91 Conquest 1700 Ski boat Transom Deck and Stringer restoration.

[jnbhendrix]

I started this project back in April, and have been a lurker for a little over a year. This is my first post and I have made significant headway on my project thanks to iboats. Actually, I don't know if I would have attempted this if it weren't for iboats, it's an amazing tool and I want to thank everyone on here that contributes.

Quick background on myself. I love projects and I will almost never pay someone to do a job that I am capable or can become capable of. I am in the military 4 years active duty Air Force and 6 years Missouri Air National Guard. I went through an industrial electricians apprenticeship and worked as an electrician at a copper mine for 2 years. I have been through multiple electronics schools as well as graduating from UTI with a degree in auto mechanics. I have worked and repaired almost everything except boats. I have also never done in fiberglass work whatsoever so this has been a huge learning process for me.

I am going to try and cram as much info in this 1st post as possible. So, last year around February the wife and I bought or 1st boat and being mechanically and electrically inclined I figured I could handle the task of finding us a good boat. Well, I got suckered and bought a 1991 Conquest 1700 ski boat that does not contain a dry piece of wood in it. He had receipts for the lower unit being rebuilt a couple years ago, the boat fired right up, and he just replaced the deck (did a horrible job that probably contributed to the rot). At the time I thought the only wood on a fiberglass boat was the deck. First time out on the boat was fine needed some carb adjustments to hit full throttle but that was it. WRONG, when we trailered the boat when we were finished tons of water came flowing out of the bilge when I pulled the plug. Being a newbie boat owner and a car guy I just figured the gasket between the outdrive and the transom was bad. Well after doing research from here I cored the transom and it was of course rotten. So, I finished last summer up took the boat probably 10 more times, I did seal around the outdrive with a cheapie walmart marine sealant and it minimized the water the boat took on drastically. But, I knew before the next boating season I would need to tear into the boat and fix it properly. Did I mention the boat is powered by an OMC cobra 3.0l. When I bought the boat I had no idea OMC was even out of business that being my own fault.

I wish I would have posted earlier this is a great group of people on this site, as I have learned about 90% of what I know about boat restoration from the forums here. I have so much more I need to post. Where I am at now is I am about ready to put the deck on. I still have to put the cleats on and some small fiberglass work to do. I can only upload 5 pics per post as you may well know so these 1st five are from teardown. The pic of the engine being hoisted out is actually of my dad and his cousin.

 

[jnbhendrix]

Re: 91 Conquest 1700 Ski boat Transom Deck and Stringer restoration.

Here are some more pics.



The hull was all shiny from the final grind down because I had just hosed it off.

 

[jnbhendrix]

Re: 91 Conquest 1700 Ski boat Transom Deck and Stringer restoration.

Just some quick questions as it is now late for me but I need some opinions.

When installing the deck should I screw the deck into the cleats only, or is it ok to screw into the stringers if I run the screws in with some 5200?

When making the deck template should I start at the bow and work to the stern or vise versa?

I do not want glue down carpet back in the boat, I was thinking gel coating the deck and maybe next year or so making my own little carpet pieces as I don't have much exposed walk way area?

What would be a good process for gel coating the deck, I would like it non slip?

Are limber holes necessary in the outer stringers? They will be completely sealed and if you look at the pics of my stringer layout it would be hard to make the holes where they drain to the bilge. I mimicked the original layout except factory had 1/2" deck and stringers I went with 3/4" stringers and 5/8" deck.

Being an amateur fiberglasser I do have some air bubbles in the top part of my two most forward stringers, almost width of a dime and spanning a couple inches. Will that need to be ground off and capped with CSM or can I leave it be?

Can I get away with just coating the cleats in resin like Friscoboater has done, or should I completely cover them in CSM, Then should I PB them to the stringer or would PL suffice.

What is more ideal for deck to stringer, PL or pb?

 

[jnbhendrix]

Re: 91 Conquest 1700 Ski boat Transom Deck and Stringer restoration.

Should have been with last group of pics.

 

[jnbhendrix]

Re: 91 Conquest 1700 Ski boat Transom Deck and Stringer restoration.

Pics of boat when we brought her home.

