Restoration: 1988 Wellcraft 170 Classic 3.0l Mercruiser Alpha 1 gen 1

[tschmidty]

Re: Restoration: 1988 Wellcraft 170 Classic 3.0l Mercruiser Alpha 1 gen 1

I wouldn't be crazy about a 4x4 across the top, it would most likely be fine, but I'd probably go with 2 2x6's, it will be much stiffer and should be about the same price I'd think. And be very secure bracing the 2x4's, some plywood that's wide enough to be able to put 3 screws in to brace it would be best something like:

/|\
---- <- Plywood (or whatever, the important part is wide enough to get at least 2 but better 3 screws in it)
/ | \

 

[Rellik546]

Re: Restoration: 1988 Wellcraft 170 Classic 3.0l Mercruiser Alpha 1 gen 1

i like the 2x6 idea, i have scraps too, ill just screw em to gether. and lots of bracing...dont wanna drop that bad boy on ur toe...or uh me.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Restoration: 1988 Wellcraft 170 Classic 3.0l Mercruiser Alpha 1 gen 1

Hey Rellik

Are you adverse to calling a wrecker?? Might be the best 60 bucks you ever spent?? At least check and see what they would charge you.

 

[Rellik546]

Re: Restoration: 1988 Wellcraft 170 Classic 3.0l Mercruiser Alpha 1 gen 1

i will do that. i actually have a friend that works for a tow company 2 towns over...maybe i can get him to do it late night for pocket cash...or figure out a way to use my AAA seeming how i pay them yearly for nothing...i have a new car with free roadside assistance...however my mom insists that i have AAA(birthday gift) even knowing i have roadside assistance...sigh...MOMS.... anywho. it may be a viable solution. but if it costs 60 each time. i could just build something for 20 and rent a chain pully winch thing-a-ma-bob

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Restoration: 1988 Wellcraft 170 Classic 3.0l Mercruiser Alpha 1 gen 1

Yeah well get it out now and build your thing-a-ma-bob when the snow melts and she's all back together.

 

[fat fanny]

Re: Restoration: 1988 Wellcraft 170 Classic 3.0l Mercruiser Alpha 1 gen 1

Harbor frieght has a cherry picker on sale right now for around 120 I think and with that you always have it just an option but the tow truck idea is probably the best option for your hieght issue besides building your own. No nearby trees ??? At this rate you and your bro will be in the water in no time!! Good job.

 

[Rellik546]

Re: Restoration: 1988 Wellcraft 170 Classic 3.0l Mercruiser Alpha 1 gen 1

hey guys. so after scraping off the decals and pin stripe ive decided that im going to wet sand the hull, its got plenty of scratches and that one gouge. ill fix that. im not too concerned about getting out all the scratches. i just want to restore the main color back to blue, not chaulky blue. i think im just going to start with 800 grit, and work up to about 1200 then hit it would a compound then polish then wax. i bought some 3m imperial wet or dry 800 today, and im going to test sand a spot to see how it looks. i cant seem to find any place around here to sell anything hiring than 800 grit.

ill probably order it online.

my question tho. its a 17 foot boat. i want to do the entire hull. should i rent a compressor and a random orbital sander, and wet sand it up to 1200 or 1500 using adhesive backed sanding pads. or should i hand sand with a block?

my other question is. depending on which techinique i use, how many sheets of each grit should i get... assuming i get the 11"x9" sheets. or if i get the 5" or 6" orbital pads.

i think the 11x9 come in packs of 5. i was thinking 2 or 3 packs would be good. but if i need more i can order them in packs of 25. should i stick with the 3m stuff? or is there something better or similar thats alil cheaper?

 

[fat fanny]

Re: Restoration: 1988 Wellcraft 170 Classic 3.0l Mercruiser Alpha 1 gen 1

Allot of auto body and paint supliers carry what you'll need. And just a thought but once the engines out you could flip the hull (sit it on saw horses)and sand away then buff I don't know how the weather will affect this process but it sure would be allot easier on the back and you could get the entire hull before starting your glass work. I helped a buddy wet sand his rig once and we used sections of pool noddles as pads they worked great on flat surfaces and contours we didn't have to worry about paper he works for a sand paper manufacturer went through allot though or was that the beer don't remember. As long as you keep it wet with soa[y water it seems to last awhile though it's allot of work.

