# fin and feather face lift



## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

thought i would start a new post to document some of the mods and repairs i'll be performing on the fin & feather boat,  started out friday digging in to it and mounted a new center seat  base 







[/img]
after that it was time 
to address some cracking in the gel coat around the seam of a storage well and decided to  just remove it  for good ( saving it in a safe place just in case i decide to ever reinstall)
[/img]







[/img]
one of the things that i'll be doing is running new fuel line but i couldnt get the old one to pull thru and discovered it locked in place due to some expanding foam, there was a previous cut out here in the side and when i removed the cut out patch i discovered that the fuel line had been cut when the first intital cut was made way back when... 







[/img] 
with that corrected and the old line out it was time to move on to  stripping the bedliner material that had been sprayed on the sides and floor as well as the seadek pads that protected the reels, about 3 minutes into it with a razor scraper i knew i needed a bigger gun so i pulled out the multi master w/ scraper blade and made quick work of the starboard side







[/img]







[/img]
it pretty much came off in one big sheet but the port side was a different story, had to grind it down with the roto zip with right angle sanding attachment, the multimaster and rotozip have proven themselves once again , got into the floor and found a few areas that had been glassed over gel coat so i wanted to strip that back and reglass it 







[/img]
so now i find myself at a point with the floor where i have a total of 5 holes in it, should i start patching each hole or take a sheet of marine ply coated in resin, wrap it with indoor/outdoor grass carpet, screw it down and call it a day?? i personally like the grass carpet idea because its soft on your feet and looks clean plus it's cheap and easy or spend the $$$$ for a seadek floor :-/ so  having enough of grinding glass and sanding gel coat for 3 days i move on to the rear deck lid that had the hinges reversed and corrected that.

next on the " to do list" will be to order  a hatch cover for the cut out in the bulk head and tomorrow i'll head over to see adam at "all aluminum concepts" here in jax. to get him started on a custom casting platform and while i'm there i'll have him weld on some tubes to the ends of the trolling motor brackets that are attached to the rear p. platform for my stick it anchor   cant seem to fiqure out why i'm so itchy all of the sudden  ;D


----------



## tguasjr (Mar 9, 2009)

WOW!  I hope you got a good deal on it. Looks like you got alot of work ahead of you. Isn't that half the fun though!


----------



## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

the floor does look a little scary doesnt it?  and while i dont have all of it ground back yet i dont think ist going to be a hugh deal to reglass the supports and cover over them, the boat appears to be real solid, a few of the other areas look worse than they are and once i get some material here things should start to go back together kinda quick, one way or the other i am going to fish outta this boat before the end of the week ;D


----------



## paint it black (Nov 3, 2007)

Wow!

That's a lot of work....lol

Looks like you're getting it done quick though.
Good luck.


----------



## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

pulled off the platform this morning and delivered it to adam so he could get started on the welding and pipe bending  if anyone needs aluminum work in north florida he is the guy to see  then picked up some marine ply and a few other essentials but got home and it looks like i'm being shut down due to rain  oh well the yard sure needs it and seeing as how i still have some glass grinding to do and not wanting to wreck my garage guess i'll have to entertain myself some other way  ;D







[/img]


----------



## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

I like the irony of putting in a nice shiny new seat base, as if you were ready to head out to the ramp, then tearing the crap outta everything else! ;D 

That boat sure looked pretty before you got ahold of it...


----------



## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

> I like the irony of putting in a nice shiny new seat base, as if you were ready to head out to the ramp, then tearing the crap outta everything else!  ;D
> 
> That boat sure looked pretty before you got ahold of it...


well i had one thing i knew i could do and have completed by the end of the day and that was installing the new seat base   of course once i'm finished installing everything i'm gonna strip it back off for a repaint, trust me when i tell you that it looked better in the pics than in person  and i'm kind of a perfectionist : so i started stripping it and to be honest wasnt expecting what i found on the floor but thats how it goes i guess? nothing i cant or wont handle   she's gonna look real nice when i'm done.


----------



## tonyeden (Oct 5, 2009)

Wow Mark, if you fish it this weekend then you may need to consider full time boat flipping!
Awesome to see others going through the same thing as me!


