Blazer VL100 The Forgotten Pocket Bass Boat

[rojoguio]

Spraying the console tomorrow, 1979 International Truck Mint Green. 2K. Should be spraying gelcoat on the cap by the weekend. We got the weather forecast I've been waiting for, 75 degrees - 65% humidity for several days. Since using the light green Seadek and TH Marine built in tackle box & hatches (all white) a black console would lack sizzle and pop in the big picture. The mint green is a value lighter than the Seadek and side Seafoam color blocking. This is a old school trick to fool the eyes, the boat will look better but the onlooker won't know why.

[striper joe]

GREAT BUILD

[rojoguio]

Few pictures of the console..........most of the console will be rigged before setting to the deck.

Console Paint 1.jpgConsole Paint 2.jpgConsole Paint 3.jpg

[jhndrtxn]

Looking good

[paulrodbender]

Nice.... Someone has been busy I see. Going to town now....

[rojoguio]

Just finished VE priming the cap. Got to love Duratec's VE Primer, by the time I cleaned & picked up you couldn't stick a thumbnail in the primer. I can see some pin holes and a chip or two to skim now that I could not before priming. I have to fix before gelcoating. Pictures will follow...........eating Cheetos crunchy and having a Cream Soda right now, on break they say.

[rojoguio]

The bow switch panel opening on my other VL100 is way too small, on that boat you reach thru that opening to put the nuts on trolling motor mounting hardware. I decided to square up the hole and enlarge it so my forearm would fit thru it. The pictures are off center so they don't show how square the opening is now but do show how I got there. Using the tape for the lines and a holesaw for the corners I jig sawed the balance out. Afterwards I ran a carbide around the opening then sanded it with 80 grit to smooth out the edges.

Switch Panel Opening 1.jpgSwitch Panel Opening 2.jpgSwitch Panel Opening 3.jpgSwitch Panel Opening 4.jpg

Lots of repairs had to be done to the cap. A few places the clear gelcoat cracking was so bad I had to sand out and skim level. Numerous chips, the filler panel for the side console opening was glassed and it needed more air file time to square up, etc. Sanding all the inside corners, hatch gutters, splashwell had to be done by hand, some areas my 3in Snap On DA helped out. Finally was ready to spray 1/2 gallon of Duratec's VE Primer in black.

Lots of Repairs 1.jpgLots of Repairs 2.jpgSplashwell Damage Repaired.jpgCap Primed 1.jpgCap Primed 2.jpg

[stratosjoe]

Fabulous ,keep on keeping on !

[rojoguio]

Thanks, well I've been detail sanding the cap and some of the porosity and a few chipped areas are lingering. Going to skim the chips and the worst of the porosity then re-prime. Looking like Wednesday for gelcoat.

[rojoguio]

Shot the gelcoat on the cap today. Curing time now so Crappie fishing the next few days!

First Look Fresh Gelcoat.jpg

[rojoguio]

The porosity came thru in some spots, mostly on the upper flats. I now think it is some form of solvent pop from production. I have never seen it and don't know if solvent pop would go in the direction of the mold instead of the working surface. Seems the flake was mixed into the gelcoat not sprayed behind the clear. Looks like the mixed gelcoat "Pooled" on the flats (would be the bottom of the mold with the cap mold rightside up). I shot the gelcoat instead of more primer because millage build with gelcoat out of a HVLP spray gun is difficult to achieve. The additional flotation and carpet has to be added to the hull so I can set the cap back on and laminate together. Afterwards I think I will sand a tooth on the upper flats and add glass spheres to some more gelcoat to non-skid the upper deck flat surfaces. This is to plug and hide the pin holes, I can't let this go. So much of the flats will have Seadek or covered by hatches the perimeter flats are the only concerns. 4 sheets of Seadek was all I bought when it was on closeout, if I have to go back to the well for more now it will sting a bit.

[rojoguio]

Here are a few pictures of the additional flotation I added including the foam application system. Really added longitudinal spine to the gunnels. A word of caution, when your spraying this system and the foam runs out, STOP spraying. I thought I had a blockage in the applicator gun but no I was out of Part B. So Part A was sprayed a bit creating a brittle shell in one spot. It's not like spraying paint, you have to be "Real Smooth" to get the foam to look even after expanding. 9 cubic foot is the size of this kit so if I yielded the full 9 cubic feet that translates into 550 pounds of positive flotation added using 8.33#/Gal freshwater multiplier.

VersiFoam System 9CF.jpgPre Foam Layout.jpgGunnel Flotation Foam.jpgLeftover Foam Used in Voids.jpg

[1Holeshot]

Started reading this thread and could not stop. Amazing talent an ingenuity; just what I would expect from an engineer!

Looking at the center console, is the shift control also a throttle or will you still use a hotfoot?

Thank for sharing this incredible project.

Years ago I had tour of the Blazer factory in Pensacola. My outboard mechanic knew Keith Craft quite well and arranged the tour.

That was was the first time I had seen a chopper gun in action.

Later I got a tour of Bullet and saw what hand laid fiberglass process looked like. That allowed to see why hand laid hulls are lighter.

P.S. Saw owner Bill Hill's personal boat there.

[Charles Prestridge]

Forgot to mention. I love that International Green color.

My Father worked in Forestry. Most of their trucks were the green International Scouts.

Brings back lots of memories.

