleats all around the outer edge as will the floor. The coffin will then be foamed into exact position. We will then run the drain tubes for the front compartments and rigging conduits, gas tank fill and vent, foam all open voids under the floor, install gas tank and foam into place, install the floor boards and tank deck and finally fiberglass the entire top deck.

A very exciting part of the project is the rebuilding of the teak pulpit.

This is reclaimed teak from the battleship "North Carolina" that was obtained by Roberts Lumber. Scott Roberts suggested we use it for the pulpit. It looks like a mess right now but when Jeff of J&M custom woodworking gets done with trimming and cleaning the wood it should be beautiful and have real character. I am very excited about this. The new "Skimmer" will have a part of WWII history on her decks.

I installed 3 inch PVC pipe through which the fuel fill and vent hoses will be run from the gunwale to the tank. This will allow for changing the hose if needed without cutting the boat apart. The PVC pipe will be held in place by the new foam.

The Seacast Transom job turned out better than expected. Here is the result. The entire transom is now filled with resin and fiberglass and the outboard sides were raised to reduce water splash into the well.

This material is hard as a rock. We will finish the transom work with a complete layer of fiberglass both inside and outside.

All the plumbing has been laid out. The 3/4 pipes are drains for all the forward compartments. I increased the size of the rigging tubes to 4 inches. It was always a hassle to pull wires and transducer cables with large plugs through the old tubes which were only 2.5 inches wide. All the plumbing will be held in place with the new foam when we pour it. The short pipe in the right is the tube for bow running lights. It used to run to the back of the boat in the bilge and then the wires were run back up the rigging tube to the console. We will now run it directly to the up sweep in the rigging tube and right into the console.

A good view of the finished transom with stringers filled with Seacast.

Starting to cut cleats on top of which the new floor will be laid.

I ran half inch tubing from the bow locker through the foam into the rod storage cut out area. This will allow me to run the wire for indirect lighting or for speakers in the rod storage area.

I added a second PVC tube 1 1/2 inch size for the vent hose. The 3 inch tube would have been too tight for both the fill hose and vent hose.

Pete Johnston wanted to give more support to the back deck where all the action goes on. Since the area was exposed we decided to add a cross brace supported by the stringers just in front of the live well. Pete glued two 3/4 pieces of marine plywood and cleated them to the stringers. The deck is now like a rock.

After thirty years of banging against docks the joint between the hull and the liner was compromised. Some of the aluminum rivets had broken and it was in bad shape. Where the rivets had broken I removed them (center hole) and inserted a new rivet. Where the rivets looked good I added new ones near them just in case they let go in the future. The hole to the left is from the rub rail screw. All empty holes will be filled with Evercoat Formula 27 and then sanded before painting and replacement with new rub rail.

2/5/2010

Captain Dave Zarrello stoped by today to lend a hand with the project.

Cleating the edge of the deck and the coffin needed a lot of hands. Not hard work but tedious with lots of steps. Drill, countersink PL400 and screw.

Things worked out well and we got most of it done. Here is George and Dave mounting the cleats to the outboard side of the deck.

Cleats all in and ready to receive the deck.

I finished up the cleat job on the coffin. We needed double cleats here. One set to make the edge 3/4 and a second below to actually make the cleat surface. We used PL 400 to lock in the fastening of the cleats to the upper deck and coffin and used coated deck screws to fasten.

Here sits the gas tank coffin all built up with cleats in place to match up with cleats on the outer deck surface.

2/8/2010

Today was a major step in rebuilding. We foamed in the drain tubes and rigging tubes so that the tank coffin would line up with all tubes. I used 4 pound foam from US Composites.

This is the view looking aft on the starboard side with drain tubes and rigging tube locked into place.

Some foam pushed past the block I built into the rear part of the bilge. I will clean this up tomorrow. This is the port side with rigging tube and drain tube for port side hatch.

This is the starboard side with some run over which I will clean up. Rigging tube and two drain tubes for the bow locker and starboard bow hatch.

