wellcraft classic 170

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by mickyryan, Apr 30, 2016.

  1. mickyryan
    Joined: Apr 2016
    Posts: 26
    Likes: 1, Points: 3, Legacy Rep: 14
    Location: florida

    mickyryan Junior Member

    just getting back into boating, my daughters are now 17 and 19 so i feel i can take more risks
    got boat last week,she gave it to me but i gave them 200 dollars to go get dinner or something.
    Was pretty awesome she had all the original paperwork and logs of history on boat .
    First thing i did is replaced spring on trailer so i could drag it home.
    next tagged in my name as well as trailer,
    following night i used marvel mystery oil and pb blaster to try to un sieze the engine that had sat for 4 yrs, no go after half hour gave up ,try tomorrow.
    tomorrow comes Im ancy i go out and hit starter and got sprayed with pb and marvel mystery oil but didn't care she was broke loose .
    Decided to try to start it with starter fluid just to see if shed fire up ... it did
    Saturday morning i woke, hit home depot got wood and all the things i would need to yank engine and out drive i made a 4x6 beam with 4x4 posts and a electric winch to yank motor, then decided to yank trailer from under it so broke out my engine lift and lifted bow with that and the stern with the new beam , worked like a charm.
    I was trying to find a supplier for old Wellcraft parts or aftermarket to replace dash and gauges , the trim pieces are warped , at this point I might just make another top half of boat and do it differently then original making the dashes and getting rid of the bow rider part, its kinda sad that finding parts for boats isn't as easy as it is for cars for restoration.
     

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  2. mickyryan
    Joined: Apr 2016
    Posts: 26
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    Location: florida

    mickyryan Junior Member

    got the foam out and the stringers semi ground down , however can I leave the build up material at bottom so I have a pattern to lay in new or should that all be ground out?
    I know I have to grind out on both sides so new epoxy will adhere.
    any one have ideas on getting the foam out of nooks and crannys besides grinding thru it , I don't want to grind on the hull anymore then I need to for fear of going through it .

    reading through I'm going to try pressure washer method
     

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  3. mickyryan
    Joined: Apr 2016
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    Location: florida

    mickyryan Junior Member

    well I have the stringers bedded and transom replaced now getting ready to build the motor mount and the 2 connecting stringers from transom to rest of frame, I purposely cut the stringers shallow as to sit on a bed of fillet material apr 1" to keep them from ever sitting in water, I am trying to decide if I want to include drain holes on each cavity or make them airtight removing need for foam.
    If I go with foam I will drill a couple holes in the fillet material to allow for each area to have drainage.

    The deck will be 3/4 because lets be honest, not too many skinny people around and I don't want a flexing and cracking deck
     

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  4. TheChillPrince
    Joined: May 2016
    Posts: 27
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    Location: canada

    TheChillPrince Junior Member

    cool project .
     
  5. mickyryan
    Joined: Apr 2016
    Posts: 26
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    Location: florida

    mickyryan Junior Member

    figured out why everything failed after many years , the foam holes were never epoxy over and the screws ran in were never sealed including the depthfiner in transom and the other stuff they screwed in instead of epoxying on. had oak stringers.
    today I got the stringers out ,
    sawzaw long blade demo, occilating tool for foam that was left after saw zawing most of it out ,
    I'm wanting to leave as much fiberglass that was around stringers 1/4 at bottom as a place holder and for the pb when I install new ones , is that ok or do I need to grind everything back to the hull.
    I'm leary of grinding that close and going thru hull plus I figured the glass is on there very well why grind it off
    Uploaded
    April 30th, 2016,


    well seems the foam core on the sides has water filled up in it as well cut back about 3 inches from stern and the foam had water 3/4 of the way up , has been under cover for a month or more in 80+ degree heat, thinking it all has to come off or I trash this boat and look for another I will post pic of the air pockets in the original glass under foam , it isn't pretty . looking for opinions if I remove all that foam and inner shell the hull will be allot weaker correct? then compound the bad original layup of shell , so far 2 3 " wide air pockets in just that small area.
     

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  6. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
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    Location: Eustis, FL

    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    Both the voids and foam can be fixed. It's not likely the foam was structural, but instead for buoyancy if flooded. A sealed chamber works just as well as a foam filled one, without the foam getting saturated.

    Make sure you leave lots of limber holes, so any water that does get in, can drain aft and out a transom drain. This is the usual problem with boats of that era, no limbers, so moisture just accumulates, with no place to go.
     
