TOPIC: Steering and gelcoat - th eodd couple of questions

I have a 1960 Seabreeze Contessa (see photo - mine is MUCH better looking than the 1970 one pictured though.)

It is a project boat , and came with no steering console. It still does have the cables and pulleys, which run down the SB side to the motor, through holes on the motor tray. I gather that this had some kind of double pulley wheel system on the wheel shaft, with wound the cables back and forth, which pulled the motor back and forth via the springs, pulleys, and cables in the motor tray.

QUESTION: is this type steering still used? Is there anything better?

Secondly, I am going to re-gelcoat the whole boat, top to bottom, at least 3 coats. I get the no-wax idea, but when it comes to applying it, is there anything smoother than rolling the last coat on, OTHER than spraying? I do have a sprayer, but it seems like one hell of a problem and mess to do so.

QUESTION: Can one tip gelcoat? I'm assuming not.
Thanks in advance...

Just now noticed your thread/questions went unanswered Ritdog, sorry. Good looking cruiser, we'd love to see some pics of yours, BTW.

Steering - While there are those members who do restore and use the cable pulley systems, I think many folks convert to a more modern design push-pull single cable style. IF the older style is properly set up and maintained, I'm told by trusted sources they can be reliable and serve the purpose well. Pulleys and cables (parts in general) ARE still available out there, you just have to look around. There are several good threads in the General section of the forums on this subject, do a "Search Forum" (upper right hand on the screen here) and check them out if you'd like.

Gel Coat - I'm no expert here either, but I think you're on the right train of thought believing it needs to be sprayed on. We're waiting now for a report from a member who is purchasing a specialized spray gun for this purpose. My understanding is properly applying gel coat is very expensive, partially because it is very labor intensive. Once again the "Search Forum" button can help find past posts for you to peruse, and there are several good articles in the "Research" section of this site, the button is in the tool bar on the top of the page.

I would add hydraulic steering to any push-pull systems. Hydraulic steering is expensive, but is pretty much trouble proof and like power steering on a vehicle. I put it on my old Power Cat in large part because my shoulders are "toast" and anything else takes more effort (and pain) for me to steer.

I have no experience with gel coat, and only horror stories about paint in general. My next step with my boat would be seeing a pro to get it done, and just paying the bucks necessary.

Nice boat you got there. I love those old outboard powered cruisers. Best of luck with it!

Frank

Hi guys- thanks for the replies. I AM looking into the hydraulic steering- the cable type seems a bit "loose", but I'm trying to keep the cost down too- If you've been looking through FG, I'm here and there in differant sections looking for info on everything. My boat (I'm calling her "FLASH" - I'm a photographer) is a total rehab job. There is literally nothing on her that doesn't have to be fixed.
The steering was / is completely gone, so I am starting from scratch on that. Have a nice stainless wheel. The original was one of those wood-spoked jobs about 15" in diameter, but it looks just too dated, too strange....
I have to put a port-potty into it for the wife (BIG problem without that!) so have to redesign the stringer / floors , which takes me into a redesign of the bulkhead / door, and while I am interested in making it look "classic" , it has to be updated. It's one of the first built, so is a hybrid of 3 differant models that LynCraft made, so it's not like they were all the same anyway.
Reference gelcoat, that's not too much of a problem. You can roll it on, then lightly sand the texture out when it's dry, or spray, making sure it doesn't solidify IN the gun. Need LOTS of acetone.
The whole thing has been gutted and sanded at this point. I'm adding glass to the hull- it's just 1/8" thick, and I want to add 3 layers of 6-9 ox cloth for 3/16" thick before I do the stringers.
I'm sure I will be posting update pix as I go.

I am in the middle of a gelcoat project too but not as big as yours. I have run into several problems,one being too cool out and the other being a color change,going from dark to light. At first I tried brushing on the gelcoat but it's just too thin and you need to build it up thick. I ended up buying a gel gun,a G860 from here [url=http://]http://stores.infinityfrp.com/-strse-SPRAY-GUNS/Categories.bok[/url] because I will have some larger parts to do to finish up this project.Another product I used is Duratec Hi gloss additive,[url=http://http://www.duratec1.com/dp07.html][/url] but I added it too soon, should have waited till the last couple of coats because it thins out the gel and you can see thru it. Can't wait to get started on it again but will wait until it gets way warmer out.Sanding the orange peel is very easy too,you can get carried away and sand too much.Here are some pictures of how mine went.

Sorry having trouble posting pictures.











The 1st picture is how I started,2nd and 3rd are right after spraying.If you look close you can see runs in it. 4th is after it hardned and the 5th is sanded and polished.Last one is the gun I used

I'm the one who bought the gun for gel coat, but that project is still on the back burner.

However, you can roll it on. I've done projects and repairs that way. Do a couple coats, then spray on poly vinyl alcohol (pva) soon after your last coat, or every coat. Use a 409 spray bottle or similar. Let set, wash off the PVA with soap and water, sand then repeat until you're happy. A sanding block is your friend here. It sands pretty easily. Once you think you're done, sand with fine paper, maybe 600, then 1000 (all wet) then polish a bit. If you're not happy, sand again with 600, go back to rolling.

PVA is expensive most places, about $16 for maybe a pint. Go here:

joscoproducts.com/

It's about $22 a gallon, enough to last a long time.

Hi guys- thanks for the info!- I was looking into that sprayer- I think I'm going to roll and sand it though- less equipment intensive. Will probably have to build a little frame building around the boat, as I'm working outside - gelcoat is a ways off. I'm in the process of getting materials and set up to start now- I live in Maine, so it's still mud season.

I'm going to try to attach a PDF of what I have going right now- it's a letter to a boatbuilder friend of mine I sent out yesterday . Any comments / suggestions are gladly accepted!

Will probably have to build a little frame building around the boat.

You sure will.Gelcoat takes so long to set,compaired to paint, that every bug that goes by will want to sit on your freshly done job.It happened when I did my small piece but I was able to sand him out.