refinishing my boat

[yankee-rose]

i have a 19ft atlantic boat that i took in on trade it has a soft spot in the floor and the gel coat is very oxidized. im new to doing any type of boat work so this will be a big challange for me.what i want to know is how much of the floor needs to come up,and what is the best way to start. i have already pulled the seats and the piece of plywood they had in there. also when wet sanding the boat to try to get the gel coat to come back to life what is the best git sand paper to use a buddy of mine to me to start off with 330 if that didnt do it then go to 220. is there a cleaner that will save me some time and energy thanks in advance

 

[mrdjflores]

Re: refinishing my boat

welcome to iBoats first off....
i can't give much help on the gelcoat, but as far as the floor is concerned, here's my two cents worth..
boats typically rot from the bottom up and from back to front.
if your floor has soft spots, then typically something is giving way beneath it.
hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
1) thoroughly inspect the transom area, there should be no movement, drill some inspection holes from the inside (do not go all the way through) and look for moist and blackened wood shavings...and signs of that, your transom has rot.
2) do the same for the stringers, if you can get to some of them from the bilge area....or from the area where you have already removed a piece of the decking.
3) if your boat has foam in it, core a sample and look for wet/soaked foam.

these three tasks will help you determine how much of the boat will be a repair job or a restoration job.

lastly, post pictures...we love pictures...

 

[yankee-rose]

Re: refinishing my boat

these are pics before starting restoration

 

[Georgesalmon]

Re: refinishing my boat

from the third picture it looks like your not gonna be happy. Need to check everything out as mrjd said.

 

[yankee-rose]

Re: refinishing my boat

thanks foe yalls help keep the advice coming

 

[mrdjflores]

Re: refinishing my boat

does the center window open and close without hitting or dragging the side frames?

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: refinishing my boat

+1 for mrjd's advice

the 3rd pix appears to show a previous repair that didn't get glassed over, that's not a good sign..

You can start the prep for glass work by reading thru some of the threads in Don's How to list

Welcome to the iBoats dry dock

 

[yankee-rose]

Re: refinishing my boat

yes a buddy of mine is going to help me he says we will cut the floor out put new plywood in and glass over he has been doing it for 30yrs

 

[yankee-rose]

Re: refinishing my boat

yes the center opens without hitting or anything

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: refinishing my boat

yes the center opens without hitting or anything

That's a good thing. If the center window does not work properly........it indicates a collapse in the structure from rot.

 

[mrdjflores]

Re: refinishing my boat

ditto at what Bob said.....he knew exactly what i was thinking when i asked the question about the window...
great minds think alike

 

[yankee-rose]

Re: refinishing my boat

where do i start my mesuraments for the bimini top theres loops like for hooking the top too but also have same loops in back im looking for a bimini top for her the name of the boat is yankee-rose but dont tell my wife told her wasnt using that name but i like what she came up with

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: refinishing my boat

where do i start my mesuraments for the bimini top theres loops like for hooking the top too but also have same loops in back im looking for a bimini top for her the name of the boat is yankee-rose but dont tell my wife told her wasnt using that name but i like what she came up with

Just a suggestion....... The bimini top is easy and you would normally measure from the point of the gunwale to the opposite side ........basically the mounting width.

Hold off on that top until you have a good grip on the structure repairs to the decking etc.

 

[yankee-rose]

Re: refinishing my boat

oh i am i just wanted to know how to measure for the top

 

[greenbush future]

Re: refinishing my boat

I second the hold off part, until you have assessed the stringers, transom and floor, you don't really know what you have. With a little luck the repairs wont be too costly and you can then focus on functional stuff like bimini's. That raw plywood on the floor isn't a great sign, time to do a full inspection on all the wood areas to see if see is safe.