1542 Grumman Side to Center Console Conversion

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So I definitely know how to resize photos and I have resized all of them to under 800 pixels in width but this site still will not let me upload the pictures. I guess I will just keep trying.

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Took the boat to the welder again to have him cut some 1/8 inch sheet aluminum for the decking. Here it is mocked up.

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Got started on some framing using 1 inch 1/8 thick aluminum angle and rivets. Its pretty impressive how sturdy it is with these rivets. Unfortunately the welder didn't have any of the sharp angle stuff as that probably would have been easier to work with, but the structural angle with the radius on the inside seems to be much less flimsy. As of right now framing is at a stand still because we ran out of angle and the welder said more won't be in for another few weeks. I might just order the remaining amount online so I can make some progress.

Also put in some large 3 inch pvc pipes for rod storage. That little addition ended up being a little harder than expected but it worked out fine in the end.

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Finally got the hatches in. That was probably the longest free "2-day shipping" from amazon I have ever experienced. Took them over a week. Ordered two for the front and one big on for the rear hatch with the gas tank. Here they are mocked up.

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Also filled in all the rivet and screw holes of the PO with closed end rivets and 5200. You can see them sticking out in the pictures. Not the prettiest way to fix it but it works. They will end up getting covered with hydroturf and under padding.
 
I had the same problem with pictures not posting because of the size. Just keep hitting submit and they'll take. Pretty aggravating after a while lol.

Was the boat still dirty when you applied the gator glide? The way the paint is fish eyeing makes it look like the surface is greasy or oily. Looks great other than that. I'm also considering gator glide for the bottom of mine but not if it's going to be a hassle.
 
Abraham said:
I had the same problem with pictures not posting because of the size. Just keep hitting submit and they'll take. Pretty aggravating after a while lol.

Was the boat still dirty when you applied the gator glide? The way the paint is fish eyeing makes it look like the surface is greasy or oily. Looks great other than that. I'm also considering gator glide for the bottom of mine but not if it's going to be a hassle.
You did not clean the aluminum enough. You have to go down to bare aluminum, wipe with acetone and RIGHT AWAY prime it with Gator Base then go on with the G2 or G4.
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Our boats are similar sizes and mine took 4 gallons plus a gallon of primer. Did you speak with the owner David Ward? He is a straight shooter and gaurantee he would not have claimed a quart would cover that much surface area. You have to account for the ribs and going up the sides too. You can still add coats now, light sand it, wipe with acetone and roll more on.
 
[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=355135#p355135 said:
smackdaddy53 » 08 Jun 2014, 18:31[/url]"]Our boats are similar sizes and mine took 4 gallons plus a gallon of primer. Did you speak with the owner David Ward? He is a straight shooter and gaurantee he would not have claimed a quart would cover that much surface area. You have to account for the ribs and going up the sides too. You can still add coats now, light sand it, wipe with acetone and roll more on.

I emailed him right before posting the pictures and he has already emailed me back and called. I will be returning his call tomorrow. I can guarantee that I was told a quart would cover because I have the email. I was also told gator base was a good idea for added durabilty but not absolutely necessary. So I can assure you I am not lying. I can honestly say its a great product and it has worked out great for other people, but for some reason it didn't work for me.

I not only wire brushed the entire taped off area, but I sanded it with 120 grit thoroughly. Then I wiped the entire taped off area thoroughly with acetone and started painting it within 5 minutes. Like I said I followed the directions word by word.
 
Smackdaddy, I thought you had a 17 footer? Mines just a little 1542. Yours is much larger. :oops:
 
[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=355118#p355118 said:
Abraham » 08 Jun 2014, 17:10[/url]"]I had the same problem with pictures not posting because of the size. Just keep hitting submit and they'll take. Pretty aggravating after a while lol.

Was the boat still dirty when you applied the gator glide? The way the paint is fish eyeing makes it look like the surface is greasy or oily. Looks great other than that. I'm also considering gator glide for the bottom of mine but not if it's going to be a hassle.

Everyone else I have talked to has had a great experience with GG so I would say go for it. Its a much better option than steel flex. Also David Ward from GG seems like a stand up guy so if something goes wrong Im pretty sure he will stand behind his product. He has already called me, left a message, and emailed me back on a Sunday.
 
bigredxlt said:
[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=355135#p355135 said:
smackdaddy53 » 08 Jun 2014, 18:31[/url]"]Our boats are similar sizes and mine took 4 gallons plus a gallon of primer. Did you speak with the owner David Ward? He is a straight shooter and gaurantee he would not have claimed a quart would cover that much surface area. You have to account for the ribs and going up the sides too. You can still add coats now, light sand it, wipe with acetone and roll more on.

I emailed him right before posting the pictures and he has already emailed me back and called. I will be returning his call tomorrow. I can guarantee that I was told a quart would cover because I have the email. I was also told gator base was a good idea for added durabilty but not absolutely necessary. So I can assure you I am not lying. I can honestly say its a great product and it has worked out great for other people, but for some reason it didn't work for me.

I not only wire brushed the entire taped off area, but I sanded it with 120 grit thoroughly. Then I wiped the entire taped off area thoroughly with acetone and started painting it within 5 minutes. Like I said I followed the directions word by word.
I am not accusing you of anything BUT I can see in your photos as you are masking it off that there is still original paint on the hull. That paint holds impurities. Look at how my hull looks, not a single speck of paint on that hull, just bare aluminum.
As far as the way I do things, if someone tells me to use a pound of screws to build a deck in my back yard I buy three and use all I can and put the rest away for back up. I have GatorGlide left over for touch up when I need it. I am not knocking you bud, just calling it like I see it. With aluminum preparation is absolutely imparative to the quality of the finish. My hull has over 5 coats on it. My Tuffcoat on the deck was quoted at 2 gallons and I bought 4 gallons and have about 1/3 of a gallon left over. I would rather have too much than not enough!
Get another 1/2 gallon and finish it, that is what I would do. I hope you are not mad at me, I am supporting a great product.
 
No worries, I'm not mad I just prefer not to be called a liar. I'm not sure where you are seeing paint in the masked off area but I did the wire brushing, taped of the area, then sanded to make sure I thoroughly prepped every inch that was going to be coated. (Edit I do see the paint youre referring to on the front). The product is advertised as being able to stick to old paint as long as it is sanded so I'm not sure where you got the impression that the aluminum must be bare, even though in my case it was bare. I agree with you that when you are recommended to get a certain amount it'smart to get more. I was told a quart would cover so I bought a half gallon.

Like I said before, GG appears to be a great product that works for a whole lot of people. I would probably recommend it. In my case it didnt work out as well as I hoped so I called it as I saw it.
 
No one is calling you a liar, he was just saying he saw paint in the taped off area. He was offering advice to get the aluminum as clean as possible. Just a bit of non understanding via the internet. All is good y'all.

Now as for your project, I think it looks great.
Personally I'd add a piece of aluminum to the front of the console to strengthen it up and to keep water from splashing in. Then you could add a shelf for storage. (JMHO)

Can you take a pic from above? I'd like to see the inside layout a bit better.

I wish I was able to turn my boat over when I did my bottom, but it had gas in the tank and I was impatient. I was lucky and it turned out fair, but I wasn't using GG. However I may go back with it. Seems like it is much more durable.

Keep the pics coming.
 

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