91 sea ray 185 bow rider restoration

[Scott Danforth]

the transom rotted prior to the floor rotting in the first place - accept it, your going to need to uncap the boat and replace the transom.

I would build a cradle and pull the drive and motor prior to going any further. your going to have to pull the drive and motor anyway

the "boxes" are most likely flotation foam boxes.

 

[ryantrammell1]

the transom rotted prior to the floor rotting in the first place - accept it, your going to need to uncap the boat and replace the transom.

I would build a cradle and pull the drive and motor prior to going any further. your going to have to pull the drive and motor anyway

the "boxes" are most likely flotation foam boxes.

Are these “flotation boxes” necessary to put back in? I’m not putting back to back seats back in the boat. I plan to build a sun pad on the back with bench and captain seats.

 

[Brien S]

Welcome to the club, in more ways than one. You have your work cut out for you. Do yourself a favor and get a good respirator with lots of cartridges, preferably a 2 stage system, go to walmart and get some full body suits to keep the fiberglass off you and a good set of safety googles that seal good. If you don't have one get a cheap 4" angle grinder and some 36 grit sanding disks from wally world. If you dont have a shop vac look at the stanley 6hp at wally. It's a good vac and you can use bags. Get extra bags and a couple of filters.
i've heard coating with talc powder will help keep the fiberglass from sticking to you also.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Are these “flotation boxes” necessary to put back in? I’m not putting back to back seats back in the boat. I plan to build a sun pad on the back with bench and captain seats.

Do a flotation calculation. You technically do not need to put any flotation back in. I personally want lots of flotation to make sure first that the boat remains afloat for the safety of my loved ones, and secondly to keep my investment from being a dive destination should something go wrong. You have to decide what is best for you

 

[ryantrammell1]

So I’ve seen 2 other posts on here that are from 2014... they did the same exact boat just a 17ft. One guy kept the seat boxes in place and looks like he replaced the stringers under the front seat boxes. The other removed them. I’m wanting to try to keep them intact but still replace the stringers up there. Just trying to figure out how he would have gotten to Them to cut them out, then replace them etc. I’m going to attach a picture of where you can see he kept them in place before removing old stringers, and after installing new ones. Any advice would help!

 

[ryantrammell1]

Also, good news. Surprising news. Core drilled the transom in 3 places. 2 at the bottom and 1 at the top. All dry wood coming out. Going to check it in a few more spots once motor is removed. Also, got the flotation boxes removed. All I really had time to do today considering getting the foam out took forever. Really not looking forward to doing that under the whole floor. Ready to be done with demo and on to cutting wood to start building.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Also, good news. Surprising news. Core drilled the transom in 3 places. 2 at the bottom and 1 at the top. All dry wood coming out. Going to check it in a few more spots once motor is removed. Also, got the flotation boxes removed. All I really had time to do today considering getting the foam out took forever. Really not looking forward to doing that under the whole floor. Ready to be done with demo and on to cutting wood to start building.

Buy a lottery ticket. seriously, if the wood shavings came out light-colored and dry, buy a lottery ticket.

 

[ryantrammell1]

Haha yea shavings were dry and light colored like new wood. I was really surprised and happy. But I know there’s got to be rotten wood hiding somewhere in there.

 

[Scott Danforth]

your boat is like one in a million.... buy a lottery ticket.

 

[ryantrammell1]

your boat is like one in a million.... buy a lottery ticket.

So I bought a lottery ticket. No luck haha but anyway I haven’t really had time to get to working on the boat with working 60+ hours a week lately. As well as having time with the family. But I have had time to look through some posts on here and now I’ve got a question.
My boat is on a roller trailer that supports the boat very nice. Can the stringers be replaced with the boat on the trailer? I’ve read where some have said yes, some have said no.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I would build a cradle on the trailer - about $40 worth of 2x4's, 2x6s and some plywood is all you need. you want to support the hull as much as possible so you dont build a hook or rocker in the hull.

 

[ryantrammell1]

I would build a cradle on the trailer - about $40 worth of 2x4's, 2x6s and some plywood is all you need. you want to support the hull as much as possible so you dont build a hook or rocker in the hull.

