Spectrum 1606 Rebuild...What did I get myself into?

[MarkJ07]

Well...I started with a post about a transom rot question. Now I have the boat down to the shell. :facepalm: Good new is that the transom is out and I have the marine ply to replace it. The bad news is that I found the flotation foam next to the transom was wet. So I removed all of the carpet, bump rails, storage boxes, counsel, and the floor. I have almost all of the wet foam out but that leaves me with some questions before I proceed. There seems to be a big debate about flotation foam replacement. I am ok with using the pink block stuff to replace it. My only concern is that the pour in stuff also aids in the rigidity of the hull. The Spectrum has no internal or external ribs along the side of the hull. Is this common with other boats? This is my first boat and my first rebuild so I want to do it right. I ordered the epoxy resin (enough for the transom) but I think I may need to contact US Composites Monday to see if they can add to my order. I hope that by tomorrow I will have a good list of all of the goodies I need to rebuild it. I would like to use carpet again but a different color. Any suggestions on that? Thanks for your input.

Mark
Two weeks ago it was a boat!

Now its a shell!

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Spectrum 1606 Rebuild...What did I get myself into?

might look thru this thread
[h=1]Ok Getting ready to rehab my Spectrum Some ????s[/h]

 

[Teamster]

Re: Spectrum 1606 Rebuild...What did I get myself into?

I'll tag along,........

 

[greenbush future]

Re: Spectrum 1606 Rebuild...What did I get myself into?

I have the big brother to your project, Spectrum 19 "pro Angler " and you're correct about the infrastructure being sparse. The welded hull is good, but these boats are not high end, the alum. is a bit thinner than say a "Lund". pour in foam would aid in structure strength, and being more solid, but I think either will work just fine. I guess it depend what your intending use is too. I will be on the great lakes, so I want it solid. Don't stop, and don't look back.

 

[MarkJ07]

Re: Spectrum 1606 Rebuild...What did I get myself into?

I would like to fish the Detroit river along with Eire on calm days. Im a bit nervous about pouring foam while its still cold.

 

[jackd1023]

Re: Spectrum 1606 Rebuild...What did I get myself into?

Hello welcome to I boats.

I think they NEED some pour in for rigidity. IMHO . I used a hybrid method, beveled strips of pink stuff to go against stringers. I then Riveted in the floor, drilled holes and poured foam. I heated the garage to 75-80 with the big kerosene heater for 1 hour before I poured it in and went well.

Have fun!!! It goes fast once all that stupid foam is out!

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Spectrum 1606 Rebuild...What did I get myself into?

Yep ^^ you want the garage, boat hull, decking, and both parts of the foam pre-heated and warm before you mix the foam. Lower temps also don't let the foam expand as fully as intended. So you use more foam, get less flotation value, and it weighs more then it should.

A few have done the mixed rigid/pour in foam.

IMO, foam gets a bad rep. Often it's bad owners, not a foam problem, per se.

 

[MarkJ07]

Re: Spectrum 1606 Rebuild...What did I get myself into?

I got all of the wet foam out of the boat. Luckily the foam that was under the casting deck was dry so I left it. The transom is screwed and glued. I hope to have that epoxied and ready to go back in by the end of next weekend. Because I have not ran this boat in the water yet I would like to check the boat for water leaks. Any ideas on how to do this before I put everything back in? I would also like to pressurize the fuel tank and check for leaks just in case before I put the floor down. I see a few, what look to be screw holes, on the top side of the tank. I hope they do not go in! I am also having a hard time trying to figure out how much carpet I will need. Help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Mark

 

[SigSaurP229]

Re: Spectrum 1606 Rebuild...What did I get myself into?

Fill it up on the trailer with a garden hose you don't have to do it all the way up just about even with the stringers should suffice. If it is a welded hull and there are no cracks/pitting the odds of leaks are very slim.

 

[Watermann]

Re: Spectrum 1606 Rebuild...What did I get myself into?

The tear down blues is all behind you so now your looking forward to the rebuild in small steps in the right direction. You can take measurements of the boat and multiply length and width to get square footage for the carpet. Carpet Calculator

Then you have to decide on doing each floor panel separately or carpeting the whole floor at once.

 

[jvanhees]

Re: Spectrum 1606 Rebuild...What did I get myself into?

Good looking hull! Will be good to see that spectrum out on the river!

 

[MarkJ07]

Re: Spectrum 1606 Rebuild...What did I get myself into?

If I do decide to fill the hull with water should I be concerned about water saturating the remainder of dry foam under the casting deck? I also noticed tonight that I have some pitting on the inside of the transom aluminum. I only saw one or two pinholes. It seems like the best fix for the pitting and holes would be JB weld followed with some primer.

 

[SigSaurP229]

Re: Spectrum 1606 Rebuild...What did I get myself into?

Yes either JB weld or Marine Tex to patch the transom. You need to core sample any foam remaining in the boat to get an accurate assessment of its condition.

 

[MarkJ07]

Re: Spectrum 1606 Rebuild...What did I get myself into?

I took several core samples of the remaining foam. It is all dry as far as I can tell. I think the stuff that is up by the bow was not sitting on the stringers like in the back. All of the foam that was wet was blocking drainage to the center of the boat. I'm sure I will check the remaining foam a few dozen times more just to be sure! OCD.

 

[Watermann]

Re: Spectrum 1606 Rebuild...What did I get myself into?

I'm not a big fan of water boarding my boats, rather inspect every seam closely and any area of high stress double carefully. Since you boat isn't a rivet boat I seriously doubt it leaks from seams unless there was an impact.

 

[MarkJ07]

Re: Spectrum 1606 Rebuild...What did I get myself into?

I don't see any signs of damage from the outside or inside. The only rivets that go through the hull are the ones for the stringers. Will it be noticeable if they are "loose"?

 

[jackd1023]

Re: Spectrum 1606 Rebuild...What did I get myself into?

Hey Mark, just wanted to let you know about my transom. I cut along the old welds when I took it off and we are going to re-weld the seams. At least that is the plan, I won't get a chance to work on the welding till the weekend. Will keep you informed.

 

[Watermann]

Re: Spectrum 1606 Rebuild...What did I get myself into?

Look the rivets over on the inside as well, if loose they move slightly and they may have a noticeable dark area around the bucktail. Inspect the heads for any rivets that are damaged from impact, they could be leakers if damaged enough. The rivet heads should be all flush and not tipped any.

 

[MarkJ07]

Re: Spectrum 1606 Rebuild...What did I get myself into?

When I removed the transom cap, engine well, and forward brace I decided to cut the welds and continue up the cap so that I could remove it easier as three pieces knowing I would have to weld anyway. Now that the boat has been stripped down to the hall I might be able to put it back as one unit. I can take the pieces to work and weld them there instead of having to take the boat to a shop. I have been trying to think of a way to not have to weld the cap to the back of the transom like it was from the factory.

This is a picture of the cut weld (one on each side of the motor)

I am thinking about welding a piece of aluminum, outlined in red, that would extend the cap over the sides and then use screws and sealant to seal. That way I could avoid welding after the sealant is applied.


Any other ideas?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[MarkJ07]

Re: Spectrum 1606 Rebuild...What did I get myself into?

I put the first coat of epoxy resin on the transom tonight. I hope to have it finished and ready to go in the boat by Sunday!

I also found some pitting on the inside of the aluminum transom. I would like to either skim coat the hole inside with something or "5200" a supplemental piece of thin aluminum to the inside of the transom. I tried some JB Weld Marine tonight but it does not go far. Has anyone used Gluvit for this purpose? Any other ideas?

Thanks,
Mark