Page 1 of 1

Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 6:35 pm
by Fishwater
I had heard stories years ago of my grandfather getting together with 5 or 6 other guys back in the fifties to build them each a sailboat. His was called the Midnight Rambler. It was a little day cruiser. Couldn't have been more than 16'. I have a picture of him in it, but no record as to what ever became of it. I always thought it would be a nice homage to build one myself. The only thing is I don't sail, at least I haven't since I was the captain of a hobie cat at the ripe old age of 9. I do love to chase tails though. The kind with spots that are found in about a foot of water.

Several years have passed since I purchased my first set of plans...the Indian River Skiff. I had every intention of making it a little poling skiff. I'm glad I never built it.

When I saw the FS18 plans hit the site, I bought 'em. And then I sprung for the epoxy/glass kit. Last week I bought the wood at a local supplier. Over the weekend I drew the panels, frames, transom, etc and began cutting. I'm hoping by Sunday I'll have the thing stitched together...I think I'll then post pictures and start to refer to her by name.
That's is all for now.

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 9:29 pm
by wegcagle
It'll be great to see another FS18 come together. There are a couple of wonderful builds going on currently. It sure is a great little skinny water boat.

Now lets get some boat porn on this thread :D

Will

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 9:46 pm
by TJS Redchaser
Congrats on getting started. Looking forward to following the build. 8)

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 10:16 am
by hooter
Always good to see new builds. I'm assuming h-town in your profile means Houston. I'm here in Houston for another couple of months and have a build going. Let me know if you have any questions.

hOOter

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 2:24 pm
by Fishwater
After a weekend of gluing panels, squaring the strongback, attaching frames, I have begun stitching. I can't imagine how anyone did any of this solo...thank God for brothers in law. The PVC tip, by Bayport Bob I believe, is invaluable. I should finish stitching the bow tonight and will have pictures posted tomorrow.
Now that it's coming together, my wife's comment was "oh my God, you're really building a boat. It's bigger than I thought it would be." (That's a compliment I guess )


H-town = Houston

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 8:56 am
by Fishwater
I tacked everything in place on Tuesday and cut the zip ties out last night. I was able to fill in the voids on the port side as well. I'm going to try to get the starboard side and bow done tonight reserving all of the sanding for Sunday. I would probably be ready to glass on Sunday but life gets in the way.

I realize this thread is worthless without pics. I'll get some up soon.

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 7:09 pm
by Joe H
Hey H-Town,
Nice progress, Your gonna be done before we see any picture! :lol:

Joe H

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 1:08 pm
by Dog Fish
Image



Just messing with ya , sounds like your moving along nicely so far. Good luck with the glassing.
I have a FS18 just sitting in the back of the big garage waiting on material funds. :cry:


Some day :!:
Image

Brian :)

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 1:13 pm
by Fishwater
Brian,
Looks good...what else do you have left to do? Looks ready to get wet to me.

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 2:11 pm
by Dog Fish
No No No :!: that's not my boat. I should have explained my self a little better, sorry :oops: I wish it was my boat, that belongs to Eric's son Alex. She is a very nice boat, they did a great job.
My boat is all stitched together sitting on the strong back waiting for me to come back with some materials :roll: Funds have been hard to come buy lately , hopping for improvement soon.

Some more pics of Alex boat.
Image
Image

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 3:44 pm
by sitandfish
Dogfish and Tex, I really like this photo. I've seen pictures of this build before but, this is the first shot that shows me that this build is the closest to Jacques original design as I have ever seen. Pretty sure this is how I would want to build it. Open frames. Light where possible. Guess we will have to just keep posting pictures of Alex's boat if Tex won't post pictures of his. :lol: We have to look at something. I'm only interested in the pictures. Like with Playboy. I'm not interested in the electronics reviews! :roll:
Image
That's enough ribbing on Texastail for one day. At least by me. :wink:

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 7:15 pm
by Dog Fish
sitandfish, I agree with you on the boat, it is as close as you can get to the plans, and a fine job doing so.

Brian :)

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 9:16 pm
by Cracker Larry
I've seen that boat in person, and she is sweet 8)

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 11:39 pm
by Fishwater
I finally uploaded some pictures from the camera. Let me just say that technology, while extremely useful, is a big pain in @SS!

Here are a few of her stitched:

Image

Image

Image


Here are a couple of her nearly ready for glass. I still have a bit more sanding to do.


Image


Image


I'm hoping to get the glass on in two weeks. I wasn't supposed to be able to do any work on it during the month of May due to a really busy schedule. However, I've found a Sunday the wife will be working so I'm planning on glassing the exterior wet on wet with the help of my brother in law.

Incidentally, as I was uploading the pictures onto the computer, my wife came in the room and asked me if I was excited about the boat. I responded "Not as excited as I'll be once she's on the trailer headed for the coast." I asked her if she was excited about it. Her response was "I honestly didn't know how you were going to build a boat out of the supplies that came in the five boxes that had been sitting in our living room for a month. But I'm happy that you're doing it."

I still haven't decided on a name. I'm down to about five. If that's the biggest worry I have, I'm doing alright.

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 11:56 pm
by wegcagle
Image
Looks like a ticked off porcupine :lol:

Image
Know you've got an instant boat :D Looking good 8)

Will

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 10:12 am
by Dog Fish
.

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 1:33 pm
by Fishwater
Thanks for the comments gentlemen. Although Sitandfish seems to have gotten quiet now that pics are up.

In anticipation of glassing in ten days, I ordered 3 quarts of quick fair so I won't have to stop the build. I also ordered some extra glass to put on the sides, decks, gunwales and sole. I'm really tempted to begin glassing the chines, keel, and transom edges but will likely hold off until I have time to do all of the bottom glass wet on wet.

I'm already beginning to see areas that will have to be faired. I've already envisioned telling myself to just move on to painting as I'll probably never be able to get it perfect.



Any other FS18 builders have an estimate as to the quantities of primer and paint I'll need for this project?

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 1:58 pm
by sitandfish
Texas, I actually made a post right after you posted your progress pictures and then hit the wrong button and it went away. All I had intended to say was. I love the lines. Looking GREAT!
Image

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 2:46 pm
by sitandfish
texastail wrote:Any other FS18 builders have an estimate as to the quantities of primer and paint I'll need for this project?
Most of the previous FS18 builders are too busy fishing right now to be blogging. :lol: I wonder if the FS17-Low Shear is of similar size? Might be similar surface area. Joel (Shine) has a VERY thoroughly documented build of his FS17 and I noticed he put information like this on it:

"Rolled on a little System Three primer. Two coats on port side and transom, only 1 so for on starboard. Have used a total of 1 quart so far... Overall, Im very pleased. I kept looking for dips or wiggles, but could not see anything but minor fills." -Shine

Here is the link to his build. http://forums.bateau2.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=16831
I think he started painting on page 10 or so.

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 10:38 am
by Fishwater
Thanks Sitandfish. Joel gave me a pretty good idea of what I'll need.

I finished sanding last night and am ready to glass. I must say that sanding isn't all that bad. For me, it's a way to forget about everything else that's going on in life and really concentrate on getting the shape perfect. I may sing a different tune once I begin fairing, but for now, I enjoy sanding.
I had a friend swing by last night and his comment was "Man, you really built a boat." I told him there's a lot left to do, but it has the shape I'm looking for.

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 9:02 am
by Fishwater
I cleaned the boat once last night and will do it again this afternoon to prep for glass. I also cut all the tape and glass cloth I'll need, labeled it and put it aside.
I've called everyone I know to help me glass the bottom tomorrow and everyone is either busy or just doesn't want to help...no big deal.
This afternoon I'm going to try to find some small disposable plastic containers that have lids and premeasure a bunch of haderner and resin; keeping them separate of course. This way I'll be able to grab a container of hardener, pour it into some resin, mix and begin working. Basically, I'll take out the measuring part of the equation when glassing tomorrow. This should allow me to work nonstop until it's done. I'm going to try to start at 7:00 and am hoping to be done by noon.

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 10:38 am
by JamesT
i know its a silly comment, but make sure and label your containers! I've read over and over where when people get in a pinch they get them mixed up.

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 1:13 pm
by Joe H
"Man, you really built a boat."
Next comment will be "Man, your still building a boat." :lol:
But you seem to be moving at a very good pace, keep on rockin.

I was ready to tackle my fiberglassing by myself too but my son stopped on by at just the right time, wrong time for him, and said hey Pop's what's up? 4 hours latter we had the whole hull fiberglassed, it really helps even if you just have someone mixing well you are laying it, but it sounds like you have a pretty good plan.
sitandfish has it right "label your containers!"

One more thing, I didn't mind the sanding at first either, now I'm in the fairing stage, sanding sucks, I can't wait to flip her!

Have fun with it.
Joe

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 1:23 pm
by sitandfish
Joe H wrote:
"Man, you really built a boat."
Next comment will be "Man, your still building a boat." :lol:
But you seem to be moving at a very good pace, keep on rockin.

I was ready to tackle my fiberglassing by myself too but my son stopped on by at just the right time, wrong time for him, and said hey Pop's what's up? 4 hours latter we had the whole hull fiberglassed, it really helps even if you just have someone mixing well you are laying it, but it sounds like you have a pretty good plan.
sitandfish has it right "label your containers!"

One more thing, I didn't mind the sanding at first either, now I'm in the fairing stage, sanding sucks, I can't wait to flip her!

Have fun with it.
Joe
JamesT is the one who has it right but, I'll go ahead and agree with him so maybe I can share some of the credit. :D

Those guys don't have time to help with the building of the boat. I wonder if they will have time to go out on the boat when it's finished? I'll let you make the call. :wink:

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 2:38 pm
by TJS Redchaser
Tex,

Great progress the boat is looking good. That hull came together nice.
texastail wrote:Any other FS18 builders have an estimate as to the quantities of primer and paint I'll need for this project?
I didn't catch this earlier or I would have answered. Of course it depends on what you do paint scheme wise and how good of a painter you are but I'd think 2 maybe 3 quarts for the sides and bottom, 1 quart for inside the hatches/under deck and 2 quarts for the decks and sole. As for primer, I'm using a 1 gal 1 qt high build primer kit that looks like it will be plenty. I used graphite and epoxy on the bottom so I didn't need any paint on there, even so I used almost two quarts for the hull sides and transom. But I had problems rolling and tipping, so that's about 5 coats of which probably half got wet sanded away. That's why I've covered my hull sides in paper and have to keep the kids away, too much work :x :x

The gray primer here is two coats and I have about half of the kit left for the topsides.
Image

This is what I had to sand away.
Image

This is after two weeks of painting and wet sanding.
Image

Hope that helps.

