New Trawler Owner

Take your time and research research research any and all advice you receive. The good thing about advice you get on this forum is there's no shortage of folks willing to throw the BS flag if someone takes you too far off the reservation. Even then please still research and vet all advice you get. Some of the best and worst advice will come from some "old salt" you meet locally.

IF IT WHERE ME, and it is not. First thing first before cosmetics is make the boat watertight from the top down. Buy a good tarp and cover it. With a little imagination and ingenuity some pvc pipe can be bent Conestoga wagon style. Seal all penetrations, re-bed all fasteners and windows is the logical first step. This will halt any and all potential for any further possible water intrusion.

Having said that I can hardly wait to see how YOU proceed with your project. A project like this has potential to teach us all something. Good luck hatch

Edit: great post Ted!

I like Craig's idea of first making it water tight, however I would be concerned that any rebedding you did now would need to be redone when you refinish each section.

I suggest that you first decide how perfect you want the final finish to be. Or as another mentioned, how far away do you want to boat to look good. For me, I would be happy with a "50' finish" so I could more quickly get out to use the boat. To do a really fine finish job will take a lot of time and work. A simply adequate finish will still be a lot of work but won't take as long. The difference could be another season of not using the boat.

I don't know enough about refinishing fiberglass to be able to offer any more advice than that other than don't ever be tempted to use a silicone bases sealant on the boat.

Hatch,

You are in for the time of your life.

Good luck.

hatch1906 said:

I am looking to do the following as part of a partial refit.
a. Re-Fiberglass Boat
b. Gel Coat
c. Paint Exterior
d. Install new interior furniture/bulkhead wood
e. Install new electronics (Radar, Chart/Range Finder, etc.)

Click to expand...

$100k minimum ! if you do it yourself.
I wish you well.
I've done it three times and they should have locked me up after the first. one.

How about the engines, gear? All that work ok? I would go around first and find all the rot, look around any Windows and doors. Find the rot and start with that and every thing else will fall in line

Engine and gears are workable. I will work on that after I get her in the water and up and down the St. Johns River.

Thanks for the great advice. It was the same information from what a salty liveaboard shared last week in the mariners bible "This Old Boat."

Any great websites to purchase gelcoat and marine paint at the lowest price?

Thanks,
R/Hatch1906

hatch1906 said:

Engine and gears are workable. I will work on that after I get her in the water and up and down the St. Johns River.

Thanks for the great advice. It was the same information from what a salty liveaboard shared last week in the mariners bible "This Old Boat."

Any great websites to purchase gelcoat and marine paint at the lowest price?

Thanks,
R/Hatch1906

Click to expand...

If you're in a boatyard, you might talk to them about working out a deal. On my refit project, do to the size and volume of stuff needed for the refit, I received a very nice discount on everything off their normally discounted prices. Being a new customer to them, you might suggest giving them some money up front to pay for stuff as you get it in exchange for reduced pricing. This worked well for me as they had a well stocked store and received deliveries twice a week (without shipping cost) from their distributor (Paxton). There is a lot to be said for being able to walk in a boatyard store and get stuff as opposed to loosing a day every time you realize you're missing a key component.

Ted