1987 Ski Centurion Tru Trac II - First Time Rebuild - Floor, Engine, Dash, etc.

[Woodonglass]

Well, my 2 cents is this. Steel is not a good option for fiberglass boats cuz it's impossible to get a good bond. If you build the stringers and MotorMounts from wood and then glass them in correctly, and then maintain the boat properly, they'll outlast your grandkids.

 

[ACon977]

I appreciate the pennies Woodonglass. I agree with you on the bond. That's why I was asking what people would recommend on the best bonding option. Although I know it won't be as good as wood to glass.

Since this is a ski boat and will be primarily towing people from the pylon, so we will be putting a lot more force on the motor mounts than just cruising around. Using the steel plates will allow the force to be better distributed across more points in the stringers and therefore reduce the force concentrated at any one point. And using multiple through bolts will reduce the amount of adhesion I would actually need between the two materials... or at least that's my 2 cents.

 

[ACon977]

And Ive been looking at some alignment videos. Always trying to think ahead, and it looks like I am going to have to do some serious motor mount adjustment after it is dropped into place. This really should have been obvious.. but again, just something I didnt think about before. I will probably pull the engine mounts off and make sure that all the adjustment points work correctly rather than finding something is seized up when I drop the motor in.

 

[ACon977]

Gentlemen... I have a confession. although I THOUGHT I had put the engine mount extensions on correctly. I actually put them 180* on the wrong side of the stringers.... I don't know why or how I mis-oriented these parts, and am frustrated and embarrassed. Now I will have to use my circular saw to cut the boards off, grind down, reglass, recut the new expansion boards, and reglass and attach them to the stringers.

So needless to say, there will be a slight pause in updates as I redo all that work. :yield::faint::frusty:

 

[Timr71]

No worries. Those are the lessons from this type of work. I too, had to go back and re-buy certain parts after I destroyed them trying to get them back off after realizing that I'd done something backwards. Hang in there.

 

[ACon977]

I just was so excited to have the stringers back in after so much prep work... but c'est la vie.

 

[mickyryan]

we all have had those wtf did i just do moments lol its all in the process

 

[oldrem]

If I had a buck for every oops I've had in my 69 years I'd be retired by now

 

[ACon977]

Well I got it kicked off and back on the right path. Took my circular saw and cut the seam on both sides, and then finished the separation with some chisels I have.





now I just need to figure out if I want to try and save the expansion pieces... or just buy new wood and recut. I think they are in good enough shape to just smooth out with the flap disks and put an extra heavy layer of PB between them and the stringers. Thoughts?

 

[mickyryan]

now I just need to figure out if I want to try and save the expansion pieces... or just buy new wood and recut. I think they are in good enough shape to just smooth out with the flap disks and put an extra heavy layer of PB between them and the stringers. Thoughts?[/QUOTE]

i would go that route.

 

[ACon977]

Which route? Try and save them?

 

[mickyryan]

i would try to save them yeah

 

[ACon977]

Well Mikey, I agreed with you and went ahead and got the old boards back on after some sanding and smoothing. Its also been a good practice for me to be making more fiberglass puddy, since clearly I needed some practice :lol: And its going better now! Got the old boards back on and will see what the finished product looks like in the morning. Now that these are all done its about time to get them in the boat tomorrow! Super excited! Then glassing them to the hull over the next week. Ill keep yall updated.

 

[ACon977]

And dry fitting the new stringers now!

 

[ACon977]

Anddddddddd we have the stringers in the boat! So excited!

 

[ACon977]

Also. No joke about needing to add a TON of cabosil to the PB. I made 2 64oz batches and put 40-50oz of cabosil per batch! But it gave the the consistency I needed so I'm not complaining. I'm all out though, was worried I wouldnt have enough to do my second batch. So back to the store on monday. Also nearly out of my 1st 5 gal of resin.

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Resin goes really quick when making PB for fillets and glue. Way to stick with it....nice work.

 

[mickyryan]

every time i turn around im grabbing another 5 gallons lol think i am up to 30 now but there was a ton of wood needing replacement thats the hull stringers transom top cap all the wood in that and the roof of boat so yeah it never ends and csm just sucks it up like a drunk on dollar night!

 

[ACon977]

Sure feels that way for both! But Super glad to have the stringers finally IN! On Sunday while the stringers were curing we went on a "little" hike and tackled another 14,000 ft peak on our list! Mt. Evans at 14,250 was a fun 5 mile loop!






Although I was exhausted afterwards, an hour (or 2...) nap on the couch and then I got to cutting the angle iron to fit my cutouts in the stringers and smoothed up the edges. Then I cleaned the surfaces and used the flap disk to get some of the coating off.
I also took apart the ski pylon and started to clean up the metal mounting brackets on that to remove rust there so that I can paint them to avoid rust in the future. (sorry forgot to take pics, still need to finish with the wire wheel on them)

Regarding color... since they won't be seen when the boat is functioning normally, I asked the Admiral her thoughts on paint colors.. she said blue off the bat to match the rest of the boat.. but when I mentioned orange she thought that would also be fun... so I will stop at HD today and probably end up with some neon paint. lol why not.

I was planning on just using rustoleum rattle can. Any thoughts on if that would hold up well enough? or is there something more specific I should get?

 

[Timr71]

Looking good. Nice hike too! I struggle at altitude. I doesn't stop me from skiing the ridge at Loveland or going up Imperial Chair at Breck, but my first 24-48 hrs at Tony's house (8700 feet) are always rough. Take a look at what I picked up. This should inspire you to finish the boat. I can't wait to hit the lake a try it out. Looks like a Ferrari.