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Sat May 08, 2010 2:03 pm
by Daddy
Just take your time, wet it out, squegee the excess into the dry cloth, use SLOW hardener and keep at a steady pace. Wife and I did my lb22 in three hours so you should be ok. :wink:
Daddy

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Sun May 09, 2010 11:10 pm
by Fishwater
TJS, thanks for the response. That will come in handy in a couple of weeks.

The dogs woke me at 6:30 Saturday morning. I really felt like putting them outside and crawling back in bed with the wife. Instead I went to the corner store and picked up a giant fountain coke to help with the after effects of a few too many Colorado koolades the night before. I started mixing epoxy at 7:00 on the nose while looking at the cleaned hull ready for glass.

Image


I had premeasured enough resin and hardener to do what I thought would be the keel, transom, and chines. I finished the keel with it. At least if I attempt to do this much glassing by myself in the future, I'll have a better idea on estimating. I will say a 4" tight foam rollers are the way to go precoating and wetting out the tape. It gives a nice even layer.

The keel.

Image


I used the remaining epoxy to coat the transom edges.

Image

A look at my watch reads 8:00AM. I'm going to have to bust some ass to get it all done by noon.
The transom is wetted out and the leftover epoxy was used to coat some of the starboard chine.

Image

The watch reads 8:45. Plenty of the giant fountain coke left...plenty of epoxy left to mix.

I finished the chines some time before 10:00. I'm still not finished with the giant fountain coke.


Image



Image

Time to coat the rest of the hull in preparation for the glass.


Image




Now began the marathon session that was laying wetting out the glass fabric. I've a system down for mixing the right amount of epoxy so it doesn't kick. I'm in a zone. The wife interrupts only once. "Can I get you anything?" "More gloves" I respond.

Image

It's almost noon...I'm not done and peering into an empty giant fountain coke.
One final push and I completed the task at 12:30. Wet on wet, just like I wanted. And only a half hour behind schedule.

Image

I close the garage doors and have one last look at my work.

Image

Off to tie some flies for the dock tonight.

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Sun May 09, 2010 11:45 pm
by wegcagle
Clean job. 8) That didn't take you NEAR enough time. You need to build a bigger boat next time :lol:

Will

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 2:02 pm
by tobolamr
Phenomenal! I bet more fellas than just myself are drooling at your update pics... Makes me wonder how I'm gonna pull that off with the same results when I build! :doh: Keep it up! Looks great!

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 2:11 pm
by tech_support
Thats pretty darn good.

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Mon May 24, 2010 11:26 pm
by Fishwater
The Tuesday after I glassed the hull's exterior, I decided to throw on some 4 Oz glass to cover the remaining bare wood. Didn't take any photos as it was late and frankly I forgot...building a boat requires a lot of Coors Light.

I did manage to mix some microballoons, woodflour and epoxy to fill in the low spots in the glass.

Image


A shot with one of the dogs. He can't mix epoxy for sh!t, but he can smell out the most elusive of quail, so I'll keep him.
Image

It seems I've only been able to work on the thing at night, sorry for the low quality pics.
Image

Image

I've since sanded and added a layer of fairing mixture. I'm hoping with another round of sanding, some quickfair, some additional sanding, some more quickfair...well you get the idea, I'll be ready to flip the hull over the Memorial Day weekend. With two of my brothers lending a hand, we're hoping to glass the interior and put in the frames all wet on wet.

I'm planning on another flip to prime and finish paint. My new target splash date is Aug 1...one month ahead. We'll see.

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 10:01 pm
by Fishwater
So, I took a year off. Had a kid, went back to school, etc... life got in the way. Been back at the build for a couple of weeks.

Since I last posted I flipped the hull.

Got the interior glassed and started putting in the frames.

I've left the rub rail off at this point because I'm not sure if I'm going with a flush fore deck or if I'm going to leave the sides raised a bit. I figure if I leave em, it'll prevent fly line from going under the boat. It's a decision to be made soon as I plan on beginning the installation of it on Sat.

New target splash date: a week or two before the Texas meet.

A few shots.
Image

Image

Straps in place to keep the shape. I used some botched stringers with them and it really helped. It had sagged quite a bit after sitting for nearly a year.
Image

Shot of the knees.
Image

Fillets at frame C or D don't remember which. They'll get glassed tomorrow night.
Image

Image

I'm likely not going to use the space between the bow and frame A. I'm debating on whether to foam the entire thing or just leave it empty. I figured as long as it's sealed, it'll give me as much floatation as the closed cell foam. Thoughts :doh:
Image

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 11:05 pm
by Prarie Dog
You could leave it sealed but if you run into a channel marker in the dark and hole it up front it won't provide much flotation. It looks like a good spot to put a small hatch and put a light anchor up there and use it to move stuff out of the stern and up front to help keep the boat in trim. Where were you going to put your fuel tank? :D

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Thu May 05, 2011 8:18 am
by stickystuff
The foam, not only for safety but will keep the hull quiet when you throw down the empty beer cans. In reality for safety foam it.The foam will def cushion the noise factor. Trying to creep up on some reds when they are really nervous will make a big diff.You won't get that hollow sound that really travels in water.

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Thu May 05, 2011 1:28 pm
by Fishwater
Prarie Dog wrote:You could leave it sealed but if you run into a channel marker in the dark and hole it up front it won't provide much flotation. It looks like a good spot to put a small hatch and put a light anchor up there and use it to move stuff out of the stern and up front to help keep the boat in trim. Where were you going to put your fuel tank? :D
I'm considering a small hatch for an anchor. I have some time to figure it out though. The gas tank will be located between frames A and B. That should help with the trim. I'm going to leave the face of frame B open so I won't have to vent it.
stickystuff wrote:The foam, not only for safety but will keep the hull quiet when you throw down the empty beer cans. In reality for safety foam it.The foam will def cushion the noise factor. Trying to creep up on some reds when they are really nervous will make a big diff.You won't get that hollow sound that really travels in water.
Foam it is. Can I mix it in there or will I have to mix it and then pour it in?

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Fri May 06, 2011 3:54 pm
by Mad Dog
texastail wrote:Foam it is. Can I mix it in there or will I have to mix it and then pour it in?
Have you every used the 2 part foam before? In once sense it's one of those "let the fun begin" steps in boat building. In another sense it's, "watch out she's gonna blow" kind of things. I don't see how your can pour enough of the two parts together to fill the void then get it all mixed up nicely before it kicks off. :doh: Once it kicks you want to stop stirring and get out of the way. Continued stirring sort of collapses You may end up with unmixed components that just stay there all wet and slimy and not doing anything useful. I'm thinking several batches poured in quick succession, then slice off the muffin top.

MD :wink:

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Fri May 06, 2011 11:52 pm
by flyfishingmonk
texastail wrote:Off to tie some flies for the dock tonight.


I found a fellow fly fisherman.

I didn't even know this build was going on down there in Houston! I went through your thread and enjoyed the play by play with the updates. Great stuff.

I would like to try to build this boat sometime after the one I'm working on. Keep the updates coming.

Casey

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 11:52 pm
by Fishwater
Monk,
I'll keep em coming.

Update...the jackplate arrived today. Now I'll be able to drill and fill all holes needed before finish paint. Hoping to have the paint done by the second weekend in June. That should keep me on schedule.

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 11:55 pm
by flyfishingmonk
Excellent. You might have mentioned this. What kind of jack plate did you get?

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 10:48 am
by Fishwater
I bought a TH Marine Atlas Micro Jack with a clamp on motor adapter. Picked it up here: http://www.boatownersworld.com/thmarine ... jacker.htm Best price found anywhere. It took about two weeks to get to me but I chalk a lot of that time up to the storms that hit Alabama. TH Marine is out of Huntsville I believe. Not only is the price good, the jackplate is really well constructed. Totally machined aluminum, self contained hydrolic system, and of course all stainless fasteners.

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 1:18 pm
by flyfishingmonk
That looks like a nice one. What size motor are you going with?

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Mon May 16, 2011 11:19 am
by Jerry-rigged
Looking nice!

What part of H-town are you in? I live south of town and work out west...

Jerry

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 8:10 pm
by Fishwater
Jerry-rigged wrote:Looking nice!

What part of H-town are you in? I live south of town and work out west...

Jerry
Live in the Heights...grew up on the west side though

flyfishingmonk wrote:That looks like a nice one. What size motor are you going with?
I bought a 16' Al semi V with a 25 hp honda 4 stroke last year. My plan was to use the motor and trailer. However, now I think I'm going to have a custom trailer made so I'll just use the motor. If the wife will let me, I'd like to get a go-devil for the al boat and use it for duck hunting. We'll see...


Haven't been able to work on it in a while. I have a free(ish) weekend this weekend so I'm hoping to get cleats in, rub rail finished, etc. Again, we'll see...

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 10:10 am
by Uncle D
Fishwater wrote:Live in the Heights
We helped move my wife's daughter to the Heights. Off Harvard.

Don

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2011 11:48 pm
by gstanfield
Hey guy, how's it going? I've been waiting for some progress on your thread and then realized you might be in the fire zone. Are you OK?

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 11:38 pm
by Fishwater
gstanfield wrote:Hey guy, how's it going? I've been waiting for some progress on your thread and then realized you might be in the fire zone. Are you OK?
I've done a few things here and there on the boat. I'll take some pics and post them when I get some free time. Life keeps getting in the way of making serious progress but I'm getting there little by little.

