Fix here, or go all in...

[racerone]

See post #14 ?

 

[aspeck]

You are going to put a lot of time and energy into this project and more than $2k! You price out the materials, then the PPE (you will need that when grinding/sanding … trust me), then the grinders that you burn up from the fiberglass dust. And don’t forget that you underestimated the materials by about 75%.

I don’t mean to sound negative, because if you do this right you will learn so much and have a boat that will fill you with pride and smiles for years to come. You will never get your money out of it, but you can get a lot of pleasure and satisfaction. But don’t jump into this without realistic expectations. It will be hard. It will be time consuming. It will be expensive. But pleasures galore if you do it right.

 

[BWR1953]

...Im going to take a crack at doing it myself...

 

[BWR1953]

Seriously though, it's easy to waste a lot of time and money on these kinds of restorations. How much of your life are you willing to give up to fix an old boat that won't be worth the money you put into it? Many people underestimate how long it will take to get their boats splashed after starting the project. Some folks on here have taken nearly ten years. With my Kingfisher project, I did a quick and dirty refurb on it and got it on the water in just 3 months. Should have stopped right there and just enjoyed my time fishing. But no, after a couple years, I started a complete bottom up restoration and it took 3.5 years to get it splashed. Time that I could have used to spend with my family out on the water in the first iteration.

With my Chieftain, it's still sitting in the yard almost 10 years after I started and I've essentially given up on the thing. And it was my "dream" boat.

Time is not replaceable and even though my boats were "easy" aluminum boats, it still took way too long and I'll never get that time back. At 71, I have no more such time to waste on fixing up old boats. Nope.

 

[OwenDR11]

Problem is I would need the boat done by Spring. Im also keeping an eye out for a good hull with a blown motor to just swap as well. Couple ideas floating around I guess. We'll see what happens.

 

[MikeSchinlaub]

Sorry I haven't been chiming in here, the site has been down for me all day for some reason.

I don't mean to be a buzzkill, but I guarantee that if you take this on yourself it won't be ready by spring. If, for some reason, you absolutely have to have a boat by spring, look for another one in working condition.

I agree that ppe is a must have. You'll be working with hazardous chemicals, fumes, high speed spinning grinding discs throwing debris, and other fun things.

If you still think you want to take this on, ask for advice constantly. It's a lot easier to ask before you screw up.

As far as doing some yourself and having a shop finish, I think I would be comfortable with someone doing the woodwork and grinding themselves and doing the glass myself. If that is your choice, talk about it with your shop. It could save you a considerable amount in labor.

What kind of skill set and tools do you have?

 

[OwenDR11]

Sorry I haven't been chiming in here, the site has been down for me all day for some reason.

I don't mean to be a buzzkill, but I guarantee that if you take this on yourself it won't be ready by spring. If, for some reason, you absolutely have to have a boat by spring, look for another one in working condition.

I agree that ppe is a must have. You'll be working with hazardous chemicals, fumes, high speed spinning grinding discs throwing debris, and other fun things.

If you still think you want to take this on, ask for advice constantly. It's a lot easier to ask before you screw up.

As far as doing some yourself and having a shop finish, I think I would be comfortable with someone doing the woodwork and grinding themselves and doing the glass myself. If that is your choice, talk about it with your shop. It could save you a considerable amount in labor.

What kind of skill set and tools do you have?

Im an Industrial Millwright and repair/restore classic cars as a side business so I like to think I'm alright working with my hands. The shop is saying around 5K if I gut the boat myself. There's a 1996 Four Winns 170 I'm looking at tomorrow. 2 boats would be nice I said the same thing with classic cars...its a slippery slope

 

[MikeSchinlaub]

Im an Industrial Millwright and repair/restore classic cars as a side business so I like to think I'm alright working with my hands. The shop is saying around 5K if I gut the boat myself. There's a 1996 Four Winns 170 I'm looking at tomorrow. 2 boats would be nice I said the same thing with classic cars...its a slippery slope

Well I think it's safe to say you have the tools and ability.

I think you should be fine doing everything but the glass. That's a lot of glass to be doing all at once, and it's not very forgiving. Once you catalyze the resin, you're there until you're done, and it doesn't care if you're ready for it to set up or not.

 

[OwenDR11]

Well I think it's safe to say you have the tools and ability.

