70 Rayson Wood Deck

[Carbonman]

Hi newbe here (Carbonman)
I am restoring my 1970 Rayson Craft Wood Deck flat bottom, I lost my hard drive a while back and lost many photos, I have been a lake person all my life and love V Drive Boats, this resto is the second one I purchased the first is a 66 Mandella flat that one is still sitting waiting on me to restore it for some reason IM doing the Rayson first, I have installed carbonfiber on the floors and stringers, I am very happy with the way it turned out, still have a ways to go

 

[Hammer]

Who did the wood work ? Work of art !

 

[Carbonman]

I did all of the wood work, fiberglass & paint & engine work 496 650HP the boat sat outside in Oregon for years with no Motor no cover the wood was all cracked and dried up, some cracks were severe, it was quite a job to save the wood, many hours invested, IM very happy with the turn out, I will post some close ups of the wood before and after
Thanks Carbonman

 

[025]

Awesome looking boat!!! Good job

 

[28skater]

Awesome looking boat!!! Good job

Bad ass good job saving a classic boat

 

[waterhorse]

Boat looks good, looking forward to see this completed.
Great idea on the rockers to flip the boat, very simple and effective.:thumbup:

 

[CampbellCarl]

Quick comment, looks like an old Aeromotive Sea Water belt driven pump built into the front motor mount. Its a bitch to deal with and you may want to ditch that pump in favor of a cam driven single pump. The Aeromotive pump still uses the car belt driven pump as a circulating pump.

Great looking sled! Keep the pictures coming....

 

[FlatNv]

very nice!! please keep pics coming. I agree on rocker idea:thumbup:

 

[CampbellCarl]

Oh, almost forgot.....ditch the fiberglass tanks..........ethynol and fibreglass are not good bed mates. Cut 'em out and replace with stainless or aluminum.

 

[Carbonman]

Thanks Guys for all of your positive comments, I will keep you updated with the progress

 

[overpriced hallet]

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

 

[Rickybobby]

love the woodies, thanks for sharing. They look awesome !!!!!!

 

[Carbonman]

Thanks Carl
I found out about the ethanol and fiberglass last week reading Forums, (BUMMER!!) I don't want to pull the engine again, and then theres the mess from cutting them out, IM going to go with IMCO side gunnel Stainless tanks, Ya after reading what the resin break down can do to your motor it was an easy decision, more work more $$

 

[CampbellCarl]

Is that a sea strainer there by the shaft log? Never seen anybody pickup water from that location. If so, is there a pickup mounted to the underside?

Odd

 

[Carbonman]

Yes that is a Sea Strainer it is just sitting on the floor in the pic, IM planning on bolting it to the stringer close to the bell housing mount, the pickups are at the rear, IM using the original pick up locations, planning on plumbing to the strainer convenient location for cleaning, the lake I run in is weedy, probably over kill just don't want to hurt the motor!

 

[rivermobster]

Beautiful! :thumbup:

 

[74 spectra20 v-drive]

Did you do the in lays or restore? That deck looks like a miller with no toe rail around it, super clean.! My dad has had a wood decker since 65, still has it always will be in the family. I am toying with the idea of putting a wood deck on my Sanger, and i love the look of that inlay.

 

[Carbonman]

I Restored the deck, it is all original wood installed when the boat was built, IM planning on installing a wood deck on my 1966 Mandella Flat
http://www.riverdavesplace.com/forums/asset.php?fid=285954&uid=15218&d=1380887252
http://www.riverdavesplace.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=296037&d=1380887801&thumb=1&stc=1

 

[Rickybobby]

Carbon
Is that resin on the deck (over the wood) or epoxy ?? Can you share some of the stuff you did in the restore. I have an old wood deck (future project) and have almost no clue how to save/replace the wood she has.
thanks
rb

 

[Carbonman]

RB
Post some Pics and I will tell you how I would go about fixing it
I used West Systems Epoxy on mine 5 seperate applications then 3 coats of Sikkens autoclear on top of the West Systems Epoxy then wet block and 2 more coats of the Sikkens, West Systems has a special hardener for UV protection that is designed for topcoat with Automotive clear systems

 

[Sharp Shooter]

That's really nice!!!! :thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup

 

[74 spectra20 v-drive]

Never seen a deck done like that on a flat, very cool are those all inividual inlays and the cap work is impressive, that is some craftsmanship!!!

