Whaler Resto - part vii - blue

Here's the first part of the monthly whaler update...

The amount of fiberglass repair and bodywork was staggering 

The light blue Proline epoxy primer weathered quickly in the sun.

It was time to pony up and seal the topsides.

Awlgrip is known to make the 1970 boston whaler blue,

in a bulletproof polyester urethane.

Spray?

Ahhh...no...

This would be rolled.

Roll and tip to be precise.

The first coat was a learning experience.

Started on a cloudy day,

and as soon as the 2-part paint was mixed,

the sun came out.

Worst thing to roll hot paint on a hot surface.

I'd give it a C,

maybe a C+.

About half the surface was decent.

The other half was either roller rough from doubled up fix-it coats,

(don't do that after it skins...)

a couple runs,

and bubbles aka solvent pop,

and shredded foam bits from the follow-up roller.

Sigh.

This could have been sanded and buffed out,

but the polyurethanes don't polish.

Whatever it is it is.

The second coat was better,

a solid B-.

Again the sun came out too soon.

About a third came out acceptable.

My problem was not doing the tipping part.

I thought using a foam roller was a good idea.

It worked in the flat areas,

but in the curves and corners,

the foam would shred,

then pollute the next section.

Three foam roller covers were used!

I did use a brush,

mainly to apply paint.

The exact opposite.

The third coat was unscheduled.

The top had been previously sanded and prepped,

as that was one of my problems.

I'd lose the morning cloud cover rushing it all in one day.

An overcast morning was perfect.

Mixed up the last of the paint and crossed my fingers.

Only 2/3 needed to be covered.

This time a good roll to spread a couple feet of paint,

followed by enthusiastic swipes with the brush,

evening out the little bubbles and drips.

It worked!

That last coat really clicked,

it was actually fun not frustrating.

The paint naturally smoothed itself out.

I wanted to do more!

Funny though,

as I found a YouTube video after the fact,

which would have saved the trial and error.

Regardless I am happy with the outcome... B+

Good enough to show the waves in the flat panels!

The bottom non-skid will come later.

The transom extension was trimmed and cleaned.

Macey took charge in the installation.

Seriously.

She wouldn't let me touch a nut or wrench.

A scrap of marine grade plywood made the perfect mounting board.

This wood was the loft in the old shop.

The mahogany interior had been slyly varnished with a couple more coats.

The assembled pieces really cleaned up the yard clutter.

These stainless hold-down brackets were an eBay score.

I found out they were seconds,

the thread was basically useless.

Stainless all-thread was ground to fit,

and permanently welded on both sides.

The benches and console were glued and screwed with 5200.

The whaler was finally coming together!

This was a hard decision.

Modify the wood or the hull to fit the Morse side controls.

I chose to notch out the fiberglass.

Maybe more difficult,

but the outcome would be sleek

After perfecting the test fit and finishing the paint,

I found out the controls had been rigged.

For some reason that forward arm was reversed.

Great.

A quick fiberglass cut out in graphic novel mode...

Definitely a cruiser console!

If you look closely there's way more work done,

shown next time...

TP