1973 Wellcraft Airslot 165 Sport Rebuild

[jb93]

Pics of day 1 as purchased for $200. 1973 Wellcraft 165 Airslot with 1967 Johnson Meteor 100 outboard. First order of business is clean up and removal of engine to determine if it is worth investing time in the motor. If engine is shot it will be sold for parts and move on to total rebuild of interior. Stringers are mush and I am sure transom is the same. Looking foward to the process.

 

[alligatorgars]

Re: 1973 Wellcraft Airslot 165 Sport Rebuild

Your pictures arent coming up. Cant wait to see your project get moving. Please keep us posted.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1973 Wellcraft Airslot 165 Sport Rebuild

Best way to post pics is to use Photobucket. Use the IMG Code and paste it into your post.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: 1973 Wellcraft Airslot 165 Sport Rebuild

Well you are not breaking any new ground. We have had the same make/model restored here before! Scroll down to the bottom of this post and you will see "Similar Threads" which is a great starting point.

 

[jb93]

Re: 1973 Wellcraft Airslot 165 Sport Rebuild

I got the pics of Day 1 added to my original post. So far I clean out 8 garbage bags of mulch (old floor/stringers) and power washed the boat. She is a "50 Yarder" for sure...looks pretty until you get closer and once you peek inside it gets real ugly. I pulled the motor and found a donor motor locally for $75. Both are on engine stands with Mystery Oil soaking inside the cylinders and will stay in this state until the boat is done...might be a while.

I have to replace the transom, stringers and complete floor - just like the project that Chris Hayes did back in 2009 on this forum. I was hoping to do the work on the trailer, but I read that this could create issues once I pull the cap and the boat can flex. There hasn't been any stringer support in years, so not sure how much it matters. What is the easiest way to support the boat on the trailer without having to build a fancy cradle system.

Here are a couple of pics of motors that will be moth-balled until later.

 

[jb93]

Re: 1973 Wellcraft Airslot 165 Sport Rebuild

Well...I suppose I started my thread before I was ready to begin the work. Been thinking and reading. I am hoping to remove the cap and work on the boat while on trailer. I am replacing the 2 main bunks and have a question regarding a couple of things on setup to work on it while on trailer. Questions and pics follow:

1) Boat was low on trailer, so I raised for 1.5" clearance above fenders. This took weight off keel rollers. From what I read, the keel rollers should not carry any weight. Once I lower it back on the new bunks, should I move the keel rollers up so they touch off on the keel or leave the 1/2" gap I created?

2) I am planning to put 1 set of bunks to carry boat. They go from transom forward 6' until the hull steps. This is how the boat was set up on trailer - which was original. I am moving the bunks in slightly and turning from being on edge to wide side of board supporting. I was planning to put some temporarty bunks to the outside edge of the hull. I have that sketched in...see below. Will this suffice or do I need a more sophisticated cradle to remove the cap off and replace stringers/floor without hull flexing?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1973 Wellcraft Airslot 165 Sport Rebuild

I think I would slide the boat back about a foot and call it good. Bunk trailers offer good support during rebuilds. Unless your hull is unusually thin and flimsy I think you'll be fine. Those old Johnson motors are BEASTS. Great runners ( a little bit of Gas Hogs) but they run forever. Well worth restoring. Let me know if you have issues finding electrical or mechanical parts.

 

[jb93]

Re: 1973 Wellcraft Airslot 165 Sport Rebuild

I think I would slide the boat back about a foot and call it good. Bunk trailers offer good support during rebuilds. Unless your hull is unusually thin and flimsy I think you'll be fine. Those old Johnson motors are BEASTS. Great runners ( a little bit of Gas Hogs) but they run forever. Well worth restoring. Let me know if you have issues finding electrical or mechanical parts.

Just trying to clarify you comment as to sliding it back a foot and calling it good. Are you saying there is no need to put the temp bunks on the outside like I drew in? Also, when you save slide it back about a foot do you mean let the transom stick out 1 foot beyond the bunks? Right now the bunks come all the way back to the transom. Why would I slide it back 1 foot - just easier to work on??