Where would the key points to place the supports be, in your opinion? I will absolutely build something to support it to keep the hull in proper position.
Also, what supplies will I need to do this? Of course I know csm, acetone, a crap ton of resin... but as far as Mat to lay down, what do you recommend? Ive seen people saying 1708... just trying to find out what I need to buy and go ahead and buy some at a time while I’m doing the demo. Thanks for all the advice.

 

[Mechanicalmike08]

I made mine to rest on the outside. When I built it i supported the ends of the 2x4 and then lowered it down to "shape" the board to the hull. Then added a middle support. I did the same half way down the hull, support at the ends and let it conform to the hull before supporting the middle. You can also see the gantry i built to pull the motor and transfer the boat. To transfer it i used a jack in the rear to stabilize it.

As for materials, this was my first order from US Composites. It got me almost done to the point i got the deck put down and had to order more resin which was fine because i also needed to order foam.

Product	Supplier	Amount	Cost	Total	Part #
CSM	US Composites	25	2.9	72.5	FG-10550
1708	US Composites	15	8.25	123.75	FG-170850
435 Resin	US Composites	2	125	250	SM-435500
Cabosil	US Composites	1	22.5	22.5	FL-AER400
Chopped	US Composites	1	11.85	11.85	SM-CH144
Bubble Roller	US Composites	1	7.7	7.7	FR-1224A
MEKP	US Composites	1	3.95	3.95	SM-MEKP040
Surface wax	US Composites	1	6.85	6.85	SM-SWAX16

On top of this I found 12 packs of 6" rollers on amazon for $14 as well as a 100 pack of quart mixing cups for $39. These were the best prices I could find.

I am also up to 4 sheets of ACX, Could have done 3 but i decided to leave my gas tank accessible which made the cuts problematic.

 

[ryantrammell1]

Thanks for all of the info! I definitely don’t have the room, or a garage to put the boat in if it was on a cradle. It’s gonna have to stay on the trailer, and I’ll just put supports under it. I looked on the us composits website and it’s by far the best prices I’ve found. I’ll be ordering stuff a little at a time as the demo goes.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I built a support cradle for my avanti that was on the trailer.

US composites has a good web site

the EPA shipping hazmat charges will eat you alive if you order resin a little at a time.

 

[ryantrammell1]

I built a support cradle for my avanti that was on the trailer.

US composites has a good web site

the EPA shipping hazmat charges will eat you alive if you order resin a little at a time.

I’ll probavly order all the stuff that has the hazmat charge on it at one time then order the rest little by little. 5 gallons of resin should be enough seeing I won’t gave to do my transom don’t ya think? Boat only has 2 stringers 4 small bulkheads and I’ll be doing motor mounts as well.

 

[Mechanicalmike08]

If you have a freight address they can ship to it saves a ton, there is no hazard fee for freight. I had my stuff shipped to my work freight to save the money.

 

[Mad Props]

I probably only used 1/2" of a 5 gallon bucket of resin doing my entire transom. I'm not on my 5th 5 gallon bucket. Still need resin for stringers, filleting, deck, bulkheads, seats, etc.... PB really eats up a lot of resin too. Not saying you need 30 gallons but your going to need more than 5 guaranteed. I thought I was gonna be able to get away with 10-15 gallons... OOPS!

 

[ryantrammell1]

I probably only used 1/2" of a 5 gallon bucket of resin doing my entire transom. I'm not on my 5th 5 gallon bucket. Still need resin for stringers, filleting, deck, bulkheads, seats, etc.... PB really eats up a lot of resin too. Not saying you need 30 gallons but your going to need more than 5 guaranteed. I thought I was gonna be able to get away with 10-15 gallons... OOPS!

Well that’s not what I wanted to hear! Haha oh well it is what it is I’ll just order 10 gallons and if I need more I’ll get it when I need it. I really wanna have it ready for summer this year but at the rate I’m going between work and this weather, it’ll be 5 years before it’s done lol

 

[Broaters]

Hi

We did our guts rebuild on the trailer which was a roller one with adding some longitudinal support under the hull.
You can check this in our post if you need ideas.
Overall it went pretty ok so far, the hull does not look like it moved. I guess it is another story if you remove the cap where you need lateral support as well to avoid the top of the hull to widen during the work.

For the resin we have just used about 40kg so far but the deck is not glassed yet. not sure about the density so I don't know the kg to galon conversion

Will follow you in your rebuild keep it going !!