Revenger Volante Rebuild (part 1)

[Jeff]

I found this boat on E-bay about a year and a half ago. I purchased it from a guy called James, and it was a poor condition. This boat was mentioned earlier on Boatmad.com regarding an engine rebuild. This was the first stage.

[Jeff]

Second stage - The boat is now in a large shed at our home. I have now removed engine, old glass windscreens, all deck fittings and nav lights. I removed the cockpit floor completely, which was not fibreglassed in, and removed fuel tank. The inside of the hull was then degreased and cleaned. It was then repainted, underside, and fibreglassed into the hull with six inspection hatches fitted into the floor. The floor was then painted.

[Jeff]

The decision was taken, at this point, to make a new bulkhead to form a cabin for the occasional stopover. I also manufactured headlinings, to cover up the raw fibreglass. I decided to fill in the existing bulkhead and created two footwells. Between the two bulkheads I have created shelving with an in-built CD player.

[Jeff]

At this stage the whole hull and deck were sanded back with wet and dry, and thirty years of anti-fouling removed. This was hell! All holes and blemishes were filled with 2-pack epoxy filler, and sanded flush.

[Jeff]

The original screen was in very bad condition, so I constructed a new screen out of plywood. The front of the screen is made out of five laminations of wood, and joints were fibreglassed with tape. It was filled and sanded. About fifteen coats were then applied to obtain a 'mirror finish'.

[Jon Holmes]

Great work Jeff, keep the pictures of your progress coming.

[Jeff]

I planned to get the boat sprayed professionally, but in the end decided to paint it myself with International 2-pack paint. It had two undercoats and two top coats, in white; all decks and the hull (down to the chine). It was sanded well between each coat. I used a 6" foam roller and the finish is fantastic.

[Jeff]

After painting the hull and deck, I decided to call the boat 'Doodles'. This is the name of the boat driven by Dick Bertram and Sam Griffith in the first Miami Nassau race. I have painted a picture of this original boat on the underside of the engine hatch. I have now painted the name on by hand, and applied decals.

[Jeff]

Painting underside of engine hatch.

[Jeff]

The paintwork is finished.

[Jeff]

Finished paintwork continued. Also, new bulkhead, head linings, radio and LED lights. Further updates to come, with renewal of trim, trim tabs fitted and engine renewal.

[Carl]

thats my brothers old boat

[Jeff]

Are you James' brother? The boat was called White Lightning! Do you know any history of the boat?

[Carl]

yes im james`s brother,he bought it from someone over in the chichester area,i dont have anymore info on it

[THUNDERBOLT]

Just the type of boat we would like to see at the CLASSIC POWERBOAT RALLY IN COWES 1st weekend of SEPTEMBER


Be there or be square!

[littlenige]

Would make a sweet baby Uno Embassy or Ballerina!!

[glen76]

What paint did you use? Is it sandable or buff able or one of those with a Teflon type coat which creates the hardness and shine

[Jeff]

I rubbed it down, by hand, with 250 wet and dry. I filled any blemishes with 2 part epoxy, then applied one coat of International Perfection undercoat. This was applied with a 6" foam roller, then was re-sanded with 250 wet and dry. The hull was then washed with clean water, and then it was cleaned with no.9 thinners. This whole process was then repeated. It was,again, sanded and cleaned, and then I applied the first coat of Perfection topcoat. Just before that, I used a 'tack' rag to remove dust particles. This process was carried out again. The finish is worth the effort. When applying the paint, with the roller, I rollered it in all directions, quite fast, and then finished off with a 'downstroke', lightly. A brush, for tipping off, is not required.