DIY-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration-(after shop repair gone wrong)

This is my first boat. It runs like a champ. It has a 1987 Johnson 70 hp VRO. The guy i bought it from told me it had a small crack on the floor but i shouldnt worry about it. After a few months of using it i decided to see how bad the floor/stringers were. When i cut a small portion of the floor i found that the stringers were rotted out. I was referred to someone who repairs boats and he repl the floor/stringers and added two storage boxes. when i got it back i decided prep it for paint. The first few videos will show what i found when i decided to remove the storage boxes. As the old saying goes "if you want it done right you might as well do it yourself ". Since ive never worked on a boat before i will be asking for a lot of help from this forum. A big thank you to jay(friscojarret), his videos on youtube taught me and helped me believe that i can restore my boat and do it correctly.

so here we go.

Re: Dyi-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration

Re: Dyi-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration

Are you sure your transom is good? Have you core sampled it? If the stringers were rotten it is rare that the transom does not have issues as well. YOu can flip the hull, just need to make a proper cradle for it. Check out Drewpsters thread. He made a great one for his tri hull. His thread should be a great help to you.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=287390&highlight=drewpster

thanks for your reply woodonglass. ive already removed the transom. i have more videos to upload. you'll see what i see.

Re: Dyi-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration

Re: Dyi-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration

The cradle I built for my tri-hull cost me 12 2x4s, 3 boxes of 2.5" screws (looking back i would have used 3") and some DIY casters (Note first caster build were epic fail, see second caster build for better method). To flip mine I used 2 come-alongs and 2 people.

cradle starts
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=511063&p=3498704&viewfull=1#post3498704

proper casters
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=511063&p=3503595&viewfull=1#post3503595

Re: Dyi-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration

Re: Dyi-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration

So I take it you are going to use Coosa board Bluewater 26 density...3/4" thick 4x8 sheet for floor and stringers and double up for the transom?

Re: Dyi-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration

Re: Dyi-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration

alligatorgars said:

So I take it you are going to use Coosa board Bluewater 26 density...3/4" thick 4x8 sheet for floor and stringers and double up for the transom?

Click to expand...

im not sure what im doing yet. i wasnt planning on this at all but now i have to look for the more economical way to get this boat done right.

Re: Dyi-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration

Re: Dyi-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration

question is how long ago did you have the shop do those repairs, and how much did they charge you....asking cause im wondering if you should sue them, or if its small enough to small claims them lol. I would get my money back from them!

Re: Dyi-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration

Re: Dyi-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration

JDA1975 said:

question is how long ago did you have the shop do those repairs, and how much did they charge you....asking cause im wondering if you should sue them, or if its small enough to small claims them lol. I would get my money back from them!

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back in september 2010. i took it back to him but he said he warranty his work and would replace the floor and add some fiberglass to the stringer. when asked about the center one which is completeley rotted out he said it wasnt part of the original price. it would be $100.

i was going to leave it but i knew what i was going to get. so i brought it back home. i paid about $700-800 to replace the floor/stringers and $400 for some other repairs/parts. since it was my first boat and i knew nothing about it i thought he knew what he was doing but after a few months of looking at iboats forum and seeing friscojarret's youtube site i decided to restore this boat myself.
i could sue. but what would i really get back?

Re: Dyi-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration

Re: Dyi-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration

for that small a price Id see if he would settle on some refundage...he screwed up, but he didnt charge that much and i guess the old saying "ya get what ya pay for" comes to mind. good attitude, I just hate to see people lose money for obviously poor craftsmanship. Only 1 year it shouldn't be like that. At least he offered to redo it

Re: Dyi-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration

Re: Dyi-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration

JDA1975 said:

for that small a price Id see if he would settle on some refundage...he screwed up, but he didnt charge that much and i guess the old saying "ya get what ya pay for" comes to mind. good attitude, I just hate to see people lose money for obviously poor craftsmanship. Only 1 year it shouldn't be like that. At least he offered to redo it

Click to expand...

He didn't screw up, he screwed you...

Any body calling himself a marine tech or whatever should know that all the rot needs to go.

Re: Dyi-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration

Re: Dyi-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration

Zoop is correct! This guy should be put out of business. Everything and I mean everything I have seen in your videos is incorrect. Some of the worst I have seen. If not for you, for others, you should make it known that this guy knows nothing about fiberglass repairs on a boat. He should have advised you as to the condition of the stringers and everything else and NEVER decked over it in that condition. NEVER!!! I don't have that kind of money to throw away on shoddy workmanship like that!!!!!

