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Doug, I am putting new stringers in my 18' jet boat. The guys at Home Depot said use pine and Thompsons Water Seal then glass it. Doesn't seem quite right? What do you think?

Dear Phil with Questions, If you look at my helpful hints page in the article about replacing a floor, I address new stringers. I love the the boys at both Home Depot and Lowes. They help me pay the bills. If you still have questions, feel free to write back. Doug

Love the easy way you showed how to make the swim step. I lost the swim step on my boat on a trip back from Catalina last year. Thanks to your projects page, I now have a new one that won't rot out. Love the cracked ice idea for the nonskid. Thanks for all the help. I'll keep getting my material from you for future projects. My buddies can't believe I made it from scratch. Kevin

Looks like you have been doing this for awhile. What do I do if I want to make something with more than 1 color of gelcoat say like a go-cart hood? Matt

First thing is to determine your shape. For simplicity sake, let's just do a flat panel using a piece of melamine board (white coated particle board) or a piece of plate glass. First, apply several coats of a good mold release paste wax. If you try to use PVA or Coverall Film the tape will pull it up. Next, use some 3M 218 Fineline tape to separate your colors. We will do a 2-color piece as the procedure is the same no matter how many colors you shoot. The fineline is you actual pull tape. It gives a really nice and clean line. Next, butt a piece of masking tape right next to it on the side away from the first color you shoot.. Now cover the rest of the area you don't want gelcoated with paper, tape, or whatever so you don't get overspray on it. Don't forget to cover part of the first masking tape to prevent a thin line of gelcoat. Finally, cover all but 1/32 to 1/16 inch of the fineline with masking tape also covering some of the masking tape next to it. This is you initial pull tape. Make sure you make a little pull-tab at the end of you tapes to facilitate putting it off. When you have gelcoated the first section, pull the cover tape and most of the gelcoat comes off with it. Finally, pull the fineline into the gelcoat right after it has been shot, before it sets, and you will have a nice, clean line. I generally let the first color set a little before pulling the covering off the next color and shooting it. Make sure you put down at least 16 to 18 mils of gelcoat in order to prevent "creep" or "alligator" which wrinkles or shrinks the gelcoat. Finally, the last coat should be a thinned down layer of a darker color in order to see air bubbles. Once the material is dry enough to leave a thumbprint but not stick to you thumb, you are ready to do your laminate. Hope this helps. Doug

Doug, here is a tip for some of the folks using Prestec. I find that adding about 10% gelcoat into the clear, white, or black Prestec helps eliminate the sagging or runs beginners experience.The addition of the gelcoat gives it just enough body. I still get the same awsome end result. Brian.

I have a jet boat with some rot areas in the upper area of the transom. The lower area around the stringers is all good and there is no delamination on the stringers. Any suggesttions as to how I can replace the upper area only and what I should do? George

George, here is a suggestion. Take a piece of straight wood and fasten it across the inside of the transom just under the exhaust outlets (assumes a water cooled exhaust) or somewhere in the middle if over the transom exhaust. Use a router and make a 3/8" deep pass across the transom. About 3" above that, make another pass the actual depth of the transom plywood. Now route out the area between to 3/8". Cut the area above all the way down to the glass. What this will give you is a surface which will allow for an overlap of a new transom piece to the existing remaining piece. If you have done everything fairly neatly, you should be able to epoxy or glass the new secton into the old section and be able to maintain good strength in the transom. Depending on the thicckness of the transom wood, you may have to adjust the depths but you get the idea. Use marine grade plywood and make sure you seal it prior to installing it. When the new piece is in, pre-preg the surface with a 50/50 acetone and resin (plus catalyst), let it flash off, and glass the entire surface. If youo have thru the transom exhaust, you may want to pre-cut the holes making them oversize and them filling them with a mish-mash or good filler so that there will be no wood next to the outlet.Then you can glass right up to the holes and you will have a good, snug fit.

With a new plug should I use pva to release the mold ? I have always thought this would change the shape of the intended mold, ie: runs, different thickness, thin in some parts on the plug, etc. or does the pva smooth out and lie flat? Al Rosa, MX Mfg.

Al

I assume you have checked out my website. Spraying on a couple layers of pva will not affect anything other than make sure you have a good release. If you shoot a couple of mist (thin) coats, you are not putting on enough material to drip or run but you are creating the skin that will allow your mold to release. Let each coat dry before applying the next one. The pva will flow out nicely and give you a nice smooth surface to gelcoat against. PVA can also be applied over paste wax mold releases to ensure the initial release. Anything else, give me a call. Doug

New Sink

We saw your corner sink on the projects page. We have a large stainless sink we would like to incorporate it into a fibergalss counter top sort of like your corner sink. Can we somehow make everything out of fiberglass instead of putting the stainless sink either on top of or underneath the fiberglass? Donna B in Long Beach

Hi Donna,

Sure, it is really very simple. If you have a piece of melamine board at least as large as the counter you want to build, simply put your stainelss sink upside down where you want it to be, draw a line around it, and route out an area equal to the flange on the sink and the depth of the flange. (If your piece is larger than what you want, just tape off the actual area you need. No need to waste a larger piece, you may want to use it later). When you have finished routing everything out, fill any voids around the edge with bondo and make sure you have a nice fillet (radius) from the flat area up to the side of the sink. Put down a couple of coats of pva over the entire area (letting each dry before applying the next coat), gelcoat the entire area the color you want and then do your lay up. If it is just the top you are after, all you will have to do is trim the final piece, take the stainless sink out of the part and you are good to go. Put a nice wood border or whatever you want around everything, plumb it in and go for it. Your lay up could be as simple as a 1 1/2 oz or 2 oz mat skin, followed by either core mat or balsa core sandwiched between a couple more layers of mat. No need for cloth or heavier mat as you will have the counter supported anyway. You should end up with a balanced laminate such as 3 oz total on either side of the coremat when you are done. Hope this helps. Doug