93 Crownline 250; she 'was' dirty, but now shes clean and SPLASHED!!

[Scott Danforth]

I would use nida core panels myself (or one of the other honeycomb GRP panels.

 

[Mikeopsycho]

Scott may have an idea there, although I'm not familiar with these panels. I'd go with one solid piece of 3/4" plywood myself. It will be lighter than what you had, and you'll know it's good and strong for dancing and what not :whoo:. And you have it on hand. :happy:

 

[bigdirty]

update time!
Its been a busy time, but I managed to get my first boat ride in last weekend... a friends 'test run' but hey, I was on the water. He put in a new steering cable and assembly and wanted to take it for a cruise, and it was a beauty day so I wasnt gona turn it down. Second pic is a masive crane putting sailboats in at the marina next to the public launch ramp. (they hire them for a weekend to drop everyone in.. was a bit nuts down there..)
yayyy!!

On to my itchy job after that fun..
First, I made a makeshift grinding booth in the boat shed, behind the boat..

Worked well, very little mess made it past the poly sheet into the shop or the boat..

?

Decided to go with a grid pattern, partialy because it turns out I didnt have a big enough piece of ply left to do it in one piece.. and also I like the idea of the wood being held to the underside of the hatch by the glass, as well as the pl glue I used to stick it there with. Its ended up about half the weight as well. The composite panels are quite pricey, and for this little job (and being non structural to the boat) I felt good ol plywood would do the trick.

Had to make a quick 'fixture' for weight, as a few of the strips of ply had a bow and were not sitting flat.

Last few days I got tied up with other things, one of which was a surprise birthday gathering for me last night. I was a bit confused at first when several co-workers, and other friends, just 'randomly' showed up at my house after work.. and they showed up with beer and bbq fixings, so needless to say, I didn't get anything boat related done.. :laugh: but it was a nice break and a good time...

I got back to it tonite and laid some glass over the hatch.. yup, its a bit of a mess, but the only thing thats gona see it is the engine.. so I'm not to worried.

Getting excited now, I talked to my fiberglass guy today and my platform should be ready for Saturday... and the new holding tank is coming friday.. so I think this weekend might be a bit crazy for me.. :lol: hopefully the planets align, the universe leaves me be for a while, and I can get this old girl ready for splash by months end...

 

[tpenfield]

If only Crownline would build them the way you re-build them :thumb:

 

[GWPSR]

Purty work

 

[Mikeopsycho]

Ohhhhhh, now I get it , and I like it! Very nice! :thumb:

 

[bigdirty]

Thanks guys Knocked off the excess glass and gave it a quick sand/grind on the edges. Need to pick up some paint tomorrow and finish it up. Did a test fit in the boat though, it sits just right and is SOLID to walk and stand on.. but there's a problem..... Now the other side doesn't feel so great by comparison.. dang it.. :lol: It will do for this year but Ill likely rebuilt it the same, if I keep the boat after this season.

 

[Scott Danforth]

you know its going to bug you...... might as well do it now.

 

[bigdirty]

You are right, its going to bug me.. :lol: but there is so much more on my to do list over the next few weeks, its going on the back burner for now. Got the waste tank and installed it this weekend, painted/cleaned up the engine bay, and got some minor things sorted out with electrics... But the platform is delayed until mid week now, I guess my fiberglass guy was running low on resin, (didn't get his order on time..) so he didn't want to start on the top side and run out part way through.. Hopefully by next weekend I'll be bolting that on, figuring out support bars for it, and then its just a matter of re-installing the drive and cleaning/buffing up the hull... throw the canvas and bars on and she should be ready to splash.

 

[Scott Danforth]

You are right, its going to bug me.. :lol: but there is so much more on my to do list over the next few weeks, its going on the back burner for now. Got the waste tank and installed it this weekend, painted/cleaned up the engine bay, and got some minor things sorted out with electrics... But the platform is delayed until mid week now, I guess my fiberglass guy was running low on resin, (didn't get his order on time..) so he didn't want to start on the top side and run out part way through.. Hopefully by next weekend I'll be bolting that on, figuring out support bars for it, and then its just a matter of re-installing the drive and cleaning/buffing up the hull... throw the canvas and bars on and she should be ready to splash.

sounds like you have an hour or two in the middle to get the other hatch done.... LOL

 

[bigdirty]

Well... been a while... this will be a small update, pics and more info to follow. Short story long, I've had some setbacks.. the fiberglass guy screwed me up pretty bad, and the platform is a mess.... its STILL not done... then today it came to this; I got told to F off and finish it myself, and hung up on.. :lol: I'll explain the whole story later.. but it doesn't really matter anymore. I've recently made some adjustments to my finances, and put a new plan into place.. The crownline is a good boat, and I've done a lot of work to her.. so hopefully someone else can enjoy it now, cause she's for sale. I have a deal in the works for something that I just couldn't pass up for the price... and if all goes well, I will be in the water next weekend.... in a Formula 27pc with twin 350v8s and b3 drives... :laugh:

 

[zool]

Sounds like a nice upgrade BD!................................if you pull it all off, we get to see whats needed......you know there will be something "needed" ...

 

[tpenfield]

Well... been a while... this will be a small update, pics and more info to follow. Short story long, I've had some setbacks.. the fiberglass guy screwed me up pretty bad, and the platform is a mess.... its STILL not done... then today it came to this; I got told to F off and finish it myself, and hung up on.. :lol: I'll explain the whole story later.. but it doesn't really matter anymore. I've recently made some adjustments to my finances, and put a new plan into place.. The crownline is a good boat, and I've done a lot of work to her.. so hopefully someone else can enjoy it now, cause she's for sale. I have a deal in the works for something that I just couldn't pass up for the price...

and if all goes well, I will be in the water next weekend.... in a Formula 27pc with twin 350v8s and b3 drives... :laugh:

welcome to the 'family' . . . sorry to hear about the swim platform mishap. Check out the Formula really well, you know the places to look, based on your experience with the Crownie.. Take a look at AllDogde's thread on this transom & Bulkhead replacement. What model year 27 PC are you looking at?

 

[bigdirty]

what hell.... I posted this afternoon, then later there were two (a double post) and NOW the original reply is GONE.. Anyway... The Formula is a 1994, and she seams in very good shape.. well taken care of, and always had regular maintenance...looked it over with a friend, and the seller wasn't there so we could poke around and talk freely. It needs cleaning, and a few little atheistic things.. but for the price, I couldn't pass it up.. and its going to be summerized and checked over before I pick it up Friday, so she should be 'turn key' for me... I assume SOMETHING will go wrong, but that's boats.. :lol: I post some pics Friday..

 

[Mark72233]

Sweet deal BD and welcome to the Thunderbird Formula family.

 

[Mikeopsycho]

So I guess you're putting the original swimgrid back on the Crownline? Bummer about the fiberglass guy! Anyway, onward to better things. Looking forward to pics of the Formula.