lowkee
Lieutenant Commander
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2008
- Messages
- 1,890
Welcome, and feel free to ask questions and yell at me if I slack off on posting new photos and the occasional video. This thread will cover a lot of ground, and I'll try to keep as organized as possible.
Last fall I spent a whopping 1 day searching the net for my first bowrider and fell in love with this beauty right off the bat, er.. net!
At first I thought, "Maybe some new carpet, some seat covers and an engine tune up". Then it hit me, slowly, I had just entered phase one of..
The 10 steps of restoration denial:
1. That soft spot just needs a patch
2. The foam will dry out
3. It's just the deck, the stringers are fine
4. I don't have to pull the engine; I can work around it
5. The transom feels solid
6. I won't have to remove the cap, plenty of room
7. I will just buy a couple of gallons of resin
8. $1,000 is plenty for a job like this
9. I should be on the water by the end of the month
10. I need a beer! Nothing is going as planned!
Project status:
Deck/foam removal - Complete
Engine removal - Complete
Stringer removal - Complete
Transom gutting - Complete
Hull grinding - Complete
Hull sanding - Complete
Prepare transom for NidaBond - Cancelled (Built plywood transom instead)
Cut out transom - Complete
Build new transom boards - Complete
Glass in new transom - Complete
Measure and cut stringers - Complete
Measure and cut deck - Complete
Glass stringer wood - Complete
Glass deck wood - Complete
Install stringers - Complete
Install foam - Cancelled (Decided against foam)
Install deck - Complete
Pour NidaBond, re-cut transom hole - Cancelled
Flip hull - Cancelled (Lifted hull for paint instead of flipping)
Prepare hull for paint - In Progress
Prepare cap for paint - In Progress
Paint hull
Paint cap
Install engine and outdrive
Mount controls and steering
Rewire electrics
Measure and cut above deck framing
Glass above deck framing
Install above deck framing
Install captains chairs
Prepare deck for paint
Paint deck
Water trial
Measure and cut upholstery framing
Glass upholstery framing
Make upholstery cushions
Build new dashboard
(to be continued..)
Video goodies:
Intro video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXxgipQHqT0&feature=channel_page
Recap video of the tear down: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJYHUkS83XY
How To: Making a template for a new deck: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq1GA406s9c
How To: Patching a hole in a hull: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzOMlMzrLoE
Thread Summary:
In the coming months I'll be ripping her guts out, rebuilding her deck, stringers, consoles, upholstery and paint. Yes, she'll have way more into her than she'll ever be worth, but who cares, I don't plan on selling her anyhow! I'm in it for the long haul. Of course this isn't going to be easy, I had already made my first goofball mistake before winter even set in.. I didn't winterize the engine before the first freeze! The thermostat housing split in two places and required replacing. Today (hooray for warm temps again!) I managed to fire her up for the first time since that mishap.
In January I took some time during the warmer days to tear the Mercruiser 3.0 down to her bits, clean and paint everything and reassemble for the spring. Rebuilding the carb was done inside to avoid the chilly January temps. This, of course, made my wife very pleased, as the house was a pleasant gas smell for days. Come to learn, even after the indoor rebuild, there was still a flooding issue, which I misdiagnosed as a timing issue due to my doing everything at once and having no idea what I messed up on the reassembly. After a second rebuild, the old 3 liter fired up 1st try and is sounding better than she did when I put her away!
For those who may happen upon this posting looking for lessons from an expert, you're more likely to find a novice clambering his way through the dark tunnel of restoration, but you will likely take away more than a few lessons I will be learning the hard way.
Read on!
Last fall I spent a whopping 1 day searching the net for my first bowrider and fell in love with this beauty right off the bat, er.. net!
At first I thought, "Maybe some new carpet, some seat covers and an engine tune up". Then it hit me, slowly, I had just entered phase one of..
The 10 steps of restoration denial:
1. That soft spot just needs a patch
2. The foam will dry out
3. It's just the deck, the stringers are fine
4. I don't have to pull the engine; I can work around it
5. The transom feels solid
6. I won't have to remove the cap, plenty of room
7. I will just buy a couple of gallons of resin
8. $1,000 is plenty for a job like this
9. I should be on the water by the end of the month
10. I need a beer! Nothing is going as planned!
Project status:
Deck/foam removal - Complete
Engine removal - Complete
Stringer removal - Complete
Transom gutting - Complete
Hull grinding - Complete
Hull sanding - Complete
Prepare transom for NidaBond - Cancelled (Built plywood transom instead)
Cut out transom - Complete
Build new transom boards - Complete
Glass in new transom - Complete
Measure and cut stringers - Complete
Measure and cut deck - Complete
Glass stringer wood - Complete
Glass deck wood - Complete
Install stringers - Complete
Install foam - Cancelled (Decided against foam)
Install deck - Complete
Pour NidaBond, re-cut transom hole - Cancelled
Flip hull - Cancelled (Lifted hull for paint instead of flipping)
Prepare hull for paint - In Progress
Prepare cap for paint - In Progress
Paint hull
Paint cap
Install engine and outdrive
Mount controls and steering
Rewire electrics
Measure and cut above deck framing
Glass above deck framing
Install above deck framing
Install captains chairs
Prepare deck for paint
Paint deck
Water trial
Measure and cut upholstery framing
Glass upholstery framing
Make upholstery cushions
Build new dashboard
(to be continued..)
Video goodies:
Intro video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXxgipQHqT0&feature=channel_page
Recap video of the tear down: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJYHUkS83XY
How To: Making a template for a new deck: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq1GA406s9c
How To: Patching a hole in a hull: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzOMlMzrLoE
Thread Summary:
In the coming months I'll be ripping her guts out, rebuilding her deck, stringers, consoles, upholstery and paint. Yes, she'll have way more into her than she'll ever be worth, but who cares, I don't plan on selling her anyhow! I'm in it for the long haul. Of course this isn't going to be easy, I had already made my first goofball mistake before winter even set in.. I didn't winterize the engine before the first freeze! The thermostat housing split in two places and required replacing. Today (hooray for warm temps again!) I managed to fire her up for the first time since that mishap.
In January I took some time during the warmer days to tear the Mercruiser 3.0 down to her bits, clean and paint everything and reassemble for the spring. Rebuilding the carb was done inside to avoid the chilly January temps. This, of course, made my wife very pleased, as the house was a pleasant gas smell for days. Come to learn, even after the indoor rebuild, there was still a flooding issue, which I misdiagnosed as a timing issue due to my doing everything at once and having no idea what I messed up on the reassembly. After a second rebuild, the old 3 liter fired up 1st try and is sounding better than she did when I put her away!
For those who may happen upon this posting looking for lessons from an expert, you're more likely to find a novice clambering his way through the dark tunnel of restoration, but you will likely take away more than a few lessons I will be learning the hard way.
Read on!
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