The fire(s) are well away from me, thanks for the concern. I tell you, though, it's a really bad deal. We are in desperate need of rain statewide. I was with friends last night talking about the situation and we're all praying for a hurricane, that's how badly we need moisture. I'm sure there are guys on the forum who are in or near harms way; the fires are everywhere. If you look at a map that shows the fires' locations, it's looks like the pattern from a shotgun.

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 5:50 pm
by Fishwater
Been a while since I've updated the build. It now resides in the garage of our new home. I've about twice the working room which is a huge help. I was having to move the boat around in the old garage to work on different sides...no more.
I have the rub rails completed and the boat flipped for the skeg, sharpening the chine aft, and then fairing and paint. I'll try to shoot some photos this week of progress.

Re: The Chronicles of an FS18

Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 1:45 am
by flyfishingmonk
Fishwater wrote:Been a while since I've updated the build. It now resides in the garage of our new home. I've about twice the working room which is a huge help.
Nice!

We look forward to the progress.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 11:14 pm
by Fishwater
So I've put all the frames in, installed the rubrail, have it flipped and have been fairing using an RO sander, a homemade fairing board and an auto sanding kit which has been extremely helpful. A few photos:
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

I've definitely used and sanded off more epoxy, slurry, and quickfare than I should have but I'm making progress which feels good.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 11:23 pm
by gstanfield
Well, it's good to see an update! She's looking good, keep up the good work 8)

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 6:05 pm
by Fishwater
gstanfield wrote:Well, it's good to see an update! She's looking good, keep up the good work 8)
Thanks. It's nice to have something to post. I'm going try to work on it like a madman for the next two weeks before summer school starts. I really should have finished college when I started. It's a pain to do when you're in your mid 30s with a wife, kid, and a job.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2012 11:17 pm
by Fishwater
Cracker Larry wrote: You'll get there, just try to do a little something every day, no matter how small. Keep moving forward :D
No better advice than this!

I have an incredible life and have been extremely blessed but I'm extremely busy with being a father, husband, working 50+ hrs a week, in school full time, etc so there is little time for boat building. I finish school in May so there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Watching the progress of the other FS18s going on and Larry's aforementioned quote kicked me in the butt to get something done. Drilled and filled for the jackplate and did some fairing today. It felt really good to make progress however small.

All that said, a question for y'all. I have a buddy with an FS18. The skeg has gotten torn up on oyster. I don't know what kind of wood the core is but it's soaked. I'm of the opinion of just leaving one off of mine but he's convinced me otherwise. So I've been thinking of different ways of making a non wood composite maybe foam cored inside matt. I've also thought of making a mold and doing a one off skeg. Any thoughts? Larry?

Forgot to mention, the bottom will be well coated with graphite. My buddy's is not.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 8:47 am
by topwater
Do like Larry did on his OD 18 , put a 1/4 " thick aluminum shoe on the bottom of the finnished skeg.
Ends that problem.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 9:40 am
by Cracker Larry
Exactly. Put a few layers of biax tape on it, graphite, and cap it with a 1/4" aluminum flatbar. :D

It would be easy enough to mold it with solid fiberglass, but I would still put an aluminum shoe on it. That will solve the oyster problem.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 11:24 am
by Uncle D
Just a suggestion but use 2 smaller skegs/strakes on each side to keep a little higher draft.. :doh:

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 11:28 am
by Cracker Larry
It wouldn't really help, Don. The skeg is minimal, plans call for a 1X1 and you can't go much smaller than that, and the bottom is flat near the transom, no V at all, so moving them off center won't gain anything.

The one I'm building doesn't even have a skeg, at the owner's request, to reduce draft.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 5:36 pm
by Uncle D
Thanks for the clarification on the hull shape. You know I was thinking it had some dead rise at the stern. :oops: I'm in time out...cuma libre (sp) time.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 8:51 pm
by AtTheBrink
I have been contemplating using a molded fiberglass skeg...

Hearing about wet and rotten wood may have just sold me on the idea. But Larry's skeg shoe would work too.
One more thing to add to the Thinking List...

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 11:13 pm
by Fishwater
AtTheBrink wrote:I have been contemplating using a molded fiberglass skeg...

Hearing about wet and rotten wood may have just sold me on the idea.
That's kind of my line of thinking. My plan is to use either an aluminum channel or ripped down aluminum tube as the mold. I don't, however, want to leave the middle hollow so I'm thinking either filled with expanded foam or filled with an epoxy/chopped glass mixture. The latter will likely not add any discernible weight (as it's only 8' long and 3/4" square) relative to the completed boat's weight so it's probably the route I'll take.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 9:52 am
by AtTheBrink
Fishwater wrote:
AtTheBrink wrote:I have been contemplating using a molded fiberglass skeg...

Hearing about wet and rotten wood may have just sold me on the idea.
That's kind of my line of thinking. My plan is to use either an aluminum channel or ripped down aluminum tube as the mold. I don't, however, want to leave the middle hollow so I'm thinking either filled with expanded foam or filled with an epoxy/chopped glass mixture. The latter will likely not add any discernible weight (as it's only 8' long and 3/4" square) relative to the completed boat's weight so it's probably the route I'll take.
Yep, I am thinking of doing it just like Shine did on his FS-17. Aluminum angle for the mold, filled with chopped glass, bits of tape and whatever else I pick up off the floor. :D the weight would not be an issue at all and definately lighter than a water skeg! :lol: Lucky for me most of the place I am going to be fishing are relatively oyster free mud bottoms so hopefully this is all for nought.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 11:48 am
by Fishwater
AtTheBrink wrote:Lucky for me most of the place I am going to be fishing are relatively oyster free mud bottoms so hopefully this is all for nought.
You and I are probably going to be fishing a lot of the same area. My buddy's skeg was torn up in that part of the coast. He keeps it just up 35 from you.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 1:24 pm
by AtTheBrink
Most of my fishing is down south, the land cut, nine mile hole, the meadows... It's funny because I am less than 5 miles from redfish and south bay but that area just gets hammered by tourists during the.summer and winter texans and duck hunters all winter. There are a few little flats I like during the cooler months that dont receive any airboat traffic and are to skinny for most to get too. But it always amazes me how rude and stupid people can be when they see a bent rod... :x There are too many of these chuckleheads fishing the bent rod pattern out on the weekends so I stay away from here and go waaay south. But the chuckleheads with more horsepower than brains are down there too, just not as many of them...

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 2:37 pm
by Prarie Dog
Have thought many times in the past that the FS18 would be almost perfect in Lighthouse lakes. In the cuts you could run on a trolling motor and the rest of it could be poled. :D

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 2:54 pm
by AtTheBrink
Prarie Dog wrote:Have thought many times in the past that the FS18 would be almost perfect in Lighthouse lakes. In the cuts you could run on a trolling motor and the rest of it could be poled. :D
On one hand you are right, the boat will be great in there. But, the Lighthouse lakes is controlled by the Plastic Navy. 8O Those kayakers are crazy rude is there. They show no courtesy to power boats, thinking they have right of way where ever they are!

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 3:07 pm
by Prarie Dog
Swmbo and I have fished it in the past in our kayak and had a blast. We were fishing during the week and had to contend with a boat load of guys that got pissed watching us catch nice reds and put them back. They hollered they'd take the fish, we just smiled and waved. LOL Don't know what it'd be like on the weekends, I do see several yak outfits advertise guided trips in there so it's probably crowded at times, that's too bad that everybody can't cooperate a little better.

I don't think you'd even need to use the gas motor in there, why they'd be rude is beyond me. :doh:

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 3:16 pm
by AtTheBrink
No need at all for the big motor. Troll of pole... :D Those paddle pirates think they own that area, especially since parks and wildlife marked the "kayak" trails in there... I am always nice to those guys, I even give them rides back across to channel when it's rough and windy, but they don't return that favor. I think a lot of it has to do with attitude of most people in this area. It just plain sucks.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 5:08 pm
by Uncle D
AtTheBrink wrote: I think a lot of it has to do with attitude of most people in this area. It just plain sucks.
You ain't lying one bit. Gets worse all the time. One day there is gonna be a shootin'.
Don

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 6:08 pm
by AtTheBrink
Uncle D wrote:
AtTheBrink wrote: I think a lot of it has to do with attitude of most people in this area. It just plain sucks.
You ain't lying one bit. Gets worse all the time. One day there is gonna be a shootin'.
Don
No kidding! I don't know what it is about people from this area. I have lived and or traveled all over the US and several places overseas, there are no people more selfish, stubborn, pigheaded, ignorant and rude than people from Corpus Christi and surrounding area :? I dont get it, we are so blessed with a great and stable industry, beautiful bays to fish, great climate, etc... :doh:


Sorry for the ranting and hijack.... :oops:

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 10:10 pm
by Fishwater
AtTheBrink wrote: Sorry for the ranting and hijack.... :oops:
No hijack at all.
Don't get me started on the WPP folks.

I went out to the shop before heading home from work (I work for a custom metal fabricator) and found this for the skeg. It measures about 1" square on the inside and is a shade over 8'-0" long. It should work out I think.

Image

Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 10:15 pm
by AtTheBrink
Are you going to use that as your skeg or as a mold? It seems like it would be awefully tough to pull anything out of that 8O

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 12:23 am
by Prarie Dog
That should armor your skeg just fine. Did you manage to squeeze that baby in your lunchbox??

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 10:33 am
by Fishwater
AtTheBrink wrote:Are you going to use that as your skeg or as a mold? It seems like it would be awefully tough to pull anything out of that 8O
I'm going to use it as a mold. I'll clean the inside, spray with a releasing agent, pour the fiber/epoxy blend and I should be able to get it out with little problem. I'm planning on putting a little taper to the leading edge and then gluing/taping it down.

I realize if I use the aluminum channel it would provide the best protection. I would be concerned with attachment issues, performance issues, as well as picking up grass or other debris. The way I plan on doing it, these issues go away as well as a potentially water logged skeg. I still have a little ways to go before I see how it works out. I'll post up photos as I move forward.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 10:34 am
by Fishwater
Prarie Dog wrote:Did you manage to squeeze that baby in your lunchbox??

