TOPIC: Old Flathead Powered 15' Woody?

Started to strip the older applied fiberglass off my plywood 15' woody and have a few questions. Surprise, surprise, things arn't sanding at the same speed! I am using an inline air sander and going with the grain but it's leaving the ply looking like 10 miles of bad road. My plans were a simple looking resto like maybe back in the day, not an over restored look. Don't need a jewelry box, mile deep finish. Would like to keep all the original wood but if it's not going to cooperate do you think I should just rip off the old and insall new ply? My plans were to have a painted bottom and sides with a nicer wood deck of some sorts. Any thoughts? Anyone know who made this one?
Another question, nows the time to decide if the seating should be in the rear of Flatty or leave as is? I need a direction! Thanks

I have found that an electric vibrating sander does a better job at getting a good finish. Other types of sanders work better for stripping/rough work.

We will need a photo of the motor!!!

With the wood softer than the glass, it will be hard not to sand more wood as soon as there is a hole in the fiberglass no mater what you use. Can you feather in the old fiberglass, or is it loose?

She's loose in places!

I like the transom on that boat and the external rudder. Good luck with the resto.

Straycat,
Jepster is right, the fiberglass is a lot harder than the play so if a hole gets sanded through it he wood will disappear a lot faster than the fiberglass. Also since the ply is fir it will sand like pine with soft and hard places. Your best bet for that sanding is by hand with a sanding board, kind of like the inline air sander but flexible 1/8' ply with a handle on each end and the sandpaper attached to it. IF you use the air file/sander style you have to be very careful and let be too aggressive. Another thought on the glass is maybe using a stripper that will strip fiberglass epoxy. I can't think of the brand right now but I know a few exist.

I would leave the seating as is, keeps it original, but that's just me. Not sure what you have there but definitely looks cool and will be great once your done.

Bob

Sure looks like a Glen-L to me. The glass needs to be there. Don't remove it. My Glen-L Missile, and many of their plywood boats are designed with a glass overlay. Great lines!

Well there ya go. I don't have much knowledge on the Glen-L's but Brian does. So unless the glass is peeling off I'd leave it alone.

Good call Brian, I thought it had that "Glen-L" look.


Bob

I have looked at most all Glen-L boat plans and didn't find it. Also have documentation of the woody back to 1973, how long has Glen-L been in bizz? It was found in a barn in Idaho and the up there in years owner said it was built in the '50z & in Southern Cal., that's the story I got anyway. Did Glen-L build plans for a flatty? I have sent pic's to Glen-L will see what they say!

Just looked it up and they have been in bizz since '53 interesting...................

Waterwings, with a fiberglass stripper, would there be any danger of de-laminating the plywood? What is plywood glue made of? Just a thought. I don't want his boat to fly apart!

That is one wonderful old school boat! Restore it just like it is!
Love the dual carb flat head!

So far on the GL site it's a "no", not a GL.............

Jepster/Straycat, yeah just don't leave it on too long that it seeps too far into the wood outer layer. After what Brian said though I wouldn't remove the glass unless it was delaminating anyway.

A lot of those old plywood hulls had glass over them to help keep the strong and keep the water from getting in. I should also preface that with, on the fir ply boats. I don't recall seeing much glass on Mahogany Ply boats. Not that some probably didn't have any, just don't recall any right now. The Mahogany Ply was/is a lot more durable, rot resistant, etc. than fir-ply, hence the use of glass over the hulls.

Bob

Fiberglass delaminating in huge area's and stuck like glue in others.
Googling I see alot of Fiberglass "paint strippers" but no Fiberglass stripppers..................

Just put in Epoxy stripper. Here's a quick link to one I found www.wmbarr.com/product.aspx?catid=102&prodid=209 . It does say it's safe for wood. Like I said earlier, just be careful how long you leave it on so it doesn't seep into the first layer of wood very far. Notice that the warnings on the label of the one on the link say don't use on fiberglass, that's your hint that it will eat it/remove it. Also when it's saying it's safe for wood, they generally mean solid wood not plywood, hence the caution on letting it stay too long. Don't leave it on more than what they call for. You'll probably have to do a couple of coats to get through the well adhered stuff.

Bob

I'm just guesing but it could be Polyester on the woody, would the Epoxy stripper eat it anyway?

