Wellcraft Excel 1992 18sx

[92excel]

I am getting started on my rebuild! I have posted on here before and the following are things i want to reference:

From Tail Gunner:
http://www.wellcraft.com/owners/perfspecfiles/266.pdf

Robj's rebuild of the same boat:
http://www.shareaproject.com/pages/imageDetail,p,406,i,6511,00.html

The boat the day i picked her up, after the rebuild a few hours of buffing and that teal will shine again like new! trailer is in nice shape but will need new hub grease fittings..

The last owner warned me it would need a new floor. It looks like its in good shape until you see the left side windsheild about two inches lower then the right. the support under the console is sagging from decay.

The engine: Looks bad but with a new starter(from iboats volvo store) it ran great.. ill do a tune up and overhaul to make it run even better and look better but never start a rebuild until you know the source of power is good or you are ok with finding another source of power!

The Vinyl: it looked really good at first look but then i put my hand on it when i climbed in and yeah its all dried out and splits very easy! So ill be looking to replace the bulk if not all of the vinyl so it matches and looks new

If you look in your ski locker and see little bits of wood. you know you are in for some fun lol

I knew all these things before i purchased the boat. Actually i underestimated the Volvo 230. i thought it wouldnt even turn over. I used them to talk the guy down to pretty much what the trailer is worth. I am sure even more suprises are yet to come!

 

[92excel]

Re: Wellcraft Excel 1992 18sx

Ok Back to Back seats are out. You can see the fiberglass delam going on.. i think thats what it is called.

This is a closer look at the seat housing all rot!

Carpet is out and here is the condition of the floor right infront of the engine. I knew it felt soft for a reason. lol

Under the port side seats and the console the following area was rotted right threw. no wonder the console is sagging..The very smart previous owner tried to fix this by screwing that strip of wood to and threw the hull to use as support for some ply that was just layed on top of it..

Whatever though right..im sure ill add a few other holes in the hull with the grinder just add it to the list of things to repair ..

 

[oops!]

Re: Wellcraft Excel 1992 18sx

great attitude bud !

thats a sweet looking boat.....btw.....i personally have seen rob j's boat.....it looks fantastic....yours can too.

i think youll find its the identical hull to the bayliner capri with a slightly different top cap on it.

ive seen deck replacements don on those with out the cap coming up.....(if the foam and deck wood under the bow area is good)

i hope the transom is good......that is gonna save you some real time.

it will be fun watching this one.

cheers
oops

 

[92excel]

Re: Wellcraft Excel 1992 18sx

Ok so as i mentioned above i am going to reupholster the vinyl. so this weekend i removed all the vinyl and found that most of the wood under all the vinyl was in pretty bad shape.
Port Console

For the most part the foam is in good shape. except for below you can see that the wood stuck to it. so a few places the foam will need replaced, but luckily not all because from what i read its more costly then one may think.

So i bought some exterior grade 1/2 inch ply and cut out all the peices using the old for a template. I dont know if you are suppose to but i routed all the edges so they wont tear the vinyl. I wanted to jump to this step so i can drop it all off and give him time to do it when he has the chance. he is giving me a break in the price since i am giving him like 3 months to do it.

Oh yeah and i did put one coat of exterior stain/sealer on them and plan to do another coat or two before i drop them off. i just didnt get a pic of them treated..

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: Wellcraft Excel 1992 18sx

hay there 92excelreat job so far !! she is really going to be sweet when your done ,,,,,

on stain, what are you useing ?? some of that really not the best to use on boats , some polyurathane is great !and 3 to 5 coats min,

Ok keep up the great work !!!! your really moving fast !!! keep it going !!! John

 

[92excel]

Re: Wellcraft Excel 1992 18sx

For stain i used a Behr stain and weather proofing sealer made for decks and fences. it is suppose to be gauranteed for 10 years and prevent mildew as well.i know stain itself does nothing but color the wood but i wanted to use a stain and sealer combo so i made sure i covered everwhere.

 

[92excel]

Re: Wellcraft Excel 1992 18sx

great attitude bud !
ive seen deck replacements don on those with out the cap coming up.....(if the foam and deck wood under the bow area is good)
cheers
oops

I am pretty sure the cap doesnt continue down in the bow area. it stops just under the gunwale. but ill know for sure in due time!

 

[jonesg]

Re: Wellcraft Excel 1992 18sx

Slick looking rig,
that engine....it looks like the same volvo B230 4 banger as I have in my car.
I could tear that down in my sleep, if I were looking to go inboard thats the engine I'd like. I think theres 5 main journals on the crank.

