1973 wellcraft 165 sport airslot project w/ pics

[thrillhouse700]

Re: 1973 wellcraft 165 sport airslot project w/ pics

It looks great! We are just about to fit the stringer in ours. Why are you guys all using 1708? Can we stick to just CSM?

 

[chrishayes]

Re: 1973 wellcraft 165 sport airslot project w/ pics

THanks. I am using 1708 due to all the positive feedback that it had gotten. Not to mention, when I decided to use epoxy I knew I was going to overkill so I may as well use the strongest stuff(aside from exotics). It has a backing of CSM and I can attest to its REDICULOUS strength when paired with epoxy! I know I could not destroy it, the only thing that is going to ruin this stuff is poorly sealed holes drilled into it down the road that allow water to seep into it. And even then, it will take it a LONG time I bet.

TO answer your other question, I dont know if you can just use CSM as I am no expert. I just know what I have learned from reading here and what I have done myself( this thread). However, I would assume that it could be done with just CSM as long as you arent concerned of strength. I think Lowkee has only used CSM. Check out his resto, he will be able to give you much better info on CSM as the only thing I have used it for is like I said, it is a backing on the 1708. But, you can not go wrong using 1708, promise.

 

[thrillhouse700]

Re: 1973 wellcraft 165 sport airslot project w/ pics

Cool thanks for the info, Only reason I asked was because we have a giant roll of CSM and did our transom in it and that thing is solid as a rock. As for our hardware into the deck, we are probably going to do this with threaded inserts so no water gets in.

 

[tallcanadian]

Re: 1973 wellcraft 165 sport airslot project w/ pics

Boat is looking great Chris. It takes time but your doing an awesome job.

 

[lowkee]

Re: 1973 wellcraft 165 sport airslot project w/ pics

Hopefully I can get the rest of the glassing done on the few pieces left this week so that I can get moving on the deck, if Lowkee ever posts that video!

I finally uploaded it! I'll post it in a new thread, so others can see it as well. Stupid Windows 7 doesn't come with movie maker anymore, so I had to find other means of editing it.. pain in my rump.

BTW- your stringer photos look downright pretty. That one before the glass was added is just cool to look at. I guess if we find this stuff to be pretty, it's no wonder we did these restores

 

[bigredinohio]

Re: 1973 wellcraft 165 sport airslot project w/ pics

anyone see anything wrong with me only using one layer on the tank supports since they dont play any significant role is structural support?

You should be fine with only one.

 

[bigredinohio]

Re: 1973 wellcraft 165 sport airslot project w/ pics

The worst part for me is that I did a 6 year stint in colorado springs colorado and the winters in ohio suck wayyyyyyyyyyy worse than there. At least there is it sunny 320 days a year so when and if it snows it does so at night then the sun is bright and shiny the next day and it is all gone...since moving here I swear to god there have been big snows that only dump 4" and it is on the ground for the ENTIRE winter. Not to mention that in another 2 months we wont see the sun again until april...AHHHHHHHHHHHH I hate ohio!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, it gets pretty gloomy here during the winters. Hopefully we'll be making headway with our motors with our without snow

 

[chrishayes]

Re: 1973 wellcraft 165 sport airslot project w/ pics

Looks great! How did you cut the tops down while they were in place?

I still owe you that deck templating video. I may just post it on youtube as is, as it doesn't seem as though I'll ever get around to editing it . The best part of making the deck is when you glass the deck boards.. you get to put them on saw horses and actually stand upright.. an amazing feeling after being in an inverted U shape for the entire stringer process

Im sorry Lowkee, I didnt see this post. I cut the strings with a jigsaw as far as it would allow me then switched to the grinder with a 60 grit flap disc on it Cant believe how quick it eats plywood! And man am I ready for some upright work This crap is killin me...

I just saw that you posted the deck templating video. About to go check it out. Thanks man You rock. How is your boat coming?

 

[lowkee]

Re: 1973 wellcraft 165 sport airslot project w/ pics

Im sorry Lowkee, I didnt see this post. I cut the strings with a jigsaw as far as it would allow me then switched to the grinder with a 60 grit flap disc on it Cant believe how quick it eats plywood! And man am I ready for some upright work This crap is killin me...

I just saw that you posted the deck templating video. About to go check it out. Thanks man You rock. How is your boat coming?

Thanks. I remember reading about people cutting down their stringers after they were mounted and had no idea how they did it, so I made sure I could avoid it. You must have been surrounded in sawdust with that much grinding

My boat is moving along at a decent clip. There have been some hurdles to overcome, but all in all, forward progress is happening. I recall loving to paint stuff when I was younger, but now I know why.. I never did the prep work when i was younger Sanding isn't that tough, but there is a LOT of it to do. Next boat will not have chines.. I swear it! You have to hand sand chines.. and 3 chines per side @20ft long.. sucks! Just updated my thread with the latest.

Just wait until you see the deck laying in the boat and are able to walk without your ankles getting twisted.. it is like floating in air! Keep rocking it up!

 

[chrishayes]

Re: 1973 wellcraft 165 sport airslot project w/ pics

Thanks. I remember reading about people cutting down their stringers after they were mounted and had no idea how they did it, so I made sure I could avoid it. You must have been surrounded in sawdust with that much grinding

My boat is moving along at a decent clip. There have been some hurdles to overcome, but all in all, forward progress is happening. I recall loving to paint stuff when I was younger, but now I know why.. I never did the prep work when i was younger Sanding isn't that tough, but there is a LOT of it to do. Next boat will not have chines.. I swear it! You have to hand sand chines.. and 3 chines per side @20ft long.. sucks! Just updated my thread with the latest.

Just wait until you see the deck laying in the boat and are able to walk without your ankles getting twisted.. it is like floating in air! Keep rocking it up!