 

[Rellik546]

Re: Restoration: 1988 Wellcraft 170 Classic 3.0l Mercruiser Alpha 1 gen 1

how long were ur sections of pool noodles...did u have multiple sheets of sandpaper attached to each one? or just big enough for one 9x11 sheet

also 3m has 2 different weights, a weight, and c weight. i believe the c is heavier and last longer but the a is for more fine sanding. so ill probably stick to c weight papers up to 1000, then switch to a weight for 1200 and 1500. then hit it with compound, polish, finish it with wax

 

[Rellik546]

Re: Restoration: 1988 Wellcraft 170 Classic 3.0l Mercruiser Alpha 1 gen 1

i did all my calculations today and called the glass store to figure out the amount of poly resin i would need. i am getting 12 yards of csm, 12 yards of 24oz non woven double bias stitchmat. and 11 gallons of poly. supplies, couple bubble buster rollers, regular nap rollers, brushes, dispenser, mix cups, gloves, squeeges 70 bux

1 sheet 3/4"mdo good both sides 56
2-1"x8"x10' 20
glass with supplies $500.00 (resin and mat 523, supplies 77)
wood $76

Stringer Total 576

i have a question.. my boat was constructed with only csm, and they didnt cap the stringers. only up 4" and 4" to the hull. could i just wrap the stringer twice in csm? i feel this would be stronger than the original. im thinking about doing both wraps in csm instead of csm then 1708. what are your thought? i only ask because my budget just took a hit . im okay with doing the same as the manufacturer as this worked for 25 years. and it only looks like they used 1..maybe 2 layers on the side of the stringers...again they did not cap or wrap the stringer.

 

[Rellik546]

Re: Restoration: 1988 Wellcraft 170 Classic 3.0l Mercruiser Alpha 1 gen 1

or could i use 12" biaxle tape on either side. then just wrap one time in csm? will this be strong enough for my boat. its only 140 hp and weighs 1950lbs

 

[fat fanny]

Re: Restoration: 1988 Wellcraft 170 Classic 3.0l Mercruiser Alpha 1 gen 1

Noddles were slightly smaller than the full sheet of paper and like I said they worked great just remember your arms will be killing you after this ordeal! Hey but your young!!!!!!

 

[Rellik546]

Re: Restoration: 1988 Wellcraft 170 Classic 3.0l Mercruiser Alpha 1 gen 1

I ran into a budget issue. What is the minimum layup schedule that I can use that will still be safe? 2 layups of csm on both sides? 2 csm wraps? I feel 1 isn't strong enough. Can I use woven roving and csm instead of 1708? 1708 is 9.3 a yard woven is only 4 as well as csm for 50" width

Any feedback would help

 

[Rellik546]

Re: Restoration: 1988 Wellcraft 170 Classic 3.0l Mercruiser Alpha 1 gen 1

called wellcraft today and asked some question about the general build for my boat. he said 2 layers of csm would be fine one tape and one wrap. he said 12" 1708 tape then wrapped with csm with overlap on the hull would be bullet proof on my 17'. he also said that they just used csm tape to do it.. which was odvious because the stringers were not capped at all.

So i think im safe with my methods. i know alot of you guys over build, and i would like to as well but my recent financial hit almost made it so i couldnt splash at all this year. with this new method ill still be able to hit the water and if i come across alil more money before i get the deck on ill through a 3rd layup on there .

 

[fat fanny]

Re: Restoration: 1988 Wellcraft 170 Classic 3.0l Mercruiser Alpha 1 gen 1

Rellik I would have sent the rep from Wellcraft a pic of what you discovered when you pulled up the deck and asked him what happened to the wrap on your strings.

