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csstuple.
Wow how so easily we forget I want everyone to take a minute and think about the first boat they ever owned on their own. Was it perfect or did you have to work at it? Not everyone was born with a silver spoon and not everyone is at a place in their lives where they can afford a boat worth 10s of thousands of dollars. While you ponder that I will tell you about mine. I bought an 85 Phelix from a friend of mine when I got it it was faded nutmeg gelcoat… it really looked like a mildly sparked piece of dog droppings. I have put quite a bit of work into it as well as the trailer. So far I have sanded and primed the entire top shell of the boat. It is pretty much ready for paint. I also had to remove the old floor i laid down 3/8 marine grade plywood and fiberglass resin over the top of it, smoothed that all down it looks good. these last few days off we focused on the trailer i took it down to the metal all the way around with a wirewheel. Then prime and painted it, again in my opinion it look preety good. My 7 year old son actually gives his ole man a help on the sanding. He told me the other dad”Wow Daddy the top feel so soft.” He had a piece of 340 grit sand paper like he was actually doing something. I guess he is more like a supervior though he likes to sit behind the console and watch me work. Either working on the boat or fishing is the biggest way we spend time together. So i have made a couple of calls one specifically to basscats parts because the phelix has changed drastically over time. Basscat no longer makes parts for them… I posted the topic to see if anyone else knew anything i didnt. i was told to contact parts which i did. the gentlemen i talked to was very helpful but all the questions i asked he didnt readily have an answer for but i understand that. What i dont understand is how I was told that he would look up the information an call me back the next day with all the info i had asked for. To my surprise here it is almost a week later and no call back. So I guess the basscat parts i wanted to install on this boat will now be generic stuff that is close enough. I made another call to a man who does gelcoat work he shot me a ballpark price of $4000 to do the gel coat on the boat. we are talking about a 151″ baby cat! not a luxary yacht. One thing parts did tell me gel coat is $86 a gallon. Simple mathematics tell me it will be no more than a grand for gel coat and supplies. so over $3000 worth of labor. I just wanted to put that out there it is always what you say it is how you say it that may discourage another.
We can say that parts for a Phelix are past tense as there were two basic versions on this model and parts were not kept. This was a fun boat in the mid 1980s when it was introduced, though it quick ran into headway and slowed down. It was a cost efficient boat and had few real parts, most were not kept as there was little value in the package for this. Your cost of gelcoat is over twice the original dealer printed cost and probably retail selling tag for this boat and trailer. BCB
That i realize i wasnt expecting basscat to have a garage full of old parts from the 80s. My point is I have messaged in the forum and was pointed in the direction of basscat parts. For example I was already told a seat could be custom made. I was trying to get ballpark prices of several things. Like for example a floor drain, seats, gelcoat: how much and what do i need…. should only be two colors… white and a shade of blue, wiring, a steering wheel and any ideas how to acquire the phelix logo for the side shell or a good picture so i can have one made elsewhere.. i never told anyone i talked to they had to be 1985 parts just comparable to what may have been there in 1985. everything else is self explaitory i am acquiring all i need as i get to it. i think most of my frustration was with the “family” more than basscat itself. i mean seriously $4000 for gelcoat work…. i even said i would supply the materials when i message him.
