Paulf4456 Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 A mate put me onto this site and I have been following the gamefishing reports. With the bad weather lately I explored a little further and was even more impressed to find I'm not the only lunatic out there rebuilding boats. So I thought I'd share my experience. I bought this Savage Mako in Nov. 2001. Paid $3500 for it. That was the start of a long 3yr rebuild that started as a simple restore and ended up being a bigger job than I ever imagined but the results were worth it. The short version is. There was not a dry bit of timber in the boat so it was gutted. It took a week to ground the hull back to the bare fibreglass shell. New transom, floors and cabin area. Decided I didn't like the top decks so off they came and built a one off mould and new top deck. One off mould for cabin. Professional respray. New stainless work, electrics and a brand new 175 Ficht sitting on the back and hey presto off fishing we go. Did I mention that was in Oct 2004. Maiden voyage Mooloolabah in Queensland. Some people say your crazy but if you want a cheap boat, built to your own design this is the way to go. I had no fibreglassing experience prior to this. Did have a woodworking background. Did a lot of research and a lot of scratching for 3yrs. Fibreglass gets in everywhere. But everytime I look at the boat sitting in the back yard or head out there is definitely a different sort of pride in knowing you built it. I'm such a glutton for punishment, I'm building a smaller bass boat for the local lake. It's nearly finished to. The boat has two batteries fitted under transom either side, 2 plumbed live bait tanks accessed from top of transom that drain and empty overboard, oil bottle in centre compartment. Cabin sleeps 2 with storage. Full walkaround, 220 litre fuel tank accessed through centre hatch. Hope you enjoy the photo's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davemmm Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Thats one hell of a rebuild Pegasus. Fabulous result. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoges1974 Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 MATE WHAT A TOP JOB I wish i had the time and patience to do somethingt like that(oh and the skill) Looks great happy boating Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squizzytaylor Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Fantastic Job pegasus, looks a million dollars mate. Thanks for posting this, Im sure many will get remotivated to working on the boats in thier back yards. GT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abiasin Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 great job there mate, must of thrown some serious coin at it thats for sure. looks unreal though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1975 Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 nice work top looking boat Billy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsswordfisherman Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 to fishraider, pegasus Thanks for sharing that with us all - a great job there Cheers mrsswordfisherman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glennmreid Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 great job on the boat. it looks awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roosterman Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 its all been said before... on a top job... that will sure spur on a few guys to get into those projects that are on the backburners so to speak,me included as mines a work in progress but no where near as much as yours was.... put your bass boat up also,the pride in your own work just cannot be beat eh..... cheers...steve... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulf4456 Posted June 10, 2008 Author Share Posted June 10, 2008 to fishraider, pegasus Thanks for sharing that with us all - a great job there Cheers mrsswordfisherman Thank you. Great site. Look forward to participating more. Cheers Fitzy its all been said before... on a top job... that will sure spur on a few guys to get into those projects that are on the backburners so to speak,me included as mines a work in progress but no where near as much as yours was.... put your bass boat up also,the pride in your own work just cannot be beat eh..... cheers...steve... Will post the photo's of the new project soon. Have heaps of photo's from the big girl. Learnt a lot of things from that rebuild. Only to happy to pass on the knowledge learnt from mistakes. To many for here but can put a disk together if required. Things like garbage bin seat box moulds. Build 2 in a day, etc etc. Fitzy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbielites Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 Awesome job mate, she looks fantastic! I don't think there would be a problem here if you started a thread on the rebuild and added bits to it as you have time Robbie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shefford Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 that looks so cool well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr magoo Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 nice boat you built yourself there mate ,and i bet you get a lot of satisfaction from it .love the overhead console could you post pics of the seat boxs ,thinking of doin that to my rig to give some more storage cheers arman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the1murph Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 