20' Hourston Euro Transom

[myles]

Downhill perhaps! You're definitely going to beat me back onto the water, man...blah this blows.

That's a real bummer! WORST possible timing for a breakdown with long lead parts...

 

[myles]

Great work.
So if you are wetsanding down to 2000 or 3000, then you need to shoot on some more gelcoat on thin spots, do you need to rough it up again with 800?
I have a few brush marks in my new gelcoat from last year that I need to wetsand some more in places.
I'm going to try a Preval sprayer and some styrene if I need more.
I probably need some of the carbon stuff for showing low spots, too.

The area that requires spot repair (burn through) needs to be scuffed with 120-180 grit (some guys like 80). Then shoot on a couple of coats of gel and wait for it to cure. After full cure, start sanding out the orange peel with 800 as it reduces the chances of burning through. Work up through the sandpaper grits back to whatever level of finish you require and then polish the gel and the repair shouldn't be noticeable if the same colour gel is used.

For spraying, I would spend the 30-50 bucks on a touch-up gun https://www.amazon.ca/ATD-Tools-6903-Touch-Up-Spray/dp/B003GZCYB4
useful little tool and will give you a better starting point vs preval.

For small repairs, get some acetone and reduce the gel by 5 or 10% and see how it sprays the gel. Should come out almost like paint- use just enough to make it spray nice. Don't use too mach fan (atomization air). You can play with the mixture uncatalyzed until you get the desired pattern so you don't have to worry about gel kicking in the gun. Air pressure on gun 30-40 PSI. A small compressor will work just fine for touch ups.

you might be able to sand out the brushmarks with the 800... if not get the touch-up gun.

 

[Dorman Point]

Myles, it’s people like you who make me wonder what I’ve done with my life.

Great job, looks just excellent.

 

[myles]

Myles, it’s people like you who make me wonder what I’ve done with my life.

Great job, looks just excellent.

With these projects, there are days where I feel like a winner and some days where I feel like it will never end. It's a process and the only way through it is to get in that tent and get to work! Lots of trial and error. You have to be a special kind of idiot to do something like this

 

[myles]

Been a busy weekend yet again. List of tasks complete. Lucky for me my better half was available to help so we really started to tick things on the ol list.

1) glassed anchor locker through a 10 by 20" hole (worst job ever for the record). I should have removed the bulkhead.
2) dug out balsa core on all penetrations on the boat and backfilled with epoxy. backfilled old rub rail holes with epoxy.
3) painted cuddy cabin floor black then hated it and went with primer grey.
4) installed hoss pipe, anchor roller, lewmar windlass
5) Cleaned and installed carpet in cuddy cabin. Still need to do the shelves.
6) Installed rub rail track with 4200 and screws. It was a lengthy process having to dry mount everything and then remove and lay caulking down but worth it for a watertight bond. This took all morning but laying on the rub rail only took 15 minutes. It's a nice product no doubt. i decided to end the rub rail before the transom because i didnt want to start ramming a bunch of screws into the new part filled with foam. If I hate this look in the water its very easy to extend the rub rail it just means a lot more backfilling with epoxy all the screws that go into the transom area bla bla bla.
7) 5200 hull to deck joint in bow area for good measure. The hull to deck is glassed together completely from inside, but figured why not make it even stronger?
8) Sprayed Gelcoat nonskid on the transom. I did this at 9 pm sat night and with a pressure pot as I wanted cold temps and all night for it to cure. Believe it or not, I added too much nonskid for even the pressure pot to handle. I had to open the volume way up on the gun and had a rather poor spray pattern. Overall the grip is awesome but the finish isn't that perfect homogenous finish I was looking for. mad at myself for that one but when i was adding the beads i was sure it needed more. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS dummy.

Engines next weekend

 

[walleyes]

She’s going to look sweet out on the water I’ll tell yah.

 

[Rain City]

Yeah I don't know who the hell said something about ruining the Hourston look . That thing is sexy as hell.

 

[Oly1]

Your boat looks awesome. Can’t wait to see it in the water. Are you going to rebadge the Hourston stickers on the boat? If not you’re going to be asked a lot “what make of boat is that” at the docks.

