A boat a motor and a trailer

[Dave T]

This summer I started building a homemade wooden boat from my own design. I finished the main wood part of the boat late September, it was going to get too cold to do the fiberglassing outside so I had to put the boat on hold for awhile. I ordered the fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin last week. Thanks to PAR and other people on this site for steering me in the right direction. I will do the fiberglassing in the shop this Winter if the fumes from epoxy aren't too bad, I haven't worked with epoxy resin yet. I knew the next thing I would need would be a trailer to move the boat in and out of my shop. I got a 1900# 4x8 trailer kit from Harbor Freight. I widened the axle to 7' 8" on the outside of the tires and raised the spring mounts and dropped the axle 3" and lengthened the tung about 3' It looks like it will work but won't know for sure till I put it in the water. For the motor I decided on an outboard converted to an 11 horse Briggs for more info and fotos on this check my post in DIY marinizing [11 horse Briggs outboard conversion]. I just got another larger outboard for free that I'll need help ID.ing I plan on using an 18 horse Briggs on this one I'll post some pictures and numbers as soon as I get time. here are some pics of the motor and trailer.

[Dave T]

This is the trailer ready to set the boat on upside down and backwards for fiberglassing hope to get that done this weekend so I can move it around. After the boat is finished I will add guide boards, stop board and winch. The fiberglass cloth came in today and the epoxy should be here tomorrow.

Dave T

[Dave T]

Got the boat on the trailer and into the shop. Seam taped some of the seams and experimented with the epoxy resin it went pretty good. No problem with fumes and this is probably the best time of year to do this with heat in the shop I don't have to worry about humidity. I have lots of pictures but I think I will wait until it's finished to post them. I'm hoping to make maiden voyage April 15th the 100th anniversary of the Titanic sinking.Their telling me the ice probably wont be out of the river by then. I don't want to suffer the same fate as the Titanic so I'm hoping for an early Spring.
Can somebody tell me what type and weight oil to use in the bottom unit of an outboard motor one of my motors is stamped use hypoid oil, what ever that is.

Dave T

[rasorinc]

Hypoid oil. http://www.ehow.com/about_5729620_hypoid-gear-oil_.html

[PAR]

80/90 weight . . .

[hoytedow]

I found these interesting links on the teardrops and tiny trailers forum.

They can save a lot of headaches.

http://www.trucktestdigest.com/TTDfe...gIllegally.htm and http://www.dangeroustrailers.org/Towing_The_LIne.html

[Dave T]

This is another motor I got free from the junkyard. I'm pretty sure its a Scott it's a twin cylinder twin card two cycle. It has an 11" diameter prop and about a 1.6 gear reduction. I need to know what horsepower it was. I'm planning on using an 18 horse twin cylinder Briggs on this one. Is there some kind of formula that would give me the diameter and pitch of a prop needed if you know the horsepower and RPM

[hoytedow]

Dave T, I still haven't located the props but I'll not forget you.

[Dave T]

Ready to put the last coat of epoxy on the bottom side of my boat and then it will be ready for paint. Menards has bottom paint for about 36 bucks a quart but I'm concerned about how long it's been sitting on their shelf. Does anyone have any suggestions on paint and where to bye it.

Dave T

[Dave T]

Got the fiberglass finished on the bottom of the boat and I am now ready for paint. I was reading one of my old boat building magazines and it says you don't need expensive bottom paint if the boat is not left in the water for an extended time it says that any good oil base enamel will work just as good as long as the surface is prepared correctly and it bonds to the surface. It states that bottom paint contains poisons that make it dangerous to apply and it's not good for the environment. My boat will most likely be in the water for a weekend and then will be on the trailer for 1 to 2 weeks. I would like to get some opinions on this

Thanks
Dave T

[michael pierzga]

Normal paint will rapidly bubble off when submerged. Far better to coat the underwater surface with pigmented epoxy or with two a part primer if you want to aviod antifouling. INternational makes a nice primer. not to expensive , two coats. Stop by a marine store and have a look.

[hoytedow]

I still haven't found those props. I wonder if I already gave them away.

[PAR]

Regular topside paint will work just fine if the boat doesn't spend more then a weekend at a time in the water between dry out cycles. I'm not sure what "normal paint" that bubbles, Michael is talking about, but trailer boats have been getting away with every paint imaginable, without the need for an anti-foul bottom paint for many, many generations now.

Of course the better the quality of the paint, the longer it'll last. Avoid acrylics, as they're the most likely to absorb moisture in a weekend soak. The costly LPU's will tolerate this treatment the best, while just below this durability and a good bit cheaper are the single part polyurethanes, like Brightsides.

Get a good "tooth" on the surface, prime with 2 part epoxy primer then over coat with topside color of choice. You'll be fine for short duration soaks. This said, a weekend is a long soak for these paints, so let the boat dry good before you do it again (at least a week). Lastly, use a high gloss paint, as these are the most water proof. If you want a flat or semi gloss finish, then use a wet sand technique over high gloss after it's well cured (a month for most paints a few days for LPU's). For a semi gloss hit the surface with 1,000 grit then buff a good wax into it. For a flat finish use the same grit, but hit it with a wool pad and hand wax.

[Dave T]

Got the bottom of my boat primed and painted mixed my own paint by using an oil base enamel mixed 75% paint to 25% high gloss urethane. From my testing it makes a real hard surface and smooths out real nice I used a 4" roller to apply 3 coats I'll let you know how it works out after being in the water for awhile next summer. I'm hoping to get the boat turned over tomorrow so I can finish the top side. Got some questions on prop pitch. Is there any way to tell what pitch a prop is by measuring the angle of the blades or any other way. I'm assuming that prop pitch is the distance the boat would move with one revolution of the prop with no slip much like the pitch of a screw? Any info here
would be appreciated.


Dave T

[hoytedow]

Prop pitch is the distance the propeller would move forward in one revolution, assuming no slip, just as you said.