My initial though was also GLEN-L , out of California, since early 50's,, but next guess with the sloping rear is VENTNOR out of New Jersey.??.. I will send a pic to my Vintage Hydroplane partner
& see his comment.. Thre are always those POP JONES local speed shops that built 6 or 7 racers. ?

These 2 Woody's have also been posted on the VH site where it's a little harder to navigate..........
Here's maybe it's big brother a 19'er?

Ok cool boat, but check out that funky trailer!

The motor can't be in that boat. If there was a flat head V8 in the engine compartment, the tongue of the trailer would be pointed toward the Moon.

STRAY CAT. Up top do you have TWO boats , or showing us just one racer.?? Going thru my Clayton New york race regatta books, there is a very similair one with rear steering , front extra seating from 50's called a DAVIS,, E-Service racer , red boat is named
R.I.O.T. has the unique round curvede downward transom.

Any old pics of the race # , can research , this boat is E-111
for example....

2 Woody's, a 15' and a 19'
No racing history that I can prove.
Would like to see the RIOT................thanks!
Just googled RIOT, I wish it had that kind of pedigree but don't think so!

You gotta keep the flatty !!! If you dont let me know,,I can use it !!!
Sweet looking boat !

First of all, that flathead has got to go! Nobody likes flatheads and it makes you look like a second class boater. However, I am in a position to help you out. I am willing, purely out of the kindness to a fellow boater, to give you a modest amount of money to take that flathead off your hands and restore your reputation. Think abiout it. This is a good offer with only your best interests at heart.

As for the hull...I ran across the same situation with the Bettie Page, my 1961 Century, plywood hull. I didn't have fiberglass but I sure had "iffy" plywood...voids, roughness, etc. My solution was to cover everything with 1/4" meranti marine plywood. (actually, it's considerably thinner than 1/4"...maybe 4 mm?) Anyway, I cut the pieces (two per side) and fitted them "dry." Then I lathered-up the sides with 3M 5200...evenly with 1/8" grooved spreader. I put the new plywood in place and fastened it all over the place with a t-50 tacker. The staples didn't go all the way in and that worked out just fine. They were easy to pull a week later when the 5200 was set up and the tiny holes were filled with bondo, undetectable. Here's a close-up shot of the hull when finished:

By the way, the recovering idea means that you can immediately stop trying to remove the fiberglass. Laminating the hull with new ply using 3M 5200 is about as permanent as you can get and will actually strengthen the hull considerably. If you want to remove it at some point in the future, you'll need a chainsaw.

I've got a flathead V-8 in my truck, looks like now I need one in a boat.

I agree 100 % with Nautilus , (chain saw) about using # 5200 , and the reason being is ..........when i was at Skater , we built boats for the Navy Seals , and where ever 3-M # 5200 was applied , and something ...or a part had to be removed....it would hold so good that it sometimes..... would tear the jell and fabric (glass ) right off the boat . Nautilus , just curious when ....you say bondo , did you use a filler that was good above and below the water line like Ad-tec which is a filler designed for the marine industry . www.adtechplastics.com/pc-16-27-p-77-high-heat-resistant-fillerfaring-compound.aspx or many of there other products that i also use.......... www.adtechplastics.com/c-27-marine-repair-fillers.aspx or maybe just browse there site www.adtechplastics.com

Although I said bondo, I actually used JB Weld...what I had sitting around at the time. The staple holes were extremely small and looked like pin holes after being filled. I don't anticipate a problem. (Besides...where's the water going to go? It going to run smack into a wall of 3M 5200!)

Straycat: Now about that worthless flathead.......

Nautilus wrote:

Although I said bondo, I actually used JB Weld...what I had sitting around at the time. The staple holes were extremely small and looked like pin holes after being filled. I don't anticipate a problem. (Besides...where's the water going to go? It going to run smack into a wall of 3M 5200!)

Straycat: Now about that worthless flathead.......

Hey guy , i said forget the 3M-5200, and went with Hog Fat , chicken grease , a- mixture of white and whole Wheat flour ,sawdust , and a Gallon of Elmers Glue , thinned with Actone ........Straycat :awsome boat .

You're right...that's what I should have done but I was completely out of whole wheat flour.

Want to thanks every body for their recommendations, woody is put away for the winter so won't be doing anything till spring. Looks like a new skin over the old skin is the way to go, will take care of that part than be back with more questions about a new deck of some sorts. Will be keeping the Flatty atleast up to the point of having to choose which power plant to go with. Thanks again!