My New Old Boat - 1974 Seaswirl Cascade

[ericamity]

Here's my new (old) boat. Just showing it off and seeing if anyone has any information on this particular boat as information on it seems to be quite sparse. It appears to be in beautiful shape.

I've read that it has a solid fiberglass deck (no plywood), foam stringers and foam cross members. This seems like a good thing to me as there's nothing that can rot (is this a good thing?). I really know nothing about old boats or fixing up old boats so I'm hoping I ran across a gem here.

Does anyone know ANYTHING about this boat? Can anyone tell me how to get into it and check it out?

Again, I think it's pretty sound and I think it's a pretty solid boat that'll last for many years! Thanks for checking it out and sorry for resurrecting an old post for my first post in the forum (I did that last night. I should have read the forum rules first but southkogs straightened me out. He said to make up for breaking the rules I had to take every forum member out for a 2-hour ride!)

 

[southkogs]

Good lookin' boat ... welcome aboard.

 

[ericamity]

Thank you Sir! Can't wait to get her out on the water.

I'm pretty sure she's a Cascade based on the model # -- BRCC153EM74T

BR = Bow Rider ** CC = Cascade ** 153 = 15' 3" ??? ** EM = no idea! ** 74 = 1974 ** T = no idea!

But there's not much information on this boat ANYWHERE! Seaswirl is out of business as is Genmar who acquired them . . . so can't really call anyone to get any information. I'd love to hear from anyone who knows anything about this boat (construction, etc.).

Someone said in an older post I found that she has foam stringers and cross supports as well as a solid fiberglass deck. Not sure about this. I'll know though as soon as I pick her up in Salem.

:lol:

 

[southkogs]

T = tri-hull, but I got no clue on the EM.

That is a nice motor on there.

 

[red91sit]

That's in impressive condition, especially considering it's +40 years old.

 

[ericamity]

I'm going to go through it more carefully next Tuesday and take more pictures. Thanks for the kind words. I can't wait to get her out on the water. Last time I rode in a tri-hull was up in Ketchikan about 30 years ago on a Boston Whaler . . . pound pound pound. I think this will be well-suited to the rivers and lakes here around Portland.

 

[ericamity]

OK, this is amityeric again with a new username since I couldn't figure out how to log in (it's been a few months).

I have started tearing the floor up and I found that there seems to be NO WOOD underneath the rotted plywood. It looks to be ALL fiberglass and foam. I think this is a good thing as the fiberglass stringers still feel nice and solid. Here are a few pics of what I got done today.

Here's a question . . . there's about 8 inches (vertical) of foam (at its thickest) in between the foam-filled fiberglass stringers. It is WET. Should I replace all that foam or should I just get a fan in there and start drying it out? And if I do try to dry it out, HOW LONG will it take before I can replace the deck? Is there a way to speed up the drying process?

And if I do replace the foam, how should I get it out? And is the stuff dangerous to be messing with? (I don't know about all this old stuff - fiberglass and foam - probably it's all carcinogenic).

Also, being that these stringers are fiberglass (about 1/2" thick with foam inside), I shouldn't have to replace them right? This is joyous news if I'm thinking about this correctly.

 

[ericamity]

Waterlogged Foam - Under Floor

I have an old SeaSwirl ('74 tri-hull) with a rotten floor. I started tearing the deck off to see what was under there. So far I've discovered two stringers running fore and aft. They are fiberglass filled with foam. They are nice and solid which to me was good news because it meant that I don't have to replace them.

 

[jbcurt00]

Has to come out, it wont dry.

 

[ericamity]

OK. So how do I get it out of the fiberglass stringers?

 

[DeepBlue2010]

As JB said, you can't dry this foam out, it must go. Regarding the foam in the stringers, is it wet? I know you mentioned that the flotation foam between the stringers is wet but you did not specifically say anything about the foam core of the stringers themselves.

If the foam inside (the foam core) the stringers is wet, you have couple of options

1- Do nothing. The foam was there to serve as a mold for the fiberglass to be shaped on top of. it serves no structural purpose. So even if it is wet, it will not hurt anything specific to stringers strength. I personally would not go with this option. The thought of having a moisture reservoir underneath the deck with the possibility of leaks into the new foam/deck is just not that appealing to me. But it is an option you should be aware of nonetheless.

