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:clap::clap: I just read this thread from the start. Impressed with your skills , passion and ingenuity! I cannot wait to you start this again in the Spring you will have a new boat when done and one that will endure longer than the original.
Brian |
:clap::clap::clap::clap: Wow amazing project, looking at your tools and your setup, and style no doubt you are a PRO, no shop I know can produce this kind of craftsmanship and quality, my hat off to you my friend..Thanks for sharing.
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Any new progress on this restoration?
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Slow progress this season. Between the impact of the pandemic and a couple medical issues I've gotta devote resources to I don't anticipate getting much done in 2020. I did decide that the engine is not worth attempting to rebuild. The salt infiltration was too excessive. I've spent the last several days dissembling to throw the good bits on eBay and recycle the castings. I finally got the heater core replaced in my truck (started in January but got side burnered due to health) so I can hook up and uncover her this weekend then pull the cap back off to finish up some odds and ends glass work in the hull. If funding can be pulled together I'll get foam to refill the side bays and finish marrying the two halves together. Gas tank will wait till next season. I've got paint on hand to paint the hull and sole so that will be the goal for this season if I can get the foaming accomplished.
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Definitely enjoying the pictures and progress. I have the same model and it is great to be able to see what is under the deck. Just curious have you an estimate as to what you have spent so far for the rebuild? It is getting to be a question these days of rebuilding or buying another one..
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Time to catch this thread up. I opened her back up the beginning of July. Pulled out the mothballs and pulled the cap back off:
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...6qpsWbfUtbaqoP https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...CfozlcaZDNn4qA https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...hHryhp5s-9Mf1- Started off piloting the holes where the foredeck hardware would be mounting so that I didn't lose the locations while fairing the area. Dixie was an eager helper: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...XpHG6hagrRqbOA Spent some time polishing the oxidation off the hardware I was reusing. Here is a side by side of the bow chocks before and after spending some time on the buffing wheel: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...Jx1L3dgsN-Fv75 Man...I need to wet sand and buff my shop table...but I digress. Decided the replace the original cleats with something a little more modern looking (and which are less likely to impale me): https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...7TYDUYZpTzskbC Worked on patching the holes and other scars on the foredeck: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...eMOprv1d7kAvRT And while I was working with glass I worked on the myriad of holes at the back of the cap - speakers, rod holders, poorly located holes for controls, etc.: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...i_uMc5Ppy3vdbN https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...NFvUIlWzqnGoC3 https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...hhkPmt7Q_5I6ae And fabricated and glassed in a new anchor shelf: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...BAQ2y26R2iWd9u Guess I didn't save any of the pics of fairing, and sanding, and fairing, and sanding, and more sanding and oh my lord am I restoring a boat or converting epoxy and glass to dust... I did note that the green color of TotalFair is a dead ringer for the Seafoam Green of the 1970's Cruisers Inc tri-hull my family had during my childhood years. Kind of poetic. With the fairing completed I primed the foredeck, anchor tray, battery trays and the bilge: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...4HD_gRcaCzMfGh https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...93SW8Po32qZuCh https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...8_kea-ssicxMQa More to follow! - Greg |
With the priming completed, I laid out how I wanted the nonskid on the foredeck. I elected to hold the nonskid about 3/8" off the bowrail mounting plates which came really close to the minimum curve radius of the 3M fineline tape of 1½", and then left clear areas under everything else using that minimum curve radius. I cut templates out of thin cardboard (like notebook backer), then took a few days of vacation so I could ignore my phone while painting:
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...X83p9xSgJ9JElo https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...LceVAS_h0Ye158 https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...DFZeBBqtZ9OkZn https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...GnUw3lQOquUOLU https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...RY8_9WxLtUugHj I'm using the iBoats Tractor Paint formula and rolling it on. With the layout done I laid down the first coat and coated it with nonskid granules as I progressed: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...KYOx72lbOE38MF https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...q5_7Lb2_W3m1oU And once the paint had solidified sufficiently I pulled up the masking: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...x7Tu24H1xLGHz8 The following morning I swept up the excess nonskid for reuse and laid down the first finish coat. In hindsight I should have vacuumed up the excess the evening before before removing the masking and applied a coat to lock in the granules right then, as there were enough loose particles still, despite brushing and vacuuming multiple times, that I had particles migrate into the smooth areas. I was able to rectify all those with wet sanding but would have been nicer to not have to worry about that. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...7KYgxf0CbH5GkH https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...CK7Ffo76xRr_8Y Four days of painting and then let it rest to get nice and hard. More to come! - Greg |
While the paint cured up my brother traveled down to Louisville from Toledo to lend a hand for my next endeavor - FOAM!
