Ballast

During an early dismissal from school one afternoon I raced to a scrap metal yard just outside of McAllen, TX. I had never been to a scrap metal yard before and I felt like a kid-- wanting to watch the electromagnet pick up big loads and drop them into piles. One of the guys working there gave me a hard hat and we went out to the yard to pick out metal for the ballast. I felt pretty tough in my cowboy boots and hard hat picking out scrap metal. When the guys at the yard saw the tiny Toyota hatchback I wanted to load the 800 lbs of I-beam and rebar into, they laughed. I did zoom back to the ranch riding a little lower than normal.

After another trip to the yard, I had about 1700 lbs of scrap metal at the boat shop that I thought I might be able to jam into the ballast. Even then my poor little Toyota wasnt quite finished-- I also picked up 14 50-lb bags of Quikrete at the local building supply.

A few weeks later, I picked up a cement mixer, got a few neighbors together and we started pouring the ballast. I made the mold for the pour the night before. I built it pretty stout and Im glad I did because my main concern when pouring the ballast was that the side of the mold (what would become the bottom of the keel when standing upright) would not stay square. It did stay square so I was happy.

 Boat building in hindsight: Overall, I was surprised by how well the ballast pour went. If I were to do it over again, I wouldnt use Quikrete-- Ive since learned its not as good as what you can mix yourself.

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Outboard Motor purchased

Since the boat Im building has a retro look, I wanted to get a classic outboard for it. After doing a lot of research on older outboard motors and joining the national Antique Outboard Motor Club (AOMCI), I attended a swap meet of our local Great Lakes Chapter of the AOMCI. I was focused on mid-fifties Mercurys and Johnsons in the 15-20 hp range and my preference was for a Mercury Mark 25 (18-20 hp depending on year). I had previously looked at a 1954 Mark 20, but the owner had a different idea about its worth than I did so I walked away on that one. I had another lead on a 1956 Mark 25 that was for sale by the brother of the guy that fixed our computer. He had a picture of the motor sent to my Blackberry and it appeared to be what I had in mind. At the swap meet, I did not find anyone selling a Mark 25, but did learn they were generally good motors and the 1956 Mark 25 had several improvements over the earlier Mark 20 and Mark 25 models. I was also advised to find a motor that already had the set-up for remote steering, shift and throttle control as these items would be hard to find separately. Having gained some good advice and a good contact for working out any issues I might have once I found something to work on, I pressed on.


The next day, my wife and I went and looked at the Mark 25. It had the remote control set-up, but needed a bit of TLC. Unfortunately his father was supposed to meet us there with the fuel tank for it but he could not find it and may have been lost in a recent move. I was told this motor had a new waterpump put on it two years ago and had been running fairly recently. The compression seemed good by pulling the starter rope. The motor colors are Sarasota Blue/Sand Tan. My wife thought the color combo was retro and would look cool. So knowing an old motor is a bit of a gamble, we reached an agreement on price, loaded it up and took it home.


It seems to me at this time that Sarasota Blue/Sand/Tan may be a relatively rare color combination. Ive seen pictures of Mercury Green/Sand Tan, Sunset Orange/Sand Tan and Marlin Blue/Gulf Blue on other Mark 25s in pictures on the web of various antique motor club meets or in the Antique Outboarder magazine. I havent seen this color combo yet. It reminds me of a 1956 two tone Chevy Belaire. Guess Ill find out as I learn more. I ordered and
received a service manual and fuel connector from East Coast Marine and hope to purchase a fuel tank, hose etc. soon and get this baby in a garbage can full of water and see if it fires up. Heres hoping I have an outboard and not just a pretty boat anchor.

