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Build Thread: 1967 Johnsen Starfisher 14'

82K views 170 replies 40 participants last post by  yobata 
#1 · (Edited)
So I took the plunge a couple of months ago during football season and bought an old hull + trailer for $500 because I liked it's shape (knew I would have to wait until season was over to start work - I coach for a local HS). Here is the original CL ad:
Transport Vehicle Automotive exterior Boat Advertising


Anyway, I started working about 8 days ago on the trailer first (wife agreed to the project only if the trailer was safe first). So I re-did the leaf springs, seals and bearings (plus added bearing buddies), jack, winch, bunks, rollers and lights.

Last week I bought a 2006 2 stoke 25hp yamaha short shaft - it looks very clean and runs very smooth (electric and manual start in case I end up adding a battery to the skiff).

Now it is time to start working on the hull itself. I took old hardware off: cleats, old rub rail, and the transom bracket.
Floor Room Table
Floor Architecture Ceiling Roof Table



The transom bracket was too tall (20") for the short shaft motor, and I needed to take it off to start sanding down the inside of the hull.

Screw Metal Brass




Hmmm that doesn't look like a good sign. Took a brass sleeve that was barely glued into the drain tube to find:
Rust



Looks wet to me. In addition, there is delamination



The transom feels incredibly solid. I have slammed my rather large fist at it at full force and it did not make a sound, did not move, and felt strong. But since I am at the beginning there is no need to skip essential steps. Do not want to end up like @tcaseycook (no offense man, I truly feel bad for you that you found out about a bad transom at the end of a refurb).

Any input that you may have along the way, or if you see me screwing something up, please let me know. Here is one more shot of the hull (please excuse the mess of the garage). Although she is only 14' long, the 61" width (at the gunnels not the bottom) makes for a pretty roomy boat and I like the idea of restoring a 1967 ;)
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Well, it only took an hour and a half, but I got the transom wood off...
The transom was 1.5" thick and made of two pieces of 3/4" ply.
Wood Grass


(I made that cut to get it out easier)

Here is the outside layer of the 3/4" ply still attached (with non stainless wood screws through the hull). Notice the rotten area on the top right (there was no through bolt or screw there).
Wood Tree Grass Plant Trunk



The good news, because the sides of the plywood were never bedded in, it made it much easier to rip out...

Here is the inside view of the layer of fiberglass skin that I left
Wall Floor Tile Flooring Marble



Still have to clean it up before I can install the new transom. Some of the removal process was a bit too rough and I will have to go back and re-glass some areas - notice the top corners, and the drain hole in this photo, oops:

Vehicle Table Auto part Machine


I really want to take the entire transom skin off and start with new fiberglass but everything that I have read says to keep the old skin on. The last owner did some patch jobs that look terrible around the corners of the transom. Has anyone replaced the outside skin as well?
 
#3 ·
Well, it only took an hour and a half, but I got the transom wood off...

I really want to take the entire transom skin off and start with new fiberglass but everything that I have read says to keep the old skin on. The last owner did some patch jobs that look terrible around the corners of the transom. Has anyone replaced the outside skin as well?
Don't cut the skin away. You will make your life much harder if you do. Cut the plywood (or whatever core you are using) to size and bed it in epoxy thickened with wood flour. You can rig clamps or just some basic 1x4 battens and screw from the outside in to pull the core tight to the skin. Once that has cured, you can sand the outside flush, fair it in, and lay a clean layer or two of glass over the whole thing, inside and outside. Also, don't forget to tab in the core to the inside of the hull with some heavier glass (12oz biax or something along those lines.)

There is a great transom rebuild tutorial on boatbuildercentral. Check it out. Helped me big time on mine.
 
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#5 · (Edited)
Don't cut the skin away. You will make your life much harder if you do.
I spoke with Jacquez from Bateau/BoatBuilderCentral on Friday. I asked him the same question and showed him this photo which shows the previous owners transom rebuild (shotty job)


He agreed that there was no reason to keep this layer of skin since 1. it was cracking at multiple points where it contacted the actual hull, and 2. it was not quality work to begin with (especially since it was only polyester resin and not epoxy). He said that the biggest reason to keep the old skin on is the nice cosmetic finish that the factory produces, but since this transom had been redone, it did not matter, and the epoxy bond that I will use will be much stronger than the poly one on there now...

With his advice, I cut the old skin off, and started sanding off the old chunks of wood transom that were still attached to the hull (wet still), and layers of mat and poly resin.