Oly

 

[Rain City]

Your boat looks awesome. Can’t wait to see it in the water. Are you going to rebadge the Hourston stickers on the boat? If not you’re going to be asked a lot “what make of boat is that” at the docks.

Oly

It needs a cool custom badge like Hourston 22ET or something.
Hourston ET Cobra
Hourston MET
Hourston LOL (labor of love)

 

[myles]

It needs a cool custom badge like Hourston 22ET or something.
Hourston ET Cobra
Hourston MET
Hourston LOL (labor of love)

That is a great idea

I have old-school Houston logos and my decal guy is going to re print. The LOL is priceless.

 

[myles]

Another weekend come and gone. Many tasks done, few to go!

 

[myles]

This weekend it was the battle of the headliner. I have a few mistakes around the bomar hatch but overall I'm happy with the result as this was my 1st time doing a removable headliner. The innovative system uses plastic grommets so I can easily remove most pannels and play with wiring behind the panels etc.

I Polished off the carpet downstairs as well, just need to fluff the joints to hid them and re-install the toilet.
Wired the windlass up and a new "dry Bilge" pump. Re-installed railing and other jewelry on the bow.

What is left:

Organize wiring
drill new bildge through hulls
mount jack plate and engine
drill transom holes for the motor harness.
install rear controls
get the boat on the trailer
stockpile boat with beer and fishing gear

Should be test driving on Sunday if all goes smoothly..what could go wrong?

 

[salmonkiller01]

Looks fantastic. Can not wait to see pics of her in the water. You really do great work

 

[adrian1991]

Wow amazing work
What did the zipwake package end up costin?

 

[myles]

Looks fantastic. Can not wait to see pics of her in the water. You really do great work

Thanks dude, but remember I don't show pictures of all my mistakes If you see my rear non-skid catastrophe on the transom you will know what I mean

 

[myles]

Wow amazing work
What did the zipwake package end up costin?

Just over 3k CND. Almost double other high-end systems but I didn't have to make recessed trim tab pockets on the boat, as there is no space for tabs the hanging way out because the kicker would hit them since the 20' is a narrow hull. The amount of time I saved not making pockets well exceeded the premium cost of the Zipwakes. Additionally, I get automatic trim tabs and higher efficiency so as painful as it was to shell out 3k i don't regret it at all. They are the highest quality, best laid out system I have installed in a boat hands down. The software and interface is impressive make the Bennett system look like it's from the Stone Age. Hopefully they work! Apparently, they provide lots of stern lift which is something all 20' Hourstons need so maybe they will be the solution for proposing. fingers crossed.

 

[EZZ70]

Thanks dude, but remember I don't show pictures of all my mistakes If you see my rear non-skid catastrophe on the transom you will know what I mean

HAHA, O the memories... Wow Myles, just reading thought what I missed, you have been busy. Amazing work my friend, well done! I can relate to the "idiot" part That project sure is something to be proud of...

 

[myles]

Also if anyone is interested in the panel mounting system I used it's called Fastmount. If you are doing a headliner or even bolsters and side panels then I would highly recommend it. They snap into place and remove with a small tool very easily. A nice alternative to fasteners that can eventually strip out.

Standard Range – Fastmount™ Panel Mounting

www.fastmount.com

 

[EZZ70]

Also if anyone is interested in the panel mounting system I used it's called Fastmount. If you are doing a headliner or even bolsters and side panels then I would highly recommend it. They snap into place and remove with a small tool very easily. A nice alternative to fasteners that can eventually strip out.

Standard Range – Fastmount™ Panel Mounting

www.fastmount.com

Did you order direct or is there a location retailer?

 

[myles]

HAHA, O the memories... Wow Myles, just reading thought what I missed, you have been busy. Amazing work my friend, well done! I can relate to the "idiot" part That project sure is something to be proud of...

oh yah I'm a total idiot! My next big job is the topside Gelcoat. It's tired and will polish up nicely but its patchy and aged from the previous owner. So i will be re-gel the topside eventually and might as well do the hull at the same time since it's far from perfect LOL im going to need a pickup truck load of sandpaper.