1976 Century Arabian - Mercruiser 888 - Boat Restoration

[ezmobee]

Re: 1976 Century Arabian - Mercruiser 888 - Boat Restoration

you could build a laminated transom out of 1/4 ply and hold it to the proper curve while the glue sets.

This was gonna be my suggestion.

 

[jones01m]

Re: 1976 Century Arabian - Mercruiser 888 - Boat Restoration

Gentlemen, I like it!!! The multiple layers bonded into a laminate should make for a very nice structure. Thanks for the suggestions.

The cap has I nice little curve to it also. I'll have to either transfer the cap curve to the transom with a jig, or put the cap back on and get a little more creative with my clamping.

Would a bathroom underlayment work OK for the 1/4" thick? I think it is water resistant. I would coat both sides with epoxy.

 

[parrisw]

Re: 1976 Century Arabian - Mercruiser 888 - Boat Restoration

I would use some of the Auraco exterior ply. Or better yet get Marine ply.

 

[MountaineerMiner]

Re: 1976 Century Arabian - Mercruiser 888 - Boat Restoration

According to Cadwelder you can source marine ply at both The Plywood Mart and Mecklenburg Lumber in your area.

 

[jones01m]

Re: 1976 Century Arabian - Mercruiser 888 - Boat Restoration

parrisw & MM, thanks for the tips on the ply. I ended up using the Aruaco ext ply to thicken the transom in the center section.

It has been while since the last update because I haven't had a chance to do some real work. I has just been a busy couple of weeks and I don't see that changing until mid-october. The last I posted I was struggling with the transom curvature - I want to insure that cap goes back on. So, I layed up several pieces of 1/8" wood with PL and screwed them to the cap at in the stern. When the PL dried it made the perfect form, then I simply screwed to the stern on the hull and put a stiffener back to it. Now when I adhere the transom to the hull I will not change the shape at the interface with the cap.

I also made 1/8" masonite patterns of both the inner and outer transom plates. These are coming in real handy for laying things out. I can put this baby back together with confidence.

Laminated the center section of the transome 3/4 - 1/4 -3/4" ply. I will drill through the assembly on a press with oversized holes then fill with epoxy and chopped fibers. Then I will redrill the thru holes to 1/2".

Laminated jig from cap

Transferred jig to hull

Center transom and inner and outer transom plate patterns

 

[parrisw]

Re: 1976 Century Arabian - Mercruiser 888 - Boat Restoration

Sweet!! That's looking really nice.

 

[jones01m]

Re: 1976 Century Arabian - Mercruiser 888 - Boat Restoration

Thanks parris.

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Question: My resin is epoxy. Is it overkill to glass over the transom ply? I will be bonding it to the hull with epoxy and will also fillet and tab it in. Right now it will be at precisely 2" thick once bonded, so I would prefer not to add glass. I was thinking just a couple more coats of brushed epoxy.

 

[parrisw]

Re: 1976 Century Arabian - Mercruiser 888 - Boat Restoration

Thanks parris.

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Question: My resin is epoxy. Is it overkill to glass over the transom ply? I will be bonding it to the hull with epoxy and will also fillet and tab it in. Right now it will be at precisely 2" thick once bonded, so I would prefer not to add glass. I was thinking just a couple more coats of brushed epoxy.

Your talking about the inside right where it bonds to the hull? If so I think that would be fine.

 

[jones01m]

Re: 1976 Century Arabian - Mercruiser 888 - Boat Restoration

Thanks. I suppose it makes since to add a layer of 1700 to the inside of the transom (side shown in picture) prior to installation?
I think the standard transom thickness is 2 to 2-1/4" for the MC1 transom plates. I should be OK.

 

[jones01m]

Re: 1976 Century Arabian - Mercruiser 888 - Boat Restoration

Wow, I cannot believe it has been 4 months. Holidays and some crazy stuff going on at work has kept me away. Anyway, I got back to it last weekend and the transom is now all glassed in. I really enjoyed the glassin'... it is almost kind of soothing. I am feeling pretty motivated once again.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1976 Century Arabian - Mercruiser 888 - Boat Restoration

Welcome back to the dry dock! The 'glass & transom work look great.

