I didn't want to restore this 1997 Islander this summer

[redneck joe]

Me too brother, me too...

I keep telling myself that this one season mostly missed will be rewarded with many trouble free ones.

 

[Fj40fiji]

I regret this. If I could get half of what I’m into this boat, I’d get out of it right now.

 

[Fj40fiji]

Every time I go to do something on this boat I think to myself that if I don’t go the extra mile and then have trouble I could have prevented while I’m on the water I’ll never forgive myself- particularly where the safety of my kids are concerned.

 

[redneck joe]

Get out of your own head. When you are on the water with the boy and you KNOW everything is good you will not regret anything you did this year. I was there with you, about this stage. In pushing 60 with a grandkid on the way (hoping for a girl I can make into a tomboy) and that kept me going.

 

[BWR1953]

I’d rather be fishing. . .

I feel your pain.

 

[airshot]

Work faster so you can go fishing !!! Lol....

 

[Fj40fiji]

Stripped and pressure washed. If my buddy comes through tomorrow I’ll start putting rivets IN.

 

[Fj40fiji]

I had done a lot of drilling and hammering out rivets already, but today is the first day I started cleaning them to get ready for new ones. Some of them were patched over by the PO with presumably JB weld. I opened up this. Most of the corrosion is minor and all the rivets are going with 5200. I think I’ll cut a little 1-1/2” washer out of the 5052 .80” sheet I have to go on this one.

 

[Fj40fiji]

Progress. I need just a few 5/8” rivets, had to put pop rivets for now.

 

[cyclops222]

Why are you sweating about doing foam on the bottom ?
My small Aluminum boat has all the foam in the space under the full width bench seats. Do some L X W X D to see if you can get enough floatation there and under any raised decks.
Plain old Closed Cell foam block would work Since gas and E10 would not splash & soak them.

 

[Fj40fiji]

Well, about 40 rivets all together. Two needed a little “patch”, essentially cut a fender washer from 5052 Al.

 

[Fj40fiji]

Why are you sweating about doing foam on the bottom ?
My small Aluminum boat has all the foam in the space under the full width bench seats. Do some L X W X D to see if you can get enough floatation there and under any raised decks.
Plain old Closed Cell foam block would work Since gas and E10 would not splash & soak them.

Sweating foam because it’s hard to get out and expensive to replace. I need about 2200 lbs of floatation, or 36 +/-cf of foam.

 

[redneck joe]

Making quick work. You going to gluvit as well?

 

[redneck joe]

Sweating foam because it’s hard to get out and expensive to replace. I need about 2200 lbs of floatation, or 36 +/-cf of foam.

Get the thick stuff as well as the 3/4.

 

[cyclops222]

You can use the same stuff as used in floating docks. 12 " thick. Closed cell. Used to be colored blue. Ages ago.
Get out of the old ruts of doing things.

 

[Fj40fiji]

Making quick work. You going to gluvit as well?

I’m going to let this set up for the week, next weekend I’ll back it into the lake on the trailer and see if I can find anymore leaks and mark them with a sharpie. After those are replaced/re-bucked/5200ed then I’ll put gluvit on all the seams and rivets, then I will hit everything that had light corrosion with some zinc phosphate primer- then assemble. I have today off work some I am planning to cut my new floors and start sealing them. I’ll try to get a coat or two on today and then add a couple more coats in the evenings after work.

 

[redneck joe]

Good deal. FYI on my 18, more skinny boat on gluvit would have been fine for the rivets alone but missed a couple three sections and had already slathered on what I thought was extra. When it dries it gains color to see better where you might have missed so I bought another and slathered that s... everywhere. For a big islander I'd go ahead and buy two but reserve some for the next day look.

 

[Fj40fiji]

It’s not an exhaustive list, not in exact order, and some items may be iterative. None the less making a list helps me stop ruminating in the evening and gives me something to track against and know I’m progressing.

 

[cyclops222]

A written list is the best way to attack a project with many possibilities in play.