New used Flying J owner

[silsurf]

I just bought a used Flying J Advanced boat and pretty excited about it. No idea the year, but I would guess 1970's? It is all fiberglass. It has many small issues, but has been in the water recently and I will continue to use it in the summer months and store in a barn in the off season. (Portland, ME area)



I think it will be a great boat for our needs, I am a small time sailor and have two kids who are both interested in just spending time on the water



There are many little tings I would like to ask about as time goes by, such as:



1. What is the best material to use for small patches to the hull and deck?



2. Is there a coating to use on the deck surface to restore the sheen?



3. If I want to replace a piece of rigging that is fastened using rivets, what is the best process?


4. Other website and forums I should join?



The boat is in good shape all in all, looking forward to getting a lot of fun out of it before moving into something a bit bigger and more challenging.

[2big2small]

Originally Posted by silsurf

1. What is the best material to use for small patches to the hull and deck?

2. Is there a coating to use on the deck surface to restore the sheen?

3. If I want to replace a piece of rigging that is fastened using rivets, what is the best process?

4. Other website and forums I should join?

1. I’m a fan of marine-tex. It allows for really clean results being epoxy, non-shrinking, and providing the finishing UV resistant layer all i. A single application.

2. There are waxing products in shipshandlers. If it’s far gone you might want to repaint with a bi-component paint, also preferably epoxy based.

3. Drill the rivets out. If in the process of doing so you damaged the hole and made it larger then you need to first drill it with a larger bit to clean it up and make it perfectly round again and then use larger diameter rivets for the new part.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, silsurf.

[2savage]

Originally Posted by 2big2small

3. Drill the rivets out. If in the process of doing so you damaged the hole and made it larger then you need to first drill it with a larger bit to clean it up and make it perfectly round again and then use larger diameter rivets for the new part.

This is wrong. If you damaged the hole you used the wrong sized drill bit. It is easy to drill off just the head of a rivet and push out what remains in the hole. I've done this hundreds of times.

[2big2small]

Originally Posted by 2savage

This is wrong. If you damaged the hole you used the wrong sized drill bit. It is easy to drill off just the head of a rivet and push out what remains in the hole. I've done this hundreds of times.

Which is why you do it right. If you’ve never done it before, which is obviously the OP’s case, my tip is helpful.

[2savage]

My point is that if the rivet is for a stainless steel fitting and you made the receptor hole bigger, you would then need to start widening the hole in the stainless steel for the larger rivet, which would really suck.

[Jdeuel]

As far as the rivets go, using a size up to drill out is fine. The head of the rivet will separate before the drill makes it into the fitting. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve dulled/broken all my 3/16” bits on hand and have had no problems using a 1/4” in a pinch. This is for R/R, jobs obviously, using the existing holes in the spar and fitting.

[SailSonoma]

Hi.

Small patches is a broad question.

On that boat you have gelcoat and the underlying fiberglass and resin. West System is the best for the fiberglass repair if you need it. You should probably get a small kit of that, along with some microballons for filler. I think that West calls it 410 Microlight. You mix that powder with the West System epoxy (2 part) til it has the consistency of peanut butter. Use that for filling and fairing. Then, you will need gelcoat (also 2 part) to coat the patch like the rest of the boat. You can buy tints to match the color of the existing surface as best as possible.

Also, I believe that there is a class association for the Flying J. You should join their class association and websites to get specific knowledge about the boat.

Enjoy it, she looks fun to sail.

Craig

[silsurf]

Thanks everyone.



I am familiar with drilling out rivets and the only reason I might have to move up a size is due to erosion/decay in the surfaces.


I searched for "class association for the Flying J" but only found links to J Class yachts. If anyone has more specifics about where I might look I would appreciate it.


Henry

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by silsurf

Thanks everyone.




I searched for "class association for the Flying J" but only found links to J Class yachts. If anyone has more specifics about where I might look I would appreciate it.


Henry

Is this your boat?

https://www.zimsailing.com/_resource...fj_drawing.jpg

If so, here’s your info.

https://www.google.com/search?q=fj+s...&client=safari

[silsurf]

thanks