"Money Talks" progress photos

[Mattais33]

Criticism very much welcomed. Along with advice. Going well so far.
1. Stripped paint with Kleen Strip and then a good pressure wash
2. Wire Wheel on drill to get to bare aluminum (accept for some spots on floor, dang that paint was on there)
3. Applied Kleen strip after wash cleaner. Which I am pretty sure is just acetone...Ha
4. One coat of Rustoleum Self Etching Primer.
5. Thinking, thinking and thinking.

Some before and after shots so far

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Looks good. What are you doing for gunnels?

 

[Mattais33]

So glad you asked that.

The gunnels were for some unknown reason taken off and left in the boat. I have only the two sides that were made from aluminum. It appears they are channeled to have some sort of rubber bumper place on the outside of them. I will try and get photos for them for thoughts.

I am interested to know about doing them out of 1x2 or even quarter round on both sides of aluminum and then a top cap out of wood if I treat the wood correctly. I am also missing the corner braces at the transom. I guess I am going to fabricate those out of wood, metal or something synthetic.

Thoughts?

Thanks for the post.

 

[Ranchero50]

I'm curious why you are messing with 3/4 of the hull?

Around here, a old thin hull 16' jon boat is worth about $200 if it's not broken up. That one with the missing cap and braces is barely worth it's weight in scrap.

I just don't know if I'd spend my time stripping and painting the hull until I had the structural parts figure out.

 

[Mattais33]

Good point.

I paid 25 bux for the boat from one of my guys. He really just wanted out of his yard. Well we will see what happens with it. Unfortunately, the stripping and priming is done. I don't have a lot of expenses to go into it as far as the structural stuff goes. I am in construction so I get a lot of material from jobs.

 

[zipperer]

What about angle or channel aluminum for gunnels.with braces coming down the sides

 

[Mattais33]

Yeah I think channel would work. I would like to find some that is just gapped enough to fit right over but I think that is wishful thinking. I was almost thinking of two pieces of aluminum flat stock to sandwich the existing aluminum.

 

[smackdaddy53]

How about gunnel caps like I used? They are made for what you are looking for! Thickness is not a problem.
$40 for a 20 foot stick.

 

[smackdaddy53]

Here, just imagine them flipped up on edge instead of flat the way I used them. Basically rotate 90 degrees.

 

[rusty503]

Here is my idea. I realized this may be a pretty good solution after looking at my Grumman GPF. Get some square aluminum tubing of a size you would like. Mine is about 1" square. Now using a grinder and cutting wheel, cut through one side just inside the 90 degree angle on one side only. You want a flat side then a slot that you can slide over the sides. When slid over the sides you will then have the majority of the tube outside or inside as you wish. On mine it is on the outside. Next you can drill holes and rivet it into place. The beauty of that too is that you will only see one side of the rivets. Done right, there will be no sharp edges. If you place most of the tube on the outside, you will also have a bit to act like a splashguard. Another advantage of this method is that you can run wiring inside the tube fore and aft and it is protected.

 

[Mattais33]

Smackdaddy.....I like your style.

What is it that you are doing with that material out of curiosity ?

Rusty503 - that is a great idea too. When you rivet that scenario, is there any issue with the square tubing binding or basically squeezing together and causing an impression ?

Where would I go about getting 16' sticks of aluminum square tubing?.....metal fab shop or do you all use stores online?

Thanks for the info again guys.

 

[rusty503]

No. The way it is put on, you will have the flat side of the tube then when slid over the side, the side of the boat with the hollow part of the tube outside that. Drill the holes only through the one flat of the tube and the side of the boat material. Not through the entire tube. When riveted the head will be visible but the rest of the rivet will be inside the tube. Just like riveting two flat pieces together.

 

[Mattais33]

Nice. Didn't realize at first you were offsetting it that much. That would work. Just need to find place that's sells sticks of tubing longer than 8ft.

Is there a diagram or print showing the transition from gunnels to transom corner brace and also transition at bow.

Thanks again.

 

[rusty503]

Honestly, I can't tell you right now where to get some in that length. Do a web search for metal suppliers in your area.

As for a diagram, I'm not sure there either. My boat came with the tubing from the factory. I will look at it tomorrow. One idea would be to cut out a triangle piece out of each side. Looking from the side the tube, one cut would be just below the top flat. Cut back maybe an inch or so. From the end of that cut away from the end of the tube cut down at some angle back towards the end of the tube cutting through the sides and bottom of the tube. I'm thinking at a 45 degree angle. Next you can bend the top flat down to meet that angle. You can seal those seams with something like JBWeld.

I hope you can visualize what I am trying to convey.

 

[rusty503]

Another idea for your corner braces. Find a shop with a CNC machine. They can whip out those braces pretty quick once they have all measurements. Don't forget the bow piece. They can even put some lettering on the braces either raised or recessed if you want.

 

[smackdaddy53]

Smackdaddy.....I like your style.

What is it that you are doing with that material out of curiosity ?

Rusty503 - that is a great idea too. When you rivet that scenario, is there any issue with the square tubing binding or basically squeezing together and causing an impression ?

Where would I go about getting 16' sticks of aluminum square tubing?.....metal fab shop or do you all use stores online?

Thanks for the info again guys.

Have you seen the build?

 

[Ranchero50]

I like the square tube idea. 1.25" extruded would be a good size, just have to de-bur the edges a little or maybe even use a really small radius 1/4 round cutter on a router to give the corners a softer edge. I would use a table saw to slit it though vs. a grinder and wheel. A carbide blade will go through aluminum like butter, just makes a lot more noise. 1.25" square tube would work well for the transom cap as well, just cut off one side and use it as a channel. The corner and nose cap could be fabbed easily and welded in place without too much hassle or cost.

Metal is up right now so checking your local scrap dealers and letting them know what you are doing might result in some odd shape that will work well. A lot of my boat was built out of what I could find cheaply and make work.

 

[Mattais33]

Great information. Thanks a lot.

So question for you that I never really thought about. Can you buy the scrap from the scrapyards? I was under the impression most if not all the scrap metal brought in there was melted down and shipped away or just sorted out and shipped away. Did not realize they resold locally. Thanks for that info too.

 

[Mattais33]

So I stopped by my local aluminum suppliers and love how there is always more ways to skin a buck than one.

1. For the gunnels on the boat I was thinking of sandwiching the boat with 2 pieces of 1"x1/8" flat aluminum bar stock. some say this will work and others apparently think I am putting a Merc 250 on the boat....lol (maybe a 20)
2. I love the aluminum square tubing idea but am being told by the two shops that at the bow radius, the square may buckle and wrinkle.
3. I would think that when I do the bow cap (Aluminum) and the Transom corner braces, that I would want that to go over the top of whatever I decide to do for the gunnels. Agreed? Let me know.


And also price update: 1/8" x 1" x 20' of flat aluminum 6160 is going for between $9.00 and $11.00 a 20ft stick here in Central Florida. Reasonable?

Thanks again guys.

 

[Mattais33]

So after my trip to the local metal shops, I decided to come home and try out the gunnels that were left in the boat at time of pickup. why they were removed is beyond me. So here are the photos of where I am at now. As you can see the gunnels are made to have a rubber bumper but don't think I am going to find that exact fit anywhere. Does anyone here know now based on the gunnels what type of boat this may be. What are you guys' thoughts of the bow brace? Thanks guys.