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1996 Blazer VL100 Restoration to Crappie Chaser
As many of you have seen the finished boat posted on Crappie.com most have not seen what goes into a complete restoration of a fiberglass bass boat. As these boats age on trailers all kinds of things happen, inside and out, most negatively affecting the boat performance underway, life span, appearance, transportation, etc. I will show proper structural repair techniques, gelcoat application, balancing, wiring, rigging, etc so hopefully if you need reference material to help you in your project, or to repair something on your boat, help guiding you can be found here.............
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Splitting the Cap from the Hull
I guess it's time to start a thread on this boat. I posted pictures of it with the cap off the other day but it is getting a makeover. My other has sooo many Hooks & Rockers, even has a Rocker in the little Pad. They put Wedges too, really? Not needed especially 90HP and up. Boat pops out of the water. Blazer made this boat back in '95. I love my other but can't really enjoy knowing how it was built. I bought this one because the '95 interior I like better.
Transom has some soft spots so replacing while split.
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Reinforcing Super Thin, Flexing, Hooking Area
Update on Progress, Still cutting good wood out of Transom. Termites were in foam and a small area of transom. I assume they entered where the inner skin was cut from washers but quickly moved to saturated foam. This boat was drying for a year in a hot area, out of any rain, how water was still present above the waterline is a testimony to keeping your hull as dry as possible. Both side flotation, transom reinforcement blocks had termites eating wet foam.
The manufacturing design left a water trap in the bow too, termites made it there so it was completely removed. Just a added note, although I remove all wood, I spray termiticide on all areas and let completely dry before re-foaming.
The aft hull skin is so thin I can deflect it 3/16in with my index finger alone. Since my other VL100 tries to shove the bow down in the water I am assuming a very dramatic hook is forming causing enough drag to keep my Prop slip 14% or higher. Reinforcement is difficult to add due to only 1in of clearance under floor. I hate laminating this time of year, having to add heat to finish curing. Another layer of 1708 will be added over foam blocks used to form reinforcement.
To improve the Spine, Transverse Rigidity, Compression Strength, and Transom support the new floor will be laminated on a laminating table then epoxied to all stringers when set into hull. This is to lock all stringers in place and add side support to the lower sides where the hull and sides meet.
All this work has to happen so I can flip hull over for blueprinting and Pad modifications. Also looking to add one more set of lifting strakes.
Something needs to be said here, Blazer as well as other manufacturers of these "Pocket" bass boats, had to keep the cost of the boat in a range the consumer was willing to pay. These boats didn't bring anything close to "Premium dollars" like the bigger boats, just the opposite. Please do not criticize a manufacturer when the consumer would not pay for "Top Shelf" quality.
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Questions about Stringers and Flipping the Hull for Repairs
Question - Is the stringer wood wet also? Do you pull the cap the boat then flip it?
I replace stringers usually but on this boat I'm wrapping in one layer of 1708. The glass on the stringers is thick but is also chop. The added stiffeners you see now and in future posts are to shut down the flexing of the skin inward creating the massive hooks. In my other VL100 you feel every ripple through the Hot Foot, the skin flexes easy outside the stringers. Not enough foam was sprayed in outside the stringers to contact the floor which was not waterproofed on the underside before stapling down. Looks like 1/4in plywood was used for the floor form to support a very thin layer of chop mat. The beneath floor area was fully foam filled trapping the water that ran through the floor drain wetting everything.
I always flip a boat with the cap off if possible. Now I don't pull a cap just to flip a boat. On this unit I will make a full contact jig to rest the boat floor on upside down. It will be upside down for a long time. I need to get it to that point so I can get back on my 171SC Champion. Plan is to work both boats to completion together. I have equipment to assist in flipping when needed. It is just a pain to flip the hulls over.
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Making Pattern for New Transom Core
Quick Update, I was able to finish removing all the old wood used as a transom Core. While grinding the outer skin I found a large "Holiday" in it. Low on the Starboard side resin was not fully infused into the outer skin. After grinding out all the loose fabric I will need to build up the low spot level with the rest of the skin. The new core will be a lamination of 2 layers of 1/2in Coosa Bluewater 26 and several layers of 1708 & Mat. Originally 3/4in to 1in plywood was the total core including the couple of laminations in between the layers. Maybe it was 3/8in plywood layers, can't be sure. I'm adding more transom bracing while doing the surgery. The pattern material I use is sold at Lowes for wall & floor protection at a construction site. It works great for making patterns. Here you see fitting the pattern so the core is slightly smaller all the way around. thickened epoxy resin using milled fibers will be troweled into all the void areas around the first core layer. When it hardens it will form a very tight fit of the core to the original fiberglass work.