----------



## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

yep i might look like a floating project out on the water but i need and want to get it wet, it gives me time to think about what i need to do next  sort of a spiritual bonding if you will...


----------



## HialeahAngler (Dec 18, 2008)

that's gonna be real nice when you're done. keep up the good work bro.


----------



## deerfly (Mar 10, 2007)

talk about gettin' at it, you're my new boat restoration hero.


----------



## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

> talk about gettin' at it, you're my new boat restoration hero.


 [smiley=1-biggrin.gif]

been a busy week grinding glass, got the floor finished up.  made a template of the floor then transfer to a 1/2" sheet of marine ply coated in resin







[/img]







[/img] mounted an air pump under the deck and wired it up . on wednesday i made a killer score on a almost new, used only once, 12 volt 55 lb thrust trolling motor with a brand new spare prop for only $35.00 on craigs list   i ordered received and installed this nifty birdsall trolling motor mount from the nice people at birdsall marine located in west palm bch.







[/img]
decided while i had the poling platform off i would clean up the transom of a few bolt holes and reglass the seam where the hull mates with the deck lid







][/img]
and now i'm working on repairing some stress cracks in the front deck







][/img]
as well as buttoning up loose ends with some of the other "adjustments" that have been happening   cant seem to figure out why i'm so itchy   ;D


----------



## paint it black (Nov 3, 2007)

Looks great. 
The work is coming out awesome.

But you should look into through bolting the trolling motor.
I've heard stories of motors coming loose off those brackets while at WOT. 

lol

Keep it up, it looks great.


----------



## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

> But you should look into through bolting the trolling motor.
> I've heard stories of motors coming loose off those brackets while at WOT.


yeah been there done that LOL... ;D this mounts design actually gives you protection over having the motor slip off as the clamping pads sit in a recessed spot which kinds locks it on. never did get the chance to get it wet this week . headin' out in a few minutes with the mud minnow for some low tide creek fishin' then coming home to work on those stress cracks. hopefully i'll get the poling platform back early this week so i can make a few adjustments to it then bolt everything together for a wet test, once i'm satisfied with the placement of everything then i'll strip all the hardware off for the paint


----------



## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

TIME FOR AN UPDATE***  

         been a few weeks since posting anything other than fishing reports and after 2 weeks of fishing this boat successfully and pretty happy with the placement of everything it was time to tear it back down for paint .

spend a few hours yesterday stripping it down and in doing so i decided to remove a pump and water pick up that i wounldnt be using and seeing as how when it was previously painted the bottom hadnt been done i then decided to clean it up now while she was stripped clean, this of course will delay me even furture from completing her but not a problem when you have the trusty ol' mud minnow on  call and willing to ride   ;D  spent the better part of the day sanding the over spray and smoothing out a few deep scratches as well as patching the hole from the removed water pick up and repairing a minor fracture in the hull, figured while i'm waiting for the resin to dry i'd post a few picks of her upside down  







[/img]







[/img]


----------



## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

thru the course of the week i glassed, sanded, and smoothed out any areas of concern on the bottom then once the dew burned off this morning i solvent wiped the bottom then shot the bottom and rear of the transom with primer   how long should i wait till she's dry enough for the top coat?  i can hardley read the print on the back of the can and now its smeared with paint making it impossible to read  







[/img]


----------



## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

application instructions and dry times:

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=120


----------



## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

one thing about this primer is that if you have any flaws in your glass work you'll know it for sure once the primer is on  ;D looks like a few areas need a little more sanding but for the most part its on the bottom and back where the motor hangs so i'm not stressing over it too much, i might even do some type of pad for the motor


----------



## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

spent the better part of the day sanding and priming the inside of the boat   after priming, the areas that need more filling/sanding became obviously clear   no big deal though as a few more hours with the sanding block and she'll be ready for her first coat of paint   totally stripped the poling platform and refinished it, also added the mud minnow logo that i have adopted   ;D







[/img]







[/img]







[/img]







[/img]


----------



## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

been a while since updating this project, some of you have requested i get off my a$$ and post something about it    ;D  thru p.m. so heres a few pics for your viewing pleasure  
here we show a pic of the birdsall marine trolling motor mount w/marinco deck plug and foot switch as well as the brand new $35.00 craigs list trolling motor w/ brand new spare prop    







[/img]
heres a pic of the custom built casting platform fabbed up by my main homie  "adam" @all alumiunum concepts in beautiful jacksonville fl.  







