TOPIC: 1958 Redfish Shark Capri

Well, today is Christmas at my place! The UPS driver, aka Santa, just dropped off the box with all the hardware for the '58 RFSC I bought a few weeks back.

Sitting at my desk writing a 10 page paper on literature reviews (something I will never use but a class I had to take) for my degree, I was just about at the point of pulling out what little hair I have left when I heard the sleigh pull up outside.

The parts need a good going thru but they're pretty solid and very clean. I can see the bow light will need a bit of love but it will get there. Many kudos to the gentleman I bought the fish from on doing that for me. He's a great guy and lived up to his word and more.

I'd like to ask for opinions now. I am thinking of having all the harware chromed to really bring out the essence of them, especially the grills. Any thought on the idea. (The parts look like pot metal right now) Maybe they were chromed before, I don't know but it doesn't look like it.

Any advice anyone can offer as I dig into seperating the deck from the hull and doing the restoration is deeply appreciated. Now if someeone can kindly direct me where to find one of those hot looking Merc motors for the Rf at an affordable price....

Hi Todd ,I got your connection but if you would go to my website click on the left side,weblinks, and go to hobbist sites,click my site,Bill Anderson, then just click on to where it says e mail and I will get it and see what we can do,thanks Bill

great todd,i love it when the ups guy comes,lol.
if you need any of the hardware painted just ship it to me,i do it for free for fg members.
i just got finished with my wifes carosuel horse ,woo hoo.now i can paint a steering wheel for another fg member,as soon as i finish hanging gutters,lol,john

Another exciting day working on the RFSC (new acronym). I started the process of seperating the deck for the hull. I've been trying to tap a 3" scraper between the two pieces with limited success.

In the shop I spied my multi-tool from Harbor Freight. What the heck, whynot try it. I put the half-moon shaped cutter blade on an set it against the seam where the top meets the bottom. Talk about easy!!! In 20 minutes I was able to carefully cut the glue that was binding them together about halfway around the hull.

In the paper this past Sunday was a sale flyer from HF. The tool I have been using is on sale for $19.99, regularly $59.99. I may pick up a spare at that price. I've worked mine hard for three years and its still running strong. There is also a 7" variable speed polisher/sander I'll be treating myself to for $29.99, regularly $49.99. That will help me sand off the old gel coat and even do a bit of polishing when the time comes to buff the final finish out next spring. I've attached the two ads I mentioned. I believe this sale may be nationwide.

todd,i learned a tip while sanding the carousel horse,i needed to sand alot of rounded places,so i used one of those thin sanding sponges(about 3/8s of an inch thick).
i layed it down on my work then pressed the multitool doen into it,it worked great,and if it starts to fill up,just move to another spot on the sponge,i get them at harbor frieght too,they are about 3 x4 inches .john

Morning John,

Harbor Freight is like a toy store for the big boys. I have used those sanding sponges a lot in refinishing my house (still in progress, aren't they all). They work like a gem and a pack of 10 is something like $5 on sale. That's when I stock up.

I appreciate the tip. Any bit of information I can learn that makes it easier is a lesson well taught. I have to get another half-moon blade for my multi-tool today and should have the deck off by noon. I am making a rolling table to mount the deck on to make working on it easier. I may just make it on a rotisserie from two engine stand bolted together with an extension between them. That way I can store it easier when I'm not working on it. The shop gets smaller come winter time for some reason.

Take care and have a super day. You deserve it!

Anyone ever tried powder coat?

Anyone ever tried powder coat?

I'm considering it and checking into pricing for the chocks on my current project (GT 150) Robert. Three were in pretty decent shape, but one is badly pitted. I have glass beaded and wire brushed them, trying to figure out how to fill the pits while keeping it "metallic". Powder coating involves electro-static charge, right?

I used to know a guy who started up a powder coating business on the side, trying to locate him even as we speak......

Morning Robert,

I have used powder coat a lot when I was building Harleys and it worked very well. If you're talking about small parts, you can do them yourself with a kit from, where else, Harbor Frieght. I don't like their powder (tends to clump) but the gun is great. I used an old oven to bake my parts. I knew of one shop in Lancaster, PA that would let me shoot my stuff myself and that cut down on the cost.