 

[jb93]

Re: 1973 Wellcraft Airslot 165 Sport Rebuild

Well...I had to do a project in order to start on my project. Does that sound familiar? I think everything I do seems to be defined as "complicated assembly required". No complaints though...making progress albeit slow.

So here is picture of my pre-project, project to get some shade...it is some kind of hot in Dallas area right now!!

I also put some temporary supports on my trailer to be able to remove the cap and started drilling out rivets. Many more rivets to drill this week/weekend. I'll post some pics of this as my next update.

I am dreaming of grinding wheels and tyvek. Stay tuned...uh...you might have to stay tuned for a while.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1973 Wellcraft Airslot 165 Sport Rebuild

What I mean is, your current bunks need to support the hull more forward so slide the boat back. How wide are the current bunks. 4" ?? If so I suspect you are OK for support The hull design of that boat makes it pretty stable and it should not flex to much. Make sure you take a lot of measurements across the hull prior to removing the cap so you will KNOW what it is and be able to ensure it is the same when re installing the deck to ensure the cap will fit back on. Nice enclosure by the way. Get some fans. You'll need em.

 

[jb93]

Re: 1973 Wellcraft Airslot 165 Sport Rebuild

I got all the rivets drilled out and the boat supported using 2x4 blocks bolted to the trailer down the outside edges of the hull. I feel good that the hull is supported now and I will try to remove the cap tomorrow. Here are a couple of shots of my supports that are bolted to the trailer frame and wedged up tight against the hull.

Front Support

Side and Rear Support

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1973 Wellcraft Airslot 165 Sport Rebuild

Keep up the forward progress. Many of us start threads too quickly, and are slow to get finished with the demo & on to the put back:facepalm:

I like the look of these kind of combo Vee (semi/deep(?)) & tri-hull Airslot boats

Appears to be a Dilly trailer.... Is the tilting function & pin still intact?

 

[jb93]

Re: 1973 Wellcraft Airslot 165 Sport Rebuild

Keep up the forward progress. Many of us start threads too quickly, and are slow to get finished with the demo & on to the put back:facepalm:

I like the look of these kind of combo Vee (semi/deep(?)) & tri-hull Airslot boats

Appears to be a Dilly trailer.... Is the tilting function & pin still intact?

Thank you. I think it is going to ride like a champ with the deeper vee. It is a Dilly tilt trailer. The pin in intact, and I assume that it will tilt but I have not tried it.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1973 Wellcraft Airslot 165 Sport Rebuild

Might want to google dilly trailer. My tilt gator & skycraft trailers have a 'keeper' chain that when you adjust it's length to restrict the maximum amount of tilt. Helps keep you OB's skeg or bottom corner of the transom from dropping too far & onto whatever's under the boat at launch. May not be a feature on Dilly's, but might be able to add it.

Some tilt trailers are best used tilted for every on & off the trailer to prevent the keel from striking some of the trailers cross bracing & etc......

Once loosened & used a couple times (no launches, just on & off the trailer) they tilt pretty good... After using it regularly, I hope I will know when to expect the weight of the boat to tip the trailer into 'tilt' mode. It seems a tad tricky so far. And the tilted re-load was interesting, and that's all I can say about that.....

Hope the tent gives you some shelter from the heat...

 

[saxrulez]

Re: 1973 Wellcraft Airslot 165 Sport Rebuild

You're going to love it. I have a 75 that I restored. Great hulls(very solid). They ride pretty well for a trihull. I take mine out 2-3x a week. I'm not sure if I will ever "upgrade." It is probably more likely I will just continue to fancy mine up!

My trailer is a magic tilt, however I never use the tilt function of the trailer. I just repositioned the bunks on mine and it sits on the trailer very nicely now! If you would like some pictures of it, I will try and take some for you.

 

[jb93]

Re: 1973 Wellcraft Airslot 165 Sport Rebuild

You're going to love it. I have a 75 that I restored. Great hulls(very solid). They ride pretty well for a trihull. I take mine out 2-3x a week. I'm not sure if I will ever "upgrade." It is probably more likely I will just continue to fancy mine up!

