Savage Avalon

[HOOKED.UP]

Re: Savage Avalon

Hi dcr42t

ACETONE. One of the most important cleaning agents in glass building.

Long story, search the web and this site for keying layers of glass?resin.

ACETONE has a flash point of 4 degrees.
Static electricity will set off an explosion.
If you get it in your eyes you "can?" be blinded immediately.

Putting acetone rags/cloths/paper towels, in the same container as you waste polyester resin can create a reaction and induce combustion. (Fire).

Acetone is great stuff.
BUT, if you have never used it. READ THE SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS.

I have 2 workshops.
1 is my boat building shed, which contains everything you can think of for the job.
2 is my custom rod building workshop.
I no longer have acetone in this shed, as I often get young visitors come here with their parents.

If your paint is enamel, there is a good chance the acetone might dissolve it.
Your best bet is for a citrus paint stripper, which will not affect the gel coat of the original hull.

Sorry for the long winded answer.

No I am not stripping my old hull soon.
Have heaps to do before that one.

That is only 1 boat in my yard.

Paul.

 

[mark1961]

Re: Savage Avalon

I hope this thread continues.

There is very little info on the older boats in Aus.

We seem to be a throw away society here.

Personally, I love some of the old boats. They can beat a new boat often, if they are upgraded in a few areas.

Just my passion, after many years of boat building.

Paul.

Agreed, its a shame savage havent done more to archive some of their popular models from days gone by, they used to build some exceptional fibreglass boats. The same applies to a few other manufacturers here too, if only they all were a little more like the guys at steber......

http://www.steber.com.au/archives/

 

[HOOKED.UP]

Re: Savage Avalon

Mark I agree.

It is a great shame that Australian boat manufacturers never thought to save information on the boats they built.
1 problem was probably the fact that most of the manufacturers have had several location changes and probably just never took their old paper files with them.
Also companies have changed hands and i guess information was lost in those change overs.

I have never been able to find any information on "PRIDE" boats.
Which is a great shame as there are still many in Tas and are still quite popular.

You are right. "STEBER" seems to be the exception to the rule in this country.

Paul.

 

[dcr42t]

Re: Savage Avalon

Managed to get some high fill primer on the hull today. Ended up just giving it a quick sand with 180, blew it off and wiped over with tack cloth. Then put first coat on.
Went on pretty nice, but showed up a few hairline cracks. Not sure if i should just fill these with gelcoat filler or what. The worst crack is pictured first.
This crack is at the left hand side where the floor meets the hull. Circled in 2nd picture.

I noticed the primer was going a bit patchy after an hour or so, as you can see in the last pic. Im hoping its not the thinners eating the old paint underneath. Will probably find out tommorow.

 

[HOOKED.UP]

Re: Savage Avalon

HI dcr42t.

That crack, looking at your photo. Looks more than cosmetic.

You might need to do a repair from the inside of the hull.

If as you say, this is a meeting point for floor and hull, I would remove the floor to find more information.

An external patch. IS NOT A REPAIR.

Paul.

 

[dcr42t]

Re: Savage Avalon

So would my best option be to fill this crack and finish painting, and then get it on the trailer and rip the floor out and patch on the inside? Or would it be possible to grind it out and lay some new glass in from the outside and gelcoat filler over the top? Or wouldnt there be enough strength in this? The floor really needs to come out anyway as its come unstuck on the sides, and needs strengthening up for new seat mounting. Kind of dreading this part.

 

[HOOKED.UP]

Re: Savage Avalon

Hi dcr42t.

Forget the outside for now.
Flip the boat back over and get the floor out.
A proper repair must be done from the inside.
You will find lots of threads on here to give you the idea of what is required.

After the inside repair has been completed and your new floor is in, you can turn the boat back over and work on the outside.

Paul.

 

[HOOKED.UP]

Re: Savage Avalon

I would like to hear from DCR, how are you getting on with this project.

Paul.

 

[chrome dome]

Re: Savage Avalon

I hope this thread continues.

There is very little info on the older boats in Aus.

We seem to be a throw away society here.

Personally, I love some of the old boats. They can beat a new boat often, if they are upgraded in a few areas.

Just my passion, after many years of boat building.

Paul.

There is a local forum here that mostly deals with older boats..called The Board IIRC, mind you, it doesn't have the highest turnover of posts LOL, but there is some good reading and tips/suppliers

specially if you have a Volero Dart trying to make it's way to Hobart LOL
l just googled Volero Dart topics and it came up,
cheers'
go Pies!

 

[HOOKED.UP]

Re: Savage Avalon

Thanks Chrome Dome.


Paul.

 

[dcr42t]

Re: Savage Avalon

Yeah still here mate. Probably will be for a while yet!
Got most of the floor out today. Was pretty ordinary. Single stringer down the middle.
Will put some picks up soon. I have to tidy up the edges where the floor meets the hull, find and repair the crack from the inside and then work out how to fit the new floor.