Powder coating does involve a charge running through the part to make it attract the powder that is then baked on. Clean is the key work, as any oil from your hands or anything else will leave you with a fish eye that is a bear to get rid of.

mark,i have the same problem with my aluninum parts on my flying fish,what i am going to try is either the aluminum low heat brazing rods,or a trick that my father in law told me,..take some light aluminum wire,heat it just a little, and dip it in borax or boraxo soap,the soap then clings to the wire ,then use a propane torch and melt the wire into the pits,the boraxo is supposed to work like a flux,and clean out the impuritys,ill let yo know if it works for me,now i just have to find boraxo,lol,john.p.s. if nothing else works let me know i will paint them the same as i did your horns,in gold, by the way its the same gold i painted on the carousel horse in nbr forum.of course no charge and that goes for all my fg friends.

or put a pic on here of the chock you need i may have one to match,let me know,john

Today the RFSC went under the knife. I seperated the deck from the hull in order to start the restoration. Guys and Girls - this ain't pretty so please get all small children out of the room and have a seat.

These are the two blades I used on my multi-tool from your friend and mine - Harbor Freight. The half-moon blade was used to just go around between te deck and hull to cut through whatever buffalo slime they sealed the two together with at the factory. The straight one helped greatly at the stern, where I had to plunge into the REALLY bad full width transom.


And here's the end result.



Nw I'm not an expert, but I do believe this transom is WAY beyond shooting epoxy into it to make it strong again. The wood flaked off like thin sheets of paper.

The RFSC did have a pretty substantial transom cap on it that was probablyh there to take up some of the strength of the rotting transom. I don't believe its stock, but I may be wrong. It did have some sort of 4 digit serial number stamped into it.
[img] [img]http://fiberglassics.com/media/kunena/attachments/legacy/images/th_Transomcap21.jpg

The real find of the day was the original Redfish badge. It was painted over but should clean up ok. If someone can tell me exactly where it does, I guaranteee it will return to its place on the new transom. [img] One of the primary reasons I seperated the deck from the hull was to replace the hull with another RF hull. I will be picking that hull, which is in much better shape, up the middle of the month. The original had a mysterious fire that never was explained and resulted in the damage as depicted below. [img]http://fiberglassics.com/media/kunena/attachments/legacy/images/th_Portsideburn1.jpg

todd you sure dont waste any time,i cant wait to see it done ,if you need anything ,let me know,or anything painted send it my way,john

And the fun never ends! I just landed a recently rebuilt 1961 Mercury 500 tonight. I pick it up next Saturday in New York. Very cool! Now all I need to do is get the boat done!

Would those half moon cutters fit my dremel multimax? My half moon cutter wouldn't cut hot butter anymore. Howcum you guys always take the easy way out? John, wait until you separate the Herters if you need to. Double faced black stickum, through bolts and rivets. That's where I really dulled the blade. Oh ya, forgot that I also cut out salvage parts from the Dorsett with that baby.
Todd, lookin' good, keep sharing the pictures.

Cal

I'm not sure, Cal. The part that "holds" the blade is a disk with four small pins on it, at 12, 3, 6 and 9. The blade is then held in place by an allen screw. The blades are rated for wood and plastic. I ran across a few of the 2" screws (I swear on my mother's grave) that someone had attached the rubrail to the body with and it dulled the blade badly in places. If you looked inside the boat there was at least 1" of the screw sticking out.

I was really unsure how I was going to get the deck and hull seperated until I saw the multi-tool sitting there. That got me to thinking.

I'll do my best to keep putting the pics on as I progress. As you can see its 2:22 AM and I just finished a paper for college. School is really starting to interfere with my boat building time but the end is in sight. I should graduate at the end of next summer. Thank God!!! Now I'm off to bed. Sleep well, everyone!

I agree with the guys, great progress Todd. It's not uncommon for our enthusiasm with this "hobby" to try and sidetrack other things in life. (Speaking from experience here, I'm sure others will agree.) Your education is much more important right now, glad to hear you're staying focused and keeping your priorities on that!

Cal, I believe the Dremel brand takes a different type of blade. The drive hub is different. I looked at buying some "name brand" blades for my HF tool, heard they lasted longer. The price difference made me go back to HF for replacements, though.