This finish of the day's work. All drain and wire conduits glued together. Rigging tubes foamed into place so they will fit to the tank coffin. Gas fill and vent hose conduits in place with hose

I increased the size of the rigging tubes to 4 inch pipe to allow for easy snaking of wires and control cables and harnesses. The farthest small pipe on the right is a wire conduit which will be fitted to the elbow in the rigging tube so that I can run wire directly from the console to the bow for running lights and also from the bow back through the 1/2 inch tubes into the rod cut outs for interior lighting and speakers.

The center tube is the drain for the two big hatches mid deck in the bow.

2/9/2010

Today Pete Johnston installed the scuppers on the transom. He used his tried and true technique of using PVC pipe for big 1 1/2 inch scuppers. Big scuppers mean a wave over the bow will drain quickly and safely.

You can't buy big scuppers. 7/8 diameter is about it. My boat used to have three scuppers with the third in the middle of the transom but that was closed off with the new motor mounting configurations. The two remaining were not sufficient to drain the boat quickly. So now we have 1 1/2 inch scuppers that I will add flappers to on the outside to keep water out under normal drifting and operation.

Pete uses epoxy to set the PVC tube through the transom. He will then grind the tube flush on inside and outside. He will then apply fiberglass/resin to the transom both inside and outside and close off the scupper. He then will rout out the center of the PVC with a die grinder to open the 1 1/2 inch hole.

I am using US Composites for my two part foam mixture in areas where I need structural support. I am using a 4 pound foam on all load bearing areas. These include the gas tank coffin, gas tank inside the coffin, under the live well for more deck support and around the gas fill and vent tubes.

To fill large voids where structural support is not essential I will use 3 pounds foam.

Charlie Mauro of Priority Spray Foam Inc. is going to do the finish foam work filling all the voids including between the hull and the liner. This should make for a quiet and vibration free ride.

Notice the system to the foam application. Part A and Part B poured into separate containers then into a common mixing container. Mix for 30 seconds and then pour. This is tricky but with practice you will get the procedure down.

To pour into confined areas like around the live well I used a "Gazooba" or self crafted tool to do the job. I have made and used many "Gazoobas" on this job and will show all as they are critical to success.

This "Gazooba" was made from 1/3 of a 4 inch PVC pipe and allowed me to direct the pour into a limited space. It worked great!

All the foam in place around the plumbing, rigging tubes and live well.

The foam really shored up the deck giving support around the tank area and locked all plumbing into place.

The gas tank coffin was installed fitting over the rigging conduit and nesting up to the fill and vent tubes and hoses.

We used a heavy piece of aluminum angle iron to level the coffin to the deck and screwed it into place.

On the starboard side we have the conduit for the navigation lights, speaker wire and lighting fitted into the rigging conduit. Nice and easey with 4 inch PVC.

Everything is in place and ready to permanently install the gas tank coffin. We will pour 4 pound foam into the areas around the coffin keeping heavy weight inside to prevent it from rising when the foam expands. The aluminum cross bar is being used to level the coffin to the deck level and is screwed into place. Once the coffin is foamed in place the gas tank from Alloy welding will be placed into the coffin and also foamed into place.

After that is done the deck will be laid and fiberglass will cover the entire deck.

Holes will be cut before the fiberglass layer and foam shot below deck so it will rise and give support to the deck. The hole plugs will be reinstalled and glassed over and then the fiberglass cover to the entire deck will be laid.

The next week should be very active and lots of coming together should take place.

I love this stuff. Great time and keeping me real busy but very rewarding especially working with all my buddies. Great guys!

2/11/2010

Today I went to inspect the teak wood for my pulpit at J&M woodworking. The wood came from Scott Roberts of "Robert's Plywood". Jeff and Pete planed the old Battleship wood and glued the planks together. They also plugged the holes where the wood was anchored to the deck. In addition they ran threaded stainless steel rods through the planks to make sure they never separate.

I had to pick the side that I wanted visible and liked the look of the football shaped plugs so I chose the side you are looking at.