Great boat mfger, great engine. "just needs this soft spot fixin....err..."

 

[92excel]

Re: Wellcraft Excel 1992 18sx

thats what i like to hear!

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: Wellcraft Excel 1992 18sx

For stain i used a Behr stain and weather proofing sealer made for decks and fences. it is suppose to be gauranteed for 10 years and prevent mildew as well.i know stain itself does nothing but color the wood but i wanted to use a stain and sealer combo so i made sure i covered everwhere.

HAy 92excel, man i hate to be the one to say this but , i have read on here some where that its not the greatest to use.
What are you going to do the beck and stringer in ? poly or epoxy , what ever it is , i would put a couple of coats of that on there !! it really would seal it better !! John

 

[92excel]

Re: Wellcraft Excel 1992 18sx

Hey john i appreciate the input.. I am going to use poly resin. YOu got me thinking so I called the upholstry guy and he is actually going to coat it again with epoxy.. but he tried to play it off that it was some secret formula.. lol..

so i have 4 coats of sealer on them and then he will put his sealer on them so i am hoping that is good. And if it fails then its project time and maybe just chain up the color scheme or somthing while i am at it.. lol.. im sure it will be a ways down the line.

RobJ used exterior stain on his wood, If you read this tell us how its working out for you.. thanks!
Justin

 

[mphy98]

Re: Wellcraft Excel 1992 18sx

i do admire a guy for taking this type of project. good luck to you and great work.

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: Wellcraft Excel 1992 18sx

Cool Justin , just didnt want to see you doing this again in a few year !! John

 

[92excel]

Re: Wellcraft Excel 1992 18sx

Hey John, much appreciated! and i thought you would want to know that i went to see the pittsburgh pens play tonight! too bad they didnt show up to the game though..

not much work got done other then dropping off all the wood and old materials to the upholstry guy.. so its nice to have a little extra room in the garage now!

Demo to really begin after a holiday break.. Happy Holidays!

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: Wellcraft Excel 1992 18sx

OOOHHH man dont that stink when there dont show up !!! Well its still beter then not going to the game .

hope your all set for tomorrow, Merry Christmas !! John

 

[92excel]

Re: Wellcraft Excel 1992 18sx

Ok so got back on the boat and started on the bow area. Before i started it looked like the pic below. Some may remember the pics from the post: Flotation Foam or Storage (http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=285718):

Under the carpet both sides were pretty rotted out. You could peel away layers which were still wet after a month of sitting in a garage:

the foam in all the compartments was saturated with standing water in bottom of the compartment.

So after attacking the bow with a grinder, sawzall, and a pry bar, here is where i am now:

To answer OOP's question, the cap doesnt extend down into the bow area.. so still hoping it doesnt have to come off. we will know for sure when we get to the transom.

So a still a bit to tear out before the grinding phase starts.

 

[92excel]

Re: Wellcraft Excel 1992 18sx

On the port side where the console connects to the side i got a spider crack. I assume this is a result of the console sagging. its kind of hard to see from the pic but i had to take it with no flash so it would turn out at all. is this a must to fix or just cosmetic?

 

[Robj]

Re: Wellcraft Excel 1992 18sx

Hello,

Been away from the computer for awhile. The other project list was just too long. Anyways, that boat is exactly like mine was, all rotten. Yep, I just used exterior stain on the plywood for the upholstery. Originally there was no coating on the wood, and it lasted 15 years, so with proper care and the exterior stain, it should last at least that long again. The real problem with these boats is that they are meant to be in the water, not saturated with water. If you leave it out in the rain to get soaked, even the best repair will fail sooner than later. Mine lives in my garage, where it is dry and using the exterior stain should be OK. Everything else is sealed with resin. If you have any questions, just send me a note, I will try and check in more often than I have been lately.

Good luck,

Rob.

 

[Robj]

Re: Wellcraft Excel 1992 18sx

On the port side where the console connects to the side i got a spider crack. I assume this is a result of the console sagging. its kind of hard to see from the pic but i had to take it with no flash so it would turn out at all. is this a must to fix or just cosmetic?

Since you are at it anyway, I would grind down the gelcoat to just bare glasss and put on a couple of layers. That may have been due to a hardspot, but it is hard to tell.

Have a great day,

Rob.

 

[Robj]

Re: Wellcraft Excel 1992 18sx

If your stringers are shot, which it looks like they are, and you do not have a pattern, I can post the stringer dimensions that I used if you like. Still have them written down somewhere.

Have a great day,

Rob.