'90 Maxum 2100SR - restoration & conversion

[PC on the Bayou]

Making good progress considering only working on her on the weekends.

This weekend, I completed prep of the fuel tank bay. Here is a pic of the gelcoated bay.



I also cut my neoprene pads to go under the tank and on the 8 supports that you can see in the pic.

I am prepping the cover panel (backside CSM), 3 cross supports togo above the tank, and the last 2 floor/deck sections for either side of the bilge area.

Gotta make another supply run for more CSM and gelcoat. My foam, and PB ingredients should be coming in this week from US Composites (still can't beat their prices locally on non bulky items like cabosil and milled fibers, even with the shipping cost).

I also started working on the bow area a bit today while the resin is curing. Beginning to work the design out for the casting deck and battery enclosures for the trolling batteries.

Overall I feel good about the progress.

 

[todhunter]

Question for the experts or anyone with an opinion.

When building above deck items (non-structural) do you cover both sides of wood with CSM or just "paint" with thickened resin? The type of items i am talking about would be gunnel panels, etc..

I want them water proof to protect from rot.

My boat had wood that was just resin coated above deck. For the stuff that didn't get rained on, it's still in surprisingly good shape. Personally, I'll probably CSM everything, just because I've got it.

 

[todhunter]

Making good progress considering only working on her on the weekends.

This weekend, I completed prep of the fuel tank bay. Here is a pic of the gelcoated bay.

View attachment 332532

I also cut my neoprene pads to go under the tank and on the 8 supports that you can see in the pic.

I am prepping the cover panel (backside CSM), 3 cross supports togo above the tank, and the last 2 floor/deck sections for either side of the bilge area.

Gotta make another supply run for more CSM and gelcoat. My foam, and PB ingredients should be coming in this week from US Composites (still can't beat their prices locally on non bulky items like cabosil and milled fibers, even with the shipping cost).

I also started working on the bow area a bit today while the resin is curing. Beginning to work the design out for the casting deck and battery enclosures for the trolling batteries.

Overall I feel good about the progress.

Looks really good man! The gelcoat takes it to another level.

 

[Reserector_]

Resin needs at least one layer of csm to prevent cracking/checking from expansion and contraction. I suppose that if the thickened resin has enough fiber in it it would serve the same purpose.

I'm using primer and paint on all of my aboveboard parts. Most of it is upholstered or carpeted as well. My biggest concern is holding up to rain, since it won't be docked or moored. I plan to keep it garaged, so I won't live long enough to see it rot.

 

[PC on the Bayou]

Yeah, I'm leaning hard toward covering all of the wood with CSM. May look into finding some 3/4 oz matt to use just for this purpose.

 

[kcassells]

Yeah, I'm leaning hard toward covering all of the wood with CSM. May look into finding some 3/4 oz matt to use just for this purpose.

CSM alone has no strength.

 

[Reserector_]

He just wants to seal the wood parts (with resin) that are above the sole.

 

[kcassells]

Got it yup all good.

 

[mickyryan]

Question for the experts or anyone with an opinion.

When building above deck items (non-structural) do you cover both sides of wood with CSM or just "paint" with thickened resin? The type of items i am talking about would be gunnel panels, etc..

I want them water proof to protect from rot.

if not structural LIKE SIDE PANELS use pvc board wont ever rot and is very good at taking fasteners and staples for upholstery

 

[PC on the Bayou]

Sorry for no updates lately. I am still making progress, although not really fast.

Started pouring the foam under the floors. They aren't kidding that the lower temps affect the expansion. Although I had it nearly 80 degrees in the boat, the cool weather (and hull temp) made the rise significantly less than 30x. I am guessing closer to 20-25x. Had to order more foam to finish; so I am hoping for a warmer day soon to finish that job.

Started working the bilge and motor bay area while I am waiting. Drilled my holes for the Gimbal Housing and Trandom Plate remount. Then temporarily bolted in the transom plate.



I made a template for positioning the motor mounts from the Mercruiser installation drawing dimensions. I also eyeballed it against the engine and compared it to the measurements I took at removal.



Then I made my new mount wood using the template to make sure the fitup would be good. I tst fit them in place and am currently precoating the new mounts and preparing to bed them in.



I will glass them in well along with the final layer of glass in the bilge area and gelcoat the bilge area. Reminder to self, I need to order the hardware for engine reinstallation this week. Hoping to test fit the engine and final install the front motor mounts to the supports in the next week or so.

Long weekend coming up next week. Off Friday for a minor procedure with my Mrs., President's Day on the 15th, then Mardi Gras Holidays on the 16&17. Here is to hoping to make lots of progress over those 6 days.

 

[PC on the Bayou]

A few other accomplishments that I hadn't mentioned in my previous post.

Cut out the rear bulkhead for the casting deck.



Cut the first section (bow) for the casting deck & top of the anchor locker.



I am thinking about ordering some StarBoard pieces for my anchor locker cover and for access below the casting deck. I am thinking it may be a better option for the covers rather than plywood. Was looking for somewhere to get hatch trim rings, but havent found anywhere; so, i will probably fashion them with wood and glass.

 

[todhunter]

How scary was it drilling those transom plate holes?

 

[PC on the Bayou]

How scary was it drilling those transom plate holes?

Very. I had a drill jig to make sure they were perpendicular to the tansom and I used a countersink bit to help make sure to get started in the center of the old holes.

But it was still plenty scary to drill through after all of the work on the transom.

 

[todhunter]

Yeah, still trying to think through how I will do mine. I wish someone had one of the Mercruiser jigs for rent! I'm sure I'll get it figured out though.

 

[PC on the Bayou]

Yeah, still trying to think through how I will do mine. I wish someone had one of the Mercruiser jigs for rent! I'm sure I'll get it figured out though.

I bought a cheap drill angle jug from Harbor freight for drilling the holes and drilled from the outside through the original hull penetrations.

I am gonna order an alignment jog for when I put in the engine.

 

[Reserector_]

It was cool weather when I did my foam, so I bored my holes at the bow and stern, and stuck a blow dryer in one until the air came out warm from the other. I used a temp gun to check the hull temp. It got to 85° or more. I bored other holes as I went.
Once I started pouring, the heat from the foam maintained the heat in the cavity.

 

[todhunter]

For my ski locker I had my heat gun blowing 300F air into the cavity at the front for 30 minutes. I was getting ~90F air at the outlet. But I forgot to heat up the foam resin cans so I didn't get the expansion I expected on the first pour. Oops, haha.

 

[todhunter]

Also - did you do one or two coats of gelcoat on your ski locker and fuel tank bay?

 

[PC on the Bayou]

Also - did you do one or two coats of gelcoat on your ski locker and fuel tank bay?

Two coats of gelcoat.

I am gonna use the heatgun to warm things next time, too.

 

[PC on the Bayou]

Got the rest of my foam poured yesterday evening, before the cold weather hits this weekend.

Now working on fileting and tabbing the deck in and closing up all of the pour holes. Hope I can keep it warm enough over the next 5 days (Mardi Gras Holiday) to get a lot done.

No pics to show at this point, but more coming soon. Hope to get the deck (sole) completed (less gelcoat). Thinking I may do wax on the second layer of CSM so that it won't trap dirt while I buildup above the sole and get the engine in place.