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Chine strakes and hull painting

Following the initial trial, I fitted chine strakes. These were steamed, bent to shape and left to dry. The original hull painting (humbrol enamel) was rubbed down and the new strakes fitted with epoxy and brass pins. I hope they will hold on the old paint surface. The gunwale strakes were also replaced as these had suffered from some damage over the years. I also took the opportunity to replace the old cooling water outlet with something more to scale. Two exhaust ports were made using a couple of white metal portholes adapted with brass tubes which pass through the transom. The cooling water is fed out through both of these. I know this is not strictly accurate, as there should be a separate, smaller outlet for the engine cooling water, but I'm not looking to achieve 100% accuracy, just something that looks a lot more like scale than the original 45 year old model. I might revisit this at a later date. The hull was painted using rattle cans, first a grey etch primer, then the colours followed by the decals and finally a clear lacquer coat. The hull was left to dry for two weeks and then it was back onto the water. As this is my only boat, I'm trying to carry out the refit in a way that allows me to get onto the water as often as I can. The improvement in performance with the new chine strakes was remarkable. It now planes easily and turns quickly. With the diesel fitted it was reluctant to plane, and it could be difficult to turn which was due I think to the torque on the larger prop plus the missing strakes. What a difference hindsight (and this website!) makes. 😀 Another improvement was that the boat is now dry inside. It always used to fill the rear cockpit and the centre cabin with water but that is no longer the case. The two O-rings I added to the top and bottom of the rudder shaft may also have helped with this. Returning from this outing I was unhappy to find that the foam protectors on the boat stand had marked the lacquer finish. Despite having left it for two weeks, it was still soft enough to be marked. Not sure if you can see the damage in the photo. Another detail I will have to revisit later. I noticed that the motor was running a little warm so the opportunity was taken to replace the aluminium plate motor mount with one made from copper sheet with a soldered onto it. This has been plumbed into the ESC cooling water circuit and now keeps the motor reasonably cool. The deck was then masked and painted with a textured finish followed by brush applied humbrol enamel. I found a tin of grey enamel in the garage, which must date from the original build, and it was still useable!

5 years ago by Graham93