Been to busy at work lately. But still keen to get it going!

 

[HOOKED.UP]

Re: Savage Avalon

Good to hear you are still at it DCR.
I would suggest lifting the floor up a bit when you reinstall it.
That would provide more flat space in the bottom of the boat.

Paul.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Savage Avalon

That crack DEFINITELY needs repaired. Grind it out, fill it, glass it, fair it and then prime and paint it. Not sure about needing to go on the inside but for sure needs the above, NOT just gel coat filler.

 

[dcr42t]

Re: Savage Avalon

I have repaired the crack externally with fiberglass, but now that ive pulled the floor i will try and find the crack on the inside and repair.
It looks like the stringer is just sitting in there. Can be wobbled side to side. Looks like its rotted on the bottom, so i will be replacing.
This is how its looking so far.

 

[dcr42t]

Re: Savage Avalon

 

[glastronomic]

Re: Savage Avalon

Good to see You are keeping the project going!
Regarding the Pride boats, hopefully a Pride Panther model

will come up soon here or a Savage Electra!

One for sale in Steak & Kidney, sadly 4500km's away from my doorstep!

 

[HOOKED.UP]

Re: Savage Avalon

Hi DCR.

Looks like you are doing a great job.
You will be much happier with a proper internal repair, than just an outside patch.
Surprising amount of room appears once those side thwarts are out.
With just a single central stringer, you will have an easy job of lifting your floor/sole up to give you more flat area.
Keep up the good work, mate.

GLASTRONOMIC. That old "Panther" looks to be in great condition. Not much room in them though. Are you into skiing ???

Paul.

 

[glastronomic]

Re: Savage Avalon

Not into skiing, but want to run this little pupy;

Into 2 strokes (bikes) but with today's traffic and policing, running these in traffic is not much fun anymore.

 

[dcr42t]

Re: Savage Avalon

I like the Electra. Looks mean!

Havent been able to find the crack on the inside yet. Maybe its not cracked right through. Its something i have to have a better look at.

I wasnt really planning on lifting the floor. Its a pretty shallow boat as it is. Plus it makes my life harder. I think id be happy just to have a water tight hull once the floor is in and sealed. Id have to use heavier decking if i was to raise it using 1 stringer aswell.
Thanks for the thought though. I could change my mind on this with a bit more thought.

I cleaned up the hull edges a bit more with a 4inch angle grinder and flaper wheel, and got in under the splashwell which wasnt fun.
This allowed me to see the base of the transom which looks rotted. Im hoping this doesnt travel to far upwards. What are your opinions? I wont be replacing it, as that is way over my head at the moment. The transom feels and sounds fine otherwise. If the lower 1/3 is rotted, is that enough to mean it needs a full replacement? Or will it be fine?

I think ive decided to use external plywood for the deck. Not sure on resins and matting. Ive read that the fiberglass you buy from shops in plastic bags is usually 1.5oz. Is this the chopped strand mat i need or do i need thicker stuff? I realise i will have to buy this off a roll or in bulk form. 1.5oz csm is what i used for my external repairs, not really knowing if it would be strong enough.

Just say i cut my new floor and place it in the boat, and have a 5mm gap between floor and hull. Will 1.5oz be enough to place over the gap? The original floor seemed to be a very tight fit at the edges. Hope im making sense.

Heres some more pics so you can see whats going on.

Is this peanut butter that is often mentioned, that they have used between stringer and floor?

 

[HOOKED.UP]

Re: Savage Avalon

Hi DCR.

If the bottom of your transom is rotted there is a pretty good chance the rot, has spread right through the transom.
The first place water gets in is the bolt holes drilled for the engine bolts.
Then of course there are the lower drain plugs. These holes are never sealed by the factory or engine installers.
So, I guess what I am saying is, take the top off and do it properly.
The easy way of doing this, once you have let the gunwales go, is to get a few mates around and lift the top off.
Exterior ply is fine for this type of work, as long as it is good quality. Marine ply is better, but a bit more expensive.
As for your glass requirements. Go to a proper fibreglass supplier in your area and purchase your CSM and polyester resin from them. The CSM can be bought by the metre, the resin is sold by the Kilogramme.
They can also advise you as to cloth weight etc.

Because of the new forum, I cannot see your photos properly, so cannot answer all your questions very well. I apologise for this.

The cost of restorations, usually cannot be recovered, except as a "break even" outcome.
There are a lot of hours work, you will never get paid for.
So you need to decide how long you want to keep your boat.
That will determine if the job is worth doing for you or not.

From what you have said, you don't have a lot of spare time, so you might not get back on the water till next summer.

I would be happy to talk you through the process. I am a boat builder.
These past few years have been about putting old boats back into service, with modern improvements and better build standards.

If you decide to go ahead, I will post my email address, to make it easier to discuss your work.

Good luck.

Paul.