  7. mickyryan
    Joined: Apr 2016
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    Location: florida

    mickyryan Junior Member

    thanks par appreciate it. I put the stringers on a 1" bed of pb just to be able to drill and have holes for drainage and not have them in wood the sides were my main worrie since they were holding water was worried I would have to replace that foam , would rather leave side foam off if possible even if that meant putting a few ribs down each side
     
  8. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
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    Location: Eustis, FL

    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    I doubt you need the ribs to replace foam. In this era (again) the foam was purely to satisfy floatation requirements. The floors and stringers in the bottom of the hull make the most highly loaded areas of the boat stiff enough. The topsides will stiffen up considerably with the replacement of the deck cap/liner or a side deck if building new. This acts as a flange, greatly stiffing up the exposed flanks of the boat.

    All this itching and scratching stuff has you over thinking this deal. Just make sure your tabbing is as thick, if not thicker than the originals and use sound techniques, like putting in limbers and weeps where obvious.
     
  9. mickyryan
    Joined: Apr 2016
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    Location: florida

    mickyryan Junior Member

    Par I have sound ways of dealing with itch :) I removed foam and started on floor I wrapped the remaining stringers with 1708
    Yeah I was thankful I had radius the tops with my router drilled out the weep holes in each cell towards back of each cell since if its on trailer i figured it would be bow up and water would run to rear corner.
    should i tab in sides of the deck before the foam or let foam come out of sides to know i have achieved full fills then shape and tab?
     
  10. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
    Posts: 19,126
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    Location: Eustis, FL

    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    Foam filling should be done after the structure is sound. Dealing with oozed out foam is a pain in the butt, so try to contain all ooze out to the holes it's being poured into. Also, you have to be really careful about pour in foam, as it can easily distort a hull while it's expanding, so lots of breathing holes should be considered. I use the "open top" method, which simply means I never pour into a closed compartment, but leave the top of the compartment off, pour the foam, let it ooze out and overflow the top of the compartment. I then saw off this ooze out and bond the sole or compartment top down. Personally, I don't see the need for foam on your boat. It's a requirement for the manufacture, but not for you.
     
  11. mickyryan
    Joined: Apr 2016
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    Location: florida

    mickyryan Junior Member

    thanks par, I foamed it only because of if I ever sold it I was afraid if they sunk and no flotation they could sue me , honestly don't see this as flotation as much as just sound dampening , I used less then a 2 gallon kit to fill all the cavities. I wont be putting it back on walls of the boat if I can avoid it,
    my Supervisor was checking up on me today , she figured out she could see me through the out drive hole :)
     

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  12. mickyryan
    Joined: Apr 2016
    Posts: 26
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    Location: florida

    mickyryan Junior Member

    got the 1708 down on the boat floor did 2 tabs each side and transom 4 then 6" then did a layer across I might put one layer of mat across that to get rid of the lines from 1708 but I feel secure in saying my floor is strong as hell :).
    my reasoning on this is because I think allot of floors crack over time from being too thin and then water slowly creeps in.
     
  13. mickyryan
    Joined: Apr 2016
    Posts: 26
    Likes: 1, Points: 3, Legacy Rep: 14
    Location: florida

    mickyryan Junior Member

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    just some pics of progress , its hot so its slow and I'm jumping around to things while paint drys

    I did my roof with tri ply underlayment with a sheet of r factor yellow with the faced sides with foil from big box store , I used poly floor underlayment glue because its basically just like pl premium as in polyurethane glue then I used 1 " lattice for sides to cover foam and wrapped with 6" oz. then topped with matt under I braced middle with a 2x4 because I will be hollowing out 2x4 for wiring then capping with a piece of triply and trim to hide wires, used 1 1x2 cross ways to add strength it works I can walk all over it , also did nonskid finish because I know my daughters will be on roof watching fireworks next 4th of july :)
     
  14. mickyryan
    Joined: Apr 2016
    Posts: 26
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    Location: florida

    mickyryan Junior Member

    as I will be mostly cruising intercoastal waterway (not going near ocean in a 17 ft boat ) what electronics besides vhf .depth finder would be advantageous?
     

  15. Ike
    Joined: Apr 2006
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    Location: Washington

    Ike Senior Member

    Quite the project. Did the same on a 1972 Sea Ray 18 footer about 7 years ago (OMG has it been that long???) Fortunately I didn't have to pull the deck off. You definitely want GPS. Buy a VHF that has GPS built in. That's what I use. Tells you where you are, speed over ground, and direction. Plus that if the worst should happen has a built in mayday button that transmits location. Only way to go.
     
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