2- Cut a wide enough channel in the top of the stringers to gain access to the inside of the stringers and remove all the wet foam. Pour expanding foam into the stringers and after it drys cut the top of the foam flat parallel to the top of the stringers and reglass the top of the stringer with few layers of 1708 fabric. The reason for the new foam inside the stringers is to give you a flat surface to glass on so the fabric doesn't bend and sag in the hallow stringers. If you can think of any other idea to give you a flat surface to glass on, forget the foam then and use whatever idea you can think of

 

[jbcurt00]

Lets move this back into your project topic.

Core sample the stringers and if the foam is dry, you don't have to remove it. A small hole saw or spade bit will allow you to drill an inspection port in the stringers. A couple in each stringer in random spots up and down their length and height should let you assess their condition. Post pix and descriptions of what you find, if they are filled w waterlogged foam, then that's another conversation entirely.

The foam filling the rest of the hull needs to come out by whatever means necessary. Small garden shovel/spade/hoe, hand saw and a flat pry bar. Anything that lets you dig it out. You just need to make sure you don't damage the hull below or around the foam prying it out.

Look thru some of the other fiberglass boat restos. Lots of good info in most of them, not just about demo.

 

[jbcurt00]

OK, this is amityeric again with a new username since I couldn't figure out how to log in (it's been a few months).

Ok, now that everything is all together, which user name do you WANT to use, and I'll get Admin to them for you.

I'd suggest that since you have recently used the 2nd username, that you stick w/ that one and fold the original into the new username.

 

[jbcurt00]

Got your PM, forwarded to Admin. It shouldn't change anything w/ your current account, just make all the previous posts show up under your new user name

Your welcome, happy to have helped

 

[ericamity]

Did a little more work on the boat tonight. Cut out the rest of the floor (except in the back . . . looks a bit complicated back there . .

 

[52FordF2]

Have you core sampled the transom yet?

It's a little late but welcome aboard. Following along.

 

[ericamity]

Yes, we have. It didn't look nearly as bad as the floor. I think the transom is OK for a while. I took the boat to a guy who just does classic boat restoration here in the area. He took a mallet to the transom (not exactly scientific, I know) and rapped all over it. He said there are a few dead spots in the transom but that he thought it would be good for another 10 years. We then had it core-sampled and the color of the wood is not perfect but it's not soaking wet rotten black either. I'm going to have it checked one more time before we decide for certain.

 

[ericamity]

Finally got done tearing the foam out (well, most of it).

We're thinking of having someone else do the rest of the work for us since we're not into dealing with fiberglass and well, not very well set up for it.

But we want to do as much as we can before we take it in so we can save as much as possible.

The pictures here show that inside the fiberglass stringer there is only foam. There is no wood.

 

[Woodonglass]

The Transom will NEVER dry. Since you're already there you should replace it IMHO. Having Foam filled Stringers is a BIG ++++. That stringer substructure is almost exactly the same as the old MFG design. Just measure them and cut the tops off with a sawsall or a multitool. Dig out the foam and then replace it with the Pink or Blue Slab foam from the Big Box stores. This foam is totally closed cell and will NEVER absorb water. You can cut and shape it with an electric carving knife and get the stringer height right back to where it was. Use clear Packing tape to seal off the foam and then lay your glass over the top again to get the stringers back to height. This is an EASY and FAST fix. Transom is another story. You're gunna need to either remove the cap of the boat or cut the splash well away to gain access to the transom. Cut a grid in the inner skin with a skil saw just shy of the depth of the wood and then chisel out the old core. Make a new one and glass it in. It's been done and documented hundreds of times here on the forum by guys just like you that had never done any glass work in their lives. They ended up doing some fantastic work with the help of the members here on the forum. You could do the same. If you pay someone to do this work, I will cost you 3-4 thousand dollars or more and there's no guarantee that they'll do it right. We can and will guide you and teach you how to do the work as long as you're willing to learn. If you do some searching here on the forum you'll find a LOT of examples of very similar boats with re-builds just like yours and you'll learn a lot about what's involved and you'll also see that you CAN DO THIS and save yourself some BUCKS $$$$$

 

[ericamity]

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