1974 WesCraft Restore

[Jeffm602]

Hello all,

I am restoring a 1974 WestCraft. I have found very little information on WesCraft boats let alone how many stringer there were and how they were positioned. I have found that the hull of the boat is very similar to a Glastron V-156.

The floor had a couple of soft spot and I ripped it all out and found one plywood stringer that was rotted out really bad. Sorry no before pics didn't find this site till after I started restore. I am pretty much rebuilding stringer system blindly and I am pretty sure the previous owner did a half *** restore job already because some of the things that have been done under the floor is pretty shotty work. For example there was no drain plug through the transom for draining water under the floor, it look liked it had been moved above the floor because at the bow of the boat it looks like they had a make shift live well or fish locker with a drain hole drilled at the bottom so they can drain across top of floor to the back of the boat to where the drain plug at transom had been moved. The wood that used for flooring from what I can tell was only an 1/8 inch thick or maybe a little bit more.

I am trying to rebuild the boat the best I can with what little money I have. I really wish I could go all out and do an exceptional job like the rest of you do. Some of your guys work absolutely amazes me.

Well here are some pictures of the boat and current progress.

 

[Jeffm602]

Re: 1974 WesCraft Restore

 

[SigSaurP229]

Re: 1974 WesCraft Restore

Sorry to tell you this man, you can't use dimensional lumber for stringers. Has to be ply.

We all start this with a shoestring budget but please understand at minimum you are probably going to be in this for 2k especially considering this is a glasser.

You have the full support of Iboats behind you so it can and will be done. To save money, take your time with demo bag and tag every single reusable part.

Tri Hulls are a dime a dozen, and honestly you may come out cheaper by finding a hull that isn't rotten without an engine, and repowering with your known working engine.

The good thing about rebuilding is you know exactly what you have when you are done.

It looks like you have an old Johnnyrude electric shift for power don't be scared of them regardless of what anyone says.

You can also save money by making it a more utility looking boat i.e. rustoleum and sand on the floor and things of that nature. Save money on the cosmetics not the structure.

One more question I am kind of assuming that this is a new purchase for you since the boat doesn't have current registration papers on it.

Before you proceed any further or make one more step DO YOU HAVE THE PROPER PAPERWORK AND TITLES if the answer is no then stop now and proceed no further until you have them in hand otherwise you are throwing good money at nothing but yard art.

 

[Jeffm602]

Re: 1974 WesCraft Restore

Sig, yes I have the paper work for the boat and trailer. I am new to boat restoring so please don't take anything I say the wrong way. I have seen many boat restore threads and videos of people using dimensional lumber as stringers could you explain why you can not use it or is it just unfavorable to do so. I do understand that ply glued together is a lot stronger then dimensional lumber. I was going to put bulkheads in to strength it up because dimensional lumber is more prone to bowing.

Not trying to start a war over what should or shouldn't be used. I just don't know as I am not really experienced in boat structures lol.

 

[SigSaurP229]

Re: 1974 WesCraft Restore

I can only tell you why I wouldnt use dimensional lumber especially in that boat.
The design of the trihull makes it an easy to plane extremely stable boat from side to side.

The down side is the trihull also takes an extreme beating in any kind of chop at all 6inches of chop will rattle your teeth.

In those conditions the hull is going to flex. Dimensional lumber not being as stable and stiff as ply is not going to take the beating its going to bow warp and twist further exaserbating the inherant draw backs to the trihull design.

To much flex and the hull can weaken and split for an extra $50 dollars to use ply over dimensional for that reason alone is money well spent. I can already see that the center 2x6 is bowed just from your pics and bowed lumber is just going to make the rebuild that much harder and slower.

Save the money in cosmetics spend the money on structure and safety. Plus if you ever want to sell the boat a properly done restoration will bring you more money.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1974 WesCraft Restore

Here's my 2?. In boats under 20ft that don't normally encounter a lot of heavy water it's not gunna matter a whole lot what you use. I agree that Plywood Is a better material to use but...If you do a good job tabbing the glass to the hull and if you use two full layers of 1708 for the stringers, you're not going to have any issues using dimensional lumber as the core for your stringers. The glass carries the majority of the load and weight disbursement. But as stated for the dollars saved is it worth it??? Well, I guess that's your call.

"Fabricating Decks, Stringers, and Transoms"

 

[Jeffm602]

Re: 1974 WesCraft Restore

Thanks for your input guys. I am going to stick with dimensional lumber. I don't know how you guys are getting ply so cheap but here in AZ a 4x8 sheet of ply is minimum $13 and that's not really even marine worthy. I got (3) 2x6x16 lumber for about $30.
Like I said I know it's not ideal but that's what I have to work with. Sometimes you can only do the best to your ability. :blue:

 

[SigSaurP229]

Re: 1974 WesCraft Restore

3/4" BCX grade ply is $32 a sheet at my local lumber yard it is minimum grade you should be using for stringers.

Have you verified the motor yet? Does it run and shift properly?

Shop 23/32 x 4 x 8 Pine Sanded Plywood at Lowes.com

$41.97 in Phoenix Az so $11 worth of difference.

You really only need one sheet of ply, you scarf the joints.

One sheet of ply will do the whole stringer system even if you have three stringers in the boat.

You are going to have to buy ply to do the floor anyways, and if you use all ply then you will minimize your waste as well, as more than likely you will have a half sheet left of which you can put either into the transom, or into the bow piece.

Just so you are aware, YOU ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY CAN NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE use dimensional lumber on your transom.