1981 Springbok 18' Restoration/Renovation

[Drivewayboater2]

Ouch…. Glad it was only a couple stitches and not the entire thumb. Yikes. Be safe.

 

[SlipperyOar]

Got the bow eye aluminum plate epoxied on with my limited hand abilities. Going to wait until I’ve got some help to put some solid rivets in but very happy with the Gflex to fill all voids and securely bond the plate to the keel.

Found my gloves from the rubble after my rushed morning to the hospital Friday to see a brief recap of my incident. Finger is healing nicely so far.

Was able to do some more tig welding on my inner transom plate by adding a 90° angled piece to allow me to rivet and mount a splashwell in the boat without adding additional holes into the wood. Gotta make two more angled pieces up the sides for the splashwell and some tabs where I can tie the stern sub deck frame into everything. Dont have a picture on the phone to add with it but will include once I finish it up.

https://imgur.com/a/MZckvDp

 

[REdington]

Well well well, safe to say my progress for the next couple weeks will be limited as I had a negative encounter with a tablesaw this morning. Was working on cutting some 2x4’s to create a reach clamp as I needed them to hold some pieces on that normal clamps wouldn’t apply pressure in far areas for some measuring purposes.

Hoping to heal up quickly so I can get back to working!

Sorry to here about your mishap. On November 1st of 2018, I cut off about 3/4" of my left thumb on my tablesaw. It took forever to heal well enough to use it without pain. Hope yours heals faster than mine.

Your boat is coming along nicely.

 

[SlipperyOar]

Still waiting on the thumb to heal up a bit more before i begin using power tools again to avoid tearing the skin open, so for now i've created a few files to visualize how the transom will be braced to the hull. I've got some 0.100" aluminum i plan to bend into the shape i need for my main knee brace, bending this and forming it into its proper size will be the biggest challenge until i get a grasp at how workable it is. I also thought into adding two additional braces that would connect from the main stringers to the transom. For these i plan on taking some angled aluminum i've got laying around and welding some flat bar to the end so it sits flush against the transom, and then runs down to my stringers and can be riveted on there.

https://imgur.com/a/sTp286T

As i stated previously, ive got some pictures as well of the inner transom skin i fabbed up and how it will attach to the hull, still waiting to finish up the braces for mounting my splashwell and rear deck components

https://imgur.com/a/S5T1N5w

While being out of commission, with the help of my dad, we measured the outer transom skin from the original widths to find the middle of the transom so i could outline where the motor mounting holes would be. I used the standard mounting pattern i had found on here and other sites. Are these dimensions accurate for all outboard motors?

https://imgur.com/a/xJdUtfm

 

[SlipperyOar]

Got back to working on the boat today, last night was a late one getting home in the early hours of the morning after the game in Detroit but we’re 1-0 and looking forward to next week.

Spent the afternoon welding and filling in the holes on the topside of the gunwales, they had all been used for mounting certain things at one point so I’m starting fresh and using the TIG, I filled in these holes and then used a flapper disk to smooth the welds over so that the surface is flush and smooth. Got a good bit left to do yet, then ill get at fabricating my knee brace and the splash well.

 

[SlipperyOar]

Day 2 of filling in holes on the horizontal top side of my gunwales, there were 186 total holes… most of which were from various rod holders and other mounts. Only 55 to go and then 22 on the vertical edge.

I decided to go about this situation with welding as it will be a permanent bond that will physically fuse the aluminum together. I realize I could have used some JB cold weld but with vibrations and temperature changes I didn’t see this as ideal.

I wouldn’t and have not done any welding where the hull touches water and instead covered the I/O motor blower vents with riveted patches. I didn’t want to weld the exterior to avoid any related issues that could cause water ingress.

I should be done filling all these holes by tomorrow, which then I will fabricate the knee brace and begin determining its final position. I’m going to temporary rivet with some blind rivet to secure it in place before drilling all the holes where solid rivets will be set. I’ve got my gluvit here which I’ll apply once I’m done with drilling and riveting through the hull where water could enter.

 

[SlipperyOar]

Finally completed all the welding on the gunnels, 212 holes in total from various things. Fresh start now with them all filled in and the surface completely smooth.

Made my transom knee brace up today while I let the welded areas cool before I sanded them flush. The aluminum sheet was rather difficult to bend as I went with a good thickness to ensure I was going overkill. I got the two main bends done with a brake, couldn’t get it them to 90° as the other side would interfere.