March 6, 2010 Update:
I put together a 3 gallon plastic fuel tank with quick disconnect to tank fittings, hose, primer bulb and the connector to the motor. I did a 50:1 ratio mix by putting 2 1/2 oz. of two cycle oil and a gallon of gasoline in the tank....shaken, not stirred. Since it was a 50 degree sunny day, this was my chance to see if it would start. Using the bottom from a defunct shop vac, I put it under the outboard and filled it with water which was about 3-4" over the top of the cavitation plate. I hooked up the fuel line, opened the tank vent, squeezed the primer bulb about 10 times until fuel could be felt in the bulb and I could smell it. Then I set the choke and gave the starter rope a pull...nothing except water sloshing all over. I enlisted my daughter to hold the back of the motor to stabilize it while I gave another pull...nothing. Another pull...nothing. Took off the choke, squeezed the primer bulb again and gave another pull and hot damn...it started running! (Big smile on face). I saw a stream of water coming out the hole at the top of the lower unit indicating the water pump was doing what it should, and then I slowed the motor down to shift speed and shifted into forward. Water started leaving the barrel as the prop churned it up. Tried reverse and saw that it worked and then back to neutral. I revved it up a bit, then slowed it down and ran it for a while so some pictures could be taken. I disconnected the fuel line and it ran for a couple of minutes until the fuel in the carb ran out. Hurray....it all works!

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Back In The Saddle Knee Update

I spoke to my other neighbor today.  She said she heard the explosion as well, in fact she said she felt it as well.

Its been a little de-motivating to be honest, but on the upside its pretty much agreed that I was very lucky not to have been injured.  I agree.

I decided to console myself with setting out the instrument and control panel and the steering pump.  This is the rough draft.

I have also drawn up and sent of for pressing the lids that will cover the lockers on the stern.  Hopefully I will get them next week.  I have a canopy maker coming over on Monday to start templating for the stern pram hood.

Finally the knee.  Ive had a long term injury to my knee from a torn cruciate ligament.  For 20 + years it has been a dull ache, which from time to time flares up especially after skiing.

Well apart form having a sizable dent in my knee cap and a very large bruise my knee actually feels better.  So hopefully when the bruising and swelling goes down it might be mended.  Fingers crossed.

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Raising the Keel

In early January, my dad and brother descended on the boat shop like Stormtroopers and raised the keel in no time using bottle jacks and one big truck jack. The keel was up to about 60 degrees when we decided to push her the rest of the way up. One big push and a rebel yell later, we had a keel! 

I wouldnt advise doing it this way, of course. The proper way would have been hooking her to some come-alongs to pull her the rest of the way up.

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New Gas Main

After discovering Id installed the gas main wrong by using soldered joints I had to re do it.  This involved a bit of cosmetic damage to get at the old one to remove it and replace with the new.  This will be fixed in due course.

So now all joints are made with compression fittings and all joints are available for inspection and adjustment if necessary.

Well you get the idea.  I have done the soapy water test which it passed and the Mk1 nose test and at the weekend I will be borrowing a manometer to do a drop test.  And for full belt and braces I have booked a gas safe inspection as well.

I finally got around to fitting the gas struts to lift the bed.  

And finally an Ahh! moment out of the window today.

15 goslings!

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Looking better!

Saturday 10th November 2007

Today it seems more like a boat. Having seriously pulled and dragged the sheets to line them up overnight, the shape becomes more apparent.



David helps me with tools and checking the jacks are in place.





Bit by bit it comes together.



Jacks used to close the centre seam, then tacked inside.



Span set pulls it together at the bow.










Finished floor of boat. Looking good.

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In the Groove

I filled the gaps on my sample board with white pigmented and thickened epoxy to see how it will look and to practice the application. After using blue tape to tape off the boards, I mixed a 5 pump batch of epoxy. A 1/2 tsp. of white pigment was mixed in and then a few spoonfuls of white silica to thicken. Then the batch was loaded into a blank caulking tube, the nozzle cut and I pumped the goo into the gaps.

The mixture was a little soupy and I ended up squeegeeing the excess off. After cure there were a couple of low spots that might be from a void underneath and the goo slumped into the void. Dunno, but overall it looks good. It definately was good to practice and have an idea what Im going to do for real on the boat when the time comes for that step.

The pictures are of the sample board sitting on the bow of the boat.

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