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Author Topic:   13 Whaler Restoration Help

alexl posted 07-27-2009 05:48 PM ET (US)
Hey guys, been reading on the site and forum for a while but just registered. Was hoping for some help since I just newly acquired a 1970 13' Boston Whaler hull. I plan on fully restoring it by around december to give to my parents for Christmas. Fun project for me up at school and great gift for them is the way I see it.
The boat needs only a couple significant repairs and as well filling the transom if I do decide to do so... Currently I am in the process of stripping the blue paint and nasty non-skid in the interior of the boat which has been enjoyable. My question is I can't seem to find any references online as to how far I need to strip the boat down. I have begun stripping all the way down to the primer but do not know if this is completely necessary.
My overall goal is to clean it up, fill many areas, fair it up, prime it and then re-gelcoat the entire hull (adding nonskid later). Should I strip the interior all the way to the primer throught the hull and then begin to fill or just take a few layers off? I am pretty much in the same state of uncertainty when it comes to the sides and bottom of the hull (haven't even come close to there...)
Any input would be significantly appreciated and I plan on documenting my progress the entire way to share with you guys once she's complete.
Also, just to give you an idea of where I am at, I have been removing the nasty bubbly non-skid with 40grit paper and sanders but just picked up a grinding wheel to speed up the process. I have also begun sanding down the top of the rub rails and forward area of the boat bringing most areas down to the primer/fiberglass.
Cheers and thanks again guys!
ketchum posted 07-28-2009 10:45 AM ET (US)
I'm no expert on restoration, but when I did my 1971 hull, I sanded it down just enough to allow the paint to adhere. Some areas particularly along the keel exposed the blueish fiberglass, but was told it was fine. I had it professionally painted with a very hard Dupont paint (Imron 5000)six years ago and its still in great shape. As far as the inside, I left it alone, but the non-skid on the floor is original and am wondering if you should have left the "pebble grain" intact? Someday I plan to sand the interior and have it painted too, but I don't plan on sanding off the non-skid or sanding down to the fiberglass.
dino54904 posted 07-28-2009 02:13 PM ET (US)
When I restored by 1973 19' Outrage I chose not to re-gellcoat the boat in favor of painting it. I used Awlcraft 2000 paint (Awlgrip product) in the color they call 'Oyster" which was the closest match. I sanded the existing gel, sprayed a coat of primer, then sprayed two coats of paint. It looks great and was easier to do than gel coat. On the non-skid you have to be very careful of filling the grooves in with paint. I chose to leave the non-skid alone and install DRY-DEK flooring which looks great and is very functional.
Good luck and have fun with the project. There is (almost) nothing more fun than bringing a classic Whaler back to life.
Dino
Turpin posted 07-30-2009 11:17 AM ET (US)
On the sanding it mostly depends on what you want to accomplish. If you want to remove small cracks such as the spider cracks, then you'll need to sand them until there removed, sometimes this requires going all the way to fiberglass. if they are not completely removed, they will come back. If you just want gel to stick and fix minor imperfections, then just rough it up with 180 or 220 grit. I'm not exactly sure on the 180-220 for final grit when gel coating but it's more coarse than what a person might use for paint prepping.
Turpin posted 07-30-2009 11:30 AM ET (US)
I also used an angle grinder to remove the non skid. I found it made more progress than other methods. You don't need to get to carried away on getting it perfectly smooth as your going to be adding some form of texture later and that will hide a lot. When did my floor, I tried to grind it fairly flat. If I encountered any serious low spots that were not soft, I filled and smoothed. Put more effort on the sides and top shinny surfaces. Another thing that I encountered was that anytime I sanded all the way to fiberglass, it left very tiny pinholes. They nearly impossible to see when I primed it, which I found A LOT of them. When I painted there were still a few. don't worry, They can easily be filled during the finishing touches.
Free Bird posted 07-30-2009 09:31 PM ET (US)
Since your boat is a 1970 Oyster is not the correct color. You can use Snow White Awlgrip or Snow White Perfection on the hull if you were to paint. Jamestown Distributers sells quarts of Whaler Blue Awlgrip paint (it's a custom color). Since you said you are going to gel coat, though I don't think you have to strip all the paint. I believe Interlux has a primerfor use before gelcoat. Your grinding off the non skid sounds like a good plan. Every blue Whaler that still has it always looks dirty IMO. I ground mine off and will put non skid "sand" on it. Turpin has a great project album on Whaler Central. You should check it out.