I used some 2” wide steel square tubing clamped along the long edge and with the oxy acetylene I gave it a little heat and then clamped the knee until it was square. Hit the aluminum with pure acetylene first to apply some soot, did this so I could tell how warm I was getting and made sure not to reach the melting point of soot which is 400°F or so below aluminum.
Repeated this process with all 4 bent tabs to contact the transom and the hull. Still have to make two cuts to curve around the rib, but it fits up perfectly with no gaps as the angle is the same as my deadrise.

Back to work tomorrow and another lions game Sunday so finally getting a break from working on this.

Next up will be cleaning all my seams and applying the gluvit and then riveting my knee brace to the hull. It’s nice to be finally near the reassembling stage!

 

[SlipperyOar]

Despite thinking I was finished with the welding and the inner aluminum transom sheet, my piece has some awful warping as the angle I used was 3/16” and the sheet was some pretty thin stuff. I’m going to reaccess with a metal work shop guy I know and see what he thinks but sadly I think I’ve wrecked this piece and will have to make a new one. Quite disappointed in myself as I left the clamps on until the piece had fully cooled but I got a bad result. It’s sticking out more and more like a sore thumb about the ugly quality of my welds as it shows that the two pieces soaked up heat very unevenly.

On the bright side, I know I won’t make this mistake again with the learning moments this has taught me. If I do have to do this again, I’ll be sure to adjust the thickness’ I’m using and also redesign my plan to fab this piece.

Hoping for some better days

 

[SlipperyOar]

Over the past few days, I’ve been going at the hull and am quite pleased with the results.
Still waiting on my second sheet of aluminum to arrive and then I’ll determine if I need to redo the inner sheet or not. I was able to get a majority of the warps out with a dolly and it has flattened out significantly. Added with the bolts that will be through it I think it should be okay, but we shall see.

I’ve got the inside of the hull above the floor and the gunnels primed. For all the bare aluminum spots I sanded with 80 grit to really scuff it up and then did a soap and water wash, followed by degreaser, another soap and water wash. Then a 50/50 vinegar & water mix to etch it, and finished with acetone and a rag to clean the surface. I applied some self etching primer and sanded with 220 between coats doing 2 light coats of self etching primer. Once cured I scuffed again, used compressed air to blow any dust off and a light acetone wipe to make sure it was fully cleaned. I then applied a light coat of primer and have been letting that first layer cure until my next days off.

I determined the cuts required for my transom knee brace to fit over the rib, and then transferred the drill holes through the hull. It all fits together great so far. Im going to hold off on install the knee brace until I get the inside all primed and I’m ready to do my gluvit so I can do it all at once.

 

[SlipperyOar]

I have decided to redesign my inner aluminum sheet and splashwell. As much as it sucks to have to do, it was a great lesson learned that i need to think further ahead and be more aware of how all the components will tie together. My new inner aluminum sheet isn't going to extend all the way to the bottom as i have seen on some other designs. I intend to extend it down far enough to fit up against the top of my knee brace which is about 7-1/2" below the top edge of the transom. My splashwell will be 5-1/2" deep at the transom and from there i will use solid rivets to rivet an aluminum angle piece which will provide strength across the inner sheet as well as a perfect 90 degree angle in which my splashwell can be riveted to. Because of the 15 degree deadrise on my transom, this would result in the splashwell sloping up at 15 degrees with it being mounted at a 90 degree angle from the transom. This should provide optimal drainage as well as allow me to extend the splashwell 16" forward into the boat. As this point i will use the break and bend it to a 75 degree bend so that it will come up on a perfectly vertical edge to the angled aluminum running laterally. The splashwell is going to be the full width from the gunnel to gunnel, which should eliminate any possibility for water to make its way into the boat. I'm planning on bending tabs for two side pieces which will rivet into the inner sheet at 90 degrees and also into the gunnels. The bottom edge of these tabs will follow a 15 degree angle so that the splashwell bottom can be riveted together. This design was mainly come up with based on some other projects and set-ups I've seen to cover as much area as possible and block any water which may splash into the stern. I'm going to avoid using the welder on any thin aluminum sheet work I've got if i can to avoid the warping. I've attached a design of how the splashwell shape will be to explain my confusing answer as well as some cardboard templates i made a rough creation of.