My trailer is a magic tilt, however I never use the tilt function of the trailer. I just repositioned the bunks on mine and it sits on the trailer very nicely now! If you would like some pictures of it, I will try and take some for you.

Thanks Saxrulez. I would appreciate some pictures. Also some close up pictures of your interior if you have any. My interior was totally gone, so I have to start from scratch.

 

[saxrulez]

Re: 1973 Wellcraft Airslot 165 Sport Rebuild

Let me know if you want close ups of anything in particular.

Side panel: I keep my net by this seat, the throwable is the white cushion you see there. I have some extra tackle and a container that I keep some key boating items in under the rear seat. Flashlight, cables, wrench, etc

Sorry about the dirty floor! I'm going to put vinyl down on the floor at some point to make clean up a little easier, currently just glassed the deck in with a bad sanding/paint job. The fishfinder just barely fits there, but worked out perfect.

I keep all my fishing poles on the left side of the boat there with the fire extinguisher on the kick panel.

I really enjoy the setup I have in the back of the boat now. That is a low profile 12 gallon tank on the right side of the picture underneath the seat. I may eventually add a 6 gallon tank on the left side, but right now it is storage for tackle, tow ropes, etc. The cooler in the middle serves as my redneck livewell. It gets the job done. I will be honest with you, nobody ever sits in the rear seats. They are WAY too narrow for anyone other than a very small child. At 170lbs, I am nowhere close to fitting in them. If I had realized this from the beginning I may have turned these into some built in storage of some sort.

Picture from the front:

If you have any other questions, let me know!

Edit: I also would probably not put a back to back seat for the captain's chair if I had it to do over again. It has to be a little too close to the steering wheel to be able to fully lay down. I would probably go with a single chair on the captain's side maybe with some storage on the back, or just the chair by itself.

 

[jb93]

Re: 1973 Wellcraft Airslot 165 Sport Rebuild

I got the cap loose this past weekend, but have not removed it yet as I need some bodies to help lift and it has been too hot.
I wanted to share how I removed the cap (caveat - may not work for everyone). I see a lot of posts where the OP is having trouble getting the cap loose at the transom due to it being glued. Mine was the same. I was able to get underneath with a pry bar and did a good job of getting it pretty loose but not completely. I then put a 2x6 that was about 2' long on the floor of the boat under the splashwell. I set my bottle jack on top of that and then put a 2x4x 2' long on top of the bottle jack cylinder. I jacked it up tight against the splashwell and put a little pressure on it. Did some more prying, put a little more pressure on it and repeated this several times. Then I hit it with the bottle jack 3-4 pumps and popped it loose. I suppose this could crack the splashwell if you did not do a reasonable job of prying, but it worked for me. I would not recommend without having the 2x4 to spread the load over the full width of the splash well. It's probably self explanatory, but I will shoot a picture of what I did and post it in the next few days.

 

[jb93]

Re: 1973 Wellcraft Airslot 165 Sport Rebuild

As promised, here is the picture of my bottle jack setup to remove cap. I was comfortable using some force in my case, as the transom area is complete mulch so there wasn't much strength there holding it. You can see the 2x6 on the floor of the hull to spread the load and also the 2x4 on top of the bottle jack cylinder to spread the load under the splash well.

 

[jb93]

Re: 1973 Wellcraft Airslot 165 Sport Rebuild

Very excited tonight...the cap is removed...(mini jig dance)! I think the immediate plan is to (A) remove rotted transom but save prep for later...see my question below. (B) Finish stripping the cap of all accessories, wiring, gauges, etc and then restore best I am able.

I was thinking of finishing the cap completely before I turn attention to transom - fix gouges, wet sand gelcoat, etc so that it is ready to go back on the boat. This is a little less strenous work while it is 100F and won't require me to wear tyvek suit...just my respirator.

What is the opinion of finishing the cap out and then turning attention to the hull? I don't plan on painting it, so not worried about scratching the paint putting it back on the hull. Welcome your opinions. Thanks.

PS...check out the nod to the original lime green carpet circa 1973. The sides of the hull have drab gray paint over the lime green areas. Wonder how I will finish her out....hmmm...