1969-70 Thunderbird Cheyenne tri-hull outboard "1st time to restore"

medic135

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Jun 4, 2012
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11
This is the project that I need all the advise you have. I got this boat from father-in-law and want to fix it up to run on the coast. It has sat up for a few years and need lots of restoring. The floors are rotten and the transom seems to be rotten. I will know more after I pull the motor. The hull seems to be in good shape and the motor turns over, will check later. I am now evaluating to see what has to be done. I am excited and hope to finish by next summer (June 2013). I need to get pictures that is the acceptable size for the forum.
 

LangDog

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Aug 14, 2010
Messages
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Re: 1969-70 Thunderbird Cheyenne tri-hull outboard "1st time to restore"

I've always wanted to do a conversion on the Iroquois to OB; I love the looks of the old Thunderbirds. Can't wait to see your progress!
 

medic135

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Jun 4, 2012
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Re: 1969-70 Thunderbird Cheyenne tri-hull outboard "1st time to restore"

Discovered that the transom is way rotten. Will pull the cap off and that will maybe make room to tear the transom out and get the deck out and clean up the hull. I can then later turn the hull over and repaint it. maybe a "blue" hull with a white cap. There are only a bunch of rivets tying the cap to the hull.

QUESTION ANYONE! I can't find the SN# plate or a hull#? anyone know where it may have been on this boat?

I will post pictures after I break the cap lose.
 

Woodonglass

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Dec 29, 2009
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25,924
Re: 1969-70 Thunderbird Cheyenne tri-hull outboard "1st time to restore"

QUESTION ANYONE! I can't find the SN# plate or a hull#? anyone know where it may have been on this boat?

I will post pictures after I break the cap lose.

Usually on the Upper corner of the outside of the transom. If not sometimes under the dash or gunwales by the controls. Once the cap is off you should have easy access to the transom. I recommend using a free Photobucket account for posting pics. 640x480 is the best size for pics and the IMG Code is the best way to paste your pics into your thread.
 

medic135

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Jun 4, 2012
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Re: 1969-70 Thunderbird Cheyenne tri-hull outboard "1st time to restore"



Finally got the cap off after 1000 rivets!
 

medic135

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Joined
Jun 4, 2012
Messages
11
Re: 1969-70 Thunderbird Cheyenne tri-hull outboard "1st time to restore"

Thunderbird612E.jpg


Found that the transom was really rotten. We have a big job ahead of us.Next step- get the rotten wood out of the transom. meanwhile I will study up on "fiber-glassing"!
 

medic135

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Jun 4, 2012
Messages
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Re: 1969-70 Thunderbird Cheyenne tri-hull outboard "1st time to restore"

clean trans.jpgclean hull.jpg

ok we have been on vacation and now ready to get back to this project. i have bought 3/4 marine plywood for transom and have done alot of cleaning out and sanding since i have posted last. i still need to do some grinding on the inside to get things smooth. the stringers are all verry solid but at the transom end of the middle (lowest) stringer there is some rotten wood. it is just at the bottom, but i am cocerned about weather i need to cut back the fiberglass cloth and further investigate or just leave it alone due to it being very sturdy.

Click on photos to open.
 

medic135

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Jun 4, 2012
Messages
11
Re: 1969-70 Thunderbird Cheyenne tri-hull outboard "1st time to restore"

Hole 1.jpgHole 2.jpgHole 3.jpg

Click on photo to enlarge.

ok so grinding is not gonna happen this weekend. ha my grinder is on the fritz. but i think im gonna work on the top cap. there seems to be some stress cracks in the gel coat and i would like to just repair them and hopefully just polish the top instead of painting. i dont know if the color match will work but i figure the stress cracks need repairing before i can paint even if i end up having to paint it. im not sure what would be the best way to fix these cracks but i have some gel coat and need some advise on fixing it. also there are some small places on the outside of the hull that need some attention and i dont know what i need to repair them. they look like maybe where there were air pockets in the gel coat. anyway im about to post some pics please tell me what i can do.
 

medic135

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Jun 4, 2012
Messages
11
Re: 1969-70 Thunderbird Cheyenne tri-hull outboard "1st time to restore"

well ended up stuck at work all weekend but i have gotten alot of research done on fixing these problems that i had asked about. now im confused about the stress cracks still.they seem to extensive to grind every one down and then fill but im gonna try sanding over and see what they look like then. is it possible that after sanding i can use gelcoat by it self to fill these small cracks and use thickened gelcoat to fill the bigger ones. also the two pics to the right are the top cap and the one onthe left is the hull.
 

medic135

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Jun 4, 2012
Messages
11
Re: 1969-70 Thunderbird Cheyenne tri-hull outboard "1st time to restore"

well i have gotten my grinding done on the transom area of my boat. i just recieved my order of fiberglass. i cut my transom out of two pieces of 3/4" marine plywood, fit it in and looks like it is fitting good. I glued the two pieces together with titebond 3 and sanded the edges to make the edges flush. hopefully i will get my 1.5 oz csm on the transom thiss weekend and get some pics posted. then i will be ready to put the transom in with some pb monday. i also have still not figured out what to do about the stress cracks in the top cap. but i am going to try gelcoat if i cant find any more info. hopfully by the time i get to that someone who knows something willl have read this. well i will try to get lots of pics and poost them over the weekend
 
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