TOPIC: Progress on my Power Cat 14T

well its a done deal now doug. nothing i can do about it now. about half of the screws that i used to attach the mantaray side trim moulding, caused vertical cracks. some now have extended to about 2" the pilot hole diameters were just a hair smaller than the screws. won't have it repaired because know one will guarantee it won't happen again. i guess thats why i don't use the boat much anymore. the cracks get bigger each time i hit a swell. now $10,100 later i should of left the trim off and pin-striped it but i got caught up in the "keep it original" crap.

BUGS , jeesh Frank again I feel your pain I just looked the the racer I painted and there is one of my hairs in the paint unfortunately its 2 ft long , so I had to wet sand it out and break out the heaters again to clear it

I didnt get that cat I was hoping to replace the smaller hydro I sold but did make arrangements to buy this 105ft Cougar Cub...just waiting on the seller to get me some papers together to pickup

I have a MK30H or a MK58H to push this little thing fast enough till its scares me

as of now Im going to sell the racer before I screwup the new paint to buy something else, but I will wait till the deal materializes before I say anything, funny how things can change in a day

I like red boats Frank , looks good
Michael

Cool looking little Cougar Club there Michael, good for you! How the heck do you find these boats?!?

Wait a minute; you have 2' long hair?!? Man, I can't wait till I retire... Lucky still to have hair I guess.

Little bit of wet sanding this morning, just the bow. (Unfortunately, I got to get to work.) Not too bad, still got a few areas to smooth out, and of course inside and outside edges fade to gray first. That center peak down the middle of the bow is a bit lower in the middle than the sides. Soon as I realized what I was doing, I changed technique and just sanded the middle.

Probably won't get back at it till tomorrow a.m., then hopefully finish tomorrow night and get ready for coat #4.

Frank

as best as you can stay away from the edges or you will battle them to the bitter end

Yeah, I know Jim. Started too darn early! I went through that with the hull too. I'll figure it out eventually.

I hope all is well!

Frank

Frank I live on the Washington Oregon border on the Columbia river
this is boat & outboard country, I can drive in any direction for 2 minutes to 2 hours and see tons of 60's & up boats 3-4 on each property, 3 times a day I say to myself, jeez I want that boat & fight myself from blowing more cash

Vintage cars here everywhere as well $$$$, but unfortunately everyone sees the car restoration programs and the Barrett Jackson Auctions so the rednecks wont sell the iron, they know its worth some money, despite the fact they cant afford to restore to the value & they wont let anyone else make a profit from their junk.
boats are another story they are cheap and plentiful and we can haggle the prices the Cougar Cub only coat $350

I too am thinning on top Frank & Ill need to see a barber for the fist time since 69 in the near future, I wont be that guy with the 2 ft biker ponytail and bald on top

Fascinating Michael. I used to live near by, when I was in Pullman WA from 78-80, living in the good old "Palouse." In another month, we'll celebrate the 30th anniversary of Mt. St. Helens blowing. I still have a bunch of ash from that event. We live near the Hudson now, and while there's a few old boats around, there's not as many as one would think. I'm retiring after I get the Power Cat done anyways.

Good luck!

Frank

Just about done wet sanding 1st 3 coats. Gonna wet sand after every coat now I guess. Got the splash pan and some odds and ends. Finish up tomorrow night, prep it and paint Saturday a.m. and hope to get another coat on Sunday. We'll see.

I feel so confident I'm gonna get it registered tomorrow.

Frank

Your my Hero Frank! Looking great.

You get it now.....

Woo Hoo! Way to go Frank! Don't forget the pictures!

F - We should go together to DMV and see if they raise their eyebrows! Copied my model/serial number plate today and am working on my story. Hasn't failed me yet. More sanding here tonight, but way to windy to paint. Gotta be done before pine pollen though. I figure 1 to 2 more coats. Also doing finishing touches on the Missile, which will be extracted from the shop this weekend. Headed to the St. Lawrence next Friday and will retrieve the 2nd lower unit and steering components. Seats! Oh Yeah! I need seats! Well we'll see about those. Keep at it F. You're doing fine. B

The DMV I'm going to is in my building B. I'm on the 4th floor, walk down to the 2nd floor and there I am. Gonna get the trailer registered too, just need to renew it.

