Hunt 14 project has started

ianupton · Post by **ianupton** » Jul 11th, '16, 10:08

I purchased this bare hull a few yrs back and am now just getting started.

I towed it from cottage to marina last week and drug it back to Ohio.

Pulled the transom out and ordered some supplies. Previous transom replacement was poorly done. Plywood was wet and it was only a few years old which were mostly on the hard. Poor surface prep and adhesion.

Going to be a slow project, so bare with me. Transom, floor, possibly stringers will need to be done. Conversion from IO to outboard as well.

Ian.

MarkD · Post by **MarkD** » Jul 11th, '16, 20:16

Ian:

Would you be towing that with the Bahia you restored from New Rochelle, NY? You love the projects - and we love seeing the work!

Best of luck, it appears you have one to keep you busy for some time.

Mark

ianupton · Post by **ianupton** » Jul 11th, '16, 20:32

That is exactly the Bahia thay was towing this Hunt 14.

Tony Meola · Post by **Tony Meola** » Jul 11th, '16, 21:30

Ian

You are a better man than I. One big project is enough. By the way, JP and you must be related. He is just finishing up a second big project also.

ianupton · Post by **ianupton** » Jul 12th, '16, 03:16

Let's keep in mind this is a 14 foot boat. Not much there.

White Bear · Post by **White Bear** » Jul 12th, '16, 11:40

I'd never even heard of a Hunt '14 so I did a quick internet search to see what one looked like. Found thisin case anyone else might be intereted:
http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-for ... out.html#b

ianupton · Post by **ianupton** » Jul 12th, '16, 11:44

Yes, the first one is a Hunt 18, the second one (Yellow then white) is owned by Mark Dunnill up in Canada.

Very cool little boat.

Ian.

scot · Post by **scot** » Jul 12th, '16, 13:29

Cool Ian,

Like a tiny little Bert lol.. those lines look familiar!

Rocket · Post by **Rocket** » Jul 12th, '16, 14:31

Definitely Jealous Ian, I am sure that you finished product will be amazing. I am kicking myself for not buying Jamie's Hunt 14, I really could have used it this summer with a 14 year old and a 13 year old!

ianupton · Post by **ianupton** » Jul 12th, '16, 14:53

Rod - I drove that hull last summer.

Etec 75 was put on the transom. Ran pretty nicely.

ianupton · Post by **ianupton** » Jul 25th, '16, 15:49

Transom completely removed. Outer skin cleaned up. Template for core material is made. Stringers are cut back from transom about 10 inches to allow for glass overlap onto hull and sides.

Sole is removed. And I have started grinding out the vast amount of bonding putty where the sole sat in the lifting strake. If this were a SeaCraft, I think this would be referred to as "Potter Putty".

Cant really see very well, but the amount of grinding to get the putty cleaned up was impressive.

I was hoping to save the stringers, but after drilling a few holes, the plywood core is wet and in a few locations looks like the typical mulch.

Right now the plan is to bed the Coosa transom core (Bluewater 26 - 2 layers of 3/4") finish the grinding including removing the stringers (one at a time, with additional hull support) then replace with Coosa wrapped and tabbed.

Also have the temp layup table built (and you can even see my new to me Grizzly 3hp left tilt 10" table saw in the background - ripped some 8/4 maple yesterday to glue up a new cutting board. Didn't miss a beat. My Shopsmith never would have cut through that.)

Enjoying the weather...

Ian.

CamB25 · Post by **CamB25** » Jul 26th, '16, 15:28

Looks like a fun project, Ian!

bracket or transom mount for the outboard?

Do you really need to remove the old stringers or could you sandwich them in between two pieces of coosa?

Cam

ianupton · Post by **ianupton** » Jul 26th, '16, 15:34

In all reality, the stringers are probably fine. There is decaying mulch in there, but there is probably about 3/8" of glass on either side of the 1/2" ply stringer.

I think sandwiching with COOSA would be more work than replacing and would still have some rotten wood in boat.

They are tapered (about 4" tall by transom and about 7" tall at bulkhead.

I will notch the transom and make some sort of engine well.

