1992 Wellcraft Excel 18sx custom rebuild. Project name "Aqua Rover"

[nurseman]

yup,that's what you want.

 

[Woodonglass]

I see my name being "Dropped" in here a bunch!!! And I'm happy to say that all the advice being passed along is "Spot On"!!! Couldn't/Wouldn't have given it any better!!! Wish I'd dropped in sooner so I could have told you to cut a grid pattern in that transom to make the removal a lot easier. All the grinding and glassing advice is Great!!! At this rate I'll be in the bleachers just watching!!!:yo:

 

[Rickmerrill]

Sometimes I get this strange image of me as a parrot like in the pirate movies, just sitting up on the capin's shoulders repeating everything he hears!

 

[Jared9220]

I'm ready to start grinding so I decided to pull the boat out of the garage to do the dirty work outside. I'm really glad that I decided to do the grinding outside because the garage was already covered with white glass dust and that was just from cutting the big stuff out. I spent the day washing out and cleaning everything in the garage so that it's nice and clean for when I pull it back inside in about a week to start the fun stuff. I'll start the grinding tomorrow:grumpy:.

Today was the first time in over 4 years that my boat has been out of the garage and seen sun. I almost forgot how good the boat looks and why I bought this project all those years ago. I also got a chance to get a side-by-side pic of the boat and the Rover and I have to admit that it really got me motivated to finish this project and get the boat in the water.

Day 11





Nice and clean again!

 

[Tnstratofam]

She really does have nice lines. Like she's built for comfort, and speed. All this work you're doing is making me want to finish my other projects and get started back on the Stratos. You can't rush a good job, but you are making things happen fast. Don't let the grinding run you down. It;s all part of the process.

 

[Jared9220]

She really does have nice lines. Like she's built for comfort, and speed. All this work you're doing is making me want to finish my other projects and get started back on the Stratos. You can't rush a good job, but you are making things happen fast. Don't let the grinding run you down. It;s all part of the process.

I fell in love with the boat because of the lines. I knew 4+ years ago when I bought her that she was all rotted and it would be a long time before I ever got to put it in the water, but I knew when I finally got her done she would stand out on the lake. I know I'm moving fast now but I'm sure I'll start slowing down when I have to start opening the checkbook. Tearing everything down may be the hard part, but it's also the cheap part.

 

[nurseman]

Don't let the grinding run you down. It;s all part of the process.

+1 on that. Grinding is a backbreaking and dehydrating job, splitting it up into "sessions" makes it somewhat easier to handle, IMO.

 

[PitaBoat22]

There should be an earned title for those who have completed the grinding process on a restoration!!

 

[PitaBoat22]

Jared - what are you thinking regarding floor covering? Carpet, etc?

 

[nurseman]

There should be an earned title for those who have completed the grinding process on a restoration!!

Master of Itch?
The Don of Dusty?
President of Prickly?
The Sparkly Warrior?

 

[PitaBoat22]

I like Master of Itch.

 

[PitaBoat22]

I would like to reiterate the benefit of wearing a long sleeve shirt under the Tyvek suit, pulling the Tyvek sleeve back just a bit so the sleeve of the shirt shows at your wrist and then using duct tape to bond the two together. Not too tight around your wrists, you still need blood in your hands. Then put on the long gloves. I had been doing this until yesterday. The new Tyvek suit I bought and used yesterday had elastic around the wrists, so I thought I was good and didn't wear the long sleeve shirt and I didn't use the duct tape. However, wearing my dress shirt this morning, I can definitely tell the difference. Also, having the boots built into the Tyvek suit was definitely the way to go.

 

[Jared9220]

So I started grinding yesterday and after 2 days and about 8 hours I almost have the stern area done. I heard that the stern area was the worst part to grind so I decided to start there. I have to admit that it was a lot harder then I thought it would be. I'm not sure if I'm doing it wrong or what but it seems very difficult to grind through all the old glass and get down to the good stuff. I started looking at another thread on here that did the exact same boat and it doesn't took like he ground down as far as I did.

Also I noticed when I spray the rub rail on the outside with the water hose I can see water coming inside. Is that normal?

Day 13:



I found these small pieces of wood encased in glass when I was grinding. There are 3 on each side. In the other thread I'm following the guy left them in. Was it okay to remove them? Were they supposed to come out?

 

[kcassells]

Curiosity killed the cat! Yup I would remove it, you've gone this far right? You're call. If the wood looks like it's in great shape or not.

 

[Jared9220]

Curiosity killed the cat! Yup I would remove it, you've gone this far right? You're call. If the wood looks like it's in great shape or not.

I had planned to replace all of the wood in the boat from the beginning so it's coming out for sure, I just thought that I had all ready removed all the wood and finding these guys was a bit of a surprise. Was the wood just put there to take up space so they didn't have to use as much PB as fillet and could save some coin? Should I replace it the same way or use all PB?

 

[Rickmerrill]

As far as the rub rail leaking it's not "normal" but it's not that unusual. Builders usually put some kind of sealant in there (some even glass the hull and cap together) but they don't always do a good job if it. I'd probably pull the rub rail and reseal it but that's just me. On the little wood ribs, if in doubt, it's usually best to put it back the way it was But it is your boat so feel free to do as you see fit!

 

[nurseman]

Your call on that. You will go through an obscene amount of resin if you fill those all with PB. Wood will definitely be less expensive, just coat it well with resin and bed it in PB. That is just my opinion, one of the more experienced members may have more knowledge about that.

 

[Woodonglass]

Yup ^^^ Good Advice!

 

[Jared9220]

I have a little update, nothing big. I am about 75% done with the grinding and I only have the bow area to go. I was hoping to finish up the grinding today and get the boat back in the garage by the weekend but it's doing something it never does in south Texas, raining. I'm not complaining though, we sure can use it.

Day 17



I just realized I never posted a good side view of my boat. (shame on me )

 

[PitaBoat22]

Looking good!