 

[Rellik546]

Re: Restoration: 1988 Wellcraft 170 Classic 3.0l Mercruiser Alpha 1 gen 1

Well it's been a couple of weeks due to crappy weather here in western mass. Snow/ice. Followed by a weeks worth of rain. Today marked the first day of spring break from my college and it's suppose to be 50 and sunny all week (T-shirt weather). I got in the boat and measured to the top of the transom and the height of the motor, we decided to give the engine hoist a shot. It was an inch to low. But I had my bro lift the now to drop the stern to clear the transom. All in all it took about 30 min to remove the outdrive and motor and taking pictures. I'll post pictures later. After removing the outdrive and u joint. A found an oring. About 1" in diameter in the exhaust bellow. Not sure where it goes. Possibly the drive shaft into the motor? I'll break out the manual. Tom we will remove the gimbal housing and I believe it's called the transom shield? On the inner side of the transom. I checked the gimbal bearing and it turns smooth and freely and no blue discoloration. I plan on marking up and cutting out the engine bulkhead and stringers, and transferring a template to the plywood which has dried for a week so far inside my apartment leaning over the iron steam radiator. I'll upload pics when I get home

 

[Rellik546]

Re: Restoration: 1988 Wellcraft 170 Classic 3.0l Mercruiser Alpha 1 gen 1

Today we managed to get the gimbal housing and transom shield removed. i cut off some of the inner skin to look at the transom. i took lots of pics, the bottom half is rotten to the stringers. i was thinking about just cutting it out and installing a new piece. but after further inspection the upper wood is wet, its in good conditions just wet...so thats just a disaster waiting to happen. so im going to redo the entire stringer.


Did the factories normally glass in the transom? mine was glassed in to the floor. but under the floor wasnt glassed at all, just wood. so it wasnt glassed to the hull at all, another reason why the transom is rotted other than the outdrive hole. i think in the new design, im going to glass it into the hull. i was also thinking about capping the bottom six inches of the plywood, so water couldnt get in... only design flaw i see there is that if water gets into the ply from thru hull bolts it wont be able to drain... if it would even drain in the first place. also we plan to over drill all holes and seal with epoxy, then redrill so bolt will fit, and seal with 5200 when installing. also plan on sealing the outdrive hole the same way. seal with epoxy, then a coat of 5200.

what do you guys think? either way im glassing in the entire transom to the gunwhales and hull to seal it off.

im late for a dinner date ill post pictures tonight.

 

[Rellik546]

Re: Restoration: 1988 Wellcraft 170 Classic 3.0l Mercruiser Alpha 1 gen 1

In the above picture you can see the Oring layin in the bottom of the bellow, any ideas?

Standard engine hoist worked just fine! just had to lift the bow 2 inches for clearance.

in the upper and lower picture you can see a small hole in the bottom of the outdrive hole. the plywood chipped out to where the thru bolt was allowing water to soak up the ply. the bolts on both sides were corroded

[/IMG]

 

[Rellik546]

Re: Restoration: 1988 Wellcraft 170 Classic 3.0l Mercruiser Alpha 1 gen 1

You can see how rotten the bottom of transom is. So its getting replaced

The whole hull almost gutted, we left parts of the stringers in for support so it wont sag. Its on a bunk trailer

In this picture you can see 2 things. This is where the transom meets the hull. first there is no glass (this is under the deck). this is between the gunwhale and stringer... and 2 it isnt tabbed or glassed into the floor. is this normal?

 

[Rellik546]

Re: Restoration: 1988 Wellcraft 170 Classic 3.0l Mercruiser Alpha 1 gen 1

Hey guys. I'm currently in my boat and have managed to remove the transom in 1 piece. However on one side a layer of plywood. Just 1 ply out of the 6 that made the ply is stuck to the glass. I tried using the grinding wheels on the angle grinder with no luck, now I'm using a chisel and slowly picking small pieces if wood off.

Is there an easier way? At this rate I won't finish till mid night and it's only 330