# Bluenoe (My first Gheenoe!)



## shanerain55 (Aug 10, 2010)

Another pic.


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## paint it black (Nov 3, 2007)

Can't go wrong!

Nice start!


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## nate. (Nov 12, 2009)

great color!


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## shanerain55 (Aug 10, 2010)

Dropped her in the water today. The little Nissan 9.9 2 banger ran great and push her at a pretty good clip with my 180lbs and about 3 gal of fuel up front. I did not push it too hard because I could see the transom flexing a bit. I may have to change my plans and take a week or so and beef up the transom, add a manual jackplate and a rear deck. I also need to get my trolling motor mounted. Later I plan on adding a front deck covering the fuel tank and I am thinking about turning the center seat livewell into a battery compartment. I think that should distribute the weight pretty well. Any thoughts?


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## gheen_with_envy (Oct 12, 2008)

I have a low tide 25 gheenoe and it has a raised rear deck, love it!!!! I have a livewell built into that area, since you were talking about turning the center livewell into a battery box, when you install the back raised deck you could put your livewell there.- Justin


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## shanerain55 (Aug 10, 2010)

Sounds like a good idea. Thanks,


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## Green_Hornet (Nov 1, 2008)

I am having the same problems with my transom on my 87 highsider. I too thought epoxy would fix it and I thought it was still good wood until I took the top piece off.   It is not too bad to replace. Just my $.02. That Nissan should push you right along, nice setup!


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## shanerain55 (Aug 10, 2010)

Thanks for the input. The top "pad" on the transom is slightly crushed and there are stress cracks in the corners of the transom. I really want to add a rear deck and beef up the transom to add a jackplate. I added a set of stabilizer fins yesterday, so hopefully that will help out with the porpoising action.


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## shanerain55 (Aug 10, 2010)

I guess I determined what is causing the transom flex! Here are some pics of the culpret. I will post some more after I finish the repair. I am following TomFL and Swamp Skiff's advise from the Frankenhull post and I am extending the new piece above the orginal transom height and adding some extra "meat" below to ensure there is enough clamping space.


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## shanerain55 (Aug 10, 2010)

A pic after the transom was cleaned up.


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## shanerain55 (Aug 10, 2010)

It has been busy at work, so I have been getting a little at a time done. I repaired the transom. I used plywood, i figured it lasted the first 19 years of the boats life. Anyway, I raised the transom height by 2 inches and made it 1 1/2 inches thick. It added some weight, but I like the extra strength. I got ready to gel coat it today using West gel coat and ran into a $37.00 problem. It is not very hot outside, actually it is almost perfect. I followed the directions on the can. I only need half the can so I mixed half of the hardner with half the gel coat and it started to kick while I was stirring it. Crap......there's $18.50 down the drain. I still had half a can, so I figured ok I will mix it with a few drops (10) per ounce just like when I was glassing the transom. Nope, still kicked while I was stirring it. Now I am out $37.00 bucks and wondering what went wrong. Any ideas????? Anyway, here are some pics of what I have done so far. The corners of the transom were full of cracks, so I replaced them too.


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## shanerain55 (Aug 10, 2010)

Exterior pic. Blue tape is where the white gel coat was going to stop. Once transom is done, I plan on fishing it like it is then probably sanding the hull and put on new gel coat this winter.


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

What went wrong?
Gelcoat stored in a high temperature area
combined with a little too much hardener.
Been there, done that.
I learned to store gelcoat in an airconditioned room overnight
before mixing and using on hot days.
Cooler initial gelcoat temperature before mixing,
allows a longer pot and working time.


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## shanerain55 (Aug 10, 2010)

Thanks Brett. That must be it. I had the gel coat in my garage. I had been told that gel coat was nothing more than poly resin with the color added, so I never thought about having a problem with it. The directions on the gel coat can said mix an equal ratio of gel coat and hardner, ie..one can gel coat and one tube hardener or half can and half a tube. Like I said before the gel coat started to kick almost instantly, so other than storing the gel coat in the air conditioning do you have any other mixing recommendations? Thanks.


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

Use less hardener on hot days.
In summer I used half of the amount of hardener
that was recommended on the label, along with
keeping the gelcoat in a cool storage area.
Gave me a little more working time.


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## shanerain55 (Aug 10, 2010)

Thanks Brett. I will give it another shot. Worst that can happen is that I spend another $37 bucks.


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## shanerain55 (Aug 10, 2010)

Ok, another $37 bucks down the drain ($74 total) and now I am just pissed. I bought another can of gel coat and it has been stored in my house in the air conditioning to keep in cool. This morning I decide it is time to finish the transom. It is 75 degrees with only 30 percent humidity. Anyway, i poured out half of the pint, mixed it with 30 drops of hardner which was less than the half tube recommended and it kicked while I was stirring it. DANG! I only need half a pint, so I did not worry to much. This time I poured a little bit of acetone in with the half of a can of gel coat I had left and stirred it up. It thinned out the gel coat some and I then mixed in 15 drops of hardner. First 20 seconds of stirring looking good , then it happened. It started to kick again, now I am just pissed. The temperature is nice, I ended up using way less than half of the recommended hardner and I thinned the gel coat with acetone. I am about ready to just run the dang thing like it is and say to heck with the gel coat!


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

I'm assuming you bought the quart container of gelcoat.
can you post me a picture of the tube of hardener next to the can of gelcoat?
I need a reference image to compare the sizes of the containers.


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## shanerain55 (Aug 10, 2010)

Sorry, I threw them in trash, so no pics. I bought a pint of West white gel coat and the can said no sags or runs. Here is a link to the the West page. It only shows gallon and quart sizes, but in the store they sell pints. 
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=100740&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&storeId=11151&storeNum=10104&subdeptNum=10296&classNum=10301


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

You'll need the waxed gelcoat to finish with.
Unwaxed gelcoat will feel sticky even after it sets.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=100190&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&storeId=11151&storeNum=10104&subdeptNum=10296&classNum=10301

Is this the hardener you purchased?

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=330357&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&storeId=11151&storeNum=10104&subdeptNum=10296&classNum=10298


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## shanerain55 (Aug 10, 2010)

No, the gel coat came with a tube of hardner inside the platic lid.


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

I used that cap from the tube as a measuring device.
I'd use a half cap full per 8 ounces of waxed gelcoat.
No idea how many drops that would be.


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## shanerain55 (Aug 10, 2010)

Brett, thanks again for the info.


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

That tube, shown with the quart can of gelcoat,
contains about an ounce of methyl ethyl ketone peroxide ( MEKP )
That's enough hardener to catalyze a gallon of gelcoat.
So you definitely were using way too much, as you learned the hard way.
But you aren't alone in making that mistake.

How do you think I learned?   :-[      ;D


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## shanerain55 (Aug 10, 2010)

I finally got the gelcoat on after wasting a third can. I mixed half a pint with 2 drops of hardener and it still kicked while I was stirring it. I just gave up. A buddy of mine said he had a friend that did fiberglass, so he came over and hooked me up. Now I just need to do the webbing. Does anyone know where I can fine Krylon webbing paint? I have looked at my Super Wal-Mart, True Value and auto parts stores with no luck. Anyway here is a pic of the transom now. The ledge built into the transom is a support in case I decide to add a deck later which I planned on originally.


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## shanerain55 (Aug 10, 2010)

Another


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