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Zodiac and outboard. . . Another boat project!

lee

Slightly Obsessed
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With the stormy weather forecast this weekend and our camping cancelled I brought another project last night to keep josh amused over the weekend and early next week till we get out half term boating and camping.

A Zodiac 2.4 slat floor boat, we didn't have an orange one :rofl: very very light boat around 20kg! No oars, One floor slat broken, the transom needs painting and 2 slow puncture to fix all easy fixes ;)

Mariner 4hp four stroke 2007 outboard, mint condition except it had been left with fuel in the carburetter for a very long time which has destroyed the jets, heat finally got the main jet free, as this 4hp is a restricted 6hp I've ordered up a 6hp carberetter as that was the only restriction of this outboard, I've order up new jets for the old carb so that can go to a new home as refurbished ;) the best thing with this 4hp (soon to be a 6hp) is that it has the internal fuel tank and no 6hp comes standard with that so its a handy little outboard that won't need an external tank and fuel line :D

Should all be finished on Tuesday so Josh will be taking boat and outboard for use at next weeks camping ;)

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With the zodiac joe I'm thinking to take the slats out and maybe put a full wood floor in (3 sections)
 
With the zodiac joe I'm thinking to take the slats out and maybe put a full wood floor in (3 sections)
I would definitely go for the stability of a full floor Lee
 
I would definitely go for the stability of a full floor Lee
It's going to have to be the thinnest ply joe as I like the light weight if the boat ;)

Well the new carburettor arrived this morning so it's now fitted and I changed the impeller, spark plug, crank case and gear case oils so all done on the engine, the 6hp carb has a much bigger intake port than the 4hp one and when they are compared together the 4hp carb really restricted and choked the air intake, with the 6hp carb in the engine runs nice with plenty of power :eek:

4hp carberetter:
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6hp carberetter:

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Made a start on the boat, it was a challenge masking up and painting in the wind! We haven't filled all the dings in the transom as we looking for a used look and just wanted to prevent any rot to the bare wood ;) the transom was sanded, cleaned then primer filler undercoat and ready for the black coats:

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It's going to have to be the thinnest ply joe as I like the light weight if the boat ;)

Well the new carburettor arrived this morning so it's now fitted and I changed the impeller, spark plug, crank case and gear case oils so all done on the engine, the 6hp carb has a much bigger intake port than the 4hp one and when they are compared together the 4hp carb really restricted and choked the air intake, with the 6hp carb in the engine runs nice with plenty of power :eek:

4hp carberetter:
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6hp carberetter:

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Made a start on the boat, it was a challenge masking up and painting in the wind! We haven't filled all the dings in the transom as we looking for a used look and just wanted to prevent any rot to the bare wood ;) the transom was sanded, cleaned then primer filler undercoat and ready for the black coats:

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I can see this one being completed within a few days
 
Painting will be finished tomo, the next I can work on it will be Tuesday afternoon for a few hours, so then we will fit the rear tansom outboard tread plate, 2 towing eyes, 2 eye plates and sort out all the old puncture patches and current punctures we won't have time to do anything about the floor before we go away so josh will use it with the floor slates minus the broken one lol then after we get back and got some time we will sort out a whole new floor system, I might see if I can do a hinged folding aluminium one ;) (as I want this boat to stay as light as it is I can carry the boat with one hand!) if not it will have be ply wood what ever floor we do I think there is enough give in the floor to fit some sort of keel under the flooring probably won't be able to get a big keel but I might be able to get some sort of v to current flat floor at the bow and that would also tighten up the whole floor for easier and better planning. I'm thinking about a plastic water pipe with a few layers of the foam covering you see around outdoor water pipes and scaffolding, that system of a padded out tube for keel would be able to take impacts from underneath ;) but I am also thinking about making an inflatable keel as I have a few old airbeds that I could cut in to a tube shape keeping the valve at the top and then glue the seams ;)
 
