My mate & I are 3 days into demolition. Shafts, shaft logs, rudders, rudder shelves & stbd Borg Warner removed. The miami soda blasters showed up this morning and promptly got to removing 30 years of bottom paint buildup. Got a peek halfway thru and saw blister city. These guys don't mess around. Tented and blasted entire hull in 6 hours! We are pretty handy, but it would have taken us a week to do it right.
Boy, that brings back painful memories. An adventure to be sure, but only for the masochistic among us.
Wait, would that be most of us?
Mikey
3/18/1963 - -31-327 factory hardtop express, the only one left.
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.
-Albert Einstein
OCD is my excuse. A can of worms doesn't begin to describe what we opened, does it?
Without the knowledge & experience shared on this site, I'm not sure I would feel so confident about completing this project!
I've got a couple of question about deck supports. Anyone have any experience with using aluminum tube to fabricate deck support stanchions like the fiberglass ones Capt Pat makes (http://www.bertram31.com/newbb/viewtopic.php?t=4504" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)? I have a friend who owns a welding shop and can fab these for me for less than the time and material in fiber.
Also would there be a down side to using aluminum U or L channel over said stanchions? Again trying to avoid having to glass anymore than I need to.
Updated photos just in case you want to relive the horror!
Capt Dan, Im getting flashbacks....A man with a mission...What year? Older 31s have gelcoat issues, usually gator skin...Get her good n dry before you start fixing those blisters..that through hull near the strut should go seems to be in a poor location that could give you aeration problems. The glass around one strut looks like it had been repaired, check out the inside and the backer pad, I found lots of white glass, which means damage..Green=good glass..I had to re do the poor repair on my 31 folowed Capt Pats directions to a T..you can get lots of fiberglass I beams right off the shelf you can use to make a deck support. The more fglassing you do the better you will get, ask me how I know...lol..good luck keep plugging along, its all worth it..BH
1966 31 Bahia Mar #316-512....8 years later..Resolute is now a reality..Builder to Boater..285 hours on the clocks..enjoying every minute..how many days till spring?
