Square Nose Refresh

[motorider200]

I have had this ski for about 15 years and gave it a rattle can paint job shortly after I bought it. Finally decided it was time to give it a refresh. I started on it back in January and just now getting the finishing touches done. Here are the before and after pictures and I will fill in more details as I have time.

 

[motorider200]

I started with removing the old matting. An oscillating tool with a blade was what worked best for me to remove the stock mat. I then proceeded to strip the ski down to bare hull. Next up was lots and lots of sanding. I used a combination of an orbital sander, sanding blocks, and various sizes of PVC pipe cut down for the round profiles on the bottom.

 

[BennyB]

That turned out awesome! What's the nose piece you have on there?

 

[motorider200]

That turned out awesome! What's the nose piece you have on there?

The nose piece and pole pad came from Watercraft Factory.

 

[motorider200]

Next up was cutting out the tray to re-seal and re-foam. I also decided to widen the tray and make some slots for my feet to go in. I used painters tape to outline the cuts because I wanted to re used the curved areas on the sides of the tray. I cut a 1 inch strip out of the top of the side rails to make the tray a little wider. Getting the drug foam out was a pain. The wet foam in the bottom of the tray was easier to get out. I used a pressure washer to clean all the residual out. I did find the drive shaft PVC tube had cracked so there was my biggest water intrusion spot.
I resealed all the thru hull fittings and bulkhead with 5200 and poured thickened epoxy in the seam between the top and bottom. I then filled the bottom with foam. I cut a board to try and fill up the bottom to a level surface, in hindsight that was probably a waist of time. I think just filling it and sanding it flat would have been quicker.
I then glassed the sides I reused in place. I was able to get fiberglass on the the underside of the side rails with the access from the slots. It also worked well to use super glue to hold the side pieces in place. Next I made some wood plugs to form the slots with foam and proceeded to fill the side rails with foam. I also filled the tow hole at the back of the tray and instead installed a stainless u-bolt.

 

[motorider200]

Now came getting the tray fiberglass done. I sanded down the foam to the shape I wanted and filled a few low spots with Total Boat totalfair. I did the sides first. Then did the bottom. I used epoxy resin, chop mat and 17oz biaxial mat with out the mat backing from US Composites. If I recall correctly l believe I did three layers of the biaxial mat on the sides. For the bottom I did two layers of the chop mat three layers of biaxial then another layer of chop mat. The idea way the last layer of chop mat was the sacrificial layer for sanding.

I also added a piece of aluminum angle iron to the front of the hood opening to sturdy up the pole mount area. Credit to John Zigler for that idea.

 

[E350]

I really like the idea of the angle. Did the warp pull out as you tightened the machine screws?

Hey, not only do I like that Watercraft Factory nose piece (just put it in my cart), but is that a oem or aftermarket hood?

 

[motorider200]

I used some wood below the angle and clamps to tighten it all up and get all the sag I could out of it. I drilled and tapped the holes with it all clamped up. Then had to unclamp it all to countersink holes in the top piece for screw heads. Then clamp it all again and installed screws.

The hood is OEM. I cut the liner out of it, removed and glassed over the louvers on the top, added the holes in the back for air inlet, and built a new liner for the inside with tubes to let air in. I did the hood mod back when I painted the ski the first time many years ago. I will get more pictures of it this evening.

 

[E350]

Wow! Fantastic. It looks like you remounted the attachment points to the pole bracket too?
I am very interested in this since I have a SN SJ hull and have the opportunity to reinforce it now.

Also, my 2019 RN SJ has the same wrap that your SN does.

So, I get whiplash every time I look at that wrap on your SN !!!

I am seriously considering the same wrap which you did. May I also ask where you got it?

 

[SteveC]

I used some wood below the angle and clamps to tighten it all up and get all the sag I could out of it. I drilled and tapped the holes with it all clamped up. Then had to unclamp it all to countersink holes in the top piece for screw heads. Then clamp it all again and installed screws.

The hood is OEM. I cut the liner out of it, removed and glassed over the louvers on the top, added the holes in the back for air inlet, and built a new liner for the inside with tubes to let air in. I did the hood mod back when I painted the ski the first time many years ago. I will get more pictures of it this evening.View attachment 457749View attachment 457750

Photos of your hood liner, please.

