Well, it all started as just a new floor and interior.
 

Somehow I just knew my quick little 210 Wellcraft Elite project boat was going to turn into a whole lot more of a project than originally planned. We've now progressed from a new floor to all new stringers and transom as well. I just cannot bring myself to put a fresh floor over soft stringers.[ATTACH=CONFIG]524460[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]524461[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]524462[/ATTACH]

O'h boy, here we go...

Oohhh! Lots of work ahead right there! Keep us posted!

That's exactly how mine started. One thing led to another.

That's a lot of work right there. I am part way through doing an 85 Wellcraft Nova 230XL. I have done the transom, first bulkhead, aft stringers, dash/cabin bulkheads etc etc. I have ripped out the sterndrive and am fitting a single Evinrude V8 which also needed to be rebuilt and is now somewhat modded. Yeah, a lot of work but classic old school boating.......

I see all the woven rovings glass in your photo's, and assume it is factory original. I also had that on mine but it was so poorly applied that I had assumed it must have been done post the original build. To come from the factory like that is very poor boat building. But it is a good original example and it will be one very nice Nova on completion. Please keep the photo's of your rebuild coming, I will follow with interest.

Good luck.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]524492[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]524493[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]524494[/ATTACH]Yeah, it's all origonal structure. I thought the same as you, the glasswork on the stringers was so sloppy and poorly applied I was amazed. The hull itself though was done well.

These stringers are GONE in the back of this thing! Might as well considder them potting soil now...[ATTACH=CONFIG]524495[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]524496[/ATTACH]

Been there started that and still need to button up my stinger. Lots of work, but will be as good as new.. You have a good way to go before your out of the woods lol..


John jr

Pulled the gas tank up off the hull bottom. Went surprisingly easy. Check out all the water that was trapped under there. If you could smell how stagnant the water under there smells, you would know it has been in there a while!

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Stringers all gone. Fuel tank out. Now it's transom time.

Mine was not to the same stage of decay as yours, I must say I agree with you on the hull layup, that is great. If the rest had been done to the same level of expertise it would probably be around 25% lighter....... I did all my mods and repairs with West Systems epoxy.

Agreed.

Back to work
 

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Well I finally found time to get back into my boat project. Transom turned out to be in the best condition out of all the structure. Everything from a foot up was ok, the bottom was shot though. One thing I didn't expect to find was the transom is two pcs. They glassed in the wood in the bottom section, tabbed it back to the transom of the hull, then used that as a shelf to set the top section on. Then they glassed in the whole assembly in with the mat.
With the demolition complete, now its time to start rebuilding.

ohhh!!! that much work!!! ???
did you know before buying or it is a total surprise?

All good. I knew the boat had rot when I got it. I was hoping it wouldn't be this far gone, but it turned out to be a little more advanced than I thought.

progress
 

I won't have material for my transom until next week, but for now thought I would start fitting the stringers.[ATTACH=CONFIG]527277[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]527278[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]527279[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]527280[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]527281[/ATTACH]

No more big gaps between the stringers and the hull. The worst ones were in the front. Some of the gaps were well over an inch.

an inch!!!!

that is A LOT!!!!

Got all the structural woodwork done this weekend.[ATTACH=CONFIG]527674[/ATTACH]

Now its time to start the fiberglass.

Nice fit, good work. You plan on using Epoxy or Vinylester?

Looks good! I like how you even filled in the strakes with your bulkheads. I'm looking at a similar job (fingers crossed it's not as extensive as yours!) on my '88 Elite 222XL.

In preparation, I ran some numbers on using vinylester and 1708 cloth or epoxy and 1700 cloth. Since 1700 doesn't have the CSM mat, it absorbs less resin, and I think you would use about 1/2 as much, assuming you use the same amount of cloth on both jobs. If I have to go as far as you, I'm thinking I'd rather use US Composites "thin" epoxy and 1700 cloth. No fumes, stronger bond, tougher resin, and less weight.

