Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

[joewithaboat]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

Yes I paid $3.00 a quart for Castrol and used about 11/2 bottles. And I also refuse to get into a debait on oils !

Don't care to debate really, all oil/lubes are not created equal in most peoples eyes.

Ignoring all other things... the best thing about the merc hi perf lube is it will continue to protect the internals, for a bit, if water happens to get past a seal. The plain gear oil, like you are using, turns to useless foam. Expensive parts will burn up fast. To each their own.

 

[joewithaboat]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

update: took the prop off and greased the shaft, to my surprise there was actually grease still on it! This lower unit has been a breeze

Try not to be too envious of my 5 blade in the background

I will admit... im having a bit of prop envy... Lol

 

[Tthomp3]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

The prop is sweet! A skiers dream! I got 6 boxes from Us Composites today, it was like christmas! tomorrow I'm hoping to change the motor oil, take the gunwale cushions off and start to lay in my stringers. Should i pl and then peanut butter or just use peanut butter? i shave both ready to go

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

Nice looking project . . . I am going to be doing something similar, but not as extensive, over the next few weeks.

I'm concerned about the engine being exposed to all of that dust, as shown in one of your recent pics.

 

[oops!]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

Nice looking project . . . I am going to be doing something similar, but not as extensive, over the next few weeks.

I'm concerned about the engine being exposed to all of that dust, as shown in one of your recent pics.

if you arent pulling it.....wrap it....

glass dust in a motor is dangerous.....

just to learn why.....burn some resin and glass in a burn barrel or pit.....

you will learn to have plenty of fire extingushers on board, as well you will wrap your motor !

 

[Tthomp3]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

i Realized i shpould have wrapped it after i started grinding.. oh well an air compressor should clean it nicely.

 

[Tthomp3]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

Well all this talk about not having a clean motor got me motivated today and i cleaned it up, its nice and shiny now, an oil change and new fuel lines and she will be ready to start up and purr like a kitten (lets hope)

Heres all my stuff from UScomposites. Now if i only knew how to put all this stuff to good use... any advice??? I need to know how to mix resin, make pb, and glass. i have a lot to learn

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

Use the Metric System to mix your resin. Lot's easier. The mix buckets should be marked so it makes it even easier. 1.5 % MEKP per volume of Resin. Make sure and mix will. Here's a great video on how to make PB...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3kmr9ZctUo
Hopefully you got a glass roller. If not, get one. Really helps get the air out.

 

[rickryder]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

I remember all those supplies on the floor in the garage..... now there all in the boat

 

[Tthomp3]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

okay so Ive figured out the pb recipe but i still have a question, should i pL the stringers in and pb the cracks or pb the stringers into the boat and fill the cracks with pb. I've heard of people doing both, but what are the pros and cons of using pL to bed the stringers?

 

[rickryder]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

PL is ready to go and easy to apply with a calking gun..... PB you need to make yourself....

I like the PB myself.... easy way to apply PB is to mix a batch.... dump in Ziploc gallon bag.... twist the top closed....snip the corner of the bag and pipe it in along your stringer..... fillet (cove) with a large spoon dipped in acetone

I set my stringers on 1/4" spacers and tabbed a few spots to hold them in place.... let cure.... pulled spacers and pumped PB under the stringers... then full tabbing on both sides of stringers ..

Fillet should look something like this when done

 

[Tthomp3]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

i actually bought some empty caulk gun tubes to try and put my pb in to apply it. Not sure if its going to work but I'm going to give it a shot. I guess i will just pb the stringers to the hull. So let me get this right, Tab in a few spots with spacers underneath the stringers, let cure, remove spacers and pb underneath the stringers? Also ricky how much resin in total did you use to pb your stringers. I bought 5 gallons but i didn't take into account how much pb would use up. Now I'm thinking i might run short

 

[rickryder]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

You have the process correct.... The caulk gun thing may work if it's the large tubes....small ones may clog because of tip size and the thickness of the PB.... I know the bag thing works well.

I have no idea how much resin I used for pb...... I got 15 gallons for my project.... 21' boat







Rick

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

First I've been on your thread and gotta say nice work so far on a worthy boat.

I think most will put the spacers in, tab a few spots to hold, and bed and fillet the entire length of the string to within an inch or so of the spacer. Then go back and remove the spacer and finish bedding and filleting those spots.

And don't worry they'll sell you another bucket of resin.

 

[rickryder]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

Yeah that works too ^^^

 

[Tthomp3]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

the goal is not to have to buy another bucket of resin! Another $125 doesn't sound appealing at the moment

 

[Tthomp3]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

Well yesterday i decided to tear apart all the trim pieces that were starting to show signs of rot and remake them out of 1/2 treated ply. Everything turned out great and i had just enough wood with one sheet to do everything i wanted to do. I also remade the rear seat cushion and seat back because the old one was completely toast.

Heres the old seat base. It stayed together long enough just to make a template

All my new trim pieces cut out and ready to be carpeted and upholstered

I took apart an old seat I'm not going to reuse and put the foam in one of my new trim pieces it turned out pretty nice

My only problem is that you can feel where the joint is where i had to cut a separate piece because my foam wasn't long enough. Its not noticeable on the small piece but i think on the long piece you would really see it Is there some kind of backing you can put on top of this so that you don't feel the joint? if i recover my long trim pieces myself i don't want it to look wavy all down the side of the boat. Today I'm going to try and mix up my first batch of resin and coat the seat box first (in case i screw up) and then try and do my stringers. Wish me luck

 

[fat fanny]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

It's a start ! keep plugging away.

 

[Tthomp3]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

Big news Big news!!! I got all my stringers and a few of the pieces i made yesterday coated in resin!!!

It was a little scary at first thinking about the work time and not knowing if it would start to cure on me but after i started i figured out this stuff is easy! Man I'm excited i feel like I'm on the home stretch! The rest of the week looks pretty busy for me but I'm hoping friday i can start tabbing in the stringers and start putting down some pb. Things are looking up!

 

[rickryder]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

On the seat cushion foam.... You can go to Wally mart and bet bunting or quilting in the sewing dept. Lay that over the foam.... Another tidbit... Look for an old couch in the trash and grab the cushions....free foam ! To cut the foam use an electric carving knife...

Did you use SS staples? If not the ones in the PT plywood will rot away in 6 months to a year.... The ACQ ply needs SS double dipped galv or ceramic coated fasteners.... Anything else will rot away.

There are some seat cushion pics and such in my resto thread.

Good job on the glassin! One you get the hang of it is pretty easy