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

First of all I would like to compliment this website and those who built, maintain it and post regularly, excellent job!

My good friend "The Digger", who will be posting his 18' restoration on here shortly, got me fired up and I purchased my first Seacraft in February of this year. It's a 1978 20' SF and looked at lot better in the photos on Boat Trader than it did when I got it home. I hope the pros on here will be able to give me some good advice as I know I will have lots of questions.

This is what I found on line when searching for a boat.....

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...re049jpg-2.jpg

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...ture052jpg.jpg

After a weekend of crushing fish at the Marathon Hump (pics to follow), here she sits in her new temporary home. We had some sanding assistance while we were out playing over the weekend. The strip down begins.....

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After I had removed the rub rail. It didn't take long to figure out that the boat had been restored once before.....

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02451.jpg

Enough can't be said about having good help!

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02452.jpg

One thing that caught me by surprise was that the previous owner has evidently topped it off with fuel before parking it. I repositioned the fuel line and used the priming bulb to siphon out 50+ gallons.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02453.jpg

Removal of the rear boxes and access hatches.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02458.jpg

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02461.jpg

The previous restoration had built up the top of the transom with scraps of plywood and what I think is a Cabosil mixture.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02464.jpg

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02465.jpg

Deck removed to expose the fuel tank.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n.../DSC02469A.jpg

Fuel tank removed and foam cleaned out.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n.../DSC02472A.jpg

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n.../DSC02474A.jpg

Stinger that was either broken or not put back together properly during the last restoration.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n.../DSC02477A.jpg

That's it for now. Looking forward to the weekend!

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

Looks good. Man, that first pic looks so clean I was wondering why you would be restoring, until I saw all of the others. :D Good luck!

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

Pretty good clean up job. This makes it so much easier to see what you got you do, new and fresh.

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

Can someone give me some guidance on a brand or a link to buy the two-part foam that I have seen on this site for filling stringers and the voids between the deck and hull?

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

You can start with here, higher the number the denser the foam.
http://www.fgci.com/

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

Thanks Caymanboy. By the way, excellent job on your boat! You gave me some good ideas.

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

Thank you, $5 for every one you use!!!!!! Jk! I got alot of my ideas off this site, very knowledgeable folks, pays to listen.

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

I continued with stripping the boat down this weekend. Here are some pics......

It appears that during the previous restoration there were inspection holes drilled in the stringers to check the foam and then sealed as shown with drops of some bonding material.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02481.jpg

As I continued removing fiberglass at an attempt to access the transom I discovered that the last repair had boxed and glassed the stringers in but didn't fill with foam. Before I bought the boat I had read in a post on this forum a comment that someone made about "taking it down to the hull so there are no unanswered questions". I decided then that would be the approach I would take and I am glad I did.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02484.jpg

Looking into the end of the stringer where the foam had been removed.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02487.jpg

I removed the center knee brace between the transom and center drain that runs from one of the forward compartments. Wood was rotten as can be seen.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02490.jpg

I cut the tops out of the stringers so that I can pull all of the old foam out and replace. It may be overkill but I felt I should do it anyway due to some of the holes that were visible that could have allowed moisture in.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02492.jpg

I knew going into this weekend that removing the transom would be a chore due to it having been replaced and not "mulch" like some of the more fortunate people have had. I used my skill saw and set the blade depth so that I wouldn't cut through the exterior skin. A checkerboard pattern was developed as can be seen. I then used a hammer, chisel and flat pry bar to remove.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02493.jpg

Coming out one piece at the time.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02495.jpg

You can see in this photo that the copper drain from the old motor well was corroded and broke when being removed.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02497.jpg

The bottom of the transom was wet when removed.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02502.jpg

After about 2 1/2 hours I had it out with the exterior skin intact. I have some final grinding or sanding to remove some thin pieces of ply that stuck to the skin but that's for later.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02503.jpg

Previous transom - Good Riddance!

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02505.jpg

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

you are doing such a good job...very clean compare to the mess I did during my restoration!

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

ROBCAR, thanks for the compliments. Next step for me is to pop the forward boxes and gunwales out. Unfortunately I can't work on it this weekend but should be able to get after it next week.

