Hopefully when I'm done it'll be a project rojoguio would be proud of. And that's sating a lot! doh
https://youtu.be/1vzcZmHbnsA?si=nefcW3peTepFDxmC
Check out the video, it kinda says it all. Essentially I'm approaching it as though all the wood is rotten, and all the foam is soggy. So I have to remove the cap, somehow! doh
:popcorn, gonna follow this boss.
Yes, the cap needs to come off. the floor material is actually attached to the bottom of the cap. The wood floor rotted because the manufacturers are cheap and only sealing the top of it, if at all. So it rots out from the bottom. Also any where a screw penetrates the fiberglass allows water in if not sealed. The boat itself looks fantastic, in my opinion. rojoguio will be a wealth of info, and if I'm not mistaken, has offered help already in your introduction of this boat. If you keep posting on the build, I for one will be following the build till it's done.
He is certainly a man of many trades.Quote:
Originally Posted by Slab
I have seen some YouTube videos on how to remove the cap.
Good little project to do. Me… I’ll just follow the thread. :popcorn
I'll be watching. :popcorn
We will all be watching you Sprint to the finish line. Pun intended, lol.
So why pull these boats apart and fix everyone know the answer. Today's boats are built for speed first, lower manufacturing costs, production speed & simplicity, today's consumer. The boats of the 90's, builders like Champion, Cajun, Hydra Sport others too had deeper V's, better rides to me. The only way to get a Arkansas Champion without rot is to restore one or find and pay for a garage kept unit. Mine will be finished at some point next year. Building the Champion and Blazer at the same time while still fixing everything for everybody else was too much workload for me. Slab I think your going to like your Sprint when done, My Champ is a 1996, the Blazer I have on Ross Barnett is a 1996, and the one in my posts is a 1995. A lot of good things were happening back then with Bass boat hull designs. If the world comes crashing down and interest goes south with it maybe someone will have a Bass Cat 203 Hybrid they need to sell but till then give me a bass Boat from the mid 90's any day. This will be fun to follow, I won't be the one getting cold showers over it. All in on materials for my Restoration to completion (I have wholesale accounts), engine, trolling motor, etc. I have about $7000 in my boat. You can build a restoration boat really skinny if patient.
Oh, I ain't sinking $7k into this thing I guarantee. I'll be real patient, and it'll be done real skinny.Quote:
Originally Posted by rojoguio
Anyone have any experience with Sprint? Wonder if it's one of them 1990's good'uns. Seems well built, that is, of course except for the wood parts. I'm sure it sat outside most of it's life.
Respectfully speaking $7K over a 3 year period was not too painful. Over time deals passed thru my shop, I have 7 60 degree Evinrudes on engine stands for backups. All need rebuilding but those are very cheap to rebuild. Also a couple of 3cyl Yamaha 90TLR engines. 90HP for 249#'s is one of the best HP to weight engines made.
Ahh, found this online. I may have a lifetime warranty on my transom.
Attachment 472346
I got to check it out. See if I have that sticker too. But my transom does look super solid. It's especially cool to have a lifetime warranty from a company that's out of business! Not
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I added so much foam to mine since the Insurance companies will only insure it as a 1995 boat. It will always have something out of the water to ease recovery. BBCBoards has a extensive amount of information and ScreamandFly has a lot too.
Some more advice Rojoguio provided to me in PM I thought I should post for all to see. Don't worry, I asked his permission to share.
So "Stringer 101" is, nothing solid is laid against the fiberglass hull skin. All stringers float in any quality boat construction. I placed compressible material within the old channels left by the original build. I did not cut completely out. If something is laminated hard against the hull it creates a point for the skin to be fractured against. If you run the hull up on a stump with the trolling motor while fishing and the stump is pressing on the flexible side of the skin the weight of the hull could crack the fiberglass skin against the hard lamination point. Some stringers have raised spots left while cutting out the stringer to hold the stringer up a 1/4 -3/8in above the hull skin for lamination. I use 1708 S-Glass for all stringer work and making deck panels due to the non-woven nature of the reinforcement. It is sewn together with a lite scrim. Stringers can be done in sections, can be done completely one side then the other. As far as pouring the stringer I would not recommend that, I have written numerous posts in BBC about the engineering of a pourables being used in say transom repair.
Here is another "Boat repair 101" to remember, Polyester has a 300psi adhesion - Epoxy has a 3000psi adhesion. New polyester does not like to stick to old polyester. A mechanical tooth must be applied to the substrate. Also acetone washes are necessary if using polyester resin. I used vinylester resin a lot here but due to low shelf life switched to polyester if doing that type of repair later on. Everything else got epoxy. If for no other reason than the fumes. All my laminating & gelcoat in solid colors came from Advanced Plastics. They have several warehouse distribution points I'm sure somewhere in Central florida has one. Coosa Bluewater 26 is the only material I used for stringers, transoms, and decks. In stringer repair the outer lamination does most of the work, if properly done the form material should be able to be removed. Watching the building of a Phoenix you can see the stringer system is just another fiberglass lamination that is filled with a rigid foam after being installed in the hull. Wood works fine as it is not relied on for providing spine, that is provided by the lamination laid over the wood returning to the hull skin. Wood is heavy, absorbs water (condensation makes water in every hull on earth as the hull warms and cools, you can't stop it), and is susceptible to decomposition. Today the cost of Coosa from Advanced Plastics is higher than ever but cheaper than anywhere else. They delivered here for $75. It was not worth my time to drive to the New Orleans warehouse to pick up.
P.S. I used a 13# Grinder with a wire Cup for cleaning the crud off the hull skin. You do this after all the gunk is out and it is completely dry. It works ridiculous good. I will post a picture in your thread.
Thanks for posting Slab. I hand wrote it out to go in my boat book for future reference. Writing it out may be "Old School", but it helps me understand it better, as well as stick in the brain better. Thanks to you for posting and John for sharing some of his wealth of info.Quote:
Originally Posted by Slab
Yes writing stuff out is old school. That's exactly why I took notes in class. Not to read it again but to remember it better. There's something to be said about physically writing it and visually seeing that just helped me member stuffs.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jamesdean
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Good luck with that boat.
Good thing there weren’t squirrels in the classroom!