I recently purchase a wood drift boat that could use a new paint job. I saw a driftboat once that had a fiberglassed bottom and was thinking of doing this to mine while it is stripped down. I though it might add strength and seal any leaks. Has anyone ever done the fiberglassing on a driftboat bottom before and can offer tips or opinion on this I wood be greatfull.
stick flicker
Dogfish just finished one last fall. I'm sure if you dropped him an email, he could give you a rundown on how the whole process went.
He has one purrrrrrrrdy boat now.
He has one purrrrrrrrdy boat now.
Done it repeatedly. If you're going to fiberglass, turn it over...take it down to bare wood...use one of the new epoxy resins...pretty tough. I laid the fiberglass up about 6 inches on the side as sell. When you put the chine batten strips back on, pre-drill then marine caulk every single screw hole. Don't fiberglass both the inside and the outside. The wood has to have a way to dry. The best $200 investment I ever made on my wood drift boat is a UHMD bottom. I use it pretty hard...occasionally in some pretty big water. The UHMD is great for shallow rivers where you scrape and bang the bottom.
Hi Stickflicker,
I just finished a more in depth rebuild. Send me an e-mail at meso@centurytel.net about what you want to do, and I can give you some suggestions on materials, etc. I am no pro, but the job turned out pretty good. Here's the finished product.
![Image]()
Andy
I just finished a more in depth rebuild. Send me an e-mail at meso@centurytel.net about what you want to do, and I can give you some suggestions on materials, etc. I am no pro, but the job turned out pretty good. Here's the finished product.
Andy
Dogfish...that's a good lookin boat. What is its origin? Is it a Keith Steele boat? And is that mahogany on the chine battens and gunnels?
I've always been partial to beautful wood boats. This is the only picture of mine that I have in a format to send to ifish.
![Image]()
I've always been partial to beautful wood boats. This is the only picture of mine that I have in a format to send to ifish.
I too just completed an overhaul on an older 13' Ostrem drift boat. Mine had boat nails so i drove stainless screws through bottom and sides. That really sucked the boat together. Because my ribs were mahogony (not a choice material from what i've been told) i put in splints that connect the side ribs with the bottom ribs. I also glassed the chine. I didn't want the weight associated with doing the whole bottom. I was told the way to go is to use cloth (not matt) and laminating resin (which is different from "regular" resin supposedly).
I first took the boat down to bare wood, then pryed off the bottom bumper strip. I laid down the strips down in one piece (first 4", then 6", then 8" wide) and i also had to fill in a hole from dry rot in the middle of the chine on one side so i filled that in with long and strong (highly reccommended) and glassed a 1.5 ft section on the inside as well. One tip i can think of off hand is to make sure you have some help when you go to glass. The resin sets up fairly quickly so you have to work fast. Once you get it glassed all you should have to do is gluv-it bottom and paint inside/outside. One tip i would give now is to extensively examine the boat before you begin work. I actually gluv-ited the entire bottom before i realized the dry rot problem i had. That translates into a lot of extra work. i would reccommend wire brushing or pressure washing to find any rot issues you may or may not have. Feel free to email me if you have any questions or need any guidance.
-Dom
carollod@onid.orst.edu
I first took the boat down to bare wood, then pryed off the bottom bumper strip. I laid down the strips down in one piece (first 4", then 6", then 8" wide) and i also had to fill in a hole from dry rot in the middle of the chine on one side so i filled that in with long and strong (highly reccommended) and glassed a 1.5 ft section on the inside as well. One tip i can think of off hand is to make sure you have some help when you go to glass. The resin sets up fairly quickly so you have to work fast. Once you get it glassed all you should have to do is gluv-it bottom and paint inside/outside. One tip i would give now is to extensively examine the boat before you begin work. I actually gluv-ited the entire bottom before i realized the dry rot problem i had. That translates into a lot of extra work. i would reccommend wire brushing or pressure washing to find any rot issues you may or may not have. Feel free to email me if you have any questions or need any guidance.
-Dom
carollod@onid.orst.edu
GP,
It is a Keith Steele boat, 16 foot model, built in 1985. It was originally built for a guide from Rogue River Outfitters, but his "dudes" got too big and he moved up to an 18 foot boat.
I can have two up front, myself, and one person in the back. The new chine material is oak, same as the old. I ripped the material from a 1"x8"x14'I got due to a remodel at my job. Couldn't beat the price. The gunnels appear to be some type of fir, but when I redo that section of the boat I will switch out to oak. I added an aluminum strip on the outside batten chine for additional abrasion resistance.
The old bottom had a UHMW sheet on it, but it was fastened with ringshank nails and was a partial cause to the dry rot that necessitated completely replacing the bottom. I opted for 8 coats of Gluv-it for the bottom protection and 10 oz fiberglass cloth. For epoxy I used the West Sytem epoxies and would suggest that to anyone. Their pump system makes it almost foolproof.
It is a Keith Steele boat, 16 foot model, built in 1985. It was originally built for a guide from Rogue River Outfitters, but his "dudes" got too big and he moved up to an 18 foot boat.
I can have two up front, myself, and one person in the back. The new chine material is oak, same as the old. I ripped the material from a 1"x8"x14'I got due to a remodel at my job. Couldn't beat the price. The gunnels appear to be some type of fir, but when I redo that section of the boat I will switch out to oak. I added an aluminum strip on the outside batten chine for additional abrasion resistance.
The old bottom had a UHMW sheet on it, but it was fastened with ringshank nails and was a partial cause to the dry rot that necessitated completely replacing the bottom. I opted for 8 coats of Gluv-it for the bottom protection and 10 oz fiberglass cloth. For epoxy I used the West Sytem epoxies and would suggest that to anyone. Their pump system makes it almost foolproof.