Painting will be finished tomo, the next I can work on it will be Tuesday afternoon for a few hours, so then we will fit the rear tansom outboard tread plate, 2 towing eyes, 2 eye plates and sort out all the old puncture patches and current punctures we won't have time to do anything about the floor before we go away so josh will use it with the floor slates minus the broken one lol then after we get back and got some time we will sort out a whole new floor system, I might see if I can do a hinged folding aluminium one ;) (as I want this boat to stay as light as it is I can carry the boat with one hand!) if not it will have be ply wood what ever floor we do I think there is enough give in the floor to fit some sort of keel under the flooring probably won't be able to get a big keel but I might be able to get some sort of v to current flat floor at the bow and that would also tighten up the whole floor for easier and better planning. I'm thinking about a plastic water pipe with a few layers of the foam covering you see around outdoor water pipes and scaffolding, that system of a padded out tube for keel would be able to take impacts from underneath ;) but I am also thinking about making an inflatable keel as I have a few old airbeds that I could cut in to a tube shape keeping the valve at the top and then glue the seams ;)
If you put a lightweight alloy floor in Lee you might want to think about running some split hosepipe round the edges, the flexing of the floor against the edges of the alloy might end up cutting through the skin
 
If you put a lightweight alloy floor in Lee you might want to think about running some split hosepipe round the edges, the flexing of the floor against the edges of the alloy might end up cutting through the skin

That's the problem with the metal sheet flooring joe it's so thin so it's going to move about and rub on the underside of the tubes, this zodiac is well built and there is a protective strip on the bottom of the tube in that location already to protect from the wood slats but like you say the metal will wear in to it no matter what, it's going to be easier with some ply wood I can sand all angled edges to curves and then cover the edges with a few layers of protective tape.
 
That's the problem with the metal sheet flooring joe it's so thin so it's going to move about and rub on the underside of the tubes, this zodiac is well built and there is a protective strip on the bottom of the tube in that location already to protect from the wood slats but like you say the metal will wear in to it no matter what, it's going to be easier with some ply wood I can sand all angled edges to curves and then cover the edges with a few layers of protective tape.
Yep that would work mate and probably make it easier to engineer a hinged board, as for the keel I personally wouldn't bother myself because even with a 6 on your not going to exactly be flying
 
I know what your saying joe I think a 6hp would probably be enough for this boat and I know it will plane easily with that (the 2.7 RSM planes with a 4hp!) I think top speed should be good with just one person on board and this little boat is really a one man ship lol but for better planning and faster top speed the floor needs to be tight as with other slat floor boats I've got to plane the floor where the slats are 'ripples' when on the plane I'm thinking I like the boat super light so I might replace all the slats and keep them fitted in, that way the boat will continue to roll up with a floor installed and then have just one piece of ply that runs from the transom to the last forward slat that way you always will have a floor (the slat one) for just pottering about and then you can slip in the one piece half floor for your speed or more load needs and as you know joe on the plane the front 1/3 of the floor doesn't really touch the water anyway that's why they don't fit slats on the whole floor I guess, a half floor could also save dramas of hinges as well ;) I will try to get and cut a piece of ply for my theory before we go next week so we can test out the idea ;)
 
I know what your saying joe I think a 6hp would probably be enough for this boat and I know it will plane easily with that (the 2.7 RSM planes with a 4hp!) I think top speed should be good with just one person on board and this little boat is really a one man ship lol but for better planning and faster top speed the floor needs to be tight as with other slat floor boats I've got to plane the floor where the slats are 'ripples' when on the plane I'm thinking I like the boat super light so I might replace all the slats and keep them fitted in, that way the boat will continue to roll up with a floor installed and then have just one piece of ply that runs from the transom to the last forward slat that way you always will have a floor (the slat one) for just pottering about and then you can slip in the one piece half floor for your speed or more load needs and as you know joe on the plane the front 1/3 of the floor doesn't really touch the water anyway that's why they don't fit slats on the whole floor I guess, a half floor could also save dramas of hinges as well ;) I will try to get and cut a piece of ply for my theory before we go next week so we can test out the idea ;)
I certainly like the idea of a trial run Lee,what thickness of ply are you thinking
 
I certainly like the idea of a trial run Lee,what thickness of ply are you thinking

Well it's got to be light joe, marine ply is 5 layers and from 12-25mm thick I think that's going to be heavy I was thinking to go with normal 3 layer ply to see if it works first problem with that is the the non marine it's not finished smooth so a splinter nightmare with lots of sanding involved, I'm thinking the board on top of the slats is not going to stop the floor rippling anyway so in that case the stars will have to be removed when the half floor is used as the floor needs to be kept very tight so then maybe the thinnest marine 5 ply (12mm) will probably be the only answer and hopefully not to heavy.
I don't think I can get a one piece pine board wide enough and they will be jointed at that size I think, any ideas joe!
 
