Project Boat
- This topic has 202 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated Jul 6, 2020 at 7:56 pm by
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So I had a breakthrough today….
I’ve been looking for the right deal on a Gheenoe for quite a while now, and after all of my looking, the pieces finally lined up. The boat is not pretty by any stretch of the imagination, but it certainly has potential. The project is going to be to build a casting deck on the front and a smaller deck on the back to allow for a poling platform. It also needs a motor and I am thinking it will take somewhere between 5 and 10 hp to get the job done. Other than that, some sanding and a coat of paint should make this boat look like it is getting the love it deserves. As of right now I have $500 invested. Not a bad deal for a structurally sound boat and a perfectly functional trailer. I will keep you guys updated as to how this turns out…..
Cool project. What model is that? How are you constucting the decks? I’ve been looking around for something like that that I’ll be able to do some work on. Please post more pics of your progress.
Somebody call 911….Andrew ….for $500 you stole that boat. 😀
I look forward to following this thread. I’m sure you are familiar with http://www.microskiff.com
Andrew,
If the drake ever comes back on-line, you need to check out the thread “Pimp-my Gheenoe” (something like that) posted by TxFly (now maybe Tex).
I’m helping Andrew out with this project and I’ve already learned some interesting stuff browsing around.
Tim,
Zach sent me a link to that thread a while back, and it is definitely influencing the direction of this project.I am still in research mode right now, so I am glad Zach has decided to help out (his research skills are not typically lacking). Neither of us have ever done any glass work before, so any input from the more experienced members of this forum would be appreciated as well.
I will keep you guys posted.
You can get epoxy much cheaper from http://www.raka.com
I have done alot of glass work, but not with the vinylester resins.
Hey Dave –
What I think would be really helpful is a step-by-step book or website taking us through the process of, say, patching a hole in a boat and then painting it and gel-coating it.
Jamestown has a ton of fiberglass/gelcoat “how to” videos on youtube. Here’s a link, you’ll have to sort though them to find what you want, but there are alot of good ones.
http://www.youtube.com/user/JamestownTV
Also West system epoxy puts out a pamphlet on fiberglass work, most West Marine stores have them for $5Thanks for the input Josh and Dave. I am gearing up to get started this weekend, so every bit of insight helps.
Josh beat me to it, also, check the RAKA site for the user manual.
http://www.raka.comYou do indeed basically have the gist of it.
What has been recommended to me by several when I started out was to get a cardboard box and fiberglass it!
Andrew and I spent yesterday evening, this morning and the early afternoon today at work on his boat. There was quite a bit of scrubbing involved last night, and quite a few errands to run this morning, but we ended up getting the front deck built. We’ll build out the back deck before we glass it in, but we’re making some nice progress. We also got a coat of wax on the boat – it’s going to need three or four more before it looks green as opposed to pasty.
This is the life of Andrew Wright. He spends his days building skyscrapers, hosing off boats, and otherwise being manly. At the end of the day, his pretty wife comes home, kisses him, and hands him a cold twelve pack of beer. Andrew nods appreciatively and goes back to hosing off his boat.
Here’s what she looked like prior to having any mods done, but after being cleaned up pretty thoroughly.
We started out making the things we knew we’d need, like a general template. We gathered up wood, tools, various sizes of drill bit, screws and saws, etc. Other than a much-appreciated loan of a mitre saw from a neighbor, we didn’t find ourselves needing anything once we started.
We started the cuts by hollowing out a pair of holes for rod holders. Andrew’s boat is not the largest model Gheenoe so he opted to only do one tube on each side, which should be plenty.
The insides of the seats are filled with old foam, surrounded by cardboard (presumably the molds used to form them up out of the sprayed fiberglass in the factory.) They’ve shrunk over the years a considerable amount, and are now dry and brittle.
You can see the 2″ PVC used for the rod tubes. Schedule 40 wasn’t really necessary but we couldn’t find two inch landscaping line. Andrew wisely capped the ends so that when we finish glassing in the front deck, there will be no way for water to invade the space via the tubes.
This was probably the one step we could have skipped. The front seat had a hump in it about 1/4″ to a 1/2″ high, which we decided to remove. In retrospect, we might have been able to get away without cutting this off.
Here’s the main front deck supports: two 2 X 4s locked in along the Gheenoe’s flanges.
They are held in place with a skyscraper-grade epoxy used for tying steel to concrete. 35 minutes after application, I lifted the entire boat several times holding only the center 2 X 4.
Obligatory IA Food Shot. We didn’t take a picture of the beer cans in the recycling bin by this point, but we probably should have.
Here’s the almost-completed superstructure. I argued that we were overdoing it, but in the end, this proved to be a wise move, again by Andrew. The plywood material we used for the decking was not especially strong and needed this much support.
Here’s Andrew cutting the deck out of the plywood.
A final look at the superstructure under the deck. It’s solid. 🙂
For the time being, it still looks like a bit of a redneck project. Once the front is glassed in, however, this is going to be a pretty impressive modification, I’m confident.
Zach
Lawrence –
Andrew knows all the terminology; he is a former home contractor who really does build skyscrapers for a living.
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