216 replies to this topic

[bigfinbo]

The Glass Slipper Project
With only six built and one known to survive the 1959 Glass Slipper is a rare boat.
          The original molds are undergoing restoration at Big Fin Boats.
               We will be building a new boat from the original molds.
                       Follow the progress as we recreate history.

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[bigfinbo]

Hello: Took the afternoon off to finish a bit of rearranging. Moved the Vali to the barn and moved the Glass slipper inside. the Slipper had swallowed a bit of water and now had to barf a bit of ice. This is the last abuse these old molds will suffer, from now on she gets the Royal treatment.

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[herters059]

bigfinbo, on Jan 12 2007, 12:26 AM, said:

Hello: Took the afternoon off to finish a bit of rearranging. Moved the Vali to the barn and moved the Glass slipper inside. the Slipper had swallowed a bit of water and now had to barf a bit of ice. This is the last abuse these old molds will suffer, from now on she gets the Royal treatment.

Ah a man with a vision. That mold is in the right hands. So a couple questions. Do you have anything for the headlight mold. And what does the inside of the molds look like. Hopefully stood the test of time a little better than the out side. Thanks for share the project.

Del

[bigfinbo]

Hello: Here are a few more pics showing some of the twisting and tears in the upper mold, Ouch!

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[bigfinbo]

Assortment of small molds needed to make left and riight dash inserts. left and right turbine exhust housings. left and right turbine intake grills, and left and right headlamp inserts.

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[bigfinbo]

This is the only original seat. It is NOS and has never been drilled for installation. The 1959 Slipper used four of these cool custom buckets as opposed to the 1958s plywood bench.

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[mercboat]

You are lucky to have all those molds, especially the seat.
Is the bottom half of the mold (the hull) ok, or is it cracked in any place? JW.

[classicfins]

bigfinbo, on Jan 12 2007, 11:14 PM, said:

Hello: Here are a few more pics showing some of the twisting and tears in the upper mold, Ouch!

Great pics Merk,
  What are your plans for trueing up the molds? I would think fitting the molds over the original body and getting everything aligned and clamped, then prep and reglass and brace would be the way to go. Then pull it loose and start the process of restoring the actual mold surface. Just curious as to what method you plan to use.
Doug

[bigfinbo]

classicfins, on Jan 13 2007, 10:11 PM, said:

Great pics Merk,
  What are your plans for trueing up the molds? I would think fitting the molds over the original body and getting everything aligned and clamped, then prep and reglass and brace would be the way to go. Then pull it loose and start the process of restoring the actual mold surface. Just curious as to what method you plan to use.
Doug

Wow! That is a great idea. Hadn't even thought about that. I will unload the existing 59 and try fitting the upper mold onto the boat. This is the kind of idea sharing I was looking for. Thanks, Merks

[classicfins]

bigfinbo, on Jan 16 2007, 11:08 AM, said:

Wow! That is a great idea. Hadn't even thought about that. I will unload the existing 59 and try fitting the upper mold onto the boat. This is the kind of idea sharing I was looking for. Thanks, Merks

Cool beans. Be sure to let us know how that works. I can't wait to see this progress!

[bigfinbo]

mercboat, on Jan 13 2007, 06:07 PM, said:

You are lucky to have all those molds, especially the seat.
Is the bottom half of the mold (the hull) ok, or is it cracked in any place? JW.

The small molds were all stored indoors and are in good shape. The seat mold must be 3 peices. Kevfin is still searcing for the original seat molds lost someplace in his barn storage. If he can't find them I will need to pull a new mold off the seat. The lower hull mold is in better shape then the upper mold is, good thing. I will open them up this weekend. Merks

[bigfinbo]

Hello: Pics of the Molds. The lower hull mold is not torn and twisted like the upper mold but the Gelkote is baddly cracked. The upper hull mold is a light green Gelkote as are some of the small part molds. I wonder if any of the six built were green? Thanks, Merks

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[bigfinbo]

Hello: The last pics of the unrestored molds. This is the bottom side of the lower mold. You can see where there were 2x4s glued to the bottom creating a base to support the molds. The wood has rotted away but the glass tabbing installed to hold the base is still there and as you can see, tells the story of how it used to be. Thanks, Merks

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[fantasy14]

I'd say you have your hands full bringing those back to life Merks. I saw them 5 years ago and thought they were too far gone then. Good luck. Dick.

[bigfinbo]

fantasy14, on Jan 21 2007, 01:05 PM, said:

I'd say you have your hands full bringing those back to life Merks. I saw them 5 years ago and thought they were too far gone then. Good luck. Dick.

I first saw the molds about 5 years ago myself and they were rough then. Right away I had the idea to pull a boat from the molds but how to get my hands on them? I layed out my plan to Kevfin but he wasn't too sure about the project and I didn't blame him after all who's this Merks guy? I never forgot about the molds and when I could I would remind Fin about my idea. Through the years we became good friends and I think I wore him down. One day Kevfin and myself were talking boats and having a good time when he say's OK lets do the Glass Slipper project. I had my truck and trailer down to pic up the molds the next day! Soon after Kevfin let me pick up the one and only original '59 Slipper [thanks Kevfin]. In the begining I was driven by the desire to own and use a rare Glass Slipper, now I'm as interested in the history as I am in the boat. There are things learned from the original molds that would have been missed if a new copy mold was used. After absorbing some of the history of these molds I can feel the excitment the original builder must have had. Much insite into the original construction can be found everytime I look at them. Below is a pic showing where a small scrap of wood, maybe an old paint stick was stuck under the 2x4 base on one side. I can picture the original builder finding and placing that piece of wood just right so the base would sit level on the floor.  Probably done while the resin was still wet I can imagine the hurried run around the shop for just the right shim before the resin kicks. Been there, done that. The new boat will be serial number 007 and maybe some day some one will restore it. Coming right out of the original mold gives number 007 a legitimacy a copy boat could never have. History in the making and I don't under estimate my good fortune to be involved. Thanks, Merks

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[Jammer]

Quit yakin' and taking pics and get to work mister!!!

[bigfinbo]

Jammer, on Jan 21 2007, 06:11 PM, said:

Quit yakin' and taking pics and get to work mister!!!

LOL: I've been telling myself the same thing for a week or two now. The pics were taken Saturday AM just before I tore into the project. Yep those are the last pics of the molds in as found condition. I'm making dust now. Update soon, Thanks Merks

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[bigfinbo]

Hello: The work has begun. Look at my choice of tools. A hatchet? Yep a hatchet Cleaned all the old wood and tabbing from the molds. They are looking better allready. Thanks, Merks

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[bigfinbo]

A straight edge on the keel shows about an inch of hook.

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[aqualoco]

Hey Merks,
Boy, I don't envy you one bit on this project... It's much harder to restore a female (mold) than it is to restore the male (plug) and then pull a new mold off of it. But I do understand why you are restoring the originals to keep it authentic.

Remember my jig I built for the Caraqua some time ago to help get the bottom more true?

Maybe a reverse jig would work for the mold, just a thought.


Aqualoco