1972 15' Nova rebuild

[MNhunter1]

 

[csmith1975]

Moving right along.... Very Nice!

 

[Watermann]

Looking good on the tear down and thinking ahead now to the rebuild and repair. I would cut a piece to fit the hole, put in the new transom wood, back butter the AL piece with 5200 and clamp it on to cure up. Don't think I would use bolts, they may get in the way of the motor mounting later on. If you've worked with anything that is held together with 5200 you wouldn't worry. You could also fab up an over lay piece of AL to cover the patch completely.

 

[MNhunter1]

Looking good on the tear down and thinking ahead now to the rebuild and repair. I would cut a piece to fit the hole, put in the new transom wood, back butter the AL piece with 5200 and clamp it on to cure up. Don't think I would use bolts, they may get in the way of the motor mounting later on. If you've worked with anything that is held together with 5200 you wouldn't worry. You could also fab up an over lay piece of AL to cover the patch completely.

I was thinking of leveraging an aluminum transom plate as my over lay and back buttering the fitted patch piece against that. In regard to the bolts thru the transom, that would be in reference to attaching the AL transom plate, more than likely leveraging the top two knee brace bolts for the bottom of the plate, then a couple on each side. I've been considering a CMC tilt unit, which would indicate my mounting method, but I haven't found a new motor yet, so not quite sure if I'll need the aftermarket tilt unit.

 

[MNhunter1]

Rain here today, so just did some cleanup in the garage and tried to make some room for all the work to come. Two questions: 1) how is everyone overcoming the odd dimensions of the front bow piece decking/floor. From the quick measurements of my old template pieces, it looks like I couldn't cut it in one piece from a 4x8 sheet. Do you just leave it short at the bow at 4ft? 2) what's the trick for the inside rub rail? Lube it up good and pull from the transom? I have the outside off, just can't seem to budge the inside one more than a few inches without pulling it beyond my comfort zone. Thanks everyone!

 

[GA_Boater]

One my 16 footer, I started at the stern and worked forward. With the rear most piece against the knee braces, I ended up with 3 4 ft sections and the final bow piece was about 2 ft. deep. Where did you start, bow or stern?

I can't help with inside rub rail, MN. I never took it out.

 

[MNhunter1]

Just going off the original pieces and trying to get my ply order together. The stern and middle sections are both 4', but the bow section is a little over 4' in both length and width. I'll probably just have to piece a small section at the bow, leave it open, or find something creative to do with the extra space. On a good note, I did find some nice ACX 3/4 and 1/2 ply at the Menards 2 mins from my house. Better get my epoxy ordered.

 

[Watermann]

The inside rubrail on my Chief was already falling out and chewed up beyond use. I plan on deleting it from the boat altogether. Which makes me think someone glued yours in if it doesn't just pull out. Also look it over carefully, there may be a rivet or two as well.

Good score on the ply, always nice to have a supply handy, I always seem to under estimate what I need. I found Home Depot had a new unit of 3/4" ply on top and I made them take it down, good thing too it was nice A/C that had 7 layers and was heavy as heck like marine ply.

 

[MNhunter1]

Slow progress, but the rubrails, bow cap, and bow supports are out. The bow supports were in need of some attention, so those will all be replaced with some new wood sealed with either spar or epoxy. I have attached a picture of the bow supports in case anyone was interested in what it looks like under the cap. I have also found a complete longshaft conversion kit for my current motor for $95, so I think I'm going to give that route a shot before I look at replacement as long as compression and spark check out okay. Not sure how the 33hp will do on the 15' hull, but as long as it planes out I'll be happy. Not worried about breaking any speed records as this will primarily be a fishing boat. Also found a compressor I can borrow thats rated at 8.6CFM at 40psi, so I've got a means to lay down the paint with a HVLP without needing to purchase a new/larger compressor. That being said, the HF 3/16 air riveter...the CFM rating seems a little high for the tool, I'd assume that would be for continuous use. Is a small pancake type compressor sufficient for the short bursts required, or do I need to step it up to the larger compressor. I was hoping to only inconvience the lender for the time I'd be shooting primer/paint.

 

[GA_Boater]

You can easily replace the dash wood with the bow top off if it needs it. It seems the bow support wood likes to to crack if not rot on the ends. Long shaft conversion. :thumb: I'm no good with CFMs and PSIs for air tools. If the comp blows up a flat tire, it met my needs. :facepalm:

 

[dozerII]

You won't have a problem with the little compressor for riveting.

 

[MNhunter1]

And she's naked... Now I just need to let the transom dry out after all this rain we've had so I can yank it out of there.


I've got all the new ply waiting in the garage and my epoxy just arrive from US Composites yesterday. Plan is to replace the transom and cut/mock up the new floor boards, leak test, clean, and Gluvit before I turtle shell the hull to strip and paint. Which brings up another question... The bedroom windows next to where the boat is currently parked are those of my kids, 1 and 3. I do most of my work at night while they are sleeping. If I am using aircraft stripper, outside, and they are inside less than 10' away, is there any hazard to them? I could always frame up the trailer to hold the hull after it is turtle shelled and yank it around to the driveway each night to complete the work. Better safe than sorry, just not sure what the actual risk to them would be.