[rojoguio]

Been fishing on Ross Barnett, initial plan was to install Hotfoot in console but meanwhile I rigged a Tin Boat for myself with a center console too. Didn't want a Hotfoot in it but really am enjoying not holding my foot on the throttle all the time. I'm not putting a Hotfoot in the Blazer, it won't go fast enough and where I fish most of the time won't be run over 40mph. My other Blazer has one and now I'm considering removing it too to give me more leg room. I'm 6ft 3in tall, all legs, no room for both legs behind the console right now with Hotfoot. The existing slope or rake makes you have to mount the Hotfoot well away from console to be able to hit the stop with the pedal before hitting console. Guessing weight, with the changes my little Blazer should be 300#'s or so dry. Maybe a little lighter, I was able to easily lift the cap without the original console and can lift the bow up almost over my head by hand with the hull resting on the trailer. I'm using two Odyssey 925's for the trolling motor, one 925 for cranking, and one 50Ah Lithium for electronics. Figure 86#'s for batteries, 358#'s for the engine, another 100#'s maybe for the rest, plus gas, 15 gal tank. Once in the water I should know from my other Blazer, how it rests, static, in the water if I lightened any.

Thanks for the kind words too.

[1Holeshot]

Thank you for sharing with us

[bpicinc]

Awesome job Rojo

[rojoguio]

This is the Tin boat I rigged a couple of months ago. I needed something to fish out of here while finishing the little Blazer. So this is a simple Southfork 1442, I filled all the voids with very tightly fitted 2in Ridged bilge foam, Fitted a sheet 0f 5052 100 Ga tightly to the gunnels and ribs then added the Seadek before riveting down with oversized aluminum rivets. Installed 2 built-in Tackle storage boxes in the aft seat, installed a water-tite hatch into the forward bulkhead creating a dry storage area. Added the fiberglass console painted with 2K single stage (Toyota Tan), controls, hydraulic steering, electronics, seats, and trolling motor. Most of this stuff was laying around the shop, leftover from other jobs. The rod tubes are protected by a piece of 5052 100 Ga I broke and riveted over the tubes before covering with Seadek. Right before Katrina I brought a Tin Boat up from Hopedale to replace the axle, it was a good friend of mine, the engine never ran right from new so they just left it here all these years. Well last year they gave me the boat so I took the 40 off (less than 10 hrs on the engine), bought a Mercury Factory Repair Manual for it and started from scratch re-rigging. The shop who rigged it originally, somewhere in Brookhaven Ms, really screwed it up. Once I set everything back to factory settings it runs great. Pushes the boat 32-33mph. Fishing in it without a Hotfoot and hydraulic steering spoils you. With the batteries in the console, 6 gal tank behind aft seat, it slides perfectly around turns, gets real shallow, I can get between most laydowns and the bank to fish the tree.

Tin Boat 1.jpgTin Boat 2.jpg

[rojoguio]

To start out with, I hate a boat that the drain plug is located leaving a lip in the bilge preventing complete drainage. Here I use a 12in long 1/8in drill bit to position the drain fixture location. Then I up-size the hole to 1/4in, the size of my hole saw fixture pilot hole. Maintaining the 90 degree angle to transom I saw out the hole perfectly positioning the location for complete bilge drainage. While fitting the drain fixture shoulder to the transom I took a couple of pictures. The first shows the fixture crooked, not flush on the transom. The second shows the fit corrected for a flush fit. My photography lacks a bit but if you look closely you see in the second picture the flange sits flush.

Stainless Drain Housing and Brutus.jpgDrain Plug Bilge Opening.jpgDrain Fixture Shoulder Relief.jpgPerfect Drain Fixture Positioning.jpgImproper Drain Fixture Fit.jpgProper Drain Fixture Fit.jpgUsing Drill Bit to Position Pump.jpgOutside Drill Exit.jpg

So my other Blazer the livewell drain hose is always in the way so I replace the drain fitting on this livewell with a 90 degree fitting and install the Overboard drain in the pre-planned location in the transom. Also I hate when you can't see a bilge pump discharge. Again, my other boat it is underwater when you lean over to see if anything is pumping out. I move the discharge to the cap with a slight upward discharge angle. This will be much easier to see.

Relocated Livewell Drain.jpgLivewell Drain Centered in Relief.jpgRelocated Bilge Discharge.jpgRelocated Bilge Discharge 2.jpg

I mounted the Bilge Pump, Livewell Pump and Float Switch too. Here I need to make a point. You can Plan, Plan, & Plan, but still not visualize everything. I modified the transom to provide the 2 flat areas on each side of the Splashwell to make access to the Livewell pump easier as I get older and to have a good spot for the Overboard discharge. What I didn't foresee was the Livewell pump cartridge replacement by lifting the cartridge up was going to be impossible. No clearance for that under the Splashwell. So I ordered a different pump the the cartridge and discharge are in the right direction for easy servicing later.

Wrong Pump.jpgRight Livewell Pump.jpgLivewell Pump Intake.jpg

Seems I have reached the maximum number of pictures so I will continue this on the next post.

[rojoguio]

Continuing my last post I am providing a picture of a holesaw to fitting comparison for DIY reference material. The saw teeth should not pass over the fitting threads. Holesaws are designed to cut a little larger hole than the saw itself so if you get any larger saw a problem down the road with leaks may "Spring" up.

Proper Holesaw for Fitting.jpg

No reason to quit so I rough in wired the boat too. I have done this so long I see all the necessary circuits in my head. All boat wiring color codes were maintained. I did pull in a Garmin NEMA 2000 cable to the bow from the console area for future expansion plans to my electronics. A few pictures are included.

Rough in Wiring 1.jpgRough in Wiring 2.jpgRough in Wiring Done.jpgRough in Wiring Done 2.jpgRough in Wiring Done 3.jpgRough in Wiring Done 4.jpg

Lastly, while driving up to Ross Barnett in the fog the other day I picked up a Hitch Hiker, Happy Halloween.

It's a real bat, I have never hit one with a truck before.............

Halloween Bat.jpg