1969 Larson - Big Project

[avpaulb]

Re: 1969 Larson - Big Project

Yeah, that was the general plan. Hopefully someone in town has some glass bubbles!

 

[coolbri70]

Re: 1969 Larson - Big Project

got to say that is a good lookin boat imho i did not dig into mine as deep, the glass stringers were pretty solid on mine so i just used the wire brush on the grinder to rough it up put down the 4 boards that run the beam they hold the 2 boards that make the top of the stringer and glassed over that put a few holes in those replaced the foam cut off what over flowed out the holes and glassed over them, the deck i used 1/4 ply glassed the bottom then over the top with 1/4 inch of glass was trying to keep it light weight, i have a friend who likes to go fast and he keeps on me about weight he means well though he gave me most of the cloth and mat i needed and some pigment he got from west marine to work on his boat also tried to get me to test some new age honeycomb metal material in my transom said it was high dollar stuff the racing boats are using, i went with plywood like it came with. my brother came by today and i was showing him my project, and he said it looked light weight out of curiosity i grabbed the bottom of the transom to feel how heavy, to my suprise i lifted it off the trailer evinrude and all, these hulls are light as you stated. not sure what the rude adds to the weight but by feel the whole boat can't be much more than 1000-1500lbs if i can squat the heavy end, i mean im strong but not an olympic weightlifter by any means it lookin good so keep it up, or as ive been told, attaboy way to go. and once again nice lookin boat

 

[avpaulb]

Re: 1969 Larson - Big Project

Oh... the interior looked OK, but believe me when I say everything else was soaked to the core. Nothing salvageable. I hoped going into it that I would be able to salvage some, but I knew in my heart it wasn't going to happen.

I'm still developing all of my battle plans, but was was able to get it off the trailer today with myself and one other fat dude. Built a floor stand today so I can flip the boat tomorrow and begin work on the underbelly. Plenty of scratches and dings.

With some hope... I should be able to unload the drastically over length motor and a couple of other unneeded items to pay for all of the repairs and upgrades. All I have to worry about then is coming across a suitable short shaft with some HP!

PICS to come for those who care! Weather and daylight didn't quite cooperate today for taking photos.

got to say that is a good lookin boat imho i did not dig into mine as deep, the glass stringers were pretty solid on mine so i just used the wire brush on the grinder to rough it up put down the 4 boards that run the beam they hold the 2 boards that make the top of the stringer and glassed over that put a few holes in those replaced the foam cut off what over flowed out the holes and glassed over them, the deck i used 1/4 ply glassed the bottom then over the top with 1/4 inch of glass was trying to keep it light weight, i have a friend who likes to go fast and he keeps on me about weight he means well though he gave me most of the cloth and mat i needed and some pigment he got from west marine to work on his boat also tried to get me to test some new age honeycomb metal material in my transom said it was high dollar stuff the racing boats are using, i went with plywood like it came with. my brother came by today and i was showing him my project, and he said it looked light weight out of curiosity i grabbed the bottom of the transom to feel how heavy, to my suprise i lifted it off the trailer evinrude and all, these hulls are light as you stated. not sure what the rude adds to the weight but by feel the whole boat can't be much more than 1000-1500lbs if i can squat the heavy end, i mean im strong but not an olympic weightlifter by any means it lookin good so keep it up, or as ive been told, attaboy way to go. and once again nice lookin boat

 

[avpaulb]

Re: 1969 Larson - Big Project

I don't suppose you know the mixing quantities of the glass bubbles with resin?

Making your own "Filler/Fairing" material is best. This allows you to have more working time and make it to the consistency you like. Resin and 3M Glass Bubbles is what you will need. Wipe it all down with Acetone and Dremel out any gouges and then fill leaving it a bit high. Use 180 to smooth it all out.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1969 Larson - Big Project

I don't suppose you know the mixing quantities of the glass bubbles with resin?

I start with a cup of resin and a cup of bubbles and add bubbles till I get "Mayonaise". If you can't find bubbles locally you might see if you can find some 3M Marine Filler. It sets up in about 10-15 minutes so it's not as "User Friendly" as making your own and it's more like creamy peanut butter so you can't fill minor blemishes as well as you can with our "Home Made" stuff but it will work pretty well. Just DON'T use BONDO. It is NOT waterproof.

 

[avpaulb]

Re: 1969 Larson - Big Project

Well finally was able to get the boat flipped tonight, thanks to a bit of added manpower. I went ahead and decided to keep the cap on and bolster it, which worked out great. I figured this would make life much easier in keeping the overall form of the boat.



As you can see, quite a few years of stuck on muck. I'm in the process of removing that...



I will remove the remaining patches as I go... carefully.

The following are sample pictures of damage all below the chine (?). These raise some questions...



