1981 Springbok 18' Restoration/Renovation

[SlipperyOar]

Bought my first home, been learning how to mud and tape and crawling in an attic and crawl space to relocate some outlets and switches. Will continue the boat build once I see the damage of my mortgage payments and have some free time.
Cheers!

 

[MikeSchinlaub]

Ugh, I suck with drywall. Don't rely on the breakers being labled correctly, use a light pen and double check at the outlet/switch that the power is off. Have fun finding all the janky repairs from previous owners!

 

[SlipperyOar]

Ugh, I suck with drywall. Don't rely on the breakers being labled correctly, use a light pen and double check at the outlet/switch that the power is off. Have fun finding all the janky repairs from previous owners!

These old houses sure didn’t follow a code when it came to electrical lol, I thought the long days of setting rivets and welding new aluminum pieces and whatnot were bad but going in an attic for hours to identify wires and sanding drywall tops that, hands down. Last bit of trim going up now before the final pieces of furniture and then I’ll be able to get back at the boat and hopefully paint it before these summertime high humidity days arrive!

 

[SlipperyOar]

Finally back at it, brought the boat down to the shop today and got it hooked up with the A frame and forklift, lifted it off the trailer and got that out of the way, then slowly raised the one chain fall while lowering the other to get it rotated 90°. Had to really guide it past halfway but once it started it was fairly easy and did the reverse with the chain falls. Got it set up on some wood in a comfortable position to sand the existing paint. I first gave it a wash with only water to rinse any dirt off, then I sprayed degreaser on it and using a brush I scrubbed a lot of other grease and grime off, with another rinse and then let it air dry for a few hours. Began feathering out all the chipped paint spots first, wasn’t too difficult with the different tools I had. Sanding near the rivets was rather tough so I used a pneumatic die grinder tool with stainless wire wheel to clean the areas around rivets. Once I get everything feathered I’m going to do a final sanding over everything and then scotch brite and then a degrease and use acetone before spraying primer.

 

[MikeSchinlaub]

Good to see you back at it. Nice work space.

Just use degreaser, skip the acetone. It's a bit aggressive for automotive paint. For this, it's basically just serving as another degreaser anyway.

 

[SlipperyOar]

got my primer sprayed, was difficult at first dialing in the gun to the right settings for my epoxy primer but once I found the sweet spot it was a breeze. Went on super nicely with great coverage, 1 thin coat and a second medium coat and by the time I cleaned my tools it was looking nice. Hoping tomorrow when I check things out it has cured nicely

 

[SlipperyOar]

After 2 coats of epoxy primer I used some scotch brite and scuffed the surface and then laid down a nice even coat of reduced primer as my sealer coat. Went on very nicely and was happy with the results. Heading into town tomorrow to get the compatible urethane reducer for my topcoat and hopefully can get both tones on before the wet and humid weather at the end of the week.

 

[SlipperyOar]

Well I finally finished painting, was a struggle finding the right times between window replacement in my house and fighting the humidity and heat we’ve had, power went out from a nearby storm as I had the paint opened about to mix and then wouldn’t have any air. Got my Honolulu blue sprayed on tonight and the grey a few days ago, the epoxy primer was amazing for the bare aluminum and scuffed existing paint and really created a nice even surface for the topcoat. Lost track of how many hours I spent with scotch brite in my hands but was well worth it. Gonna let it sit and cure for the next week or so before flipping it back onto the trailer. Enjoying a nice rye and diet tonight before a busy day doing trim work around windows tomorrow.

 

[SlipperyOar]

View attachment IMG_1597.jpeg
Back onto the trailer, time to finish fabricating the top and corner transom caps and fit them up before painting the transom and then finally the interior.

 

[Rasdiir]

Well I finally finished painting, was a struggle finding the right times between window replacement in my house and fighting the humidity and heat we’ve had, power went out from a nearby storm as I had the paint opened about to mix and then wouldn’t have any air. Got my Honolulu blue sprayed on tonight and the grey a few days ago, the epoxy primer was amazing for the bare aluminum and scuffed existing paint and really created a nice even surface for the topcoat. Lost track of how many hours I spent with scotch brite in my hands but was well worth it. Gonna let it sit and cure for the next week or so before flipping it back onto the trailer. Enjoying a nice rye and diet tonight before a busy day doing trim work around windows tomorrow.

Beautiful job, I love the colour!

 

[SlipperyOar]

Finally got some power for the hull, found this 93' Merc 75hp for sale by the original owner who had it gone over by the outboard mechanic at the shop he worked at.
As far as i'm aware it needs a new voltage regulator but an even 130# on all 3 cylinders and runs like a top. Was impressed by how clean it looked, it was previously on a 16' Boston Whaler so i'll need to get side mount remote controls and possibly new shifter cables depending if the old ones fit or not.
Got it home over the weekend and once i have the transom top cap and corner caps made up i can paint them as well as the interior and hang the motor.

