Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

[Captain Shikaboo]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

If you regularly will use an ipod or iphone as your music source, I highly recommend the Sony marine units with Tune-Dock. The ipod actually goes inside the unit. I had one in my car and thought it was great and thought it would be ideal for a boat. Then they came out with the marine version.

Tt, I'm sure the Kenwood will serve you well also. Their stuff is pretty bulletproof in my experience.

Thanks for the heads up ezmobee, I'll deffinately look into that.

T, that sounds like the right way to go! Are you gonna have enough 1708 to tab? I thought I was gonna catch up with you but I gotta yank the transom. What are you gonna cover the floor with?

 

[Tthomp3]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

Im covering the floor with csm then tab then two more layers of csm. should be plenty strong. I gave it the jump test to check for weak spots after i layer down my pb and it is SOLID so the glass will just be added strength and waterproofing

 

[Captain Shikaboo]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

I'm sorry, I was a little tired this morning (long night hehe) What are you gonna use for a floor once the deck is glassed in? Carpet, vinyl, truck liner, some type of marine coating?

If you don't mind, I'd be interested in the quantities of the csm and mat you used...

Thanks T! Catch ya later.

 

[Tthomp3]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

i cut a piece long enough to go back to the motor (I'm using 50 in wide csm) and i angled it to get the most out of the sheet and laid up another piece to overlap them so i ended up using a little over 15 yards. I bought 30 so i had plenty, theres just a bunch of waste when cutting these odd shapes. if i was to do it over again i would just measure from side to side and do it the way that frisco did in his videos. i think the layup would be easier if i did it that way but i watched the video after i cut my glass...

I'm going to put blue carpet like it had back in it. the front still has the blue carpet in it so I'm just going to match it up and put the same in the are i redid. i wish i was going with gellcoat to prevent rot but i would have to rip the rest of the carpet out to lay it down and then recarpet the seat boxes and all that extra money is just out of the budget. Heck vinyl would be better than stupid carpet but i just don't know how it would look in a ski boat (has more of a fishing boat look to me) but that would also require me redoing the front seat boxes.. I know a guy who owns a flooring shop in town so hopefully i can get a deal on the carpet.

 

[Captain Shikaboo]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

Cool. I am going to use snap in carpet with a -to-be-determined- coating on the glassed deck. I am going to sew a finished edge on the carpet so it'll be just like giant car mats. I'll probably stick with carpet on the sides, but I'm testing a few other materials in the mean time.

How much 1708 did you buy for the whole project?

 

[Tthomp3]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

for the 1708 i bought the rolls of 6 inch and 12 inch tape sib=nce none of my stringers were too tall, i think they are 25 yards and i bought one 6 inch roll and one 12 inch. i should have bought more of both but you live and you learn...

i got my first lair of csm down tonight and i was too frustrated to take pics. i wanted to do all the layers at once but with the way i cut it, it just wouldn't be possible. Maybe tomorrow with a clear mind i cn come up with a better plan

 

[Tthomp3]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

Well deck is tabbed with two layers of csm on it. third will go on tomorrow and this deck will be finished! then time for the fun work!

 

[Tthomp3]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

Third layer went on today. I can't tell you how happy i am to have this deck done! Tomorrow i will do a little grinding to touch up a few spots and go down and visit the carpet shop to order my carpet or maybe if I'm lucky they will have it in stock.

 

[Tthomp3]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

Today was my most rewarding day yet i would have to say. It was my dads birthday today so i hung out with him and went to lunch, i got my speakers in which i love.

i went to a bunch of boat shops looking at interior designs and their parts sections comparing who had the best selections. I had a lot of fun and bought some misc. oils and such. Its amazing how i used to look at boats and think they were all nice and now i look at them and are able to pick them apart after tearing up mine.

i came home and got my trim pump all wired up with new oil and decided today was d-day... It was finally time to crank this bad boy up! The boat hasn't been started in approximately one year and i just knew something would be bad wrong with the motor. They're not meant to sit up and Im sure it wasn't winterized... ever. Well i put on the muffs and turned the key, it turned over and sounded good, but it wasn't getting primed. I went filled up a five gallon can at the gas station and put that in thinking it would be easier to prime with a little more fuel (i barely had any in the tank), still nothing. My dad told me that i should pour a little gas in the carb so that it could run for a minute and start priming itself and crank crank vrooom for about three seconds, kept repeating the process about ten times and it finally caught!!! No issues whatsoever!!! it purred like a kitten and i kept it at a fast idle for a few minutes backing it down every so often. It sounded great! No knocks, leaks or anything! it was holding about 55 psi for the oil pressure and the temp got up to about 130 by the end of the ten minute or so test. I was grinning from ear to ear and I'm still smiling!

[video]http://s1056.photobucket.com/albums/t373/tthomp1994/?action=view&current=6eb6cb57.mp4[/video]

I got a little distracted by my dad in the video

[video]http://s1056.photobucket.com/albums/t373/tthomp1994/?action=view&current=6bac3f19.mp4[/video]


My dad didn't seem to think that my muffs were giving the engine enough water by the amount that it was spitting out? What do y'all think??

(having a little trouble uploading my videos so click on the link and they're in my album, hopefully y'all can see them)

Well to top off my wonderful day, i came across this picture that was taken while me my uncle and my mom were out on the water in the boat about 7 years ago. This is the reason for the resto and it just made this day even better.