Didn't have to. The shop superintendant is pretty cool and is interested in the build so any way he can help he's glad to.
I hope he sings the same tune when it comes time to build the poling platform.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 10:39 am
by AtTheBrink
Fishwater wrote:
AtTheBrink wrote:Are you going to use that as your skeg or as a mold? It seems like it would be awefully tough to pull anything out of that 8O
I'm going to use it as a mold. I'll clean the inside, spray with a releasing agent, pour the fiber/epoxy blend and I should be able to get it out with little problem. I'm planning on putting a little taper to the leading edge and then gluing/taping it down.

I realize if I use the aluminum channel it would provide the best protection. I would be concerned with attachment issues, performance issues, as well as picking up grass or other debris. The way I plan on doing it, these issues go away as well as a potentially water logged skeg. I still have a little ways to go before I see how it works out. I'll post up photos as I move forward.
I was going to use a peice of angle for a mold but if that channel works I am going that way. 8)
That will provide a profile and a little resistance to help it track true whem poling. I like it!

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 10:49 am
by Cracker Larry
That's the perfect profile for it. It should come out of the mold OK. I would line it with plastic packing tape.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 10:54 am
by tech_support
solid glass, its going to be pretty heavy. :)

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 10:59 am
by Fishwater
If I can knock it out in the next couple of weeks, I can make one for you or drop off the channel over Thanksgiving. We'll be in Port A for the weekend. I'll keep you posted.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 11:01 am
by AtTheBrink
Fishwater wrote:If I can knock it out in the next couple of weeks, I can make one for you or drop off the channel over Thanksgiving. We'll be in Port A for the weekend. I'll keep you posted.
Sound great! 8)

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 12:18 pm
by Swamp Skiff
I'd think about welding a nut to the "top" of the channel or counter sinking a screw from the inside out so you have something to hang onto/clamp in a vise. That way you can flex the metal away from the cast skeg if it decides to get stuck and not wreck the end of your product. It'll probably work out fine without it and hopefully be a waste of time but it's just a few minutes of prevention. I haven't done it before so it's just a gut reaction on my part and just a guess.

Swamp

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2012 9:05 pm
by Steven
Fishwater wrote:
AtTheBrink wrote:Are you going to use that as your skeg or as a mold? It seems like it would be awefully tough to pull anything out of that 8O
I'm going to use it as a mold. I'll clean the inside, spray with a releasing agent, pour the fiber/epoxy blend and I should be able to get it out with little problem. I'm planning on putting a little taper to the leading edge and then gluing/taping it down.

You could use Polyester resin for that instead of epoxy. Much less expensive and nothing really to be gained by using epoxy for a part like that.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2012 1:28 pm
by Fishwater
Steven wrote:
Fishwater wrote:
AtTheBrink wrote:Are you going to use that as your skeg or as a mold? It seems like it would be awefully tough to pull anything out of that 8O
I'm going to use it as a mold. I'll clean the inside, spray with a releasing agent, pour the fiber/epoxy blend and I should be able to get it out with little problem. I'm planning on putting a little taper to the leading edge and then gluing/taping it down.

You could use Polyester resin for that instead of epoxy. Much less expensive and nothing really to be gained by using epoxy for a part like that.
I'm going to assume then, that I can epoxy over the polyester?

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2012 2:40 pm
by Steven
Yes. You can epoxy/glass over it and use epoxy/filler to glue it. The reverse is not true.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2012 4:36 pm
by Fishwater
Good deal.
Next question: I'm going to glue and make a fillet where the keel meets the bottom of the boat. Is there a fiberglass material that will make the 90 degree angle on the keel? I know it will form around the fillet. I hope this makes sense without a visual aid.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2012 4:49 pm
by tech_support
s there a fiberglass material that will make the 90 degree angle on the keel?
Its still a 90 degree angle even if its rounded or filleted, but I know what your asking and there is not a fiberglass that will take a super sharp 90 degree turn. You will need to round it over if you want to wrap it over. You can get pretty tight by vacuum bagging it on.

there really is not a reason to have it super sharp anyway, it will just just dinged/gouged.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2012 11:27 pm
by Fishwater
I guess I should have been more precise in asking my question. I suppose what I want to know what the tightest radius a fiberglass material can make on a 90 degree turn. Where the keel meets attaches to the boat will have a significant radius (like 1/4" to 3/8") so I'm too worried about making that.
shine wrote:
there really is not a reason to have it super sharp anyway, it will just just dinged/gouged.
My line of thinking comes from the desire to have those parts in contact with the water to be sharp (see other FS18 builds like CL's) in order to maintain "clean" water.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 8:03 am
by Cracker Larry
A 3/8 radius is about as tight as 12 ounce biax will conform to a 90 degree angle. You first have to glass over the radius, then build up the sharp edges with thickened epoxy. I built a temporary dam, or mold, covered it in plastic and attached to the hull.

Image

Image

Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 9:33 am
by tech_support
My line of thinking comes from the desire to have those parts in contact with the water to be sharp (see other FS18 builds like CL's) in order to maintain "clean" water.
that is done on the chine and transom, and yes it is a good idea to do it there. But don try to make a tight turn, it can very easily result in air bubbles. You have to build the chine back using epoxy/fillers and then sand it sharp. I did ht same thing on my fs17 and it works great.....

below is copied from my FS17 build, same method as Cl show above. towards the bottom you can see how I transitions the sharp edge to the front of the bow
Using a zip lock bag we pumps the gaps on the chine with epoxy/silica/woodflour making sure to push it down into the gap as much as possible.

Image

We pulled off the molds and planed down the excess with a sureform, then sharpened them with the sanding block.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

drilled the crew holes out a little bigger to insure we get plenty of epoxy in there. Used a trimmed up 1" brush to wet out the wood, then squire some thickened epoxy in the hole.

Image

Image

These are the sureforms we use...

Image

Image

Next we progress to Quick Fair on the sides and chines. We used two 10 oz batches. You can see how it fills to gaps in our chine. (the quick fair is the smooth cream colored putty)

Image

Image

these are the fairing tool we use. 2 dry wall spreaders and a 6" plasic squeegee

Image

I found that the splice area towards the bow is going to need some extra fairing (thats where you see the build up of putty)

Image

The Quickfair is ready to sand in 4 hours.

We start by sanding with the large flexible fairing board. This is the 30" hook and look style from 3M. used 60 grit paper.

sanding tools; fairing board and sanding block (60 grit)

Image

After the sanding block remove all the highs, we go over the whole surface with 80 grit on the 6" DA sander

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

see the low spots that need one more Quickfair pass

Image

Image

We will hopefully get a pass of quick fair on this afternoon, then maybe glue down the runners/strakes tomorrow. Getting close to the first primer

:)

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 11:26 am
by Fishwater
Joel,
I did use the method (or similar) that you and Larry did when sharpening the chine and transom by using thickened epoxy microballoons over the fiberglass. When I laid the glass, I had at least 1/2" radius so there were no issues with air pockets or delamination. It's somewhat documented on pages 3 and 4 of this thread.
I wanted to make sure the keel has sharp edges too. If the difference in terms of clean water/performance is negligible, I'll leave the radiused edge.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 2:42 pm
by AtTheBrink
Fishwater wrote:Joel,
I did use the method (or similar) that you and Larry did when sharpening the chine and transom by using thickened epoxy microballoons over the fiberglass. When I laid the glass, I had at least 1/2" radius so there were no issues with air pockets or delamination. It's somewhat documented on pages 3 and 4 of this thread.
I wanted to make sure the keel has sharp edges too. If the difference in terms of clean water/performance is negligible, I'll leave the radiused edge.
I'm sure it won't make a difference performance wise to have an ultra sharp keel but it sure does look nice. Check out Hooters keel. It is really sharp. I am still thinking about how to do that and keep it straight. The downside to the sharpened keel is that it will be very vulnerable to dings and chips, especially when loading and unloading from the trailer.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 7:20 pm
by Fishwater
I'm getting a little done here and there when I have the time. I took some time on Saturday to get ahead of myself a bit. I blame Larry for getting aluminum in my head.


Started by cutting some 1/4"x3 Al flat bar to length and punched holes in it.

Image

Took it to the sander and wire wheel to clean it up and ease the edges.

Image

Cut the 1.25 std pipe and put them in jigs and had them tacked together.

Image

Image

Image

Did the weld out:

Image

Image

Taking off the clamps to load her up and take her home.

Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 7:28 pm
by AtTheBrink
Pretty cool! Not bad for a days work.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 8:54 pm
by flyfishingmonk
Very cool!

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 10:02 am
by Cracker Larry
Yep, that's cool. Nice that you can do the aluminum work, that looks like a heck of a shop.
I blame Larry for getting aluminum in my head.
:lol: :lol:

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:06 am
by Fishwater
Cracker Larry wrote:Yep, that's cool. Nice that you can do the aluminum work, that looks like a heck of a shop.
I work for a custom metal fabricator. Our shop is able to handle quite a bit it's well over 100,000sq ft. We do everything from structural steel to bronze and stainless and everything in between. It's nice to have the proper tools and a couple of willing employees help me along. I need to do a little brown pad work at home to tidy up a few of the corners and then it's off to get powder coated.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 1:09 pm
by AtTheBrink
What color are you planning on powder coating the platform? It ought to look sharp on the back of your boat! Also, have you desided on your hull color yet?

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 1:44 pm
by Fishwater
AtTheBrink wrote:What color are you planning on powder coating the platform? It ought to look sharp on the back of your boat! Also, have you desided on your hull color yet?
I'm going to graphite the bottom and paint the sides (both inside and outside) Fighting Lady Yellow. The decks and sole will be a white still to be determined. The poling platform frame will match the fighting lady yellow. I'm planning on doing the platform itself as well as the rod holders bright. That's the plan anyway.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 2:02 pm
by AtTheBrink
I like that color. That is going to be a sharp looking ride when you're all done. I was going to go that same route with the colors. Only thing different was leaving the aluminum bright. Now I have no idea on hull color... maybe Camel Tan. Who knows..

