BornXEyed

I heavily debated whether or not to spray the paint on. Considering it was a thicker poly paint, and I had little experience, and despite that I had a wagner spraying paint system on hand, I ended up going with the roll and tip method instead. for a smaller project like this it proved to be the way to go. I just bought the higher quality rollers and brushes and went at it. No thinner needed. Very simple. Much easier than I thought. Paint job has held up great after several launches over the past several weeks.

Your project looks similar to what I just finished tackling. It took me all summer to finish, mostly because time was hard to find, but here's the results and methods used (posted in recent thread). http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1254179965 As for rolling and tipping, it's easy if you have the right paint. Based on research at what LowBudgetHooker used, I went with Interlux Brightside for the top coat as well, which is sold in quarts and gallons at West Marine. I used almost 3 quarts (about $40/quart). After prepping the surface properly, you simply roll on the paint like normal. Tipping is simply using a regular paint brush and lightly streaking the paint parallel to the direction you rolled. The Interlux paint then smooths out on its own. Basically, tipping just ensures that your rolling is smooth and even. But make sure you use quality brushes. You don't want "horse hairs" in your paint job.

thanks everybody i'm not one to usually toot my own horn, but it felt really good to finally finish the project (that is, until I get more ideas cooking)

The first 3 photos are what I started with, an old 12ft Starcraft flat bottom alum in poor condition, especially the trailer. This package was at least 25 yrs old (the tires dated back to '84). After setting the boat up on horses in the back yard I: -Stripped off the very old paint w/ wire brush stripper on electric drill -Sanding down to smooth surface w/ orbital sander (80 grit, then 300) -Soap and water rinse and dry -Priming (Rustoleum Clean Metal Primer) -More light sanding (300 grit) -Soap and water rinse and dry -Top coat paint (Interlux Brightside polyurethane in Kingston Gray) I did this for the entire outside hull and inside (except for the floor = why bother) Then I sanded the old wood bench seats, cleaned them, and applied several coats of clear vanish (available at West Marine). It took all summer to finish and here's the results. Took her out for this weekend. Zero leaks, held up great, and even got the 4hp Johnson crankin. All is well and good on the water

Hey gang, Good to be back on here. Been a busy spring, mostly working on my boat restoration, which is an old alum starcraft jon. Stripping, sanding, priming, painting, the works; trailer too. I hope to post pics soon. Can't wait to hit bigger water like Loch Raven. Been mostly hitting small ponds after work, such as Annapolis Waterworks Park and Patuxent River Park. Mostly catching dinks. Anyway, just checking in to say hi and looking forward to sharing reports this summer. Cheers.

Nice shots! Good to see Tim and Brent were so personable. We had Jimmy Houston at the Arundel Mills BPS (Baltimore market) and I missed it cuz I was sick. Man, I wish I was able to go!

Excellent thread and nice work. I noticed you moved the fishfinder from the rear to front deck or is that a second finder? How did the wiring come along and what type of battery did you go with? I just picked up a 12' Starcraft flat bottom with trailer. Finally had a nice weekend and have just started my rebuild, mostly worked on the trailer for starters. Will post pics soon also. Happy building and tight lines! (Wish my wife agreed as much as yours )

Hey Shark, You mentioned you used Fasco's epoxy as a bottom sealer on the hull. Do you remember which epoxy that was? Fasco's has so much listed on their site. Thanks.

Cool, that's what I'm figuring now. Why bother painting if it's an old boat that'll be in the water most the time. Gluvits dries clear right?

thanks Jeff. the more i read up, i'm now thinking of just stripping off the old paint and only sealing the rivets versus coating the entire hull. couple questions: did you use gluvits on the inside or outside of the hull? only the rivet areas? have you attempted to paint over the gluvit sealed areas and aluminum?

I'm going to sand down the bottom of my flat bottom jon to bare aluminum and coat the bottom in either: Marine Tek Gluvit Waterproof Epoxy Sealer (http://www.marinetex.com/gluvit.html) OR Hurculiner truck bed liner From what I've read, Hurculiner is okay but causes reduced drag and more added weight, though it has worked for a few restorations. The Marine Tek sealer seems like the way to go. Just wondering if anyone has some experience with either? Or any other recommendations?

I got the 12 foot fish hunter a couple years ago and bought the transom attachment, a 30 lb thrust minn kota troll motor, and 12 volt battery, and was on the water in no time, fishing the small lakes in our region. I really enjoyed it. I think it gets a bit uncomfortable with 2 adults, but for solo trips it was great.

It's great to be back! Been a long while since I last logged on. I've since moved from Arnold to Crownsville, Md., essentially making the Severn my home river now. Still fish my pet lakes on the Eastern Shore (I love Unicorn in Millington!) and fish Annapolis Waterworks Park and Patuxent Ponds Park regularly. Haven't been out since late-December though. Big news is I recently bought a old Starcraft 12' jon, that I'll be fixing up for this season. Should be a nice little thing that'll get me on some bigger water more comfortably, such as Loch Raven. Well, I look forward to getting back into the swing of things this coming spawn and swapping tales. Til next lunker, James

It's decent and can be hit or miss. Those were the first bass I've landed from there (had one throw a lure last time). I've caught good sized crappie in the past also. I only started going there this past summer. Summer bite was tough. There's pictures posted at the entrance bulletin board of 5+ lbers (most look like they were caught in winter/early spring judging from the background). It's about 25 surface acres. I'm guessing its about 10 feet at it's deepest near the dam and 2 feet at it's shallowest in the north end. Good hiking trails, plus it's very easy to bank fish all around it too (all watercraft prohibited). You need a permit from the City of Annapolis to fish there though. It's only $35 for 3 months (or $15/1 mo) and they are issued on the 15th of each month at the city recreation center in downtown. Here's another pic from this past summer of a crappie caught at the lower end near the dam (located directly behind fish, but tough to see).

We had a nice patch of warmer weather pass through mid-Maryland this past weekend. Sunshine and temps in the mid-50s. So I got out to the old Annapolis reservoir, Waterworks Park, for a couple hours on Saturday afternoon. I slow cranked a Norman Middle N (chartreuse) in the deep end near the dam and landed 2 nice black bass. Picture is of the larger of the two. Definitely took care of any winter blues I was having and gave me good reason to justify winter fishing to the wife.