1984 Wellcraft 248 Sporstman Restore

[ahmincha]

Looks real good sc. that is a deep hull has to be a pain int rear to get in and out
Whats the purpose of filling the strakes

 

[Second Chance 248]

Does anyone know what the yellow is from? It's dry looking and just blows off with a grinder.
I started moving forward and it just kept going, I had to go down to bare hull. I found the last bit of rot, it was like finding the Holy Grail :lol:
Now she's 100% rotless!!

 

[Second Chance 248]

Looks real good sc. that is a deep hull has to be a pain int rear to get in and out
Whats the purpose of filling the strakes

The getting in and out is really starting to hurt :facepalm: I need my stairs back lol
The edge of the strakes are hollow, the glass they used from the factory was to thick for a tight fit. I can shove a 12" piece of 12 gauge wire all the way in. I have a strake repair on the port side from PO and wanted to repair it better and avoid any in the future.

 

[Second Chance 248]

Can anyone offer a hull layup schedule?
I've got everything ground out and strakes filled. I was told to get stichmat 2415 in the beginning, but after reading, it seems that it's not the first choice with epoxy.
I found some hull layups for Grady Whites that have 3 layers of the 2415, would that be enough? I want to make this a rough water hull, any suggestions? I'm kinda stuck with a 200 Lb. roll

 

[kcassells]

Wow...thats a pretty serious glass. Will suck up alot of resin. 3 is way more than enough. Probably only need two layups. I would have suggested 1708 with no mat backing.
Your gonna really need to wet it out with alot of EEEpoxy. Maybe ost/sell it off on ebay or craigs and get the 1708 no backing. You will save a lot of $$$ in regards to epoxy.

 

[bigdirty]

Just read through this whole thread.. wow man awesome job so far!! :thumb: If I wasn't swamped busy with work myself, I'd gladly head down and give you a hand. Looks like my kind of project; just do the 'everything' :lol: My opinion, overkill is underrated, build it better than it was and make it what you want. I'm climbing on board if you don't mind, cant wait to see her back together!

 

[Second Chance 248]

Wow...thats a pretty serious glass. Will suck up alot of resin. 3 is way more than enough. Probably only need two layups. I would have suggested 1708 with no mat backing.
Your gonna really need to wet it out with alot of EEEpoxy. Maybe ost/sell it off on ebay or craigs and get the 1708 no backing. You will save a lot of $$$ in regards to epoxy.

Thanks Kc, I've been stumped for a week on what to do. I already burned through 15 gallons and just got another 20 Gallons
I think I'm going to go ahead and use the 2415 for the hull but I'm definitely not doing the stringers with it. More and more I'm regretting the path I was led down.
With the 1708 no mat, would 2 layers on stringers and 3 layers for tabs be good?

 

[Second Chance 248]

Just read through this whole thread.. wow man awesome job so far!! :thumb: If I wasn't swamped busy with work myself, I'd gladly head down and give you a hand. Looks like my kind of project; just do the 'everything' :lol: My opinion, overkill is underrated, build it better than it was and make it what you want. I'm climbing on board if you don't mind, cant wait to see her back together!

Thanks Big, it's been a uphill battle the past 4 months.
Should be able to make some progress from here on out, I'm hoping to get the liner and cap back in mid May

 

[Woodonglass]

Just finished reading your thread. Looks like you're serious!!! Wellcraft makes a good boat. Just curious if you know how thick the current hull is and why you feel the need to lay down more glass. A 25 ft boat from the Wellcraft factory would probably have been engineered to withstand the forces of the wakes/waves that she would be subjected to along with the stringer/bulkhead configuration. From what I can see she looks to have been built with the old stand by Woven Roving and Polyester Resin. The new biaxial glass is lighter in weight and much stronger and the Epoxy resin is also a much stronger Resin so for laying up stringers and tabbing you can get by with less and end up having a stronger build. Some areas still require bulk and Woven Roving is helpful then. If the bottom of your hull is 3/16 to 1/4" thick then I'd expect it would be plenty good. Using epoxy I'm pretty sure that one layer of the 32oz fabric you're contemplating using would be more than adequate for the bottom of the hull. As KC suggests, 1708 would be Ideal for your stringers but being that she's a 25 footer and the stringers being as tall as they are, I'd tab em in with 3 alternating layers so the last one would go all the way to the top. That's just an Old Dumb Okie's opinion so take it for what it's worth. You're doing some fine work!!!:encouragement:

 

[kcassells]

The whole thing is live and learn. At the end of the day you could probably take a broadside torpedo and still float it out.