 

[jnbhendrix]

Re: 91 Conquest 1700 Ski boat Transom Deck and Stringer restoration.

Template for deck.







Deck cut out and fit

 

[jnbhendrix]

Re: 91 Conquest 1700 Ski boat Transom Deck and Stringer restoration.

Hello, hello, hello, is there anybody out there? Well, I now figured out how to post pics like the iboat pros. Some time in the future I will redo the pics I previously posted.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 91 Conquest 1700 Ski boat Transom Deck and Stringer restoration.

You are doing excellent work on this boat. Absolutely textbook. Unfortunately I'm a tin boat guy so I've got no answers to your questions. :cold:

 

[GT1000000]

Re: 91 Conquest 1700 Ski boat Transom Deck and Stringer restoration.

Hello and a very late Welcome to the Iboats Dry Dock, jnbhendrix...
Just got all caught up with your project and I gotta say, you have learned well from the forum and done an absolutely excellent job on everything so far!
Sorry it took so long to come aboard, but this is the first time I saw your thread...
I will try and answer some of your questions...In RED below...

Just some quick questions as it is now late for me but I need some opinions.

When installing the deck should I screw the deck into the cleats only, or is it ok to screw into the stringers if I run the screws in with some 5200?
You can do it any way you want as long as they are well sealed with 5200...I would also recommend drilling pilot holes to keep from tearing or splitting the wood underneath...

When making the deck template should I start at the bow and work to the stern or vise versa?
Looks like you got that covered...

I do not want glue down carpet back in the boat, I was thinking gel coating the deck and maybe next year or so making my own little carpet pieces as I don't have much exposed walk way area?
Deck covering materials are many and varied, personal preference, budget, and type of use are the main determining factors...

What would be a good process for gel coating the deck, I would like it non slip?
There are additives you can add to the gel, like sand or rubber granules... the gel itself usually has a texture to it...there are other products available, like Durabak...

Are limber holes necessary in the outer stringers? They will be completely sealed and if you look at the pics of my stringer layout it would be hard to make the holes where they drain to the bilge. I mimicked the original layout except factory had 1/2" deck and stringers I went with 3/4" stringers and 5/8" deck.
If it will be completely sealed and foamed in, there really is no need for limber/drain holes...

Being an amateur fiberglasser I do have some air bubbles in the top part of my two most forward stringers, almost width of a dime and spanning a couple inches. Will that need to be ground off and capped with CSM or can I leave it be?
Minor bubbles are not a huge concern as long as they are few and far between...sometimes our OCD kicks in and we want the teeniest tiniest thing to be perfect, so whatever you feel comfortable with, go for it...remember, you are already building this boat better than the factory ever did, and with proper care and maintenance will probably be good enough to pass on to your kids...

Can I get away with just coating the cleats in resin like Friscoboater has done, or should I completely cover them in CSM, Then should I PB them to the stringer or would PL suffice.
Again, kind of a personal thing, I prefer the overkill method, but that's just me...

What is more ideal for deck to stringer, PL or pb?
I prefer PB for all of my boat work...although PL get used by others with much success and is a bit more forgiving, time wise...it is still a construction adhesive used mainly in homes...I also think PB is easier to work with and I can keep right on working while it cures, whereas with PL, you need to wait 72+ hours for a full cure to prevent the possibility of outgassing into freshly laid resin/glass...

 

[jnbhendrix]

Re: 91 Conquest 1700 Ski boat Transom Deck and Stringer restoration.

Thanks EZ and GT. I personally feel there is a better bond with PB and also a little hesitant of using PL after I read the one guys rehab were his transom delaminated from the stern. I did my transom in PB. It's just so much easier and cleaner though to just pop a tube of PL in the caulk gun and go. I did bed my stringers in PL, mainly from what I gathered its softer and will flex for no hard spots on the hull. I think I will stick with the PB, I just got to order more cabosil. Also, just to point out I see a lot of people's fillets being enormous. I have found out if you use just a little bit of PB and lay the first layer of glass while the PB is still pliable it works very well. Or does the larger fillet provide a more sturdy base for the stringer, because I could see that as well.

