1976 Century Arabian - Mercruiser 888 - Boat Restoration

[jones01m]

O.K. A repair that started out as a lower shift cable replacement has turned into a complete restoration: two cracks eminating from the drain hole, one large crack in the bottom of the hull, and rotton wood supports for the engine (displaces about 3/8").

I have owned the boat (first one) for two years with not a single issue. I guess water damage is similar to termites - you don't know you have an issue until it is too late.

This is the first time I have attempted any such repairs. I am very thankful for the information in this forum.

I have photodocumented everything, so if anyone needs a picture of a part, assembly, or the like, please let me know.

I haven't read how to upload pictures yet. As soon as I do I will upload some.

[ezmobee]

Welcome the dry dock! My personal opinion is that photobucket.com is the easiest way to host and post pictures. I look forward to seeing yours. Those Centurys are nice boats for sure.

[jones01m]

Attempting the pictures. Lets see how it works


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[jones01m]

Two more pictures with everything disassebled except a few trim parts.
Removed gas tank last night. Goal for the weekend is to get her out of the trailer and resting on some crating. I probably ought to clean the garage a bit too.

I am trying to think the restore at least a couple weeks ahead. From the other threads it looks like the West epoxy system is a pretty robust way to go for the fiberglassing. Any comments?

ezmobee, thanks for the pictures tip. Dry dock is not where I wanted to be for the summer, however, I wasn't all that interested in having 'er in the bottom of the lake either.

You can see from the dash the guy before me was a bit of a hacker. We'll see what's under the deck... next weekend.

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Is it better to have the small icons for the pictures in the post, like I have them, or can I make a full image for better viewing? Just trying to get a handle on the forum. thanks

[boatnut74]

Nice looking project you have there. Full images make it easier for everyone. You can host them on photobucket, resize to 640x480 and then copy the link into your post.

This link should help as well.
http://forums.iboats.com/non-boating-technical-topics/how-post-pictures-advanced-methods-410147.html

[jones01m]

She is now out of the trailer.

I said my goal for the weekend was out of the trailer and resting in crating - not quite. She's off the trailer but not in the saddles. Actually, she is currently suspended (no kids in the garage the next couple of days). Thank goodness for massive beams in house construction. The problem is letting her down approximately 1-1/2 feet with only one hoist and two pivot points. I'll probably pick up another hoist tomorrow - Harbor Freight is hard to beat.

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http://s1183.photobucket.com/albums/...t=IMG_1811.jpg

ezmobee and boatnut74 thanks for the photo suggestions. Can you tell me if this link is working OK. thanks.

[ezmobee]

The link and the photo attachment are working for me. Using the IMG code link that photobucket provides and pasting that into here is the easiest way to do pictures.

[Chadsci]

I really love the Century Arabians. The Iowa Maritime museum has a 1967 that is absolutely mint.

Good luck with the project. I will be following this thread.

[jones01m]

Thanks for the picture tips for photobucket. You were right... EASY. Just click on the link, right click, then paste.

I constructed some support crating under the hull that will evenly distribute the load. At the stern I took measurements and made a pattern just inboard of the trailer rails such that each vertical 2x4 would just make contact with the hull. At the bow a sprayed the boat with silicone and filled a wood box cavity with the high expansion insulation foam used for home construction, pushed the box up to the hull, and let it set overnight. Everything fits like a glove.

Question: The width of this support structure is 2 feet - one foot on each side of the boat centerline. Is this enough support to begin sole and stringer removal? I appreciate the help.


Hull support at stern


Hull support at bow

[jones01m]

[jones01m]

stringers were soaked.
There was a pocket at the bow that allowed water to run all the way to the stern and then get trapped by the caulk that the previous owner so liberally aplied.
Sole, stringer and foam, then hull construction.
I cut into the main stringer going from stern to bow and water ran out - hasn't been in the lake in 2 months.
A mess, but the stringers are finally stripped.

Question: Still would be interested about the best way to support the hull during stringer re-installation. Any expert out there who can advise me? thanks

[jones01m]

I have been camping for the last week and have had no time to touch the "boat" - the family calls her "Miss Diamond" and she probably deserves some lettering to state just that when this project is complete.

Anyway, a week of camping doesn't stop the wheels from turning. Now that the stringers are gone the hull is really getting flexible even with the crating I originally had supporting her from beneath. After reading multiple threads and thinking through this a bit more I decided to flip it over and support the top side (now bottom side) evenly across the garage floor to regain the intended shape of the hull. I will now build crating such that it just maintains intimate contact with the hull while insuring it also has a planer surface for it to rest on when she is flipped back over. So I backtracked about 1/2 day of labor and 25 bucks in material... So What!!! lets do this right!

All stringer positions were measured prior to disassembly.

Probably 2 weeks before the crating is complete as I will be helping a friend with another project. I really need a couple of solid days to make some progress and feel a bit better about this.

