MikeLTour61

For future reference, Lake Murray in SC and Lake Norman in NC are both very nice. They're both quite big and Lake Norman can get a little choppy. There's also quite a bit more traffic on Norman but it's closer to Roanoke.

Hi All. I'd like to be part of the activities. Thanks Chick for reaching out to me. For everyone that hasn't seen my post (Marissa 18 Eco Build ~ PHOTOS~), I'm in the process of building a Marrissa and have been posting photos of the progress. I'm fortunate enough to have a pretty good sized climate controlled shop. If there's anyone local to me (Greenville, SC area) that needs a heated space I might be able to help you out. I've been to Hartwell and Keowee many times and I can tell you that Keowee is much nicer. I know of a few sand beaches, couple of cliffs for brave jumpers and even a small waterfall. The water is cleaner than Hartwell and there's a great free boat ramp that I've used many times... I'm just sayin'. Thanks, Mike

Great job Lotus. I was wondering if you were going to add a rub rail or is that built into the higher sides you added? It would be a shame to scuff that great paint job. Mike

Thanks for your input Dale and Alan. The bow and stern eyes arrived yesterday. I always seem to go overboard (pun!) when buying hardware. I got 1/2"-13 threads on these babies. They could lift the Titanic! I'll be using them for the flip. As for the positioning of the boat, I agree with you Alan. I mounted the lifting eyes in the ceiling with a different sequence in mind. From what people are saying, I think I'll be able to slide the boat over on some plywood or if necessary, make a dolly. My drawing isn't really to scale, so there's that too. We'll just see how it goes. I will post lots of pics for sure. CJB, I remember asking someone and I think it was Graham (the designer) about using something else for coring. I was told that the strength in this type of construction comes mainly from the plywood and that the fiberglass sheathing is more for protection than strength. I'm sure the glass adds some strength but it's not anywhere near enough to use foam or balsa for core. One of the things that attracted me to building this type of boat is the light weight and strength of wood construction. The plans recommend a max of 60 HP but it seems like most people are quite happy with 40. Any fiberglass boat (solid or cored) of similar design would need over 100 hp to obtain satisfactory performance. This is because plywood is much stronger, per pound, than fiberglass (or steel for that matter). If this boat is built to specifications, then all the wood will be encapsulated in epoxy. The wood will never get wet and rot or insects will not find anything to attack. This should be true of any modern plywood boat design. The great thing about B&B boats is they look great and life is to short to own an ugly boat! Good luck, Mike

Thanks everyone for your input. I like the bow eye & stern eye idea too. The fixture I made is VERY heavy duty and bolted VERY tightly with 1/2" bolts but it is at the end of the stem. My fear is that the end of the stem may split or break from the strain. I'll have one or two people available but because I tend to get distracted when I'm 'entertaining', I'd prefer to go it alone. Soooo.... here's what I'm thinking now - Install and use the bow and stern eyes. Using the bow eye will reduce the flipping force and eliminate the chance of the great fixture I made from breaking something important. I agree that the stern eyes will be the most solid point to attach and lift. Below are my revised diagrams. Again, thanks to all for your input. You're saving my bacon!

Thanks for the advice Lotus. I've heard varying opinions... from always have help to always do it alone. I plan to have help on hand but I don't know if I'll have enough to do the job. Wile E., The plan is to have 3 lift points: The bow will be a pivot point and the two points on the stern will be controlling the rolling motion. The two lift points shown on the diagrams will be far aft at bulkhead 2. That will keep weight on the bow pivot. I don't think the boat will want to flip completely if it's only suspended by two points as in 'Flip 3' (bow and one side). It should find its center of gravity somewhere past the halfway point. Do you think I'm missing something? If so, please let me know.

Dale and anyone else who's flipped one of these: I've attached some drawings of my plan to flip the boat. As I said earlier, I'll use an engine hoist on the stem as a pivot point as shown in the photo. The other shots are the sequence of events that I hope will transpire when the day comes. I hope they are shown in order but if not, I think you'll get the idea. Any input will be appreciated!

