300DB Restoration Continues-Bottom Paint

carterchapman said:
Tom,

What a job! I thought you were in AK and was going to ask you about the "shirtsleeves" in Nov picture, but I must have missed the part about NC!

Thanks for sharing your restoration progress!
Click to expand...

A few weeks ago it was -22f in Big Lake and they got 30' of snow a few days ago.

The boat is in Oriental NC. Great little town!
 
Let me know how you sand your prop wells. Are you going to remove the shafts to do it?
 
AKBASSKING said:
Man, now I am depressed if I have to remove the shafts.....hope not!:smt089

Suppose to rain all day tomorrow, so we will see.:smt009
Click to expand...

Tom those shaft couplers are no fun to get off, especially with the engines in place. :smt021
You may want to check out your cutlus bearings to make shure they are OK. If you do have to remove the shafts, you should also think about installing dripless shaft seals.
 
I was rained out! I started to sand on Saturday morning and it wasn't bad as I was under the tub and nothing was getting wet. But then the skies opened up and soon a lake formed on the back of the boat. I found myself sanding sitting on a beach chair with my feet in the lake holding an electrical sander.........

Yep I quit. Next weekend. I did find I could get around the shafts with the exception of about 2" area right above near where the shafts come out. I will do this by hand or see if I can find a really small sander.
 
Sucess!!! Finished sanding this last weekend. There were a few small areas above the shafts and the trim tabs that I could sand, so I took stripper to those areas. I walked aroud the boat with a sharpie and maked all the areas I would need to repaire and there aren't that many. I also tapped on the hull with the end of a screw driver and only found one place that did not sound solid. After grinding out the area, it was dry and it appears to ve a void left by a former repair.

I am glad this phase is over. Got some Marine Tex and a dremmel and will repair on Wednsday. Hope to have most of the painting done by Saturday! :thumbsup:
 

Attachments

  • 100_2513.jpg
    100_2513.jpg
    101.9 KB · Views: 620
  • 100_2517.jpg
    100_2517.jpg
    99.5 KB · Views: 622
  • 100_2522.jpg
    100_2522.jpg
    117.7 KB · Views: 625
More Pics.
Before asks the damage in the one picture was done by too much power washer.
 

Attachments

  • 100_2516.jpg
    100_2516.jpg
    116.8 KB · Views: 625
  • 100_2525.jpg
    100_2525.jpg
    108.6 KB · Views: 645
  • 100_2527.jpg
    100_2527.jpg
    113 KB · Views: 618
Any idea what caused the damage with the radiating cracks? Was that from the power washer?
 
SCORPIO said:
Any idea what caused the damage with the radiating cracks? Was that from the power washer?
Click to expand...

Some of it was with a power washer..... Dumb a$$ me........3000psi can rip right through fiberglass.

The rest, I have no idea. I did grind down into some of them and it is only gel-coat deep although I did have the yard check it out and give me some advice. They suggested that becuase I am putting a barrier coat (actuallly several coats) that I shouldn't worry about it. I was told that this is common on these old boats as they were laid by hand and not machine, hence why they are so heavy.

Also if you look at one of the pictures of the stern, you can see where the zinc was rubbing......
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the post Tom, I've got to get started on mine. Let me know what you find on those hair line cracks. I'm starting to see a group of them on my boat.

CopyofPicture002.jpg
 
The cracks you see are from impact or pressure in that area at one time. As the gel coat ages it becomes more brittle with less flex than the fiberglass.

You more than likely knocked the gel coat off with the pressure washer but the pressure washer did not cause the damage. They have been there for a long time. You will often see this type of cracking around the edges of a cored area as the core flexes it causes these cracks becasue the gel coat is not as flexible as the glass and core under it.

To take care of these use a dramel with a pointed stone and v-grove them down to glass and fill with epoxy, sand and match color. There is another type of crack called a spider web and looks as it's name implies. Often caused by just a bad mix of gel coat and will often cover most of the boat.
 
Thanks Spook. I did exactly that with a dremmal tool. It is pretty easy. The problem I ran into today was the temp and how it reacts to Marine Tex. It was about 47f in Oriental and the stuff was like a rock. So I heated some water and placed the little jar in the hot water. Within a few minutes it was just right. At these temps it is taking a little longer to dry, but I should be able to sand and do a solvent wash tomorrow. If I am lucky, I will be able to put the first barrier coat on tomorrow. We will see.
 
Last edited:
What is it with the weather guys in NC? If he went outside and took a piss and the wind blew it back on his hand, he still couldn't tell you the which way the wind was blowing!

It was suppose to be good until Saturday, but then last night it turned cold and now it is snowing!

I did manage to get on coat of barrier paint on before it got cold. Yep it was 55. This morning it dropped to 33. A little trick I learned was to place trash bags on the stands so they don't stick to the boat. Oh well this is turning into a 3 month project..........
 

Attachments

  • 100_2537.jpg
    100_2537.jpg
    113.8 KB · Views: 767
  • 100_2536.jpg
    100_2536.jpg
    111.5 KB · Views: 594
Last edited:
WOW .......... That looks like a ton of work.

Unfortunately something i will also need to do in the next year or too.
 
I would like to get the bottom paint off the sides and back down to the water line does the bottom paint effect the gel coat?
 
Tom, Why the difference in color between the bottom and sides - is that some sort of residue left over
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,253
Messages
1,429,373
Members
61,132
Latest member
MinecraftRu1Swilm
Back
Top