[jones01m]

I made a little progress with grabbing an hour or two throughout the week.
When I begin replacing stringers my biggest fear is changing the shape of the hull as I walk around in it. The last thing I want is a hull with a different shape than original. So, I flipped the hull on its top and got the top planer to allow the hull to regain its natural form. Then I built a structure just above the hull with stiff 3/4 plywood strips. The outer portion of this frame I doubled up the strips to insure that deformation is minimal when she gets flipped back over. This baby is perfectly flat and parallel with the apposing planer service.

Now, from the plywood structure, I simply bring down struts that just come in intimate contact with the hull without applying pressure. In many places I scribe the struts to the hull and cut out the shape with a jigsaw. Somewhat into this process I learned that I can also use a thin blue foam insulation sheet from HD and use panel adhesive the back so that the portion touching the hull is a bit more conformable. EVERYTHING has panel adhesive, but none touches the hull - this has worked very well and is nice and stiff.

I finally get a full day of construction today. The goal is to have her filpped back over tomorrow after I finish the crating construction and the panel adhesive sets up.

[jones01m]

Well she ain't goin' nowhere. She's as secure as a baby in a cradle.

I should have no give when she's flipped over and I am walking in the hull.

[MountaineerMiner]

Nice project. I am looking forward to following this one!

[jones01m]

MM, that Mustang of yours is a pretty sweet ride. I read your thread on the Glassport, CRAZY, to see that sucker sliced up.


Made some good progress this weekend. I got the support structure all glued and set up, flipped the boat, then pulled the cap off.
For those of you cosidering pulling the cap make sure you have some stiff supports on the side to keep the hull from shifting on you. I am really happy with the way mine turned out. Once I pulled the cap, I lowered it back down to the hull and there was no mismatch at all!!! This sucker is not moving! A couple of days worth of what seemed to be non-productive work will really pay off as I can continue with my rebuild with confidence knowing nothing is moving on me.

I also got a cheapo 7" sander from HF. This works awesome for the rough work. The side of the hull has adhesive and carpet globs everywhere. In one of the pictures below you can see about six square feet that was smoothed out with the sander in about 10 minutes - just wanted to see what see could do.

Cap is off... Yahoo!!!!

She's hanging just above the hull. I'm lovin' the beam in the garage. I can bolt anything to it.

Some test sanding with Mr. Cheapo!

[jones01m]

Question: Does anyone know the cured weight of 1.5oz CSM saturated with epoxy resin per square foot???

[jones01m]

I could really use some help on this one.

I have run into a thick sheet of glass that has some contamination beneath it (water, oil, etc.). It is not everywhere, which creates my problem: this sucker does not want to come up!!! You can see the tools I have been using - chisel and hammer.

Any suggestions???

Very frustrating day after work.

[MountaineerMiner]

Have you been using a hammer and chisel to remove both stringers and fiberglass? Although it itches like hell I cut everything out with a cut off wheel on an angle grinder then used a flap wheel (like in your previous pic only smaller) to clean it up. Is it too large of an area to grind away like this?

[jones01m]

MM, I think I've used every tool in the shed: a circular saw for deck removal, sawzall for stringer removal, and a 4" angle grinder with a cutter wheel for slicing the old tabbing. I also used the 7" sander to knock down the all the transitions. Now I am trying the chisel to peel the sheet. It will work for an inch or two then hit a good bond... and so on.

The area I am dealing with is big. It is about 3/16 to 1/4" thick, 3' wide, and 5' long. It was the area under the engine.

[jones01m]

Check out the transome rot. You can see a clear transition between rot and good material - there aint much good left.

Finally got the big glass sheets up. I used a hammer and chisel one layer at a time.

Question: Have you experts ever seen anything like what is shown in the last picture. I looks like the sides of the boat are made of a foam CSM laminate. Any special precautions here?

[MountaineerMiner]

Sorry I cant reply on the foam/CSM issue, but congrates on the grinding; thats the worst part. Are you going to use plywood or water resistant hardwood for the stringers?

[jones01m]

Thanks MM. I wish I could say I was done with the sanding! I am thinking glass coated ply for the stringers.

This foam on the side is messing me up. It is easy to remove, however, it increases the wall stiffness a lot. I am having a really difficult time removing the carpet adhesive out of the original coarse fibered CSM. Suggestions for adhesive removal???

[jones01m]

I read a bunch of posts last night about adhesive removal. I decided not to mess with the foam core material - I am glassing back over the top after I have finished prep.

I tried MEK for several hour last night. It did a good job in breaking down the carpet backing, but made a gooey mess out of the adhesive. I can darn near stick new carpet back down in the state that it is in now. There were several post about using paint strpper for adhesive removal.

Will paint stripper mess up my foam or make a surface that is no adequate for proper glass bonding?

[boatnut74]

That's quite the cradle you constructed! That boat shouldn't move a muscle. As for the foam, I think they put that there for flotation and then glassed it in to hold it in place. I have seen this on a few parts boats I've had.