'90 Maxum 2100SR - restoration & conversion

[PC on the Bayou]

Hey everyone. Sorry I haven't put up any updates. I've actually been pretty side-tracked lately. I obtained a not-so-new pickup and have been spending time getting it in shape to use for a run-about and to pull the boat, haul canoes/kayaks, etc.

I tried to do some of the grinding a week or so ago; but, with this heat (100+ heat index) it is pretty miserable in coveralls. I can certainly see why projects in the southern US slow down in the heat of summer.

Anyway, I'm hoping to get "done" with the truck very soon and back on the boat. The little progress that I've made so far is to keep grinding in the motor well / bilge area to get rid of the non-laminated glass. I was able to peel some of it away rather than grinding; but I'm not sure how much will peel away from the hull easily and how much will need to be ground out.

 

[Reserector_]

I had good success using a belt sander with a hose attached. 36-grit belts.
At first I used a vacuum cleaner hooked up to it, but later found that it blows the dust through the hose on its own..I bought a cheap Harbor Freight sander and duct-taped a 1 1/2" (old) vacuum cleaner hose to the dust bag connection. Ran the hose out through the opening in the transom.

You may also be able to use a sawzall for cutting things close to flush with very little dust.

I used a shop vac outside of the boat with the hose over the gunwale when I had to.
No filter in the (again) cheap Harbor Freight vacuum. I just aimed the exhaust out over the lawn, downwind. (There was no keeping up with filters.) My neighbors are through the woods, so no problems there.

Place a large fan blowing across you to blow the dust away. This is mainly so you can see what you are doing.

You will still have to cover your body and ABSOLUTELY MUST wear a respirator. Again with the Harbor Freight stuff. $14 for a disposable respirator that lasted the entire job and is still working great.
Tyvek suits and nitrile gloves work great. Wear goggles, too. Use old sweatshirt cuffs to keep your wrists covered, because the gloves and suit won't stay overlapped.
Blow, or at least shake, the suit off before you take any of it off.

So, no. You won't be grinding in this heat, if you want to live. You may have to work on other aspects of the project until the temps drop.

 

[PC on the Bayou]

I haven't given up yet; just haven't had much time to work on the boat or many days without brutal heat.

I did get to spend a couple hours yesterday grinding. I'm about 1/2 way through the grinding away where I cut out the stringers. After that, I'll either move forward with reinstalling the transom and stringers or start grinding away the areas where I cut out the floor.

Pics soon.

 

[Reserector_]

I totally get it. Dealing with the heat here, too. Fortunately for me, I have parts of it that I can work on indoors so that when the heat lets up, I can hit the ground running.
Post some pics of your progress so far.

 

[PC on the Bayou]

Finally some cooler weather here. Spent a day last weekend grinding. I think that I am about 90% done. Plan to do the last of it this weekend and possibly go pick up some stuff to get started with the rebuilding process.

Will try to take some pics and post them.

 

[PC on the Bayou]

Rebuild "wood" plans:

Transom: 3/4 plywood glued double thick
Stringers: 3/4 plywood
Bulkheads: 3/4 plywood
Deck: 1/2 or 5/8 plywood

does this sound right to you guys? Pretty sure on everything but the deck.

 

[kcassells]

Make sure it is rated for exterior. ACX, BCX, CDX, and the plethera of other marine woods/composites.

 

[PC on the Bayou]

Also starting to think about flotation foam. I know that the 21' boat doesn't require it; but, I would like to add foam, anyway, for several reasons including safety and structural strength (e.g., support the deck better).

From my rough calculations (really rough) I'm estimating that for neutral flotation of my 3500 lb (dry weight) boat it would take about 40 sq.ft. of foam.

There's no way that 40 sq. feet will fit below the decks in my boat the way the original design was. The deck sits pretty low to the bottom of the boat with only about 8" of space at the stringers. Again, a rough calculation would only give me about 10 sq. ft. below the floor.

I may be able to make a few additional spaces for foam in the bilge area and in the bow.

