1983 Wellcraft Scarab 30' Sport Restoration

Hi,
This is my first post to this forum, although I have been reading it and researching on it for quite some time. I just picked up this 30' Wellcraft Center Console Sport yesterday to do a complete restoration on. I have never done this before, although I have owned quite a few boats. Any suggestions or constructive input would be very much appreciated so that I don't make any NOOB mistakes. This boat is pretty much gonna be stripped down to the hull. I have to re-power it and hoping to install twin 200hp 4 strokes, not sure what brand yet. Its probably gonna come down to how much I can afford at the end. Anyways, I plan to have this restoration done in 2 months which is pretty ambitious, we will see if I can pull that off. Here are some pictures of the boat and I will be taking a lot of pictures and posting as I go so that any pros can catch my mistakes. Here we go.....:facepalm:

Re: 1983 Wellcraft Scarab 30' Sport Restoration

COOL BOAT..........big too.......
what kind of trollin motor you got in mind...lol

just clownin........good luck with your project...............post a pic of the cabin ?......

FM

Re: 1983 Wellcraft Scarab 30' Sport Restoration

Fishin Magician said:

COOL BOAT..........big too.......
what kind of trollin motor you got in mind...lol

just clownin........good luck with your project...............post a pic of the cabin ?......

FM

Click to expand...

Thanks! I'm gonna put like 10 electric trolling motors on the back, goin green! I will take more pics when I go back to my warehouse this week. I'm gonna strip it down and take more pics. I will keep this thread updated.

Re: 1983 Wellcraft Scarab 30' Sport Restoration

Ironwood said:

Thanks! I'm gonna put like 10 electric trolling motors on the back, goin green! I will take more pics when I go back to my warehouse this week. I'm gonna strip it down and take more pics. I will keep this thread updated.

Click to expand...

the twin 200's are gonna make for a fun ride...........when she's all done...... and in the water........be sure and post a pic of the sh.t eatin grin on your face....lol....@ WOT.........

FM

Re: 1983 Wellcraft Scarab 30' Sport Restoration

Alright so I headed to my shop today and snapped a bunch of photos of the boat before I spent 3 hours tearing into it. Please feel free to chime in and correct me or give advice, I could really use it. Here are some pics.

Re: 1983 Wellcraft Scarab 30' Sport Restoration

More Pics

Re: 1983 Wellcraft Scarab 30' Sport Restoration

So I start tearing it apart. Rub rail is gone, most of the cuddy interior is torn out, center console is now in my truck. Now I have a good look at what is going on. Checked out all the stringers and they look perfect, floor doesn't have any soft spots at all. My first question is, I want to put in teak hardwood floors on this boat just like this boat.

Actually I want my entire boat to look like this one, this thing is insane!
Back to the question, to install floors like this, should I go directly over the existing floor or tear it out?

I am worried about the fuel tank, its a stock 150 gallon, I really want to pull it out and make sure it is good to go. Should I do that or leave it or scrap it and get a new one? This boat is an 83'.

I plan on closing up the transom and moving the new motors onto a bracket / swim platform. Do I need anything special to make this happen? Can I buy pre built ones, or? Any suggestions? I plan on running at least twin 200hp. This next image shows what I am talking about.


Man I feel like I have so many questions. What thickness plywood should I be using to make the new center console? Is 3/4 over kill? I am going to custom build everything, nothing will be store purchased, so I need to get this right. I have built many homes, but never a boat, I figure its close to the same but go as lite as possible without sacrificing strength.
Maybe 5/8's ply?
The center console and t-top will be pretty similar to this pic, maybe a few tweaks as I go. Definately gonna make a full wind shield because it can get pretty windy out on the water and I am a puss when it comes to getting cold so I really need some kind of wind break. My last center console I would get worked over when we would leave on a fishing trip at 3 in the morning. We would almost always hit a fog bank about 5 miles out and be soaked and cold.

Re: 1983 Wellcraft Scarab 30' Sport Restoration

Pics of after I did some boat demo.

Re: 1983 Wellcraft Scarab 30' Sport Restoration

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=271420

Have you seen this thread?

Re: 1983 Wellcraft Scarab 30' Sport Restoration

F14CRAZY said:

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=271420

Have you seen this thread?

Click to expand...

Awesome, thanks. I had been looking for posts like this but hadn't found them.

Re: 1983 Wellcraft Scarab 30' Sport Restoration

Any of the experts on this forum have any thoughts as far as the couple questions I had?

Re: 1983 Wellcraft Scarab 30' Sport Restoration

Ironwood said:

Any of the experts on this forum have any thoughts as far as the couple questions I had?

Click to expand...

just my dumb axx out here I ' m guessin...............sounds like your doing just fine with that there scarab......rippin and strippen....
keep up with the posts and I bet the experts will chime in when you start to stray............your gonna have an awsome boat when ur done.......
what are you gonna do with the boat that's holding all the money when your done with this little project...

Re: 1983 Wellcraft Scarab 30' Sport Restoration

Fishin Magician said:

just my dumb axx out here I ' m guessin...............sounds like your doing just fine with that there scarab......rippin and strippen....
keep up with the posts and I bet the experts will chime in when you start to stray............your gonna have an awsome boat when ur done.......
what are you gonna do with the boat that's holding all the money when your done with this little project...

Click to expand...

Thanks, at least im not alone on this one! This boat is going to get its permanent slip in Dana Point Harbor in Southern California. Slip's are quite reasonable here surprisingly. I'm heading to work on the boat all day tomorrow so I should make some progress. I'm going to have the hull wrapped here shortly. Any thoughts on wraps versus painting? I have read debates all over the internet about pro's and con's both ways. I like the idea of being able to wrap a boat and then change the wrap when u get sick of it. Here is what the skin is gonna look like.