Raybo Marine NY · Post by **Raybo Marine NY** » Jul 27th, '16, 06:11

Yesterday i got an email from someone in Sweden who has a prototype hunter 19 he states that volvo used to demonstrate its new i/o engine.
He searched and came across the thread where i was asking about the hunter 23 a while ago.

He has one he will be selling if anyone is interested i will get his contact info

ianupton · Post by **ianupton** » Aug 1st, '16, 08:49

Nothing super exciting. Just the daily grind...

The outer most lifting strake was a bear to clean up. Packed full of bonding putty from where the floor was and gap was filled.

Questions:
1. On the starboard side between the chine and the 1st strake and in the foremost area that has been ground, there is some discoloration underneath the glass. Does not appear to be buried gel coat or anything similar. Some internet reading suggested that this might have been water intrusion at some point. Plan will be to barrier coat the exterior, and coat the interior prior to putting everything back together.

2. While cleaning everything up, there are some areas that seem to have "dry" woving. I was using a very course grinding disc and that could be part of the "blame". I will hit it again with 50 grit before laying in glass. Should I give everything a good coat of resin to make sure that the existing laminate soaks up whatever it can before adding more glass?

Ian.

Navatech · Post by **Navatech** » Aug 1st, '16, 12:09

ianupton wrote:Just the daily grind...

The one thing I really hate about doing FRP projects... Not the grinding really... That's not that bad... The itching afterwards drives me nuts...

ianupton wrote:Plan will be to barrier coat the exterior

Unless you plan to keep the boat in the water I'm not sure why you should do a barrier coat...

ianupton wrote:While cleaning everything up, there are some areas that seem to have "dry" woving. I was using a very course grinding disc and that could be part of the "blame". I will hit it again with 50 grit before laying in glass. Should I give everything a good coat of resin to make sure that the existing laminate soaks up whatever it can before adding more glass?

IMHO, if you're going to lay down a layer of glass, especially if you do it with epoxy, I think you're better off grinding off the dry weave... Just adding resin or epoxy isn't going to do much... It's really the fibers that give the strength...

CamB25 · Post by **CamB25** » Aug 1st, '16, 15:24

Ian,

It seems that you are going to glass the inner hull? If so, then yes, I would wet out that weave with neat resin before laying up the new glass.

Did you re-paint the B20 or do the hull sides look dark from shadows?

Cam

ianupton · Post by **ianupton** » Aug 1st, '16, 16:22

Thanks Cam - I thought I was going in the right direction with the neat resin.

The hull sides have both white and gray gel coat / paint.

This picture is not of the B20. This is the Hunt 14.

CamB25 · Post by **CamB25** » Aug 1st, '16, 18:29

I was referring to the picture you posted on the other thread - one with boat at dock. Hull sides look much darker than I remember.

ianupton · Post by **ianupton** » Aug 1st, '16, 18:32

Just the lighting. Have not changed color.

captbone · Post by **captbone** » Aug 3rd, '16, 08:05

Nice little boat. Congrats.

What do you search when looking for one? Oday 14?

Looks like a nice replacement for my Whaler.

ianupton · Post by **ianupton** » Aug 3rd, '16, 08:32

Not many around.

Kijiji.com is probably the best bet.

Rocket · Post by **Rocket** » Aug 18th, '16, 22:54

I'll agree on the not many around! i've been looking for 10 years but I finally found one! I bought a Hunt 14 out of Honey Harbour that had an outboard conversion done. It is in running condition, but definitely a project as the balance at rest is all wrong. The boat is very stern heavy, so I have to figure out what I am going to do. I'll start another thread with pictures...

ianupton · Post by **ianupton** » Aug 19th, '16, 03:41

I had heard you picked on up. Glad to hear. What is on her for power?

Will be great to share touches add we go through.

Looking forward to seeing pictures and progress.

Ian.

ianupton · Post by **ianupton** » Aug 22nd, '16, 05:23

Got some time on the boat this weekend.

Pulled out the starboard stringer and ground all of the outboard tabbing down to the hull laminate. Still need to grind down the inboard tabbing before scribing the new Coosa stringer to fit.