mate that is one prime vessel Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boban Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 What everyone else said. I did my own live bait tank out of fibreglass and did my work experience in year 10 at a boat building yard. I know all about fibreglass getting everywhere. No one told me not to wear shorts... That boat looks so good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulf4456 Posted June 11, 2008 Author Share Posted June 11, 2008 nice boat you built yourself there mate ,and i bet you get a lot of satisfaction from it .love the overhead console could you post pics of the seat boxs ,thinking of doin that to my rig to give some more storage cheers arman The hardest part with these was finding the right garbage bin. Cost about $15. The 1st photo is the actual bin. The second is the result. I didn't want large boxes infringing on the cockpit. These store fire/ex, grab bag and lure rolls. Because bin is plastic no need to wax inside can if you want, car polish will do. Brush on flow coat inside, be generous, glass over that, let set, drill hole in bottom gently use air compressor to break seal and blow out. Putty up hole and start again. I did 2 boxes in one day. If you wanted an L shaped box you could mould the inside of a fish tub or similar and then cut the garbage bin down and graft to the top of the tub. Your only limited by your imagination. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuffy Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 I am impressed ! Ingenuity in action. Keep up the innovative work, Fitzy. BTW, was that a picture of the timber mould for the new deck? And if so I would be interested in your method of fabrication for my own project. Russ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulf4456 Posted June 12, 2008 Author Share Posted June 12, 2008 I am impressed ! Ingenuity in action. Keep up the innovative work, Fitzy. BTW, was that a picture of the timber mould for the new deck? And if so I would be interested in your method of fabrication for my own project. Russ The moulds are basically one offs. In the case of a top deck mould I build on top of the hull. You need 8'x4' particle board or a lined board to start. This needs to be solid. Remembering whatever surface will be mirrored in the gel coat. This board is basically the top of your decks. The pieces are all bolted together to form a flat base that mirrors the hull sides. I then suspend this above the deck in the garage. I then cut 2 x 4 pine blocks to the size and angle for the height of the new top deck. I then usually start at the back and work my way forward. Cut the same blocks either side and work my way up the hull, following the shape of the hull. These blocks are screwed into the suspended board. Line the inside edge up with the outside edge of the hull remembering you have to line inside this and if the top decks have been completely removed you will have some play in the hull sides. Once this is done you flip the whole thing over and line the interior. I've been using a plastic coated plywood which comes in 8 x 4 sheets. Hot glue it to your frame. You will end up moving some blocks around to true of the frame. Then putty, clean and gel coat and glass. This process means u have a brand new glass deck, no timber except for maybe strengthening blocks for cleats. You will have marks from joins etc when it is removed, but these are easily patched and when painted only an expert would pick the difference. The top photo's are of Pegasus's top deck mould before glassing and moulding clay added ready to glass. The bottom photo's are of my new boats top decks and hopefully show the process a bit better. If you can imagine in the bottom left photo the mould was flipped over and you are lining up theses blocks to follow the shape of the hull underneath. If not let me know and we'll get in touch and hopefully I can explain the process better. Cheers Fitzy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robeebee Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 truly amazing mate well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamtime Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 Congratulations on a top build. It appears that you have skills beyond most immortals. Great looking rig, you must be proud with your results. If it was me, I think I would hook up the trailer and just drive it around all day for everyone to see my accomplishments. If you have any time free in the near future I offer for you to come here (I will meet the costs) and impart your skills on the locals here. Again, extraordinary effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulf4456 Posted June 14, 2008 Author Share Posted June 14, 2008 Congratulations on a top build. It appears that you have skills beyond most immortals. Great looking rig, you must be proud with your results. If it was me, I think I would hook up the trailer and just drive it around all day for everyone to see my accomplishments. If you have any time free in the near future I offer for you to come here (I will meet the costs) and impart your skills on the locals here. Again, extraordinary effort. Thank you, don't know about the immortal stuff though. The skills are really kinda basic and easily taught. The hardest part is having a goal and the patience and willingness to achieve that goal. As anyone who has started or in the process of a project like this will know it is hard work and there are times you sit back and wonder