Procraft 1900 bass boat restoration

[Lostkause420]

Found some soft spots on the floor after digging a little deeper you guessed it rotten stringers and transom. So a full restoration is needed. I am planning on it being about 20 gal of epoxy and a couple rolls of 1708. I am using marine grade plywood for all repairs.
Now the questions. I will be doing this all in the back yard so what could I use to split the cap. Has anyone built an a frame structure to support it or do you think 4 or 5 people could lift it off after framing underneath it? My initial thoughts were to build like a swing set frame out of 12 ft 2x4s and use a come along to lift then pull the trailer out from under it. Also what have people done to support the hull from flexing so the cap will fit back on easier.

 

[Chris1956]

Epoxy is overkill. Polyester resin is fine. Use 1-1/2 oz mat to fill voids. Use 10oz cloth for high strength repairs.

I have never pulled the cap off of a boat, however, I expect the lifting cradle will need to be tailored to the strength of the cap. My speedboat has a very thin (weak) cap. It just covers the bottom mold and contains just the splashwell, front deck and gunwales.
My runabout has a much stronger and heavier cap, which contains deck sections, consoles etc.

Can you do it without pulling the cap? If the whole interior is native to the bottom mold, maybe you can leave the cap on. Transoms can be done from the outside as well.

 

[Lostkause420]

I'm pretty sure the cap will have to come we off to remove and replace the stringers. The interior and livewells are all attached to the cap. I know it's not going to be a fun job. But very rewarding and getting my 15yr old off his video games to help. I debated on poly but the strength and ease of epoxy is worth the cost. For me at least.

 

[Chris1956]

Ease of epoxy? Not sure what that means. Poly resin can harden in minutes if you mix it correctly. Epoxy can take hours, especially in cold weather. That will slow down your rebuild.

Amazon has gallons of poly resin for $40. Your boat was made with poly resin. Why is it you need epoxy?

 

[todhunter]

Check my thread out starting here for pictures of what I did. I used four 2x4's between the cap and hull, then built a frame to set that on. I had 7 friends come over and the 8 of us each grabbed the end of a 2x4 and walked the cap off the boat and onto the stand. It sat like that in my back yard for about 9 months while I did the structural repairs to the hull.

I just did my repairs on my bunk trailer. I measured hull width (and the width inside the cap) every foot and made sure I was correct before laying glass - I had to use ratchet straps to pull the hull into shape a couple of times. The correct method would be to build a stand-alone cradle, or build a cradle on the trailer to hold the hull in shape.

I agree with Chris - I would go with poly resin. Cheaper, you can laminate without sanding, it typically has a much faster cure time, and you can control the rate of cure - all things that cannot be done with epoxy. But, if you're set on epoxy, it can be done that way.

 

[Lostkause420]

I'm new to this and from what I read on here most people suggested epoxy so I ordered 4.5 gal last week. I know I should have asked questions before hand. And what I meant by ease of epoxy is that there is no csm involved and fumes are allot less. From what most people have done do my estimates on material seem about right. Also planning on this taking a couple months to do does that seem to ambitious?

 

[buxmj]

Amount of time needed is relative to how many curve balls get thrown at you in the process, I have had several. I would definitely say take your time and do it right. I have read it a few times on here and it is a good thing to remember, it isn't like a car that you can pull off to the side of the road, if something structural goes wrong in the middle of a lake that could be bad and not just for the boat... knowing it will be safe and stronger than factory is probably the most important benefit of doing it yourself.

 

[todhunter]

Being that you're new to this, you're probably going to waste some material due to learning curve and over-use. You may end up needing 25+ gallons of resin. For my 19 ft boat restoration, I used about 35 yards of 50" wide 1708 (including wasted material). It all really depends on what your layup schedule looks like and how heavy-handed you are with resin. Don't forget to count resin use in all the peanut butter (thickened resin) you'll need to make for fillets. I've never worked with epoxy as a fiberglass resin, so I can't speak to the difference in fumes.

A couple of months seems ambitious. As Buck said, curve balls on the project and life getting in the way can and will delay the project. My restoration was my first time delving into fiberglass boat work, and it took 18 months. I took about 3 months off in the middle of the restoration due to life getting in the way, but there were several weeks if not several months that I was clocking over 40 hours per week on my project, and it still took 18 months. Initially I thought I could do it in 6 months. If you're using epoxy you'll have longer waits for layups to cure and you'll have to sand between layups, which will take more time.

 

[Lostkause420]

Here are some pics of what I'm working with

 

[Lostkause420]

A rough material list and cost
4.5 gal epoxy resin x5 @ $539.00ea= $2700
4×8 marine plywood x 4 @ $89.00ea = $400.00
1708 mat 50"x 10yds x3 @$80.00 ea= $240.00
Cabosil thickener 5 cal = $120.00
Poor in foam 2lb kits x2 @ $150ea= $300.00
Total costof materials $3760.00
Am I missing anything?

 

[todhunter]

Add several hundred dollars for consumables: rollers, brushes, plastic sheeting, mixing cups, mixing sticks, paint tray liners, piping bags, respirator filters, gloves, tyvek suits, flap discs, multi-tool blades, contractor bags, etc.

 

[Lostkause420]

Check my thread out starting here for pictures of what I did. I used four 2x4's between the cap and hull, then built a frame to set that on. I had 7 friends come over and the 8 of us each grabbed the end of a 2x4 and walked the cap off the boat and onto the stand. It sat like that in my back yard for about 9 months while I did the structural repairs to the hull.

I just did my repairs on my bunk trailer. I measured hull width (and the width inside the cap) every foot and made sure I was correct before laying glass - I had to use ratchet straps to pull the hull into shape a couple of times. The correct method would be to build a stand-alone cradle, or build a cradle on the trailer to hold the hull in shape.

I agree with Chris - I would go with poly resin. Cheaper, you can laminate without sanding, it typically has a much faster cure time, and you can control the rate of cure - all things that cannot be done with epoxy. But, if you're set on epoxy, it can be done that way.

Thats one hell of a job you did on your rebuild. Looks amazing.

 

[todhunter]

Thats one hell of a job you did on your rebuild. Looks amazing.

Thanks! Hoping to enjoy the fruits of my labor this summer. It just shows that any old joe with enough time and money can restore a boat...especially with the help of the intelligence housed on this forum.

 

[Lostkause420]

Got all the cables unhooked wiring out of the way and rope out of the rub rail. Going to build the stand for the outboard tonight and hopefully get the motor off tomorrow. Then removing the million screws connecting the cap to the hull and get that off this weekend. Any advice on the problem spots when separating the cap?