I'm also thinking of adding foam in the gunwales; but this, also wouldn't give me a lot. I'm estimating maybe 20 sq. ft. max.

I was wondering if it may be worth it to raise the floor a few inches to give me some additional space under there. What do you think?

In any case, I'm thinking some foam is better than no foam.

 

[kcassells]

I'm a fan of foam. See if this helps with your calcs.
http://www.*****************/foam.html
*****************
uscomposites

 

[PC on the Bayou]

Thanks, Sir.

I'm just thinking that I see the point of a lot of folks that the bigger the boat the harder it is to use foam to float it.

 

[KJM]

No the cherry picker isnt quite enough is it? I got one I measured for a week. I just couldnt magically come up with those extra few inches.

I've heard of guys letting the air out of the tires, or even removing the wheels off the trailer to get a few extra inches. I used a chain hoist put around an iron pipe up in the attic of my garage. Let the pipe cross over about 4 roof trusses for good support. Took the engine out myself no problem at all.

 

[PC on the Bayou]

Here are a couple pictures of the grinding progress.

Looking toward the bow from the consoles.

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Looking aft from the console:

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​ ​​​​​​​
Looking at the transom:

 

[chevymaher]

I tried the letting the air out of the tires. Then the hoist wouldnt go under the trailer.

 

[PC on the Bayou]

What I ended up doing was raising the front of the boat as high as possible where the lift would still go under. My lift got it just high enough to get the engine out.

 

[Reserector_]

The deck (sole) in my 17' Caravelle was 3/4". I was able to determine that by measuring some gaps in the remaining tabbing. It seemed thick to me, but I figured the factory went with the thinnest they could get away with, so I went with 3/4".
You might be able to do some forensics of your own to determine what thickness to go with.

Foam: I calculated the volume of foam for my boat including the flotation boxes along the sides, and came up with enough buoyancy to float 1,200 lbs. The boat weighs 2,000 lbs...dry. What I hadn't considered was that the boat gets lighter as it becomes submerged. So if my boat weighs 1,100 lbs when submerged to the gunwales, it won't go to the bottom.
Determining what your boat weighs when submerged is difficult. The various materials have different
​​ bouyancies. So good luck with that.

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Foam is great for adding rigidity and structural support for decks, as well as sound deadening. I would keep the deck the same height, no need to re-engineer it. No need for foam under the gun Wales in my opinion.

 

[PC on the Bayou]

Looks like my pictures back on post #72 didn't load up properly; so, here they are again. I think that I am done grinding for now and ready to go back in with the transom and stringers. Loving this cooler weather!!

Here is a picture of the bow section:




Here is a look at the aft area:




Got my package in the mail (epoxy resin and cabosil) this week. Probably going to the lumber store to get some plywood and titebond this afternoon to cut out the new transom and stringers.

My original stringers were only about 5 inches tall; so to make it easier on myself, I'm going to cut my plywood at 10" before I glue up the scarfs (with epoxy). That will give me some mistake room in cutting them out and shaping them for the bottom of the boat. Once I have the curve cut, I'll trim them down to the proper overall height.

I'll probably make a run to the marine shop in Gulfport next weekend to pick up the first batch of CSM, 1708, resin, etc.. I found that I can get it there for less than or no more than US Composites when you add in the costs of shipping and hazmat from them. I like to support the local (or local area) businesses, too.

 

[PC on the Bayou]

Another question for the gurus, too. I know I am making the stringers out of 3/4 ply. What do most of you use for bulkheads, 3/4, 5/8, 1/2?

 

[Baylinerchuck]

3/4” is what I did since I had it left over after I cut out the transom. IMO any of the sizes you mention will be fine. Once everything is glassed together, it’ll be incredibly strong no matter what you choose, or have on hand.

 

[Reserector_]

The after-grinding photos look surprisingly close to my Caravelle at that stage.
Nice work so far, by the way. The scarf fixture is neat.
You're lucky to live in an area that sells boat stuff. Not Laurel, Mississippi. Nothing wrong with Laurel, just no boating resources.