Did my calculations and arrived at needing 47cf of foam and that worked out perfect to get a 40cf kit and an 8cf kit from US Composites. Set the cans out in the sun first thing Saturday morning to let them warm up and around noon we poured the first lift. I guess it got a little too warm in the sun as the first cell, pouring in half the calculated amount resulted in a massive overfill. When I trimmed off the excess found large voids in the middle due to overheating. But we adjusted and figured out the best method for us to use. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...G8H9Etg-myURA1 https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...67uMkLHNs6aZp- Later in the week I went back with a handsaw and trimmed the foam down flush with the stringer tops and then coated the cut surfaces with a little thickened epoxy for good measure. Then began installing the hardware on the foredeck. Since I wanted to through bolt all of that hardware and not rely on just screwing into the wood coring, that was the impetus for the prep work and painting on just the forececk and not the cap as a whole, before the 2 halves will get mated back together: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...tp_hlLYbPlPqws https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...9i6f87wS9JGoq_ https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...zQGhpxhuuFDZSx https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...pltzkxGjSNe_Hp https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...Wk-SQ5rxFZHtjE https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...YfMuWnwS7o_cJn I'm really please with how the non skid contours around the hardware, I think it's a really slick detail. I'm also pleased with the finish of the paint with only rolling - no tipping or wet sanding or bufffing. It's got a light orange peel like surface but it's glossy as hell and easy to clean. I don't want to wax it until I blend the rest of the cap and sole paint in with this area, so washing the bird dropping and whatnot off it every couple days until it's recapped and can be covered with a tarp again. More to come! - Greg |
Now you might expect the next post to be the cap being married back to the hull...but it's not.
I hadn't figured out my fuel tank plan up until this point, but I decided it was time to solidify that portion before I put the cap back on. In modeling the target tank I decided that while I probably COULD get the tank in through the hatch...it's going to be whole hell of a lot easier to do BEFORE the cap goes on. So, since the stock market and economy have been doing better than I feared they might back in the early spring (I work in the restaurant industry so...), I felt comfortable in ordering the fuel tank, the Oceanlink FOLT5007 I mentioned earlier in this thread. It's a 50 gallon poly belly tank. Less capacity than the original tank but more than enough for my anticipated use. And most importantly it fits within the dimensional requirements of the original tank compartment! With the tank settled I began formulating a plan for supporting it. I gridded out the hull line from the stringer top, and modeled the hull in Fusion360, as well as the tank. After locating the tank at the height I felt was appropriate I then created a platform which matches the tank profile. That platform will rest on a riser assembly which spans the innermost set of chines. The riser will get epoxied and glassed to the hull, the platform will get epoxied to the riser and glassed to the stringers on either side. There's 1½" of gap between the bulkheads fore and aft of the platform so any moisture that does happen to get down in there can find it's way all the way down to the bilge and out. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...AVu5Mid6dAh1Lt At the ends of the tank I will wedge in a few strips of 2" insulating foam to lock the tank in between the 2 bulkheads. I'm fabricating the hold downs which will provide the rest of the rigid mount from a piece of 18ga 304 stainless salvaged from a bar renovation so the tank should be well anchored, fully supported, and last the remainder of my lifetime. Here's the riser assembly that I started yesterday morning: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...J_VdlNiGXdcL_j And the platform I glued up this morning: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...Mnkts-YjJCfb8S The platform will receive (2) 4" diameter holes matching the tank design which aren't cut yet. And here's cutting up the stainless for the hold downs: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...Xb7y9V4q0w4R_o https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...pDD54f7Kn49ibp The flux core stainless wire will arrive at the end of this coming week but no rush on that as the tank has a minimum 3 week lead time - should be plenty of time to get all the glass work done on the riser and platform and get them mounted into the hull, and finally weld the gussets on the brackets. And THAT catches the thread up! I've gotten a lot more accomplished this summer than I thought I would. Hope you enjoy! Thanks - Greg |
Fine work! :clap:
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Looks good, i know expansion and contraction is an issue on poly tanks, be sure to factor that in.
