Searider - patches strake and what have you

MustRib · 25 July 2007, 01:59

Well...I'm pushing ahead with the Searider renovation as now have four weeks off work!
I have taken delivery of 8 metres of black rubber D section rubbing strake, about 5 inches wide.
The original tubes on my searider have been painted, and what seems like an original and weedy rubbing strake is attached under this paint.
This is a good two inches narrower then the strake I want to fit.
Do you think I can get away with glueing the new strake on top of this old one, or should I take it off?
How do I get the thing off !!?! A heat gun? It looks like its been on since the boat was new. Also I notice that there are one or two patches that will need to come off if I'm going the get the strake to lie flat along the tube.
Anyone got any tips on fitting the new strake?
Do I need to get it warmed up to start with?
I've not attempted this kind of thing before so any tips/advice is welcome.
thanks
Andy

SDGANDER · 25 July 2007, 04:54

Not sure about getting the old one off but have a horrid feeling that when I was going to do the same you need more than 8 m - assuming you have the 4m boat...

SDG

PeterR · 25 July 2007, 06:19

I think a hair drier will be better than a heat gun and contact paul tilley on here for any tips and fittings

psychopic · 25 July 2007, 09:38

um 8m seems a bit short for a 4m boat? Also i'm not sure how well it would stick to the paint......

MustRib · 25 July 2007, 14:53

thanks for that...
Its the 4m Searider...really hoping I can make it work with 8m.
The stuff costs a fortune...wasn't sure about how to handle the strake on the cones at the end of the tubes...maybe stop before I reach them!

I'm concerned about the Hypalon paint...will the 2402 hold fast to this?
thanks

OLDSR4 · 25 July 2007, 18:22

Andy,

Iam actually in a very similar situation just having recently bought my first sr4 searider which like yours has been painted with hypalon paint. Ive looked at the pics of yours on your previous posts and I must say yours looks alot better than mine which is probably a bit older as well!

Anyway back to the rubbing strake - Ive also bought the same rubbing strake as you have(probably from the same seller) if its the same stuff you will have noticed that its very heavy duty and is meant to be fitted to a much larger boat but it will look well cool and give excellent protection to an old sr4:-)

I havent been out on my sr4 yet as ive only just bought an old 40hp yamaha engine and want to see what its like before I start to renovate the boat - so it will be a while before I get to fitting the new strake.

I say "I" but it will in fact be my brother who will be doing most of the work and providing the expertise as he used to work for several years repairing ribs and lifeboats etc some time ago so he knows what hes doing:-)

Off the top of my head going by what hes told me previously - you will need to remove the hypalon paint and buff the original material on the boat as the glue wont stick to the paint well or if it does it wont hold on for long especially with the heavy duty strake! Also you will have to remove the old strake with a heat gun(carefully) - as for the patches if they are there from a previous puncture repair I would be inclined to leave them and put the strake over them - not ideal but taking them off and patching from the inside is the only other option which is not really a job for a novice.

I dont know how well up you are on the removal/preperation and glueing techniques but if you need any help let me know and I'll try to help you out - I will be interested to know how you get on and maybe you can post some pics if you get the chance.

MustRib · 26 July 2007, 12:17

Thanks for that reply OLDS..
one of my concerns in taking off the old strake, is that I may end up doing some damage to the tubes/seams.
There are quite a few small patches that I think at one time probably held D clips etc ... where the clip has been lost and they are now just patches glued flat to the side of the tubes.
I'm also not brave enough to change the old valves in the tubes, but I think it would be sensible to do so.
Do any members know a place in the North East of England that could do that?
I will definitely post more pics.
The motor is being serviced currently by Powerhouse Marine in Newcastle, the new console will be here tomorrow. I am hoping to have it all back together by in a week or so.

Andy

MustRib · 26 July 2007, 12:19

I actually managed to get hold of another 10 metres of rubbing strake.
So now got no worries about the amount needed.
I wanted to make a fairlead piece...not having done this before, my idea was to take a piece of the strake and cut the top off the D section, to leave an open channel, and fit it vertically to the front tube section.
Any ideas / tips?

Biggles · 26 July 2007, 12:42

I used the tool below to get the old glue off.

http://www.rib.net/forum/showthread....biggles+strake

OLDSR4 · 26 July 2007, 13:43

I wouldn’t be too concerned about damaging the tubes whilst removing the old strake as long as you take it easy with the heat gun – use it on its lowest setting quite a bit away from the strake to begin with and gradually get closer to it and you will find out just how much heat it takes to get the glue behind the strake softened – once its soft enough the strake will start to come away with pulling on it but rather than heat the hell out of it to get it off quickly you are better to use a flat blunt instrument like a putty knife and get it in behind the strake and prise it off whilst pulling on the strake. You will probably find that it wont be too much of a struggle getting it off as its quite an old boat but if you get to a bit that seems well stuck then start from the other side of it with the heat gun and prise it away as sometimes it comes off easier pulling in one direction than the other.

