87 Saltare rebuild

[Salty87]

Yea, I will take some pics of it this weekend. We keep the boat at our summer house on the Columbia River about 130 miles from where I live. So i will post them on Monday.

cool, i'm curious too.

i had originally cut away the floor while the top cap was still on. that looked like a mess waiting to happen with the dash and interior walls still on the boat. was it a pain to keep clean?

[87sunsport454]

The mess wasnt to bad, I had the floor redone back in 1996 by someone who said that he "knows what he is doing". So all of the foam and really messy stuff had already been pulled. This time I had decided to do it myself and save some money. I just put old sheets over the top cap and had to be very carefull not to scratch anything.

[johnathon_03]

Salty what kind of epoxy did you use to coat the floor and stringers? I started to replace my floor but once I started to rip up the floor I realized it really isnt all that bad. There was a pretty good soft spot in the back on the right side so I just ripped the whole right side out all the way the drives seat. I think the rest will be just fine. I am just gonna coat the seam really good so no water gets under there. I have been tested the floor all the way around the boat for soft spots or rotting but I am not really finding any.

What do you think I should do to keep the rest of the floor from rotting in the future? Should I rip out all the foam where I have pulled up the floor? I have also been testing the stringers and they all seem fine except for the cross support the runs over the exhaust right about where the back seat is. Any advise on that? What if i just cut that section out and try and replace it? That section rotting has probably caused the main section to start to rott... I know I am trying to cut a lot of corners. I am just hoping to keep it as simple as possible and get another 10yrs or so out of my boat. Thanks a lot and great job on your boat!! Braver man then I am!

[Salty87]

thanks johnathon

i used polyester resin, it's a little cheaper than epoxy resin. the cost adds up over a big project. for a smaller one, epoxy is great stuff.

the foam will tell you everything. if it's wet, it has to come out. if it's not, you're probably good to go.

cross-supports were a bad design, or at least poorly executed. all of mine were rotten but then again my foam was soaked. if you can cut corners, that's great. the sooner these problems are caught, the less damage there is to fix.

i added drainage to my floor so i won't have to do this again. you might do the same to the side you've worked on. i doubt my fiberglassing skills were good enough to create water-tight areas. i sleep easier knowing my boat drains well.

[johnathon_03]

Another quick question. Do you have to put any kind of fiberglass down on the marine ply before or after you put down the resin?

[Salty87]

Another quick question. Do you have to put any kind of fiberglass down on the marine ply before or after you put down the resin?

if you're using poly resin, you need to put down chopped strand mat after spreading resin or the resin will peel off eventually. with epoxy resin, you can just spread the resin and it will stick.

[jet]

WOW! I did mine like 5 years ago, but didn't have to take it down that far. Great work though. Jet

[jet]

Hey Salty. My 89' maroon paint is looking ruff. The top beige which takes the most sun is shiny and new looking because i can put harsh chemicals on it and get back to a new surface to work with, but on the maroon sides Im afraid to use anything harsh. What did you use on your blue part of the paint? Jet

[Salty87]

i used rubbing compound. unless your boat has been painted, the color is in the gel coat. it's about the thickness of a credit card, you'd have to be asleep at the wheel to go thru it.

wet sanding is an option if it's really bad. the fewer laps around the boat with the buffer the better and compounding is a workout.

what chemicals are you using on the topside? mine is fading around the tower leg cut-outs on my cover.

[87SunSportMikeyD]

As long as I am using very fine grit sandpaper, would it hurt to wet sand every couple years or every year?

jon very interesting to hear about your partial tear-down. Did you take any pics? I have 3 very small soft spots and I was thinking of investigating. Hoping to take minor preventative measures if it is not bad.