1989 Stratos 279v top off restoration

[DitchWitch2020]

So I've decided to go forward with doing the repairs to the dirt cheap Stratos boat I bought a few weeks ago. I originally purchased boat, trailer, and engine for the engine(Evinrude 150xp). I have the same engine on my Procraft fish and ski boat. I picked it up for dirt cheap. It hasn't been in the water in over 10 years. The floor was a little soft around the drain. Engine and boat were complete. Tilt/Trim worked. Lower unit oil looked good. Came with 4 blade stainless prop. Trailer is in good shape. Ill post some pics of how it looked when I got it. I have since got the top off the boat and engine/jack plate off. cut some wood and foam out. I will post pics of everything I've done so far. Keep in mind I've never worked on a boat before and never worked with fiberglass. I will definitely need some helpful tips and advice to get through this project. So far I've done everything by myself. Let me know what you think and how i should proceed. Thanks

 

[DitchWitch2020]

Took the engine and jack plate off

 

[DitchWitch2020]

The top coming off. I used a chainfall and a comealong. lol. It got the job done

 

[DitchWitch2020]

 

[DitchWitch2020]

Is there a limit on how many photos you can upload a day? I'm having trouble uploading more photos now

 

[jbcurt00]

Is there a limit on how many photos you can upload a day? I'm having trouble uploading more photos now

Probably too big, reduce them to 500kB, yep 500kB

 

[DitchWitch2020]

Okay i figured out how to resize the images. I ended up getting some more done on the project. Things are moving along slowly. The foam was a real pain to get out. I finally almost got the rest out today. I'm going to have to definitely replace all the stringers, floor, and transom. I'm not sure if I'm going about this the right way. If anyone has any advice or tips I'd love to hear them. I have a ton more pics if anyone wants to see anything specific. I'll try to keep updates coming with pics more frequently. Anyways I'm going to hopefully get the rest of the foam out tomorrow and them start on the transom? Or the stringers? Any advice to point me in the right direction would be appreciated!

 

[kcassells]

Take lots of measurements. After all foam and stringers, bulkheads are removed you will get into the messy part. That's the grinding of the hull to good glass for proper adhesion.
Use acx, bcx,cdx ply for wood structures under deck and if you have $$ their are plenty of non-rot products available on the market.
Have at it. Looks great!

 

[kcassells]

Oh yea tools of destruction:
Cheap disposable electric or battery grinders, sawsall, multi-tools, dusk masks, disposable dust suits, gloves, goggles etc.

 

[DitchWitch2020]

Take lots of measurements. After all foam and stringers, bulkheads are removed you will get into the messy part. That's the grinding of the hull to good glass for proper adhesion.
Use acx, bcx,cdx ply for wood structures under deck and if you have $$ their are plenty of non-rot products available on the market.
Have at it. Looks great!

What do you mean non-rot options? What other choices are their besides wood/glass?

 

[DitchWitch2020]

Oh yea tools of destruction:
Cheap disposable electric or battery grinders, sawsall, multi-tools, dusk masks, disposable dust suits, gloves, goggles etc.

I grabbed a few more tools earlier. I already have a multitool that has been great

 

[DitchWitch2020]

I finally finished getting the foam out! What is the best way to go about removing stringers and transom/ braces? That will be my next step I believe

 

[todhunter]

The main "non-rot" option I know of is Coosa Bluewater 26 - a fiber reinforced foam board. It's about 10X the price of equivalent ACX plywood, though.

After you've measured and sketched your stringer/bulkhead/ layout and you feel ready to start pulling them out, I recommend going around the edges of the stringers/bulkheads with a multi-tool, keeping the blade flat against the hull so you don't cut through the hull. This will cut the tabbing, and should allow you to pull the stringers/bulkheads out mostly intact.

 

[zool]

A sawzall with a long blade will cut out most of the substructure. A multitool, like Tod said, will do the rest.

 

[kcassells]

Marine Plywood Alternative [9 Best Alternatives]

Is there any marine plywood alternative in the market? Yes, there are including exterior grade plywood. For the complete list, see this post.

boatinggeeks.com

Plywood installed properly will last a very long time.

 

[DitchWitch2020]

Sorry I've been super busy with work and the family. I have managed to squeeze in some time here and there to work on the boat. I got floor removed, all foam out, stringers all removed in 1 peice, and the main section of transom out in 1 peice. Now I am having a hard time trying to figure out how I'm going to get the last peice of transom wood out. Any advice would be appreciated! I have lots of pictures also if anyone is interested I. Seeing more or specific parts of project

 

[DitchWitch2020]

Marine Plywood Alternative [9 Best Alternatives]

Is there any marine plywood alternative in the market? Yes, there are including exterior grade plywood. For the complete list, see this post.

boatinggeeks.com

Plywood installed properly will last a very long time.

I belive I will got with wood. Figure I better keep it simple. If wood came out then I'll put wood back in. I'm not experienced at all with boats or fiberglass work. I assume with the help on here I will get it done tho. What kind of grinding disk should I use to grind the old glass? How much grinding is needed? How do I tell when I've got to good glass?

 

[todhunter]

To remove the remaining transom wood you'll need to use a hammer and chisel, pry bars, and a grinder. Avoid using the pry bar to pry with - you could damage the outer fiberglass skin. Just use it like a "long chisel" to hammer in once you open a gap with a regular chisel. The wood will likely come out in splinters and tiny pieces, and you'll have to grind through the final layer of wood that's bonded to the glass.

I used 40-grit flap discs on my grinder. I used about 30 discs to do my entire hull - I was buying cheap-ish discs from Amazon by the 10-pack. Not sure if I could have pushed the discs longer than I did or if more expensive discs would last longer.

Grind until it's a uniform looking surface. You'll want to knock the roving texture down so the surface is flat-ish. If there is an area where there is a delamination, as you grind you will see it as a white/light colored patch. Keep grinding until you burst the air pocket that formed the delamination, then fair the area out with the surrounding areas. Go slow at first so you don't grind through your hull. If you stop seeing the fiberglass roving pattern and start seeing colored gelcoat, stop immediately.

Here is how my hull looked after my first round of grinding. Even the areas I was chasing delamination, you can see that I still have the roving pattern in those deeper ground spots.

 

[kcassells]

What area are you calling the last pc.? If it's the center pc. in the pic. score it with a grinder or Sawzall into a grid formation. Then go in with a wide flat chisel. Probably finish off the last with a grinder or belt sander.

 

[Utt2033]

Sorry I've been super busy with work and the family. I have managed to squeeze in some time here and there to work on the boat. I got floor removed, all foam out, stringers all removed in 1 peice, and the main section of transom out in 1 peice. Now I am having a hard time trying to figure out how I'm going to get the last peice of transom wood out. Any advice would be appreciated! I have lots of pictures also if anyone is interested I. Seeing more or specific parts of projectView attachment 350518View attachment 350519View attachment 350520View attachment 350521View attachment 350522View attachment 350523

Just keep all pics coming on this project I have a 1986 stratos and hull # says it’s a 179v but colors on its and mine are exactly the same so when I have to tear mine down and I’m sure I will have to after I got it and started cleaning it out seemed like it was a ‘oak tree find’ rather than a old barn find dude I got it from just got it running and that was it this is my first boat to own and fixing little at time noticed other day the pluwwodover front live well and under front post seat rotted and fell into live well and thanks for all u post that helps rest of us newbies out