'83 Beachcraft 180s this time..

[surlyjoe]

Hello I-boaters!

I scored this boat off my brother in law for $600 in a divorce sale. he traded the PO his father in-laws Kawi hog clone for it. He's not a boat guy..

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First issue was the PO had tried to do a wakeboard style interior in it with OSB cheap 2x4's and drywall screws (3 pounds worth!) =/
Once I stripped out a truckload of warped OSB I saw that they had spray foamed in a poly bilge tank over the rotted aluminu one! (sorry for the crap pic, but there was a family of black widows under the dash and the bombs were going off under the tarp!)

[URL=http://s955.photobucket.com/user/scrumblero/media/2013-07-21_17-06-25_521_zps1024e886.jpg.html]

second was the rollers that were doing a number on the bottom. =( It doesn't apper to be cracking, but I havent checked real close yet. anyone else run accross this and get it to come back out?





On the good side, all the rigging is still there and in decent repair and what appears to be a good running Volvo AQ130 with a clean aquamatic 275 out back!

The floor is shot and maybe the motor mount blocks as well, I wont know about the stringers till I get the floor off. The transom wood is just a 2' square of plywood glassed to the center of the stern and seems really solid, but a core sample will tell the truth. I'm thinkin I might get away with just some plywood .glass and some paint this time around =)

I have wanted a bigger boat set up for fishing since my kids grown up and the wife only goes out a couple times a year now , so I wont be doing a lot of polish on this one , just a couple seat boxes up front and the motor cover to try and make the cockpit feel a little bigger.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: '83 Beachcraft 180s this time..

Nice looking hull. The structure has got to be completely shot though with all that warping. To properly repair it, you need to get it off that roller trailer and onto a cradle of some sort to straighten it out and then rebuild the structure. I'd start seriously thinking about whether this is really the hull you want. You could probably get your $600 back out of it easily between the running gear and the trailer. You have lots more into it if you decide to restore/repair it properly. We're here for you if you go that route though.

 

[surlyjoe]

Re: '83 Beachcraft 180s this time..

Nice looking hull...I'd start seriously thinking about whether this is really the hull you want.

Thanks EZ! I spent the last two weeks staring at it to make sure it is the hull I wanted !! I too like the lines of her and It seems like a nice hand laid job with a good bilge layout and its NOT a bowrider which is what I was looking for, plus++ it already has my grail motor/drive on it.! =)

the floors and stringers are no big deal, been there done that... I am more concerned whether the hull flexing would sort itself out once on some proper bunks. As long as it straightens back out , which it sounds like it might do from what you posted!! I can handle the rest,

Now to get the floor out and set the trailer up properly and let it set in the hot cali sun for a few days and see how her memory is... =P

 

[surlyjoe]

Re: '83 Beachcraft 180s this time..

Haven't had any boat time as my kids 16th B-day is Tuesday. Got some more pics though now that the widows are dead.

 

[surlyjoe]

Re: '83 Beachcraft 180s this time..

finally got out to work on the boat today. After thinking about the problem with the hull flexing I started looking at the trailer and realized that it wasn't set up properley and the front keel roller assembly was gone! I think someone was trying to reduce the tounge weight on the trailer and moved the bow stop back and as a result the front keel roller was useless and the rear one I could spin by hand!. Once I added a front keel roller and set up the trailer you could already see the lifting strakes starting to straighten out ! =)
Hopefully it will return close to its natural shape.

Also, has anyone tried using an oscillating multi tool with a saw blade for cutting the floor at the hull joint? seems like it would be easy to cut fairly fush to the hull with one, but I have never used one before . Do they work as advertised?

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: '83 Beachcraft 180s this time..

Also, has anyone tried using an oscillating multi tool with a saw blade for cutting the floor at the hull joint? seems like it would be easy to cut fairly fush to the hull with one, but I have never used one before . Do they work as advertised?

I rough cut the deck out @2" out from the edge of the hull, and used the multi-tool to cut the deck edge back to the hull.

Worked great, plus it doesn't fling FG dust everywhere like a grinder does. You CAN STILL cut thru your hull so be careful.

Get 1 that has multiple adjustable angles that you can set the blade relative to the handle. Lets you get the multi-tool up into corners & etc.

I also used it to cut the transom free at the splashwell from below.

 

[TJS]

Re: '83 Beachcraft 180s this time..

I used an angle grinder with a masonary blade from home depot. Cuts through like butter and likes wood too.

 

[surlyjoe]

Re: '83 Beachcraft 180s this time..

thanx for the heads up! I am gonna head out this morning and try and get the bulk of it out with the sawzall then try the multi-tool I borrowed from my friend.

 

[NickMcCabe]

Re: '83 Beachcraft 180s this time..

Cool project. I'm doing some less in-depth work on an '80 Beachcraft Trihull I just bought. Hoping to not have to do any stringer/transom work though. I'm new to boating.

 

[surlyjoe]

Re: '83 Beachcraft 180s this time..

Cool project. I'm doing some less in-depth work on an '80 Beachcraft Trihull I just bought. Hoping to not have to do any stringer/transom work though. I'm new to boating.

always hope for the best and expect the worst... this time I'm getting the worst :facepalm:


The PO' figured the best route to a poly fuel tank was to order too wide of one and then notch out the top 2/3rds of the stringers to make it sit down in the floor. no... really.. there was so much spray foam on it before I couldn't tell what was up. Apparently he also believed 2 part foam would hold up the rotting floor.. at least its easy to get out since it didn't stick to anything wet :lol: !





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for what appears to be a nice hand laid hull, I was surprised to find unsealed 5/8" plywood stringers and bulkheads blown in with a chopper gun, and quite sparingly at that (lucky for me! Definitely not what I expected for a brand that has a fairly good reputation.

 

[surlyjoe]

Re: '83 Beachcraft 180s this time..

got more of the floor out today, its surprisingly good under the front deck, the rest is mush. the PO also notched the bulkhead at the motor box getting the tank in..

I assume that's the woodruff key from my water pump that got lost in the bilge in pic #3.... :facepalm:

 

[surlyjoe]

Re: '83 Beachcraft 180s this time..

Does anyone know a place to get a good deal on Stainless 1/4 crown staples? everywhere I look they want $40 for a box, I only need maybe 200 inch and a half ones, = /

maybe someone wants to sell their leftovers?

 

[surlyjoe]

Re: '83 Beachcraft 180s this time..

got the gas tank out today! it was a chore getting rid of 20 gallons of old gas.. on the bright side it looks to be in re-usable shape!

the old aluminum one under it was so corroded I hit it with a crow bar and popped a hole in it! I will dig it out tomorrow if I get time.