Anyone ever restore a Cacci Craft? 15 ft outboard "trihull"

[ctravis595]

Thought maybe I could get away with slapping a 140 evinrude on the back of my 1979 15 ft 3 inch long "trihull" Cacci Craft.

Boats made out of Tampa and from my research (mostly from posts on this forum) the company went under in the 80s/90s and seems they just do furniture now

I like the boat, noticed some wiggling on the transom once I raised the engine as high as it should be. Used some long cuts of lumber to help secure the engine on the transom more firmly but I want to get everything right once and for all

Now in the course of this thread, there's gonna be a lot of "interesting" methods in which I choose to "restore" this boat. I am not looking to restore it to original. I just want a boat I know will hold strong for the next 15 years

With the help of this forum I was able to figure out my evinrude "140" is actually an evinrude 115. And only topping out at about 26mph. Which isn't good. Lucky for me my 'rude already has the 140 carbs so changing the exhaust manifold to the "bubble" type should get me in the 130 horse range

Seems the maximum HP this boat was made for was 95...

Any body have any info on these boats? Or pointers for restoring these in specific?

Pulled up the plywood floor and noticed extremely rotten baseboard underneath, I even fell through the floor at one point lol. I was noticing chunks of wood coming out when I would drain the boat, the main thing that told me it's time for a restore besides the wiggling transom

Dug into the transom today and it's about 20 percent rotten. I've heard of a product called "sea cast" that is pourable transom and apparently holds up stronger than wood. I am interested in this route if anyone knows anything about it

Also instead of building the necessary "cradle" for the boat to replace the stringers. I was considering sistering some lumber to the stringers instead of removing them. I don't want to restore the boat to original, I just want a strong structure. Any reason why I shouldn't just sister new pieces of wood to the existing stringers? They are "spongy" in only a couple spots (mostly where the towing trailer lumber sits, BUT This boat stays in the water and not on a trailer mind you)

I also have some fiberglass work to do(and learn how to do) and then it's time for new paint to make the girlfriend happy about this investment. You know how the ladies love their aesthetics

 

[ondarvr]

Having info from someone rebuilding the same hull would be interesting for you, but of no real value in the rebuild, most are built very similar to every other 15' tri hull, just rebuild it how it originally done, only with better attention to detail.

If you're not on a budget you can use every high end product around to rebuild it, but then you'll have a very old boat with a huge amount money pumped into it that will never pay off. In this case you would be better off finding a much newer and more modern design to start with.

I think you need to start reading all the other rebuild threads to get a good idea of what you need to do, most of your current questions will be answered and you will have a new list to ask.

 

[Woodonglass]

I understand you're wanting to repair your boat using the most economical methods you can. However, I think you'll find that the members here on the forum will not be very receptive to cutting corners when it comes to doing things the Right way. One of these being leaving rotted stringers in the boat. If they are rotted they need to come out...Totally. SeaCast is commonly used here on the forum but it is pricey!!! Most of us use the basic plywood construction and make sure we do it right with proper prep and proper glassing techniques the transom, with proper maintenance and care will last for 40-50 years. That should be more than long enough for you. If you do some searching and studying, you'll learn a lot. The differences in most tri-hull boats are very insignificant so the restoration techniques will be basically the same for them all. These two links should help get you started....

Fabricating Decks, Stringers, and Transoms

View attachment MaterialsList.pdf

 

[sphelps]

I have used a good bit of seacast and WOG is right ... It is kinda pricey .. If your only interested in keeping this boat for 10/15 years ya may as well save some bucks and go with wood on the rebuild ... You just need to keep it covered and make sure you seal all the penetrations and it will last plenty long ...
Don't get me wrong I like seacast and have no regrets using it on my projects ... Just can't see using it and then try and sister in rotten stringers ... JMHO ...

 

[jbcurt00]

Its important to note that SeaCast isnt used as a filler just in the areas of wood rot, the whole transom still has to come out. Doing that and leaving the inner and outer fiberglass skins intact can be a challenge for some.

If you pick a random amount between 2 and 4K and set that as a possible budget amount for rebuilding this boat, but decide to spend it all on a different boat, you could still end up w a different boat that has similar problems of rot below decks, IMO.

Look thru the rebuild topics, there are lots of rehabs posted on boats that cost more then 3K.

Good luck

 

[GA_Boater]

I don't think doing a half-way fix and overpowering by almost 40% is a such good idea.

 

[ctravis595]

Thanks for the suggestions, wood on the transom definitely seems the proper route. I was not aware I had to remove all wood to use the seacast method. Because it seems only about 25 percent of my transom is wet/rotting

Thanks for the links.

I understand the idea of restoring things the right way, it's just a boat primarily for freshwater lake usage so she won't need to necessarily withstand the harshest seas. My stringers don't seem too bad, just soft in a couple spots which is why I thought sistering some support might do a similar job of what I want to do

I've read that stringer rot will spread, which is why I'm sure you guys suggest replacing the stringers

My main issue with sinking a bunch of time and money into this boat is that I see absolutely no return on this investment. It seems boat hulls are often sold for free where I am at and the only thing desirable is the engine which easily removed with 4 bolts. Hard to spend 2k and 2 weeks on a boat that sells for free, as much as we value proper restoration and the beauty of it

 

[Woodonglass]

I understand what you're saying however, crossing wakes etc. puts a LOT of stress on our small little boats on freshwater lakes. Taking short cuts and cutting corners now might seem ok but...IF you had a catastrophic failure out in the middle of the lake, with loved ones on board, I'm sure you'd think differently. IT HAPPENS!!! None of us WANTED to take all the time, expense, and hard work to put our boats back into seaworthy shape but now that we have, the confidence we have in them, everytime we hit the water, makes it ALL worthwhile. Every used boat you buy will have issues. If you like this boat and it suits your needs, why not take the time and effort to put her back to Better than new. If you end up spending even $5-6 thousand dollars (I seriously doubt you will) and 200 hours (again I doubt it will take this long) you WILL have a boat that Costs THOUSANDS of dollars less than a new one, AND it will be as Good as a new one, if not better. It may not be as stylish as a new one and as you say the re-sale value will NOT be there, and you will prolly NOT get back what you put into it monetarily but, if you keep her and go to the lake regularly, you WILL get your money back in the enjoyment she will bring you and your loved ones.