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.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02507.jpg

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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!

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...March09005.jpg
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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!

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

Bushwacker, that's some really good advice and the sort of input I was hoping to receive once I started posting. Right now I have my "wish list" and then there is the "reality list" that I hope to stick to once the big decisions are made. And for me the motor selection is a HUGE decision along with the final ride and performance the boat provides. In all reality I could probably do without a rear live well but as stated it's still on the wish list at this point. Keep the suggestions coming!

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

Not a lot of progress over the last month. I have been waiting on materials, giving it a lot of thought and fishing for ideas from many of you. The 1.5" Coosa for my transom was delivered and I used a hardi board as a template.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02555.jpg

While waiting on materials I had some time to kill and went ahead and cut the fiberglass skin of off the back of the fuel tank lid. No surprises here.

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This is just an illustration of the bracing that I installed to hopefully keep the hull from spreading. It's easy to install and easy to remove.

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I set my jigsaw at a 14 degree angle to cut the Coosa for the transom

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This is the dry fit. I really liked how Strick's boat turned out and decided I would shoot for something similar. It could change but that is the plan for now.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02604.jpg

I don't ever see myself getting rid of this boat as long as I can use it and am giving some serious thought to using synthetic material for all of the structural components and coring. My only concern is what I will use for the backing where I need to attach the center console, leaning post, etc. Any ideas?

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

good idea on the bracing using those 2x4's

I see you are closing the transom (which looks nice)....what kind of bracket will you use?

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

My plan is to buy one of Hermco's flotation brackets. I'm still torn between a single or buying one for twins and having it drilled for a single. I'm thinking I may get away from the bait well in the stern and try to find a center console with one built into the front.

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

How about some 1/2" thick stainless for t-top mounting?? D&T for 5/16" or 3/8" and laminated to underside of deck.

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

I have given thought to either stainless or aluminum plate as you describe. I was speaking with Billy The Kid and he thought corrosion at the threaded connections may be an issue in the future. I was also thinking of using cypress or some other type of wood that is more rot resistant.

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

I installed the transom core by applying a bed of epoxy that I had thickened with Cabosil and then used a notched spreader to apply uniformly and put grooves in it. After that I temporarily wedged it from the inside while it used dry wall screws to tighten it against the outer skin and hold it in place while the thickened epoxy set up.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02683.jpg

A week after the core was installed I finally had time to start glassing the inner skin.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02698.jpg

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

Been a while since I've any much work but I'm trying to get back in the swing of things. Lot's of rain in NE Florida and now the 100 degree weather is upon us. Also distractions from friends wanting to fish. This is fishing the St. Augustine ledge last weekend. In my opinion some of the best bluewater fishing in the state if you want to run 50+ miles offshore.

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I was finally prepared to install the new foam in the stringers. I used an 8.0 pound, closed cell structural foam. I checked with my QA people at work and understand that closed cell foam will not absorb water. Since you have to mix it and it expands, it is hard to get it to stop at the right elevation and has to be trimmed. As stated, cutting it does not jeopardize the integrity since it's "closed cell".

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02700.jpg

You'll notice in the picture that the center drain is no longer in the bottom. I had formed up the rear portion as if I were forming and placing concrete and had my first "bad" experience since I started this project. The directions on the foam were to mix in equal parts, mix for 10 to 20 seconds and pour immediately. I did all of this but the foam came out much thinner than anticipated. Anyway, the water like liquid found a small seam in my formwork, flowed through it and into the center drain. The foam proceeded to expand and filled the drain solid. I had to cut it out and will replace as can be seen a few pictures ahead.

Glassed the new foam to tie into the transom.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02701.jpg

I did my final demo by removing some coring that was in the side walls of the hull. It was end grained balsa but will be replaced with Divinycell H-80.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...DSC02702-1.jpg

Glassed the top of the stringers.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02703.jpg

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02705.jpg

I've decided to raise the new deck approcximately 2" from the top of the stringers. I plan on accomplishing this by using to layers of 3/4" Coosa and a 1/2" core when I laminate the new deck. This is the layout and cutting of the Coosa.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02706.jpg

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02708.jpg

This is just to check the fit. I will probably use epoxy thickened with Cabosil to set in place to lock down. You can also see the new drain for the forward compartment. I went with a 3" PVC that I cut instead of the 4" that was used originally. With what I think is a good idea that Billy the Kid gave me, I plan on only have one forward compartment instead of two and felt the larger size was overkill.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02709.jpg

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...DSC02711-1.jpg

That's all for now!!!

