Project 2nd Chance… 1977 v-20 CC

[Mikeyz]

Well, I wanted to wait for winter before I started this rebuild, But what hell it's not gonna fix itself. I picked up this boat on trade so don't have a lot into it (YET). I am planning to do a full restoration with this boat and have the hopes of making a nice bay boat that can go skinny if needed. I am going to be pulling the top cap to fix any stringers and redo the under floor foam. I also want to install a big live well in the floor (that’s the main reason the cap is coming off). I have never done a project like this before so I am hoping to get some help from the pros on this forum and will have some good local help also.

[Mikeyz]

A few pics of the day I picked up the boat

[Mikeyz]

I pulled the motor off today to find a mess. I knew when I got it she needed a transom but I didn’t expect to find mashed potatoes for what once was a transom. I also found some stringer damage back by the transom. I guess now I know I was right to follow my gut on this one and pull the cap. I would hate to do a lot of work only to find a mess under the floor at a later date. I did get a good start on this until the rain delay. Well I guess the console can wait until tomorrow.

[Destroyer]

Looks like you're off to a good start. Sweet looking boat.. worth saving for sure. GL with it.. keep us posted with pics... we all love to see other peoples projects..gives us hope and ideas..well done :clap:

[Mikeyz]

I didn’t get to much done Sunday. However I did get the console out and the floor cover for the fuel tank. I started to pull the foam out around the tank only to find the smell of gas. I guess I will be adding a fuel tank to the list of things I will need. I guess do it right once or fix it 20 miles offshore and hope you get home right.
I have a question? How do you fix two BIG holes in the floor from the old captain’s chairs.
Oh Oh I know screw down a cooler seat over them and make the next guy fix it.
(Thanks buddy)

On a good note today I stopped by a boat salvage yard after a nice fishing trip on the kayak. I talked with the guy for awhile he has poly tanks that will fit I didn’t get a price yet but wanted to know if this is a good or bad idea. The boat currently has an aluminum tank. What would be the better tank get a new aluminum tank or go with a poly tank? His yard also has some live wells and fish boxes cut out of the floors of other boats. I think I might try a get one and cut it down to fit so I am not starting from scratch.

[RWilson2526]

Keep up the good work. Great documentation... Like Destroyer said we love lookin at that stuff. Especially when its somebody else doing the hard work!.

IMHO I think a poly tank would be superior to a aluminum tank as far as longevity is concerned. Although if you dont foam in the new aluminum tank I'm sure it will outlast the boat. (probably would even if you did foam it in) If you could find a used poly tank that didn't sacrifice fuel capacity (if capacity is even important to you) for cheaper than an aluminum one that would be my plan of action.

[Mikeyz]

Well boat is on hold for a week or two. Last Sunday we had a bad storm and a 65ft tall oak tree was hit by lighting 20ft from my house. ( BOAT IS OK) The lighting jumped out of the tree and also hit the house ( will have pic's soon very scary what lighting can do ) So I have got to get the tree down and fix a few things that are burned up. I lost both laptops, printer tv,surround sound and few other things. I did get the boat ready to pull the cap off on Sat, but pics are on the computer that was smoking on Sunday night. If a storm is by you be carefull this strike was so hard it broke CONCRETE PAVERS and moved one almost five feet..

Mike

[spanishmak]

ive been wondering how difficult it would be to get that cap off!I have the same boat and need to redo transom im in pasco county fl ill be following youre work good luck

[Destroyer]

Damn Mikeyz, tough luck on that lightning strike. We had a huge Maple in our back yard take a strike about 3 years ago.. split the tree down the center and caused one side of it to fall.. destroyed the above ground pool, the split rail fence and the corner of our house...So I know what you're talking about ... It's amazing what 50 million volts of electricity can do... Glad to see that you're back online at least so we can comiserate with you. Keep your chin up... (that way your jaw is an easier target) :hide:

[Mikeyz]

spanishmak

I don't think you will need to pull the top cap if you are only going to fix the Transom. I am pulling mine so I can replace some stringers install new foam (old is full of water) and add a bad *** live well in the floor (going to use the two useless hatches behind the console in the floor) I am thinking about doing a pourable transom from what I have heard it’s stronger then wood and you never have to worry about rot again. I live in Dade City, I don’t know why it says Tampa Bay but good luck and talk to you later.

