CONTINUOUSWAVE

The restoration of my 1974 OUTRAGE 21 boat is my third Boston Whaler boat restoration. The first and second restored Boston Whaler boats were both 16-foot hulls. I have learned a lot from my mistakes, and I do not plan to repeat them this time around.

After the 1974 OUTRAGE 21 boat was stripped of all gear and put on stands, I [glass bead] blasted and ground off all the gel coat layer. When the gel coat has cracks and even crazing this is a result of stresses induced when pounding in waves.

In the past grinding out cracks and filling and painting resulted in a great finish only to have the cracks come back a season later. The cracks are down in the glass and will telegraph back to the surface. The only way to stop it is to remove the gel coat and re-glass the hull. Yes, it is a lot of work but it will worth the effort in the long run.

Figure 4 shows more fairing with ALEXSEAL brand two-part fairing compound.



After sanding and fairing, 12-ounce bi-axial cloth [wetted] with Hawk epoxy was applied over the entire hull.



After the new laminate layer was cured, the surface of the hull was lightly sanded. Next, the entire hull was washed with acetone to ensure all blush was removed. Then the entire hull was re-faired.

After application of ALEXSEAL brand two-part high-build-primer the surface smoothness is good but not perfect.



I will chase small blemishes and spray another coat of ALEXSEAL brand high-build two-part primer. That will be followed by finish primer and then a topcoat.

I have a lot of guidance from some local professionals on the laminating. With epoxy am confident I will have a finish that will last forever.

I will continue to post progress on the restoration of the 1974 OUTRAGE 21 boat over the 2022 - 2023 winter.

--Steve in Maine

Thank you for posting. Very interesting.

Sunnybreeze wrote:...the entire hull was washed with acetone to ensure all blush is removed.

If you are referring to an amine blush that is created by the curing of epoxy resins, I believe that the amine blush is best removed with soap and water. That recommendation comes from WEST Systems, who were the originators of using epoxy adhesives in boat building.

Q1: when the new cloth was laminated over the hull, did you apply all the cloth and epoxy resin in one session?

Q2: what was the working time for the epoxy resin before it began to set?

If looks like ALEXSEAL has several high-build primers.

Q3: did you use SUPER BUILD 302, FINE FILLER 303, or SPRAY FAIR 328?

Q4: when you mention "Hawk" epoxy, are you referring to SEAHAWK HAWK EPOXY R1 resin?

Q5: which reagent SEAHAWK HAWK EPOXY CATALYST did you use: C1, C2, C3, or C5?

jimh wrote:Q1: when the new cloth was laminated over the hull, did you apply all the cloth and epoxy resin in one session?

I applied the biaxial cloth in sessions. I cut the cloth 24" wide and half the width of the hull. Laid out cloth on plastic on a work surface and wetted out cloth with epoxy resin. I then wetted out the hull. Next I carried the wet-out cloth and positioned it on the hull and carefully peeled off the plastic. Then rolled out using the standard air bubble removal roller.

Some areas were slightly dry so I would go over and roll on more epoxy and roll out with the bubble tool. Then I would reuse the plastic and lay on the next piece of cloth, wet out that piece, and start the process over. It was time-consuming, The first day I got eight pieces of cloth on the hull. I repeated that on the second day, eight more pieces, On the third day I was finished by noon.

jimh wrote:Q2: what was the working time for the epoxy resin before it began to set?

The working time for the epoxy resin was about 50 minutes. Once I applied the first piece I moved on to the second piece. By the time the second piece was in place, the first piece epoxy was starting just starting to cure. I could re-roll with the bubble roller and really get the first piece flat around curves and bends. This was continued all day for each piece laid down.

jimh wrote:Q3: did you use SUPER BUILD 302, FINE FILLER 303, or SPRAY FAIR 328?

I used Alexseal 302 High Build. You have to buy the matching reducer for it. It can be reduced up to 25-percent, but I stayed with 15-percent since I used a Graco Titan airless sprayer with a 0.017" tip and 10-inch spray. That worked very well. I laid down about 24-mils.

jimh wrote:Q4: when you mention "Hawk" epoxy, are you referring to SEAHAWK HAWK EPOXY R1 resin?