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

Very clean work. What was your layup schedule for the transom?

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

When I bought my scepter over 10 years ago, the previous owner had used Anti-Sieze on many of the bolts that had been removed in the course of regualar maintainance and modification, even the exhaust manifold bolts when he had the engine rebuilt- not a hint of corrosion. I know it can be a mess, so I keep a roll of paper towels on board for when they are needed, but I have never had a problem removing a bolt/screw-anything that had been treated with the stuff. Other people have claimed that it gunks up over time, but I have wipeed away any excess at the time of use and have never seen any evidence of the stuff solidifying or getting stiff. (OK, but how else am I going to phrase that- I can hear the laughs already, but you know what I MEAN and it's not what you're laughing about!!!)

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

grgrmouse,

the layup was three consecutive layers of a 15 oz biax. After knocking off the sheen with 40 grit, I followed it by tieing in the stringers with an 8.0 lb structural foam and using the same biax with alternating layers of woven roven to glass them in. I did install 1/2" drain tubes through the stringers but didn't post any close up pics. My supply man has been short on the woven roven material but I intend to beef up the transom corners of the existing substrate with roven, 1708 and finish with a final layer of biax when my material finally arrives.

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

Big Lew,

I'm heading your way for the Independence Day weekend. Got to get out of this heat and looking forward to the NE this time of year. Your advice on the anti sieze is well taken and something I've given consideration to. One of the wise owls on this site has pointed me to a synthetic material that I think I can laminate into my deck that should give me the strength I'm looking for. When I get to that point I'll post the procedure in advance so I can get called out on any potential problems. Thanks for the laugh with your descriptive terms, good to know someone else has twisted humour.

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

Got it thanks.

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

When it comes to putting something like antiseize on bolts, I've used a product from Mercury called Perfect Seal
with good success.

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

Some progress over the weekend:

After the "dry" fit I took a 1/2" drill and made some shallow holes between the two pieces that were epoxied together and in the bottom of the piece that would attach to the stringer to give the thickened epoxy some "tooth".

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02714.jpg

After setting the pieces in place and a letting the epoxy set up, I glassed in the new smaller center drain tube.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02721.jpg

Today after work, I wasn't ready to start anything inside the hull (still planning my next move) so I decided to see what I could do with the center console. I priced some new ones a while back but thought modifying the original would be more prudent than dropping a grand on a new one. The area to be removed had been marked with a sharpie a while back so all I had to do was to do was start cutting.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02684.jpg

I removed 6" from the original which took the outside dimensions at the top from 37" to 31". I like the forward compartment for storage and have thought about putting the batteries in there or turning it into a cooler. I cut the original lid as well that is resting in the foreground.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...h/DSC02722.jpg

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

Will,

How do you like working with the 15oz biax? Why did you choose this over a 17oz cloth? Your project looks good keep up the good work.

Nathan

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

kinda late chimming in here, but for the bolts, I wouldn't use "never sieze", it has copper in it, between the aluminum, stainless steel and copper it would just all sieze up together, use a product called "tef gel" you won't be dissapointed, your project looks great, good choice of materials.

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

Tuf Gel. Works great!
GFS
Cayman are you doin a crossing this month? :D

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

Nathan, the reason I went with the 15 oz biax was that I understood it could be used in a variety of applications and I was also able get a roll of it for a good price. It will require more layers to reach the same thickness as using a heavier cloth but has worked well for me so far.

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

Thanks for the compliment Caymanboy, I'm leaning towards using a material called Garolite for the backing of my console, leaning post, etc. Reading the specs on it, the material is similar to what is used in electrical circuit boards and is very dense, waterproof and composed of epoxy and woven fibers.