Maybe someone with more experience can comment on the pros/cons of using epoxy over vinylester resin.

As a boat builder I was always taught that when using timber/ply use epoxy as Polyester/Vinylester doesn't stick to wood or to epoxy. However epoxy does stick well to both Polyester and Vinylester. Consequently I would always use epoxy. I am doing a major rebuild on a Nova 230XL and am using West Systems epoxy resins.

Good info, SJ! I like West Systems epoxy for smaller jobs, but it's premium in price over US Composites epoxy. US Composites sells a "thin" version that is easier to wet out with, and GlassDave (on this forum) has used it, and likes it.

The difference between ooooh and aaaah!!

If poly or vinyl didnt stick to wood, 90%+ of the boats out there would be delaminating. Its just not true. Epoxy is just not necessary in this situation and in my honest opinion a waste of money. Poly would do the trick but vinylester is quite a lot stronger. With vinylester you can clean your tools with acetone. Epoxy is nice to work with because it does not stink. Your choice though. Epoxy does not work well with 1708 either. Buy a roll of 1708 and vinyl and you are done

The reason they are not delaminating is because they encapsulate the wood which reduces that risk. As a test take two pieces of ply and glass up just one side of the ply one with Poly and the other with Epoxy. The Epoxy will pull the laminates of the ply apart before it pulls off. The Poly on the other hand....... Try it and see for yourself.

The other benefit of using Epoxy, you can use a thin Epoxy product to penetrate and seal your stringers etc before glassing them. This both seals the timber and enhances the adhesion of the laminate. The reason so many glass boats have to be rebuilt is because of rotten stringers, bearers etc. The timber was not sealed properly, that and poor boat building practices.

So you are saying its impossible to seal wood with vinyl ester? I'm gonna go ahead and say BS. Glassdave please add your two cents. Sorry but he happens to be one of the most respected and knowledgable guys here, and is degree'd as well...

To clarify JRIDER stated "poly". Are you (smokin joe) claiming that vinyl ester has the same issue. Making sure this isn't getting lost in translation.

Am I saying it is impossible to seal timber with Vinylester? No I am not. It doesn't matter what product you are using, if you don't take due care and attention with the application of the product of choice then potentially you will have a failure. Example, boring drain holes through the stringers and then not sealing them properly. Also the post production addition of transducers and the like to transoms and then not sealing the holes properly is a big cause of transom failures. As I said in my post, poor boat building practices.

Ok thanks for the clarification. I couldn't agree more as I just went through a DIY transom replacement, and it's appalling to say the least how so many boat builders crafted sturdy boats but brushed off the small details like properly sealing openings and holes.

Boy this boat was no exception. The hole drilled thru the transom for the drain plug was not sealed at all. They used pvc pipe to allow the water to pass thru the engine stringers from higher elevations into the bilge. Good idea, except when they notched the corners of the stringers to put the pipe in, they didn't cut enough wood out. So instead of removing more material, they forced the stringer down and cracked the pipe. That was by far, the worst stringer in the whole boat. It was like scooping potting soil out of a flower pot. They also ran a pipe under the fuel tank to the cuddy to let the floor up front drain into the bilge. Again, good idea, until they glassed in the bulkhead behind the fuel tank and filled the end of the pipe 95% + with resin. All of the scallops in the whole unit made to help water drain to the bilge were unsealed. Only about 25% of the glass was actually adhered to the wood of the stringers. Where the stringers and bulheads intersected, the glass didn't overlap on the tops. So every intersection had a little 3/4" x 3/4" square that was exposed to the bottom side of the floor(hope I explained that right!). The other thing that I didn't expect was the whole unit it was assembled with yellow wood glue and 8d nails. Maybe that is common practice though. I found rusted out remnants of them all over the place.

Its been a while since I updated this thread but I found a little extra time before the deep cold winter to get the transom bagged. That's prob. going to be it before the holidays and snowmobile season.[ATTACH=CONFIG]531954[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]531955[/ATTACH]

Couple more.
 

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Should be a nice and tight transom.