Thanks everyone for your replies. The boat is a Don Hill 14ft., and has good potenial one of the braces across the bottom needs replacing . I hadn't heard of a UHMD bottom before. Fiberglass or UHMD I'm not sure I'll have to do some research. Dogfish, thats an admireable rebuild. I really like the way the wood grain is visible through the finish. The color is great. I will try and post some pics of the rebuild. I plan to start stripping her down this weekend. Enjoy the fishing; I can't wait.
I too am looking at replacing the bottom of my wood driftboat. What is the easiest way to remove it? S
I built a Don Hill 16' from a kit several years ago. Fun project.
One word of advice on the West Epoxy. If you can wait until warmer weather to apply the coating, then do so. As an option keep your workspace warm with some spaceheaters.
The last time I epoxied my boat I did it during the cold and damp time of the year. Took a long time to set up and ended up with a cloudy looking finish.
Do any of you West Epoxy experts know how to get rid of this cloudiness or do I just need to sand it down to bare wood?
I also like the graphite based coat-it (I think that's what it is called?) for protecting the bottom. This stuff is tough and slick
One word of advice on the West Epoxy. If you can wait until warmer weather to apply the coating, then do so. As an option keep your workspace warm with some spaceheaters.
The last time I epoxied my boat I did it during the cold and damp time of the year. Took a long time to set up and ended up with a cloudy looking finish.
Do any of you West Epoxy experts know how to get rid of this cloudiness or do I just need to sand it down to bare wood?
I also like the graphite based coat-it (I think that's what it is called?) for protecting the bottom. This stuff is tough and slick
I've never done a drift boat before. But when I was about 16 I helped Dad to convert a 16' fiberglass jet boat into an outboard!!
We got the hull for free and we had an outboard so naturally we had to make it work. We filled the intake and the pump holes with marine plywood and then glassed both sides. Then we added a tapered plank to the back to set the angle for the motor.
It was really pretty easy except that we were in Idaho and it was January. We only had about 15 feet in an uninsulated garage for a 16' boat. Needless to say fiberglass doesn't set up very well at 10 degrees. We got one of those diesel fueled space heaters and pointed it at the boat. We managed to get the garage up to about 80 when we were working on the boat.
So with the right set-up you could even do the work outside.
MM
We got the hull for free and we had an outboard so naturally we had to make it work. We filled the intake and the pump holes with marine plywood and then glassed both sides. Then we added a tapered plank to the back to set the angle for the motor.
It was really pretty easy except that we were in Idaho and it was January. We only had about 15 feet in an uninsulated garage for a 16' boat. Needless to say fiberglass doesn't set up very well at 10 degrees. We got one of those diesel fueled space heaters and pointed it at the boat. We managed to get the garage up to about 80 when we were working on the boat.
So with the right set-up you could even do the work outside.
MM
Do an email search on Don Hill drift boats and you will find he has information on the high molecular weight plastic bottoms. Makes them extremely durable and you can drag your boata around an asphalt parking lot if you want without damage to the bottom. It also make the boat slide off rocks much easier than wood. For summer fishing in rocky waters, it is the only way to go if you have a wood boat. The one negative is that it is expensive.
re-did my bottom 2 yrs ago. Used the West epoxy/resin it's great and easy to do. Real fast in the water, and is tough. You can call Cyrus @ ray's river dories for materials. Good luck.....
Well its been two weeks into the project and so far so good. The sanding has been alot of work. I started out with a finishing sander, and one day with that had me looking for a more power so I up graded to a beltsander. The power is great. I felt like Tim on Tool Time, bring it on. The belts are pricey though and need replacing after 20 min. A screw driver has also been very handy to scrape the tuff old paint off with. I have to give it to the guy who painted it before, he put on some tuff poly. Finally I am down to bare wood on the hull and bottom. The wood is beatiful and in great shape which after 25 years is amazing. I made it over to Newport this weekend to Englund Marine and got some Kelly Green Petit Marine Polyeurthane, Coat-it for the bottom(Kevlar/graphite based Poly), and some epoxy for repairs on some rot. I plan on getting an expoxy sealer called CPES from rotdoctor.com this stuff sounds great as a base coat. All said and done so far the project has cost 10hrs labor, 135$ for paint, 50$ sander, 30$ sander belts, 500$ for boat. Not bad I guess considering the pride I will have when fishing out of it. It has also been great therapy for stress from school. I suggest this character builder to anyone. Cheers and Beers!!!
Stick Flicker,
This is a great forum for you wood fellas....
http://www.ycsi.net/users/boats/bulletin_board/
Birdnest
This is a great forum for you wood fellas....
http://www.ycsi.net/users/boats/bulletin_board/
Birdnest
Stick Flicker - It sounds like you have all your ducks in order. When using epoxy/glass in damp or cool weather a good trick is to warm-up the boat before coating and make a tent arrangement over the boat after it has warmed-up and dried out well. You can also warm up the resin and activator, a heat gun for just a short time to take the chill off is all that is needed. It is not necessary to get things hot for epoxy to kick and cure. If you do a second coat be sure to check for amine blush. In case of amine blush, wash and wipe thouroghly, water and soap work fine, to remove amine blush, use paper towels so you don't re-contaminate the surface. Water and dampness are bad things so dry everything thouroghly before you begin.
CPES is good stuff to use under the epoxy and under paint, everything sticks better. It can penetrate deeper into the plys than straight epoxy.
LOL
edsr
CPES is good stuff to use under the epoxy and under paint, everything sticks better. It can penetrate deeper into the plys than straight epoxy.
LOL
edsr
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