There were non-stainless screw that the previous owner used to attach the transom:



I then cut two pieces of 3/4 marine fir to correct size, dry fitted it, cut the transom down to 15" in the middle with a radius to help with laying the glass in easier later.


looks much cleaner!

mixed 12 oz of epoxy, brushed a layer on each piece of 3/4", then added woodflour to the left over epoxy and using a plastic fairing scraper laid a layer of the think epoxy. put the two pieces together and added a bit of weight



Still have a bit of sanding to do on the hull (bottom and outside sides), then bed the transom, fillet, tab insides and out with 12oz biax tape (Jacqez showed me how to stagger the outside layers so that it ends up fairly neat and will only require a bit of fairing), and epoxy two layers of 12oz biax on both outside and inside...
 
#7 · (Edited)
After 2+ hours of sanding the last few days, I got around to some glass work today. Mixed up quite a bit of thickened epoxy to bed and fillet in the transom (I'd say probably close to 18oz).
Wood Vehicle Hardwood Furniture


Used a 1.25" washer to make the fillets


2 layers of staggered 6" 12oz biax tape on sides and bottom, then a layer of 12oz biax on the whole inside of the transom (although I think I mistakenly got the 17oz biax cloth - at least that's the way it felt soaking up all that epoxy)


Here is a closeup of the work


Going to let this cure for 2 days (won't have time to work tomorrow), then flip the hull, sand the bottom and glass the outside of the transom.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Got the boat flipped and started sanding
Vehicle Hood Automotive exterior



found a crack in the strake, fortunately the strakes were added after the hull was pulled from mold, so there is no leak, but still has to be fixed.

Geological phenomenon Geology


here is the crap lamination done by last owner, honestly some of this stuff i just jammed a flathead screwdriver and pried it off

Paint Wood Floor Acrylic paint


someone tried to beef up the strake with woven roving - no fairing

Blue Water Sky Pattern Frost


and paint is peeling because it was just slapped on (probably no sanding after the "repair")



transom is prepped for outside skin
Floor Wood Plywood Concrete




Wood Floor Plywood Hardwood Table



i hate the rolled gunnel, it makes it hard to sand in the crack.

continued to sand. sanding sucks. its warm again. bunny suit + respirator + enclosed safety goggles = foggy, sweaty, dirty, tedious work.



Wood Plywood Floor Table Flooring
Plywood Wood Floor Hardwood Flooring




Vehicle Automotive exterior


two overlapping layers of tabbing, then a complete skin.

Yes, i know that small section is not laminated properly. So i stopped after the first layer, let it cure for 2 days, sanded back to the wood in that spot, sanded rest of outside skin, recoated with epoxy, small patch in that spot, then another complete layer of biax over entire transom. It is curing right now, in a couple of days i will post the final results. then sand again, and skim coat (is that the proper term?) with epoxy...

The work is slow now, especially the sanding/grinding of the old paint. I could pay a kid down the street $100 bucks to finish it for me, but i dont want gouges or holes in the hull, so it will be me in the bunny suit, sweating, and taking frequent breaks to clean safety goggles (both dust on outside and condensation inside)... This part of the work is always no fun, but it will be worth it in the end.

Anyone ever tried to pressure wash the layer of paint off? I don't want to use chemical strippers but I also want this part to be over with.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Vehicle Automotive exterior


Sanded with 60 grit on a palm sander hooked up to shop vac
Concrete Floor Cement Limestone Asphalt

Applied a single coat of epoxy

Vehicle Automotive exterior Bumper Car Hood

4 hours later while first layer was still tacky, I applied a second layer of epoxy. Will let it cure, then sand with 100, 150, 220 grit.

Then sand rest of bottom of hull, prime and paint - going with the cheap option - Rustoleum topsider in battleship gray for bottom. White for decks and sole. At $13/qt, it is by far the cheapest option and it looks to give a reasonable results... I'm going for workboat finish. Will probably add some hardener to it. Maybe something like this: http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/majic-catalyst-hardener-1-2-pint
 
#12 ·
For the bottom, you could get a bag of graphite from Bateau that you mix into your epoxy that you coat the bottom with, much tougher than paint, and cheap.
JC
 
#15 ·
First, epoxy with graphite is UV proof because it's opaque, the mix is 1-3 using dry weight (volume)measure for the graphite, I'd guess that you could do three coats rolled on with a foam roller at about 6oz epoxy per coat. Then you have a coating that's hard as a rock that's very easy to repair if needed.
JC
 
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#17 ·
Just for reference, I think it was $12 for a bag that would do several boats at Bateau.
JC
 
#21 · (Edited)
Does the graphite come in different colors or just black?

Couldn't he just buy paint pigment and put it into the epoxy?