Looking great Lotus. You should have no problems with your motor but you might want to install oarlocks.

Thanks for your input dale and tturtleboy. Nobody seems to have had big problems in flipping their boats so I hope to stop loosing sleep over it any day now. I'll be finishing up the bottom paint and bootstripe within a week or so and hope to have it upright by the start of the Christmas break. CJB: As far as build time goes, I can't speak to how long it will take to finish or how many hours I've spent up to now. I started this project in July but I've been taking my time. I have (or had) minimal experience working with epoxy and have learned a lot through trial and error and from this forum. If I was short on time or wanted to get on the water as fast as possible, I don't think building a boat would have been the right choice. Lotus has lots of experience and may have more time than I do to devote to his boat and the build was VERY fast and VERY well done. To come close to his results, I have to take my time... measure 20 times, cut once. Depending on your financial situation, tool situation and patience, you may want to buy the kit from Graham. I did and I'm glad. I know the parts will fit and there's less opportunity for human (me) error.

Thanks Dale. My ceiling is 10'. I'm planning on removing the horses and setting the boat down to the floor (+1 1/2") prior to starting the rolling evolution. Since I'm pivoting on the stem, I expect the boat will really want to roll once it gets past the halfway point. I plan on countering this by bolting a 2x6 spreader to bulkhead-2 using angle iron & flat bar for backup. Then lift on one side of the spreader and use the 'down side' as a fulcrum on the floor (with plenty of padding around in case the hull hits the floor). That should mitigate the chance of it getting out of control at the balance point except for when it comes completely off the floor. Then I plan to raise the low side and lower the high side until it's level. I'm not planning on using any straps because all the lifting will be done via the spreader. What do you think? My only concerns at this point are will the hull be able to withstand the twisting forces and is bulkhead-2 strong enough to hold 1/2 of the boat's weight. What do you think the boat weighs at this point? Thanks!! Mike

Sorry for the delay in updates. I had to travel for work but I'm back at it. I have rigged up for flipping the boat and put the first coat of topcoat on the hull. The bottom will stay white (one or 2 more coats) and I will finish with fighting lady yellow above the bootstripe (which will be red) as in Dale's Salty. I've had some cratering issues with the Awlgrip topcoat - not a lot but in a few spots. The hull was cleaned with the Awlgrip prep solution just prior to painting. I'm going to get some Crater-X and hope for the best. Other than the craters, the Awlgrip flows very well. I'm finding that thin coats are best to avoid sags. I'm guessing that the Crater-X will allow the paint to sag more readily so I'll be on the lookout for that. Also, I made a gizmo to hold the bow of the boat up with my engine hoist when I flip it. I'll use a spreader and come-alongs mounted to the ceiling at bulkhead 2 to rotate the hull. As always, any advice is welcome. Mike

Looking great Lotus. I like the paint scheme you used for the interior. What did you do in terms of making the sole non-skid. I've heard of paint additives but I don't know how durable they are. Mike

You've done some amazing work very quickly. I'm still plodding along. At the pace you're going, you'll be fishing at Christmas.

Great advice Dave. Will sand tonight!

Latest update: I got all the fairing done (for real this time) and the final coat of epoxy sanded down to 100 grit. Washed the hull and after it dried, wiped it down with the fancy Awlgrip prep solvent. Then finally applied the first coat of primer. The Awlgrip primer hides VERY well but it's hard to keep a wet edge for roll and tip. Seems to dry too fast. In my experience, primer is a pain to work with and I wasn't disappointed. I bought some Redtree foam rollers from Jamestown Distributors and within 5 minutes, the first roller started falling apart. Had better luck with the second but for the money, I would think they could stand up to anything. This week, I'll sand the first coat of primer and apply the second. I may paint the bottom before I flip. I haven't decided yet. I'm thinking of installing a through-hull depth finder so I might hold off on the paint until after that.

Thanks for the info Dale. Since you and others have said that brakes are unnecessary, I'll go without. All the boat trailers I've had until now have had brakes but this is a smaller and much lighter boat .

