1978 Ebbtide trihull restoration

[caseywitherow]

I headed your advice a couple of weeks ago and took measurements from now to stern along a center line every foot. I am going to confirm my measurements one more time before lift off.

I really appreciate you emphasizing the importance of this.

I was planning on making some sort of support structure for the hull and replacing one stringer at a time.

The advice I have gained from you guys has been invaluable and I shall heed all warning to avoid epic failures.

 

[caseywitherow]

Got the hull support in place today, and double checked my measurements. I marked every foot with a piece of painters tape and marked the measurements on those for each point.

The cap will come off in the next few days. I need to build some support to make sure that the cap doesn’t warp when removed. I’m feeling a bit nervous about this next step, but then again I’ve felt that way with every step so far since it’s all foreign.

I snapped a few pics of my cradle. She’s not the sexiest thing but she seems solid.

 

[caseywitherow]

[No message]

 

[GSPLures]

Looking good. If it stops the hull from moving it is sexy enough lol.

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Looking good. If it stops the hull from moving it is sexy enough lol.

VERY true!!

 

[caseywitherow]

The cap is off, I repeat the cap is off! I was hoping to uncover some treasure under there, but all I found was rotten wood and more GD carpet! There was carpet under the floor!?

I got a good view of the condition of the transom, and it’s not as bad as I had thought. It’s still pretty gnarly, but not rotten all the way through. Any tips of separating it from the outer skin? I have an oscillating tool, which is pretty damn slick, but wanted to see if anyone had any tricks they could share.

I see A LOT of grinding in my future.

 

[Baylinerchuck]

No secrets man, just hard labor. Scraping, prying, grinding. Repeat. Those vibrating tools do come in handy, but blades burn up fast cutting glass.

 

[gm280]

Grinding is the "secret". And just to let you know, when grinding the fiberglass, if you accidently grind through the glass to where you can see daylight, don't worry. It all can be fixed when you start going back with fiberglass and resins. Seems so many happen to do that and then worry about it. But it all is fixable to make it like new!

 

[todhunter]

Those vibrating tools do come in handy, but blades burn up fast cutting glass.

I'm discovering this to be true. I went through 3 of the name brand high dollar blades in a day. This weekend I'm going to try the cheap Amazon blades. If they last half as long as the name brand ones, it will be worth it.

 

[GSPLures]

I'm discovering this to be true. I went through 3 of the name brand high dollar blades in a day. This weekend I'm going to try the cheap Amazon blades. If they last half as long as the name brand ones, it will be worth it.

If you have a harbor freight near you the warrior bimetal blades are good they are about 8 a piece and lasted decently for me I went through 2 and still have some life on the third. Dont get the cheap blades from them though they barely cut anything. Try not to force the cut let the blade do the work, it takes a little bit longer but the blades last longer.

 

[caseywitherow]

Great advice GSPLures! I have a HF 15 minutes from me, and picked up all of my tools from them as well. I was advised to add the 1yr warranty from a guy at work in case I burn it out I can get a new one.

i started cutting away the bad transom, and came across a layer of fiberglass between the layers. Is this normal, or just another sign of a botched repair job? The glass was completely delaminated and separated with ease. My son had a blast ripping it apart. The transom is 2 layers of 3/4 ply on the bottom half and a single layer of 3/4 ply towards the top. Is that normal or another sign of a repair. I circled the are where it transitions from a double ply to single ply.

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Guessing that the factory, or someone, encapsulated the first layer totally, then added the lower layer and encapsulated that. At least that’s what it seems like. Most transom wood is two layers of 3/4” plywood.

 

[GSPLures]

The bottom probably needs the 2 layers for strength and thickness because of where your motor sits. My transom had 3/4" across the entire transom and was doubled up in the middle around the keyhole. For mine I just replaced what was there but I could have doubled up the entire area and wouldn't of been a problem. Although I am not sure about yours because it is an outboard but as long as it does not interfere with the motor or cap I doubt it will be a problem to double the entire transom.

 

[caseywitherow]

That’s kind ow what I was thinking was to double it up all the way across. I’m new to fiberglassing and the least amount of radius I have the opportunity to mess up the better. It seems that all in all the boat will be better for it. I don’t feel like it will add much more weight.

As I inch closer to getting to put in some new materials, I would love some insight on a solid website for resins and mat. I’m looking to go all poly because of price and it’s what the boat was most likely made from.

I slapped on the Tyvek suit tonight. Even at 70 degrees, I was dripping sweat, but I wasn’t itchy!! It has been therapeutic ripping all of this rotten wood out. The stuff is worse than I thought and seeing it in a pile out of the boat feels good.

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Search online for supplies. It would be best to find a supplier close to you to avoid the haz mat shipping fee. A lot of guys get supplies from US Composites. Their website has some great information. I bought all my stuff from fiberglasssite on the internet. They were within 2 hours of my house and worth the drive. Buying in bulk will save time and money.

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Also, buy from a reputable company that moves a lot of product. Polyester resin has a 6 month or less shelf life.

 

[caseywitherow]

Rot, rot, and more rot! The more I dig, the more rot I have uncovered. I have been slowly ripping away the old rotten transom, and I am so glad that I’ve de-capped and decided to go all in. I did find a lovely little ant colony today when ripping out the port side of the transom. Those little buggers scattered EVERYWHERE!

I have also learned to appreciate my PPE as the amount of fiberglass dust just one cut will produce is insane.

I find something even more disturbing was that the stringers were bare wood where they meet the transom and were completely detached from the transom.

 

[gm280]

I don't know what type blades you are talking about, but if it is those flat blades typically used in a multitool, don't throw them away when the teeth are near worn off of them. You can take a dremel type tool and recut the teeth and they will work like new again. I do that to my used blades all the time, and I can't tell between new blades and recut blades. It saves some money but takes some time cutting them. Just an idea to save some money......

 

[GSPLures]

Rot, rot, and more rot! The more I dig, the more rot I have uncovered. I have been slowly ripping away the old rotten transom, and I am so glad that I’ve de-capped and decided to go all in. I did find a lovely little ant colony today when ripping out the port side of the transom. Those little buggers scattered EVERYWHERE!

I have also learned to appreciate my PPE as the amount of fiberglass dust just one cut will produce is insane.

I find something even more disturbing was that the stringers were bare wood where they meet the transom and were completely detached from the transom.

Lol, i had carpenter ants in my boat also. Luckily my wifes uncle works for orkin so i had him spray everything real good. It is important to remove all rotten wood to make sure the ants are gone.

 

[caseywitherow]

It’s funny how life seems to get in the way of ripping out old rotted wood and getting attacked by ant armies. It was slow going, but I was able to finally get the old transom all torn out. There were some areas that were not completely rotted away and were a real PITA to get ripped out.
The weather has been cold and rainy, so I had to switch gears a bit and start working on the outboard. I’m currently in the process of replacing all of the wiring, which isn’t nearly as much as I would have thought. I was lucky enough to find the original wiring diagram online so I can match my new wire colors appropriately. The old wires were so discolored they all looked brown.