 

[rickryder]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

A little tough to see what's spitting from the exaust...... I had to trim my muffs to fit the drive better

it seems to run good and your temp was at 130..... I think the t stat is 160

 

[Tthomp3]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

I never let it get to hot because i was uncertain if it was getting enough water. after watching some vids i think it was but it was more like it was spitting than a steady stream. Is that normal for i/o's

 

[rickryder]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

Yep....mine just kinda spits water....not a pee stream like an OB

 

[Tthomp3]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

awesome! glad to hear thats normal. I started it again today and it took about five cranks and a little throttle but she started up and ran like a champ once again. I spent the rest of the day wiring my stereo and speakers. A little time consuming but the install was simple.

 

[Tthomp3]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

Well here is my handywork for the day

What a mess! But it all works! i will be buttoning it up shortly, and the ken wood stereo is great. Its very user friendly and has a lot of functions that are easy to use.

My dad said he stall some car stereo install kits with faceplates at wall mart so I'm going to take the dimensions down there and see if i can find one that matches up. If not i will just fabricate a faceplate for it, but i don't know how the looks will turn out. still looking for ideas...

 

[havoc_squad]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

awesome! glad to hear thats normal. I started it again today and it took about five cranks and a little throttle but she started up and ran like a champ once again. I spent the rest of the day wiring my stereo and speakers. A little time consuming but the install was simple.

If your temp gauge works correctly, you'll notice that most boats running on muffs should stay reasonably close to 140 degrees when running it at idle to 1500 rpm.

Sterndrives do not have a pee stream like most think of for outboards. On inboards and sterndrives, a good ear, the temp gauge, and oil pressure gauge is the key things you should be looking at while running it.

You can have a good flow of water out the outdrive exhaust and relief ports but still be overheating if you have blockage in the engine block or clogged exhaust manifolds.

Also, if you're not used to inboard engines, remember proper winterization is mandatory for living anywhere where freezing or near freezing weather occurs. Unless you like buying $5k to $8k engines every year due to cracked blocks.

Regarding the stereo system issues:

Also, with that gap you were having issues with for your stereo. How about cutting a thick smooth polished aluminum plate rectangle with the standard DIN mount dimensions hole cut for a radio cover? You might have to do a little bit of modification at the back to help support it, but that would solve the issue.

 

[Tthomp3]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

Thanks havoc. I never ran it long enough to get up to temp but i almost got to 130 so it never got hot by any means, just a test run.

Its funny you say that about the stereo because i was just thinking the same thing. I could leave it the natural aluminum finish or paint it a semi gloss black to match the dash. Maybe even diamond plate... hmm

Carpet was just ordered. Went to the carpet store and bought 27 feet of 12 foot wide marine carpet. Its not rubber backed, the guy at the shop explained its mor like a latex material that doesn't trap water underneath. He said its the best stuff available, i believe it after hearing the price

 

[havoc_squad]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

Its funny you say that about the stereo because i was just thinking the same thing. I could leave it the natural aluminum finish or paint it a semi gloss black to match the dash. Maybe even diamond plate... hmm

Carpet was just ordered. Went to the carpet store and bought 27 feet of 12 foot wide marine carpet. Its not rubber backed, the guy at the shop explained its mor like a latex material that doesn't trap water underneath. He said its the best stuff available, i believe it after hearing the price

When you've done interior restoration on two boats, you learn to think of this stuff, especially if you're trying to fix it on the cheap but well instead of paying a fortune. Not an expert, but I've had plenty enough of trial and error on making stuff work on interior solutions.

By the way, be advised that a non-marine stereo might only last you about 2 to 4 years maximum. The early 2000 model radio I pulled off the boat that existed had so much corrosion from freshwater, it was useless. The front was covered but all the vapor, humidity, and weather got to the vents of the stereo and made it into a paperweight.

I hope that stereo is either something you just had lying around if it is not marine grade , or is marine grade (conformal circuit board coating).


Regarding the boat carpet, be careful if you do any work on the fuel on the boat. While trying to hook up a test tank to my 1993 Mercruiser 3.0L, I boneheadedly spilled 1/4 gallon of gas over carpet only 9/10 months old. Delaminated and looked badly ugly, had to demolition the damaged carpet and pull it up to a point where I can hide the seam where the captain's chair base is. Then I got to splice in a spare section of carpet I that have kept for a "just in case" scenario, which ended up being needed now.

 

[joewithaboat]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

Take a look at the Scosche "marine" install kits. They have doors on them and are only $30.00. Walmart sells Scosche, not sure if they have the marine stuff. Pretty sure Cabelas, Bass Pro or Academy does.
Be careful some flip up, some roll back you might have clearance issues with the steering wheel. Mine is like that and has a roll back Not a flip up door.
Boat is coming along Nicely!

http://www.scosche.com/car-audio/products

 

[Tthomp3]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

I think that is going to do the trick joe! i need about an inch and a half all the way around and the roll back cover seems like it provides just that much. I think I'm going to try that before i go fabbing up something that looks like it should be on a delorean

 

[Tthomp3]

Re: Wellcraft 186 eclipse stringer and deck restore

Well i went to wally world and of course they didn't have the marine covers:facepalm: I know of some boat shops that have them but the prices are pretty high. I did find some car stereo install kits that might just fit the bill. My dimensions are 8 1/4 by 3 1/4 and they had all kinds of sizes. I just didn't want to buy one today before i saw some of the marine covers because i think i would like one of those better.

Today i finished pulling out all of my carpet since my new stuff doesn't match and i ground down the old carpet glue and finished my grinding on my deck. Tomorrow i will build some seat pedestal bases identical to the ones frisco built and then this baby will be ready for carpet!!

I also broke put the pressure washer and took off the pinstripes along the bottom of the hull. I kinda like it without the pinstripes but i think I'm going to get some new ones put on.

Heres a few shot of her looking pretty spiffy

Thats the best its looked in two years i must say.

While i had the water hose out i figured i would start it up again just for fun. She started first try. Man I'm a happy camper