73 Reinell 18.5' Refresh

[sodadsmc]

This is my first boat, a classic 1973 Reinell RT 1850 with a Mercury 1350 outboard, I picked it up on craigslist for $250. The previous owner of this boat let this one go after buying a patio boat. I've been told its been siting for nearly a decade and ran when parked. Knowing nothing about boats only that they need to float and run I bought it. Now I've entered the wonderful world or boat repair.

This is her after a nice cleaning.

After finding "squishy" spots on the floor and realizing the horror that there is plywood under that fiberglass. I decided to cut it out.

Soggy, heavy foam under the deck needed to be removed
too.

The good news is after rebuilding the rotted wiring harness on the Merc 1350, I was able to bring it back to life. Labeling the harness wires as I removed them.

The old girl ran but leaked gas due to the neglected fuel lines and dirty carbs. In my haste I stuck a rag under the carbs to soak up the leaking gas. When my dad went to jump the shot starter solenoid again to fire it up the gas caught fire! (I should of seen that one coming) Luckily he got the the fire extinguisher fast enough before it caused any real damage.

Covered in fire retardant. (notice the rotted wires left)

 

[tinkeringwackyone]

Re: 73 Reinell 18.5' Refresh

Welcome to iboats, a lot of helpful information here. Looks like you a have a project. To bad about the merc fire, good thing you had an extinquisher close by.
you'll definitely need a new impeller (water pump) for the merc.
looks like stringers may be bad, you may want to check the transom as well.
Any questions are welcomed and pics are a must. Good luck

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: 73 Reinell 18.5' Refresh

Darn lucky you got the fire out....

Welcome to iboats.

Motor.... notorious for bad wires when they reach old age.
Do the wires, fuel lines (they need to handle fuel that contains alcohol), impellar........ Towers of Power are great motors!!

Boat..... you need more investigating. Take some time to read this restoration section.

 

[sodadsmc]

Re: 73 Reinell 18.5' Refresh

Thanks for the info. I'll defiantly be rebuilding the carbs, fuel pumps and replacing the impeller on the Merc. The one thing I am worried about is the fuel lines are hard as a rock and leaking as well. They have what looks to be special fittings crimped on the ends. I've looked everywhere online to order new ones but haven't had any luck or can I get them made at an auto parts store?
I spend a lot of time on iboats before I attempted this project. I decited to remove the aft end of the top cap like Driven1 did in his post http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=263121&referrerid=201657

I did this because I didn't have any structure to life the heavy cap with the open bow and I believe some of the open bow is fiberglassed to the hull. How hard is it going to be to fiberglass the top cap back together and what method should I use to keep it level?
Thanks,
Soda

 

[sodadsmc]

Re: 73 Reinell 18.5' Refresh

After removing the aft cap I was able to get a good look at the transom.

Yep nice an mushy like I expected. I thought something was a little odd when the engine was bouncing around while I towed it down the road.

 

[sodadsmc]

Re: 73 Reinell 18.5' Refresh

Here is some more first day pics.

Yep I've got my work cut out for me.

 

[sodadsmc]

Re: 73 Reinell 18.5' Refresh

Cutting out the new transom went well. I made a cardboard template by tracing the water side of the transom onto the cardboard then measuring in one inch to account for the hull thickness. After some modification the template fit perfectly. I cut out the new transom out of some plywood using both 3/4" and 1/2" pieces to get the correct thickness. I glued them together using some fiberglass resin.
- When gluing the new transom in place to I just lather up both the deck side fiberglass transom and my plywood and clap the goodness out of it?
- Do I need to use any peanut butter before I tab the new transom in?

Thanks,
Soda

 

[sodadsmc]

Re: 73 Reinell 18.5' Refresh

Well I finally got the new transom in and glassed. First I dry fit the transom and drilled the motor mount holes. I bought a bunch of long all-thread bolts, big washers and nuts to help clamp the transom to the outer hull. Then gathered all the clamps I could find to make sure it didn?t budge. I let that cure for a day.

 

[sodadsmc]

Re: 73 Reinell 18.5' Refresh

While drying I took the liberty of removing the Merc 1350 fuel pumps and lines. I?ve got rebuild kits of the pumps but what is the best way to replace the lines? Because they have crimped on ends. Have them made locally or and I buy them online?

 

[sodadsmc]

Re: 73 Reinell Transom Rebuild

Re: 73 Reinell Transom Rebuild

In preparing for fiberglass I wiped down everything with acetone and let it dry. I wet down the wood and glass with polyester resin before I laid down tabs of DBM 1708 Knytex Biaxial. After that set up I laid down a layer of 1-1/2oz Chopped Strand Mat. I used a total of a gallon and a half of poly resin.