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2013 11:30 pm
by Fishwater
Slowly making progress. Still quite a bit of fairing left to do before paint. The yellow spots are where more quick fair is needed.


Image

Image

I've drilled, filled, and drilled the transom to receive the jack plate and u-bolts.

Image

The little guy inspecting my work. (He was still 11 months away when I started this project. He'll be two in a couple of weeks.)

Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 7:59 am
by jorgepease
Perfect timing, you will have her ready just as he perfects his cast!! :)

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 11:30 am
by AtTheBrink
Lookin' Good! Are you planning on putting trim-tabs on your sled? I haven't installed the pulling eyes(u-bolts) on the transom for fear the tabs might be in the way of the trailer straps/boatbuckles. Just a thought... And are you going with a skeg or slick bottom? Boats looking great glad you are making some head way on the build. I am still stuck in neutral.... I see you got your power plant too! 30HP Honda? When you are ready for your fuel tank let me know and I can give you the number of the guy that is doing mine , it might save some money.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 3:57 pm
by Fishwater
jorgepease wrote:Perfect timing, you will have her ready just as he perfects his cast!! :)
No kidding. A buddy if mine was giving me sh!t over the weekend that it'll be nice to leave it to my son when I die so he can finish it.
AtTheBrink wrote:Lookin' Good! Are you planning on putting trim-tabs on your sled? I haven't installed the pulling eyes(u-bolts) on the transom for fear the tabs might be in the way of the trailer straps/boatbuckles. Just a thought... And are you going with a skeg or slick bottom? Boats looking great glad you are making some head way on the build. I am still stuck in neutral.... I see you got your power plant too! 30HP Honda? When you are ready for your fuel tank let me know and I can give you the number of the guy that is doing mine , it might save some money.
Thanks. The motor's a 25hp that came off of my old Al boat.
At this point I'm not going to install trim tabs. My switch panel will have room for them though.
I'm also not putting a skeg on mine. I know a guy that has one and another who doesn't have one. Both are happy with their boats. I figure as long and as narrow as this boat is it'll track just fine without one.
I'm going with a portable tank. Thanks for the offer though. I'm putting it under the foredeck to help trim it out a little.
At this point, the only thing I have left to purchase is a new trailer. I just need to put all the pieces together.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2013 8:45 pm
by Fishwater
A little update. I have the exterior of the hull about 90% fair. I wasn't happy with the rub rail so I decided to take it off and redo it. I also decided I wanted flush decks so I ripped down the sides a bit. I flipped it by myself using tow staps, come-alongs and the joists in the garage. It was much easier than using manual labor. Even if getting a couple of friends/family members to help wasn't an issue (which it always it), I wouldn't do that way again.

The Tools:
Image


Starboard Side: Image


Shot of the bow:
Image


Now I have to sand and patch where needed and then reapply a rub rail.


Also, I'm selling my 25hp Honda 4 stroke you can see in earlier posts. I'm looking for $1500. If anyone is interested, let me know.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 9:16 am
by AtTheBrink
You're back! Good to see you again! That's a heck of a deal on the motor. What are you thinking about replacing it with?

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 1:26 pm
by Fishwater
AtTheBrink wrote:You're back! Good to see you again! That's a heck of a deal on the motor. What are you thinking about replacing it with?
I never left. I've just been busy with a newborn at home. It's why I wasn't able to make the Meet in POC.
I found a Yamaha 25hp 2 stroke. It has a little damage to the cowling but nothing I can't repair. The weight saving is tremendous though. I can throw the Yamaha over one shoulder to move it. The Honda nearly killed me when I took it off the transom of my old boat to put in on the stand.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 5:32 pm
by bigtalljv
Fishwater wrote:
The little guy inspecting my work. (He was still 11 months away when I started this project. He'll be two in a couple of weeks.)

Image

I restored a classic bronco from the fame up. My son was 5 when I started and for a while there I didn't think I was going to get it done before he was ready to drive. It ended up taking 5 years so I made it with 6 to spare. It's kind of funny them growing up with this "thing" that Dad's working on all the time as a part of their lives. They don't know life without it.

Jason

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Fri Sep 13, 2013 12:28 pm
by Fishwater
I've reinstalled the rub rail. I still need to fill a few holes and sand a little bit but it's much improved. Using decking screws and wooden dowels are definitely the way to go. I used three clamps for the whole process.
I've also taken on a pretty aggressive schedule in order to finish this thing as soon as possible. I've broken down the remainder of the build into tasks that I can manage an hour or two at a time. I plan on knocking out one a day. This puts me into the end of November.

The new rub rail.

Image

Image

I'll be prepping for and installing the cleats for the sole and forward compartment next.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Fri Sep 13, 2013 12:32 pm
by Cracker Larry
Rub rail looks good and stout 8)
I plan on knocking out one a day.
That is the trick, get at least 1 thing done every day, now matter how small, it adds up.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Sat Sep 14, 2013 8:35 am
by Fishwater
You're right Larry. The rub rail not only looks stout but it really stiffens up the boat.

Started doing cleats last night.

Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 12:48 pm
by Fishwater
It took me a little while longer to do the cleats than I expected but they're in on schedule. I'll coat everything really well one last time with neat epoxy and then start pouring foam.

Image

Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 6:12 pm
by Shamrock Kid
I don't know how you kept all those cleats organized without numbering them. But it looks good!

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 9:40 pm
by Fishwater
Shamrock Kid wrote:I don't know how you kept all those cleats organized without numbering them. But it looks good!
They were marked. You just can't see it.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 11:26 am
by Fishwater
Poured 2 gallons of foam last night. I have two more arriving today. Needless to say this stuff is cool.


Image


Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Fri Sep 20, 2013 4:09 pm
by Gramps
Wow! There was a build going on in my own back yard! I lived up at White Oak and Yale. Sure wish I would have know before moving back to Florida, would have loved to see it in person. Keep up the good work Fishwater, I'll be following the rest of the build!

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2013 6:29 pm
by Fishwater
Gramps wrote:Wow! There was a build going on in my own back yard! I lived up at White Oak and Yale. Sure wish I would have know before moving back to Florida, would have loved to see it in person. Keep up the good work Fishwater, I'll be following the rest of the build!

We moved to the west side of town a couple of years ago. We still miss the Heights. Fortunately, we didn't have to sell our house.



I wasn't able to make any headway this week due to illness but have been able to knock a few things out and am nearly back on schedule.
I ran out of foam. The four gallons was enough to fill under the cockpit sole but since you have very little control once it goes to work I have several "muffin tops" and several shallow voids. I contemplated just moving forward and gluing the sole down the way it is but I know that it would bug the hell out of me knowing it wasn't perfect. So, I ordered more foam. The plan was to glue the sole down tomorrow but that ain't going to happen. There are still lots of tasks left to do that I can tackle until the foam gets here so I'm not pushing the build back any.

I was able to mark out all of the decks and got the sole cut out. I used a template so it fit pretty well on the first attempt.


Image



Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2013 7:11 pm
by peter-curacao
AAHHH that relief on the ankles! 8) wonderful feeling isn't it? :)

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 8:37 am
by Fishwater
I received more foam and poured it over the weekend so there are few if any voids below the sole. I'm waiting a few days to let it fully expand before I glue down the sole. In the meantime, I getting everything cut out and dry fit. I also scored some cool items for my birthday. I'm really liking the popup push pole holders and folding cleat.

Image


Image


Image


Image


Artwork with the 2 year old.
Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 8:41 am
by topwater
You gotta love the hand turkey 8)

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 12:41 pm
by Fishwater
topwater wrote:You gotta love the hand turkey 8)
There's probably 10 of them on the other side of that piece of wood. After we did that one, he asked me to draw a crab. I did and asked him where crabs lived. He said the beach. I asked him what other animals lived at the beach. I drew each of the animals he named. It amazes (and frightens) me how smart he is sometimes.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 7:37 pm
by Mikem59
Sure like the fold over push pole holders and fold over cleats. I haven't begun to shop around for those types of items just yet since I've still have a lot to complete, but I sure don't mind adding to my shopping list. Do you know the brand name?

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 8:59 pm
by Fishwater

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Oct 02, 2013 7:56 pm
by Fishwater
No turning back now.

Image

Fillets and tape tomorrow. I'll probably glass the sole tomorrow too while I'm at it.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2013 1:13 pm
by Fishwater
Sole is taped and glassed. Rod holders go in tonight.
One question:
Do the rod holders need to be taped in? I don't remember seeing it on the construction notes. :doh:

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2013 1:37 pm
by Cracker Larry
If you are talking about the side frames, yes.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 08, 2013 6:06 pm
by Shamrock Kid
Looks good Fishwater, did you get the frames in? I plan to do mine this weekend. Any idea of how you plane to lay out the rod holder?

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2013 12:40 pm
by Fishwater
Shamrock Kid wrote:Looks good Fishwater, did you get the frames in? I plan to do mine this weekend. Any idea of how you plane to lay out the rod holder?
The rod holders are the frames C & D I believe. I basically ripped off Cracker Larry's design. You can see them on the previous page. They, the actual voids in the frames where the rods will sit, are both 1.5" diameter on a 15 degree angle. Mine are glued in. I have to tape them in today.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2013 8:34 pm
by Shamrock Kid
Fishwater wrote: The rod holders are the frames C & D I believe. I basically ripped off Cracker Larry's design. You can see them on the previous page. They, the actual voids in the frames where the rods will sit, are both 1.5" diameter on a 15 degree angle. Mine are glued in. I have to tape them in today.
Yeah they are the frames, I was meaning more of the design of them. Seems that all the previous builds have used allot of defferent designs. Just wanted to see what you came up with. I looked on the previous page and saw yours. They look allot thicker then mine. What did you make them out of? I cut out one just to trial fit it and see if I liked it before gluing it it. Here's a couple pics of the trial fit.
The top holds two, while the bottom holds one.
Image
Image
Image
Like I said this is just a trial fit, I wanted to make sure they fit and I had room to grab the rods. I plan to fiberglass them before installing them. I laid six oz glass on the sole for a little more protection.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2013 9:10 pm
by Cracker Larry
My only suggestion would be to put drain holes in the corners so they don't trap dirt and water.