Pine pollen is yellow B, no worries. It will blend right in.

I need seats too. I have the ones that came with it, but I don't think they would be too comfortable...

Don't worry Doug, I'll get some pics up.

Thanks Heather, all I can do is keep trying.

Frank

PC1000 wrote:

classicfins wrote:

Whichever you decide will work. I just know that I personally wouldn't use bolts/nuts and then glass over them because you won't ever get them loose again if you need to take the rubrail off for anything. The nuts will just spein in the glass and you can't get a wrench or pliers on them unless you cut or tear the glass off the inside. I would just glass the seam one or two times and then use screws or bolts/nuts to install the rail. It will be plenty strong and you won't be cussing later on if you have to remove the rail for anything. Like I was. LOL

The problem then being I have to seal all those machine screws with 5200. Guess I gotta give this some thought. My initial thought was to get the rub rail mounted correctly, and once that job was done, glass the seam. As I mentioned somewhere else above here, the deck and hull do NOT join perfectly. It's going to be a trial getting the deck lip and hull lip to get attached the way I want, and I don't want to try and glass the inside seam first. I don't think that will work.

Power Cat guys have done it both ways. Dick Davis did it the way I'm looking at doing it. There is no original thought in my method here, it's been done before.

I still need to give this some more thought I see!

Frank

One way to go if you decide to use stainless machine screws is to put rubber or neoprene type washers on the inside under your flat washer. The rubber seals against the hull in the interior glass, seals out water, doesn't rust, can be removed, looks clean and seals around the threads so water doesn't come through from the outside. There are many sizes of rubber washers you could use. IT makes for less vibration as well. Just a thought.

Thanks Mike, but once I glass that seam, there will be little to no vibration. Right now I'm thinking I'll glass the seam 1st, then install the rub rail.

Just spent $42.25 and have a legally registered boat. $16 of that was sales tax.

Frank

Congrats, Frank,

I don't know what we'll do after you get it finished, we'll be looking for more Progress on the Poer Cat 14T!

I just registered a 79 Glastron that I paid $25 for boat, motor and trailer 3 years ago. Cost me $36.50. 50 cents for sales tax. Cost more to register it than I paid for it...

Keep it up!

Hey Ken!

We'll see, trying to get her done.

I registered my home-built trailer for it a couple years ago, just need to re-new that one. Heck, I bought this boat in August of '06! Of course, it didn't have a trailer or motor or controls.

Gotta go do some wet sanding. Have a great weekend!

Frank

F - So did you have a bill of sale? What 'process' did you use? I use the one about 'me dear old mother, God rest her soul, who left me the property with all these damned old boats that I'm restoring one at a time to clean the place up'. Hasn't failed yet. It's was a large piece of property. B

The guy I bought it from had it registered, so he transferred it to me, gave me a bill of sale, so no lying about this one, all legally done.

Frank

crosbyboat wrote:

F - So did you have a bill of sale? What 'process' did you use? I use the one about 'me dear old mother, God rest her soul, who left me the property with all these damned old boats that I'm restoring one at a time to clean the place up'. Hasn't failed yet. It's was a large piece of property. B

He He! I LIKE that one!

God rest her soul, truly, it's time to go do some sanding because I'm laying on more paint tomorrow.

crosbyboat wrote:

F - So did you have a bill of sale? What 'process' did you use? I use the one about 'me dear old mother, God rest her soul, who left me the property with all these damned old boats that I'm restoring one at a time to clean the place up'. Hasn't failed yet. It's was a large piece of property. B

LOL.. good one Brian. You can't register a boat in Louisiana if you don't have the previous registration and a NOTARIZED bill of sale from the last registered owner. Don't even think about trying to register an abandoned old boat you drug out of the woods or some place like that that hasn't been registered in 10, 20, 30 years UNLESS you have the last registered owner's registration and bill of sale and all that.

