Rebuilding 7 meter Bollinger ex-Navy boat

Capt John · 16 March 2017, 02:25

Hi guys,

I'm new to the forum and figured I would start out with some RIB eye candy. Well maybe not eye candy yet but it will be soon.
My friend and I picked up two Bollinger 7 meter boats last fall and I finally have the time to start one of the projects.

Here are some photos to get things rolling

This was one from when it was in service with a single outboard and with twin outboards

This is what it looked like when I picked it up from the navy yard. She had been stripped clean of all instrumentation , engines and rigging along with a lot of other stuff.

The tube set held air with just a very slow leak but there are many areas that need to have material glued back in place. The tube set really turned out to need a complete overhaul.

Capt John · 16 March 2017, 03:01

Here are some additional photos taken as I moved forward stripping her down.

First was to remove the damaged tube set

With some help from the fork truck the tube set was pulled off

Then tube set was then strapped down to a pallet and shipped to our repair center for repairs and recoating. The boat will eventually be all black.
More on the tube set later....

Now it is time to focus on the fiberglass work that is needed to get the hull back in proper shape. The bow had a nice size crack in the topside. THe deck area where the arch was mounted looks like they just ripped it out to remove it and all the deck plates need to be replaced.

Capt John · 16 March 2017, 03:09

The areas that needed the most attention were a crack in the topside of the bow and the read deck where the arch appears to have been ripped out.

Since the boat will be re-rigged with twin outboards the single outboard mounting hole will need to also be ground down and filled.

Capt John · 16 March 2017, 03:16

More grinding of the deck revealed there were two hole cut and filled to gain access to the mounting bolts for the twin motors. The holes that were cut out were originally glassed back in. I had removed them and cleaned up the holes. I will install new deck plates later.

cgoing · 16 March 2017, 03:24

Nice project !

Capt John · 16 March 2017, 03:25

Now it is time to get some glass work done...

Then remove the old holes in the deck that were glassed back in

Although you will not really be able to see this area because the tube will cover it I wanted to try and keep the contour lines clean.

Capt John · 16 March 2017, 04:06

Removed all saddle seats, fittings and rail from the console

I hope you all enjoy this build as much as I am.
I have been trying to find another boat like this but was not able to so I figured that a thread on this build may help out a fellow boater at some point.

Capt John · 16 March 2017, 04:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by cgoing

Nice project !

Thanks, I am have fun on this one. It is my first RIB.

Squid Boat · 16 March 2017, 04:57

Subscribed, Great boat..it will all be worth it.

Cheers

Capt John · 01 April 2017, 21:28

The past two weeks have been very productive.
The tube set has been repaired, sealed and sprayed with a textured coating along with a color change to black.

Capt John · 01 April 2017, 21:38

The tube set has now been re-installed.

I had removed all the hardware, hatches, saddles and grab rail along with anything else that could be removed so the console and deck could be painted without having to tape everything off and get a cleaner job done.

The topside of the deck has been sprayed with a non-skid coating and sprayed in black. The steel transom reinforcement plate and forward mooring / tow bit was sand blasted and re-painted.

I have not decided on an A-frame yet. This one was just layed in place to see how it looks.

Capt John · 01 April 2017, 21:48

Now it is time to start re-installing the grab rail and hardware. The original stainless steel fixtures were not too bad but needed a good cleaning and polishing to bring back a good luster to the metal. With some elbow grease and Flitz metal polish everything was looking good.

I will start rigging the console controls, helm and engines.

ncp · 02 April 2017, 05:38

Looks great.

What coating for the tubes?

Capt John · 02 April 2017, 13:34

It is a polyurea coating with the color is sprayed over it. Holds up great and looks good.
The deck was also done the same way but had some synthetic non-skid added when it was applied for better footing when the deck is wet or has some snow on it.

ncp · 02 April 2017, 18:42

So, truck bed liner type stuff.

Capt John · 02 April 2017, 20:14

Yes, just need the correct recipe for the type of substrate you are applying it to so you get good adhesion. Most of the work is in the prep.

Capt John · 17 April 2017, 21:48

The weather was finally cooperating with me this week so I was able to finish the body work on the transom. Filled the gouges, scrapes and holes from where the single outboard was mounted. Primed it and painted.

Fabricated a backing plate out of 1/4" think aluminum plate to cover the hole in the console and mounted the helm. Primed and painted in black. Installed a Sea Star helm with a 5 spoke stainless steering wheel and ran hydraulic lines back to the transom.

Installed two hatches in the console to close off the hole for the battery compartments.

Next step is to install the control binnacle, harness and cables. Then hang the motors.

Squid Boat · 18 April 2017, 00:10

Very impressive progress buddy

The polyurea over hypalon treatment is something I've never seen or were the tunes polyurethane? I've heard it was also done in the offshore rig industry to protect the decks and rubber bits.

Cheers, Don

Capt John · 23 April 2017, 00:53

Tubes are polyurethane. Originally made by Wing.
Between weather and work I was not able to get much done this week. Hopefully over the next two days I can get back on track.

AZSkibo · 01 May 2017, 18:18

Wow! Great work thus far