 

[SlipperyOar]

Not sure if anyone follows this thread but I’ve been looking for some answers in mounting the 15 gallon aluminum fuel tank that came with the hull. I don’t have any pictures of it but originally it was between the stringers and held down with some metal strapping that was riveted to the stringers and I’m not sure how on earth the PO thought it was secure.

My main idea/plan was to weld aluminum angle to the front and back of the tank with bent tabs on the ends to be riveted using some 1/4” solid rivets (possibly adding 1-2 per side to also rivet the small gap to the stringers). And potentially glue some plastic strips to the bottom and rest on the ribs.

From what I can remember it fit relatively good between the stringers with a minimal gap on either side, it had a V shaped bottom to follow the contour of the hull.

I don’t plan on securing it fully into the hull until I simulate the full mass and see where the weight and balance point will be.

I know it’s a long shot post reaching for answers but everytime I try to search up the topic I end up on a fibreglass boat post

 

[MikeSchinlaub]

Metal strapping around the tank is pretty normal. Usually the tank will fit snugly between something side to side, and have strapping front to back. There are pieces of foam or rubber to keep the strapping off of the tank, and sometimes under the tank to cut down vibration.

 

[SlipperyOar]

Metal strapping around the tank is pretty normal. Usually the tank will fit snugly between something side to side, and have strapping front to back. There are pieces of foam or rubber to keep the strapping off of the tank, and sometimes under the tank to cut down vibration.

Unfortunately this is the only picture I have at the moment of the tank between the stringers, I’ve read to not let the weight rest on the ribs in the bottom of my hull so that’s why I thought I should be welding brackets to suspend it between my stringers. My biggest thing is having a way to secure it to the hull without any movement while doing all the things that protect it from corrosion

 

[MikeSchinlaub]

Oh, lengthwise. I eas picturing one at the rear that went sideways. Honestly, it's been too long since I've dealt with one like that. I don't remember how they are secured.

 

[SlipperyOar]

Got my transom cap fabricated, happy with how it went for looks. Started a corner cap design that I may refine up to look a bit neater and tie everything together. Began roughing in the wooden storage subfloor pieces and happy with their fit considering it will all be painted and wrapped in vinyl.

I can’t seem to upload any photos right now so back to these links

https://imgur.com/a/2CVV2fq

 

[SlipperyOar]

Sub flooring beneath bow casting deck cut and fit into place. Gotta seal and paint the wood and will install once foam is under/around the spaces and the frame is in.

 

[SlipperyOar]

got the bow section complete, cut all of the flooring to fit and pre drilled all the mounting holes in the sub flooring before drilling into the wood so I could properly seal each hole. Planning on completing the rest of the floor within the hull so I can avoid scratching paint while fitting the floor as well as having all the mounting locations lines up.

Going to have quite the task in how I fab up the consoles, the two side storage spots come out about 1” from the gunnels so figuring out a way to make everything appear smooth will be the next big challenge.

 

[SlipperyOar]

been at a standstill again due to unforeseen challenges and other life events lately. Got the plywood flooring for my casting deck sealed up with OTF and then painted with oil based paint. I plan to use a marine vinyl for the flooring since my last boat had carpet and I was not a fan.

I’ve got some aluminum angle ordered that I’m going to attach to the stringers as crossmembers to bridge the gap between stringers and allow me to use 1/2” ply for my main deck. Before I’m able to rivet the angle down I need to mount my fuel tank in the boat. I read lots about attaching plastic or neoprene pieces with lots of 5200 to the underside to give it that air gap all around the tank.

It feels as if I’ve been working in circles lately but my goal is to have the inside pieces all built, my consoles built, and everything dry test fitted together prior to painting the inside to avoid scratching new paint and then once the interior is painted it should be as straightforward as wrapping the wood in vinyl and installing everything. Feels easier said than done but still motivated to finish this project and get on the water by next spring

 

[SlipperyOar]

Rain all day today, I’ve had my 1/2” ply waiting in the boat ready to be cut to size for my flooring and today’s the day I’ll begin.

Got my 1/8” thick, 1-1/2” leg length aluminum angle all measured, measured, cut, measured, and riveted in to place lol. Used 0.183” diameter countersink rivets to fasten to stringers and 1/4” solid rivets to double the supports where floor pieces meet. I aligned them to have 16” centres and went with 1/8” thick to allow me space to add 1/8” flat bar beneath the floor where the pedestal bases will go for some added meat.

Plan is to get the floor cut, and holes drilled where it will rivet into subfloor framing before sealing with OTF and painting it prior to the vinyl/carpet top which I still haven’t decided on.

Going to test fit and confirm all of the flooring fits up perfect and locate the area where my access hatch for the fuel tank will be prior to installing the tank. I used a scotchbrite pad on my orbital to clean up the tank and prep it for an epoxy coating and gluing some HDPE runners along the bottom. The tank is going to be held in place with aluminum angle between my stringers.

Should be able to begin making a console prototype out of some angle cardboard I got from a closet organizer that the Mrs. wanted lol. Will hopefully have an update post this evening with the floor work in progress. Cheers