Bought a New Motor

I started building this "Zip" boat about 19 months ago and at that time I had found a 1962 2 stroke 40 Johnson that I had purchased on Craig's List.  I finally took it to a repair shop and after many discussions I thought I would be happier with a newer motor and a 4 stroke.  I came across a 1999 45hp Honda so I bought it and this motor will be my power source.

There were a few problems mounting it.  The first thing was the dealer, "Dropped it", Yes...there were cutting the bolts off to remove it from another boat and then install it on mine but some how..something when wrong.  Lucky for me and for them...The motor was not hurt and no one was injured.  They were using a fork lift truck to secure the chain but some how it came loose and hit the cement..  Everything appears fine other than a few more scraps and dents.

The second issue was the mounting bolts..one of the bolts were directly behind my gas tank so I had to take all the mounting brackets off and remove the tank to get the bolt thru the transom.  An hour later that was done.

The last problem was the extra thickness of wood that I had epoxied inside the transom.  The mounting bolts were located near the edge so my brother Marty machine a spacer/washer out of solid piece of aluminum and that problem was solved.  My next issue will be mounting the throttle/shifter.

Bought a New Motor

I started building this "Zip" boat about 19 months ago and at that time I had found a 1962 2 stroke 40 Johnson that I had purchased on Craig's List.  I finally took it to a repair shop and after many discussions I thought I would be happier with a newer motor and a 4 stroke.  I came across a 1999 45hp Honda so I bought it and this motor will be my power source.

There were a few problems mounting it.  The first thing was the dealer, "Dropped it", Yes...there were cutting the bolts off to remove it from another boat and then install it on mine but some how..something when wrong.  Lucky for me and for them...The motor was not hurt and no one was injured.  They were using a fork lift truck to secure the chain but some how it came loose and hit the cement..  Everything appears fine other than a few more scraps and dents.

The second issue was the mounting bolts..one of the bolts were directly behind my gas tank so I had to take all the mounting brackets off and remove the tank to get the bolt thru the transom.  An hour later that was done.

The last problem was the extra thickness of wood that I had epoxied inside the transom.  The mounting bolts were located near the edge so my brother Marty machine a spacer/washer out of solid piece of aluminum and that problem was solved.  My next issue will be mounting the throttle/shifter.

Move it "out of the Basement"

It is time to make the move from the basement to the garage.  I completed as much as I could in my basement on this boat build so it is time to buy a trailer and get a bunch of guys together.

My brothers, Guy, Gary, Joey and Danny we all on hand to help.  I was also able to get many friends, Art Atkinson, Howard Barton, my nephew Travis and a couple of neighbors to give the added power.

The night before the move, my brother Guy helped me remove a section of the sun room with a couple of windows and door.  The morning of the move we removed the sliding glass doors giving me the 72" width that I needed.  The "Zip" boat's beam is 5'9".

Because I live on a lake, (Sylvan Lake, Michigan)  and we have a narrow sized lot, I did not have room between my house to bring the boat to the road.  I rolled the trailer between the neighbors homes, three houses down from mine and along the lake shore and back up to the basement.  I was able to roll the trailer into the sun room after the wall was removed.  About 8 guys lifted the boat up and turned it 90 degrees and set it on the trailer.  Then our friend Howard supplied a wheeled dolly for trailer hitch and everyone pushed the boat and trailer across three neighbor lawns and up a steep hill, over the curb and onto the road.

Yes,  I have great neighbors...they let me do the same thing when I finished building my airplane a few years ago.  You just don't see too many airplanes rolling by your picture window overlooking the lake.

Here are a few photos that we took along the way.....enjoy.

Varnish Begins

Yeah....after weeks of sanding, then applying epoxy and repeating this procedure over and over, I am so glad to move on and put the epoxy (and dust) behind me.  I cleaned everything up and began the process of varnishing the boat.  I know from my experience with my kayak that I will also be happy when the varnishing is done because the finish line is near.  Last night I mixed up the varnish with brush thinner and thinned it to 50/50.  I used brush thinner because I read that it helps to keep the varnish wet longer giving you time to spread it out.  I really had to work fast so I did not have any dry spots along the way.   I am expecting to put on between 4-6 coats of varnish.  Each time I will mix the varnish with less and less thinner.  The varnish will need to be sanded between each coat and should take 2-4 days to dry between coats.

I was very happy with this product.  I used Captains Varnish when I did my Kayak and that product gave me all kinds of problems with the biggest one being....orange peel.  I see no signs of that issue..yet. That's a good thing.

