23' Seacraft Rebuild in RI
 

Great work Thomas! I love the picture of the "Potter Putty" just lying there like a dog turd.
You can post your photos by scrolling down to "go advanced" then hit "manage attachments" & upload them.
BTW: lots of CSC members up your way.(including Velvet Jones)
Your transom cut-outs remind me of my '78. What is your Hull Number mine was hull #49 Dec 78.

Thanks Chuck!

Most of that potter putty came right off with a chisel. If you see the metal square backing plate on the motor mount pictures, that was "sealing" a thru hull that was not being used.

My HIN is: SECF30100778 so 10th boat made in July of 78?

[QUOTE=Thomas

My HIN is: SECF30100778 so 10th boat made in July of 78?[/QUOTE]

Correct, you have been doing your homework

This is how the transom looks now, most of the plywood is gone. I need to attack the keel stringer next.

Any advice on the thru hull transducers seen in the bottom right, is the transducer in a "pocket" in the hull or its it all glassed together- i cant seem to knock them out?

1.) The keel stringer was to beef up for roller trailers. Made from cut ½ PVC . Leave it alone. Good channel for water / Moisture. Keep going & DON'T REMOVE the hull side vents & their inside air channels
2) it looks like that's an old Airmar or the like transducer that was glassed in a mineral oil box? You should be able to cut it out with a jab saw since it not a thru hull install ?

Captain Chuck, 1/2" pvc? or 1-1/2" pvc?

Thanks. My keel stringer is wood i removed a square from the top of it about 4' forward of the transom. Its wet stabbing a chisel into it you can see the moisture. Would you recommend the pvc keel stringer mod i have read about to replace this? I assume i need to beef up the layup on the keel when i am down in there.

The vents will be in the way of the new transom 3" thick is what i am aiming for. Any ideas on new ventilation places? I personally like the no vent look

Those vents were there for a reason . They are a classic signature. Think about it. I never took water into those forward vents BTW.
The keel in mine was glassed over PVC pipe. You can see forward of the transducer. DONV has a ' 78, maybe he can jump in. Plus Dirtwheels really knows his stuff.

Thanks chuck ill take a good think on the vents. Very much in the planning stage now.

Finished up cutting most of the tabbing to get at the remainder ply in the bottom of the boat. The keel stringer is shot- you can see where it has been screwed into over the years.

It seems like when they installed the I/O 2x6 motor mounts they layered the glass over the mounts, down the hull, over the keel and back up to the opposite mount. I found the glass on the sides of the mounts were delaminating with water in the bilge area- prying it and cutting it back it seems like it works its way forward in the boat. Does anyone have any insight to where this glass should stop? i don't want to pull too much up.

Keepin' at it. Took the old transducers off, they were mounted in a cup as part of the hull with a ton of putty. Keel stringer was completely shot, cool to see a part number handwritten on the side of it.

Going deep, doing it right. Good job!

Yea that that thing outa there...it's like the guts on a shrimp...nice work

strick

Boy does this bring back memories. Mine was a 76. Used all composite for transom and floor and have no regrets. Took me four years though. Good luck.

Just wonder why you need that much thickness if your staying with the I/O ? I converted my 23cc I/O to a bracket and especially with the full bracket found absolutely no need for anything more then the 2” thickness . If you stay with the I/O I would think the vents would be a real advantage in keeping the complete hull ventilated as at rest there is a low section between the CC and the bow that holds water and I would assume fumes as well.

Wattaway, the boat will have a single 300 and a stoner bracket on it, the I/O is long gone.I am going to aim for 2 1/4" inches by laminating x3 3/4" sheets + glass.

Slow going been cold in the garage up here in RI. I managed to get the transom all sanded down with flap disks, finding some delamination in a few layers of the transom glass which came from the I/O opening that was cracked. More clean up to do, then time to gather materials for the transom.

More grinding today. The transom is cleaned up most of the keel stringer tabbing is gone- just need to grind the fillet flush. Pictures of the I/B cracking i have to grind back. More grinding to come

Looks familiar and you’ve got a good plan with 3-3/4” plys. Beyond a tyvek suit I’ve had good success putting lotion on skin before grinding seems to keep glass out.

Then I fold up some tape over my hand adhesive out and pat my skin down to pull the glass out works pretty good overall.

Still here- planning the transom for the Fall. Two rolls of 1708 and 12 gal of raka epoxy waiting- need to drive out to the cape to get the Coosa board when it cools down.

Ended up peeling the paint right off the boat with a scraper. Looks like someone did all the fairing and didn't prep right before painting!

Next up I need to pull the boat out and level it on the trailer (sitting crooked since transport). Grind the final transom, tabbing and keel down then i can brace the transom into "Plane".


