1980 chrysler striper restoration

[Degrath]

Hello,
Just signed up on the forums today but I have been lurking and reading for several months now in prep from my project.
I just aquired a 1980 chrysler striper with a 55hp chrysler outboard and trailer and it needs work. The boat was sitting uncovered and unprotected for the last 8 years.

The Good:
The Hull is solid and in great shape. Some minor chips and dings but no holes or cracks. The engine started right up and pulled water from a tub also shifted fwd/rev/neutral with no issues. The guages, lights and switches are all present but the wiring is a mess.

The bad:
The floor, stringers,foam and transom. Floor was previously cut out. Stringer are all mush nothing left. The foam is water logged. The transom is still intact but the wood is soft and rotten.

I have stared the cleanout of the stringers and the foam but i am hoping there is someone around familiar with this boat who can tell me if it is possible to replace the transom without splitting the shell.

I have no experience with boat restoration but I have some carpentry, electrical and automotive restoration experience. I also have nothing but free time. I have been doing alot of online research about the job ahead of me and I feel everything I need to do is well within my skill set.

I will post all the pictures I have taken once I can get to a computer. I would like tro avoid splitting the hull if at all possible and any input on my project will be welcomed.

 

[Woodonglass]

Welcome to iBoats!!!
Due to the Splashwell configuration on your boat, It would NOT be practical to try and replace the transom without doing one of these two things. Remove the Cap or cut the splashwell off about 1 ft in front of the splashwell at the gunwales. If you want it to be more difficult and not advisable you could cut the outer skin to gain access but again NOT ADVISABLE!

 

[79_banshee]

I would take woodonglass advise very seriously. He is very good with this sort of thing I also am replacing my transom stringers and floor this winter. I have started already with my tear down. Removed the engine and top cap of boat. I think this is the best/easiest way to do it. It really wasn't hard to get it to this point couple hrs worth of work. I hope to start cutting and grinding the floor out in the next couple days. Good luck to you with your project

 

[Degrath]

Thank for the fast reply and advise. what is the best way to post photos on the forums? Can I upload them directly or do I need to host and link them from another site?
When splitting the top cap off will I need to provide support for the hull to keep the proper shape? I am assuming with the cap off it is going to want to spread out with the weight. If so does anyone have a link to a post or maybe a picture of what type of support at a minimum I should build to hold the weight of the hull. Currently boat is on the trailer and if possible I would like to keep it that way for space reasons.

 

[Degrath]

Pics of the boat when I got it home and washed it a bit.

 

[Degrath]

Where I am currently in the cleanout / demo. The foam is still in place but the stringers are cleaned out. Once I pull all the foam I am going to start ripping the transom out. I had hoped it would come in one piece but it is rotted pretty bad so I will have nothing to trace for cutting the replacement.

 

[Keith Ogden]

2x4 flooring ? what some of us won't try ......

 

[Degrath]

Yes the guy I bought it from use old pallets to rebuild the floor. The call I got about the boat was from a friend who knew this guy selling the boat. He was told by the guy that he just put new tires on the trailer and just replaced the floor. when I finally got to see it the guy said yes the tires and floor were new 8 years ago and had not had it out since. I almost didn't buy it but the price was right and as long as the engine ran I would not lose on the deal.

 

[Degrath]

Built an engine stand today out of some wood I had laying around the garage and lifted off the engine

 

[79_banshee]

My plan is to use 2x4 to help the hull keep shape. I was going to cut them to my measured length and use the holes from the rub rail to screw them to the inside of the boat. My plan was only to use 2 or 3 but my boat is only 15 feet. That's a nice looking boat you got sure will be nicer when your done your resto and get it out on the water

 

[Woodonglass]

Tri-Hulls like yours don't flex all that much but...you should still take a LOT of measurements at different locations so you can check on the go back to ensure the cap will fit back on. A couple of nylon straps should be the most you'd have to use to keep the sides from flexing out. You should probably add some 2x4 blocking on the front of the trailer to support the bow but again, trihulls are usually very stable unless the bottom of the hull is really thin.