I sanded or filled with clear epoxy almost every day for 1-6 hours and this went on for weeks.  I am glad I did not keep track of my time.  I think all the hard work and time really paid off.  The boat finish is not as good as a professional would do but I am very happy with my work.

Here is a photo of the Kayak that I built several years ago.

Steering Mount

The Steering mounting bracket is now completed.  My brother Marty welded it all up for me and then I took it to a local powder coating company. The idea here is to be able to remove the steering control mounting bracket so the motor can tip forward for transport and draft clearance.

Sanding

No Photos....not much to look at, just sanding.

I have been sanding the deck of the boat to get everything smooth and level.  The white gap caulking turned out pretty well and I am happy with it but there are some high and low spots that I am dealing with.  I am also having some issues with removing some of the blue tape that was not removed in time and is now epoxied down at the seams between the wood and white caulk (only in a few spots).

I am sanding with 180 grit using an orbital sander but I am hand sanding all the edges because I don't want to get into the stained wood.  Yesterday, alone......I sanded for more than 5 hours.

This will be a process...sand then epoxy...sand and more epoxy...then level the white gaps and sand again.  Once I get everything smooth and level then I will begin with the varnish.  I am told that I will need 4-6 coats of varnish with sanding between each coat.  I should have bought some stock in sand paper and blue tape.

Later this week or early next week I should have my steering mount system that my brother Marty welded up for me back from powder coating and the seats should be ready for pick up from the upholster.  I will post an article and photos when they arrive.

White Caulking

It was suppose to be an exciting day but it ended up being a long hard day and an exciting night.  I have been looking forward to the day when I filled all the gaps between the planks on the boat deck.  I knew that once the gaps were filled, the look of the boat would really come to life.  I had been thinking about this look for months.  I failed to realize how much work it would be to get to that point.  Once this step was done, it was very exciting to see how it all turned out.

The morning started about 9:30 am on Saturday when a good friend and airplane builder Dave Pohl stopped by to take a look and I put him to work for a couple hours.  Dave helped me tape off the boat and mix epoxy and was a great help.  After Dave went home I thought that I would have about 30 minutes remaining to finish up but it actually took me another seven (7) hours before I was done with the caulking.

A couple of months ago I spoke with a Chris Craft Restoration builder and builder of some of the most beautiful wood boats that I have seen on the Internet about caulking my boat.  He does not use caulking because it breaks down in time.  He uses a mix of epoxy and white pigment with a caulking gun.  I figured if it is good enough for him, I would give it a try. 

The problem with epoxy is that you need to pace yourself because the mixture will harden.  I had purchased empty plastic caulking tubes but after listening to a good friend who used this method to apply the epoxy I had second thoughts.  He said it was a mess, trying to fill the tubes and problems with air in the tubes.  What I ended up doing (and it worked great) was to use clear empty catsup bottles that I bought at JoAnn Fabrics.  I only needed two bottles and I rotated them with each mixture of epoxy.

The reason it took me so long to caulk all of the gaps was the thickness of the epoxy.  It is extremely important to get the mixture thick enough to stop the running (flow).  I used cello-fill and microballoons the help thicken up the mixture.  The boat deck has a large arch in it and the epoxy wants to flow to the bottom which leave low spots and the extra epoxy runs to the bottom.  I found myself constantly dragging epoxy over the gaps to make the mixture level.  I had work in an area that epoxy had set up and keep moving around the boat (for hours).

Another problem I had was pulling the tape off.  I needed to wait until the epoxy had set up enough that it would not pull out of the gap, like taffy and when the epoxy finally kicked off, it was too late to pull the tape.  I ended up using a razor knife and a pair of tweezers when that happened.

The final problem that I ended up with was, dripping.  When I installed all the deck plank boards I used screws and washers as clamps.  Well they made holes in the deck (Dahh.....).  My original thought was that the epoxy would be thick enough to fill the holes and it did but only after dripping all over the inside of the boat.  Lucky for me, I had plastic sheets covering the floor but the inside walls had white epoxy dripped all over them.  Nothing that an hour worth of clean up with Acetone could not handle.

It was 7pm when I called it a day and the caulking turned out great.  Next will be to sand it all flush and smooth.  Then apply two more coats of clear epoxy on the entire deck.  Then 4-6 coats of Varnish over the entire boat (except the painted bottom) with sanding between every coat of epoxy and varnish.