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Further Prep for Reinforcing Hull
Well My big shop is just too cold for a day of lamination work. Had to move the project to a heated work space. Laying out pattern on Coosa sheet is very straight forward. What is not is fitting the Core to the transom void. You need space between the core and old glass work to push the wet fabric into mixing it well with the thickened epoxy already troweled into every void with prejudice. Next there is a bevel in the transom, you must transfer the bevel to the replacement core so it lays fully flat against outer skin. All excess epoxy will be micromanaged and policed up so little grinding will be necessary to add second layer.
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Included in this post are pictures of foam sheets sawed on a table saw to bevel so 1708 will conform better. These foam forms will be laminated over a layer of 1708 with two more layers of 1708. I'm having to work backwards from today's manufacturers. Here at best if over horse-powered is a high 50's MPH boat. Any more stiffening on the inside really gains me no benefit. The transverse bulkhead is rotten, poorly laminated, and very much needed. I will have to cut it out and replace after laminating the skin stiffeners. The hull was prepped with extra blocking under the Bulkhead to keep the boat hull from sagging outward when cutting is complete. I will be adding 2 recessed boxes to fit 2 PC925 Odyssey batteries forward. At 44lbs total weight I would like the space in the aft hatches over any gains in speed for having all the weight aft.
For the guys on this site that like to make their own jigs, if you look in the background behind the transom the bench and wall of containers is where I make all my jigs. those Powder Paint Fluid Beds are over 30 years old. They have the vibrating motors in the bottom that today's Fluid Beds don't come with. The little toaster oven is used to bake the epoxy on. All the plastics hanging on the left wall is because the only retailers who sell baits within driving distance (30 miles) is Academy and Sportsman's Warehouse. Their buyers don't buy the colors we use on the coast. The couple that are useful are always, always sold out so I stock the wall from online purchases in bulk.
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Working on Longtitutial Stiffeners & Battery Box
Well a little more forward progress. The center stringer was solid cypress but when they made the boat the hole saw that cut the drain cut right into the stringer. It always held water and although I had plans of leaving it there was only 1-1/2in of good wood left. Due to the layout of the battery box and hull reinforcement, maybe not needed but I run the rivers full of trees, (I'm wanting deflection not punch through) a custom center stringer will be laminated out of the boat then installed. The spine reinforcement foam was fitted at first then block sanded to help the 1708 conform. The battery box floor is 5/8in Coosa 26 I don't know if I will make sides. Another transverse stringer will be added at the back of the battery box then the stringer. A replacement transverse stringer will need to be added in the end of the floor area. The two Coosa Panels for the transom are cut and fitted. My deck drains arrived today. they came from China, investment cast stainless with 1-1/8in hose barb. No more water running into and onto the flotation. Well I wiped them with lots of alcohol. Paranoid I know. Anyway I am cutting and relaxing the reinforcement fabrics, we are looking at 70-75 degree highs Monday & Tuesday. The last picture is my homemade glass rack. It makes working the glass a lot easier.
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Warmer Days, laying Glass
The temps let me get a little more glass work done. I'm not trying to make a race boat here but it needs to be stiff enough to hold it's shape. Storage is measured in ounces so I'm installing my trolling motor batteries in the forward box and adding essentials storage in the other box. Before covering the Pad molding in the floor with floated 5/8in Coosa 26 I laminated super heavyweight roving/mat combo to reinforce the skin and the bit of stringer left. Also cut out and replaced the transverse brace that was rotten aft while working. Since I had almost a full gallon of gray gelcoat leftover from another job I just used it to waterproof, another coat is still needed. Black Hatches will be used since they seem to hold up to foot traffic better than any other brand I installed in the past. The console will be crowding the aft box hatch location (almost right on top) so until the cap is swinging over the hull I won't be ordering hatches. I may end up with 2 smaller hatches in the back to make it work.
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Additional Transverse Bracing
This boat had no transverse bracing to the transom. In a earlier post I explain why I feel the addition is necessary. Using 1-3/8in Coosa 26 I table sawed out the reinforcement piece in the pictures. Also sawed the bevels to make the glass conform a bit better. After epoxy gluing the piece in, I made a pattern for the tie pieces to the stringers. Drop Coosa 26 was used (I don't throw anything away in this material) to make the connecting braces. The last pictures is of the additions glassed in. Next is the aft flooring to tie the back the rest of the way in.
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