Hi Mark,

Having played around with the RFSC, cut the grass and a few other odds and ends jobs that needed to get done, I was up late writing papers. Finishing this degree means a lot to me and it will benefit my family in the future with the extra boat buying money I can earn. (Notice the phraseology!)

I am very fortunate to have the wonderful benefits from my GI Bill, as it is the only way I can afford to go to school. School as an older student isn't exactly the easiest - times have changed, but the end is in sight.

I may even whip ou the student ID and ask for a the student price at the football game my son's playing in tonight! Thank you for the encouragement.

This is the motor I scored on last night. The ad said it was recently redone by a tech here in PA. I think I may know who that is and I hope I'm right.

I had to reduce the pic size through Photobucket to get it small enough but that's a small price to pay to belong to this terrific site. Bandwith = money and money drives every train....or boat....

Todd wrote:

This is the motor I scored on last night. The ad said it was recently redone by a tech here in PA. I think I may know who that is and I hope I'm right.

I had to reduce the pic size through Photobucket to get it small enough but that's a small price to pay to belong to this terrific site. Bandwith = money and money drives every train....or boat....

jimmy sgrig by chance?

Hi Ron,

Sorry for missing your posting. Unfortunately it wasn't Jim or the guy I thought it was. The seller is looking for the name and number to the rebuilder. It fires strong and runs well but I plan on having someone look at it, just in case. The seller told me he would amke good on it should anything be wrong. Fingers are crossed.

Well, I'm back at it with the RFSC. Made a terrific contact in Florida with a guy who had a '61 Shark that he was willing to part with in exchange for an airplane fuselage that I had - long story!

My friend Tom's son had to get to Jacksonville to attend ATP flight school and I needed to make the plane/boat swap in Panama City. We left in the rain on a Wednesday night at 10 PM, drove straight thru to Jacksonville, dropped his son and headed out to Panama City. Did the swap and drove back to Tom's mom's place in Jacksonville to catch the sleep of the dead. I remember taking off my jeans and that was all she wrote until 8 AM. At noon we were back on the road again coming home. Got back to my place about 3 AM Saturday morning totally beat.

The first pic is my truck with the plane, a Beechcraft Sierra, on the boat trailer I got in the deal with the RFSC. Great trailer, follows well and rides real nice. Pic #1 was taken at South of the Border - a carnival environment I felt was right for the occasion. You should have seen people take a second look when they realized it was a plane on the trailer. Every fuel stop was a treat. The other four are of "Donor Fish" as it has become known at the house. The last pic is of the Attwood steering wheel I hope to find another like. Very cool, very retro! If anyone has a good one, let's talk.

I have sliced through the connecting seam of the deck and hull and will be moving the hull inside, hopefully this weekend. The hull is in great shape. The previous owner had cut out the floor and removed the balsa wood.

The plan is to relay a new floor and refinish the hull. Simultaneously, I hope to refinish the deck from the RFSC and mate the two together so it resembles a boat.

The old hull has that bad burn issue and Donor Fish's deck is a plain Jane Shark that I don't need, but really don't want to see go in the dump. Its got issues, but its fixable.

Today I finished splitting Donor Fish's deck and hull. The hull is in really good shape considering the top looks prettyy humble in places, fixable but humble.

It was a family affair scooping all the dirt and crap out of the hull. A previous owner had cut out the deck and removed the balsa wood. I cut out a bit more today to facilitate taking out the totally rotten transom. At first I thought I was in deep cotton as our southern brethern would say. The outer hull at the transom is still in great shape and strong. Then it hit me...

The spae of the hull of a Shark Capri has swooping lines leading up to the transom where the engine mounts. (The last pic is the Shark deck sitting on the original Shark Capri hull) The standard Shark has a squared off transom at the top. I believe I have enough material on the Shark hull that I can trace the Shark Capri hull design on it and cut it to that shape. If not, I guess it will mean major surgery to rebuild the outer skin.

Of course there are a few pics of the hull and two illustrating the differences in the transom shapes.

Now if the sow will hold off until I can get the mounting frames built in the shop on which the deck and hull will rest while being redone.

Todd:

Do me a favour and tell me what serial number stamped on your motor mount is. I am trying to figure out my own, and am interested if there is any similarity.

You are doing a great job by the way. Looks like you have an original Attwood SeaFlite steering wheel there. Worth a few hundred on ebay alone.