This I can Guarantee!!!

I think that, in the end, This is truly what it's all about anyway!!!

 

[ondarvr]

"Interesting" methods and techniques don't typically last for 15 years, they are bandaids that fail rather soon. I suggested a more current and better design as a hull to work with because it's more worthy of spending the time and money to rebuild it, especially if you plan to keep it for a while, as in the 15 years you mentioned. The time and money will be about the same whether you start with a very old design, or a much newer and better one.

 

[ctravis595]

Great points for sure!

 

[DeepBlue2010]

Thanks for the suggestions, wood on the transom definitely seems the proper route. I was not aware I had to remove all wood to use the seacast method. Because it seems only about 25 percent of my transom is wet/rotting

Thanks for the links.

I understand the idea of restoring things the right way, it's just a boat primarily for freshwater lake usage so she won't need to necessarily withstand the harshest seas. My stringers don't seem too bad, just soft in a couple spots which is why I thought sistering some support might do a similar job of what I want to do

I've read that stringer rot will spread, which is why I'm sure you guys suggest replacing the stringers

My main issue with sinking a bunch of time and money into this boat is that I see absolutely no return on this investment. It seems boat hulls are often sold for free where I am at and the only thing desirable is the engine which easily removed with 4 bolts. Hard to spend 2k and 2 weeks on a boat that sells for free, as much as we value proper restoration and the beauty of it

I am curious, how you measure the ROI on anything related to boats or cars or any other depreciable non cash-flow generating assets?
The way I see it, and this is just me, that the word investment – in its traditional sense - and boat should not be mentioned in the same sentence. We are financing our fun based on our deposable income and what we can afford, hopefully. To the best of my knowledge, most private sellers – as opposed to stealerships – don’t make money when they sell their boats. Again we are financing our fun. IMHO, the ROI should be calculated only by the amount of fun you we have with our loved ones and the peace of mind we have that we don’t expose them to any avoidable risks.
My 1994 2252 Bayliner has a resell value of about $5000 on some websites. By the time I am done with it, it would cost me about $10K-15K plus what O paid for it. Is this a loss or gain? Well, a relatively newer version of this boat or a little bigger one would cost me something between $25-$35k used and I have no guarantees that whatever I buy will not need a rebuild soon after I buy it. So, you do the math.

If you like the boat, if you see yourself and your family enjoying this boat for long time, fix it right and secure yourself and your family and stop thinking about the resell value and all that jazz; this resell value is a phrase you will hear only when some sleaze-bag sells man is trying to talk your ears off into buying something from him/her. If you don’t see your needs in this boat, trash it and find one you like and you see yourself and your family enjoy for very long time and “invest” the money and time to bring it to the best sea-worthy condition you can afford. You will still come ahead – by miles – of the people who go and buy a brand new boat only to take at least 35% depreciation hit on their first day.

Just my $0.02. Happy new year to you & yours

 

[ctravis595]

I agree. I've decided to take this job more seriously

I've come to notice after removing deck lid, floor, sole and some rotting transom, my stringers are actually pretty strong for the most part, each stringer has 1 ft of rotten section where it seemed a couple of gallons of water may have sat for a decade? And the rot extends out from there a couple feet maximum each way (gets very firm and hard to pry)

I've done some reading and see that plywood actually makes more sense structurally because of it's design, rather than one heavy piece of solid wood. I will be making cuts of the ply(marine grade, or I read about a couple other water resistant ply material) to fit the notches I have chiseled out of the transom. 70% of my transom is actually very sturdy for a 1979, very impressed with the structural rigidity ply on glass can provide

I'm correct in thinking I can replace the rotten section of wood stringer with 2x4/2x6? Then I will learn to glass the stringers back to original shape(they support the deck) and glass the new transom ply...

If I have extra ply, I want to still glass in some sistered plywood to 2 of the 3 stringers(ones that reach the transom) for extra support with the increased hp. I was also considering adding a third layer of ply to my transom?

 

[DeepBlue2010]

Before you change the thickness of the transom, make sure that both the cap and the engine will still fit.
If you have any bulkheads connected to the stringers farther ahead toward the bow, take a core sample of the stringer as close to this connection as you can, you might be surprised of what you see.

 

[kcassells]

Well CT,
Welcome aboard!
You have your work cut out for you. In about every rehab I've read or been involved with....
While all is open-It's time to replace 100%, no partials because it comes back to bite you sooner than later. Set your time and $$ aside and expect that your completion date may very well be a little later than you anticipated.
But in the end you have made the boat better than the mfg original and you will know every inch of that boat inside and out. Mostly you'll take Great Pleasure in knowing you did it right and won't be suspect to further hull deterioration and a safe boat.
PS, me included expected to put gas in the tank and rock and roll. Getting past that is the 1st step to achieving your goals to a safe and better boat. it took me awhile you see as I dug into this and that and found more and more rot. Eventually the boat won and you're mind set will change.
Like DB says. Lots of guys to help you here. post pics and ask questions.
KC....Fellow Newb