 

[Carbonman]

Yes 1/2" Strips laid one piece at a time! I bet that took some time, they run all the way to the Stern of the boat, just around the Bow and down the sides, the pieces on the inner Deck are larger

 

[Backlash]

Carbonman, that is absolutely beautiful! Very impressive to say the least and that my friend, is a HUGE understatement! Nicely done!

 

[Carbonman]

I will take credit for the Restoration, Thank You!
Just so every body knows I did not lay the Wood Deck, Rayson Craft did 43 Years ago! I just restored & Saved it! with many hours invested! although I am planning on putting a wood deck on my 1966 Mandella

 

[Rickybobby]

Carbondude
I will see if I can grab some shots of the project boat tomorrow, but your finish work is outstanding !!!! wont matter motor you put in her, no one will see it anyway !!!!!

 

[Hammer]

Where is home carbon man ? Amazing rayson ! Have you done restoration like this before ?

 

[poncho]

As what's already been said multiple times, outstanding job:thumbup:

 

[Carbonman]

Thanks Guys!
Home is Fort Wayne Indiana
IM 55 and have been in Body, Paint & Mechanical since my teens
and done many restorations I have had a few body shops got tired of working on the cars sold the Body Shop and switched to Boats, lived on a lake with my dad & Brother Dad always had fast boats, started working with the carbon fiber a few years ago, I enjoy the Boats much more than Cars, don't get me wrong I like the Hot Rods & have had many just into the Boats at this time, no cars are allowed in my Shop! (BOATS ONLY!!!) I let my Brother change his oil but thats it, there is no Boat storage in my shop for anyone including me, Family boats are outside, I will have to make an exception to the storage rule when the Rayson is done its not going to stay outside thinking about making a rack of some type and store it up high close to the cealing where it can't get hurt
, in process Boat projects only! heres a couple Pics of my Boat Shop, don't mind the mess clean up is in process also but seams to be going slow

and the most important Tool in my Boat Shop is

RB looking forward to seeing the Pics of your Wood Deck Project

 

[doubleeagle]

Great looking boat. That deck is one of the most interesting I have seen. It would be great if Harlan could shed some light on who did it. I know Harlan did decks and I believe Al Ludwick and I thought Doug Westbrook also did some. A little history would be great. Are there any serial numbers inside the boat?
Thanks for sharing keep the pictures coming would love to see them.

 

[footer]

Wow is that beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Carbonman]

Great looking boat. That deck is one of the most interesting I have seen. It would be great if Harlan could shed some light on who did it. I know Harlan did decks and I believe Al Ludwick and I thought Doug Westbrook also did some. A little history would be great. Are there any serial numbers inside the boat?
Thanks for sharing keep the pictures coming would love to see them.

the only Hull # I can find is on the title

( J51 )

I would like to find out more about the Boat, the guy I bought it from lived in Oregon he said he bought it from an insurance company and it was stolen and recovered, he was going to build it but never got around to doing it

 

[CampbellCarl]

the only Hull # I can find is on the title

( J51 )

I would like to find out more about the Boat, the guy I bought it from lived in Oregon he said he bought it from an insurance company and it was stolen and recovered, he was going to build it but never got around to doing it

Another Rayson expert will be along to correct me but I'm quite sure that a 'J' hull was a real Rudy Ramos designation for early RaysonCrafts.

 

[harlanorrin]

I have not built or seen a factory Rayson Craft deck like this. This is similar to a teak deck on a yacht. I built a strip plank canoe with a similar look. Rayson Craft had a "A", "B", "D", and "LP" molds. I did not find any I D plate on MISS MARINE WORLD, a 20' 6" Rayson Craft. It was built in the late 1960. There would have been more for boats built after the "LP". I have found a metal I D plate on the port-left stringer foreward of the foreward-footboard bulkhead, under the fiberglas layup.
HARLAN ORRIN

 

[sirbob]

I have not built or seen a factory Rayson Craft deck like this. This is similar to a teak deck on a yacht. I built a strip plank canoe with a similar look. Rayson Craft had a "A", "B", "D", and "LP" molds. I did not find any I D plate on MISS MARINE WORLD, a 20' 6" Rayson Craft. It was built in the late 1960. There would have been more for boats built after the "LP". I have found a metal I D plate on the port-left stringer foreward of the foreward-footboard bulkhead, under the fiberglas layup.
HARLAN ORRIN

Harlan

Do you think the wood was added after original build or is it possible that it was built that way?

Very detailed planking - the weave at the bow is really something.

This boat has come back nicely what ever the original specs!