New Member - '75 Step -lift -> CC restore
 

Hello all.
First i want to say this site has some great info and some talented fabricators. Im thinking on taking on a V20 steplift to CC conversion. The Hull is a '75 and in rough shape. I get some pics uploaded shortly. The gel-coat is almost completely shot and peeling away almost all over the exterior of the hull. Do i need to worry about water penetration into the hull fibers itself? The transom, stringers, & cap all will be replaced. Also questions about which materials i should use. Reading alot about resins & cloth to use. I know epoxy is the stongest correct and should be used for transom & stringers. What about vinyl? just as strong? Im sure a million more questions are to come and thanks for any help and guidance.
Thanks!

pics
 

Pics

Welcome Brywheat!

Sounds like you're going full bore into a project. Look forward to hearing about it.

Im hoping, but cant even get pics to upload yet....Not off to a good start
:fight:

Shoot...welcome to the club my brother! The only way anyone even knows I have a V20 is Ferm saw my 85 when he picked up my old evinrude, and Spareparts saw me buy one from Reelapeelin' once. LOL

Macojoe had to upload the one in my signature for me.

EDIT: I met Whatknot anchored off the north end of Wassaw Island once, so he would probably vouch for me too.

One of my main concerns is water penetration into the hull fibers. The gel-coat is chipping away, and a few spots with deep scratches and exposed fiber, not that much though. Ill get pics up somehow

pics won't load. need help
 

Here we go again

gel coat will absorb more moisture than fiberglass will. Grind the gel down, squeegy thinkened epoxy over the surface, block sand till its smooth prima nd paint. Check out epoxyworks on line or look at the Guegen Bros website

http://www.epoxyworks.com/

http://www.systemthree.com/sys3news/...he-epoxy-book/

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/

Another question I have is the 75' has a curved transom. When glassing in new ply does ot flex to the old glass curvature? Vice versa? Or if you know of some good transom threads I could study
thanks

Transom
 

I would like to make a full transom with a bracket. Should the old skin be cut out to make the transom straight & not curved?
Any info would be great!

The transom curve is retained and you build the bracket to match the curve,or if you are having the bracket built for you the manufacturer will need a template.
I am not sure what power you currently have but if an I/O be aware that the area around the drive is actually flat and made up from seperate pieces of ply.
I just rebuilt the transom in my 73 I/O. The original transom was made from one sheet of 3/4 ply curved and then 2 layered pieces of 3/4 around the keyhole.I rebuilt mine with 2 layers of 1/2 inch for the full transom with 2 pieces of 1/2 and a pice of 3/4 around the keyhole. All the layers were brought together by sandwiching glass cloth between the layers,this allowed for the transition between the flat section and the curved area.
If you are planning on hanging a bracket then plan on making the new transom at least 3 layers of 3/4,and plan on cutting out the outer glass around the keyhole and rebuilding that area to follow the curve as you will not need a flat area if there is no outdrive to hang.
Hopefully this is clear,its kinda hard to describe in words.
You do however always work from the inside ,you need to leave the outer skin of the transom intact to keep the hull sides aligned

if you don't already have the hull, i'd look for a center console model. what you are wanting to do sounds like too much sugar for a dime.

Liam

Its an outboard model, 1975. transom is curved besides where the original outboard would hang
I know its going to be a long pricy project. But the hull is free, and i really love the v20 hull

Can i cut the old skins out and make a flat transom? Figured a bracket could be found second hand cheaper and easier if it was a straight flat transom, maybe im overthinking, or maybe i should just make it 25" and call it good?
Any input is welcomed.

I know , all my friends think im nuts for even wanting to do this but i really dont expect it to come out looking like a new hatteras

Yeah she needs ALOT of work. but this is a learning curve for me. I have access to glass & epoxy, ply pretty cheap. And my girlfriend likes the idea of a project that keeps me at the house. Little does she know how much Ill be in the house once the fun begins

Oh and the hull is free with a nice 2006 loadrite trailer, Ill be picking it up either way for the trailer, just didnt want to take the hull to the dump

For the most part brackets are custom made to a hull,its not just the curve that is the issue,the deadrise of the bracket,height at which the motor will mount,amount of flotation built into the bracket are all going to be engineered specifically to the hull on which it is to be mounted.
There is such a thing as a gill bracket but they offer no flotation which would likely be an issue. "Stainless marine" brackets may be another option that may be a slightly more generic fit, I have never looked into them personally but did own a hydra sport with one on,they are not as wide as say an "Armstrong" bracket.
I know there have been a few guys on here that added brackets,hopefully they can add some advice.

Hi, I'm new here too! Good luck!

Steve

Hello Spoggy Welcome aboard.:part:

Hey
gutted most of the rotten floor today
The previous ower did a horribe restore at one point. . Good intentions. Raised the floor above the water line. Horrible approach.. screwed 2"x12" the factory stringers running on the inside and nothing was glassed.. floor inclued.. good news is the tank was replaced
Dimensions make it about 115 gallons..
Have a few concerns about the curved transom and building it up. Really want to make it full with a bracket. I'll try and get pics up. If I figure out how. Any input is always appreciated! !

Almost have the cap & old floor out. . It's coming along but have new questions about the inner/outer skins. Are they laminated together? What should the inside off the outter skin look like? Looks rough ... guess I need to figure out these pics. . Should this go in the repair forum?