Cheers,
Andrew

And what do you mean by "original RedFish Badge"?
Can you elaborate. Your photo is sooooo small.

Andrew

Hey Andrew,

Great to hear from you again. I hope all is well with you in the great soon to be frozen North. Thank you for the comliments on the progress. I wish I had more time (like we all do!) to get things done.

The number was stamped using half inch number stamps on the inner port side of the motor mount. The number stamped is the 2536 and is the same number marked as the Manufacturer's Identification Number on the state-issued title. It was also upside down, which leads me to believe it was done at the factory.

The tag I found is just a Redfish Boat Company oval tag. I scanned it and have included it here. Its nothing more than a manufacturer's tag but I think it will be a cool original addition to my redone fish.

I'd really like to find a good replacement Attwood wheel for the finished boat. The look is pretty George Jetson and I like that! Its too bad its so expensive to get a wheel restored. Both of the Attwood wheels I have would look great restored.

Just in case I don't get to tell you before the 11th, Happy Remembrance Day. Stay safe!

You get the "atta-boy" award for the day Todd, making good progress there!

Thanks, Mark. Like I said, I wish I had all day to get things done but that four letter word LIFE always seems to get in the way.

This week I get to clean out the gutters on the shop again. Leaves blowing around the neighborhood clog them all the time. The real kick in the pants is I don't even have a tree on my property! If I don't do it, the rain just overflows the gutters. I've tried those gutter covers with the screen in them but they're a waste. Leves still got past them somehow and just added to the aggravation. I should also cut the grass once more and clean up all the leaves the neighbors trees leave in my yard so it doesn't look like the Clampetts live at my house.

Todd:

My serial number is also the large stamped variety. If I recall, the numbers are backward or upside down in relation to the letters. Strange. I think the boys at the factory had one too many pops that day. I can't remember what my serial number is at the moment as I am still deployed and merely just dreaming of being home and working on my fish. When I get back I will email you those photos we talked about.

That RedFish tag is awesome. Mine was either previously removed or did not come with one. It is the first time I have seen one. Where was it affixed?

Andrew

Looking good! How close of a fit is the hull to the deck??

I don't envy the Balsa core work- I HATE doing that

-Andrew

I have a 61 Shark and my sn is in the same place and upside down just like yours.

todd,bring the steering wheels with you,ill see if they are restorable and if they are ill do it no charge,john

Hey Andrew,

I remember the deployment days well, not fondly, but well none the less. Thinking of stuff like the boats or bikes kept me sane.

I found the tag on the starboard side of the transom, inboard of course. I believe it was a couple inches from the top of the transom, but the transom was noithing but flaking wood when I got to it and just fell apart all over the place.

Take care and stay safe!

Morning Andrew G.,

How did you know I was going to write you about putting the balsa or whatever is better back into the fish? You must be psychic!!!

The space between what is left of the hull and the deck is about a half to three quarters of an inch. The space stops at the "bump" where your feet sit near the front seats and fore of that is another "compartment." My plan is to trim what is left of the floor out to the edge making a nice, even line and bevel it so the new floor sits well. I am shooting for a smooth transition between the old and new, hopefuly undetectable.

Any suggestions on new sub-deck material? I have never done a job like this but I guess there's always a first. Any suggestions you have will always be valued.

Thanks!!!

Hey Austin,

I guess the upside down number stamps were the fastest way to do the serial numbers at that time. Kinda smart, if you really think about it. The stampings can't wash off, didn't cost anymore money than the time to stamp them and the one on the '58 was evident even after 53 years.

I plan on restamping my new engine mount in the same place in the same manner to keep it original looking. There is a very reasonable fabrication shop near me that I plan on having do the recreation of the mount. They have the correct brake and sheers to do the job right.

On second thought, there's a combination 48" brake, sheer, roll at Harbor Freight I've been tryiong to justify for about a year now.....and Christmas is coming.....wonder if that could fit in Santa's sleigh...

Good Morning John,

I'll bring both of them. They're pretty far gone but if your can restore them, do one for me and keep the other for yourself for a project or sell it. They're both cool designs. I believe the center for the one will be a bear to find but it could be an experiment for us in laying up one in fiberglass.

I'll throw them in the truck and see what you think. If they're too far gone, oh well, that's old boats for you.