Well it's got to be light joe, marine ply is 5 layers and from 12-25mm thick I think that's going to be heavy I was thinking to go with normal 3 layer ply to see if it works first problem with that is the the non marine it's not finished smooth so a splinter nightmare with lots of sanding involved, I'm thinking the board on top of the slats is not going to stop the floor rippling anyway so in that case the stars will have to be removed when the half floor is used as the floor needs to be kept very tight so then maybe the thinnest marine 5 ply (12mm) will probably be the only answer and hopefully not to heavy.
I don't think I can get a one piece pine board wide enough and they will be jointed at that size I think, any ideas joe!
Firstly I'd go for four ply with about ten coats of yacht varnish, then get a piece of roofing baton, mark the underside of the floor panel into four equal widths front to back not side to side and attach the batons which will ride on the slats. this way you'll have the rigidity without adding the weight
 
Firstly I'd go for four ply with about ten coats of yacht varnish, then get a piece of roofing baton, mark the underside of the floor panel into four equal widths front to back not side to side and attach the batons which will ride on the slats. this way you'll have the rigidity without adding the weight

That's an idea joe ;) and I think the ply has to be thick otherwise it's not going to hold the floor tight, I think it's either the boat is used with the slats or the solid floor not both, there must be some type of plastic ABS type material around now days to use instead of wood
 
That's an idea joe ;) and I think the ply has to be thick otherwise it's not going to hold the floor tight, I think it's either the boat is used with the slats or the solid floor not both, there must be some type of plastic ABS type material around now days to use instead of wood
Abs would probably work but heavy at the same time. Its the rigidity of the ply floor with the batons which should hold the floor tight, remember you can put in batons between the for aft batons to give the sideways rigidity and you might add as much as 4 ounces depending on how many cross struts you put in
 
Abs would probably work but heavy at the same time. Its the rigidity of the ply floor with the batons which should hold the floor tight, remember you can put in batons between the for aft batons to give the sideways rigidity and you might add as much as 4 ounces depending on how many cross struts you put in

I think we're forgetting how small this boat is joe lol I was looking at the floor thinking about options when I finished painting it today, internal size it's only 150 x 80 cm lol and at 90 on the length the floor starts to point upward so I think I will get one sheet of marine ply and cut and hindge it a 90cm so it can follow the floor upward. And folded it will only be 90 long ;) and having no extra cut to make it fold in 3 will make the 90cm piece more stable ;) if I use 5 ply marine ply it will be thick enough to hold itself in the bottom of the tubes nicely, I will still cover the edges of the board in carpet tape or similar I will also fully cover the board with some of the drain away rubber tent groundsheet I've got on the upside of the board so sitting on the floor won't be so hard, I'm not going to fit a seat as with a 6hp or do you've got a chance of getting thrown lol so seating options are on the tube or fully inside on the floor lol
 
I think we're forgetting how small this boat is joe lol I was looking at the floor thinking about options when I finished painting it today, internal size it's only 150 x 80 cm lol and at 90 on the length the floor starts to point upward so I think I will get one sheet of marine ply and cut and hindge it a 90cm so it can follow the floor upward. And folded it will only be 90 long ;) and having no extra cut to make it fold in 3 will make the 90cm piece more stable ;) if I use 5 ply marine ply it will be thick enough to hold itself in the bottom of the tubes nicely, I will still cover the edges of the board in carpet tape or similar I will also fully cover the board with some of the drain away rubber tent groundsheet I've got on the upside of the board so sitting on the floor won't be so hard, I'm not going to fit a seat as with a 6hp or do you've got a chance of getting thrown lol so seating options are on the tube or fully inside on the floor lol
That will definitely work Lee and I fully agree about sitting in the boat and not on it although for young tender behinds I would suggest a small blow up cushion
 
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