1980 HydroStream Vamp resto-mod

Topside of the hull is now all sanded with the exception of the lounge area, I will get that tomorrow along with the tight inside corners. I should be putting the second coat of primer down on Wednesday and then I get to block some more!
I feel I am getting really close to my goal date, but out of the 2 weekends before my goal, I only have a single saturday to work. I dont want to rush, so my finish date may be getting pushed back again.
But, on the plus side, I have everything I need now to finish the boat. So no waiting on parts, everything is brand new stuff so it will all go together perfectly.

 

So I have come to the realization that I already know of a way to make the primer come out perfectly smooth without needing to sand it.... roll and tip. This is a method that many people use when they want to gelcoat a boat without spraying the gelcoat. To roll and tip, you simply roll the primer out, then after each roll, you take a normal paint brush and just run it over the area you just rolled. This removed the harsh texture caused by the roller and will result in a very smooth surface.

So, I will roll and tip the primer on the top side and this should result in less sanding to get the finish right.

 

OK, I am nearly done sanding the top. Im not going to sand the stairs as I am not going to recoat those. I have a couple little corners that I need to sand, they are a pain in the ass to sand. But I am on track to put the next coat on tomorrow, let it cure, then start sanding again.

 

Welp, sanding is done, I just acetone wiped everything, guess I have 3 hours before dog training... so Im going to put on the primer again.

 

Rolling and tipping did not work, the primer was just too thick and it just smeared real bad. So, roller and blocking is what I will have to do. But the top is all done again, I will block it all out tomorrow.
So, plan is to block the top out again, block the transom out, install the bow and transom tie downs again, then lift the boat and block the bottom.

Then its gelcoat time! I have been going back and forth with the glitter I want to use. I want to do black glitter, but part of me wants to throw some silver glitter in there too for a 2 dimensional sparkle (high sparkle from the silver, less sparkle from the black)

 

I think I know why I couldnt get the roll and tip to work right. The roller I was using was designed to produce a smooth finish, so it was not laying down enough primer to tip it. But in the end it all worked out right. I used up the last of the primer I had, and the smooth roller actually produced a pretty smooth finish. So sanding should be minimal here.

Got notice that my boat side wire harness shipped and should be here tomorrow. Once the keyed switch shows up I can go ahead and wire up the motor and get to working on that too.

 

I like the sound of the double glitter effect.

The gelcoat is sprayed correct?
Do you just measure and stir in the glitter?
Is it an issue to keep a consistent look over multiple fills of the spray gun?

 

Yeah its sprayed on, I mix the glitter in with the clear gelcoat. So for each 16oz fill of clear, I would put X amount of black and X amount of silver, then mix. I can keep it pretty consistent with measuring cups.

 

I was under the impression the gel coat was going to be black?
The primer is black, is there a dark color coat under the clear gel coat?

 

It will be black, so in order to do glitter, it has to be mixed with clear gelcoat or else the glitter wont show up if you put it into the black gelcoat.
The bottom of the boat will be just black gelcoat, then the top will be black gelcoat, followed by clear gelcoat mixed with glitter, followed again by clear gelcoat (no glitter in this layer).

This will give me a nice depth to the glitter and black.

 

Ah, ha!
I hadn't considered the "depth" aspect to make the glitter work.
Thank you, I'm back with the program now.

I have learned so much going along with you here.
Great thread, thanks for the excellent explanations.

 

The depth is actually the reason I decided to go with a single color instead of having the orange side parts on there. Gelcoat being pretty thick, I would need to tape off where the orange would be going, and this would create a huge line between colors that would just look terrible.

 

Just spent a little time sanding the new layer, sands real nice when its smoother to start with. I am hand sanding the whole thing instead of using the power block so I can limit how much primer I am actually removing.

 

This boat is going to look fantastic. I cannot wait to see the finished product! Great work all around.

 

Thanks! Cant wait to get the hull done, wired, and ready to put on the motor.
I have been looking for a new project boat, I want a 14ft CJR cuddy. Its like the perfect micro fishing trip boat. Its got this little cabin in the front half, I figure I could put a diesel heater in there along with a bed. These boats are only in the UK though, so I might have to build my own from a small hull.

 

Love that! I have never seen one before.

 

Bit of sanding on the tops of the gunnels. Nice and smooth, when you run your hand over it, there are no waves, no imperfections, its just perfectly smooth. There are a few spots that are not perfect, but they are also spots that are covered. The inside edges of the gunnels are not perfect, but they will have trim panels over them. Same thing up in the lounge area, the sides are not perfect, but they will be covered.

 

Yeah, I dont think I will ever find one here in the US, But I think I could use the hull from a old glastron as they are wide all the way forward. Then just build my own "cabin" onto the front half of it. By building my own, I can build it like a beer cooler to help insulate the cabin. Build the whole front end out of XPS foam, fiberglass both sides of it and I have a strong insulated cabin.

Old glastrons are cheap too... like $100-$500 for boat, motor and trailer.

 

I like that thought. It's funny to me because most of the covered cabin boats look a little awkward but that one looks sleek and well... cool. If you make your own versus buying something "close" you can have that same type of look.

 

Its a good design. It reminds me of a mini crabbing boat or a mini version of "The Orca" from Jaws.