Questions on Restoring an Older Skeeter. . . .

[Skeeter_Rookie]

I have an 1982 Skeeter fishermen SS1, I just got this from a Friend.
I am looking to do some restoring on it starting with the carpet, buy the floor feels alittle weak, by no means am I a little guy, but i don't think it should be that weak, should i try and somewhat strenghten the floor (walk way between the to center consoles) or should i just put in new carpet and wish for the best. I am a young boat owner and not looking to spend to much on this boat.

Also trailer tongue needs work or replacement, do i just cut off old tongue and wield a new tongue on their??

Another thing, this Boats has been sitting outside for a while and the boat is really rough, any pointers on bringing somewhat of a smoothness back to it??


Does anyone have advice on restoring and old Skeeter boat like this
I need all the help I can get.
Thanks
-A Fresh Skeeter_Rookie

[Neilslure]

Probably the best place to ask these questions would be the restoration section here on BBC. Some of those guys have done incredible things with older boats.

I am guessing you probably have some wood rot in the floor, should be visible when you remove the carpet. Buddy of mine had an early 80s Skeeter with that problem.

[HammysSkeeter]

Hey there,

There is so much information on here it is unbelievable. I restored a 1984 Skeeter last year ( http://www.bbcboards.net...97196 ). If you have any questions drop me an email or IM. In no means am i an expert, but learned alot about doing some basic restoring, and kept alot of information (pics, emails, etc).

Like the previous poster (Neilslure) said, once the carpet comes off, you will be able to tell how the floor is. I had to re-inforce some spots on mine (squeaky and weak around the drain hole covers), and also covered the whole floor with new layer fibreglass (this really strengthened it up). To get the carpet off, the best thing i found was called Super DeGooper. You can find it at Walmart or Home Depot.

As far as the shine on the boat, do a search on wet sanding or buffing or oxidation! Lots of great products and tips out there.




Modified by HammysSkeeter at 2:55 PM 2/28/2008

[Skeet'r89]

You probably need to check the transom very thoroughly if the boat has been outside and uncovered. If the floors are bad it is very likely that you have other problems also.

[biothree]

I am almost finished with the restoration of a 1984 Starfire 90. The floor was rotted around both drains so I replaced the wood and re-fiberglassed the entire floor. Like Hammy said this is a good idea on any older boat. I set the boat off and did the trailer fist. I cut the old hitch off and welded a new one in its place. The only thing not new on the trailer is the frame which I re-inforced. The same can be said of the boat, trolling motor and 85 hp Evinrude motor; everything new or reconditioned. I just purchased a 1977 Wrangler that will be my next project.

[Skeeter_Rookie]

Old Carpet and the way it looked, work in progress

[Skeeter_Rookie]

this is what it looked liked when i took off the old Carpet,
Couldnt believe what i found. do you see how the drain whole is support by 2 2x4s, whats up with that, that going to be a problem now, i have no clue what to do???
i was told that i could put some fiberglass on the deck and walkway to make it stronger, or i could put some Plywood to renforce the Deck so i would not have any issue with this in the future, but i am stumped right now.. . . . .

any helpe with this matter would be great,
thanks

[HammysSkeeter]

Hey Jeramy,
Mine was close to that. I had to do the re-support thing to in my drain holes. Same sort of idea, but i used 2x2's. I cut the pieces as long as i could (and still get them thru the hole), and found the good plywood on the top, and drilled down into the 2x2's from the top, to tighten them up to the floor. This really made may floor much stronger. I then fibreglassed all around the hole, and the inner lip itself. After that dried, i re-did the whole floor with another layer of fibreglass (i laid it out as flat as possible to avoid sanding afterwards, had to sand down a couple of places but not too many). I was really surprised that after re-inforcing the hole and adding the fibreglass how strong the floor was. My floor was quite spongey and had some creeks in it in some spots, but afterwards, you could literally jump from the front deck to the main floor with no issues at all.
If you have any questions, keep'em coming.
Also, try that super degooper, it is amazing stuff, it will clean those decks like new and make it much easier for the fibreglass to stick too.

Did you put this post in the Bassboat Restoration forum too. You will get lots of help in there as well.

[BASSCAT7]

Listen to thee guys and fix the floor now while the boat is tore up........

Here are some instructions for wet sanding :

Most boats can be brought back to look new by doing the wetsanding/compounding/glazing/waxing at home for the costs of the products and a high speed sander if you do not own one...a lot of labor involved, but can save you big $$$$ over a re-clearcoat.