 

[Degrath]

Woodonglass When you say to cut 1foot up from the spashwell is this what you mean to cut on both sides and lift off only the rear section?

 

[Woodonglass]

Yup that's it... Here's a another members method..

When it's time to put it back, We'll go over the technique for doing it right.

 

[79_banshee]

WOG wouldn't it be easier to take the hole cap off since Degrath has to do the floor as well. If it was only the transom area I could see this method being easier. JMHO

 

[Degrath]

That's what I figured you meant but I wanted to be sure. I still have not decided what route I want to take yet, I just want to make sure I understand all the options available. Although the more I look at it the more I am leaning towards cap removal. Once I get all the remaining foam out I will make my decision.
I found some measurements from another post for the transom and the stringers for a 1979 Chrysler Striper rebuild but I do not have anything to trace for the exact shapes or curves. Any suggestions for judging the curves? especially the taper of the stringers as they move forward to the bow. I was thinking of laying out some 14 gauge wire into the fiberglass channel left from the old stringers bent to the hull and then tracing that onto my stringer pattern and using some paper to take a rubbing from the back of the boat for the transom. Anyone have ideas?

 

[79_banshee]

Look on you tube the friscoboater channel. He has done a complete rebuild on an old Carson/glastron and he shows how to trace the back of the boat to get the curves you want or at least close to the shape of the boat. Cardboard is a good starting point as well to make templates. For the stringers you can pick up some of that foam board and shape it to the correct shape and trace that on to the wood

 

[79_banshee]

Subscribed. I'm gonna follow along with your rebuild I find this an interesting build good luck with it. If you want to check out my progress on my build it thread is and it begins glastron gt150. I only get out to work on it once a week so far but made some good progress yesterday.

 

[Degrath]

Things went a little further than I intended today. I started off just wanting to clean out the rest of the stringer mud and pull the foam but after that only taking an hour or two it became much more.

The foam, despite drying out in the sun for over a week and then a month in the hot garage was totally saturated!! I didn't think this could be possible. There was an inch of water in the back of the hull after pulling the foam. The port side foam pull up all in one piece clear to the transom but it was so water logged when i threw it of the boat it broke into about 10 pieces. the stbd side had to come out small sections at a time and was stuck to the hull in quite a few places.

So after I cleaned up all the mess and vacuumed for some reason I pulled the rub rail, drilled out all the rivets and popped the cap. It lifted off soo easy!! I lifted it high enough to slide a 2x4 under it in the front and then the rear then had a few neighbors help me lift it off onto some saw horses. I just couldn't stop it all seems easier than I had expected.

Just as I thought the transom just crumbled, where it was still wet it was all mud and where it was dry it was like saw dust and dry rot. Got some picture but it was already dark when I finished some clean up but I will have some better ones tomorrow when its light

 

[79_banshee]

No Title

Wow good progress today for you. Pulling the cap is a lot easier then expected that's for sure. Did you tie down the cap on the saw horses would hate for the wind to pick it up and flop it. I was thinking about putting mine on some barrels and filling them 3/4 full of water and tieing it to them but then I got thinking about the pole shed out back. It only has 3 walls to it but at least it won't blow over and crack. It should keep the snow off it too

 

[Degrath]

Totally forgot to tie it down, wind is pretty calm here in Ohio tonight though. Unfortunately I have no enclosed storage. 2 car garage is in use for the cars and I still have 2 cars outside. I do not have a HOA for my area so I may end up getting a temp carport setup to cover the hull this winter. If I run out of time with the weather I will place the cap back over the hull and cover both.

Also just started watching the carson/glastron restore on friscoboater channel. I have been watching his Searay videos and had him on favorites for a while. He is really good with the explanations in his videos and I have learned quite a bit watching them. I do envy being able to drop all that cash on materials, projects and toys like that. Sadly for me I have T-Bone tastes with a bologna budget.