Re: 1978 SF restoration, my first one.....
 

Finally got back to work this afternoon. I had a friend help me but will definitely need a lift when I start putting this back together.

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Re: 1978 SF restoration, my first one.....
 

Just an FYI. Strick didn't brace the gunnels on his 20 when he took the liner off and it spread out enough that he had to split the liner and reglass it once he got the 2 pieces back up in place. He probaly added an inch or so to the beam measured at the rail!

Re: 1978 SF restoration, my first one.....
 

BigLew, thanks for the advice. I took quite a few measurements before anything was disassembled and am planning on a suitable cradle and crossbracing before I start putting it back together. I hope to hold the original dimensions and perform QA/QC checks periodically through the restoration in case I need to make some adjustments.

Re: 1978 SF restoration, my first one.....
 

you are doing a really good job on the controlled chaos of tearing the boat down. As one of the other guys already said Stricks boat spread from not having a brace across it. I would make one so it was removable with two screws while you were working inside and then be able to reinstall after the days work is over. what are you plans for everthing? From the pics and how fast you are going it doesnt look like this is your first rodeo. Keep up the goods work and the pics coming.

Re: 1978 SF restoration, my first one.....
 

Strick may chime in but the problem with the boat spreading is he put the floor back in and did not check the width. So measure the upper cap width and the hulls width, like everyone says, stabilize it. I removed the upper cap from my 23 but did not have a problem with spreading since the inner liner (floor) stayed intaked and kept the boat from spreading.

Re: 1978 SF restoration, my first one.....
 

BTK, that is a good idea and I may give it a try. Another method that I read on one post was to cut a dado in two ends of a 2x4 and just drop it down on the pre-measured locations. I definitely need to hold the original form and avoid any rework if possible. A lot of the design is still fluid right now but a couple of things I'm hoping to accomplish will be able to accomodate a 175hp to 200hp 4 stroke engine with a 16-20 gallon livewell in the stern. At this point I'm thinking about purchasing one of Hermco's brackets for twins and having it drilled for a single for the additional flotation. I've got some sanding to do and it will give me a chance to put more thought into the details. Nobody told me this stuff's addictive, I'm having a hard time focusing on the day job!

Re: 1978 SF restoration, my first one.....
 

ET23, I've checked the dimensions a couple of times since I removed the deck, inner liner and gunwales and haven't seen excessive deflection at this point. I was planning on taking it off the trailer and blocking it but the trailer actually provides such a good cradle that I may wait until I have some of the structural members back in place before addressing the bottom.

Re: 1978 SF restoration, my first one.....
 

Nice boat and a good way to start,

Re: 1978 SF restoration, my first one.....
 

Not a lot of progress on the boat this past week with work, my one year wedding anniversary and the holiday weekend so I thought I would mix it up with some fishing pics I had mentioned earlier. This was March, Friday the 13th at the Marathon Hump in the Florida Keys. We had a pretty good haul with a couple of bull dolphin, blackfin and skipjack tuna, amberjack (I released another 40 lb'er), queen snapper and a snowy grouper. It was rough day but worth the pounding!

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I did get some sanding done on the exterior transom skin this past week. It doesn't look like much but if you look back at one of the first few pics you can see all of the caulk that had been used when the reinforcing plate for the transom was previously installed. It was very tough to remove. I used a wood chisel to scrap it and my orbital sander to take off the top coat of paint and the bottom paint that was on the lower transom below the water line. I've gotten lots of material ordered and hope to really get cranked up in the next couple of weeks. It cost more but I decided to go with a 1.5" Coosa board (Bluewater 26) for my transom core so it will be a one piece installation. I also spent some time calculating the amount of 8 lb structural foam that the stringers will require. My initial estimate is giving me roughly 5.0 cubic feet per stringer. That stuff is expensive and I don't want to order more than necessary.
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Other than that I just continued removing hardware from the top cap. I drilled some pilot holes to determine what the original thickness of the coring material for the bow and gunwales was. What used to be wood was nothing but sawdust and that is being kind. However, dropping a tape measure in the pilot holes it appears a 3/4" material was used in the bow and transitioned to a 1/2" at the gunwales. You can also see where the wiring for the forward navigational light was glassed in. I plan on glassing in a conduit to blow strings through to pull my wires. I couldn't imagine the headache if you had a nick in a wire and would up with a short or some other freak occurrence and need the ability to pull them if necessary.
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Re: 1978 SF restoration, my first one.....
 

Will, it looks like you're off to a great start on your restoration! However I'd respectfully suggest you rethink the power selection, as the combo of a bracket, 500 lb motor (ask the mfgr what the WET weight is will all fluids and cowling installed!) and a big live well = a seriously stern heavy boat with a min planing speed of 20 mph plus! No matter how big the flotation chamber is, it won't help once you're on plane! Consider the Zuke 140 if you want quiet and low fuel consumption, or an early lightweight Merc if you want lots of power, or if you want quiet, lots of power AND low fuel comsumption, a small block V-6 E-Tec!