Re: 1983 Wellcraft Scarab 30' Sport Restoration

Ironwood said:

Thanks, at least im not alone on this one! This boat is going to get its permanent slip in Dana Point Harbor in Southern California. Slip's are quite reasonable here surprisingly. I'm heading to work on the boat all day tomorrow so I should make some progress. I'm going to have the hull wrapped here shortly. Any thoughts on wraps versus painting? I have read debates all over the internet about pro's and con's both ways. I like the idea of being able to wrap a boat and then change the wrap when u get sick of it. Here is what the skin is gonna look like.
View attachment 172411

Click to expand...

I gotta be honest.......i'm partial to that Indago Blue color of the hull....with those lines....
ur call ur boat......DON'T CHANGE IT....
bty ..I am a M GO BLUE FAN....lol......maise and blue.........all day
southrn Cal sound good regarding weather.....were killin deer here in the ADK's @ a cool 50 degres......

FM

Re: 1983 Wellcraft Scarab 30' Sport Restoration

So I spent the day dismantling more trim pieces etc....Got the gas hatch off, someone had siliconed the crap out of it! Looks like some kind of animal had built a home in there. Cleaned it all out though.

Got a question and maybe if there is any expert out there that would like to answer it I would be stoked. Seems like the only ones on here are me and Fishin Magician! Anyways, what are your experiences with gas tanks? I have no reason to think it has gone bad, it looks to be stock. Should I pull it out and scrap it? Should I not worry about it? Its a 150 gal. tank and its big! I was thinking of pulling it out and cutting the end of it off and then cleaning the inside of it out, then have it welded back together by the fabricating shop next door. It is packed extremely tightly in foam and the foam is very much intact so it would be quite a bit of work to get it out. Any thoughts? Anyone? Echo, echo, echo.......

Re: 1983 Wellcraft Scarab 30' Sport Restoration

Ironwood said:

So I spent the day dismantling more trim pieces etc....Got the gas hatch off, someone had siliconed the crap out of it! Looks like some kind of animal had built a home in there. Cleaned it all out though.

Got a question and maybe if there is any expert out there that would like to answer it I would be stoked. Seems like the only ones on here are me and Fishin Magician! Anyways, what are your experiences with gas tanks? I have no reason to think it has gone bad, it looks to be stock. Should I pull it out and scrap it? Should I not worry about it? Its a 150 gal. tank and its big! I was thinking of pulling it out and cutting the end of it off and then cleaning the inside of it out, then have it welded back together by the fabricating shop next door. It is packed extremely tightly in foam and the foam is very much intact so it would be quite a bit of work to get it out. Any thoughts? Anyone? Echo, echo, echo.......

Click to expand...

saw email that you are back at it.....I think a simple pressure test on that tank .. if there is no visual sign of leaking.. is in order...regarding the tank itself.....I once pulled a tank from floor boards however it was plastic...what I did replace was all the gas lines...they were like rotten with nasty gel all over them..fix'd gas sending unit wiring etc....buttoned ur back up

anyway... I saw there were like 69 viewers in restorations ....so......I just wanted to give ya a bumb up to the front of line.............never leave a boater stranded

FM

Re: 1983 Wellcraft Scarab 30' Sport Restoration

Fishin Magician said:

saw email that you are back at it.....I think a simple pressure test on that tank .. if there is no visual sign of leaking.. is in order...regarding the tank itself.....I once pulled a tank from floor boards however it was plastic...what I did replace was all the gas lines...they were like rotten with nasty gel all over them..fix'd gas sending unit wiring etc....buttoned ur back up

anyway... I saw there were like 69 viewers in restorations ....so......I just wanted to give ya a bumb up to the front of line.............never leave a boater stranded

FM

Click to expand...

never leave a boater stranded......

Re: 1983 Wellcraft Scarab 30' Sport Restoration

guys lookin for help .....where are you:facepalm:

Re: 1983 Wellcraft Scarab 30' Sport Restoration

Fishin Magician said:

guys lookin for help .....where are you:facepalm:

Click to expand...

Thanks FM,

I am restarting this thread on thehulltruth.com. Seems to be a lot of people over there as well. I think I'm gonna do like u said, I really do not want to pull that tank out. I just don't want pieces of garbage plugging up my fuel lines and my fuel filters. Thanks for ur help.

Re: 1983 Wellcraft Scarab 30' Sport Restoration

Good luck with your project. What's not clear is what you intend to do with your boat. Are you going to be fishing? Are you going to turn this fishing boat into a luxury pleasure/cruising boat?

The Wellcraft is a very high quality boat, they have classic styling that's good for many years. I'm glad you found one with good stringers--maybe something of a rarity. But, remember that this is a very heavy hull, and heavy boats require big motors. Are you intending on repowering with used engines? Or, new? If new, I'd be looking to put a pair of 350 hp Yammie's on it. (Many people are big on using large horsepower motors if the hull is large.)

You'll get better advice if you give some more background on what you're going to do with your boat.

As far as floors, you should look into the new teak look vinyl floors going on pontoon boats. They're relatively expensive, but bullet proof and much, much more durable than a real wooden floor. They look fantastic and are easy to install with the proper adhesives and a heavy steel vinyl floor roller available @ rental yards.

If you don't have extensive fiberglass experience, you should reconsider scaling back on your construction plans--given your time constraints. New paint, trim upgraded seats, console and top and big motors will already be expensive. If you want a boat that reeks of luxury (like the ones in your pictures), you'll need to open up your pocketbook to professional help.

You also might reconsider closing up the transom and using external aluminum motor mounts. Again, the conversion will require extensive fiberglass work, possibly requiring additional bracing from the stringers to the newly closed in transom. It's pretty difficult to do, as big motors require strong transoms.