2002 SANTE resto project

[xlair]

Did you buy that Ski Nautique to get you through the summer?


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[t.franscioni]

Yes couldn't stand being a nautique owner for several years now and ever having driven one lol.... I did drive this SAN project boat once before I bought it but it was in bad shape mechanically (Vdrive had no oil so was really loud, linkage was all out of wack) so wasn't too impressed with Nautique initially but bought it anyway figuring I could get it dialed in. If it runs anything like the 93 ski nautique I just bought I will be very happy!

[t.franscioni]

Finally getting back to this project after a summer break from it...

i got the foam poured for the caps on the engine bay stringers. Shaped it, filleted the corners with some P14 polyester based material then began building the fiberglass up. I went overkill because I don’t want any chance of cracks developing here again. The factory just used a couple layers of CSM and left some air pockets which led to the cracks in my opinion. So I started with a layer of CSM backed biaxial cloth then went over that with another thick layer of CSM. Made sure there were no air pockets this time. I went with laminating resin so I could let each layer cure and add the next next layer a day or two later without having to go back and sand before the next application. Once the final layer is cured I will seal it with some PVA to allow the tacked surface to fully cure and then that should complete this repair.

[brit_hunsicker]

Glad to see it’s project time again! The suspense is killing me!


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[sixcampbells]

I plan to stay posted here. I have missed the updates over the summer!


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[t.franscioni]

In the bow area I removed the vertical stringers. Again there was lots of air pockets and it appeared the foam cores had shrunk over time and pulled away from the fiberglass so really these bow stringers were not doing much of anything structural wise in my opinion (at least they weren’t in the current condition they were in). I think these stringers really provided something for the bow flotation foam to hold onto which was carpeted over. Anyway, with the foam and carpet gone for my project these stringers had to go so I can get a nice flat surface to gel coat over. I did glass in some CSM to bring the surface up flush with the surrounding bow area.

[t.franscioni]

Ran into some tedious cleanup of the bow and a few other areas on the boat where I had to level uneven areas mostly in the bow in order to get semi close to a flat surface so that the gelcoat will layout flat and smooth and the sea deck will have a flat surface to adhere to. Instead of building up with bondo I went ahead and fiberglassed wth CSM to build up all the uneven areas and then sanded to get it all to blend in.

[brit_hunsicker]

Glad to see an update! I’ve been patiently waiting for more progress!


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[glp86]

Please keep the updates coming! Glad to see you decided to ditch the carpet in the bow storage area. Are you going to gelcoat the whole inside of the hull?

[t.franscioni]

Ya that’s the plan. Gelcoat the entire floor and sidewalls. The Bildge will get sprayed or rolled with a product called “bilge coat” same grey colored stuff that’s in the bilge now I believe,

[t.franscioni]

Patched all the miscellaneous screw holes (couple dozen or so) that were in the floor all throughout the boat from past disassembly and reassembly and factory installation of certain trim components. I did leave the screw holes for things such as hinge brackets for belly hatch, screw holes for top deck support brackets and engine frame bolt holes because I think those will be crucial to accurately lining everything back up when it goes back together. Next step is to make new belly hatch and gas tank floor panels which will be wider to take up the gaps left by the carpet removal.

[glp86]

Any updates?

[t.franscioni]

Im working on making an all new belly hatch and gas tank cover/floor. The original floor and hatch accounted for the take up of the carpet wrapped around it so the width and height of the original floor panels are sloppy without the carpet, rather than build the originals up I just got big sheets of the coosh board material they are made from and will cut new panels to fit correctly. Also been aquiring all the gel coat supplies. Got 2 gallons of the silver cloud gel coat, a special gel coat spray gun and other materials needed for this next task. I’ll have some pics up in a few weeks once these floors are fitted and I head into spraying gel coat.

[glp86]

Im working on making an all new belly hatch and gas tank cover/floor. The original floor and hatch accounted for the take up of the carpet wrapped around it so the width and height of the original floor panels are sloppy without the carpet, rather than build the originals up I just got big sheets of the coosh board material they are made from and will cut new panels to fit correctly. Also been aquiring all the gel coat supplies. Got 2 gallons of the silver cloud gel coat, a special gel coat spray gun and other materials needed for this next task. I’ll have some pics up in a few weeks once these floors are fitted and I head into spraying gel coat.

I look forward to seeing your gel coat progress. Keep up the good work!

[brit_hunsicker]

Glad to hear you are going through with the SeaDek! The wife deserves a few date nights with bottle service for this approval! Look forward to your in depth pictures on the new panels and floor prep for the SeaDek, as I will be doing the same thing this winter. You might jump over to my thread if you haven’t seen it lately. I did a bunch of pieces on the gunnel and they turned out great! You may get some ideas of adding a little more than just the floor.


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