Are two layers (one of 1708 and one CSM) enough for this transom and my 135hp Merc?

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: 73 Reinell 18.5' Refresh

Soda,

Your transom looks good. One thing I noticed is that there is air behind your fiberglass at the transom hull joint (the whiteness behing the new glass). That will cause a weak joint. You should fill the gap around your transom with a "peanut butter" mix and fillet that fill. This will give you a nice smooth gentle rounded joint to which your fiberglass will lay flat against. I think that one layer of CSM and one of 1708 will be enough, however you should have put on the CSM first and then topped it with the 1708. Also I suggest covering your entire transom with the glass and not just tab it in.

 

[SBTOM]

Re: 73 Reinell 18.5' Refresh

Hey soda, looks good. You might have wanted to put some fillets in those corners so you had a little radius to ease the transition on the glass, but it looks like you still got it pretty close. Also, you might want to bring the height of that glass up to the top of the transom. I can't see the CSM in these photos so maybe you already did that. Hey, don't feel bad about the fire in the engine... I know I've been there! cheers- Tom

 

[sodadsmc]

Re: 73 Reinell 18.5' Refresh

Another nice weekend gone where I should have been in the boat on the lake not in the boat on dry land. With the transom in and solid it was time lay supports for the new deck. I was able to adhere 3? strips of ?? ply to the perimeter of the old deck using it to support the new deck. I used 1 ?? drywall screws and lots of liquid nails as not to screw though the hull. I used 2x6 cross members between the stringers to support the joints and ?? ply from the stringers to the bulkhead.

I added extra supports in the walkway to the open bow. I think this will be the area with the highest traffic.

Cutting the sheets of ?? ply to fit in-between my not so straight deck cuts was the biggest challenge. I had to measure, cut, grind, measure, grind, grind and grind my way to a smooth fit.

I finally got the new deck glued and screwed in place and it?s solid! I prepped the new joint with acetone and laid in 4? strips of 1 1/2oz CSM just for some added strength before the whole deck layup.

Next weekend its deck fiber-glassing. I plan to layup one layer of CSM and one layer of biaxial 1708. I figure I?ll need at least 5 gallons of poly resin to complete the deck. I love the stuff US composites sells but shipping is a killer. Does anyone have a good supplier in the Northern California area? If I can only get waxed resin locally what is the best way to do the layup with minimal amount of grinding?

 

[sodadsmc]

Re: 73 Reinell 18.5' Refresh

I got the deck all glassed in. I ended up getting five gallons of Elmer?s Polyester Fiberglass resin at Lowes because I couldn?t get a better deal locally and didn?t want to wait and pay the crazy shipping fees. I started from the bow laying down a layer of 1-1/2oz CSM and then the 1708 while the CSM was still wet. It was defiantly a two man job; I found my self mixing resin full time while my dad laid down the glass. I mixed the resin in batches of 2 Quarts each and thinned it with 2 OZ of acetone. This seemed to give us a better wet-out and was just the right amount to use before it began to setup. I kept the waiting to be used gallons in the shade on ice to try and get the most working time out of them; it was a blissful 85 degrees outside.

New glass on the deck, its rock solid.

I got the new fuel lines and fuel pumps rebuilt. I was able to find new ends that thread into the carbs and fuel pumps at the local auto-parts store. No more gas fires!

Now for carpet and seats next weekend. After I reattach the aft top cap. Its finally starting to look like a boat again.

 

[tschmidty]

Re: 73 Reinell 18.5' Refresh

Getting there! Looks good but I'd be a little concerned about the lack of resin or glassing on the support structure underneath the deck. If (when) water gets under the deck it could end up rotting all that nice work again.

 

[sodadsmc]

Re: 73 Reinell 18.5' Refresh

Since the seat backs were rotten, I cut and fit new plywood replacements. I know I should have taken the time to replace the vinyl at this stage but I figured I could get a season out of what was there already. The down side to this is after two months of work it looks about the same as the day I started working on it.

Cutting and fitting new carpet was a breeze, since I was able to use the old one as a template. I decided not to glue it down but hold it in place with screws like the old carpet so I can still paint the deck if I change my mind later.

I re-attached the aft top cap by laying up consecutively longer and longer strips of 1708 matt inside over the cut. After it cured I added wood supports and glassed over them too. It is really solid but looks horrible. Any advice on how to cleanup the cut and make it look better?

 

[sodadsmc]

Re: 73 Reinell 18.5' Refresh

It?s finally done and working great but still needs some TLC to beautify it. Next up is upholstery and maybe a radio.

And running great too

[video]http://www.rustedandbusted.com/boat/fast.mov[/video]