Lee's Monaco utility build

[mrintense]

The creativity begins anew!

[Bill Edmundson]

Matt

Grunden Brothers, West Sytems, say none.

Bill

[denbrlr]

Matt B, CPES has a water like consistency so I use it at a deep penetrating encapsulation before encapsulating with a more traditional encapsulating epoxy. There are different opinions about whether CPES does much but I think it does. I also figure it can't hurt. It also works as a sealer after stain if you don't use a filler stain.

Carl, yes this part of the build is a lot different than building the hull.

Lee

[denbrlr]

First coat of CPES on the interior bottom.

[denbrlr]

The carlings and relocated frame 1 are dry fitted. There are two 1/2 inch laminations at the top of the transom frame that are now epoxied in place. Some people put these on when the transom is built but that seemed hard to me so I waited until after the planking and after the flip. The prop shaft fiberglass tube is now sanded flush with the inside of the keel.

I also started sealing the inside of the boat. One coat of CPES on the bottom and one more to go. I will then encapsulate the entire interior (i.e. bottom and sides) with multiple coats of encapsulating epoxy. Here are some pictures.

For those of you who didn't use bilge paint, how did you seal your bilge (e.g. how many coats and what type of epoxy)?

Lee

[neel thompson]

Lee..... Everything on the inside of my hull has been encapsulated with at least two coats of West System epoxy. Most of it was done as I went along, and everything I added after the flip has been coated as well. Since sunlight will not get to the bilge, I think the encapsulation is all that is needed. I have not used CPES, but it seems like what you are doing with it would be enough without coating over it. Everything looks great... Neel

[Roberta]

Looking Great, Lee! I used one coat of CPES and one coat of epoxy on the Torpedo. Seems to be holding up well.

Roberta

[denbrlr]

Thank you Neel and Roberta. I guess I don't plan to have much in way of water in the boat during normal use but I know things happen. At this point, I plan to use a dripless shaft seal so I shouldn't get any water from that. Besides rain (which I should avoid) and maybe some spray from the hull, where would water come from? Roberta, how much have you seen in your Torpedo and Neel, how much did you see in your Gentry?

Lee

[Roberta]

The worst of my water intrusion in the boat was when I went on a short cruise with the bilge plugs out. Washed a lot of sawdust out of the bilge that day. Typical water in the bilge came from rain. I only cover the cockpit with a small cover, so rain typically gets in during travel and mooring if rain encountered. Very small amounts from prop shaft seal packing, usually next to none. Had to tighten the rudder port packing once in 7 seasons. Get a little when I use the flushing T to test run the motor and flush the seaside. Very little. These cold molded hulls tend to stay pretty dry. My bilge is dry and shows no signs of water damage. I do not let water sit in the bilge and drain and swab as needed. Our Torpedo generally sits in the water from several days to several weeks on rare occasions.

With the dripless seal and checking the rudder port occasionally, there should be no issues for you.

Roberta

[Rich Coey]

Going through a big wake from a cruiser, 6 inches of water across the deck over the windshield and onto our laps.
( I have learned how to ride those out now)
Or going up the Sacramento River hitting waves with a 30 MPH cross wind throwing water from the tip of the bow up and blowing it all back onto us.
But it was all fun.

Rich

[Hercdrvr]

With the exception of a leak in the Malahini once, I have never gotten enough water in any boat (Squirt Malahini or Barrelback) to activate the bilge pump. We drain out the most water on water sports days when there are lots of wet people climbing in and out. It takes an alarming amount of water to kick on the bilge pump.
Matt B

[mrintense]

This has been my thought as well. I really don't expect to do anything with my bilge pumps except to replace them periodically. I do have a few openings in the sides, but I don't expect those to be any problem since they are high up. With an outboard and a completely isolated splashwell, it's unlikely I will get any water in the back of the boat. And I am going to chain my bilge drain plugs on the onside of the boat so even if they fall out or I forget to put them in, I can pull them in from the inside of the boat.

[neel thompson]

Lee,,, I agree with Roberta... Very little water, even without a dripless shaft seal. On a long day of boating, I would see no more than a quart or so of water, mostly from sea spray, come out after I put the boat on the trailer and pulled the drain plugs. The bilge pumps at the low point of the bilge would come on once in a while when I had the boat in the water for 5 or 6 days at the gatherings, but that was usually after a rain shower. I managed to get the boat under a covered shed at Hales Bar whenever large amounts of rain were expected. I had four automatic bilge pumps in my Gentry, two at the low point, and two at the transom. I mounted them on opposite sides of the keel. That was a total waste of bilge pumps!! With your boat high and dry on a covered lift, bilge water will not be a worry for you. Neel

[denbrlr]

Thank you all for the replies. I will try to avoid large waves, getting caught in the rain, and try not to forget the drain plugs

Lee

[denbrlr]

Two coats of CPES are done on the interior bottom and two coats of SilverTip encapsulating epoxy are done on the interior sides. I started on the first coat of SilverTip encapsulating epoxy on the interior bottom. I started at the front and have worked my way back to frame 5 so far. I am using a wire to make sure the limbers are not plugged.

Crawling around the interior of the boat helps me remember how young I am not

Lee