Coosa transom is cut. Single pc 3/4 Bluewater 26 across entire transom and an additional layer of 3/4 which will span the two stringer for outboard mounting.

Glassed the two layers together. Coosa / 1 layer of 1708 / 1 layer of really well saturated 3/4 oz mat / Coosa.

Ian.

Rocket · Post by **Rocket** » Aug 22nd, '16, 11:14

Ian, are you going to notch the transom or are you going with a bracket? How heavy is the motor you are planning to use? The waterline on my Hunt indicates that you have to be careful to ensure you have enough buoyancy to support the weight that far aft.

ianupton · Post by **ianupton** » Aug 22nd, '16, 11:20

Planning on notching the transom.

Here is a picture of just over 300 lbs (mimicking an ETEC 75/90) on transom (in the form of children).

**Note: this is without any weight forward (fuel, battery, etc.)

Rod - Give me a call so we can chat about your plans and my plans.

Ian.

Rocket · Post by **Rocket** » Aug 22nd, '16, 11:31

Will do, mine has a 100 Suzuki four stroke that weighs a little over 400 lbs set on an 18" bracket with very little flotation. The chine sits about 14" under water at the transom at rest. I figure I need a bracket with at least 6 cu ft of flotation to offset the weight of the motor and the cantilever effect of the weight being transferred from an I/O in front of the transom to an outboard unsupported behind the transom. I think I will fabricate a bracket with integral swim grid to get this volume underwater at rest.

ianupton · Post by **ianupton** » Aug 22nd, '16, 11:52

You can see the old water line on the hull here from the IO.

I would say that the chine sat 6-8" under the water.

Ian.

Rocket · Post by **Rocket** » Aug 22nd, '16, 11:58

interesting, maybe I'm too worried about her floating level. I am trying to avoid the condition that I get on my Baron when I come off the plane and the water column behind the drive collapses over the transom. I want to get the floating balance right so I can keep the fuel tank in the floor on the COB so different fuel levels do not effect the balance of the boat.

ianupton · Post by **ianupton** » Aug 22nd, '16, 12:27

Agree... I hate that squatting look.

I would be curious how large your fuel tank is and where it is placed in the boat. I am planning / hoping for an underfloor tank to eliminate some of the weight up front while up on plane.

Yesterday, I was surprised how light the stern end of the boat is now that the rotten transom, floor and stringer have been cut out. Not to mention the layers and layers of tabbing that I have ground out. Getting close to being at the point of putting stuff back into the boat before I can rip out too much more of the structure.

I am kicking myself for not weighing the hull before hand, but I bet I will remove 100+ lbs from her. And this is all on a 14 foot hull.

Ian.

MarkD · Post by **MarkD** » Aug 23rd, '16, 16:04

Rocket:

I don't have that issue with my Baron. I run a 5.7 through an Alpha drive. Maybe your set up is heavier or the volvo duo prop creates a larger tail?

Raybo Marine NY · Post by **Raybo Marine NY** » Aug 24th, '16, 13:38

we painted 2 20 bertrams this winter one of them an outboard conversion, it was already converted when he brought the boat here.
This winter he is talking about bringing it back and notching the transom and having us fabricate a splashwell he says the boat's maneuverability is very poor the way it is now. Those hulls dont like the weight that far back thats for sure

ianupton · Post by **ianupton** » Sep 6th, '16, 10:30

Got a bit of progress done this weekend.

Added two additional bunks to the trailer as well as full length keel support. I am happy now with the stability and confident that I was able to remove the remaining stringers.

Beveled the stringers to closely match the deadrise and temporarily oversized the height.

Lastly, I build a jig that will help position the stringers while bedding them in place. This will hold the stringers parallel, hold them at the correct height and correct position while the bedding cures. Played with it a little and should be ready to bed the transom core and stringers in short while. **Note: Although the bevel closely matches the hull deadrise, I will have the stringers held away from the hull bottom by about 3/16" to eliminate any possible hardspots.

Ian.

ianupton · Post by **ianupton** » Sep 14th, '16, 07:08

Inching closer to bedding the transom and stringers.