Any advice or examples are welcome. My plan:

1) use 2x4s down the length of the boat, screwing into a sheet of ply with a plastic backing to the transom.
2) Fill in the I/B hole (half the thickness?) from the inside, 1708 here.
3) Beef up the transom layup maybe 3-4 layers of 1708. Initial layer 1.5oz chop to bite.
4) install the coosa one layer at a time using peanut butter, using the same bolting pattern to clamp it to the transom jig.
5) layer each sheet with 1708 after creating a sandwich?

Still debating on the layup to use in-between the coosa for now, and whether to bolt the sheets together of use braced 2x4 and clamps to avoid drilling.

Boats outside now for the heavy grinding. Found a bunch of delamination from the I/O crack on the port side while cleaning up the transom.

Picked up three sheets of coosa, now i have everything for the transom.

Plan sounds good. Sent you a pm with my contact info.

Thanks Scottman sent you one back.

4 hours on the grinder tonight, sanding the CSM off the transom. Port side delaminated all the way up. You can kind of see it in my original photos- the white bulge.

Everyone thinks i am crazy, i bet you guys can relate.

See if you can pop off the delam stuff with a chisel and wedges, save ya alot of grinding.

I like to glue up the core to full thickness before putting in the boat. Just epoxy and cabosil between the sheets. It keeps everything straighter that way. Definitely need something to keep the skin in "plane" while you glue it in. Make sure youve got air relief holes thru the sheets in each step.

Looks like someone wiped bondo all over the original gelcoat and painted right over it?! Mess for sure.

Most of it came off with a pry bar. still grinding- mainly the motor mount area, was a mess.

Anyone have any recommendations on verifying that there is no twist in the boat before the transom goes in? This boat was shipped with broken bulkheads, its sitting on the trailer crooked and too far forward... Thats the next task after the grinding. Before i cut the back out i put a 2x4 brace in lengthwise, and 3/4 of the cap is still on it.

I think its time to buy a belt sander to get in the tight areas...

I just eye ball it usually. If it looks right then it is, if it doesnt then its not kinda thing...

Put a straightedge at a few points across the bow and sight thru that and line it up with the bottom transom corners inside the hull. Itll be clear if its out of shape. Laser works well too.

You really need stands at 4 corners to be able to adjust it...

Got one of these when I did mine. Thing worked great for corners and it was only $50. Now it’s $25. I bought belts from Empire Abrasive. Skeptical on the quality but it did the job. Keep up the good work. Look forward to seeing the progress.

I here you about the grinding it get old quick. I’m a few towns away from you would love to come and see your boat. I’m in the middle of a rehab 2 plus year.

Steel- been looking for that at my local HF they haven't had it in stock. Good to know it will last more than a day.

Pete-send me a PM your welcome to come over. What stage is yours at? Would love to see yours too and bounce some ideas off you. Maybe after all the destruction is done and its tucked away for the winter build.

Switching it up from the grinder tonight- pulling foam out of the stringers. Starboard was soaked- expected that there was a 2" x 2" square missing from the top of the stringer. Port wasn't bad, actually made it a lot harder to remove the foam when its dry.

Both stringers look like they used the wood bulkhead under the casting platform for an "end". Mine was rotten and caused a bunch of delam in the starboard side. Hopefully the rest of the stringers are fairly intact.

Need to get al this foam out, then tear the wood out of the casting deck.Is the bottom inside the casting deck storage wood cored?

Still back and forth on keeping the stringers or making my own. If i fab my own im ditching the casting platform and liner most likely. Off to remove the rest of the foam today..

Pics of my 16' Palm Beach rebuilt a few years ago- was ran into a sandbar off Boston then i bought it ff ebay. Hull was filled with sand, new deck, custom console, leaning post. Found the grab bar in a junkyard, pretty sure it was off a 20' seacraft.

Foams gone-cut the tops right off the stringers. Bad idea?

Yes the bottom of the storage compartment is cored with balsa 3/8”. If you look at my build you may see it. I did record mine due to I had the liner upside down.

Should have took a step back yesterday and reviewed how others did their stringers.


Do you guys think mine can be used and structurally sound again or build new ones?

Thanks, ended up tearing them out. Separation from the hull and in between layers was a deciding factor in that. Cut the front casting deck out too, all rotten.

Ill fab new stringers, keep the liner and tie it all back in.

Thats the way to do it. Those box stringers are such a waste of space!

Glad i took those box stringer out. Delam,voids and dry glass all around. Mine were actually layered with foam between the hull and stringers and was able to rip a few sections out by hand.:eek: Gotta trim up the deck lip and lots of grinding to do now...Then back into the garage.

Removed the liner, ground the whole hull and removed all loose glass. Got in in the garage,off the trailer onto stands and leveled. Using a sheet of melamine to clamp to the transom to fill in the big voids and beef up the laminate before the core gets bedded.

Glassing in all the holes on the transom,will do two or three layers of 1708 after this before the first layer of coosa goes in

Couple More on the old outdrive, should be up to about 1/8in now