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Author	Topic: 13 Whaler Restoration Help
alexl	posted 07-27-2009 05:48 PM ET (US) Hey guys, been reading on the site and forum for a while but just registered. Was hoping for some help since I just newly acquired a 1970 13' Boston Whaler hull. I plan on fully restoring it by around december to give to my parents for Christmas. Fun project for me up at school and great gift for them is the way I see it. The boat needs only a couple significant repairs and as well filling the transom if I do decide to do so... Currently I am in the process of stripping the blue paint and nasty non-skid in the interior of the boat which has been enjoyable. My question is I can't seem to find any references online as to how far I need to strip the boat down. I have begun stripping all the way down to the primer but do not know if this is completely necessary. My overall goal is to clean it up, fill many areas, fair it up, prime it and then re-gelcoat the entire hull (adding nonskid later). Should I strip the interior all the way to the primer throught the hull and then begin to fill or just take a few layers off? I am pretty much in the same state of uncertainty when it comes to the sides and bottom of the hull (haven't even come close to there...) Any input would be significantly appreciated and I plan on documenting my progress the entire way to share with you guys once she's complete. Also, just to give you an idea of where I am at, I have been removing the nasty bubbly non-skid with 40grit paper and sanders but just picked up a grinding wheel to speed up the process. I have also begun sanding down the top of the rub rails and forward area of the boat bringing most areas down to the primer/fiberglass. Cheers and thanks again guys!
ketchum	posted 07-28-2009 10:45 AM ET (US) I'm no expert on restoration, but when I did my 1971 hull, I sanded it down just enough to allow the paint to adhere. Some areas particularly along the keel exposed the blueish fiberglass, but was told it was fine. I had it professionally painted with a very hard Dupont paint (Imron 5000)six years ago and its still in great shape. As far as the inside, I left it alone, but the non-skid on the floor is original and am wondering if you should have left the "pebble grain" intact? Someday I plan to sand the interior and have it painted too, but I don't plan on sanding off the non-skid or sanding down to the fiberglass.
dino54904	posted 07-28-2009 02:13 PM ET (US) When I restored by 1973 19' Outrage I chose not to re-gellcoat the boat in favor of painting it. I used Awlcraft 2000 paint (Awlgrip product) in the color they call 'Oyster" which was the closest match. I sanded the existing gel, sprayed a coat of primer, then sprayed two coats of paint. It looks great and was easier to do than gel coat. On the non-skid you have to be very careful of filling the grooves in with paint. I chose to leave the non-skid alone and install DRY-DEK flooring which looks great and is very functional. Good luck and have fun with the project. There is (almost) nothing more fun than bringing a classic Whaler back to life. Dino
Turpin	posted 07-30-2009 11:17 AM ET (US) On the sanding it mostly depends on what you want to accomplish. If you want to remove small cracks such as the spider cracks, then you'll need to sand them until there removed, sometimes this requires going all the way to fiberglass. if they are not completely removed, they will come back. If you just want gel to stick and fix minor imperfections, then just rough it up with 180 or 220 grit. I'm not exactly sure on the 180-220 for final grit when gel coating but it's more coarse than what a person might use for paint prepping.
Turpin	posted 07-30-2009 11:30 AM ET (US) I also used an angle grinder to remove the non skid. I found it made more progress than other methods. You don't need to get to carried away on getting it perfectly smooth as your going to be adding some form of texture later and that will hide a lot. When did my floor, I tried to grind it fairly flat. If I encountered any serious low spots that were not soft, I filled and smoothed. Put more effort on the sides and top shinny surfaces. Another thing that I encountered was that anytime I sanded all the way to fiberglass, it left very tiny pinholes. They nearly impossible to see when I primed it, which I found A LOT of them. When I painted there were still a few. don't worry, They can easily be filled during the finishing touches.
Free Bird	posted 07-30-2009 09:31 PM ET (US) Since your boat is a 1970 Oyster is not the correct color. You can use Snow White Awlgrip or Snow White Perfection on the hull if you were to paint. Jamestown Distributers sells quarts of Whaler Blue Awlgrip paint (it's a custom color). Since you said you are going to gel coat, though I don't think you have to strip all the paint. I believe Interlux has a primerfor use before gelcoat. Your grinding off the non skid sounds like a good plan. Every blue Whaler that still has it always looks dirty IMO. I ground mine off and will put non skid "sand" on it. Turpin has a great project album on Whaler Central. You should check it out.