what am I doing here. It's those times when you find a part of the boat somewhere, for me it was the front area where the cabin was going to be. I was struggling and needed inspiration so I got in and flowcoated the area to a finished product. That fired me up and got me going again. It meant I had to cover the area with plastic to protect it for the rest of the job but whenever I couldn't see the end all I had to do was lift the plastic and comments from friends who could now see where I was heading was a great motivator. Specially if you have a supervisor at home wondering what your doing in the shed for hours at a time. All of a sudden it will be, "So the whole boat will look like that. You didn't tell me that. Hurry up and finish it will you. " She might even pitch in and help. Thanks Fitzy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr magoo Posted June 15, 2008 Share Posted June 15, 2008 The hardest part with these was finding the right garbage bin. Cost about $15. The 1st photo is the actual bin. The second is the result. I didn't want large boxes infringing on the cockpit. These store fire/ex, grab bag and lure rolls. Because bin is plastic no need to wax inside can if you want, car polish will do. Brush on flow coat inside, be generous, glass over that, let set, drill hole in bottom gently use air compressor to break seal and blow out. Putty up hole and start again. I did 2 boxes in one day. If you wanted an L shaped box you could mould the inside of a fish tub or similar and then cut the garbage bin down and graft to the top of the tub. Your only limited by your imagination. Hope this helps. thanks mate cheers arman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roffo Posted June 15, 2008 Share Posted June 15, 2008 Wow Mate, What a fantastic result, that is one great looking boat. Congrats on a great project, hope it sees plenty of fish.... Well done.. Roffo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pelican Posted June 15, 2008 Share Posted June 15, 2008 Impressed it is a brilliant concept and you have created a great boat brilliantly finished. Best of all you know every inch of it. The moulds you created so real skill and thought. Having done smaller projects with glass , fron sheathing, decks and stringers it always makes me think back to what I would have done differently , stronger , lighter when I look at my projects. We were always doig overkill on amount of glass in structural areas and I know now that half the glass would have done the job and 50% of the gussets we did were probably pointless. After doing different boats over the years it doesn't surprise me that any furure boat will not have any wood in it anywhere where it can't be seen or maintained and every area will be able to be inspected. What if anything would you change , do differently when you look at yours?. Pel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulf4456 Posted June 15, 2008 Author Share Posted June 15, 2008 Impressed it is a brilliant concept and you have created a great boat brilliantly finished. Best of all you know every inch of it. The moulds you created so real skill and thought. Having done smaller projects with glass , fron sheathing, decks and stringers it always makes me think back to what I would have done differently , stronger , lighter when I look at my projects. We were always doig overkill on amount of glass in structural areas and I know now that half the glass would have done the job and 50% of the gussets we did were probably pointless. After doing different boats over the years it doesn't surprise me that any furure boat will not have any wood in it anywhere where it can't be seen or maintained and every area will be able to be inspected. What if anything would you change , do differently when you look at yours?. Pel I honestly can't think of one thing I would do differently. Any ply wood used was covered in f/glass that includes underneath the floor. Any holes in the transom to allow for sounders and water pick ups were drilled slightly larger and then resin and flow coat filled and lots of Sikaflex to stop any water getting in. The stringers and transom are all multiple laminated sheets of ply and extremely strong. I haven't had the boat on a weighbridge completely fitted out but pretty sure the boat comes in under 2000kgs. Good for towing but not as good at sea. Another 100kgs up the front (someone standing there) made a big difference to the ride. This was solved with trim tabs which dramatically improved the ride. I can now get the nose down into the sea and working. The boat runs flatter and doesn't thump around as much. I agree it is easy to go overboard on glass but then the sea is a harsh environment and boats do cop a pounding. 60k's out to sea I don't have a problem with any extra strenght in a boat. A mate of mine bought a brand new boat, well known brand at the time. Almost identical in design to mine. Short version, it was a very shoddy build with lots of shortcuts. 20k's out punching into a nasty headsea with his family on board the cabin started to part company with the deck. They made it home. He asked me to have a look. The front side walkways had no supports under them and the cabin was held on with 1 layer of glass which with all the flexing had cracked. Another section was held together with nails and flow coated masonite. No glass at all. I know I'm not going to have those sorts of problems. Fitzy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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