The B&B website says it will weigh 1050 - 1150 # including motor and normal gear. I'm guessing that's a 25hp motor. I'll be using a 40 or 50 but that shouldn't add too much. I'm sure it will end up below the weight required for trailer brakes. The desire for brakes on the trailer isn't so much about being legal as not wanting to jackknife if I have to slam on the brakes. If it costs $400 for brakes (which is what I'm hearing), I consider it a good deal. I'd rather spend the bucks than to see my boat swing along side me in a panic stop.

Your boat looks AWESOME. I don't know how you work so fast. It's almost like a time-lapse movie. What brand & type of paint did you use? Did you use anti-fouling on the bottom? Great work!

Thanks all for the advice. Dale, I have those Shinto Saw Rasps and they are great! I also have some of the 3M guide coat (black powder) left over from a car restoration. I broke it out the other day and started using it. It really helps find the dimples and low spots without having to remove the primer that would normally be used in a primer guide coat application. One thing that I thought of when building my shop was to put a floor drain in. I didn't do it and have regretted it many times since. I guess I could just let the water run onto the floor but it makes such a mess. I think that's what I'll end up doing though. Maybe break out the wet/dry vac and clean the shop floor while I'm at it . Now that I'm progressing toward flipping the boat, I'm starting to think about trailers. I considered building one so I started pricing the parts I would need. The total quickly went over $1500 and that's not counting the steel, nuts and bolts or paint. I have a wire-feed welder so I have that expense covered. For $2500 I should be able to buy a galvanized trailer with brakes, no? Lotus built a great trailer but he lives very close to the water so it didn't need suspension, etc. I really like the way his hull supports work. If I built a trailer, it would be like his but with springs, etc. I'll be traveling all over with mine so I need something with brakes and suspension. I'd like a swing-away tongue so aluminum is not really an option in terms of material. Does anyone have and experience or ideas building their own trailer vs. buying one ready-made? How about anyone who has bought a trailer for the Marrissa? Any thoughts on brands, models, etc? Thanks again! This forum is a great thing! I'm so glad Al Gore invented the internet.

Some of the sanding exposed the glass in some areas. It didn't go through but I didn't want to chance the mesh pattern bleeding through the primer. Also, the fairing compound is quite soft compared to epoxy. You can dent it with your fingernail if it was mixed very thick. I want to prevent dents as much as possible. Plus - it seemed like a good idea at the time. On the down side... First, I'm not very skilled in applying epoxy. Most of the evolutions that I'm going through are the first time for me. I used a foam roller to apply the epoxy and it's hard to judge how thick it's actually being applied. I ended up with several runs and bubbles which I'm in the process of sanding out. In the end, I'm hoping for a hard, fair surface for applying the finish. On the up side, I found a few minor areas that could use a little more fairing that I wouldn't have found if there wasn't shiny epoxy to highlight those spots. My plan is to complete sanding, fair the few spots that need it and then go over again with a THIN coat of epoxy. I'm thinking of applying with a foam roller and then use a spreader to move it around and get it even and thin. Based on how much epoxy I used on the last go-round, I'm thinking a quart will do the trick this time. I'm definitely open to suggestions on this. Like I said, I'm new to the finer points of fairing and finishing a hull.

Thanks Lotus. I got the pictures. It looks really great and also looks like something I could do. Do you think you saved money over buying a ready-made trailer?

That would be awesome! My email is xxxxxxx on gmail. I'm not writing it out to try and prevent infobots from stealing it. Thanks again!

Did you use a plan for the trailer? If so, where did you get it? If not, do you have any CAD or other design documents that I might be able to have a look at? I can send my email address if you do. Thanks!

Looks great Lotus. Did you build that trailer? I like it better than what's commercially available and I've been thinking of building mine.

Latest update: Found a little more fairing work that needed to be done so I finished that. I drilled the holes for the transom bilge drains. Made the uprights for the cradles. Applied the first of two coats of epoxy over the finished hull exterior. Primer is on order and should be in a few days.