1960's seacraft restoration questions

Discussion in 'Wooden Boat Building and Restoration' started by SeacraftAus, Jul 12, 2009.

  1. SeacraftAus
    Joined: Jul 2009
    Posts: 2
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    Location: Australia

    SeacraftAus New Member

    Hi everyone, new forum member here. I have joined a few woodwork and boating forums, after some advice on fixing up my new boat. Its a 1960's Seacraft plywood hull speedboat, approx 16-17 foot. She has definitely seen better days, has been repainted in the past white all over. The hull and transom are solid from the extrerior, but the hull has had water sitting internally for an unknown length of time. I have removed all the false floors and started stripping to let her dry out. The original sealer used inside the hull is intermittent at best. All the water has been drained out, and i have scraped all internal surfaces of the hull to remove dirt/gunk/loose paint and whatever else accumulated over the years. The ply is damp but not rotten. Am I able to remove the exterior paint and let the hull dry out over time and continue from there? I have been reading a lot of posts and thinking about what I would like to do with the hull. Providing the ply is ok, I was thinking about soaking as much epoxy into the ply externally as possible to impregnate and strengthen the ply. Maybe fibreglass below the waterline? Would like to varnish the hull above the waterline. I am aware that by epoxying both the inside and outside of the hull will trap whatever moisture is in the ply and would like to avoid this. I would like to fibreglass the inside of the engine compartment for strength and soundproofing, and perhaps epoxy the lower bilge area? Leave the hull raw internally above the bilge so that it can breathe? Any help/advice/opinions would be greatly appreciated. This boat is not a show winner, just wanting to return her to a reasonable state and hold onto for a while to come. I'll post up some pics of my boat and a fully restored boat of the same model.

    Thanks,

    Chris
     
  2. SeacraftAus
    Joined: Jul 2009
    Posts: 2
    Likes: 0, Points: 0, Legacy Rep: 10
    Location: Australia

    SeacraftAus New Member

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