Complete Rebuild Project of "Caliente/Marisol"

[Rolf]

For anyone who is interested you can check out my progress on the rebuild of "Caliente/Marisol" . . . Here is the link to the pictures, as text would run into millions of words:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... c2f&type=1

BTW, she will be renamed "Blitzkrieg" and sail on Lake Michigan out of Waukegan, Illinois.

Rolf

[Pterobyte]

Wow, another rebuild of an E32-1. God Bless you! Looks like you are doing a top notch job on her.

[Renegade]

Am doing the same thing to a boat in Milwaukee. Hull bottom rebuilt with vacuum-bagged Corecell. Now fixing rotted decks and converting stern to open transom. Interior was so gone, just ripped it all out and started over. New layout will just have racks and a sail locker in the bow. Your main bulkhead work very impressive; am thinking along similar lines. While I'm at it, she's getting a torpedo keel and carbon outboard rudder. People say I'm nuts, but this is one of the sweetest hulls ever drawn. I think it's worth it. Boat is going to be a total blast.

[Rolf]

Renegade . . . is the boat you are "rehabbing" an Evelyn as well?

[admin]

Wow, another rebuild of an E32-1. God Bless you! Looks like you are doing a top notch job on her.

E32-2. (the E32-1 has a lot more IOR in her, as I am sure you remember and probably just a typo)

That is one hell of a project and I envy you the build shed!!! You have no idea how much I envy you that build shed ;-)

One thing that is apparent, the Owners Map/List is woefully out of date and anyone has any OTHER news of where a boat that is listed on the map (see bottom of page: http://www.nbayracing.com/Evelyn32-2.htm) is now residing please chime in!

thanks,
admin

[Renegade]

Yes, it's a 32-2 that came from Toronto. Boat was ready to be scrapped, but I love big projects. Now fixing the deck.

[admin]

Excellent! Thanks for posting this.
Do you know the hull number?

[Rolf]

Pix from yesterday:

[Rolf]

More, Kiwigripped deck . . .

[Pterobyte]

Great looking work. Thanks for the update. Can't wait to see the complete job. Careful with the supports, you don't have many stands and these boats tend to flex and settle without supports due the lack of ribs and runners from the original construction. Ask me how I know :(

Can you get us some close ups of the Kiwigrip and a share thoughts on how it was to work with and impression. I thought about using it but went more traditional with mine.

[Rolf]

Kiwigrip was very easy to work, provided that you could work quickly. I started applying it in the morning with the boat outside and the sun shining on the deck. Temperature was in the low to mid 70s and humidity was low. I troweled the material onto the deck, first spreading it with a 4" plastic spackling knife and then evening it out using a V-notched trowel (~1/8 - 3/16"). Total time at this point was ~3 minutes. Rolling with the "Kiwigrip roller" followed immediately thereafter and I noticed it drying already. I had to work fast. I then moved the boat inside the barn and allowed the deck to cool down for 1/2 hour and tried another taped off field. The drying time increased a little bit, but not by much. Bottom line is that you need to plan and have everything taped off, and all the cleaned tools required at your side, including the roller. Under these conditions, I recommend that each field and rolling iteration be completed in about 5 minutes. I suspect that the optimal temperature for maximizing the open time of this water based product for those who cannot work fast is between 55 and 65 degrees. It should be noted that the manufacturer doesn't recommend application below 50 degrees. After each field is finished, throw all of the tools and roller into a bucket of water to clean them immediately. Two wash cycles are best. If one is okay with the above application caveats, then I cannot imagine an easier and better looking product to apply.

The texture of the coat after rolling it out is very even, but it is a little rougher than I would have liked to see (close up pictures will follow). My suspicion is that it will wear down after a season of use to where the crew will not get a rash on their backsides every time they slide around to adjust weight. I think the chance of someone slipping on a pitching wet surface is as close to zero as one can get. I didn't experiment, but one could probably use a finer roller than that supplied by Kiwigrip, or add water (or better yet a 10-20% solution of propylene glycol in water) to the product to thin it out. I think Kiwigrip should probably sell a glycol containing retarder to add to their product, providing users more flexibility in this regard. I won't charge them for this consult. This should allow it to go on thinner with a less aggressive "nap."

The other cool thing about Kiwigrip is that you can computer color match any surface by taking a sample to a paint store and simply have them tint the white Kiwigrip product. This is way better than simply painting over the white as when it wears down, you'll always have a surface that maintains a consistent hue.

Would I use this product again? Absolutely. I'm a believer.

[admin]

Very slick!
Thanks for all the info, very helpful. Boat looks great!

tf

[Rolf]

Here is a close up of the Kiwigrip with a paint can lid tool to give you a sense of size. After a week of drying, the nature of the surface still has some plasticity to it, unlike what a gel coat surface would be like. It is less "raspy" than I was fearing. We'll see if it gets any harder with time.

[Renegade]

Thanks for the great tutorial on Kiwigrip. I also have been planning to use it. But deck painting is several months away, as I get the rotted areas fixed and dry, starting with the forward cabin house roof. Done structurally, but now for all that finicky finish work. I am using the new Corecell "M" foam, which is very sweet to work with.

[Rolf]

New Photos of Blitzkrieg Deck