Image

Edit: And make the entry slots wide enough for nets, gaffs, gigs, short push poles, stake out sticks and whatever else you might put in there besides a rod.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu Oct 10, 2013 10:56 am
by Fishwater
Shamrock Kid wrote:I looked on the previous page and saw yours. They look allot thicker then mine. What did you make them out of?
I laminated 4 pieces of ply together (so they're over an inch thick) and cut them out with a jig saw. I was going to sandwich foam between two pieces of 1/4" ply but instead used what I had. I've rounded over all of the edges and, as Larry said, I put drain holes in the corners. I just hadn't done it yet in the previous pictures. I'll try to take a picture of them today and put it up. I only intended to carry a maximum of four fly rods at a time. That definitely played a part in the design. Interestingly, yesterday my brother in law stopped by to pick up a tool he had lent me and to look at the progress. After commenting on how much farther along I was than he thought, he asked me who I had custom fabricate the rod holders. Made my day.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu Oct 10, 2013 5:49 pm
by Fishwater
I'll still have quite a bit of work left to clean them up once the epoxy dries.

Image

Image

Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu Oct 10, 2013 6:47 pm
by Shamrock Kid
Those look great! I like the thickness, I may have to copy your idea of laminating the ply together. :D Thanks!

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2013 3:05 pm
by BB Sig
Spent too much time this afternoon looking over this build. It looks like a great build. =D>

I may have to abandon ship on building a kayak and switch to a FS18! Easy to do since I don't have the plans yet.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 12:05 pm
by Fishwater
Thanks BB.

Got a little more done in the past couple of days.

Cleaned up the rod holders a bit.
I'll finish them up when it comes time to fair the inside.
Image

Cut and sealed the cleats for the aft section.

Image

I installed a piece of 3/8" ply creating a 10"x20"x4" bilge area.
I used hot glue to "tack" it in and then thickened epoxy, fillets and tape.

Image

Image

For those interested, there will be two compartments aft, one starboard and one port side. The middle section under the rear platform will be totally open to allow water to flow back to the bilge area. One or more of the production boats similar to the FS18 have a similar set up. To do this, I'll extend the transom knees forward to frame E using 3/8" ply. Then I'll cut out the opening in frame E. I'm planning on putting all electrical in the port compartment and using the starboard to run the fuel line and as dry storage.
I have four more cleats to install tonight (2 between frames A&B and the two remaining in back) and then it's foam and ply.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2013 11:50 pm
by Fishwater
Moving along.

Image


Image


Image


Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 7:28 am
by cottontop
Your work looks good. Takes a lot of thinking to get it right and the way you want it. John

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 3:30 pm
by Shamrock Kid
That looks great, I like the lay out. It makes allot of sense. Im still debating how to lay out the aft portion. Got some different ideas in my head I just haven't narrowed it down enough. I see you've got the transom drilled. Are you going to use a jack plate? Anyway looks like your plugging away at it. Good job and keep it going!!

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 5:39 pm
by Fishwater
Thanks gentlemen.
I can't take credit for the layout. A buddy of mine has a certain production boat that my layout is modeled after. Seemed like the simplest way to rid the cockpit of water. It takes away quite a bit of storage but I don't need it. There will be a cooler that doubles as a seat that'll be in the middle of the cockpit. Starboard compartment will house all of the electrical. The port compartment will have plenty of room for a couple of jackets, boxes of flies, pliers, boga, drybox etc. Safety gear will be more easily accessible. The fire extinguisher will be under the aft bench, the lifejackets will be up with the gas in the forward compartment which will be accessed through frame B. Still have to make that cut.

Shamrock, I did drill the transom to take a jack plate.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2013 3:26 pm
by AtTheBrink
looking good! Good to see you back at it. I like that flow thru design

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2014 10:59 pm
by Fishwater
The weather has finally cooperated enough lately to mix a little epoxy.

Forward compartment that'll hold a 6 gal tank.
Precoated with epoxy, before glass tape and some lightweight woven.
Image

After
Image

Also cut holes for nav lights.
I need to get the glass done in the aft compartments and then on to fairing the inside.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2014 12:06 pm
by Fishwater
So I was contemplating the aft compartments: layouts, electrical, plumbing, etc.
I had always planned on running the drain for the bilge through the starboard side of the boat. That is going to require cutting and plumbing through the electrical compartment (aft starboard hatch). That will mean two penetrations and plumbing that takes up room.
Is there any reason I shouldn't just drain through the transom?

The bilge area and rear section of the boat:

Image

I'm considering putting the through hole up near jackplate mounting holes. It'll be out of the way of any hardware of course.

Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2014 12:28 pm
by tech_support
I had always planned on running the drain for the bilge through the starboard side of the boat.
Either a single drain in the middle, or two drains one on each side.
Is there any reason I shouldn't just drain through the transom?
for a small skiff like yours, that is what I would do

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2014 12:38 pm
by Fishwater
Joel,
I have a transom drain at the bottom of the bilge area that you can see in the photos. I was referring to the drain for the bilge pump I'm going to install.
I don't think that'll change your opinion however.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2014 2:01 pm
by tech_support
OK, it a thru-hull for bilge pump :) ......

Doesn't matter which side, whichever side the hose will bend best and not interfere with anything else. I like to have it on the side that easiest to see from the helm. Side is easier to drill through vs. transom

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 9:24 pm
by Mikem59
Good looking build, glad I'm catching up on some of the other FS 18 builds. The photos of the front compartment for your fuel storage was really helpful, I've been having difficulty picturing how that will look. And, I may have missed it, but what type of fuel tank are you going with?

And, reading these other builds is great, but sometimes just seems to add to the list of things you have to consider along way, like where the heck do I install the bilge pump drain? :doh: :lol:

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 11:48 am
by Fishwater
Mikem59 wrote:Good looking build, glad I'm catching up on some of the other FS 18 builds. The photos of the front compartment for your fuel storage was really helpful, I've been having difficulty picturing how that will look. And, I may have missed it, but what type of fuel tank are you going with?
The tank is a 6 gal portable tank that I'm going to strap down. The cap will have to be removed to slide the tank in and out for filling but it should work (the tank is about 3/8" taller than the opening with the cap on).
Mikem59 wrote:And, reading these other builds is great, but sometimes just seems to add to the list of things you have to consider along way, like where the heck do I install the bilge pump drain? :doh: :lol:
I've learned building this boat that you have to be focused on what you're doing but always thinking 10 steps ahead. Learning form others' mistakes helps too.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 11:28 pm
by Fishwater
Everything is now covered in glass.
Let the fairing begin.

Dry Storage:

Image


Electrical:

Image

Stern:

Image

Image

Bow:

Image

Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2014 2:28 pm
by Fishwater
Bow compartment and stern lockers are nearly 100% fair (really just smooth). Made the cutouts for the gunwhale supports as well as the electrical and fuel lines. Going to flip it this week to prime and paint the bottom and sides. Hoping to have it totally faired and primed by weeks end. I'll be spraying the primer and paint. The graphite's getting rolled on. Still contemplating how to do the transition from graphite to the interlux perfection.
A few pics.

Image


Switches.

Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2014 2:43 pm
by Gramps
Looking real good Fish! Is that an Atlas MicroJacker switch on the electric panel?

Why spray the primer? S3 Yacht primer laid out great with just a roller and wound up sanding off any texture. Also what paint are you going with, I may have missed it. :doh:

By the way, I'm moving back to Houston next month. I'd love to see the boat when it is finished and lend a hand before if you need one.


- Scott

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2014 11:56 am
by Fishwater
It is a microjacker switch. Took some work to get the old switch out of that panel and replace it with the new one.

I'm spraying the primer (silvertip high build) in an effort to learn the sprayer before I use it for the topcoat.
I'm using interlux perfection for that.

Are you moving back to the Heights?

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2014 12:27 pm
by Gramps
You'll love that plate, had it on another boat that made a world of difference! Check with Baumann props once you're ready to test, they will help dial in an aluminum prop & then build a custom SS.

Ah I'm with you on learning. I learned the hard way spraying S3 when I only had 1/2 of a quart left. Still came out pretty well but could be much better.

I'll be on the SW side of town near Post Oak & Chimney Rock, Meyerland area.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 12:31 pm
by Fishwater
Gramps wrote:I'll be on the SW side of town near Post Oak & Chimney Rock, Meyerland area.
After we moved to the west side of town I mentioned to my wife that I wouldn't mind living closer to the coast (by this I meant being able to drop the boat in water in the canal behind the house when I get home from work). She replied that she'd move as close as Bellaire/Meyerland/West U. Looks like we'll be staying put for a while.



A little more progress to get ready for primer.

Still need to fill and redrill.

Image


Cut down the transom as well.

Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 10:47 am
by Fishwater
I filled in the holes I drilled for the bow eye and bilge drain. Still need to redrill the holes. I planned on flipping the boat earlier in the week in order to put some primer on this weekend. Didn't get it flipped until I had a little time this afternoon.

I basically put it in a couple of slings and just rotated it. She's definitely gained a little weight since the last time I flipped it. I did reinforce the joists that the slings are hanging from. I'm planning on priming and coating the bottom with graphite before I flip it back. I'll finish paint the sides fighting lady yellow once I get the decks on.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Still have a little work to do before I paint but I should be able to knock that out in a couple of evenings this week.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2014 12:57 pm
by Fishwater
I was doing a little work on the boat last night in anticipation of paint. I drilled the last hole in the boat for bilge. In order to do that I pushed the boat forward a bit. I didn't realize how far forward I'd pushed it because when I opened the garage door, the bow caught on the door, it lifted the bow off of the strongback more than a foot before the garage door opener's safety mechanism kicked in and lowered. The boat slammed down and tumped over sideways on the garage floor. No damage to the boat...little to top of my head and my ego though. Took me about a half an hour to get everything back to normal. A glass of Knob Oak on the rocks cured my nerves.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Fri May 09, 2014 4:14 pm
by Fishwater
"Finished" fairing. I know I'll probably still have a few places to touch up but it's really difficult to do with all of the different colors and patterns that have emerged on the hull.