 

[jnbhendrix]

Re: 91 Conquest 1700 Ski boat Transom Deck and Stringer restoration.

A pointer for anyone doing a transom/ stringer job. Save the grindings from your grind out process. I did and I used it to thicken probably about 75% of my PB. I probably could have used it for 100% but did not think of using the grindings til about halfway through the grind. As far as I can tell its about the same exact thing that my 1/32 milled fibers looked like. I did have to sift it through a flour sifter but that only took maybe an hour.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 91 Conquest 1700 Ski boat Transom Deck and Stringer restoration.

Good tip. Yeah if I were doing a glass boat I wouldn't go the PL route either. That one dude whose PL off-gassed and ruined all his filets was enough reason for me not to use it.

 

[jnbhendrix]

Re: 91 Conquest 1700 Ski boat Transom Deck and Stringer restoration.

The grindings from my boat I use for PB.



Some PB I mixed up from it.



Finally got the cleats on. The wide cleat at the front was a little messy on the edges because I had just wetted a piece of csm on it. I have since ground the edges off.






I just installed the floor tonight. I will post a few pics later as I still have random heavy crap sitting on top of the floor to weigh it down. It went very smoothly all the pieces lined up perfectly and the floor is almost perfectly level.

 

[mwe-maxxowner]

Re: 91 Conquest 1700 Ski boat Transom Deck and Stringer restoration.

Just commenting to say great work, and so I get notified of new posts!

 

[jnbhendrix]

Re: 91 Conquest 1700 Ski boat Transom Deck and Stringer restoration.

The other night when I put the floor on we had a torrential down pour overnight. I think we got 3-4 inches of rain. I work on the boat under a 10'x20' garage in the box type deal. I put a tarp in the back of the carport because that is the way the rain blows in usually. Needless to say we had a heck of a storm that night and it ended up filling up my boat with quite a bit of water. I only had the floor glued down with PB and screwed in so the sides weren't completely sealed up. Luckily when I drilled the plugs to foam the deck I was able to dry out all of the water.

 

[jnbhendrix]

Re: 91 Conquest 1700 Ski boat Transom Deck and Stringer restoration.

Glued, screwed, and all but 2 plugs drilled for foaming.




Foamed, gaps filled, and tabbed in.

 

[jnbhendrix]

Re: 91 Conquest 1700 Ski boat Transom Deck and Stringer restoration.

This weekend I got the first layer of CSM over the deck along with a 1/3rd of the 2nd layer and then I ran out of resin, well I have 1 liter left and its been taking me about 2.25 Liters to do a 1/3.

I started with 10 gallons of resin, 25yds of csm, 10yds of 1708, 1 gallon of 1/32 milled fibers, 1 gallon 1/4'' chop strands, 3 gallons of my own boat grindings, 4 gallons total of 2lb floatation foam. I have since ordered and used up 12 more additional gallons of resin, 15yds csm, 10yds of 6" 1708 tape, and 5qts of cabosil. I also have a gallon of white gelcoat to finish the deck off with. Oh, and my additional order included a tube each of 3m 4200 and 5200. Also numerous tubes of PL premium 3x.

 

[jnbhendrix]

Re: 91 Conquest 1700 Ski boat Transom Deck and Stringer restoration.

By the way, I only used 750ml each of part A and B of the 2nd, 2 gallon foam kit. Now that I have almost 8 cubic ft of floatation foam leftover maybe i'll make a cool sculpture or something for the kiddo.

 

[jnbhendrix]

Re: 91 Conquest 1700 Ski boat Transom Deck and Stringer restoration.

Just ordered 2 more gallons of resin, which kind of sucks because I have ordered 4 single gallons now which is actually $10 more than just getting another 5 gallon pail. That will put my resin count at 24 gallons total, even though I will probably only use 1 liter of the 2nd gallon.

 

[jnbhendrix]

Re: 91 Conquest 1700 Ski boat Transom Deck and Stringer restoration.

Quick question. All I ever hear about poly resin is that it is hard and brittle and will eventually absorb water and its a horrible coating all by itself. Isn't gel coat a polyester resin product? What makes it suitable to be a top/exterior coat all by itself with no mat, fillers, etc?