A
lot of the fiberglass in the rear of the boat was in bad shape and
needs replacing.
The Blue Star has a two piece
construction - the hull and the deck. Here they are separated to
make it easier to work on.
New fiberglass mat is cut to fit the floor in back of the rear seat.
The wooden reinforcing for the boat
turned out to be rotten so it was torn out. Fresh fiberglass mat was
first applied to the bottom and then new wood reinforcing was glued
in place. The old car batteries make excellent weights to hold the
wood in place until the glue dries.
Close up of the fresh fiberglass and new wood reinforcing.
To keep the new wood from rotting
it must be encapsulated in fiberglass to keep the water out. Here, a
piece of mat is fitted over the wood. It will be covered with
several layers of fiberglass resin.
We
found rotted wood throughout the bottom of the boat and had to
repeat the process between each of the seats as well as in the bow.
A view of the inside of the boat as
the reinforcing process was underway.
View of the hull from the front.
While the bottom was being repaired, the deck hung
above, out of the way, in the rafters.
This is the underside of the deck and shows the reinforcing
pattern forward of the dash. This part required no repair.
The nose of the deck from underneath. A good
cleaning will make a big difference here.
The hull was sanded, primed and
painted inside and out. Next up was the deck and is shown here with
its first coat of primer. At this stage it is easier to see all the
little nicks, scratches and dings that didn't get filled. Once
filled and sanded a second coat of filling primer is applied.
We
decided to keep the Blue Star's colors of red on top over a white
bottom.
Two coats of red automotive quality
paint is applied to the deck. The first coat is wet sanded with a
fine grit sandpaper before the second coat is applied.
