1970 Alumacraft Alpex Bali in need of help!

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Duke124

Cadet
Joined
Jun 2, 2005
Messages
15
My uncle acquired this boat when he purchased his cabin about 7 years ago. The boat has sat in the same spot since 2000.

I decided last week that I wanted to get this thing up and running by the end of summer!

The motor runs great. I had a problem with the electric shift lower unit but I have since repaired that.

Now onto the boat. After purchasing new tires and towing it to my house, this is what I ended up with.

http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/ss335/dukebradbury/1970%20Alumacraft%20Alpex%20Bali/Boat022.jpg[/IMG]
http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/ss335/dukebradbury/1970%20Alumacraft%20Alpex%20Bali/Boat004.jpg[/IMG]
http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/ss335/dukebradbury/1970%20Alumacraft%20Alpex%20Bali/Boat005.jpg[/IMG]
http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/ss335/dukebradbury/1970%20Alumacraft%20Alpex%20Bali/Boat006.jpg[/IMG]
http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/ss335/dukebradbury/1970%20Alumacraft%20Alpex%20Bali/Boat007.jpg[/IMG]
http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/ss335/dukebradbury/1970%20Alumacraft%20Alpex%20Bali/Boat008.jpg[/IMG]
 
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Duke124

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Joined
Jun 2, 2005
Messages
15
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Duke124

Cadet
Joined
Jun 2, 2005
Messages
15
Re: 1970 Alumacraft Alpex Bali in need of help!

It looks like the Gelcoat is cracking pretty bad. I also have some holes where something was bolted into the transom (transom eyes?). I planned on filling the holes with Marine-tex. How do I get rid of the cracking? I wet sanded a small area with 400grit and it smoothed it out real nice, but you can still see some cracking. I am not opposed to painting it later, but wanted to get it in ok condition now.

http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/ss335/dukebradbury/1970%20Alumacraft%20Alpex%20Bali/Boat018.jpg[/IMG]
http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/ss335/dukebradbury/1970%20Alumacraft%20Alpex%20Bali/Boat019.jpg[/IMG]
http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/ss335/dukebradbury/1970%20Alumacraft%20Alpex%20Bali/Boat020.jpg[/IMG]
http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/ss335/dukebradbury/1970%20Alumacraft%20Alpex%20Bali/Boat021.jpg[/IMG]

Thanks for all your help.
 
Yacht Dr.

Yacht Dr.

Vice Admiral
Joined
Feb 26, 2005
Messages
5,581
Re: 1970 Alumacraft Alpex Bali in need of help!

Hello Duke..

Wholy crazing man !

Many layers of Sealers .. much sanding..recoat..recoat

Dunno if I would paint that.. possible to Duratek after sealers then re-gel it.

How is that Johnson sea horse ? fluids clean ? runs good ? ( dont run untill that is inspected ).

YD.
 
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Duke124

Cadet
Joined
Jun 2, 2005
Messages
15
Re: 1970 Alumacraft Alpex Bali in need of help!

Yacht Dr. said:
Hello Duke..

Wholy crazing man !

Many layers of Sealers .. much sanding..recoat..recoat

Dunno if I would paint that.. possible to Duratek after sealers then re-gel it.

How is that Johnson sea horse ? fluids clean ? runs good ? ( dont run untill that is inspected ).

YD.
Click to expand...

When you say sealers, what product do you mean? Should I sand down to past the cracking?

When I got the boat, the lower unit was empty! the engine runs great, but the electric shift wouldn't work. Forward and reverse were inop.

I pulled the lower unit and found that the wires for the electric shift were missing all of the insulation and were shorting out. Also the wire for the reverse magnet wasn't even connected. I replaced the wires and filled with Type c oil. Everything seems to be working great....

Take into mind this is the 1st boat I have ever worked on, and at this time I haven't received the OEM Johnson manual that I ordered.
 
ondarvr

ondarvr

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Apr 6, 2005
Messages
11,527
Re: 1970 Alumacraft Alpex Bali in need of help!

The original gel coat job on that hull was done poorly and at this point the gel coat itself is junk. If you want it to look good for years to come, then the repairs are time consuming, messy and possibly frustrating.

One option it to sand, seal and repaint with the toughest products you can find. The problem is the gel coat base you're building on is in very bad condition and any time you have cracks in a substrate the cracks tend to migrate back to the surface over time when they are just painted over.

The long term solution is to sand off all of the gel coat and then re-spray it, it can be re-sprayed with gel coat or paint, that's up to you. This method works long term, but it takes a good deal of time and hassle for it to turn out well.

It comes down to how much time and money you want to put into this boat.
 
D

Duke124

Cadet
Joined
Jun 2, 2005
Messages
15
Re: 1970 Alumacraft Alpex Bali in need of help!

ondarvr said:
The original gel coat job on that hull was done poorly and at this point the gel coat itself is junk. If you want it to look good for years to come, then the repairs are time consuming, messy and possibly frustrating.

One option it to sand, seal and repaint with the toughest products you can find. The problem is the gel coat base you're building on is in very bad condition and any time you have cracks in a substrate the cracks tend to migrate back to the surface over time when they are just painted over.

The long term solution is to sand off all of the gel coat and then re-spray it, it can be re-sprayed with gel coat or paint, that's up to you. This method works long term, but it takes a good deal of time and hassle for it to turn out well.

It comes down to how much time and money you want to put into this boat.
Click to expand...

....time consuming, messy, and possibly frustrating. Sounds like the story of my life! I do want this to last, and I want it to be done right.

At this point, I would like to get it in the water and check out the motor. Maybe take it on a 20 min. drive and make sure that have a good motor before putting in all the time to fix up the hull.

I think sanding it, sealing and a repaint is what I am thinking. My problem is I have never done something like that.

How far do I sand down and with what grit?

What sealers would I use? How many applications? And how are they applied? Spray or roll-on? And do I sand after the sealers?

Paint or Gelcoat? does it matter? Spray or roll-on?

Also, this has been sitting in the weather (rain, snow...). How would I tell if the floor is ok?

Thank you so much for your help.
 
D

Duke124

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Joined
Jun 2, 2005
Messages
15
Re: 1970 Alumacraft Alpex Bali in need of help!

Alright, getting ready to tackle the hull. I got a DA sander and some 80grit.

I plan on taking it down with the 80, hitting it with 200 grit, and then finishing it up with 600 before I paint it.
Any suggestions/concerns?

You mentioned some sealers. What sealer should I use?

Do I need to prep it any different if I choose to paint it?
I really appreciate your advice!
 
Yacht Dr.

Yacht Dr.

Vice Admiral
Joined
Feb 26, 2005
Messages
5,581
Re: 1970 Alumacraft Alpex Bali in need of help!

Hello Duke..

Whohhh ... easy m8.. dont jump the gun yet lol..

First I would not take it to 600 grit ( this isnt a porche :) )

Secondly.. I Would prime it with a 2 part epoxy ( just me though and it is expensive ). The prep for primer is about 120-150. After that then prep the primer to say.. 320-400 .. again hard to say because every brand of paper IS different.

Try to get some of that Crazing out of there, clean if off and show us some more pics. You may or may not need the sealer.

You should goto Interlux web site and research the sealers they have for your continued applications..then possibly research some alternative that may not be so labor/cost extensive..

YD.
 
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