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Amazing work. Not only on the boat but the documentation, quality photos, etc. Pipe summed it up in 2 words - fine work! Nice job and thank you for posting up this really cool rebuild thread. Can't wait to see your next move, and the final product!
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I've been doing additional thinking and reading about the fuel tank. My platform design wasn't going to result in a sealed compartment but I've decided the platform does need to be fully sealed to the stringers & bulkheads so that any fuel leaks can't foul the bilge. Not a big deal, just need to epoxy up a few pieces of glass as right angles to bridge at the ends - the sides were always intended to seal to the stringers for support. I'm still contemplating if I need to add vents and a blower though. I'm leaning towards it'd be a good idea. |
Less than favorable weather this weekend so all I got done outside was some sanding to prep for priming and applying a coat of TotalFair to scratches and pock marks on the transom and keel.
But I was able to tackle one lingering project in the basement after I wrapped up glassing all the surfaces of the new tank platform. I went to work recoring the fuel compartment cover. A new piece of 1/2" MDO laid in with peanut butter. Then I filled the gap between the edge of the plywood and the lip of the cover with a blend of thickened epoxy, milled fiber and 1/4" chopped strand before wetting out a layer of 17oz biax over the back side. I am hoping that this mixture will allow me to countersink the screws which secure the compartment directly into the newly reinforced edge. :sly: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...mhnNKn5CV6dYmB The piece of ply covered with mylar tape sticking out the side is just a form to let me build up the edge where a hole had been cut in the edge of the cover for the original install of the cables to the console. Once the back side is set up I'll patch that glass on the topside and create a new hole with a proper dam around it for the console cables that ISN'T in the compartment cover. Up next may very well be removing the hull from the trailer again and applying paint. Weather just has to cooperate. Stay tuned! |
Happy Derby Weekend!
It's Derby Weekend here in Louisville and the weather is freaking fantastic - 80° days and 0% chance of rain today thru Tuesday. So painting is on tap.
Over the past few weeks I've made some new hull supports. I wasn't overly fond of the stacked concrete blocks I used last summer so I took some scrap treated 2x6's I had and grabbed a couple 4x4's and 2x4's and made up these pylons: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...k_y526SwhyV9pg https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...B_GNBeJm3q0Y9K And then earlier this week I set to the oh so fun chore of jacking up the hull and shimmying the trailer out from 'neath her. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...FpNYesk56TWNHS Then set to fairing and sanding the hull to clean up where I sanded thru the old antifouling paint and in spots gelcoat, and the myriad of scratches from the PO beaching her regularly. On the less dry days I cleaned up all the hatches, faired them and set the non-skid in a coat of epoxy to simplify the painting process. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...uC7Tgo0HS2Vdwo The PO also mounted a swim ladder to the transom and put one of the screw holes right through the E in the HIN. I tried to dremel a new E in but it never looked very good. So I modeled up a negative of the HIN in Fusion360 and printed it on my 3D printer, packed the mold full of epoxy and milled fiber with a backer of 1708 and put it under a vacuum for an hour to yield this: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...pfNHjsoNpQNM73 Lost the islands in a few of the digits but they read well enough that it works. Cut the old HIN out and glued the new casting in and faired it last night. And finally this afternoon, after wrapping up a late post lunch meeting, I came home and set to spraying the primer: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...C1HRBzh0DSCeJ1 https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...5JmV0vNaFDlew9 Tomorrow morning I'll wet sand and start spraying the finish. With the fantastic weather I'll get 6 coats on her and be ready to install the fuel tank when it gets delivered next week. Just gotta order the new hoses and clamps to make final connections from the deck drains to the thru hulls for assembling the two halves. Thanks for looking! - Greg |
Productive weekend! I sprayed a total of 4 coats of paint. My bodywork filling and fairing wasn't perfect, but from 10 feet away I can't pick out the issues, and even at 5 foot I have to know where to look. Plus, except for the 3' long scar along the port side, all of the issues are below the waterline, or under where the engine will mount on the transom, so it's a win in this amateur's book.
