1984 Wellcraft 248 Sporstman Restore

[zool]

I agree with wog, 2 staggered layers of 170 biax and epoxy will hold up to anything reasonable in that 25, and will be stronger than the poly soaked roven that was there. If you want, have the schedule changed to use 3 layers of thinner cloth caps, draped down to the hull bottom, and staggered. The strength gain is significant.

I do that on mine, because I frequent nasty seas...

 

[kcassells]

yea yea....what they said. Concur.The Zool and Wog. yup um hum. yup!

 

[Second Chance 248]

Well guys, sorry for not keeping up with the thread, I still have been slammed with work and haven't been able to update. I ended up grinding the entire hull and re glassed her. I really didn't like how flimsy the hull was, so I ended up going with the 3 layers of 2415. I figured after knocking it down smooth, it would be about 2 1/2" layers. I split it up into 6 separate sessions.

 

[Second Chance 248]

After the last section, I knocked it all down with 36 grit.
In the past couple months, I got done what I could when I could, which hasn't been very much working 7 days a week :grumpy:
I've been doing everything my self so progress is slow.
A friend of mine stopped in the speed shop where the motor is getting rebuilt. He sent me a few pics of it ready to go back together.
I'm having a new dash built by New Wire Marine, they have been AWSOME too work with!!

 

[Second Chance 248]

As of now I'm done with the framing. I'm going to get everything out of the boat and pull it outside and pressure wash the hull and trailer. Also going to blow the shop out while the boat is out of there. Hmmm maybe I should blow the shop out first

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[ahmincha]

Wow sc outstanding that is going to be one tough hull

 

[Mikeopsycho]

Awesome progress report! That is a lot of work! Very impressive! She's going to be so much better than new! :encouragement:

 

[Second Chance 248]

Wow sc outstanding that is going to be one tough hull

Thanks Minch, I'd rather sacrifice a few extra MPH and enjoy a smoother ride

 

[Second Chance 248]

Awesome progress report! That is a lot of work! Very impressive! She's going to be so much better than new! :encouragement:

Thanks Mike!
It's been a uphill battle but hopefully there's no more surprises

 

[Second Chance 248]

Have a question on the best glass schedule for stringers. I picked up a roll of 17oz Biax and I'm ready to go.
Do I precoat stringers with 2 coats and 2 layers of glass out of the boat? Then 3 layers of tabbing after bedding in?
Or should I precoat and let cure, scuff up and bed them in? Then 3 layers of tabbing?

 

[Second Chance 248]

Made A lot of progress the past few days. Started ordering most of the things I'm going to need to finish.I had the gas tank flushed and tested, everything came back good on that. The boat is outside and the shop is cleaned. I ended up laying some roofing felt paper down. The cool thing about it is ,there are lines you can use as a straight edge, I was able to mark a scarf cut on the outside stringers and double check all my measurements. It's also great for protecting the floor from epoxy and when it's time to paint. The 30 Lb or more holds up good for foot traffic, well worth the $15 bucks.

 

[Second Chance 248]

Got the garboard drain in and ready to pressure wash the inside hull out. The key hole is done with 4 coats of epoxy, the first coat I used a heat gun to help it penetrate deep ( Thanks Zool )
As mentioned earlier, my friend and shop partner is going to keep the gantry crane for his weld business. He made up some metal gussets for the corners and a flitch plate for the center. Going to drop the cap back on before bedding or tabbing in stringers. This way I'm assured not to have any problems later and also lower the cradle for more ideal conditions for working on the cap. Once the tabbing is done I'll take it back off and install the liner.
Was able to get the stringers barrier coated with 3 coats. I'll de-blush them and give em a scuff before bedding. I'm going to do the same thing with the heat gun on the bottoms with 3 coats prior to bedding in the same day. I even had the pleasure of some free help and a chance to spend some time with my wife :lol:
I think it was the longest I seen her in the past 6 months since starting :facepalm::facepalm:

 

[Second Chance 248]

I also got the fuel tank shelf glassed and ready

 

[250sportsman]

This my first post, so I hope I am doing this right. I have an 1987 250 sportsman. It is as close to the same boat as yours as you can get. It is in similar condition, and will need going through too. I wanted to thank you for the detailed photos and explanations of your work. It will be invaluable as I start on my boat.

 

[Second Chance 248]

This my first post, so I hope I am doing this right. I have an 1987 250 sportsman. It is as close to the same boat as yours as you can get. It is in similar condition, and will need going through too. I wanted to thank you for the detailed photos and explanations of your work. It will be invaluable as I start on my boat.

Hello fellow Sportsman and :welcome: to the forum.
I'm EXTREMELY far behind on posting progress, it's been a wild and crazy ride the past 11 months. I'm hoping to get caught up on posting in the next few weeks.
If you need to pick my brain on anything, feel free to PM me.

 

[250sportsman]

That sure is nice of you. I have been reading, watching videos, and doing all the research that I can before I get too deep into the project. The motor doesn't bother me at all, I've been rebuilding motors since I was a teenager. The fiberglass work is a different story. I am as green as they come. The boat has been sitting outside in the weather for 9 years. A lot of the problems are a direct result of this. Leaves clogging up all the drains. At least the bow was elevated a good bit. The stringers that holds the motor mounts are in bad shape, and I will know more as I take the decking off. Thank's again, because I know I will have a ton of questions.

 

[Mark72233]

250sportmans, I was in the same boat (Pun intended). I am not afraid of working on engines and such but until I started my project (42 year old 233 Thunderbird Formula that had been sitting for 12 years) I had never even touched resin before, now after almost 35 gallons of resin it is nothing. Fiberglass is the easiest and most forgiving thing I have ever worked with, don't be afraid to screw it up because you will more than once but it is so easy to fix it later with a grinder and try it again. The learning curve is steep but very doable. I am no expert but certainly I know I can fix anything wrong with my boat.

 

[250sportsman]

Thanks Mark. It is nice to know I will have help here. I was planning on buying some supplies and do some practice layups etc. on scrap wood out of the boat before I make a mess. That will be some time from now, we are just getting going with the taking things apart steps. I will start a thread on the boat soon, so I don't take up space on this one. Thanks again.

 

[250sportsman]

I finally started a thread on the boat, If you have a chance take a look. I have a pick of the stern/ transom area. It looks like I am going to have my hands full.
Thanks Second Chance and Mark.

 

[Shanestan]

I have a Galaxy 260 Double cabin, its similar to the 250 Wellcraft. I finally got mine under a carport and will start similar work. I don't know If I will go that far since I don't have gantry equipment to lift the cap off.