There are a rather significant number of chips like this that seem to me to be easy to repair. I'm going to take some previous advise and repair with a mixture of resin and 3M glass bubbles, sand, and gelcoat.

However, the entire bottom of the boat is covered with a large amount of gelcoat scratches, not reaching the fiberglass:



It seems to me that the logical approach to this would be to apply a new layer of gelcoat to this entire area (bow to stern) in order to clear out all of the scratches??? This is the biggest question of the eve.

Lastly, there is a previously poorly done repair:



It looks to me like a row of small gelcoat dings along the chine, cheaply covered with some biaxial. My thought is to carefully sand off the fiberglass, appropriately patch each hole, and gelcoat. Thoughts?

Bummer of the evening, I can't find a single store in town that carries 3M glass bubbles! Unfortunately I'm about as far away from US Composites as it gets. Everything I order from them is going to take 7 days to get! So unless I find a closer supplier, I'm always going to be a week out on my project. (Unless someone knows a good supplier on the West coast)

As always, I'm listening to any expert suggestions!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1969 Larson - Big Project

Try these guys in San Diego. http://www.fiberglasswarehouse.com/aboutus3.php
Also For the big gouges don't use Bubbles, they're for the final finish fairing and smooth finish. For more of a structural filler which is what you need for the gouges, use cabosil and a small amount of 1/4" choppped milled fibers. This will fill make it strong as heck. Then use the the bubble mix to do a final fairing and smoothing prior to Paint/Gelcoat.

 

[avpaulb]

Re: 1969 Larson - Big Project

Good call. I actually ordered a starter supply of bubbles, cabosil, and fibers today. So, I'll be good to go. Also checked with the owner of our largest locally owned hardware store to see if I can get a resin hookup. Keeping the fingers crossed on that one.

Any thoughts on all of the minor gelcoat scratches? My thought is to gelcoat the entire surface once the major repairs are done. Theory behind this being that the gelcoat should fill in the minor gouges. Then of course sand and paint.

Try these guys in San Diego. http://www.fiberglasswarehouse.com/aboutus3.php
Also For the big gouges don't use Bubbles, they're for the final finish fairing and smooth finish. For more of a structural filler which is what you need for the gouges, use cabosil and a small amount of 1/4" choppped milled fibers. This will fill make it strong as heck. Then use the the bubble mix to do a final fairing and smoothing prior to Paint/Gelcoat.

 

[avpaulb]

Re: 1969 Larson - Big Project

I did check out fiberglasswarehouse.com, and just for everyone's reference they appear to be about 15-20% more expensive than USComposites.com across the board. Sometimes more than that.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1969 Larson - Big Project

But by the time you pay shipping from Florida....How do their prices compare???

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: 1969 Larson - Big Project

I would try to sand out as many scratches in your hull as possible.

There are three ways of doing this.. were talking from chine down to keel.

1. If you Know that your going to re-gel the bottom..then sand most of the scratches out with 120ish paper ( whatever you feel comfy with ). Then fill and fair the rest of the deeper scratches and repairs. Then do your gelcoat application ( spray/sand/buff ). We can get into the how too if you go this way.

2. Try to sand/buff out most of the superficial scratches. Start with 320 on a power sander..then hand sand up to 800 and buff.

3. If your going to Paint the bottom .. then sand most of the scratches down with 120..then fill and fair..then apply High Build primer..sand that and then do your smaller fills and fairs. Prep it well and blow some paint on there .

Which way are you leaning towards ?

Those little blowouts on your chines are just air voids..no biggy just fill and fair with some tiger hair filler.

YD.

 

[avpaulb]

Re: 1969 Larson - Big Project

I'm convinced at this point that I will re-gel and paint. There are so many nicks, cuts and scratches that it just makes sense to do. Maybe I'll sand out a patch of the scratches to see what you think.

I know nobody is really looking at this part of the boat anyway, but I figure if I'm going to do it... might as well.

I would try to sand out as many scratches in your hull as possible.

There are three ways of doing this.. were talking from chine down to keel.

1. If you Know that your going to re-gel the bottom..then sand most of the scratches out with 120ish paper ( whatever you feel comfy with ). Then fill and fair the rest of the deeper scratches and repairs. Then do your gelcoat application ( spray/sand/buff ). We can get into the how too if you go this way.

2. Try to sand/buff out most of the superficial scratches. Start with 320 on a power sander..then hand sand up to 800 and buff.

3. If your going to Paint the bottom .. then sand most of the scratches down with 120..then fill and fair..then apply High Build primer..sand that and then do your smaller fills and fairs. Prep it well and blow some paint on there .

Which way are you leaning towards ?

Those little blowouts on your chines are just air voids..no biggy just fill and fair with some tiger hair filler.

YD.

Got word on an OLD Johnson 40 HP I'm going to look at. The guy thinks its a 1960 ish. OLD.