On another note, I finally finished riveting the last patch on the outside of the hull to cover where the motor blower vent had been. Currently the hulls only holes are the ones which are required for rivets and other hardware. Happy about that.

 

[SlipperyOar]

been busy with work lately and sometimes life gets busy as we all know and I haven’t had the time to work away at this project. I mocked up this idea for my splashwell and inner transom sheet and believe I came up with my plan. I looked through lots of boat images with similar dimensions and thought it would be nice to have my splashwell the same piece as the inner transom sheet. Using some of the measurements I had taken to align it with the ribs and other parts to run bracing. I think I’ve come up with my plan. It’ll be a sheet that only covers the wooden transom core within the splashwell dimensions. Yes I understand that may sound confusing so I’ve added some photos. With a bend up from the bottom, and in on the sides it’ll fold together and should be stronger as it is technically all one piece just bent and riveted into shape. The last picture I included is to show the area it will cover. I have been thinking how this would play out with the hold down eyes within the splashwell but just like everything else, proper mounting and sealing should eliminate/minimize any issues.

I’m going to create some tabs on the sides of the hull where my transom sits almost like a slot where it’ll fit between and this way I’ve got some metal backing on the nut side of the bolts but this will be after and much simpler to show.

 

[SlipperyOar]

well, after some rather unconventional methods of bending my splashwell/inner sheet to shape, I finally completed it and got it in the boat for a test fit. Used my clecos to create all the rivet holes for its permanents install. I’ve got it out of the boat right now with my gluvit curing along the seams. This proved to be the most challenging task I’ve dealt with to date for this boat. Hoping the bracing isn’t nearly as difficult as there won’t be any intricate bends with that and all just measuring and drilling.

 

[SlipperyOar]

And yes, that is a steel piece welded to the forks on a forklift I needed to force the last 90° bend into my splashwell…

 

[SlipperyOar]

in regards to the gluvit, does anyone have any experience with how long it takes to fully set? I’ve had it in the shop overnight and although it’s insulated the heat isn’t on yet and last night dropped to about 2° but it stayed about 15° in the shop all night. The one seam is set but still somewhat soft. Will this fully cure still? Does it get hard or stay flexible when done?

 

[SlipperyOar]

Well was hoping for a bit of feedback with the gluvit question but it seemed to have hardened up and cured in the shop with the heat on.

Got the two pieces of 6063 angle bent to the shape of my bow. Used a piece of wood as the mold and with a little heat and C-clamps it was easy to shape. Let it rest and slowly cool while screwed in place. Just put them onto the boat tonight and cleco’d into place for now until I’m ready to solid rivet them. Gonna remove and prime them tomorrow. Wanted to put some new aluminum on the bow cap and unfortunately didn’t have enough of 1 sheet to make it fit, I used 2 pieces instead and I’m going to add some filler in the seam to try and make it look more seamless.

 

[briangcc]

I'm gonna have to remember that as I've been looking for...umm...economical boats for my sons to use and some are closed bow Starcrafts which are just begging to be opened up. I was curious about how to finish off the cut edge and that just answered the question for me.

 

[SlipperyOar]

I'm gonna have to remember that as I've been looking for...umm...economical boats for my sons to use and some are closed bow Starcrafts which are just begging to be opened up. I was curious about how to finish off the cut edge and that just answered the question for me.

Glad to help, it’s a constant learning experience lol

 

[SlipperyOar]

all the internals just cleco’d into place while I took measurements for the cross beam for the casting deck. Was tricky finding the level but measured multiple times to make sure it was level running across and it’s extremely sturdy with just clecos holding it together. Back to work for a few days so progress will again slow down. Hoping to find a day I can get it into the shop so I can get the gluvit done on all the interior seams and then I can rivet the stringer and knee brace into place.

 

[airshot]

I have been impressed with your craftsmanship and patience...my curiosity is the name " Springbok". I vaguely remember to seeing that name on a small glass utility boat many years back. Never knew they had an aluminum line. What part of the country are you located ?

 

[SlipperyOar]

I have been impressed with your craftsmanship and patience...my curiosity is the name " Springbok". I vaguely remember to seeing that name on a small glass utility boat many years back. Never knew they had an aluminum line. What part of the country are you located ?

I appreciate your kind words. I'm in southern Ontario. From what i've researched Springbok was under the same company as Princecraft before being united all under the Princecraft name.