As for the old loop patches id remove them if they are in the way of the strake as they are no longer functional with the loops cut off. Id tackle the whole job by first marking out preferably with a china graph pencil where you want the new strake to go as you can use the original strake as a guide before you remove it which will help a lot when repositioning the new strake. Then you can remove the old strake and the glue residue that remains. I’ve seen my brother use a special type of soft rubber block to remove the glue which doesnt damage the tubes – not sure where you get it but I’ll try to find out for you. After you’ve cleaned the old glue off you can start the buffing with preferably a 60 or 80 grit sanding flapwheel on a drill. Take it easy on the material as you don’t want to go through to the fibre on the hypalon but just slightly roughen up the surface to get a good key for the glue. Also remember to be especially easy on the material under the old strake as this will have already been sanded in the factory to fit the original strake so the material will most likely be a bit thinner there. You will probably need to buff the tubes slightly wider than where your new strake is going to fit as you want to make sure the edges are well stuck and you can remove the excess glue after you finish fitting it.

The largest part of the job will be the buffing of the tubes and also remember you will need to buff the entire underside of the new strake as well. You would be there forever with a drill and flapwheel and as you wont have to be as careful as when preparing the tubes you may be able to use a powered sander like a belt or finger belt sander. You will also need to get some glue thinners or acetone/toluene etc to clean both the tubes and strake after sanding so its nice and clean for the new glue to be applied.

I can advise you about the glueing later as I think that will be enough work for you to be getting on with just now but remember you will spend the majority of the job doing the preparation and if you get this right it will be a much better job in the end!

I would need to ask my brother if he knew anyone who would replace the valves in the north east but we’ll be replacing the valves on my sr4 also as he reckons it’s a fairly simple job – then again nothing really seems to phase him when it comes to reapairing ribs as hes seen it all before!lol…

That’s a good idea about making a fairlead – I never actually thought of that myself but your quite right the strake is thick enough to have a channel on it if you cut the top off although you would need to be careful so it doesn’t end up looking all hacked up on the edges.

MustRib · 26 July 2007, 14:04

Maybe your brother wants to come to Newcastle for the Day ...lol.
It all seems a bit daunting to be honest and the chances of xxxxing it up are dangerously high!

OLDSR4 · 26 July 2007, 14:13

Hes actually off on holiday this week but I think hes going to wales for a few days and I wouldnt reckon hed fancy wrestling with the python that is that rubbing strake on his hols!lol...

But I like you was a bit concerned about doing it but when you speak to him it seems simple enough - although hes got 20 years experience in doing it!!!

OLDSR4 · 26 July 2007, 14:39

I meant to say Andy if you want some advice from him directly iam sure hed be willing to spend half an hour or so on the phone as hes coming round to mines tonight for a few beers so I can pm you my number if you want but dont call too late as we will all be hammered!lol.... then again you might be able to talk him into doing it for you:-) but I reckon youd need to come to glasgow and catch us in a sober moment!!!

MustRib · 28 July 2007, 22:55

Nick (he posts on here) came round today and helped me enormously.
Tubes are rubbed down ready for the strake.
He replaced the old A7 valves for C7's. He's coming back tomorrow morning
to help me attach the new strake.
The Searider used 8.3 metres of it... so if anyone is interested there is
another approx 9 metres left!
Will take a few shots tomorrow and post on here.

OLDSR4 · 30 July 2007, 06:28

Good to hear you got it sorted Andy:-) Just as a matter of interest how much glue did you use doing it as I'll need to think about ordering some for the renovation of mine?

Been busy this weekend fabricating an a frame from an old distribution trolley - I think iam currently heading for the rat look but hopefully that new strake should set it off!

MustRib · 30 July 2007, 09:26

Still have the Fairlead to put on, a couple of new rubber cleat type handles, and to tidy up the remains of the spray dodger.....but so far have used 1 tin of solvent and 4 x 250 ml tins of 2402, the last of which was only half used but as it was mixed I had to ditch it when I ran out of time.
The fairlead is going to take a bit of work I think, and I will need some more Hypalon paint.
Anyone know a god cheap source for grey Hypalon paint?

OLDSR4 · 30 July 2007, 10:22

I got a 500ml can from leisureshop direct ( 0845 4300325) its called flexithane in grey for hypalon and cheapest I could get it was £30 including delivery.

The original paint which is on our boats was called flexipaint but has been discontinued but this new stuff is still made by polymarine so hopefully it will be a decent colour match - havent tried it yet but a 500ml can is supposed to cover 4-5 sq meters.

Chris · 31 July 2007, 18:31

What are you using for a fairlead?

If its a piece of D-strake then one tip is to use a ratched strap over the front of the boat through the fairlead onto the bow eye from the eye inside the boat, then tighten this down to hold the fairlead tight to the tube whilst the glue goes off.

Chris

MustRib · 31 July 2007, 18:56

Hi Chris...
yes its a piece of strake.
Nick, who was helping me at the weekend and installed the valves went through the rope/strap trick with me...but thanks, its a good piece of advice.

I have put a 1 cm wide slit in the D section of the piece of strake to open it up, and ease the bending!
I was hoping to cheat past a patched handle that has been added just under the tip of the bow by a previous owner, but even having cut the actual handle out of the patch, I can see that I am going to have to remove the whole patch before fitting the fairlead. Just more time consuming than annoying!

OLDSR4 · 31 July 2007, 21:51

Did you manage to get any pics? Desperate to see an sr4 with that fat strake:-)