My solution? I just don't register them. I go down at the start of the boating season and pick up a stack of boat registration forms. I fill one out for each boat that I use and put the copy in the little paperwork tube on my key chain and hit the lake. If they stop and ask I tell them it's applied for and show them the carbon copy. They are good for 60 days so I just fill out another one and swap them out.

I hate to be that way, but if the idiots would work with me to register the boats I would pay the measley $28 bucks and register them. I have a couple that are registered but most of mine were dragged home from Tx, UT, NJ, FL, WI, etc and have had 23 owners in the last 35 years with no one registering them for the last 15 years. I just wish they would charge me an extra $100-150 and give me my damn sticker. LOL

Any problems there let me know. Alabama has no title law and all you need is a bill of sale. They like the money in this state....

Seems not to be a problem in NY. I register everything. But I had no idea how many old castaway boats there were on me dear old departed mothers property. And she is departed, and dear, and Lord knows we had old boats. And the State gets its due, and I get a transferable registration. And we move on.

Ken wrote;

Congrats, Frank,

I don't know what we'll do after you get it finished, we'll be looking for more Progress on the Power Cat 14T!

That thought actually occurred to me when you started laying on the red paint, Frank. We're going to need extensive and numerous test reports from you when you do get her done, or we're all going to go through withdrawals here on the forum!

Wish I were closer, we'd have to have a "christening" party.

Hey Mark!

How ya doin?

I'm beat, enough wet sanding. Planned on getting it done tonight, got close, but it's been a long hard week. I hoped to get the deck paint done by month end - we'll see. Tomorrow's Saturday and I'll get the last bit of wet sanding done, pay attention to some details and give it another coat. I got it up to 75 in my garage now, so I should be able to sand it Sunday a.m. and give it another coat. I don't think the next two coats will do it, but the month is not over yet, and I have figured out how to keep my garage at the temperature I need it.

Just ordered another qt. of red and a 2 qt. kit of the white epoxy paint I used on the hull. I'm sure I'm going to need the red to finish the deck, and I need the white for some touch up when I'm done.

Take care, and have a great weekend!

Frank

I'm good buddy, thanks for asking. Been fighting (not only a member of the OCD and Old Fuddy Duddy club, but a master procrastinator as well!) a toothache all week, but I can't complain.

So glad to see the "labor of love" on the PC coming along so nicely, feels good to have her registered in your name, right?!

Had to cancel lake trial #4 scheduled for today, we have some bad weather moving in from AL. No worries, gotta get that hatch door off the Starflite and sent to Heather anyway, and some other projects on the boat done.

Hope you have a great weekend too, don't work too hard, okay!?

I knew I was all set for registering her Mark, as I had gone over everything with DMV years ago to make sure I had everything in order. Nevertheless, yes, it is very satisfying having her registered in my own name.

Where do you live Mark? I probably should know, but nope, don't.

I overslept some this morning, but woke up from a dream of my Power Cat in the Hudson river, just off the local boat launch. How's that for sick?

Frank

I'm about an hour south of Atlanta, GA. The local Chamber of Commerce calls it "comfortably south of Atlanta", but they don't have to make the drive in to the city every day! Lake Jackson is about 15 minutes from my driveway, though, so life is good.

I'm sure I didn't know that Mark. I used to work for a company that had an office in Marietta, but that was back in the early 80's. I loved Atlanta and the area in general, but haven't been back in almost 30 years.

We've got the Hudson River close by, but any lakes are a haul. The Hudson here is big and I don't know how much I'll want to take a little 14' boat out in it.

Off to the garage to finish up some wet sanding and get another coat of paint on the deck. My garage right now is the warmest part of the house.

Enjoy yer day!

Frank

Maybe get this done by the end of the month? Doesn't look good from my perspective, but who knows? It is what it is.