Hawk R1 is the base epoxy.

jimh wrote:Q5: which reagent SEAHAWK HAWK EPOXY CATALYST did you use: C1, C2, C3, or C5?

For the HAWK R1 epoxy I used the HAWK C2 slow hardener.

I really am a WEST System Epoxy guy but I got a huge deal on a 5-gallon set of the HAWK resin, saving me $200. I went for it. The HAWK epoxy seems fine.

There were lots of pinholes the epoxy did not fill. See Figure 7. I will apply another coat of AXELSEAL 302 High-build two-part primer.

Alexseal 442 finish primer is what I use next.

Time to post an update on progress. The 2nd coat of high build was applied and sanded to 240grit. Then the Finish Primer applied and sanded to 400 grit.

Time for AlexSeal's "Artic White" topcoat. A total of two (2) coats were applied at 3-4 mils each coat. Super happy with the results with only one small run I will deal with at a later date.

Next was to level the boat correctly to shoot the laser waterline for bottom paint. Then taped off and had to sand the perfect paintjob with 120 grit to create the "Tooth for the bottom paint". Simply rolled on with a pencil roller. Total of 2 coats

I would have waited to paint the bottom final level until the boat was fully reassembled and floated.

Now it was time to pull the boat out of the shop and flip it over using a boom Crane. Went well and now starting the long progress of glassing the top side. All the curves and bumps required vacuum bagging the cloth in sections. This worked very well and will require VERY little fairing to be ready for primer. For persons who may ask I am about 170 hours into the project. I estimate I will have about 350 total for a spring launch. Feel free to ask questions.
You will notice in one picture I have 3 vacuum pumps going at once. Don't ask me why I have 3 pumps. I do not have a shot of the sides which are done and did not require vacuum bagging. The contours were mild and allowed a straight-on approach much like the bottom. Just need to finish the bow area and will start applying the fairing compound.

Q6: what is the proper sealant is to create a watertight enclosure?

Sunnybreeze wrote:Q6: what is the proper sealant is to create a watertight enclosure?

If you want to fill the gap between the permanent deck and the removable fuel tank cavity cover, use a marine caulk. Do not use a strong adhesive-sealant such as 3M5200, 3M4200, 3M4200 FF, or similar very strong adhesive products. You just want a marine grade caulk. You could even use a tinted silicone bathtub caulk; some are available in off-white hues that will be a nicer match to the gel coat color. If your new deck color is just pure white, then use white caulk.

Q8: [For sealing the gap between the fixed deck and removable deck] would butyl tape 1/2-inch x 1/4-inch work?

Sunnybreeze wrote:Q8: [For sealing the gap between the fixed deck and removable deck] would butyl tape 1/2-inch x 1/4-inch work?

Sorta or maybe, but no one has ever done that as a permanent fix.

Your description of the tape dimensions seems very odd. Is the tape really 0.25-inch THICK and 0.5-inch wide?

NEW TOPIC ABOUT INTERPRETATION OF STENCIL NUMBER IS MOVED TO THE GAM.

Looks great so far. Good work. Consider the following, based on what I've encountered with my 21'.

1 - It's pretty difficult, I'd even say impossible to totally eliminate water penetration into the fuel tank cavity. What I ended up doing was drilling a drain hole in the rear, to empty into the aft bilge area. 5200'ed a 1" pvc pipe, and didn't caulk down the cavity cover. At the end of each season, I remove the cover and power wash out trapped debris.

2 - I found that water will pool in the flat area between the gunwale "ridges", roughly underneath the stainless steel grab rails. Either when on the trailer or at rest in the water. We ended up doing some pop up cleat repositioning, and during the time it was in the shop, we cut a notch in the outside gunwale ridge. Now, water will not pool. Had considered drilling a 3/8" hole in the low area, epoxy in a 2" piece of flared brass and run some plastic tube to another hole just above the rub rail. Decided that would have a tendency to clog, so went with the notch. If you want, I can send an image of that area.

Regards - Don