Put on a seal coat today before I prime. Hoping to do that Sun, latest Mon.


Before:
Image

Image

After:
Image

Image

I initially used one of the yellow foam rollers. I think I bought it at West Marine. It started releasing little bits of foam about halfway through. I threw it in the trash and switched to a mohair roller designed for epoxy paints and urethanes. Worked like a charm.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 3:00 pm
by Fishwater
Primer, finally!!!

Sanded the seal coat with 120. Washed it down with the garden hose. Let that dry and then wiped it down 3 times with alcohol.
Sprayed System 3 High Build Yacht Primer reduced by a little more than 10%.

This is one coat. Two more coats are going on today.
Image

Image

Image

I'm pretty happy with the fairing up to this point. I have few places that'll need a bit more Quickfair and a few pinholes need filling but overall I'm pretty pleased.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 3:21 pm
by pee wee
Very nice, looking good! 8)

Where are you doing the spraying, did you set up a booth?

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 4:35 pm
by Cracker Larry
That looks great. I've never tried spraying it.

Mike, did you get my email?

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 7:57 pm
by Fishwater
pee wee wrote:Very nice, looking good! 8)

Where are you doing the spraying, did you set up a booth?
Sprayed it outside. Conditions were perfect. Low humidity and 75. I figure it's all going to be sanded so I wasn't too worried about the finish, which btw is pretty darn good. No orange peal.
Cracker Larry wrote:That looks great. I've never tried spraying it.

Mike, did you get my email?
Took me 15-20 mins per coat. Pretty easy.

I did get your email. I'll give you a shout tomorrow on my way home from fishing if that's ok.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 10:48 pm
by Knots
The boat is coming along nice. What type of spray gun did you use?

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 10:16 am
by tech_support
looks great. I have sprayed the S3 primer and it does come out nice. Its especially handy inside with all the inside corners. Since its water clean up, I dont mind spraying with my regular gun and if you have a nice day with a breeze you will never breath any of it

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Sat May 17, 2014 4:51 pm
by Fishwater
Knots wrote:The boat is coming along nice. What type of spray gun did you use?
Thanks.
Nothing fancy: Graco Spraystation I picked up at Lowes.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Sat May 17, 2014 5:57 pm
by wegcagle
Great job! It's look awesome after just one coat 8)

I have rolled and (as of today) sprayed primer on my GV15, and I gotta say I was REALLY worried about how hard the inside would be. Piece of cake with a little HVLP sprayer :D

Will

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu May 29, 2014 11:04 am
by flyfishingmonk
Beautiful boat. It's really coming along nicely.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2014 10:49 pm
by Fishwater
Thanks Monk.

Life keeps getting in the way... Started a new gig just after I primed it. Was finally able to get back to the build lately. Still needed some fairing. Did that and filled some pinholes and put two more coats of primer on. Found three little spots the will need a touch more fairing...got sloppy with the RO.
Hoping to get the graphite on the bottom before I head to the low country in a week. I'll be passing through on Sat Larry. Might have some time to swing by and say hello if you're going to be around.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 9:08 pm
by Fishwater
Graphite

Prep work first.

Image


First coat is on.

Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 9:24 pm
by Noles309
Nice, I'm wishing I would have done graphite. I used Gatorglide and wrapped it up the sides about 3", now I'm ready to paint and its so slick tape won't stick to it so I can mask it of.... :doh:

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2014 10:48 am
by Fishwater
Need a little help. I'm going to try to put a couple more coats of graphite on before I leave for the Lowcountry for a week. Anyone know how long that tape can sit on there with the graphite mix on it? I guess I'm trying to ask, how long can I leave it on and still get a crisp line? I'm planning on doing 5 coats and won't be able to do all of it by the time I leave on Friday. I would hate to have to remove it and redo it when I return.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2014 10:54 am
by tech_support
A couple coats and it should still break free, more than that and you will have to score it with a razor.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2014 12:08 am
by Fishwater
Put a second coat on and pulled the tape. Thanks for the tip Joel.


Image

Image

I'll put a few more on when I get back in town and call it good.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2014 8:07 am
by Cannonball
Looking good!

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2014 9:20 pm
by Fishwater
Got back from SC and rolled on two more coats of graphite.
Got her flipped for the last time. Time finish the damn thing.

Image

Image

Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2014 8:27 am
by Cannonball
Fishwater wrote:Got her flipped for the last time. Time finish the damn thing.
I feel ya!

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2014 10:53 am
by Fishwater
Started fairing the inside. Spread a layer of epoxy and microballoons and sanded. Still need to sand the corners and work on the rod holders/frames. The two aft compartments will get sanded smooth and then will be coated with tinted epoxy.


Image


Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 4:05 pm
by Fishwater
Slapped on a little Quickfair the other night and sanded it last night. Still some work left to do especially in the bilge and on the transom but getting closer to a seal coat of epoxy and primer.


Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2014 8:24 am
by Cannonball
Damn, I wish I had done that nice a job before slapping the decks on. Going to be a lot more work now. You'rs looks good!

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2014 11:51 am
by Fishwater
Thanks man. Pictures can be deceiving though.
I figure it'll be a lot easier to sand and paint it now.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2014 10:06 pm
by Fishwater
Not much to look at but got a few more rounds of fairing in. Need to do a little more sanding and install a couple of cleats and supports before I slap a coat of primer on the inside. Hopefully that'll happen in the next couple of days. Getting it all one color will definitely help show off those areas that need attention.

Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2014 11:11 am
by Fishwater
I realized that in order to prime, I have to first install the rod tubes. In order to do that, I need to paint the inside of the forward compartment. I thought about "painting" the whole thing with tinted epoxy but figured the transition on the sole would look bad so instead decided on just coating the vertical portion of the forward compartment. While I was at it, I put on a couple of coats in the aft compartments as well. None of these areas will ever see the light of day. Still need to put a couple of more coats on before I call it good.

Image


Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2014 11:41 am
by Fishwater
Installed the rod tubes. Waiting for the 5200 to dry so I can trim the PVC flush.

Image

Cleats are next...

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2014 1:55 pm
by Fishwater
Finally able to get some work done this weekend after fishing and hunting the previous two.
Most of the cleats are in. I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I've made a list of things left to do to finish. Each item is a job that can be knocked out in an hour or two (sometimes more). I'm down to less than a page worth.

Image


Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 2:43 am
by justin_dwyer
Looking good!

If you are anything like me, those jobs will take you about 5 times what you think. :doh:

Yeah, I'll smash that out in a couple of hours....2 days later... :lol:

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 12:42 am
by Fishwater
justin_dwyer wrote:Looking good!

If you are anything like me, those jobs will take you about 5 times what you think. :doh:

Yeah, I'll smash that out in a couple of hours....2 days later... :lol:
Some definitely take longer than expected, some are overestimated. For instance, tonight, I was able to knock out three "jobs" in one night. However, the previous two nights work were supposed to be done in a couple of hours.
I should be priming the inside this weekend. Come hell or high water, I'm pulling her to my family's annual Thanksgiving trip to the coast. I think that's a reasonable goal based on current progress. We'll see.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 10:21 am
by Cannonball
You can do'it!

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2014 11:02 pm
by Fishwater
Cannonball wrote:You can do'it!
I'm working on it.


Got the cleats about 90% of the way there. I might add an additional support aft between the two compartments.
I was able to trim the deck pieces, cut out for hatches, add some splice blocks, and get a coat of epoxy on the bottomside of the deck. I'll put a coat or two more of pigmented epoxy before they get installed.
Interior primer goes on this weekend.


Image


Image


Image


Image


Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2014 11:25 pm
by justin_dwyer
Great work, you must be feeling good about where you are in the build. Getting close now.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 3:53 pm
by Fishwater
Got a little primer on the interior. Hoping to get the remaining fairing done this week as well as preliminary rigging so I can install and glass the decks next weekend.

Image


Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 4:49 pm
by ks8
8)

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 7:48 pm
by justin_dwyer
Looking great. :)

You can really see the fishing room now, it will be a great boat to fish out of.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 4:52 pm
by AtTheBrink
Looking Good! She is coming together nicely!

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 2:15 pm
by Fishwater
Thanks gentlemen.

A few questions for y'all:

Anyone have about 1 cup of foam left over from a build? I'm a little short but don't need a quart of it. I really only need the dark stuff, can't remember if it's part A or B. I don't know why I have the clear part left over.

Should I figure putting in a fuel filter/water separator? I'll be running a 25 yamaha 2stroke.

Does anyone have a drain tube flaring tool they'd be willing to let me borrow?

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 2:25 pm
by Noles309
I had the same thing with the foam on my build. Weird

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 2:45 pm
by tech_support
I think its from the viscosity difference when you pour, I never end up with exactly same amount left over

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 3:24 pm
by Fishwater
Joel, I shot you am email but it may have gone to junk as my email was hacked a few weeks ago. I'm going to be ordering a little more primer. Any chance you can charge me for a cup or so of the dark part of the 2 part foam? I'll be placing my order this week.
Thanks!

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 3:30 pm
by tech_support
How did you send the email? my email is shine@e-boat.net

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 5:59 pm
by Cracker Larry
Does anyone have a drain tube flaring tool they'd be willing to let me borrow?
I do if you can wait about 2 weeks. As soon as I get this GF18 painted I'll be finished with them. What size do you need? I've got both.

I've also probably got a spare cup of foam I can send you if Joel can't supply a small quantity. I'll check on what I have in the morning.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 11:58 am
by Fishwater
Thanks for the offer Larry. I can certainly wait. Still much to do on my build.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 12:24 pm
by Cracker Larry
I've got about a pint extra of both A and B. Like you, I have a little more of the clear than the dark. Don't know why it works out like that, but it usually does :doh: I can send you about a pint of each. It doesn't need to sit around here all winter anyway. Send me an email with your address. LTeuton at aol dot com and I'll get it right out in the mail.

