1973 Caravelle deck restoration

[bigman8u4lunch]

im 21, I got this boat in 2010. noticed some soft spots in the deck and decided to go ahead and replace it (the deck). This will be my first attempt at doing any kind of glass work. I will post pics as I go, I already removed most of the floor, havent gotten to the stringers, which I'm dreading, same with the engine mount and transom. I believe this boat is a 2 piece hull i.e. the top can be lifted off making work easier. Any opinions, tips, and tricks are greatly appreciated thanks in advance.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1973 Caravelle deck restoration

Welcome to iBoats!

Do some searching on the forum and you'll find LOTS of PICS and info on what you are about to undertake. At the bottom of your thread are some similar threads that would be a good place to start. I have included some pics on how I recommend you fabricate your Stringers, Transom and Deck.

Welcome Aboard!!




Filleting


Decks


Stringers



Transoms

 

[bigman8u4lunch]

Re: 1973 Caravelle deck restoration

Thanks a bunch Woodonglass. Today I did some more deck removal and looked at the some of the damage, Had the help of a couple fishing friends which made progress fly. Im building a list of tools and going to te school of youtube as I make progress







Notice prior owners patch job. he didnt seal the edges which was the start of the wood rot.

Photos are of previouse days progress

 

[bigman8u4lunch]

Re: 1973 Caravelle deck restoration

Photos of todays progress




I need to get a paddle wheel for my grinder to get the edges of the previouse tabbing out. Im thinking about tracing out the deck before i remove the stringers only because of how the hul is shaped i feel it would be easier now with the height already set and get it out of the way. the stringers along with the bulkheads are my areas of concern, the transom has no discoloration in the wood. The outer stringers need to go either way, the tabbing is going out and the start of rot it hasnt been compleely taken over.

I couldnt find anything on lifting the shell off the hull. are there any recomendations or anything to that venture. it would make life easy. Thanks in advance

 

[bigman8u4lunch]

Re: 1973 Caravelle deck restoration

Ive decided to go ahead and pull the engine and drive assembly, after I split the hull.then I'm going to remove the engine mount area, transom, and all the foam. My question is how would I go about rebuilding the engine mount with respects to alignment, strengthening, and the geometry of it. I might be making it more difficult than needed but i want to make sure this is done right

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1973 Caravelle deck restoration

Do a search for friscoboater. His thread has ALL the info and videos you could ever want to tell you everything you will need to know on how to restore and Inboard/Outboard boat.

 

[bigman8u4lunch]

Re: 1973 Caravelle deck restoration

Thanks again WOG, im gonna start with the major stuff tomarrow and see where I end up in progress, dont think Ill have much help but Im determined. More pics to come.

 

[bigman8u4lunch]

Re: 1973 Caravelle deck restoration

Ok, No help today. I removed the rub rail and unscrewed the cap from the hull and pried it up. It wasnt as bad as I thought it was going to be which was a relief. I put some scrap pieces of wood between the cap and the hull to disconnect anything that would make life difficult in removing the cap.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1973 Caravelle deck restoration

Good Job on the De-Capitation!!

 

[bigman8u4lunch]

Re: 1973 Caravelle deck restoration

I was able to get better access to the corners and get a better look at the transom which to my surprise looks solid. I dug the foam out of the corners and cleaned up a bit so now i jst need to assess the situation for engine and drive removal. It doesnt look to bad but the harnes looks like its long enough for two boats. Im going to get rid of the extra when everything is back in place.


looking down at the transom (Limited space for camera)


looking at the transom ( tapped on it with a hammer and sounded very solid)



Corner before and after digging out foam (square Shovel is very handy)

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1973 Caravelle deck restoration

Looks can be deceiving. Only core samples will tell the true story.

 

[bigman8u4lunch]

Re: 1973 Caravelle deck restoration

Good Job on the De-Capitation!!

Thanks, I was making it a bigger deal than it was really worth i was up a bit last night trying to find an answer, I just said to heck with it. I figured ill learn something new.

 

[bigman8u4lunch]

Re: 1973 Caravelle deck restoration

Looks can be deceiving. Only core samples will tell the true story.

I figure i might as well do it anyways. If I dont do it now, it will just be more work later. I plan on keeping this boat for a while, so im going to make this better than new. Its going to get all new wood, new gelcoating, bottom paint, tune-up, and a good polishing on all the brasswork.