It's so nice seeing a glossy shine on her - she didn't have a lick of that when she came home. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...O5ewce2UiEY3iX https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...kcQk1aLxH_W4v3 https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...jqTEzvbRfW1UrA I did have one sag starboard side just fore of the ice box thru hull but it's hardly noticeable. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...XY2ZxdEP-aIHNd I should have sourced acetone by the pail... https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...zonvpPBhquzVmv I used a variant of the iBoats "tractor paint" process. Rustoleum Oil Base Gloss Enamel, Acetone to reduce, and Majic Enamel Hardener from Tractor Supply in a 8:6:1 ratio. Each coat took 120 oz of mixed product, sprayed through a Harbor Freight Pressure Pot HVLP gun, fed by (2) 21gal compressors to yield a theoretical 11.6 cfm supply rate, just above the 10 cfm spec'd by HF for the gun. While spraying the hull I also coated all the hatch covers which all had coarse non-skid. That really took some serious application to cover. I bet 30-40 oz of each coat was sprayed on the non-skid. I sprayed the primer with a gravity feed HVLP gun and decided that the $60 pressure pot version was a good investment to let me correctly aim the spray for the keel and chines - I was right :) Now, since the hull is off the trailer, I'm setting up to replace 4 of the bunk supports on the inner pair that were too short in my original setup. I've gotta grab a length of 2x4 tube and weld those on over the next couple weeks before my brother travels back down to assist with getting her back on the trailer and setting the cap back in place. So I rolled the trailer up onto the patio to where the welder can reach the outlet, and braced the bunks where they need to be, cut out the front 2 and made up a template for the new supports out of a scrap 2x4. Once the front set is tacked on, I'll cut out the mid supports and tack those in. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...D1ZcJTxm-KKUCp Fuel tank should be delivered this week so installing that will be the next big ticket endeavour. Thanks for looking! |
Looking GOOOOOD!!!!:clap::clap:
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Really nice! Where'd you source your fuel tank? It seems like someone somewhere is always looking for one.
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Great job, nice progress. She's really looking good. You'll be on the water soon! Can't wait to see splashdown.
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Since my last post I've hit my milestones for this season. Had a stretch of rain (not from Sally) that kept me in the shop for a number of days. Took that time to finally wrap up rebuilding part of the basement bathroom and laundry room to install a large stainless steel prep sink. But also fired up the mill and machined the slots in the tank mounting brackets.
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...90MR14c84yIzgT Then when the weather cleared back up I loaded the flux core 308 stainless wire into the welder and welded the gussets on the brackets. Clearly I'm not a seasoned welder, but they are solid and I was able to hammer the brackets back to flat. This was the best of the welds, I won't show the worst LOL. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...vU1SZSYAvPlRzN Then spent a bit of time waiting on my tank to arrive. While waiting my new hoses arrived. Fill, vent, and the hose for the deck drains and the ice chest. I used defender.com and was pleased with their service. I had also ordered a spool of 18ga jacketed duplex wire to wire up the nav lights prior to reassembling to make it easier and that was missing from the box. Once alerted they shipped the replacement out fairly quick. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...qERlH9QBA4_n4I Then got to installing the thru hulls, stern eyes and a replacement drain fitting for the ice chest. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...mFI8_FVRdgETtY https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...FjNG-WkBRWO4AX https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...MkWZIVuPlL6tL9 I could not find that drain fitting at any marine supplier. I ended up finding it through a restaurant equipment supplier, and cheaper by 1/3 than anything I was seeing at marine vendors. Just a little tip. Then last weekend I jacked the hull up and slid the trailer back under. Oops - forgot to take any pics of the 4 bunk supports I replaced to get the bunks in perfect alignment for this hull. Sorry. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...DXF92n9GVK0nwP And just like that she was mobile again. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...w7smojnOkhSDHF All that done and I was STILL waiting on the tank. So I had my neighbor give me a hand maneuvering the console back up the basement steps last Saturday night, and started sanding and planning out the console rehab on Sunday. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...FTfhbVW4ZOZ-gT Monday about 10am I got a call from R&L Carriers scheduling my tank delivery for Tuesday! About 15 minutes after the end of the delivery window the driver called and said he was 5 minutes out. I was a happy camper. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...vkA-nJnxu-DG7p I wasn't impressed with the hassle involved in actually getting the tank. The tracking number I was provided was invalid and the vendor just kept telling me that the manufacturer was looking into it. For two weeks. And all communication was initiated by me. I was ready to throw in the towel and sent an email the Friday before delivery giving them an ultimatum. Then R&L called on Monday. In the end it worked out, but I would be a bit hesitant to use them again. With the tank in hand I was able to dry fit my platform and the tank and verify everything mated up nicely and would clear what it needed to. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...BVO43haexylVMi First I peanut buttered and glassed in the PVC bilge passage and then the riser assembly. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...CHyys6Vt60zo4T Then peanut buttered the platform to the riser, and tabbed the platform to the stringers and bulkheads. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...kfcROMZ3bWT2Ss https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...Y32pnbhUhgLNCD The short ends were done with angles that I prefabricated, due to the fact that I was low on 3/4" ply and didn't want to by another whole sheet just to complete this. The tank rests on plywood cored glass, these tabs only seal the compartment to keep any liquid that may end up in there from making it's way to the inaccessible void under the platform or, if the PVC passage were to fail, to the bilge. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...KMIpGSlXGABHRu Then since the last of the hull glasswork was DONE I cracked a beer and admired my work. :beer: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...6Gab3kbQaGzihA Well, cracked the beer too soon. Halfway through the beer I decided to toss a finishing layer of 17oz biax over the platform. No pic though as evidently summer left and the sun now sets really freaking early. By the time I got my hands clean and everything put away it was too dark for a pic without flash and my phone was too low to let me use the flash :pic: Next up...the two halves get reunited! |
Reunited and it feels so good!
Well this was supposed to happen next weekend when my brother comes down to visit and lend a hand. But I hoisted up the cap to make sure everything fit together correctly before he traveled down. It went together so smoothly I opted to crack out the PL adhesive and bed down the cap today.
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...jjbXSKGtm3td1g https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...TbrowMO-XRouSQ And once I got the 4200 run around the entire joint (I hate caulking, and I really hate caulking upside down...) I stripped the 2x4's of the lifting structure out of the cap and set up a new tarp support system and got the cover back on her before it rains tomorrow. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...KxlaHVkRfEbARV Next weekend when my brother is down I'll have him assist with breaking the gantry down and storing it until I acquire a new outboard. I'm sure my neighbors will appreciate the change of scenery! https://drive.google.com/uc?export=d...76vGMN8qAzATaY It's been 427 days since I removed the cap and began stripping out foam and exposing the rotten structure. It's been a hell of a lot of work but really no one task was all that hard. Expensive yes, but hard no! But it sure feels good to have her looking like a real boat again! Hopefully I can get the cutting I need to do on the console done in the next few weeks and get that back into the basement to be able to glass and fair it over the winter. Then when I pull the cover back off again and get the sanding done on the sole, I can paint the sole and console together. Still plenty left to do but nothing happens overnight. Thanks for looking - Greg |
WOW you sure are doing one HELLAVA job!!!!
BE SAFE!!! |
Thank you Giorgio!
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Super work, good job sticking with it. It will be well worth it
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Thanks phatdaddy!
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You are doing an awesome job on this, thanks for sharing with us.
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I am new to the Wellcraft boats and this site but I just finished your thread. A lot of work went in to this build. I was surprised to see you use wood, but it looked like you sealed it pretty well!
I also wondered if you have drains in the tank well? And lastly what is the status of this build? Your update on this post was in Sep...? Hope all is well. Thanks for sharing and I have to say I am a bit envious of you mad skills!:love: I do think the aluminum trailer would have been better to add wood bunks than a steel trailer, but being down here by the GOM I see steel rust to fast. Again, thanks!:clap::beer: |
Yes we are all really looking forward to any updates. Hope all is well..
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