Project Chris Craft Scorpion 390

[Offshore Ginger]

Hack and Slash would be very appropriate! The only thing that I have not done is "Nuke and Pave"! Ha Ha!

Yes Artie, I am using Cabosil and Epoxy, but I prefer to think of the mix as "mashed potatos", especially today!

Ha Ha Ha , i have always liked your humor in the past and still do and i know what you mean considering what day it is ( mashed potatos ) Ha Ha Ha ......................

[Ratickle]

I think you're right, something about peanut butter and Thanksgiving just isn't right....

[jetcruzr]

Progress Report: Yesterday, we gutted the rest fo the broken rotten ugliness out of the boat. Starboard Stringer install coming soon!

[jetcruzr]

The filler that was used to fill in the strake cavities had shrunk so much, that the glass over the top had delaminated from the filler. The tabs that hold the stringers in, lay over this area, so we have to gut this filler out and fill it with a solid material that will not shrink.

[jetcruzr]

...and the pile-o-trash keeps growing. I just can't bring myself to open the big door in the shop to take the trash out and let all of my precious heat out!

[Bobcat]

Do it right before you are done for the day.

[jetcruzr]

Since I started posting after I was well into the project, here are some shots of the transom install that was done over a year ago.

[jetcruzr]

This post is for Artie. This should make your day! This was...I repeat....was my first attemp at resin infusion. Nothing like starting with a small part to learn on.

[jetcruzr]

Ready to start the flow of resin.

[jetcruzr]

Everything was flowing great. The cloth was wetting out nicely. All of the sudden everything came to a screaching halt. The combination of the resin being mixed a little hot and the feed lines being too small a diameter caused everything to kick before everything was completely wetted.

[Buoy]

Damn!!
You have quite a project going on!
I'm enjoying it.
That boat will be better than the day it left the factory.
Nice work!

[jetcruzr]

Sadly and very disappointed, I ripped the bag and cloth off the transom before it kicked completely.

[jetcruzr]

Round 2....the old fashioned way!

[jetcruzr]

After wetting out the old fashioned way, we put another bag on and let it squeeze

[jetcruzr]

When we finally got the bag on and had the pump running, we did alot of this!

[rschap1]

Very Cool to see this ! ! !

[Hellbent]

How the boat did not snap in half is amazing. I guess it was just not my day to sink a boat! Thank God!

When this project is done you may look back on that day and wish it had gone down

[Hellbent]

Everything was flowing great. The cloth was wetting out nicely. All of the sudden everything came to a screaching halt. The combination of the resin being mixed a little hot and the feed lines being too small a diameter caused everything to kick before everything was completely wetted.

I have a Scarab you could give this another try on

[Offshore Ginger]

Well , at least you tried Infusion , and to tell you the truth i much rather bag something , and just curious was your resin thin enough because they do use resin's that are designed for Infusion alone that have a very watery consistency and i do mean watery . Overall you and your partners are doing a great job and having fun even if the going get a little disappointing at times .

[jetcruzr]

Well , at least you tried Infusion , and to tell you the truth i much rather bag something , and just curious was your resin thin enough because they do use resin's that are designed for Infusion alone that have a very watery consistency and i do mean watery .

Hey Artie,

I was using a Vinylester infusion resin that was considerably thinner than normal resin. I was given a ratio of MEKP to Resin by my supplier. I asked for a conservative ratio to give me as much time as possible. I am not sure why, but despite making small batches, the resin just took off! I mistakenly used 1/4" feed lines instead of 3/8". I really think that if I had used bigger lines, it would have worked. The resistence in the 1/4" lines made the resin flow too slow, so the resin had too much time to sit in the pot while being fed. Despite the failure, the entire job worked nearly perfectly. The bag had great integirity. The flow pattern was beautiful. The wetout was going great. I was really awesome to watch it work, once the resin started flowing. Again, this was not only my first attempt at infusion, but my first use of vaccuum bagging at all. I really wanted to infuse the stringers too, but did not have the guts to give it another try. I think I will infuse some of the smaller frames just to practice. If it goes poorly, it will not be such a great loss. I really believe that if I were to do it again, it would work. Not to make excuses, but keep mind, I am not a prefessional in this trade, like yourself. I am just a weekend warrior trying to fix my own boat, so I am doing the best I know how. I am glad that you have taken the time to respond to this thread and welcome any advice or support you may have.

Tommy