Mini OB Boat conversion to Mini Jet Boat

Man, that's a sweet little hot rod. Why did I think you guys were relatively new to fiberglassing? Your work looks better than a lot of shop work I've seen.

 

That looks Great!!

 

tinhorn, We have done a few fiberglass projects. Nothing on such a large scale though. However, this is our first boat project! We were just sure to take our time, and I spent countless hours just researching and reading online. I wanted this to turn out perfect. If I am going to spend all this time building a custom boat, the last thing I want is for people to be able to nit-pick it. I want people to be able to appreciate the hard work that went into this.

Thanks wreckmaster!

 

Hey wreckmaster, did you get your boat on the water?! Can you link me to your GreenHulk thread?

 

Hey Lil wake
No i still need to get the crank seal done ,hopefully in the next few weeks i will be able to move on it ,just finding a mechanic to do the job is a pain because its a 93 polaris engine. even the polaris dealership is no help, before i discovered the hulk i did have it on the water and even got it on plane but there were many issues i was unaware of(fuel restrictor) and i melted a piston down after a few outings.
Sorry i dont know how to establish a link to my thread but its at Greenhulk PWC ,in the polaris projects section page eight ,about 7 down under 11ft boat with 93sl750, i dont know about the Seadoo section but a better more helpful group of people you will not find.

I have to say again your project is looking really awesome ,I need to do the same thing ,cut out the bottem of the jetski my engine is from if i ever want to realize the potential ,sadly its probably never going to happen but if it does this thread of yours will be invaluable.

 

Wow! My arms get sore and itchy just watching your pics. Great conversion, and very well thought out, I might add. This is one of the best documented projects I've seen on the forum. I'm in the midst of a 3 year, down to a bare hull restoration of a 47 year old fiberglass racing sailboat and it's encouraging to see someone tackle a project like this, with the obvious determination to see it through.

 

wreckmaster, I read through your thread! AWESOME build man. I love the shape of your boat. It has such a nice looking design. I like the pointed bow better than my rounded/square nose. You should take some videos of that thing when you get it on the water!

seasailor, Yes...very itchy, sweaty, tiring hours of grinding and glassing that I am very thrilled to say are in my past! Now the most exciting part of any build...PAINT! I am hoping Tristan, my painter, will finish it by this weekend. If he does I have friends visiting from Iowa and I will have them tow it up. This would also allow me to finish it before 4th of July weekend. If it's not done by this weekend then I am pretty sure I wont have the time to get it finished by the Holiday.

The main reason I am documenting this well and on multiple forums is because during my planning stages it was so hard to find anything that had been done like this. There is very little information on the process, let alone photos.

I found one very well documented thread by a guy called "Trond" who converted a fiberglass boat that he made into a jet ski powered boat. His project inspired me and gave me hope that my ideas could actually become reality.

I want to see others take on projects like this and I'd love to see other peoples creations using the ski powerplant in a mini boat platform. My hopes are that this thread will inspire others to try something unique and kind of crazy. You don't need a fancy shop, or a crazy budget. All it takes is some hard work and a little creativity.

 

**IMMEDIATE HELP NEEDED**

So my painter just called. This is his first gelcoat project and he felt comfortable after reading into the process. Well things didn't go as well as he hoped. He was instructed to mix a half gallon batch (enough to do 3 coats) all at the same time. This supposedly helps to make sure all 3 layers are drying at the same rate. On the third coat he added the wax additive to this mixture and began spraying it suddenly hardened in his gun and would no longer spray.

He left it be as I tried to find answers on what to do next or how to fix this issue. Its been about 2hrs since he sprayed and we read that if you dont add the wax additive to the third coat that the gel will never cure right and it will remain tacky. Well he just checked on it and said the gel is HARD.

So we are wondering...is this OK to let cure as it is with only a partial layer of wax? What should we do now? Ive read theres other ways to seal the gel to allow it to cure. But we are stuck and are worried that if we dont do something quick things might not turn out right. Someone please respond ASAP and let us know what we should do! Thanks!

 

Well, after some talking with the pros everything is FINE!!! We got lucky, and it was hot enough outside that things cured properly even though things didn't go quite as planned during the first attempt at gelcoat.

I don't have much for you...but here are a couple of teasers.

 

Relax. If it plugged up his gun, it has likely hardened adequately. The true test, of course, is if he cannot salvage his gun--then you KNOW you had a good mix.

Gelcoat remains tacky so that it bonds well when the resin/'glass are applied. It accomplishes this with some kind of voodoo relating to the oxygen in the air. Wax is added when gelcoat is sprayed as a finish coat (like your project) so that it migrates to the surface and seals the gelcoat from the oxygen in the air.

All you need to do is "seal" the gelcoat for awhile. My favorite sealant is simply water. If you can rig up a lawn sprinkler or hog mister to keep it wet for several hours, the gelcoat will lose its tackiness. Some guys wipe it down with acetone, but I don't like the thought of possibly softening the gelcoat.

 

Spraying PVA over the surface is a commonly accepted method of sealing off the gelcoat, but I've almost always applied mold wax, or carnuba car wax when faced with this situation. Unless you get the perfect spray job you'll be wet sanding this out anyway, so just about anything will do including using water.

MM

 

Ok and can u spray pva or h2o over it even a day or two after its been sprayed? I think its probably fine how it is tho since it seemed to be wetsanding and buffing perfectly. Seems to be hard through out.

 

Supposedly the timing is critical with PVA...at least that's what I've read.

Most of the time I don't worry too much about adding wax if I know I'm going to be sanding since it's only a very thin surface layer that stays tacky. Just sand it off and keep going...normally you'll need to sand past the orange peel and that easily gets you into hardened material.

If you decide to spray gelcoat again...Don't catalyze the whole batch at once! That's just asking for trouble. If I need more on a shoot I have extra uncatalyzed gelcoat sitting there...it only takes a second to have it ready.

MM

 

midnitmike, definitely good advice. That is what Tristan (my painter) was instructed to do wrong the first time around. He was told that you want to mix it all at once so it's all kicking at the same time.

The second time around he did it exactly as you do with the batch separated into multiple containers and the mekp measured and ready to mix just as he runs out. It worked much better for him, and he said it turned out great!

I really appreciate all of your guys' willingness to help!

Thanks!

 

I keep waiting to see those pictures of the boat after it's trip out for paint. But I'm more interested in what happens when you drop it in the water. Don't leave us hanging on this project...please.

MM