Mike

[Mikeyz]

Find a big tree and hope for the best...
Today I pulled the top cap off the boat. It was not very hard to do and it took longer to setup everything then to get it off the boat. I did get so good help from Mopar and dear old Mom driving. I am glad I went ahead and did it the foam is waterlogged and will need to be replaced. I also found some stringer damage under the floor that I would have never seen if I haven’t pulled the cap. Now the next step will be to remove all the foam and replace the damaged wood. I am wondering if while I am at I might do all of them (any thoughts) is it worth it to just replace all the stringers at one time since the cap off and will be easy to do now. I am also looking at a way to rebuild the Transom. I was thinking about doing it in layers using ¼ marine ply and fiberglass mat maybe do a sheet of ply then fiberglass mesh and repeat until it’s built back up to the thickness it needs to be. Would this be stronger than just two sheets of ¾ glassed together? I also will be looking into installing tubes for the wiring and fuel lines to make it easy to wire at a later date. I can’t wait to get to the building stage of the project so far it’s been a three week teardown but I see the light and it’s getting brighter.

Mike

[Destroyer]

Great pics and it's great that you made "mom" famous by posting her pic here.!! Well done.. As to the laminate question on the plywood, my personal reccomendation would be to put the wood sheets together...the fiberglass in between them, although helping to insulate it from water, would (IMHO) actually weaken the final structure since it expands, flexes and contracts at a different rate then the plywood. Maybe that's why boat makers don't do it? :head:

[Mikeyz]

Well I got the foam out today, found a shovel to work the best just don't get to crazy with it. Looks like I will be replacing ALL the stringers as I found rot in all of them. I can't believe that Wellcraft would build a boat and not fiberglass all the stringers, I found cuts they made in them and never glassed over it I also found two of the stringer to not be glassed in all the way and fell out once the foam was removed. It was like the foam was holding the stringers in place. I didn’t take any pic’s but I will post some once I get everything cleaned.

Mike

[RWilson2526]

Great work....its going to be nice to know when you are all done that you have a SOLID boat underneath you. It will all be worth it in the end.

[Destroyer]

Mikeyz, I echo RW's comments.. My hat's off to you.. I'm in awe at your progress so far. Keep up the good work!!! :clap:

[nymack66]

Good luck with your project, your approach has potential for excellent success (removing the cap) Replacing the stringers is a huge job which I have zero experience.
In regards to the Transom you have two options pour or plywood its up to you since you have the cap off the sky is the limit.
Shop around for resin and materials I personally recommend Fiberglass Services, excellent price and delivery options ..
http://www.fiberglassservices.com/index.htm
They have a new location closer to you see below ??
3851 62nd Avenue North
Pinellas Park, FL 33781-6007
(727) 525-0830
Your marine grade ply from http://www.dixieply.com/tampa.shtml#about
BTW here is nice video on youtube ..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gY1ZJwIJAI

[Mikeyz]

nymack66

Thanks for in info, I have both companys on my list to contact for supplies. I am going to try and do the stringers one at a time so I will have the other to use for Measurements. I am also going to do a scale grid on paper with every measurement I can take before I cut anything. I have never done a project like this before so taking my time not to make things worse. I also have a good friend who will be helping me on the harder parts, We call him doc AKA Buckey he helped build the molds for ROS boats out of Westport, MA so it's not his first rodeo so to speek of. I am doing the hard labor and getting advice and how to from him. I might bring the boat over to his shop when it comes time to do the transon and stringers. I will see how it goes if I get over my head I have a backup plan in place if needed. Now only if the rain will stop so I can get back to work I was going to try and fit the boat in the shop but then the my 72, 340 duster goes outside and I dont see me doing that I have way to much time and money into it to make her spend the night outside...

Mike

[Skools Out]

or build a grid form and pour your stringers too.

[nymack66]

or build a grid form and pour your stringers too.

Awesome idea Skool as always :)
I was wondering this myself can one use a grid form and pour it using Arjay or is it a special product? Have you done this in the past? Why replace it with wood which will rot is always my argument.

[Mikeyz]

l like the idea of less wood going back into the boat. My only question would be will this make the boat heavy? I have been looking on this site and have seen a few post talking about the added weight of going to a pourable transom and stringers. I also want to know if I would have to do all the stringers at once to make it one solid pour or can they be done one at a time. After the stringers are done then just glass over them right? I also need to look into the added cost to do this any ideas on how much this would take to do..