Frank

Detail

we are all are own worse critics Frank. I think the boat looks great. Looked great when I seen it up close...looks great now. The beauty is it is yours. each year when you pull it out you can primp her up as much as you like. Get it done and go for a ride.
My father in law is back in the hospital. Been interesting the last couple days. At least foe being in the past 7 months he got to come home for a day.
I have a set of trim rams coming to you.
Finish the boat and work the details over time. You have earned the buzz of going for a rip in the Cat. Put that M1K on her and go!!

Looks great Frank. Check out this paint job I did last summer on my sea swirl p14 using rustoleum oil based paint,I did a full resto, my first, Mike

In the words of Mozart..."There it is!" Have been at it all day. It's all good, and as noted, we are our own worst critics. For me, I'm moving on. I have two approaching the finish line after almost 2 years. But, I ran the Missile today, and the Earth shook.

Shoot Frank.. I think it looks good. the more you use it, the more you polish it, the better it'll look. You'll also be amazed at how much better it will look once you get everything bolted on it. 9 times out of 10 anything you see that sticks out like a sore thumb to you is NEVER noticed by onlookers.

I was thinking eggsackly that ("Get it done and go for a ride.") when I was taking those detail pics after she was dry to the touch Jim. I could live with this boat looking like it is right now. Trouble is I don't have complete coverage yet, but it's coming. I'll wet sand her in the a.m. with 400 grit, wipe her down and do another coat. I may start glassing the inside deck/hull seam tomorrow once she's painted too. I've decided to glass the seam 1st, then install the rub rail. Takes me a while, but sooner or later I figure things out. Once the paint is done and that seam sealed, I'm mounting the M1k and PT&T. I'm still pretty much on schedule. I am glad I took the time earlier this year to do a bit more body work. I wouldn't have been happy if I didn't.

Thanks for shooting those rams over. It is MUCH appreciated. Sorry to hear about your father-in-law Jim. Tough deal. Good luck!

Boy Mike that Sea Swirl look fabulous! I wish I had never switched systems, as that was the first stuff I used, but dummy I am, I did not sand between coats, and then I switched systems, and am not sure even now that this is going to work out (compatibility issues - enamel vs. polyurethane). It looks like it will, but it ain't over till the fat lady sings.

I still need coverage Doug. It's almost there, but not quite. I have a number of small areas that just aren't red yet. Gotta get 'r dun.

Thanks guys!

Frank

After 2 thin coats wet sand with 400 then 2 more coats and wet sand 600. Now maybe youll have full coverage. 2 more coats then 1000 2 more coats then 1500 then polish with turtle wax polishing compound. Place tape on edges as not to burn the not fully cured paint and be on your way, Wax after a few weeks.
You can paint in the morning wetsand in the evening then paint after its dried. Place 2 nd coat in the eairley morning and wet sand in the evening
Auto zone has the best wet sand paper, Mike

Thnaks for the tips Mike.

This Interlux polyurethane paint I'm using says sand after 16 hours at 75 degrees. I've got my garage close to 75, usually above 70, but drop some when its cold. I've painted and sanded this deck so many times it's not funny! As a result I don't want to screw anything up worse than I've already done. This has NOT been fun, no matter how good it looks.

I did the hull in a similar way, but used the same product from beginning to end. I wet sanded that to 1200 and polished it with 3M compound. Came out real shiny. Right now it's filthy.

Maybe I'll give your method a try tomorrow.

Frank

Alright Frank, you've had a 10 hour break, let's get that final coat of red paint on and get this show (boat) on the road (river)!

I'm wet sanding Mark, since 6:30 I've got the bow done. Of course, in between I had breakfast and spent 15 minutes or so reading the Sunday paper.

I don't think I can follow Mike's suggestion. Takes me seemingly forever to wet sand. Can't wait to get another coat on sometime today, then I can start wet sanding tomorrow morning before work, then after work, and maybe get another coat on late Monday night, maybe Tuesday night.

Doing this all by myself, no experience (other than what I've already done), so everything is an experiment. Stupid doing this deck all over with an incompatible product. That's pretty much what I'm thinking when I'm working on this. Too much wasted time. Could have been done last Fall. Bah.

Enjoy yer day buddy!

Frank