[/img]
custom grab bar w/shelf & rod holder made by adam, while i was at his shop i had him weld on some rod holders to the poling platform legs and also some tubes to the ends of the t.m brackets that are attached to the poling platform that way whenever i want to hang out with my wang out i'll have some place to insert it   [smiley=laughing-out-loud1.gif] 







[/img]







[/img]







[/img]







[/img]

the thickness of the platform deck lid was a little on the heavy side giving the appearance that the deck lid was 3 inches thick so it went under the knife and now looks more proportionate to the size of the boat and casting platform lid 







[/img]
ordered and installed a tiller extension from bob @ strongarm products, very nice product that i liked the minute i tried it... thanks bob!!  







[/img]
removed a section of the front deck to give me more cockpit space and had j.w.industries fab up this awesome hatch cover out of starboard







[/img]
behind the hatch cover is some good usable storage that prior to the deck extension removal was un-useable







[/img]

a few additions to the trailer are the fat pontoon boat trailer tires and galvanized rims i took from the mud minnow trailer and also a new set of l.e.d pipe lights w/ the lighted post cap  : next on the "to do list" will be the install of a new depth finder.... due to the fact that i know my waters like the back of my hand it hasnt been a priority


----------



## topnative2 (Feb 22, 2009)

How about a profile shot!

Lookin sweet...


----------



## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

ok  let me see what i can come up with


----------



## rkmurphy (Nov 2, 2008)

It's about time! Looking awesome. How'd you end up doing the floor?


----------



## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

thanks murphy   the floor is a 1/2"piece of marine ply, i made a template of the floor, transfered to the sheet of ply, cut it out then covered it in resin then wrapped with the carpet, i like the carpet as its soft on the feet and cheap$$$ but did add a total of 50 lbs to the boat going that way  in the near future i'm gonna pull it up, repair the few areas that need it then probably put down some seadek   i know for sure i want to get a piece for the casting platform, the thickest they make for the comfort of my tush  :-[ ;D. heres a few pics of her in full dress and the truck that likes to take her to the places she likes going best   ;D







[/img]







[/img]







[/img]







][/img]







[/img]







[/img]


----------



## FSUfisher (Jul 16, 2007)

Looks great! I like it!


----------



## Salty_South (Feb 25, 2009)

That is a sweet ride!!  What make is she?


----------



## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

> That is a sweet ride!!  What make is she?


 she's a "fin & feather"  low tide custom, the silly looking fish is the mud minnow logo i adopted   







[/img]


----------



## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

looking towards the spring and summer has me thinking about adding some tunes  [smiley=hmmm.gif]







[/img]


----------



## wookalar (Nov 24, 2009)

I really like the grab bar/cooler holder where did you get it and how much. That is one nice boat!


----------



## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

> I really like the grab bar/cooler holder where did you get it and how much. That is one nice boat!


 thanks  hard to say on the actual cost of the grab bar as i had him do a lot of stuff and only charged me $250 cash so i would say the grab bar was around $100 -$125 bucks plus it was custom fit to fit these igloo coolers perfectly  also, he used mill finish stock to make it seeing as how i was covering it in black so that saved a little bit of $$$  heres the contact info: all aluminum concepts in jacksonvile fl. 904-731-7377 tell him you saw sbc's fin and feather


----------



## JaxLaxFish (Aug 23, 2010)

nice ride southboundchicken are most of these pics taken at the beach blvd ramp?


----------



## FSUfisher (Jul 16, 2007)

> nice ride southboundchicken are most of these pics taken at the beach blvd ramp?


Yeah it looks like the ramp pictures were from the Beach Blvd ramp, obviously on a Tuesday or something like that lol...


----------



## pole_position (Dec 5, 2009)

Hey S B , enjoyed re- reading this thread! 
Did you ever add tunes? Was considering that eventualy too!


----------



## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

yeah guys some of the pics were from bch. blvd. on a weekday...lol

havent added tunes yet but i'm seriously thinking of adding some in the very near future  of course i'll update you guys when i do


----------