Sounds like you're in deep now Brywheat! Keep going, people here can talk you through it.

Yes, but we're not real sticklers here. General is fine also. It's more important for us to see/help than to worry about what section the post is made in.

Transom Question
 

Thanks bradford...
Just uploaded pics to photobucket..now just to get them here.

Ok the transom questions
How thick should a transom be with a bracket?
Looks like the original was 2" and has a slight curve

Should 1/4" marine ply flex to the outter skin?
vice versa??
thinking of a 1/4' ply sandwich as follows..

outter skin
glue
1/4" marine ply
let cure to keep the original curve
add mat & 1/4"
glue & keep building up to at least 2.5??
Any input would be great.

Thanks Destroyer

How do i get pics up?? It just keeps saying attachment isnt valid

Pics
 

Finally Pics

messing with colors
 

I think i want it carolina blue or off white

so the original floor was raised with poor effort.
2 x 12's where screwed to the original stringers and not glassed, floor also wasnt glassed, good thing i think i can salvage the tank
It has been replaced. From what i understand, the '75 orginally had two saddle tanks??
the line made by the raised floor was even and I'll be going back to that height. I like a self bailing deck, but i will hardly ever leave it in the drink over night so not sure if i rather have the gunwale height or self bailing. mostly trailered from VA beach to South NJ chasing stripers, flounder & cobia

http://i1054.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9gjtnajw.jpg
http://i1054.photobucket.com/albums/...psbcvwol0g.jpg
http://i1054.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9gjtnajw.jpg

I got to say, If you're going to do a full on restore that's the type of hull to do it on. Bring one back from the landfill and give her a new life.

Good for you Brywheat!

You might think of removing the cap and doing it all, stringers, bulkheads, raise the deck, new tanks, custom hatches, etc. It would actually be easier to work on if she was opened up. You're gonna "save" a pile of money doing it yourself.

EDIT: Nevermind she's a pre 78. Might be able to get away with leaving the cap on.

Cap removal questions
 

Will the hull maintain its shape with the cap completely off?

Bradford, I plan on replacing it all. transom-hoping for full w/ a bracket or at least a 30" hanging, havent decided yet, stingers with floor rasied above the water line, new deck, gunwales & cap.

Should i leave the inside skin? remove it completely?
you can see in the pics where the PO screwed 2 x 10" to the inside of the factory stingers to raise the floor height.
Its going to be a slow build, so have patience with me..
saving for all material now, rather have everything I need before completey striping it to the hull.

Kracker if your still out there Id love your input. Also somewhat local, SOuthern DE,
Your build looked awesome!

Fuel tank or Tanks??
 

oh and the tank is shot too, guess there is the "Bust out another thousand". but guess thats to be expected.

Do most usually replace with a big single tank?, or those who use saddle tanks Id like your input too.

Most usually replace with a single tank, but not for the reason you'd expect. Side tanks are nice, but unless you drain them equally at the same time they tend to unbalance the boat, whereas a single tank in the middle always keeps the boat in trim as it drains. Plus you gain all that space under the gunnels for storage of rods, boat hooks, nets, extinguishers and God knows what else. (and as an added bonus, the single tanks usually hold more than the two side tanks combined).

CAP? stringer core material?
 

What about the cap Destroyer? will the hull keep its shape with it off for awhile? Ive be told as far as the stringers, replace one at a time, leaving the other in place until completed due to "oil canning" of the hull

What do you think?

Ive also seen a few build threads where actual 2" x 10" fur planks where used for stingers. Would ply be a better choice & why? Im probably going with A/A douglas fur for everthing.

There are several people here that have had their cap off that can answer your question better than I, but, logically, when the cap is put back on the hull should return to it's original shape. (Presuming that you didn't do anything to it to misshape it). As far as the stringers go, I'd do them one at a time, and, like the old carpenter's adage says, measure twice, cut once.

poppin caps
 

http://i1054.photobucket.com/albums/...psg0ppiubn.jpgURL=http://s1054.photobucket.com/user/brywheat80/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20140630_192447_zpsjk3ufo4d.jpg.html]http://i1054.photobucket.com/albums/...psjk3ufo4d.jpg[/URL]URL=http://s1054.photobucket.com/user/brywheat80/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20140630_192500_zpsg0ppiubn.jpg.html]http://i1054.photobucket.com/albums/...psg0ppiubn.jpg[/URL]

Tons of questions!! Help please
 

So Im still confused about the stringers and transom and have a million questions.

Transom
With the slight curve of transom Ive been told to start with 1/4" ply as it will easly bend to the exisiting outter skin. What do the pros say?
Here is the layup Ive been thinking
outter skin, resin & mat? or glue?, 1/4" ply, using a/a or a/b fir,resin & mat? or glue?, 1/2" ply, resin & mat, 1/2" ply, resin & mat, 1/2", resin & mat, till i get 2.5", told thats the thickness i need to safely hang a floation bracket..need advice there too....Should i fillet the edges of each transom ply as i go? tabbing each piece as I go? 1708 for the outter skin x 2

Stringers
are they one single piece of ply? 1"? what ive seen on a few builds If so how do you tie in two pieces for your lenght?

For instance, did you make a "bed" for the stringers? is epoxy glue good enough for the bed? or use mat & resin?

should the old glass encapsulating the old stringers be completely removed?

Keep up the great work and thanks again for any input!
Thnaks a million for the help!