1972 Keel Up Restoration

I put the glass in the bottom of the shell while the boat was on the trailer with no deck thinking that I could get the deck on to hold hull shape before the CSM cured - which I did. As soon as I got the deck on I put a couple of short 2 x 4's under the transom to get the boat off the trailer. The boat is now supported by those 2 2 x 4's and the bow eye. I checked the bottom and found a serious hook - about 3/8" on both sides 4 feet forward of the transom. Oh well....

 

I got to thinking that maybe those 2 x 4 supports were contributing to the hook so the next morning I checked again and there was NO HOOK! It is perfect..

What I have decided to do at this point with the deck again temporarily installed is leave it installed and finish the CSM as far forward as I can and then lay the biax and then lay the core as far forward as I can and then lay the biax on the core. I have to do all of this without getting into the boat because the boat is only supported by those 2 2 x 4's at the transom and the bow eye and can since that center layup of CSM is in. Once the 17 oz biax is on the core I think the boat will be solid enough to return to the trailer, pop the deck off, and finish the stuff under the forward deck. Then put the deck back on before it cures to maintain shape.

Sound like a good plan?

 

The top of the line aluminum trailers made in Florida usually have really stiff bunks like 4x8's (or bigger) layed on edge. This practically guarantees that the boat will remain straight with no hook or rocker.

jim

 

What happened to this restoration? Hope everything is alright.

 

I havent worked on the boat for awhile because things just did not work out for me to go up to my cabin (and shop) where the restoration is taking place. Kids getting sick, Son-in-law out on a job etc... I did get to spend Thanksgiving week up there and here is what I got done: This is the 1st section of core installed at the stern and weighted down for cureing. The white stuff is ATC B-72 core adhesive applied with a trowel like you would do to install tile. Expensive but great stuff. The next several pics show the continuation of the core installation. The core material I used was Divinycell H-80 3/4" thick cut into 1" squares and scrim backed. About every 8" I drilled a 1/4" hole thru it to allow a colum of resin to further re-inforce the structure. I installed it scrim side up. The deck is temmporarily installed to provide proper hull alignment. I also had a sheet of plain H-80 Divinycell 1/4" thick which I cut up and placed along the edges to make a smooth transition from the core to the hull which you can see on the pic above right. A bit of easy sanding smoothed it out even more. Then I topped it with a layer of 17oz 45-45 bi-ax weave cloth. Between the core and bi-ax cloth alot of resin was used and I ran out again last Sunday night. 1st thing Monday I ordered another 6 gallons and had it by Wed evening. My wife would not let me glass during Thursday (Thanksgiving) because of fumes in the cabin which is attached to the shop. I weathersealed the connecting door which helped and drove on for the rest of the weekend. Core is done!

 

Time to start on the stringers. While I had the deck on I made some measurements for the center stringer as it will support the center of the splashwell and structurally tie the splashwell assembly into the rest of the hull.

I then used fairing compound (the pink stuff) to try and fair it in for tabbing but the cardboard applicator I fabricated did not work so I sanded it down and used Coosaboard scraps cut to a 45 degree bevel to fair the stringer in for glass installation. You can see the Coosa fairing on the left and then I layed a tab of bi-ax in (center) to see how it worked - just fine. I did tab the outside motorwell pieces in which made the Coosa fairing strips more difficult to install so for the remainder of the project will not tab until 45 degree Coosa fairing strips are installed. A learning curve.



Then I installed the 2 stringers that will carry the floor over the fin mount area. Everything is so solid and strong right now that I was able to remove the deck. That black thing is a wire bundle that is for the depth guage transducer which I mounted along with the core. Those transducers will not work thru a core so I cut a transducer shaped hole in the core and resined it in.

The next phase is to finish the stringers. A forward center stringer and then 2 more with transom knees. If anyone knows some "tricks of the trade" I am all ears. Those 2 side stringers with transom knees are going to be difficult s they will be mounted to a sloping surface and will diminish in height as they extend forward.

 

Wow...beautiful work.

 

I think at this point the best thing to do is to flip the hull while it is still light enough and work on the fin mounting area. The fin mounting area is what caused the core to rot and I am very paranoid about a repeat. The whole keel around the fin area was cracked and leaked. I think the rot of the core and stress on the fin caused the keel to fail. That is now bullet proof as the voids in the keel are filled with resin and there is no wood left - and all hull area around the fin area is isolated and glassed in.

My usual work schedule for a trip up North to work on the boat is a 3 day weekend and I do it like this:

Friday - Drive 4+ hours; relax a bit and then do some minor prep work and have a couple of beers. In this stage that would be to tab in stringers.

Saturday - Major work - In this stage that would be to flip the hull, sand the fin mounting area as smooth as I can, use wax paper and jelly to give a perfectly smooth mounting area using the fin as a template, and by the close of the day get the hull back on the trailer. The rapid curing of jelly would allow this. Then drink some beer and find other details to work on.

Sunday - Clean up any details and the shop and drive home.

I cannot mount the fin at this point because I still have to tab stringers in and the tabs will cover the inside mounting area of the fin. But now the fin can be easily mounted with sealent such as Scotch 3M 4000 from under the boat on the trailer and thru-bolted when stringer tabbing is complete.

Now that 97% of the grunt work is done this is really turning into a fun and enjoyable project.

 

Hydraulic steering question. I have settled on the Teleflex HK6400A kit which includes the helm pump, the right cylinder for Mercs, and fluid. What the kit does not include is the hose. There are 2 ways to do the hose -

1 - use a hose from the helm directly thru the splashwell to the cylinder. Teleflex makes a hose kit to do this which includes bulkhead pass -thru fittings. you have to drill holes and then pass the hose thru the bulkhead and then mount the fittings to the outside of the splashwell. Does anyone have experience with this?

2 - Teleflex makes a bulkhead pass-thru fitting which costs $80 so you could use hose from the helm to this fitting to the splashwell and then buy another 3 foot hose kit to take the fluid from the splashwell to the cylinder on the motor.

I need to know the pro's and con's of both set-ups. It would appear to me that option 1 is cheaper by about $350 and would do exactly the same as option 2 if the fittings are nice.

 

You have chosen the kit with the 1.7 cubic inch helm which will produce about 5 turns lock to lock which is pretty slow but widely used especially on twins. The 2.4 cubic inch helm will produce about 3.5 turns lock to lock and makes the boat much easier to drive and maneuver.

The members that i have convinced to use the 2.4 are very happy with it.

Holes will have to be drilled either way you go with the hoses. I like the clean look of the bulkhead fittings and they are widely used on performance applications.

jim