 

[motorider200]

Here are some more pics of the hood and the pole bracket setup.
I made the liner by laying up some fiberglass on top of duct tape on the garage floor. I was then able to trim it to fit then glass it into the hood. I used pool vacuum hose and some plastic barb couplers glued in with 5200.
I moved the front hood brackets out in order to clear the RN pole. I used the stock SN pole bracket with some trimming to the bracket and end of the pole for clearance. I just stacked ss washers to take up the extra space. Ignore all the white species on the bracket just aftermath of all the polishing compound!

The graphics came from IPD graphics. They are made to order and take a while to get but I think they look great.

 

[E350]

Excellent photos!

I see what you did, you just moved the pole bracket "L" brackets to the outside of the Round Nose Pole Bracket.

Very clever indeed!!!

 

[motorider200]

I made the stock square nose bracket work. It has worked fine for a lot of years.

 

[E350]

Thank you for posting all those photos.

Your work is quite clever.

 

[motorider200]

Now came more sanding, more filling,more sanding then more filling and so on until I was happy with it. I used Total Boat products for foam, filler, and paint. I bought a cheapish hvlp sprayer with a 2.5 mm nozzle from Amazon and the disposable paint cup liner things from Harbor Freight. Those made clean up much easier. I used the total protect epoxy primer on the outside and brush painted a coat in the engine compartment. I made a single qt work but it was only enough for one layer on everything. I used total boats gel coat and ended up using 3 qts of it with one batch that I added to much mekp to and it setoff in the gun quickly. 2% at 80 degrees was good but 2 % in the lower 90's was not. Had to go to 1% mekp at higher temperatures.

 

[E350]

Dude !!! I heard you could not gel coat over SMC?

So can you gel coat over the Total Boat Epoxy Primer?

The ski looks amazing.

It is apparent that you really thought out your project, so I want to know.

How long has it been since you gel coated it? And how is it holding up?

I would really like to gel coat.

These are the products?

Marine Epoxy Primer & Barrier Coat For Gelcoat Blisters

TotalProtect is a 2-part, high-build epoxy primer & barrier coat for gelcoat blister repair. Recommended for fiberglass boats before applying bottom paint.

www.totalboat.com

Polyester Finishing Resin - Coat For Laminating Resin

Two-part polyester finishing resin with wax cures tack-free to form a hard, clear finish on fiberglass, metal, and wood. For use over laminating resin.

www.totalboat.com

From Brave AI:

Applying Polyester Gelcoat over Epoxy

Can you apply gelcoat over epoxy? Andy conducted experiments debunking the myth that you can't; WEST SYSTEM epoxy can be applied successfully over gelcoat.

www.epoxyworks.com

 

[motorider200]

E350 yes in my research on it gelcoat over the SMC and epoxy resin for the glass work in the tray was a no go. But it can go over the Total Boat epoxy barrier coat primer you show above. I sprayed the gelcoat on in June and it has held up great. This included the ski being in the water tied to and anchor the whole week of July 4th. I did the first coats with unwaxed then used the waxed for the final coats. I just had to set it all up where I would spray several coat back to back before it would cure. I watched lots of you tube videos on spraying gelcoat. I am really haddy with the gelcoat finish it is super hard and seems like it will be really durable. It does take alot of wet sanding to make it look nice though. It has a lot of orange peel straight out of the spray gun. Here is the gel coat.

 

[motorider200]

Fish Bump TV on you tube was a really good resource for learning about fiberglassing and gelcoat.

Here is the spray gun I used.

 

[E350]

This is friggin' encouraging. Did you add hardener and wax to your last spray of laminating gelcoat?

Or did you just buy the Finishing Gelcoat which has the hardener and wax already in it?

I hope you consider this a dissection of your thread, rather than a diversion from it.

Really appreciate all your information.

(And yes, my buddy just roll and tipped his 25 ft. Farallon dive boat in our yard (warmer here in the valley compared to the coast) and it looked like orange peel until he started lightly sanding it. And now it is outstanding. He used finishing gelcoat for his final coat.)

 

[motorider200]

I am glad to help, this is the reason for the build threads.

I didn't use the polyester finishing resin you posted above. I initially bought one qt of the white gelcoat without wax the one with the wax additive. It comes with the mekp catalyst that you add for every batch that you put on. I ended up buying a 2nd qt of the waxed one to have enough. I sprayed the non wax on first then followed with layers of the waxed. I never let it dry between coats just kept mixing batches and spraying until I got it on thick enough. I had no problems doing multiple layers using the one with the wax done that way.