12/29/2016
So since its been a while..., I figured I'd post some pix's of a current project.
'80's vintage Wellcraft, 23' Nova getting a complete restoration.
Great customer who loves the boat and is willing to make an investment into it's and his future.
Upon the initial "tap test" we knew at least the aft section of floor would have to come out to get to the soft stringers and bulkhead I was able to get to.
Plan was for me to cut and grind until we got into good wood then stop.
I did that and ended up w/complete floor removal and all stringers to approx. 6' forward of transom.
The bad:
The boat has been restored twice before (very common) and although the glass work one the stringers was good....., everything else was pathetic!
The good:
Always liked these boats and after cutting into one, I like them even more. Really, really well engineered/laid out stringer/grid system.
This is the backbone of the boat. If it ain't right, no matter how thick the glass, it will flex and eventually brake. Remember too, on most smaller boats this is all under the floor where you cant see it.
For a 23' boat, once corrected, I'd take it anywhere.
I have more pix's if I can find them.
During the first restoration, they cut the floor into approx. 2' x 2' pcs which is normal to get it out. What I've never seen done before though is to scab it back together and reuse it! As in scraps of plywood screwed to the bottom of the floor, spanning all the cuts/seams.
Yikes!
During the 2nd restoration they laid a new floor OVER the old one!
Never seen that before either.
When looking for a shop to give a face lift to your baby, be careful as almost all of this is hidden by the floor.
As in, the new carpet looks good, seats are back where they're supposed to be but you have no clue what they put under the floor.
I photo document all of my projects and send them to my customer as the project progresses. This helps keep them up to speed and shows any surprises that may present them selves.
Bellow pix's show, a galvanized house nail sticking out of the transom where a previous shop used it to tack the new stringers together before wrapping them in glass!
The boat is an inboard outboard and one shot is showing the engine bed/stringer that a motor mount lag bolted to.
Previous shop sandwiched three 2" x 6"s and wrapped them w/glass. Huge voids (meaning zero strength) everywhere and everything rotted.
One shot shows it on a scale at I 55 lbs! Of water.
Times two stringers. Sun lounge was also water logged and hit the scales at 80 lbs!
And w/removing the 2nd layer of floor, we'll probably shave 200lbs plus off the boat when done.
On a boat, weight = Horsepower and gas.
Another shot is of a screwdriver sticking out of a previously replaced stringer at the end of the fuel tank. The other side didn't even have enough wood left to hold the screwdriver.