I think you should be fine doing everything but the glass. That's a lot of glass to be doing all at once, and it's not very forgiving. Once you catalyze the resin, you're there until you're done, and it doesn't care if you're ready for it to set up or not.

Thanks for the tip! It would be a fun project to learn on I think. Even if I do end up with a new boat, I would like to hold on to my tri hull and fix it up. It's a great fishing boat. Cruising around not so much especially out on Lake Erie

 

[Scott Danforth]

The boat in my sig is a good example of a typical restoration. Most are 3-5 year projects

 

[Pmt133]

I gutted mine started to finish in ~6 months. I also re-rigged it as far as controls, wiring, fuel tank and plumbing.

At any rate, I still have to upholster the cabin and pull the bow rail and replace the stanchions and reseal the windshield. I also have a leak around the transom that needs addressed so the engine needs to come out.

Beyond that, I used nearly all of my 35 gallons of resin. There is about 3 gallons left and I had accumulated maybe 2 gallons of waste. (Little bits left from batches when you mix a little too much). I have maybe 7 yards of 1708 left. I under shot my plywood order by 2 sheets, I way overestimated how much CSM I'd use. I didn't order enough cabosil and milled fibers. My original estimate for how much I would need was actually correct for both those after I tallied the reorders...

I also reused as much scrap wood as I could for other parts of the project. Be it seat boxes, mounts, supports etc. Due to the irregularities in shapes... there's going to be scrap. No way around it.

 

[OwenDR11]

It sounds like the best option for me would be to get a new boat and fix this one on the side. I also came across a 1960s runabout in need of an engine. I think 90hp might be overkill for it though.

 

[garbageguy]

...a fun project to learn on I think. Even if I do end up with a new boat, I would like to hold on to my tri hull and fix it up. It's a great fishing boat. Cruising around not so much especially out on Lake Erie

I think so too. Ya, we had so much fun on our tri-hulls. Sounds like you go boating in familiar territory.

 

[OwenDR11]

So I'm just about ready to seperate the cap. It's all loose except the transom. I can run a knife blade between the cap everywhere but it won't pop loose. Any ideas? I don't really want to damage anything.

 

[MikeSchinlaub]

First, take the straps off of the hand rails. They might just rip out. When we take caps off, we either run a long strap under the cap from side to side, or place a board in some openings and lift from there with a strap. Basically, you want to lift from under the fiberglass, in places where there is good structural support. You need to lift from the front, middle, and rear. Those dashes in the middle will cause a lot of bow, and we usually use a long strap running under them.

Get a good picture of the inside, standing at the rear. I expect those dashes to be attached to kick boards, which are then screwed to the floor. I can't say what else might be attached from this angle

 

[OwenDR11]

First, take the straps off of the hand rails. They might just rip out. When we take caps off, we either run a long strap under the cap from side to side, or place a board in some openings and lift from there with a strap. Basically, you want to lift from under the fiberglass, in places where there is good structural support. You need to lift from the front, middle, and rear. Those dashes in the middle will cause a lot of bow, and we usually use a long strap running under them.

Get a good picture of the inside, standing at the rear. I expect those dashes to be attached to kick boards, which are then screwed to the floor. I can't say what else might be attached from this angle

It looks like everything is loose except the rear. Nothing holding the dash or kickboard to the floor.

 

[MikeSchinlaub]

I can think of three things.

1. It could just be that as you're lifting, the cap is bowing, making the front and rear clamp onto the hull. It might just take some prying while you're lifting to pop it loose.

2. Those kinds of splash wells are often attached to the transom with thickened resin. You'll have to really make sure that it's cut free all around and inside.

3. Maybe just a broken screw you missed? You'd be surprised what one little piece of screw will pick up.

 

[MikeSchinlaub]

Also, I would really recommend a long strap under the dash/walkway. That's a lot of weight to be unsupported.

 

[OwenDR11]

Thanks Mike! I'll look into that on Monday, and take some proper lifting slings from work to lift the cap up properly. Im thinking one strap under the dash and one under the splash well. The transom has been replaced in the past (not well) and it looks like the splash wells aren't glassed in to anything.

 

[MikeSchinlaub]

Take a sawzall blade, or knife, something thin and long, and slide around between the splashwell and transom. They could have put a bunch of putty on and mashed the cap into it where you can't see.

If you can only lift two points at a time, maybe about half way forward of the walkway for the front. Since it's all connected from the dash to the nose, that should give decent support.