 

[Second Chance 248]

Just finished reading your thread. Looks like you're serious!!! Wellcraft makes a good boat. Just curious if you know how thick the current hull is and why you feel the need to lay down more glass. A 25 ft boat from the Wellcraft factory would probably have been engineered to withstand the forces of the wakes/waves that she would be subjected to along with the stringer/bulkhead configuration. From what I can see she looks to have been built with the old stand by Woven Roving and Polyester Resin. The new biaxial glass is lighter in weight and much stronger and the Epoxy resin is also a much stronger Resin so for laying up stringers and tabbing you can get by with less and end up having a stronger build. Some areas still require bulk and Woven Roving is helpful then. If the bottom of your hull is 3/16 to 1/4" thick then I'd expect it would be plenty good. Using epoxy I'm pretty sure that one layer of the 32oz fabric you're contemplating using would be more than adequate for the bottom of the hull. As KC suggests, 1708 would be Ideal for your stringers but being that she's a 25 footer and the stringers being as tall as they are, I'd tab em in with 3 alternating layers so the last one would go all the way to the top. That's just an Old Dumb Okie's opinion so take it for what it's worth. You're doing some fine work!!!:encouragement:

Hi WOG & thanks for taking the time to stop in. Glad to hear everything went good with your health.
I'm confused on what I'm up against here so I apologize in advance if I'm not explaining myself correct.
In the first pic I've attached is the strake, wouldn't this be considered the thickness of the actual
hull? In the second pic with the yellow arrow, is this also the hull thickness? It seems the black arrow is 1 layer of glass for tabbing.
The reason I'm laying the glass is because of how brittle the yellow areas are and how thin it feels by simply pushing on it. I believe I'm down to the first layer of mat?
Also in the 3 pic is the aft area where I was told it was fine by the guy working on it. I found him contradicting himself by telling me anything cloudy has to come out yet the entire aft looks like this.

 

[Second Chance 248]

The whole thing is live and learn. At the end of the day you could probably take a broadside torpedo and still float it out.

I hope so, my reason for concern is some of the tournaments we fish is not fair weather boating. Lake Erie can be a real B***H with her close waves due to it being shallow. Our 4'-6' waves are nothing like yours, sometimes I wonder how a boat can stay together out there.

 

[Second Chance 248]

Current status

 

[Second Chance 248]

Figured I'd throw this out there for anyone working with epoxy. I get these hand wipes from my supply house and they work GREAT!!! for cleaning up tools, hands, mixing cups or anything else. I've even used them on the non skid last year prior to this project, well worth the money!! There mascot is a little weird looking though lol

 

[Woodonglass]

How thick was the transom skin at the keyhole? The hull should be close to that. I'm not saying NOT to put down then additional glass, only that once the stringers and bulkheads are properly glassed in with the tabs properly extended out onto the hull on both sides they will almost cover the entire hull and greatly stiffen it . The tabbings should should be 6 to 10" respectively so with two stringers that's almost 40" in coverage with 2 layers of 17oz of resin and glass. 34 oz will make the hull a beast. That's my opinion!

 

[muskyfins]

Good job.:clap2:

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I envy you all who do these restos and replace stringers, etc.

 

[Second Chance 248]

How thick was the transom skin at the keyhole? The hull should be close to that. I'm not saying NOT to put down then additional glass, only that once the stringers and bulkheads are properly glassed in with the tabs properly extended out onto the hull on both sides they will almost cover the entire hull and greatly stiffen it . The tabbings should should be 6 to 10" respectively so with two stringers that's almost 40" in coverage with 2 layers of 17oz of resin and glass. 34 oz will make the hull a beast. That's my opinion!

The transom skin is 7/16" but after grinding past the woven on the hull there's no way it could be that. The guy working on it put down 3 layers under the motor beds, I have a thru hull for a wash down pump there so I'll re drill it tonight to confirm. What are your thoughts on the aft glass from a visual standpoint?

 

[Second Chance 248]

Good job.:clap2:

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I envy you all who do these restos and replace stringers, etc.

Thanks for checking it out Muskyfins, but to be honest it has gone from fun to can't wait to be done

 

[ahmincha]

Looking real good sc. I know it gets discouraging when everything seems to go against you but you have to remind yourself that you will still be way under the cost of a new boat. And a whole lot better built. Plus when your out in them 6 footers you will know your boat will bring you home. Priceless

 

[Woodonglass]

Without being there and standing on the hull to "Feel" it there's just no way to tell. If you can feel it flexing when you walk on it and it feels Thin and really flexible then possibly it needs reinforcing but again you should consider where the Stringer and Bulkhead tabbings will be and then you will only need to reinforce those areas not being covered by those tabbings. Two layers of 17oz biax and epoxy will be very stiff and strong. You should go with your gut and DO what you feel is best. YOU are the one that is there and can sense what needs to be done. I'm just an Old Dumb Okie observing from a PC Screen!!!!