18’ Seebold Warrior VP-Mod Project.

[Hydro200merc]

I purchased this boat in NJ a couple of years ago. I am planning to use it as a river / lake boat. This is a light lay-up boat, I believe it is a Kevlar/AME hull. Some one had put a capsule in the boat, it had been removed prior to me buying it. Here are some photos of boat when I purchased it.

[Hydro200merc]

Here are some more photos of the boat, lots of holes to fill.

[mercace]

My old boat. Have fun with it

[Hydro200merc]

Is there supposed to be a strut in front of the front bulk head? If there should be one what does it look like? Is it necessary? (See Photo Above)

[Hydro200merc]

I made a lay-up mold out of a .19” thick aluminum, formed it in a break press to the proper angle to match the existing dash. I ground the underside of the dash opening thinning the existing fiberglass and feathering it out to allow for a smooth strong bond when i am ready to laminate it in. I then scribed the shape of the opening on to my lay up mold. Taped off the profile and coated the mold with a PVA prior to sprayed a thick layer of gel coat on the mold. I then removed the masking, placed it on the hull, weighted it down with 5 gallon buckets filled with water and clamped it to the hull. Then I laminated fiberglass on the underside until I obtained a .19” thickness over the gel coat. When I removed the mold you could see the seam so I ground into the seam line and filled it with gel coat before sanding the surface smooth.

[RNM018]

I,ve owned a Mirage , that I had to replace the deck on . There was no stringer in front of the bulkhead . If it where mine , I would just relace the two forward bulkheads that have been cut up to install the capsule . Then repair the dash just the way you have it laid up in the photos . Also , I would add a floor inside , the center sponson just about 3" to 4" up off the bottom , of the boat , depending on how low you want your seat to be . That is , if your going back as Center Steer .Personally , I like my seat as low as I can get it !

Good Luck !

Rich Martin 018

[Hydro200merc]

I will be seting it up for center sreering, i was going to make it left side steer with 2 bucket seats side by side on top of the tunnels but I felt like i was going blow out of the boat setting in the driveway on the trailer. LOL

Thanks

[Hydro200merc]

I talked to Tom today he has a "Warrior" and he informed me that the mounting blocks in front of the front bulk head are pillow blocks for cable steering pulleys. LOL no strut, made perfect sense. The second photo is the hole in the bulk head for the cable.

[Da Bull]

These boats were really great marathon Mod-VP`s and could handle some real nasty water. With the Parker Enduro revised maybe some day we will see a boat like yours competing in it. My opinion is that it would be hard to beat in the green motor class with a Merc 300XS. Last year a 19' Cougar (Daytona copy) won the overall with the same motor.

DB

[Hydro200merc]

The boat had allot of holes drilled in it and some stress cracks around these holes. I drilled out each hole a little bit bigger than the existing hole to remove all the white putty and silicone that was in the holes chamfered the top of the holes to increase to the surface area for the gel coat to bond to. Gouged out any stress cracks in the old gel coat around the holes as well. Then I reinforced the back side of the upper hull around these holes with fiberglass cloth and resin. Then filled them up with in 1/16 of the surface with gel coat or just to the back side of the old gel-coat. I re-chamfered the top of the hole to remove any fiberglass resin that got on the gel coat and filled them with white gel-coat. The holes in vertical surfaces were easily repaired using this same process but to prevent the new gel-coat from sagging I cut a small piece of aluminum flashing 1” x 1” and coated it with a PVA. Then over filled the hole and lightly taped the piece of aluminum over each hole, let them cure, remover the aluminum and sanded the repair smooth with a sanding block (220 wet dry sand paper).

[Hydro200merc]

I had a custom fuel tank made to fit in the center hull under the rear deck 20 gal. I reinforced the rear bulk head with some ¾ x 1 ½ Mahogany and bonded it in with West Systems epoxy. The back of the tank will be strapped down.

I was following this thread for EFI fule system setup:
http://www.diamondmarine.com/web_pag...l%20System.htm

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[Hydro200merc]

Once I had the tank in place it was time to add some holes, Fuel Fill and Pass Through for the Wiring / Line. I used a hole saw to cut the opening for the fuel fill. The back deck has a balsa core so I cleared some of the core out around the hole about 1/8 + and filled the gap with West Systems epoxy to seal it up. My Fuel Fill has 4 studs to tie it down so when I drilled the holes for the studs I drilled them ¼ oversize then filled the holes with West Systems epoxy,then I re-drilled them the proper size to make sure they were sealed as well. The boat had a hole for the wiring and line to pass through but I wanted a cleaner look so I bought a large blower / hull vent cover to put over the opening. I cut the opening bigger and seals it up the same way as I did for the fuel fill. I wanted to reinforce the back side of the opening so I cut a piece of 5/8 hoes down the side and fit it over the back side of the opening. Taped it in place and drilled a couple small holes in the hose to injected West Systems epoxy into the air space between the ID of the hose and the hull. After it cured I removed the hose and sanded the epoxy. This will act as a small water dam and provide a whear surface for the lines to rest against. Then sprayed the area with white gel-coat and wet sanded it smoth.

[Hydro200merc]

I set up a 20’ party tent in my driveway to spray gel-coat, my original plan was to just spray the entire upper hull with white gel-coat but i couldn't stop there. I whipped the boat down with a wax remover then sanded the boat with 120 grit paper, used acetone and a tack cloth to wipe the hull down with after sanding. Spraying the gel-coat went well, but when I started sanded it down I realized the surface of the boat was like the surface of the moon, lol (Bad orange peal). But I sanded it down and it looks good. Any clue on how to get a smooth finish when spraying gel-coat?

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[CNC_Guy]

Looking good Hydro,
I think my next addition will be a Warrior.

[Da Bull]

Any clue on how to get a smooth finish when spraying gel-coat?

I`ve seen a lot of gel sprayed and some was smooth, some was wrinkled. It all has to be sanded/buffed in the end tho. A friend that has sprayed tons of it has a very nice and expencive gun and it lay`s gel down very smooth so there is little sanding. He say`s it`s all about the gun.

DB