Sealing the hull

 I had a few hours on Sunday afternoon to get the sealant down on the hull before replacing the foam begins. The hull is dry but I figured it wouldn't hurt to seal the rivets and seams anyway. As time goes on, they may not stay as tight and I may be thankful for doing this step years from now. 

The stuff I found though the iBoats forum suggested that I use the stuff pictured below called Gluvit. It's about $50 for a quart so I figured it had better be good stuff. It's not exactly available at your local home improvement store and had to buy it online.

 The guys on the iBoats forum recommened to use the "roll and tip" method. Basically rolling it on with a small foam paint roller and then using a foam brush to work the sealant into the cracks.

They said it will be dry within 24 hours and fully cured within a week. It may take longer with the weather being erratic - but a dry garage will be the most help for it to cure. 

Once this is fully cured, the inevitable debate on using "2 in 1 expanding foam" or just buying foam and cutting it to fit. I've been debating it for weeks and can be convinced one over the other is best one day and completely change my mind the next.

That's it for now!

Clean Hull and Running Engines

It's been a few weeks since I have been able to make any tangible progress on the boat. With the good weather on Saturday, I was able to get the boat out of the garage and pressure wash the inside of the hull (thanks to my buddy Jeremy for lending me his pressure washer!). While the foam is out, there were tons and tons of particles still left behind. Thankfully, they are all gone now.

 I washed the port (left) side first to show the difference that pressure washing can make. The purpose is to clean the surface to look for any leaky spots in the hull along with applying a sealant to ensure water doesn't begin to enter into the boat as it continue to age. 

I couldn't get the yellow foam stains up from hull. A stronger pressure washer might have been able to take it up, but I would also have run the risk of  taking up the paint as well. I have no interest in having to paint an area that I will (hopefully) never have to see again.

I convinced Hillary to go with me and take the boat to the river to see if  there were any leaks. Of course, we get the boat in the water and I forgot there was still a drainage pipe that goes from the live & minnow wells to the outside of the boat below the water line. Needless to say, the back of the boat started to fill with some water until I was able to move the hose. So much for checking a dry boat.

 I've decided instead to go ahead and seal all of the seams and rivets and give it another test in a few weeks. 

 

Last week, I called "Ski"(nickname) at Mid-town Maria to see when we could get our other boat in to have it serviced and ready for spring. I was told to wait a few weeks until we are sure to be out of freezing temperatures. He said in the meantime they have been working on outboard motors until the weather gets warmer. I told him about my project and that I would need to get my outboard motors in at some point this summer to be serviced. He said "bring them in now!". 

I have to give Mid-town a huge endorsement for their customer service.  Even in their busiest time of year, they are always able to get to either boat within a day or two. I dropped it off  last Wednesday night after work, and received a phone call at 8:15am the next morning with a diagnosis and an estimate. It doesn't get any better than that! 

The two engines: Johnson  9.9HP and Johnson 30HP

The last time I had run these engines was the summer of 2013. My buddy, Adam, and I spent the day fishing and were halfway back to the dock when the 30HP died. Again, thanks to my grandpa for always believing in having "2 of everything" on a boat. We were able to fire up the 9.9 engine and make our way back to the dock easily. At the time, I suspected a fuel issue because it ran well all day and then all of a sudden stopped running.

When I talked to Ski at Mid-town, that next morning, he said that inside of the engine cover had "soundproofing foam" that was adhered to the inside of the cover. As time goes on, that foam begins to disintegrate and the little particles will get sucked up into the carburetor.  They were able to take the carburator apart to clean it out and remove the foam from the cover. They also replaced the spark plugs and changed the lower unit oil. It runs great now!

Inside of the engine cover now without the soundproofing foam

The starter on the 30HP had been wearing out and I asked them to go ahead and recondition it before it becomes a problem.  

Front picture of the carburetor (center) and reconditioned starter (right)

If I can get another day or two of 65-70 degrees, the next step will be to apply the Gluvit sealant inside of the boat, let it cure, and check for any leaks. If we are good to go after that, installing new foam will be next!