Mike

:clap:

[nymack66]

You have a huge advantage in regards to cost, you can pick up Arjay locally. I am helping a fellow boater on another site he was quoted a delivery cost of over 200 plus dollars. Not to mentioned fiberglass services is the cheapest price on Arjay period.
For the transom you will use three five gallon pails. You will have maybe a gallon or so extra. Base on the data sheet you are looking at and I quote "Weight per gallon: 7.1 - 7.3 lbs/gal" so you are looking at approximately 105 Lbs. I have no idea with wood/mat and resin what the weight is.
In my Boat I relocated the dual batteries to the center of the Hull next to my Cuddy this shifted 80 lbs off the rear of the boat.
You mentioned new fuel tank not sure you can shift this also ..all options ...
As for the stringers I have limited knowledge and can't advise sorry.
In regards to the transom search this site plenty of success stories including mine.
Be sure to lower your drain whilst you are at it keeps the Hull dry.
Decide how you will clean the rotten wood, skin removal should be your LAST option.
Seal every pin hole before you pour, it will seep out and create havoc on a timely job. I lost almost a gallon in the bilge plus my driveway still shows the evidence.
Search www.youtube.com plenty of stringer project ...
Here are two projects which caught thousands of views and comments ...
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=234392&highlight=1897+140+v4
http://www.bloodydecks.com/forums/check-out-my-boat/119625-22-5ft-complete-restoration.html

[wellcraftinmass]

Nice Job so far. I am going to folow this one, as I have a 18 CC Fisherman and have a couple of soft spots in the floor and I know the foam is wet in spots. I did the entire floor and tranasom in a 20 ft. Galaxy Conquest back about 10 years ago. That was a tough one to do with the cuddy, but I also pulled the cap on that one, was a ton of work. My stringers were so bad, when I hit the throttle my engine jumped up and opened the engine cover for me. But in the end the boat was lighter, stronger and had propper floatation in the floors. Took me about a month with entire hull regripping. Sweet boat and served me well. Good luck and keep the pictures coming. :clap:

[Mikeyz]

I think I am going to use Arjay 6011 for the transom and I am going to build a form for the two back stringers and make one solid pour doing the transom and two back stringers up to the aft bulkhead as one. My thoughts are this will make the back of the boat super stong, maybe overkill but will be good and last a long time. I still want to get away from using wood and am thinking about using 1" tuff stuff marine board to build the rest of the stringers out of. Will this work? Am I overbuilding this? Any thoughts will greatly appreciated... :) With the Tuff Stuff board will I have to glass over it or just bond everything together?

Mike

[Mikeyz]

Today me and fuel tank went a few rounds but late in the 2nd it broke free. This fuel tank has been the biggest pain in the %%% to date. On a good note the fuel tank was the last thing to take out now the rebuilding begins. I have contacted fiberglass services and will be making a trip over the bay to see them Tuesday. I am going to use a sheet of ¼ tuff stuff board for the inside of the transom, and then pour with 6011. I am going to build the stringers out of ¾ tuff stuff then glass over them. I am happy to get away from going back with wood. Thanks Skools for the idea. I know I will have a stronger and better then when it was new Wellcraft. Hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday..
Mike

[Destroyer]

Happy Holiday Mike :)

[randlemanboater]

Good job! Keep on keepin on.

[cmclean]

I'm gonna be right there with you as well! I have plans to change my deck arrangement on the same boat! Seems like a lot of wasted space. How have things been progressing? Have any more pics? I have the feeling I'm gonna find bad thing on my stringer system! Have you started rebuilding yours? Are you going with a composite or a wood transom? Thanks in advance

[Mikeyz]

I have not had a lot of time to work on the boat lately so that’s why no new updates. I am lucky if I can run outside for an hour or two after work. I have been getting the transom ready I have taken out most of the old wood and have cut the inner skin out and left a 2” lip for the new skin to bond to. I am still going to use the Arjay 6011 and pour my transom. I have been looking on the web a lot and think I still going to build the stringers out of ¾ tuff stuff board and glass over them. I like the idea of no wood going back into the boat. I still have not made up my mind to use Arjay 6011 for the back two stringers or just use the tuff board for all of them.
Cmclean I am with you about making better use of the wasted space in the boat. I want to build a casting platform on the front and make the in floor cooler bigger. I also am doing a live well out of the two back hatches. I also am thinking about adding a storage hatch just behind the console maybe for cast nets or something. I also am going to move the batteries into the console to take some weight off the back. Good luck and if I can help with any questions you have let me know..

Mike

[Mikeyz]

Hi guys,

Just wanted to say this I didn't give up on the boat. I have got to get my fence done and finish cleaning up the mess from the tree that took that lighting strike this summer. I hope to be back on the boat soooon and will post pic's as I get back on the boat. I do have the transom ready to start building it back up. Talk to you guys later...

Mike

[Mikeyz]

I just wanted to let everyone know that if they need a lot of fiberglass woven roving. I found a company selling overstock rolls 60" wide and 120 yards for $125.00 + shipping. Very nice ebayer I bought one roll for the Wellcraft. I hope to be back on the boat soon I am amost done with the fence and have started to get my supply list filled..

Later
MIke Z

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260623949905&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT