Nov 19

Nov 19 Project Activator Episode 11: Blueprinting and Update

The good news is Project Activator is slowly moving forward, the bad news it has been delayed quite a bit in the last while. I apologize for that and hopefully I can get a video edited and up soon for Episode 11. In the meantime, I wanted to provide an update. We have finished blueprinting the hull, and have coated it in Awlgrip 545 epoxy primer.

Here is episode 11

Details

After sanding it down, some repairs and filling were done with Duraglas (USC), which is a really strong short strand fiberglass filler. For common filling of voids, and minor flaws, it works really well. Mark had to go in and do a more serious repair in one area that had some previous damage. He vacuum bagged the repaired area with epoxy, making it as strong as when it was new. Vacuum bagging uses pressure to integrate new lamination into the original.

Duraglas was used for some minor repairs. Once everything was repaired, the hull was smoothed out for a coat of Awlgrip 545 Epoxy primer.

Once the repairs were done, the hull was smoothed by fairing and sanding. We used Awlgrip 545 epoxy primer for the primer coat. Next we will begin preparing the deck to get ready for the same treatment, and eventually marry the hull and deck together again.

As for the final coat, I’ve wrested with it, but Awlgrip has a new product called Awlgrip HDT Clear, and it is a super durable polyurethane clear that is repairable. It’s a step up from the Awlcraft 2000 clear, and I love the idea of having a consistent color top to bottom, for a more uniform look. To me it just looks sharper, and this will be really durable. Original Awlgrip single stage is the most durable, but you can’t match it to silver, and is more difficult to repair.

PA blueprint 3.jpg — Primer

The primer coat is critical, and we used a high quality Awlgrip epoxy marine primer.

Hardware

We have all of our hardware ready. We are planning to use a 4” jack plate I already have to test, but could try a few different setups. The beauty of the Evinrude G2 is the fact you don’t have remote steering, only the helm is independent of the integrated steering; for that we have a SeaStar Pro helm. Another cool thing is the Evinrude foot throttle and shift handle work digitally, so you can just toggle back and forth if you wanted, changing throttle control to the handle if you wanted. We have Livorsi Vantage View gauges, to take advantage of the digital aspect of the Evinrude G2.

For wind protection, we had Finney’s custom make some low profile wind deflectors.

The plan is to get the video episodes back on track as we document the repairs, but also continue into the setup and testing the old Activator. Should be interesting, and I am really excited to run the Evinrude after decades of being a Merc guy.