Just a bit of removal and grinding on the most forward section of the port stringer. Center stringer is fully removed. Need to grind out some clearance to be able to fit in the 3/4" wide short stubby stringer that will support the fuel tank.

Ian.

STraenkle · Post by **STraenkle** » Sep 14th, '16, 08:36

ianupton wrote:Inching closer to bedding the transom and stringers.

I thought for sure that said "itching closer......"

ianupton · Post by **ianupton** » Sep 14th, '16, 08:51

Agree... although the money spent for good full Tyvek suits is well worth while.

ianupton · Post by **ianupton** » Sep 19th, '16, 05:14

Transom is and glassed. Used a vinyl ester bonding compound for bedding the core and putting in the fillets. Didn't really like the product, will switch for stringers. Everything was properly catalyzed, but required an excessive amount of time and heat (halogen lights) to get everything to harden.

Got good squeeze out.

Tabbed transom core with 4" biax, then 2 layers of 1708 coming up the hull sides and bottom 6" and 9". Not perfect, but I am happy with results.

Enjoy!
Ian.

CamB25 · Post by **CamB25** » Sep 19th, '16, 08:19

Looks nice and solid to me! What VE compound did you use?

Are you going to cut the transom down for the outboard?

ianupton · Post by **ianupton** » Sep 19th, '16, 08:22

LBI 945.

http://www.lbifiberglass.com/FAIRCOMPFILL/faircomp.html

ianupton · Post by **ianupton** » Sep 19th, '16, 09:55

I just spoke with LBI to ask about the long cure time.

They reportedly had a batch that was taking a long amount of time. Some people reported 3-4 days. They are sending me new stock, but "assured" me that as long as I got it to kick (which I did) it would cure.

I do have some mixed material on a scraper that I will set aside to watch.

Ian.

ianupton · Post by **ianupton** » Oct 4th, '16, 08:15

On my layup table, I put 2 layers of 1708 on each side. I primed the hull bottom with neat resin as well as the underside of the stringers, then spent some time making sure the fixture was perfectly positioned, the stringers were properly aligned and at the correct height.

Once everything was set, I "tacked" the stringer in place with bonding putty.

Next step will be to fill the rest of the gap between hull and stringer, add some fillets and tab everything in place with 2 more layers of 1708 extending 4" and 6" onto the hull bottom.

Ian.

Yannis · Post by **Yannis** » Oct 4th, '16, 09:32

Ian,
I'm not a grp technician by any means, so I would like to know a few things so as to be able to guide my own technician, who might have to change my tank and make a new one.

So, do you plan to use the hull as your tank''s bottom?
Will the tank be secured on the stringers as well? If yes, why did you make a gap between tank and stringers?
Thank you.

ianupton · Post by **ianupton** » Oct 4th, '16, 09:57

The tank will be a custom sized aluminum tank that will fit between the stringers. There is a small keel "stringer" that needs to be installed, a pad that the tank will rest on.

When I did my 20 Bahia, I followed the Pascoe tank install guidelines. I thought they were simple and made a bunch of sense.

http://www.yachtsurvey.com/fueltank.htm

Ian.

John Swick · Post by **John Swick** » Oct 6th, '16, 04:26

Nice looking jig work there Ian.
looking forward to all of your updates.
Thanks.

ianupton · Post by **ianupton** » Oct 6th, '16, 04:28

John - heading up north next Friday for the weekend.

Hoping to stop by. Are you around?

John Swick · Post by **John Swick** » Oct 6th, '16, 14:39

May head up to camp on the Saturday (weather permitting) to complete preparations for winter.
Will confirm with you closer to the date.
Thanks,
John.

ianupton · Post by **ianupton** » Oct 11th, '16, 12:01

Starboard stringer complete with the inboard tabbing. 2 layers of 1708.

Exterior transom ground complete ready to glass.

Ian.

CamB25 · Post by **CamB25** » Oct 11th, '16, 19:54

I don't buy it...no dust on the floor...this is a photoshop update!

Rocket · Post by **Rocket** » Oct 11th, '16, 19:56

Ian, is your a starboar steer? My steering an controls are on the port side