 

[Watermann]

Looking good on the tear down Be sure to inspect the rib end areas for stress cracks while you have her stripped down.

I don't believe the stripper fumes out in the open air would be a problem if the kiddo's windows are closed and no way for fumes to get inside. Be sure to use a plastic drop cloth to cover the stripper after you apply it, it helps keep the fumes in and makes the stripper chemical work much better.

 

[csmith1975]

And she's naked... Now I just need to let the transom dry out after all this rain we've had so I can yank it out of there.


I've got all the new ply waiting in the garage and my epoxy just arrive from US Composites yesterday. Plan is to replace the transom and cut/mock up the new floor boards, leak test, clean, and Gluvit before I turtle shell the hull to strip and paint. Which brings up another question... The bedroom windows next to where the boat is currently parked are those of my kids, 1 and 3. I do most of my work at night while they are sleeping. If I am using aircraft stripper, outside, and they are inside less than 10' away, is there any hazard to them? I could always frame up the trailer to hold the hull after it is turtle shelled and yank it around to the driveway each night to complete the work. Better safe than sorry, just not sure what the actual risk to them would be.

The stripper fumes should not be an issue. Just do not get it on your skin. You feel it hit your skin and all seems well. about 5 seconds later you have a chemical burn that leaves a pretty brown scab. (assuming you are using aircraft stripper) The only problem with stripping that close to the kiddos windows will be the scraping sound. I also learned that not all cheap plastic putty knives are the same. Some of them seem to soften very quickly when exposed to the stripper. The ones that held an edge the best were the blue ones from wallyworld. On my project the Kleen Strip Aircraft Stripper worked much better than the Rustolem Aircraft Stripper. (Results may vary, No refund on my $0.02)

 

[MNhunter1]

I couldn't help myself. Saw this pop up for sale and had it in my possession after a 2hr round trip. 1997 35hp Mercury long shaft with power t/t, electric start, tilt indicator dial, factory service manual, all controls and cables, complete steering set-up, runs like a top. Guy bought it new in '98 and put it on a 16' Lund where it sat until I helped him take it off. Used it about 3 or 4 times a year. Should push the factory spec 550lb Nova around just fine for my needs, if not, I'll find me a 2nd boat Got all the new floor and transom cut this weekend...ready to be sealed.

 

[GA_Boater]

You got the whole ball of wax with that Merc, hunter. :thumb:

 

[MNhunter1]

You got the whole ball of wax with that Merc, hunter. :thumb:

And I needed it all too!

 

[MNhunter1]

Managed to get a little work in over the weekend, primarily leak test, transom removal, and glueing the new transom wood together. Looks like I've got some areas of concern along both chine seams, althought they don't appear to be cracked at all and the double row of rivets all appear to still be tight. I plan to gluvit the inside, but would it be recommended to proceed with re-bucking all those rivets even if they don't appear to be loose? The bow area also appears to be compromised where the factory seal is all gooped up, not sure if there's enough space in there to get a bucking bar and all rivets appear tight as well, but I'll definately be hitting it hard with the gluvit. Transom came out after having a few nice days and the opportunity to dry out a bit, had to leverage the kid's swingset crossbeam and a couple ratchet straps through the splashwell drain tube holes, along with a couple hundred pounds of man in the hull to keep it from lifting off the trailer, but it worked perfectly. It was in pretty rough shape, but still sufficient enough for a template. I've got a little work to do to clean up the transom skin before installing the new one. Decided to join the 2 pieces of 3/4" ACX with Gorilla Glue rather than the US Composites epoxy I have on hand. Just didn't want to break out the epoxy until I was ready to start sealing the wood. I'll still use it to coat the transom and flooring. I'll cut the new transom to shape after letting the Gorilla Glue fully cure.

Nothing too interesting, but here are the obligatory pics:

 

[Watermann]

Looks like some good forward progress to me. The bow area you're seeing gooped up, is it reddish brown looking? If so that's the SC factory smeg so don't mess with it unless it's loose. I wouldn't start hammering away on any rivets that weren't obviously loose, damaged or needing replaced.

 

[MNhunter1]

Looks like some good forward progress to me. The bow area you're seeing gooped up, is it reddish brown looking? If so that's the SC factory smeg so don't mess with it unless it's loose. I wouldn't start hammering away on any rivets that weren't obviously loose, damaged or needing replaced.

Yeah, the goop looks to be the factory smeg, but I think it's no loger doing its job after 40+ years, same with the seal along the chines. I wonder if the bow area got compromised after the aluminum patch was welded on for the bow eye fix?? I've read where the heat can compromise the factory sealant. I'd prefer to not have to re-buck the rivets, just not sure of my confidence level with using Gluvit alone. Never used the stuff, and I want to make sure I fix the problem areas when I've got her all stripped down. I suppose I could Gluvit and do another leak test. Is there any harm to multiple coats of Gluvit?