Varmint hack...

[nitro_rat]

Ever since I got my Varmint I’ve hated crawling up under the back deck to work on the rigging, no room to fit a larger fuel tank under there with a level gauge, etc. I also don’t fish and the few times I habe fished off of it I’ve felt it was too tight with two people fishing.

I saw a rig on facebook that had the back deck cut out. I like it. My wife liked the idea too. I can throw an 18 gallon tank in the back, 2 buckets and a bench. Room for the family and built in cooler (front livewell) and dry storage under the front hatch. I can throw a bicycle style fishing seat under the hatch too in case someone wants to fish.

I can also plug the livewell pump inlet on the transom which obstructs the mounting position for the original Vector swim steps I have!

The boat is due for a re-rig anyway.

I have just about made up my mind to do it. That brings me to my question:

I need to refinish the hull. What is the easiest, most durable finish to go with. I have limited experience painting stuff. Mostly spray bomb.

Would it be total hack to paint it with Rustoleum? I kinda like the idea of being able to touch it up with a rattle can...

This thing will have sandy kids crawling on it and getting run up on sandbars, etc, not a show rig!

[Blacknsilvr]

Subscribing. I want to see where this goes. Hopefully it will give me some ideas for mine.

[nitro_rat]

Nobody has an opinion on what kind of paint would work for me? Or are y’all just curious how the rustoleum will turn out? Waiting for someone else to be the guniea pig on this one?

[XstreamVking]

Skip the rusto and go right to interlux, at least then you can say it's boat paint....

[nitro_rat]

Skip the rusto and go right to interlux, at least then you can say it's boat paint....

Just not seeing a product in that line I like. Maybe if I was painting a sail boat off white...

[XstreamVking]

Are you looking to spray it and use primer etc or just down and dirty? As far as easy to use and a good paint, awlcraft is good stuff. very durable but somewhat pricey... A cheaper but good looking paint would be some nason single stage paint. Both of these would be decent paints. Then there is the old stand by, imron industrial grade polyureathane. About the toughest you can get.

[nitro_rat]

I don’t have any experience spraying but I think I’m going to try it. I’m not worried about getting it perfect, just want something durable and easy to work with. I use the boat to haul the kids and dog around on the river. Definitely want something single stage, preferably not too expensive!

Awlgrip 2000 looks to be the single stage, it says SE is recommended for large areas but it’s 2 stage. Will I be ok with the 2000? I can work with that color palette!

[XstreamVking]

Awlgrip and awlcraft 2000 are 2 diff paints. Same mfg. Awlgrip is the orig and a little harder to work with, and cannot be buffed. Both are single stage catalyzed paints. Spray the color and that's it. Awlcraft 2000 is the newer version and is easier to spray and is buffable. For the 1st try at spraying I would recommend the awlcraft 2000 over the awlgrip. A good respirator and fresh air is needed with any paint when spraying.

[nitro_rat]

A good respirator and fresh air is needed with any paint when spraying.

There will be plenty of fresh air, I will most likely spray outdoors and pick the bugs out later!

I am going to be filling in lots of holes, rigging holes and livewell drains, plus holes in the transom. Will gp poly resin work? What cloth do I need? I’m guessing I’ll need a sealer primer also what with the patch work and the PO having sanded through the gel in several places!

[XstreamVking]

Poly resin some cab-o-sil, 1.5 oz matt for hole filling. Fill the holes with some putty made with the cabosil and resin then cover with some mat to prevent the repair from showing thru the paint. A thin layer of gellcote over that to sand and prep for prime. For primer, awlgrip makes 2 good epoxy primers, a lighter 545 epoxy and a hi-fill epoxy. Hi fill needs to be covered by the 545. You could go with a dura tec catalyzed primer and possibly save a few bucks. Obviously the awlgrip epoxy is best under their paint.

[nitro_rat]

What about larger holes? It has the two "bass boat" ventilator scoop things on the wings that have maybe a 3" diameter hole and then the livewell drain tube holes are maybe 2". Can I grind the outside to feather it out and use packing tape on the inside? Use maybe 3 layers of matt, a little larger each time?

How about the large drain hole in the transom? Will a puck of regular plywood work ok to fill as long as it's buried in 'glass? Would I be better off to dam it up and fill with epoxy?

How much paint/primer am I looking at here? One quart? Two quarts? A whole gallon? The 2000 is looking like $325-$350/gal in my color. I haven't checked into the cost of the primer yet. Then there's reducer and hardener, strainers, paint cups, harbor freight spray gun... I think I can do good enough body work to not need the high build primer first. Not looking for a show boat, just something a little better than the current beater status!

[Blacknsilvr]

Pay careful attention to the big drain hole in the bottom left. That’s where my transom rot started. My fitting would spin by hand.

[nitro_rat]

Pay careful attention to the big drain hole in the bottom left. That’s where my transom rot started. My fitting would spin by hand.

My transom (whole boat for that matter) is solid as a rock. I’m deleting that hole. It interferes with the swim steps that I got off a Vector. I think I might keep the small drain by the drain plug to drain my cooler (front livewell).

[Blacknsilvr]

My transom (whole boat for that matter) is solid as a rock. I’m deleting that hole. It interferes with the swim steps that I got off a Vector. I think I might keep the small drain by the drain plug to drain my cooler (front livewell).

That’s a good idea. I think I’ll do the same with mine. As for the big hole, mine will be gone as well.

[nitro_rat]

Here are some photos of the Varmint that is inspiring my hack! I have seen photos of it before and ran across it looking for shots of a red Varmint. Wife said no to the red, but yes to the hack...