Preparing the BILGE of my JET boat for GELCOAT
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ส.ค. 2024
- Getting the engine bilge of my jet boat prepared and ready for gelcoat takes a lot of work. I knew this aspect of the jet boat rebuild would take a long time to complete, but ill tell you what. I did not expect it to take this long! I have weeks of sanding and prep invested. But, just like paintwork on a car, the quality of the final outcome is heavily dependent on the preparation. Since completing the installation of the new stringers, transom, and floor, I had a lot of “structural” fiberglass work that I needed to clean up. All the different layers of tabbing left behind had the bilge looking in shambles. As tempting as it is, I did not want to sand down the tabbing to smooth it out, as I did not want to reduce the amount of material or strength. My solution was to overlay the entire bilge with a 1.5oz chop mat and then sand the heck out of it to smooth it out. Although hard to see now in the raw fiberglass, once the gelcoat is applied, the finished product will look fantastic.
~ Nick
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📸 ~ IG: / _autotechnick_
👥 ~ Facebook: / theoriginalautotechnick
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Take a peek at some of my additional projects & content that you may enjoy:
1988 BMW M5 (E28) Full Restoration:
🔥🔥Comming Soon!🔥🔥
▶️ 1979 Centurion Jet Boat:
• 1979 Centurion Jet Boat
▶️ 2001 BMW M5:
• 2001 BMW M5
▶️ Tech Tips & Technical Deep Dives:
• Tech Tips & Technical ...
▶️ Hot Rods & Domestic’s:
• Hot Rods & Domestic's
▶️ Dinan E28 M5 (1988 BMW M5):
• Dinan E28 M5 (1988 BMW...
▶️ 2006 Subaru WRX STi:
• 2006 Subaru WRX STi
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About AutoTechNick:
Growing up in rural Oregon, I was always around Hot Rods & Race Cars. I imagine my early exposure to this culture ignited a spark of interest in cars, which remains my passion.
🎓 I am a proud Alumni of Wyoming Technical Institute, where I studied Automotive Technology, Performance Engine Building & Street Rod Fabrication. In addition to “WyoTech,” I graduated from the BMW Service Technician Education Program, more commonly known as BMW S.T.E.P.
🏎️ I spent nearly ten years working in various BMW dealerships as a Master Technician. After a move back home to the PNW, I found myself no longer servicing German-made machines but now working with Italians. I spent nearly another ten years as a Ferrari Master Technician & Shop Foreman at a local Ferrari dealership.
🏆 Ferrari selected me as one of 12 technicians worldwide to compete in the “Ferrari Testa Rossa Awards” for four years consecutively. Finishing in 3rd place in 2016, & in 2019 I was able to place in 1st, winning the competition & earning the title of the “Top Ferrari Technician in the World!”
🚀 As my time with Ferrari came to an end, a new career path awaited me…. Aerospace. I am currently working at Blue Origin, helping to build & develop the BE-3PM and BE-3U rocket engines.
With my new career path, I needed an outlet for my automotive passion, thus the reason for this channel…
#jetboat #speedboat #socaljetboats #hotboat #fastboat #boatracing #boatroost
#boatroostertail #bigroost #autotechnick #jetboatlife #scjb #vintageboats #jetboats
#dragboat
Before starting this work, I knew that pulling the aluminum angles for the fuel tanks would be a time and sanity saver. Well, now that I am done with the work and with the benefit of hindsight, it was a must. It would have been a nightmare trying to work around them. Sometimes more work is actually less work….
That boat is a huge project! And then to do the house remodel too. Wow, you have a lot on your plate. Thanks for keeping the content coming
Yes, I certainly have lots on my plate...too many projects for the time that I have. But I am committed to keeping to content coming!
~ Nick
That looks great! It may take a lot of time now but will probably save you grief in the long run!
This series is awesome! 20 some odd years ago I had a centurion 19 ft pickle fork tunnel hull. Makes me want to get another jet boat!
I am really happy to hear that you are enjoying the build series and that is giving you the "Itch"!!!
~ Nick
WOW !!! Very nice work. My Dimarco hull is upside down right now refinishing the bottom ( gelcoat blister real bad) when I turn it over and look at the inside I will probably copy what you just did . Yours is going to look great.
Thanks. I am very excited to see the final result, I am really hoping that all the time and work will pay off! If you do decide to do this to your boat, be forwarned, it is a crapload of tedious, boring work!!
~ Nick
Fantastic job! your attention to detail is second to none and inspiring
Thank you very much!
I admire your dedication and perseverance in this project. You’re doing excellent, my friend 👍
Thank you sir!
You’re doing a fantastic job. Smart and inspiring. Appreciate the honesty of the grind about the grind!
I found ur channel while watching TH-cam on the Xbox and tv, and been awesome to see u building the boat.
Well, I am glad that you found the channel! Thanks for the support!
~ Nick
Also like how you’re very thorough in your process, thoughts, ideas and how you execute what you’re doing 🤘🏼😎🫡
Thank you!
Tak!
Thank you!
That looks great, smooth as a baby’s butt! I’m in the middle of a project and admittedly have lost a little of my motivation. So much sanding and such a mess. I appreciate first hand what you are doing! Thank you for getting me motivated!
Keep up the great work!
It's nice to hear that these videos are helping out with the motivation for your project. Sanding is messy, itchy, loud, and not glamorous, with very little immediate satisfaction, it can be hard to stay motivated and keep a high level of detail... Getting this bilge done was a big physical and mental hurdle for me!
~ Nick
@@AutoTechNick it all comes together when you lay the gel down, can’t wait to see it.
That makes two of us! 😂
Romans adorable!
❤️ He is very special to our family!
~Nick
Wouldn't just putting some fairing compound be less work? Would give you the sacrificial layer and not have to worry about the rough 1708 texture.
Either method would work well. If I were only focused on hiding the 1708 tabbing, I would have considered the fairing compound more seriously. However, all the fiberglass in the back of the boat was very wavy and ripply. I wanted to address that in addition to the tabbing. Due to the size of the area that needed coverage, the mat was my choice for this job.
~ Nick