Greetings to you all. I got this boat about a year ago from a guy in Coos Bay Oregon. Tired of boating in the rain, or not boating because it was raining. So it seemed like a good idea. OK maybe not as good as I thought! First saw it on Craigslist but didn't want to spend that much but then 6 months later I saw it again and the price had been cut by $1000 so I bought it. Still way too much but I didn't realize that till the new wore off. It needed a new transom. Did that. The trailer was rusted bad and I decided it would be too big a job to restore it so I found an old Galvanized one that fit, sort of. Next I started working on making a new windshield. I got some 1/8 inch thick Lexan. Palsun is the brand I got. I read that it could be bent double and not break. I paid $178 for a 2' x 8' piece. Well it doesn't bend very easy without heat. I couldn't bend it at all. So I got some 1/16" Lexan, a whole sheet for less than half the price of the thicker stuff. First I ordered a couple pieces about 8 inches square to make sure I could bend it. It's pretty flexible at that thickness. I made a paper pattern of the old, broken windshield and transferred that to half the new piece of Lexan. I cut it out with some tin snips and put the weatherstripping around it and commenced to try stuffing it into the frame. Then I realized how many little curves I hadn't realized were there. It wouldn't go into the channels with both sides weatherstripped. So I removed the top piece and got it almost in to the frame but it wouldn't go without some more cutting. So I started carefully trimming and fitting and finally it popped into the frames. I have to say, that lexan is some tough stuff. I bent the crap out of it and it just kept springing back. It fits almost perfect except the top doesn't have any weatherstripping on it. And there's a little spot on the bottom I cut too much off of. So, my solution is to cut the weatherstripping in half and glue it in the channel against the Lexan with clear silicone. I know it's half-butted but it's the best I can do. It still looks a lot better than a 60 year old piece of crazed yellow plexiglass with a great big hole in the middle of it. Right now my project is building a wooden frame for the open deck to hold some canvas so I can take it over to storage and get my cars back in the garage. The frame was another really big deal. It started out as an aluminum tube framed thing which would have worked but I couldn't bend the tube. I bought a bender that plumbers use for copper pipe. The company says it'll bend aluminum too, but it didn't (7/8 inch), even after I annealed it. Thankfull I got my money back. Then I though I could use PVC pipe but that's too flimsy. So I ended up using wood. Just about done with it, maybe just a few more weeks. I'll keep you posted. Oh yes, this aluminum boat is really light and I can pull it with my Ford Ranger 4-banger. That was my main consideration...
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Greetings to you all. I got this boat about a year ago from a guy in Coos Bay Oregon. Tired of boating in the rain, or not boating because it was raining. So it seemed like a good idea. OK maybe not as good as I thought! First saw it on Craigslist but didn't want to spend that much but then 6 months later I saw it again and the price had been cut by $1000 so I bought it. Still way too much but I didn't realize that till the new wore off. It needed a new transom. Did that. The trailer was rusted bad and I decided it would be too big a job to restore it so I found an old Galvanized one that fit, sort of. Next I started working on making a new windshield. I got some 1/8 inch thick Lexan. Palsun is the brand I got. I read that it could be bent double and not break. I paid $178 for a 2' x 8' piece. Well it doesn't bend very easy without heat. I couldn't bend it at all. So I got some 1/16" Lexan, a whole sheet for less than half the price of the thicker stuff. First I ordered a couple pieces about 8 inches square to make sure I could bend it. It's pretty flexible at that thickness. I made a paper pattern of the old, broken windshield and transferred that to half the new piece of Lexan. I cut it out with some tin snips and put the weatherstripping around it and commenced to try stuffing it into the frame. Then I realized how many little curves I hadn't realized were there. It wouldn't go into the channels with both sides weatherstripped. So I removed the top piece and got it almost in to the frame but it wouldn't go without some more cutting. So I started carefully trimming and fitting and finally it popped into the frames. I have to say, that lexan is some tough stuff. I bent the crap out of it and it just kept springing back. It fits almost perfect except the top doesn't have any weatherstripping on it. And there's a little spot on the bottom I cut too much off of. So, my solution is to cut the weatherstripping in half and glue it in the channel against the Lexan with clear silicone. I know it's half-butted but it's the best I can do. It still looks a lot better than a 60 year old piece of crazed yellow plexiglass with a great big hole in the middle of it. Right now my project is building a wooden frame for the open deck to hold some canvas so I can take it over to storage and get my cars back in the garage. The frame was another really big deal. It started out as an aluminum tube framed thing which would have worked but I couldn't bend the tube. I bought a bender that plumbers use for copper pipe. The company says it'll bend aluminum too, but it didn't (7/8 inch), even after I annealed it. Thankfull I got my money back. Then I though I could use PVC pipe but that's too flimsy. So I ended up using wood. Just about done with it, maybe just a few more weeks. I'll keep you posted. Oh yes, this aluminum boat is really light and I can pull it with my Ford Ranger 4-banger. That was my main consideration...
That's a beautiful thing
Weldorthemagnificent
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That is cool as can be! You gotta wonder if they had proprietary windshields made of if they adapted an automotive glass that was currently available at the time. Keep us posted!
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I wondered how they did it too. I imagined a jig in an oven or something like that. Lexan is a good solution in my opinion. After you get a little experience cutting and fitting, and wasting some material, it works good. I guess it scratches easy and they don't polish out. Just have to see.
New transom, laminated with epoxy. the bolt holes are 1 inch holes filled with epoxy/wood fiber "peanut butter" and redrilled, to prevent water contact with the wood. If I could remember where I got that info from I'd thank them here! Eventually I'll have to make a splash well too but don't want to use up too much space.
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What a cool boat, can't wait to see the finished product.
CedarRiverScooter
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Add windshield wipers & an inboard jet & you'll have a Northwoods bot!