If the gelcoat is the primary issue here goes:Heres how you get $4000-$1000 for gel/catalyst.Labor is typically $100/hr right? Thats 30hrs = less than 4 full days.Ive looked at boat pics on your profile. Ive had substantial gel work done on two boats myself.Time Estimate:#1 Gotta get lids out- 1-2 hours#2 Rig boat to get on rotisserie- 2 hours. ?May have to pull the drivers console? 2-3 hours.#3 Gotta prep surface- sand to fine grade by hand- 4-5 hours at least- maybe 8, clean up with acetone. Thats every strake, every bend, every junction, every depression and that as you know means a different shaped wood block every time from Garry. Hes got a bucket full of 50 for a reason.#4 Tape boat off for top cap shot of gel 1-2 hours#5 Shoot top cap with gel-3 hours#6 Tape boat off for bolt- 1 hour#7 Shoot bolts- 1 hour#8 Tape boat off to shoot hull color #1- 1-2 hours#9 Shoot hull color #1- 1-2 hours#10 Tape boat to shoot bottom-1 hour#11 Shoot the bottom- 1 hour#12 Sand by hand,buff, compound and wax the entire boat section by section to get it even and right- 3-4 hours- maybe 8? depends.#13 Take boat off of rotisserie- 1 hour#14 Put stuff back on boat- 1-2 hoursThats 24 hours on the low side and over 30 hours on the high side. No materials bill except gel/catalyst. Naively considering you dont need any fiberglass anywhere which is likely. Lets say you think the sanding is perfect already- thats fine but it only cuts the time to 19-20 hours at the minimum which would make your very conservative estimate $3,000.Plus, 15 or 20 boat is not 50% more work, only probably 15%. Labor cost just isnt that much more. Not hard to spray a little farther or tape a little farther- its just all about labor on this stuff.Sure some folks wouldnt put it on a rotisserie but the guys that are good would and do to get this right. This aint spray painting a car as you know but the prep work as you know is HUGE as is the TLC of hand work done post spray. Im sure Im all wrong but its easy for me to see 30 hours in all of this.Last edited by clownshoes on August 15th, 2012, 12:17 am, edited 10 times in total.C.O.D. Jr. III
4000 does not sound unreasonable after taking a look at the photo of your boat . I recently had to have some glass work done to the hull of my 08 and was very surprised by, and could not understand why the estimate was so high. My surprise, was however ,due to my lack of knowledge and research to how much time and effort has to be put into glasswork.Suggestion : get some estimates on the glass work, take what is left of the seats to an upholstery shop and get an idea of how much you will need to put into the restoration. Use this info to base an opinion on ,before you get discouraged again and make another post insinuating that your not being treated fairly . By the way, most boat restorations are done by people with a special interest in the project and not as an investment. You will never be able to sell the boat for what you put into it moneywise so you may just put a tiller motor on it and go fishing.
I am pretty sure I could pick up an 85 model that I use to own but the cost to redo was what held me back, I had some damage repair work done on my 01 P3 and it was over 3 grand and I did not have the whole boat redone. So that is in my mind every time I look at a used boat to keep at my lake house. I would love to have my old Phelix back but it would not be cost effective for me. If your boat needs floor, transom, or stringer work the bill would be very high indeed.
Well first thank you Ward obviously i am fairly new to the whole gel coat repair thing. I really do appreciate you taking the time to explain the procedure to me. Some people just assume that everyone else has all the knowledge they do. I just feel spending $4000 for a coat of paint isnt going to work. Any ideas on a cheaper alternative? I mean i still want it to look go im not talking kyrlon touch.
Imron Marine Paint. Not sure of the coast but worth a inquiry. http://pc.dupont.com/dpc/…/visitor/b/imr/home.html
I wish icould make 3k in a week in labor!
See thats the deal with the phelix the floor had one bad spot around the floor drain i did the glass work on that and got it looking good. the stringer is in good shape no faults there. The transom is pretty good shape only have one spot looks like the over touqued one of the bolts for the motor mount. No cracks or anything so its in pretty good shape. The trailer is a little rough but i working that out thats steel i can handle that i work offshore on a liftboat i am a professional at chipping, buffing, priming, and painting. The only other thing was the motor that came with it was grossly overpowered the transom is rated for a 75 it had a 115. i intend to sale that and get a smaller motor
It can be a nice boat but your going to have to adjust the way thingsare to be done to fit a more cost efficient methodson this one. I really think you should look into the paint part of the advice I and BCB have given you on this one. I think its going to be much more in line of where you want to be and you can probably do it yourself or have a friend with a spray gun that can help you out. Like I told you before if you decide to tackle it yourself call me and let me know what way you are going to go and I can try and talk you thru the process. Its not rocket science but its dirty, nasty and time consuming work.
Alright now that im back from work and we made it through Isaac. What steps do i need to take to get this boat ready to do a basic paint job?
autobodystore.comThey have a forum there for painting boats. You should be able to learn everything you need to know.They also will sell to you everything you need, at as a good a price as I have been able to find.
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