Just checked out your progress man. I am J E A L O U S, that is some kind of quality work you are putting out. I do not think I should paint my boat though as I am a perfectionist and borderline OCD so I just dont think I would ever stop sanding and filling:redface: Especially if I had the hull at standing height. If I had to bend to do it, I would likely skimp on the prep and shoot it. Then live with what I got We shall see. Once the interior goes in, I will likely change my mind and want the hull to look as good outside as in. Who knows...

Oh, and I have an internet card and I havent even gotten half way through your video yet. I hate this thing. And they call it high speed

 

[chrishayes]

Re: 1973 wellcraft 165 sport airslot project w/ pics

so, after seeing everyone making such great progress, I decided that it was time to get my a** in gear and get some work done. I started Friday by picking up where I left off with glassing the bulkheads, tank supports and bilge sides. I was able to get all of them but the center stringer.

And here is the bilge a little closer up.

And the tank sides and rear tank bulkhead done.

now the front tank bulkhead.

You can see in the last photo that the center stringer is glassed as well. After taking Saturday off for some well needed rest I hit it hard today.

 

[chrishayes]

Re: 1973 wellcraft 165 sport airslot project w/ pics

I started by glassing the center stringer. It was cold today and at first I thought that I wasnt going to be able to get the glass to wet out...the epoxy was thick and not soaking in. After the resin started to kick a bit it heated and started to flow more and allowed the glass to wet out completely.

and the very tip of the bow. You can see there that there is a spot of glass that looks whiter than the rest, this is where I had dripped some epoxy on accident in one of the other glassin session. I will have to grind that out next weekend when I pull the boat out and do the final amount of grinding.

I will be grinding all the remaining glass above the deck line to prepare for the deck. I had left the lip of the old deck line when I did my initial grinding so that I would have a reference. It helped a lot. But I am tired of looking at it. the below deck is now all new and nice looking. Its time for the rest to look that way.

Anyhow, after I got the center stringer glassed, I moved on to trying to figure out the best solution for putting the drain holes in the outer stringers and bilge sides. First I thought that I would use a paddle bit that is the height of the half round pieces of pvc then go back with my dremmel.

 

[chrishayes]

Re: 1973 wellcraft 165 sport airslot project w/ pics

I was leary of using the dremmel for many reasons. The worst of which is that it would take forever. Also after trying to get the drill into the right position so that the bit followed the hull angle I found that I just couldnt do it.

Each time I got it started on the right line, it just looked like it was going to go through the bottom of the hull SO, I switched tactics and tools...I needed an angle drill but I dont have one. So I grabbed one of my favorite tools to see if my little holesaws would fit in it. Surprisingly they did.

It was hard to use this die grinder as it spins at 15,000rpm. so I had to feather the trigger just right. However, the holesaw was wider than the die body so I could get the bit to follow the hull angle perfectly.

So, I did the rest of them with this tool.

 

[robbankston]

Re: 1973 wellcraft 165 sport airslot project w/ pics

Holy crap dude. Looking good. I didn't do a thing but drink beer and fish this weekend. I am just a tad bit jealous. Oh well you have to take a break sometime....

 

[chrishayes]

Re: 1973 wellcraft 165 sport airslot project w/ pics

then it was time to think about what I was going to use to seal these holes that I just drilled through my perfectly sealed stringers I went to Tractor Supply and found that 1" pvc drainpipe fit perfectly.

http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu37/chrishayes_photo/boat037-1.jpg[/IMG

I just cant make up my mind whether or not Iwant to just PB the wood or PB these pvc pipes in. What do you guys think?

Oh, and I thought this would be neat to show you. I was pretty happy with the plugs that came out with the hole saw. The thickness of the glass was satisfying! It was well stuck and thick. Here is a piece that I cut the glass off the wood to show the thickness of the bilge pieces which just have one layer and a tab, so this is two layers.

[IMG]http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu37/chrishayes_photo/boat031-1.jpg

with the substructure complete I just wanted to make sure that the tank was still able to fit. Thankfully it does...heres a birdseye view so that you can see the amount of space I left after calculating the 3% for expansion that Moeller specs.

ANd here is a straight on angle shot.

Thats it guys. I went and got my 3 sheets of 1/2" pink insulation board that I plan to use as my deck template and floatation. So next weekend I seal my seal my drain holes, dremmel out the extra glass that ended up in the bulkhead drain holes then grind the old deck lip away. After that, I will try my hand again at templating. If that works out, I will cut the deck. I have decided to use poly resin on the deck as I have only about 1/8 gallon left of epoxy. And I REALLY dont want to spend another 200$ for the deck. Am I a moron for that?? Tell me your honest opinions. Should I just bite it and finish out the way I started or is this a place I can save some money? I intend to glass the top and bottom of course. and since I have not used any epoxy above the old deck lip there would be no issue of compatibility Whatcha think????????????

 

[bigredinohio]

Re: 1973 wellcraft 165 sport airslot project w/ pics

Looking great!

 

[chrishayes]

Re: 1973 wellcraft 165 sport airslot project w/ pics

Looking great!

thanks bud, after trying poly resin out on your beast, what do you think about me using it for my deck?

 

[bigredinohio]

Re: 1973 wellcraft 165 sport airslot project w/ pics

DON'T DO IT

 

[bigredinohio]

Re: 1973 wellcraft 165 sport airslot project w/ pics

Actually, it wasn't terrible but I didn't like working with it. Epoxy is easy to measure, gives you plenty of time to work and you don't have to sit there counting little drops of MEPK.

If you really want to do poly for the deck, encapsulate the deck prior to with it then then use epoxy to tab in and for final glassing. But that's just me.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1973 wellcraft 165 sport airslot project w/ pics

Chris, your work continues to be outstanding.