Re: DIY-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration-(after shop repair gone wr

View attachment 117639these are some pics of my boat when i first bought it and took it for repairs. i had cut a hole off the floor to see how the stringers were. during repairs i would pass by and take pics to have it in an album. i didnt know anything about the correct way to do this work so i trusted in his experience. was i wrong. View attachment 117551View attachment 117552View attachment 117553View attachment 117555View attachment 117556

Re: DIY-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration-(after shop repair gone wr

Re: DIY-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration-(after shop repair gone wr

how can i figure out how much material(resin, fiberglass,gel coat,etc) i will need to redo the stringers, floor and transom?

Re: DIY-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration-(after shop repair gone wr

That's really hard to do. But IMHO a good starting guess-timate is...

10 yds of 1.5 oz CSM
10 yds of 1708 Biax
Gallon of Cabosil
1/2 lb of Chopped 1/4" fibers
Bubble roller
Mixing bowls
etc....

Re: DIY-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration-(after shop repair gone wr

Woodonglass said:

That's really hard to do. But IMHO a good starting guess-timate is...

10 yds of 1.5 oz CSM
10 yds of 1708 Biax
Gallon of Cabosil
1/2 lb of Chopped 1/4" fibers
Bubble roller
Mixing bowls
etc....

Click to expand...

You'll need resin too!! probably 10 gals or so.

Re: Dyi-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration

Re: Dyi-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration

jarrpal001 said:

back in september 2010. i took it back to him but he said he warranty his work and would replace the floor and add some fiberglass to the stringer. when asked about the center one which is completeley rotted out he said it wasnt part of the original price. it would be $100.

i was going to leave it but i knew what i was going to get. so i brought it back home. i paid about $700-800 to replace the floor/stringers and $400 for some other repairs/parts. since it was my first boat and i knew nothing about it i thought he knew what he was doing but after a few months of looking at iboats forum and seeing friscojarret's youtube site i decided to restore this boat myself.
i could sue. but what would i really get back?

Click to expand...

i havent had time to go over all the vids to see what he has done.....its really late here......ill try to remember tommorow....

but just off the cuff....7-800 bux for a deck and stringers....is nothing. litterally.....in fact....i could not touch it for that......even hacking it.

it would cost you 300 for me to just get the rug out and the deck up....another 350 to replace the rug and the materials are on top !....so at 700 bux....we have not even replaced the deck......never mind the wood or glass and resin...

it is sooooo important to know exactly what you get for your money.....
in the case of a first time boat owner, and not knowing what is involved. price is every thing......so several 3k quotes and one 700......which one wins?

i have heard of a guy that made a deal to have his deck repaired........repaired, not replaced. they cut out a small section of rot,,,,replaced the section with ply.......bondoed over the repair and threw the rug over it. thank you very much.....1000 bux (the rest of the deck was rotting from the other side.....the repair lasted for a year, the rest of the deck was toast around the repair area. too bad sooo sad !

it is important to have an idea of what you are getting into and what you are paying for.

on the other hand.......we can guide you into a proper repair that will last over 30 years with proper standard boat covering.

Re: DIY-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration-(after shop repair gone wr

Woodonglass said:

That's really hard to do. But IMHO a good starting guess-timate is...

10 yds of 1.5 oz CSM
10 yds of 1708 Biax
Gallon of Cabosil
1/2 lb of Chopped 1/4" fibers
Bubble roller
Mixing bowls
etc....

Click to expand...

i know it depends on area but how much should i be paying for these materials?
just want to make sure so someone else doesnt rip me off!

Re: DIY-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration-(after shop repair gone wr

Yep, Zoop was correct, I left off the 10Gallons of Resin you'll need. You have a GREAT supplier in Florida, www.USComposites.com. Very competitive prices, and great technical support. Check em out. the 435 Poly resin is what I'd recommend.

Re: DIY-1972 thunderbird shawnee tri-hull boat restoration-(after shop repair gone wr

thanks for the website.
i added it up. am i right to say that i will be spending about $400?

5 gallon polyester resin 242
10 yds of csm 32
10yds of 1708 82
gal of cabosil 7.25
1/4 chopped strand 3.75
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$367