The flanging tool is no problem, those 2 have been around the world at least twice and they always come home :D Good group of people here 8) If my work goes according to plan I'll be through with them in a week or so.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 7:03 pm
by Fishwater
Thanks for the offer on the foam but I have it squared away.
I don't remember which size drain tube I bought. I'll check tonight. I won't need it for 2-3 weeks.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2014 11:10 am
by Fishwater
I wasn't able to get the decks installed. I did, however, get the chase tubes secured, added another aft deck support, did some more fairing, added another coat of primer, caught some redfish, and did some preliminary installation of some of the electrical components as it'll be easier to do it now before the deck goes on. I'm planning on gluing down the aft portion of the deck tonight. I might to the gunwales as well but the Texans are on MNF so that may get pushed until tomorrow night.

A few pictures:

Image


Image


This is where more foam is "needed".

Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 10:17 pm
by Fishwater
Glued in the final piece of wood this evening.
I'm pretty excited.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 10:20 pm
by justin_dwyer
Looks awesome mate :)

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 7:45 am
by AtTheBrink
Fishwater wrote:Glued in the final piece of wood this evening.
I'm pretty excited.
Getting that last piece on is a great feeling!

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 8:32 am
by Cracker Larry
Ain't that the truth :!: :D

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 9:22 am
by terrulian
The pace you're going at is making me feel my age. Amazing progress, and apart from that, great work.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 2:40 pm
by Fishwater
terrulian wrote:The pace you're going at is making me feel my age. Amazing progress, and apart from that, great work.
Between last fall and the last few months, it's really come together. I started 4.5 years ago though.
It's close now. I think splashing it on Thanksgiving is doable.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 6:52 pm
by ks8
I've been motoring and sailing around for about six years now, and the boat is not yet officially finished and officially *finish splashed*. :lol:

See if she floats, if you want to by Thanksgiving day. :)

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 12:13 am
by Fishwater
A few photos:


The area that "needed" foam, now filled.
Image

Trimmed and sanded.
Image


A few shots of the decks and gunwhales glued in.

Image

Image

Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 11:48 pm
by Fishwater
Ready to wet out the last of the glass. Going to have to wait until Thursday though. Family obligations tomorrow take precedence.

Image


Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2014 12:10 pm
by Fishwater
Family obligations fell through so I was able to wet out some 10oz woven on the decks and gunwhales.
I figured I'd be able to knock it out in an hour and a half. I was off. Took me twice as long. There are still a few places that'll need some glass. I'll take care of those this evening and then start faring this weekend.

Image


Image


Image


Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2014 12:22 pm
by tech_support
very nice work, nice and clean

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2014 12:29 pm
by Fishwater
Thanks Joel. I kind of know what I'm doing...now that I'm nearly finished.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2014 7:01 pm
by justin_dwyer
Looks great!!! :D

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2014 12:50 pm
by Fishwater
Thanks Justin.

First round of fairing nearly complete. A couple more goes at it and it'll be ready to paint.

Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2014 3:12 pm
by Fishwater
Got a ride for my ride.

Image

Made a few adjustments to the trailer and put the boat on it. I took it to TPWD to have a game warden inspect it. He looked at it and told me to come back once it's painted. He's the only one permitted to affix the VIN and didn't want me to damage it while I finish up. I guess I'll be breaking the law a bit when I put it in the water over Thanksgiving.

Image

Need to clean out the garage so I have room to make it fit.

Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2014 12:19 am
by Fishwater
This cold snap has put a damper on finishing this boat before next weekend. I still may do a wet test, however.
I purchased the jack plate a couple of years ago and today was the first day I've tested it. It works perfectly save one problem seen below. I think I have two options. One, add a spacer plate between the transom and jack plate or between the motor and jack plate to allow clearance or two, trim the transom to make room to allow the jack plate to travel all of the way down. Maybe there's a shorter "transom bolt clamp thingy" that can replace the existing one on the outboard. Any thoughts are appreciated.


Image


Image


There's still about 2.5" of travel downward.
Here's a shot of the jackplate as far down as it will go at this point. Not sure I need to go down much farther regardless but definitely need to come to a solution.

Image


One more thing. I'm considering moving the aluminum plate at the bottom of the jack plate up to fill the void between the motor bracket and the jack plate. I hope that makes sense.

Image

Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2014 6:26 am
by stickystuff
Noticed on your engine. Where it is clamped onto the J-Plate you need to add extra bolts through the bottom of engine mount. Unless you have some recess where motor clamps are the engine will def. slide up and possibley come off. I know this for a fact. Bottom of engine mount yoy will see some mounting holes, I would def. drill and add bolts. My buddy had his come off and motor was screaming, in gear and prop right next to his face. Very lucky. He actually held on to the motor while running full throttle off the boat. Talk about a death grip. He was very lucky. 8O 8O

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2014 5:22 pm
by Fishwater
I'll definitely be taking your advice Ken.

In the meantime, I put on the first coat of primer on the decks and gunwhales.

Image


Image


Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2014 6:57 pm
by jorgepease

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 5:36 pm
by Fishwater
Finally started painting today. Taped off the areas on the sole, decks, and gunwhales that will be nonskid and rolled on some Interlux Perfection. Then broadcasted some nonskid onto the wet surface. I'll pull the tape and then paint the entire inside and decks another two coats. Hoping to get the Fighting Lady Yellow on the hull tonight. If I can do that, I'll put another coat on tomorrow and hopefully call it good. Cold weather coming next week (it's going to get below 50 at night) so I'll have to wait until next weekend to wrap up the paint. The end is in sight.

Image


Image


Image


Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 8:12 pm
by Noles309
Looking good 8)

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 8:47 pm
by Fishwater
Thanks.

Pulled the tape.

Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2015 8:32 am
by Fishwater
Interlux Perfection Fighting Lady Yellow thinned 20%. The best roller I've used is a Wooster foam roller designed for all paints, stains, and urethanes from Lowes. Everything I've bought from West Marine has been junk.

There are a few runs so I'll have to sand before my next coat.

Image


Image


Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2015 10:52 am
by osotexan
Fishwater,

I just read your entire build in one sitting. Awesome looking build. The paint looks great. I have officially decided that the FS18 will be my next build.

My brother and his family are in La Porte and I'm in Rockport. I'd love to see your boat in person and talk shop.

Thursday looks like it will be warm enough for the second coat of paint on my boat.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2015 1:52 pm
by Steven
Looks great. All that plastic and Perfection brings back a serious olfactory memory. :) Did you tip it off with a brush, or just roll?

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2015 8:43 pm
by Fishwater
osotexan wrote:Fishwater,

I just read your entire build in one sitting. Awesome looking build. The paint looks great. I have officially decided that the FS18 will be my next build.

My brother and his family are in La Porte and I'm in Rockport. I'd love to see your boat in person and talk shop.

Thursday looks like it will be warm enough for the second coat of paint on my boat.
Thanks. My family has a place in Port A so I'm down that way several times a year. I'll pull it down there the next time we go. There have to be a dozen or more FS18s in TX by now.
Steven wrote:Looks great. All that plastic and Perfection brings back a serious olfactory memory. :) Did you tip it off with a brush, or just roll?
Just rolled it. Tipping didn't seem necessary. It laid out really flat. Except where I applied it too thick and it ran.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 9:04 am
by tech_support
looks great!

glad to know you liked the wooster roller, I think we will start stocking them. They work very well when you are not tipping

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2015 5:38 pm
by Mikem59
Boat looks great. I bet the Fighting Lady Yellow will really pop with another coat.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 11:57 pm
by Fishwater
It's a boat now...


Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 12:10 am
by gtcoupe
A momentous occasion! Congrats!

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 3:31 pm
by osotexan
That's awesome!

I just got back from the TPWD. paid my fees and filled out all the paperwork and copies of all my receipts, just waiting on the game warden to come out for his inspection.

Your boat looks great!

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 3:43 pm
by jacquesmm
Congratulations to the two of you.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2015 2:28 pm
by Gramps
Congrats on the registration! Any updates since then?

I would love to see the boat sometime, thinking about building one now myself!

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 6:11 pm
by Fishwater
Still need to paint the platform top and add a rubrail but I'm calling it done.

Image


Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 7:44 pm
by Steven
Looking good!!!

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2015 1:12 pm
by wegcagle
Congrats :!: It looks beautiful. Only one thing left now....SPLASH :D

Will

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 10:06 pm
by Fishwater
Splashed!

We hit 25 mph.

It got on plane quickly and poles effortlessly.

Image


Image


Image

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2015 10:01 am
by Gramps
Congratulations man! It's been a long time coming and it is a beautiful boat!

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2016 10:57 pm
by espi73
Do you still LOVE the HER, the Boat?
Wish me Luck I start Mine Monday! :D

any comments on your choices of Jack Plate, Trim Tabs...?

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2016 4:30 pm
by K2FS18
Fishwater, you passed me headed to Tivoli on Friday afternoon. I tried to speed up to follow you to get a closer look but I could not keep up on 35. Nice boat.

Is your motor a 20" shaft or 25"?

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2016 12:53 am
by MrPaul
Very nice!

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2016 7:41 am
by Jeff
She looks great!! Jeff

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2016 12:54 pm
by Fishwater
K2FS18 wrote:Fishwater, you passed me headed to Tivoli on Friday afternoon. I tried to speed up to follow you to get a closer look but I could not keep up on 35. Nice boat.

Is your motor a 20" shaft or 25"?
Small world, you're the only person I passed on that stretch! Were you pulling something? Can't remember.
I was in a bit of a hurry. Was meeting people in Port A and was supposed to have left Houston 3 hours earlier.

It's 20" shaft.
MrPaul wrote:Very nice!
Jeff wrote:She looks great!! Jeff
Thanks. It's a great design. Lightweight, easy to pole and floats shallower than any production boats I've been on.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2016 11:04 am
by K2FS18
Yep, pulling a popup camper with two yaks loaded on the rack on a 4 door black duramax.

Re: Fishwater's FS18

Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2016 11:43 am
by flyfishingmonk
Your boat looks great!