wheres my dog
New member
First time ever owning a boat, let alone doing any sort of conversion to it... so wish me luck here!
Been searching for a boat for a while now and found one on craigslist for $400 for the fiberglass 14" V hull boat and a pretty heavy duty trailer in need of some sanding and painting. The seller said it was solid and was not leaking, of course I did not believe it, but after checking it out the boat seemed to be in solid shape and did not see signs of any open cracks or holes.
Brought her home and parked her in the garage and wanted to test it for leaks so I reverse engineered a leak by filling up the boat with water about 6 inches deep and looked for water on the ground underneath..... after a minute or so I found a leak near the transom.... I would estimate the leak at maybe a gallon every 15 minutes or so!
So... went and found me some resin and cloth and ( my first time ever ) patched over the area and let it dry for a day and refilled her with water and not a single drop on the ground to be seen... not bad for a beginner like me! All in all I would say it was a heck of a deal for $400!
On to the project now...
Here are some pics for details and size
https://www.flickr.com/photos/65586284@N02/5972626034/in/photostream
https://www.flickr.com/photos/65586284@N02/5972071153/in/photostream
https://www.flickr.com/photos/65586284@N02/5972631718/in/photostream
https://www.flickr.com/photos/65586284@N02/5972077345/in/photostream
Here are my thoughts for the conversion...
* Add a floor that sits on top of the rear and middle seat that is hinged to the middle seat which allows for under floor storage area for the battery and gas tank
* Need to add marker lights to the boat to be in code with SC laws
* Thinking of carpeting the inside of the boat with outdoor carpeting for a cleaner look
* painting the outside of the boat to a darker color
* making some sort of bimini top for the boat for shade
Need insight on the following thoughts...
Never had a boat before nor worked with fiberglass, when the boat is in the water, is it safe enough or strong enough to actually sit on the fiberglass floor?
For future leaks, is resin enough for sealing, or do I need to use fiberglass cloth with the resin?
Any thoughts or help is much appreciated...
Been searching for a boat for a while now and found one on craigslist for $400 for the fiberglass 14" V hull boat and a pretty heavy duty trailer in need of some sanding and painting. The seller said it was solid and was not leaking, of course I did not believe it, but after checking it out the boat seemed to be in solid shape and did not see signs of any open cracks or holes.
Brought her home and parked her in the garage and wanted to test it for leaks so I reverse engineered a leak by filling up the boat with water about 6 inches deep and looked for water on the ground underneath..... after a minute or so I found a leak near the transom.... I would estimate the leak at maybe a gallon every 15 minutes or so!
So... went and found me some resin and cloth and ( my first time ever ) patched over the area and let it dry for a day and refilled her with water and not a single drop on the ground to be seen... not bad for a beginner like me! All in all I would say it was a heck of a deal for $400!
On to the project now...
Here are some pics for details and size
https://www.flickr.com/photos/65586284@N02/5972626034/in/photostream
https://www.flickr.com/photos/65586284@N02/5972071153/in/photostream
https://www.flickr.com/photos/65586284@N02/5972631718/in/photostream
https://www.flickr.com/photos/65586284@N02/5972077345/in/photostream
Here are my thoughts for the conversion...
* Add a floor that sits on top of the rear and middle seat that is hinged to the middle seat which allows for under floor storage area for the battery and gas tank
* Need to add marker lights to the boat to be in code with SC laws
* Thinking of carpeting the inside of the boat with outdoor carpeting for a cleaner look
* painting the outside of the boat to a darker color
* making some sort of bimini top for the boat for shade
Need insight on the following thoughts...
Never had a boat before nor worked with fiberglass, when the boat is in the water, is it safe enough or strong enough to actually sit on the fiberglass floor?
For future leaks, is resin enough for sealing, or do I need to use fiberglass cloth with the resin?
Any thoughts or help is much appreciated...