All the peripheral hardware should be removed from the boat, cleats, handrails, lights, windshields, decals, anything that can be unbolted from the top cap and consoles, etc will make the job easier....less obstructions when using the buffer.
You will need a high speed buffer, not an orbital buffer, the high speed produces the heat that makes the compound cut thru the faded clearcoat, you can use a cheap buffer, no need for an expensive model.

3M waffle polishing pads.....the white one for compounding/cutting and the black pad for glazing/polishing.

Wet Sandpaper in 1200/1500/and 2000 grit. The grit can be mqatched to the severity of the oxidation...if it is real bad you may have to start with 800 grit and work up to 1200 grit.

3M Perfect It Rubbing Compound # 05973
3M Final Glaze # 06066

Any hard Carnuba Marine Wax

1st step is to remove all the hardware you can.

Wash the boat, remove any tar, bugs , etc stuck on the glass.

2nd step is to wet sand by hand with plenty of water, put a few drops of dishwashing liquid in the sanding water to make the paper slide easier, dunk the paper often to clean the sanded material off the paper.

Start with the 1200 grit, sand the whole area to be redone, rinse off with the hose, repeat with the 1500 grit, and rinse, then again with the 2000 grit....this is very labor intensive , may take you a few days to get thru LOL..., don't sand too hard in one spot, keep feeling the sanded area, if you feel any of the metalflake ( rough , grainy ) stop sanding on that area or you will sand too deep and expose the flakes.

When the sanding is done , wash the boat again to get the glass clean of particles, it will look dull but not faded.

3rd step is using the high speed buffer with the white 3M pad and the rubbing compound, do small areas and move the buffer slowly, not keeping it in one spot or it might burn the gel.
When done compounding wash off the compound and dry the boat.

4th step is using the black 3M pad on the high speed buffer and the 3M final glaze to put on a high gloss glaze coat.

make sure you cover the carpeting in the boat with a tarp or plastic to keep all the material off the rugs.

By this time if their was not any actual gelcoat damage the clearcoat should look almost new again.
The final step is putting on a good coat of high carnuba paste wax....then keep the boat clean by wiping it down as soon as ti comes out of the water with one of the spray wipes like Bass Boat Saver..

Basscat7

[Skeet'r89]

Quote "Couldnt believe what i found. do you see how the drain whole is support by 2 2x4s, whats up with that,"
That looks like it has been patched before. Thats why there is the odd piece of plywood in the floor. The 2x4's are supporting the plywood patch.

[Skeeter_Rookie]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BASSCAT7 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Start with the 1200 grit, sand the whole area to be redone, rinse off with the hose, repeat with the 1500 grit, and rinse, then again with the 2000 grit....this is very labor intensive , may take you a few days to get thru LOL..., don't sand too hard in one spot, keep feeling the sanded area, if you feel any of the metalflake ( rough , grainy ) stop sanding on that area or you will sand too deep and expose the flakes.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

I havent started on anything and already i can feel the Metalflake, (rough, grainy)
can i still follow those steps that you gave me or not . . . ?
Also there was talk about "dont rub to hard it might go into the gelcoat" there is no gelcoat on my Boat, so just start with the wetsanding then. . . .

thanks for the follow up.


Modified by Skeeter_Rookie at 5:30 PM 3/5/2008

[HammysSkeeter]

For the sanding, try a little patch that might be as noticeable. Go thru all the steps and see how it goes. You might be pleasantly surprised.

[Skeeter_Rookie]

Sweet, I'll try that tonight.

[BASSCAT7]

Try a spot and see, it varies boat to boat on what you are " feeling ", might not be metalflake, might just very severe oxidation with the clearcoat roughed up.

As far as the gelcoat, what you are looking at in the pics is the gelcoat, on top of the gel is clearcoat, which is basically gelcoat without pigment. When you hear that talk of not sanding too hard, it is in reference to sanding down thru the clearcoat to the layer of gel usually.

It is possible to sand too hard and sand thru the colored gelcoat down to the actual resin, gelcoat is not that thick on bassboats, 1/16 " roughly, that's why you sand by hand and not by machine. Thinner gelcoat flexes better = less stress cracks.

Unless the clearcoat has peeled off, chances are there is still some left on the boat and the wet sanding will bring it back up.