1985 Wellcraft 210 Elite Restoration

[jbillingsley]

Re: 1985 Wellcraft 210 Elite Restoration

I grabbed the last 36 grit flapper disk on the shelf when I was at HD yesterday. Any idea how many of these I should expect to go through? I did take note that they had non-flapper 24-grit disks.

 

[jbillingsley]

Re: 1985 Wellcraft 210 Elite Restoration

Also, do any of you know if these coveralls can be washed/reused? I'm using this: KLEENGUARD Heavy-Duty Coveralls-72423 at The Home Depot

Kleengard Heavy-Duty Coveralls

 

[Bomber Goober]

Re: 1985 Wellcraft 210 Elite Restoration

I grabbed the last 36 grit flapper disk on the shelf when I was at HD yesterday. Any idea how many of these I should expect to go through? I did take note that they had non-flapper 24-grit disks.

I think I went through 4 on mine

 

[Speak]

Re: 1985 Wellcraft 210 Elite Restoration

Nice work man!

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 1985 Wellcraft 210 Elite Restoration

Use the 36 grit flapper then the 24 grit regular disc with the rubber backer pad and see which one you like best. Most folks like the 24 grit because it eats faster and doesn't clog as easy.

Those coveralls aren't machine washable, it says so in the specifications.

 

[jbillingsley]

Re: 1985 Wellcraft 210 Elite Restoration

Today's progress. Bottom half of the transom is rotted. I sure wish the whole thing was. Royal PITA removing the wood that's not rotten.

 

[jbillingsley]

Re: 1985 Wellcraft 210 Elite Restoration

There must be some tool that can remove it faster.

 

[jbillingsley]

Re: 1985 Wellcraft 210 Elite Restoration

If I weren't trying to have this project done in time for this boating season, I'd spray the wood with fertilizer and plant mushroom spores all over it. So much easier removing mulch.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1985 Wellcraft 210 Elite Restoration

Set that circular saw to a depth that's about 1/16" more shallow than the depth of the wood on the transom and cut 1" squares in the wood. The get a 1 1/2" wood chisel and chisel it off. It WILL be much easier...I PROMISE!!!!

 

[jbillingsley]

Re: 1985 Wellcraft 210 Elite Restoration

Thanks WoG!!!

 

[jbillingsley]

Re: 1985 Wellcraft 210 Elite Restoration

Got 2/3rds of the transom out. Thank you so much Woodonglass for the tip, that's a whole lot easier.

 

[jbillingsley]

Re: 1985 Wellcraft 210 Elite Restoration

One thing I did find bizarre is that the transom was built in two pieces. I did not cut that horizontal line across; it's where the upper portion and lower portion of the transom met. That upper portion is solid, non-rotten wood. I don't think that's the proper way for a transom to be built.

Anyway, that wood's coming out and the replacement transom will be a single, solid piece. While I'm at it, I've decided I'm going to get a Bravo template and drill the two additional holes so I have the option to upgrade in the future, should I choose to.

 

[jbillingsley]

Re: 1985 Wellcraft 210 Elite Restoration

The more I think about it, the less inclined I am to hotten up the boat's current motor. For this season, I'll just replace the head gasket and run with the 220hp or so that this motor makes (the block the original was replaced with has dished pistons.)

The problem I see with taking an SBC much past 383ci is that it'll destroy the Alpha drive due to the torque. As project tripple digits demonstrated, larger bores and higher RPM is what will get a boat this size into that range, but I can't imagine that he could pull tubes, wake boards, or skiers behind that. Running higher RPM cams is begging for reversion issues.

A 502ci with a Bravo 1 behind it should put me into the mid 70's, while retaining water sports capability. I know this boat will run nearly 60 with 260hp - it did with the original engine when my dad first bought it and I rode on a 10-year later model of this same boat, powered the same, but with a FI motor, many times that would run nearly 60mph with a High-5 prop.

 

[flipbro]

Re: 1985 Wellcraft 210 Elite Restoration

Im working on the same boat and my transom was the same built in two pieces. I also just replaced with a single piece. Looks good

 

[jbillingsley]

Re: 1985 Wellcraft 210 Elite Restoration

Found this awesome transom wood removal tool at Home Depot. It made quick work of the remaining wood and barely scraped the fiberglass.

Picture taken halfway through after under an hour of work. It would have taken me all afternoon to make that kind of progress with a chisel, even with the cut it into 1" squares w/circular saw trick.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 1985 Wellcraft 210 Elite Restoration

Marcel Ledbetter would be proud!

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: 1985 Wellcraft 210 Elite Restoration

Found this awesome transom wood removal tool at Home Depot. It made quick work of the remaining wood and barely scraped the fiberglass.
View attachment 191142
Picture taken halfway through after under an hour of work. It would have taken me all afternoon to make that kind of progress with a chisel, even with the cut it into 1" squares w/circular saw trick.

Thats just awesome,wish ou had video!! hehe. I can just see the chips flying everywhere! :laugh:

 

[jbillingsley]

Re: 1985 Wellcraft 210 Elite Restoration

I reopened a can of worms this evening by revisiting and extending my research of non-organic vs. organic core materials. For the sake of simplicity, I'll refer to these materials as composite core vs. wood core, but understand that technically a composite material can include wood.

It seems the ideal construction using composite cores would be to use Coosa board for core of the transom, forward motor mounts, and under the driver's seat pedestal. Core-Cell for the core of the stringers. NidaCore for the deck. This would add 3-4x to the materials cost vs. using marine-grade plywood, would weigh roughly 1/3rd to 1/4 less than using plywood, and would never rot.

The question I'm grappling with is how long do I want the boat to last. Full restoration in another ~25 years or never. If I make the investment in rebuilding it with composites, the boat conceivably could be handed down to my son or daughter and eventually his/her son or daughter, without ever needing the infrastructure rebuilt again. On the flip side of the coin, will my kids even be interested in owning an 80's era boat when they're adults? Would my grandkids? A Donzi 22 will never go out of style. This boat has a lot of classic styling elements to her, but also has several 80's touches.

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: 1985 Wellcraft 210 Elite Restoration

Save the money and go conventional build. Use the money you save to do other nice things like fil the tank a few times to take the kids out on the boat. If you take care to do it right a conventional build can last 50 years if taken care off. Chances are your grand children might want a space shipor hover craft by that time.

 

[jbillingsley]

Re: 1985 Wellcraft 210 Elite Restoration

Thanks! I woke up with a clear head, arriving at the same conclusion.