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1967 Johnsen Skiff

6K views 22 replies 7 participants last post by  DuckNut 
#1 ·
Hey everyone. New member here but have been browsing the forums for a long time. I used to have a 1988 Gheenoe Classic that I sold a few years ago. I have decided to start a new project after looking at a 1967 Johnsen Skiff that had not moved from my girlfriends fathers garage in the last 2 1/2 years that I have know her. Got his permission to do a complete overhaul so we can use it in some of the creeks my flats boat can't get in to. I am going to try to post updates as I progress. This is my first project like this and am going to have plenty of questions I'm sure( I already have a bunch lol). So I started by stripping the boat down the the hull and grinding the gel coat down to fiberglass inside. Still have a few areas to finish up in the tight areas. My goal is to make a false floor and put a deck on it to look like my flats boats baby brother.

Some questions.
1) from what I have been told, this boat is polyester.  Can I use polyester resin to do this build or should I use epoxy? 
2) I have a hole where the bow eye was and looks to have ripped through, also about 12 holes in the floor of the hull where there was a livewell, I guess for drainage. What's the best method in dealing these?
3) I really don't know where to start when doing the false floor. There were no stringers prior but I plan on putting in 3 in the existing lines in the floor. What's the best method for making the templates to do this?
4) the last question(for now) is how much of the resin and 5/8" marine ply and whatever else I will need for this should I purchase?

Sorry for the long post just want to make sure I do this right. And as for now, I'm planning on ply instead of composites as this is going to be our beat around boat. Thanks for any help Yall can provide! Looking forward to learning a lot.
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#3 ·
For resin, I like the extra grab of epoxy. That is not to say that lots of people use polyester and do fine. Check a recent thread for cleaning tips with polyester.

For the hole- 1708. If you have the budget, and you like boats, it would not be a bad deal to stock up on some 1708 and cloth while you are at it.

You have a good dust mask, right? not one of those paper things.
 
#4 ·
Finn I have the ratchet straps there so that when we cut everything out of the boat it didn't warp outward.

Time machine, thanks I think I will use epoxy. From everything I have read you can't use gel coat over it correct. If that's the case what do I use to paint it?  And I am planning on using 1708 and CSM. Does that sound right?
 
#6 ·
Finn I have the ratchet straps there so that when we cut everything out of the boat it didn't warp outward.

Time machine, thanks I think I will use epoxy. From everything I have read you can't use gel coat over it correct. If that's the case what do I use to paint it?  And I am planning on using 1708 and CSM. Does that sound right?
I've done OK with gelcoat over epoxy. You need to water wash first.

I don't like csm with epoxy- the binder is made for polyester. 1708- mat side down.

For paint, the sky is the limit. If you want to spray, you need to look at your budget, because it all adds up. Acrylic urethane can be sanded and buffed out. (even I can paint almost OK with it.) Awlcraft 2000, ppg dcc car paint. maybe just camo out the outside, and use some non-skid on the inside?

Have you thought about flotation?
 
#7 ·
okay thanks. Will the 1708 be able to fill the bow eye hole without creasing. My concern is that it is a tight spot and didn't know if it would lay without air pockets.

As farnas flotation I plan on putting two part foam under the false floor.
 
#8 ·
Finn I have the ratchet straps there so that when we cut everything out of the boat it didn't warp outward.
Thanks. I've got a line on a similar vintage Johnsen here in Houston that I've got my eye on restoring and it would be my first project so I'm trolling the board for tips & tricks.
 
#9 ·
[quote/]Thanks. I've got a line on a similar vintage Johnsen here in Houston that I've got my eye on restoring and it would be my first project so I'm trolling the board for tips & tricks.[/quote]


No worries bud. I know how you feel. This is my first build and trying to learn what I can before I dive in too far doing something wrong. Good luck man and post your project when you get going.
 
#10 ·
okay thanks. Will the 1708 be able to fill the bow eye hole without creasing. My concern is that it is a tight spot and didn't know if it would lay without air pockets.

As farnas flotation I plan on putting two part foam under the false floor.

The 1708 will go into the crack, but you need to force it with something non-stick. I like to cover stuff with duck tape to use as mini forms, and it peels off later.
 
#15 ·
Okay so I finished up the dirty work of grinding down the inside of the hull. While I was grinding the strakes and keel there was what looked like some build up of epoxy. I ground a couple down to find a large hole being patched in the stake. I didn't grind the others all the way after finding this. How to I go about fixing these properly? Do I need to grind them all down into a hole and patch them all or should I leave the ones that haven't been ground alone? Thanks for helping a beginner!



 
#16 ·
Cut a piece of glass that is 1 inch bigger all the way around the hole, then cut three more each time adding 1 more inch.

Mix your epoxy and wet out the pieces. Patch from the inside starting with the smallest piece working up to the largest. Once laid in place roll out any air bubbles. When you flip the hull use thickened epoxy to recreate the rest of the strake.
 
#19 ·
Might I also add that 5/8 ply is way overkill.
After a couple layers of glass over 5/8 ply your little boat will weigh as much as your flats boat lol.
You can save alot of weight by taking the time to engineer and design your decks to be much thinner but by adding braces and certain anoint of fiberglass in key places
 
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