Whisper’s Searider Project

[whisper]

This is my Searider project, I own this boat with my Father and we are planning to get it up-together over this winter, I’ve collected most of the parts now so it’s time to crack on with it.

As we live so far away from the sea, the first thing we did was to buy the biggest trailer possible, I bought this trailer from De Graaff, it was brand new except for the rollers.

Next I bought the hull, it’s an ex-rescue boat that’s been stored indoors so the tubes are good however the hulls got some wear from being constantly run up a gravel beach. (Oh well, you can’t have all).

The deck is the deluxe model with the original SR4 console that’s been fitted from new.

[chewy]

Piccies

[whisper]

Originally Posted by chewy

Piccies

Sorry pics are on the way... Upload error

[whisper]

Here you go

[whisper]

So far I have removed the paint with some paint remover and then cleaned the tubes using the cleaning kit from Rib Shop and I must say I’m really happy with the result.

[whisper]

Pics

[whisper]

At the moment I’m working on the hull, removing the antifoul and I’m going to start repairing the worn out gelcoat but this is where I’m getting a bit stuck. It has scratches all over the keel and it’s down to the fibreglass in places.

Does anyone know the best way to tackle this?

[chewy]

Tubes have come up nice, I'll have to get some cleaner for mine.
Not sure on the glass, coating it with resin to protect it and leave a smooth finish to paint would work.

[whisper]

Thanks Chewy, The tube cleaner worked really well although I haven’t used the conditioner yet as I need to make a few very small repairs first.

What type of resin and paint would you use?

[Downhilldai]

Originally Posted by whisper

What type of resin and paint would you use?

Flowcoat should work ok. If you can get the surface horizontal(ish), the finish should be acceptable.

[chewy]

What Brad said, flowcoat will do the job.

[whisper]

Do I have to paint the whole hull or can I finish where the antifoul did (on the water line).

[Downhilldai]

If you're planning on coating the entire area covered by the antifoul, I wouldn't recommend flowcoat. You'd be better off using a recognised marine paint. Flowcoat would be ok for covering the small areas of exposed GRP.

[whisper]

Thanks for the advice, I think I will continue to clean the hull up and try to keep the original gelcoat finish by repairing the scratches etc with flowcoat.

If it looks pants when I’m finished I can always paint it up to the water line

[colcreate]

I've been renovating a Searider with serious gelcoat damage (see thread http://www.rib.net/forum/showthread.php?t=37176 ).
Personally I prefer to replace "like for like" certainly if there are chips and gouges to flll or contours to rebuild.
You should not use polyester filler (car body filler) for these repairs as it is resin bulked up with powder which is hydroscopic, so again gelcoat is the way to go.
It looks from the pictures that you probably need to cover the whole of the hull as it will be impossible to blend in extensive gel repairs.
There are some great 2 pack paint systems available and you will probably be happy with the "out of the tin" finish where as re-coating with gelcoat (flowcoat) will require more work.
For gel to be successful it needs an excellent mechanical key so you need to be very thorough in your preparation and use a coarse grit to prepare. Gelcoat will stay tacky in air, flowcoat is gelcoat with a wax additive which rises to the surface during the chemical process and excludes the air allowing the gel to dry as it would in a mould.
The wax needs to be removed (acetone or sanding) before re-applying subsequent coats.
After extensive prep using gelcoat as a filler, I sprayed 3 coats of straight gel onto my prepared hull then finished it of with a final gelcoat with the wax added (flowcoat) to seal. Spraying gel is tricky and requires quality equipment but you can also apply with a roller and brush. Humidity and temperature are also factors so you need to do this indoors or at least under cover, same will apply to most paint systems.
Once applied gel/flowcoat will need an awful lot of flatting off with wet & dry and then polishing with a compound but I believe you get a better more resilient finish. See my thread and website for more info, I will be adding a lot more detail over the next few weeks.

[whisper]

Hi Col, thanks for the advice. I spent Sunday afternoon removing the rest of the antifoul and I’m going to spend this weekend trying out a few ideas.

I’ll be giving up smoking this Saturday so I’ll need to keep myself busy

[whisper]

Today went quite well, I sanded with 240 grit wet and dry and moved up the grades until 600 grit. I've still got a lot more sanding to do (up to 1200) and then polishing with some G6.

I ordered some international orange gel & flowcoat but the colour match is way out, so I think I've got the colour wrong?

[Jizm]

Have you contacted avon to ask which pigment they use?

[whisper]

Just found this:

http://rib.net/forum/showthread.php?...ational+orange

As this is a 1990 it looks like its Tangerine Orange

Does anyone know the RAL or BS number for this?

Also any advice on where to get the fowcoat mixed would be great too

[Poly]

Originally Posted by whisper

Just found this:

http://rib.net/forum/showthread.php?...ational+orange

As this is a 1990 it looks like its Tangerine Orange

Does anyone know the RAL or BS number for this?

Also any advice on where to get the fowcoat mixed would be great too

BS Number seems to be in post 2: http://rib.net/forum/showthread.php?...=tangerine+RAL