Btw, note to the original poster. Regular rustolem will not last at all and you will be disappointed with it in the long run. Spend a few more bucks and do it right and you will thank yourself. If you were painting the interior, I would pick up some white 2 part marine epoxy paint to do your interior. You can use a foam roller to apply it. The durability is fa-nominal! Same thing with the outside. Either Awegrip or 2 part epoxy marine paint. I would fare it out with something 1st, to get a nice smooth surface. I would take the advice from jconner and treat the bottom at least with the combo epoxy/graphite or at least 2 part marine epoxy paint (or epoxy with paint pigments) for the durability and then you can awegrip the sides.
 
#22 ·
Does the graphite come in different colors or just black?

Couldn't he just buy paint pigment and put it into the epoxy?

Btw, note to the original poster. Regular rustolem will not last at all and you will be disappointed with it in the long run. Spend a few more bucks and do it right and you will thank yourself. If you were painting the interior, I would pick up some white 2 part marine epoxy paint to do your interior. You can use a foam roller to apply it. The durability is fa-nominal! Same thing with the outside. Either Awegrip or 2 part epoxy marine paint. I would fare it out with something 1st, to get a nice smooth surface. I would take the advice from jconner and treat the bottom at least with the combo epoxy/graphite or at least 2 part marine epoxy paint (or epoxy with paint pigments) for the durability and then you can awegrip the sides.
I received the graphite powder from BBC yesterday. I'm going to definitely do the bottom in 3-4 coats of that stuff. I like the idea that there will be layers of epoxy instead of paint there.

I am also seriously considering doing the sides and outside of the transom with that stuff too for a one tone look. Any problems with this idea? I would probably only do two coats on the sides but 4 on the bottom.
 
#23 ·
Boat builder central only had it in the natural "black" form. I think the point of using graphite over paint pigment is that it helps 'slide' over any objects that I may strike underwater (logs, oysters, etc.)

I know carpenters use this stuff on door hinges because of its superior lubrication properties. The idea of mixing it into epoxy is a similar concept. It doesn't make the epoxy any tougher, but helps object slide over the hull easier...
 
#25 ·
My opinion, for the sides, paint over a high build primer will look better and you have so many more color choices.
JC
 
#26 · (Edited)
It took some time, but I was finally able to finish removing the old paint.

Transport Vehicle Mode of transport Automotive exterior Car

Taped off the section of the hull that was to receive epoxy/graphite. Mixed 15oz of epoxy and added ~3oz of graphite for a 20% mix. Here it is after 2 coats (I waited just over an hour between each coat for the epoxy to kick, it was a warm day so sped up the process a bit).

Vehicle Automotive exterior Trailer Car Asphalt


2 more coats for a total of 4 for the bottom.

Room


For anyone who may go this route, make sure when selecting rollers to get the shortest nap possible. I used 1/4" nap because that was the shortest at my local home build store. The lady 1st talked me into using the foam ones, but that was a mistake. When the epoxy heated up, the foam started falling apart, so I switched...

I am pretty excited to flip the hull and work on the inside, that I don't have to sand the outside anymore, and that I do not have to go into a full bunny suit from this point - the rest will be done in long sleeves only...
 
#27 ·
Looks good, I used foam rollers but only made batches 7-8oz then go as fast as possible. I think I did only half the bottom per mix and could get through 2 mixes with 1 roller.
JC
 
#29 ·
I have some decisions to make, namely the spacing of the bulkheads (and hence the sizes of the decks).

It's a 14' boat, and I was thinking 6' front deck, 5' cockpit, 3' rear deck.

Is 5' a big enough cockpit? What about if I want to add a cooler?

Is 3' a big enough rear deck for a platform and some space to cast from if not on platform?

All opinions appreciated!
 
#30 ·
How wide is the beam? I think it's going to be you that has to make the decision on the deck sizes. What you describe sounds pretty good to me, but it would be easier to see what looks "right" looking at the boat "in person". Are you going to leave the bulkheads open for access under the decks? 5' cockpit would be plenty for me because I travel light and organized. Nice work you did replacing that transom.
 
#33 · (Edited)
Flipped the hull

Vehicle Transport Trailer Plant community Boat



started tearing out the front bench. anyone need any 2x10s for some floor joists?


front bench seat is out

Tree Automotive exterior Vehicle Car Parking


Skiff


now to make some layout decision. that front deck is going to get taken out - it wont serve a purpose (other than supporting the new deck possibly). thinking about placing the new front deck at 6 feet from the bow - which is the back of the 2x4 in this photo (i know its hard to judge from this perspective)...
 
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