 

[avpaulb]

Re: 1969 Larson - Big Project

For me, USComposites still appears to be significantly cheaper. I'm going to take another look to make sure I'm not crazy, but that does appear to be the case.

But by the time you pay shipping from Florida....How do their prices compare???

 

[avpaulb]

Re: 1969 Larson - Big Project

Went to have a look at a couple of 1959 Johnson 40HP motors a guy has for sale. He has one that runs attached to a 1959 Coronado (?) that he is asking WAY too much for given the boat's condition. But for what he's asking for the other... maybe it's worth it???

Check this out:



It appears to be a 20" shaft, which according to some prior posts should be about right. Only issue is it's steering system versus what I currently have.

Any ideas where I can look up info on this motor with a serial#?

 

[avpaulb]

Re: 1969 Larson - Big Project

Well, I think I made it through the abysmal muck this evening:



Found a lovely little hole, about 1" in diameter, filled with bondo and covered with latex caulk. I tapped it with a screwdriver and it fell right through! Great. I wonder why everything inside was so wet?



Removed the layer of biaxial on the poorly done repair... this should be interesting later.



150 grit sandpaper proved to be highly effective in all of these tasks. But, sanding gelcoat is really great at trashing your breathing filters. Time for new ones.

Hopefully tomorrow I can get to work at taking out a good portion of the scratches!

As always, thanks for any advice! AND... practice safe beer!



(The "Beer-phylactic, patent pending)

 

[avpaulb]

Re: 1969 Larson - Big Project

Parts are on the way! Hooray. Better get to sanding and find a spray gun!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1969 Larson - Big Project

Went to have a look at a couple of 1959 Johnson 40HP motors a guy has for sale. He has one that runs attached to a 1959 Coronado (?) that he is asking WAY too much for given the boat's condition. But for what he's asking for the other... maybe it's worth it???

Check this out:

View attachment 148256View attachment 148259

It appears to be a 20" shaft, which according to some prior posts should be about right. Only issue is it's steering system versus what I currently have.

Any ideas where I can look up info on this motor with a serial#?

I have that Motor's cousin a 1962 40 HP Evinrude. Just like the Johnson it is also an Electric shift. The thing about electric shifts is...They're great as long as the servo's and the solenoids and the switches are in good working condition. If not, parts are VERY difficult to find IF you can find them at all. Luckily mine were all PERFECT. My 40 hp is for sure a Little less Hp than I would like for my 15 foot boat but it does push her along at about 25 mph with 500lbs of passengers aboard. If it were me I'd be looking for a 65 to 70 hp motor. If you need advice on fixing that hole just ask.

 

[avpaulb]

Re: 1969 Larson - Big Project

Will do, thanks Wood.

I think my plan of attack is going to be to glass it from the inside first, then fill from the outside. Still working on the logistics in my head, but any thoughts are always welcome.

There is a good video on Youtube that I'm probably going to replicate:

1. Grind out the hole a bit, probably with my Dremmel, towards the inside of the hull
2. Attach some reinforced wax paper to the outside of the hull to cover the hole
3. Patch the hole from the inside with probably 3-4 layers of CSM

Should creat a nice smooth surface on the outside of the hole with minimal filling required.

 

[Willyclay]

Re: 1969 Larson - Big Project

Went to have a look at a couple of 1959 Johnson 40HP motors a guy has for sale.

The link below is a thread in the Engine FAQ's that should answer your questions about OMC (E&J) model numbers/years. FYI, the first year of the 40HP in the Big Twin series was 1960. If it is a 1959 model, then it is only 35HP. Also, these are "old horsepower" motors that were rated at the crankshaft or by the Marketing Department and are 12-15% less powerful than modern motors of the same horsepower. As a pup, I did a lot of skiing behind a 1963 Larson All-American 16ft with a McCulloch three-cylinder 60HP motor and agree with WOG that you may not be happy with the performance of anything less. Good luck!

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=365226

 

[avpaulb]

Re: 1969 Larson - Big Project

Yeah, I know. My 25 works great, but man it takes a while to get across big water!

I'd love to get my hands on a 50-60 HP. The trick is finding one that won't cost me an arm and a leg! Plus... still have to unload this 25 HP to help finish this project!

The link below is a thread in the Engine FAQ's that should answer your questions about OMC (E&J) model numbers/years. FYI, the first year of the 40HP in the Big Twin series was 1960. If it is a 1959 model, then it is only 35HP. Also, these are "old horsepower" motors that were rated at the crankshaft or by the Marketing Department and are 12-15% less powerful than modern motors of the same horsepower. As a pup, I did a lot of skiing behind a 1963 Larson All-American 16ft with a McCulloch three-cylinder 60HP motor and agree with WOG that you may not be happy with the performance of anything less. Good luck!

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=365226