Hope you have a productive Sunday too....

 

[jones01m]

Re: 1976 Century Arabian - Mercruiser 888 - Boat Restoration

JB, thank you. I actually did make a little more progress.

I created two boxes for the engine rails. I was a little intimidated about getting these the perfect height until I realized I could just hang them from some plywood straight edges that rest on the strakes (lingo ?) at the gunwales. Some spacers hang these at the perfect height as measured during disassembly with a little gap between the hull. Then I just shot a little PL premium underneath to hold them. When the PL dries I will remove the fixturing and move on to some stringers. Then back to the filleting and glasssing.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1976 Century Arabian - Mercruiser 888 - Boat Restoration

Nice looking suspension setup! PL cure takes some time, be patient, very patient. If you have a bubbling problem w/ the PL, cover it w/ heavy plastic (ziplock freezer bag thickness (mils??). slows the cure (not so great) helps keep bubbling to a minimum (good). PL doesn't like too cold, air temp or materials temp....

 

[jones01m]

Re: 1976 Century Arabian - Mercruiser 888 - Boat Restoration

Thank you for the PL advice. I gave her a look this morning and she seem to be setting up pretty nice. There were a couple of swelled areas, which I am glad they were soft, because I was able to easily trim them up. I temporarily screwed the top cap on to keep the boxes square and straight, but since it is temporary I can later get to the inside for filleting and glassing to provide a really nice foundation for the engine.

again, thanks for the head-up on the PL. This helps me plan my work a little better. I am thinking that when I am finished bonding the remaining stringers I will just let it cure for the five day work week prior to filleting.

 

[jones01m]

Re: 1976 Century Arabian - Mercruiser 888 - Boat Restoration

A little more progress. I pretty much have all the stringers in. There is one remaining bulkhead stringer to separate the engine compartment from the remaining deck, but I won't do that until the caps go back on my engine mount rails. So, a bunch of filleting and glassing to do. I think I figured out a good drain system that will separate the foam from the low points on the hull. I will do some testing to see how it works and then repost. More resin and the foam were ordered Fiday.

It has been pretty chilly out. I found that placing the resin in front of the heater works pretty well to lower the viscosity and aid in pumping and mixing. I had to be careful though... she kicks off pretty quick when using this method. By the way, cutting a plastic milk carton in half for use as a mixing container works great, plus it is reusable, because once everything hardens you can simply pop it out and use it again.

Slow and steady as she goes...

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1976 Century Arabian - Mercruiser 888 - Boat Restoration

Looks real good, nice work! Have a good week.....

 

[jones01m]

Re: 1976 Century Arabian - Mercruiser 888 - Boat Restoration

thanks jb. I guess the one good thing about the work week is it gives me a chance to think about my approach for the following Saturday.

 

[jones01m]

Re: 1976 Century Arabian - Mercruiser 888 - Boat Restoration

Alright! I am pretty excited about this one!

The gutter (or drain system) beneath the deck is something I have been thinking about for a while. I have seen several ideas in this forum, and maybe this one has been thought of, but it is new to me and I am quite pleased with the test result.

I took a piece of corner beading used for drywall and tacked in the edges with hot melt. Then I mixed my two part foam until it just started to expand and poured it right over the top of the beading. The idea here is that a dual pour would be employed when doing this in the boat where I first cover the drain, then I put down the deck and make a second pour. Since the beading has a ton of holes, it should make for the perfect drain. The pictures speak volumes.

I need someone to tell me why this might not work prior to me laying this in every down slope corner.

Test Set-Up

The Pour

The Result

 

[bear_69cuda]

Re: 1976 Century Arabian - Mercruiser 888 - Boat Restoration

It's a great idea, but it looks like the foam is sealing the drain holes? Or do you just want the water to run in the covered drain channel? I also dig the dual pour concept. I'm thinking about doing all my foam before I install the deck, like Sleeper6's project log... Great build and boat brutha!

 

[parrisw]

Re: 1976 Century Arabian - Mercruiser 888 - Boat Restoration

Good idea, the only thing I don't like about it is, is that corner bead is metal covered with paper. I'd be worried about it rusting away, and causing issues.