250 Sportsman Project

Monkey Butler · #1 05-29-2007, 04:12 AM

As many of you may know by now a 1986 Wellcraft 250 Sportsman followed me home recently. While she isn't a basket case by any means she does show signs of neglect and could use a fair amount of TLC before she is something to be proud of. I'm not talkin' about a showpiece, just a nice clean boat that I can safely bring my family and friends out to sea in.

The motor runs but hasn't been sea trialed so that's still a big unknown. The trailer on the other hand obviously needs work, and a lot of new parts. Expensive new parts.

BTW, It is my intention to keep track of my total cost to get this "bargain" boat up and running so I'm going tp keep a loose running total of my expenditures. But, just in case the Admiral ever finds this forum I'm forced to use a little creative accounting. For instance, when I went to test the motor I noticed that the fuel connector was totally shot. Figures, OMC connectors that I already have don't fit. So the next day at work I ran out to West Marine during lunch and paid $12.99 for a Tempo Yamaha Fuel Connector. So using my accounting method here is the tally so far...

Engine Parts ........ $1.29

Get it? Just divide by 10 and drop anything after the second decimal place. It's fairly accurate and Admiral safe.

While I was at West I also picked up a few cleaners and some varnish and some Yamaha Ring Free and a new Racor fuel filter element.

Tally
Engine Parts 4.78
Misc Supplies 6.00
Gas & Oil -180.00
Total -169.22

That Gas & Oil is a negative because so far I have pumped 60 gallons of gas out of the boat's tank and have been burning it in my cars. At 3.00 a gallon that works out to a $180 windfall profit!

My short term goal is to get on the water by the 4th O' July so with the long Memorial Day weekend here we went right at it.

The first weekend we brought the boat home we did an overall cleaning and assesment of potential problems. This weekend I dug a little deeper to make sure there were no hidden major catastrophes that would kill the project. I wanted to do this before I made any major cash outlays. The transom seems solid, I test drilled the stringers and they look good so...

A look at the trailer. The frame is in great shape and very solid. Everything else, on the other hand...

The brakes. Or should I say lack of brakes. Someone either removed all the guts or they just disintegrated.

Don't have a socket to fit these nuts.

So drill the heads off the bolts.

Hey, where did my helper go?

Here is whats left of the backing plate.

The spindle and axle cleaned up good though.

Looks like I'll have to spring for some new suspension pieces.

BTW, the above photo shows why I hate Home Depot. Every tuba fore I've ever bought there is crap.

Meanwhile, my daughter wanted to see if she could bring the wood trim back to life so she started on a few test pieces. I wasn't so sure but...

I hope she sticks with it and gets the thing done!

When I first looked at the boat I could tell there were some repairs at the bow and along the port chine but they did not appear to be serious. After a little probing the chine looked like it could be a disaster. I couldn't really tell what was going on. There was what looked like chunks of gel coat coming of and patches and bondo. I started to think that this boat had been wrecked run over some rocks. It looked like the whole chine could be split...

Going slowly here is what I found as i sanded away layers of bondo and glass tape, some applied right over old bottom paint.

These are fairly common defects. They happen when the person laying up the glass in the mold doesn't get it to lay in the sharp corner of the chine properly, leaving a void behind the gel coat. The other chine has no defects. Must have been a different worker doing each side. In an effort to "fix" these blemishes someone had made a real mess but the bottom paint hides a lot.

The same thing at the bow where the hull takes a lot of abuse from beaching.

The cure was worse than the disease. I'm going to remove the bottom paint and I know it a long messy job so if anyone has any tips or wants to help, step right up.

As I said at the begining of the post I need to order some trailer parts, brakes being the big ticket item. Right now here is what I am leaning toward:

http://www.championtrailers.com/TIED...BRAKE_KITS.HTM

Thats $43.99 for the 1st axle with a new coulpler and $24.99 forthe second axle. I like the idea of stainless because I hate watching brakes tun into a ball of rust after a couple of seasons but I have no experience with them. Are they worth it? Any downsides? What else should I be looking at?

That's all for now.

Steve P.

reelapeelin · #2 05-29-2007, 08:39 AM

Steve, that's quite a project ya got goin' there and I like your accounting method ... will probably save the marriage unless yer caught :o ...THEN yer reely dead ;) ...

Champion Trailers is reely good...I've done a lotta business w/ them over the years ... but on the Tie-Down disc-brakes, from personal experience, I would steer you in another direction...TD's improved their brakes since I bought, but I don't think they've caught up w/ Kodiaks, plus TD's service STINKS ... Airslot installed Kodiaks recently, so hopefully he'll chime in here w/an update ... Tie-Downs actuators ARE good ones...I DO recommend them and they'll work fine w/Kodiak brakes, just make SURE you get actuator FOR DISC BRAKES ;) ...

Good work and keep the pix comin :D ...

macojoe · #3 05-29-2007, 12:19 PM

Great Job your doing!!!!!!!! I hate breaks!! I would never do them over if it was me, But I like to live on the edge! ;D

My buddy had a sport like that and the brakes were dead for years, Thank god we never had to stop fast!!

By the way took me a few min to figure out this one! and you guys call me windtalker! ;)

Quote:

BTW, the above photo shows why I hate Home Depot. Every tuba fore I've ever bought there is crap.

msbhammer · #4 05-29-2007, 02:50 PM

Tally, great Pics. ;)
That trailer looks like the one I use to have. HAd tons of rust, but your doing things right it looks. The chime and keel look fine to me, A few knicks, dings and gouges. No big deal. A good patch job and you will be fine. ;)
Keep up the great work.

Blue_Runner · #5 05-29-2007, 06:29 PM

Ditto what Hammer said. Nice work there! Doing it right.

Monkey Butler · #6 06-01-2007, 12:07 AM

Well, I dropped the first big wad on the project today...

Totals to date:
Engine Parts $4.78
Trailer Parts $130.81
Misc Supplies $6.00
Gas & Oil -$180.00
Total -$38.41

I took your advice Mr. Reel and went with Kodiaks but I bought them from a local place, N.E. Marine Ind. They are only a few miles from me and they had everything I needed in stock. That included some oddball bushings and suspension hardware specific to Load-Rite that Champion didn't have. Picked it all up today so if the weather cooperates maybe I'll be able to take a test drive next week!

I went with S.S. calipers and the S-Cad vented rotors.

Anyone else using these and running the 90W oil?

macojoe, years ago I would have had the same attitude towards brakes but I'll have my kids in the car on most trips...

BTW, on your pals old 250. What did he have for power and what kind of performance did he get, and fuel burn?

msbhammer · #7 06-01-2007, 12:52 AM

Looks like your weekend is booked. ;D

lumberslinger178 · #8 06-01-2007, 01:08 AM

great pics keep em coming ....intresting work

macojoe · #9 06-01-2007, 02:32 AM

He repowered from the prop to the key with Brand new Mercuriser, and Brovo out drive, I think 260 hp? Chevy 350, Carb.
Not sure what we did for speed back then? But we would go 30 miles off shore 60 miles round trip, we would Cod fish for 6 to 8 hours and run the engin 80% of the time. Moving from spot to spot, and drifting along.

I seem to remeber that we would use something like 60 gal for a day like that?

I will ask him tomorrow for some better info. Boat took water nice, very comfy, But I think my V20 has more fishing area! I hated them step up's!

Thats why I like the off shore beter they no have the step ups.