68 AristoCraft 8-teen off and running

[Lt. Dan]

Re: 68 AristoCraft 8-teen off and running

Had some time so I measured and mocked up the aluminum V8, It fits fine. I will modify the rear seat/hatch cover into a single unit, cutting away the seat buckets for exhaust manifolds (exiting through the out drive I hate noise) and working room, attaching it to a couple hidden hinges opening with a ram. Some photos to look at, any questions or concerns with something I do not see, please chime in. This block is a Mercedes M119 32V 4 Cam with nearly identical dimensions and weight of the LS1-3. Things are looking up& hooking up.

 

[sphelps]

Re: 68 AristoCraft 8-teen off and running

Just found this thread . I will stay out of the motor debate because well I have a hard time keeping my lawn mower running . :facepalm:
But what I do know is these AristoCraft boat are sooo cool ! I thought my boat had a cool hard top ..
Good luck with the rebuild . Will love to see it come together !

 

[Lt. Dan]

Re: 68 AristoCraft 8-teen off and running

Thanks sphelps...it has been interesting so far, a good friend is coming by tomorrow to measure and discuss a cross-member design motor mount setup using fluid filled Mercedes mounts, making the set-up virtually vibration free. Additionally I decided to not fill the upper transom drain installed at the factory because I intend to use this when opened as the engine oil drain by placing a petcock on the oil pan and extending the drain tube out the transom for ease of maintenance. When not in use it will be capped. No more sucking up the dipstick tube or nasty diapers in the bilge. I like clean, quite, vibration free, performance.

 

[Lt. Dan]

Re: 68 AristoCraft 8-teen off and running

I need guidance on the proper cutting technique of fiberglass;

Photo 1 shows the scribe line to cut across the rear of the seat/engine bay cover which will be hinged to allow the entire hatch area to open exposing the engine bay in its entirety. This seems straight forward to me, measure the line, make it level, cut it across the stern cap.

The above photo shows the side cut to be made along the edge of the rear deck plate with an angle cut up the ridge, across the top. My thought was an angle cut would allow a more precise fit of the panel when in the down position as opposed to the original right angle cut.

The above photo shows the side of the seat and lower edge of the engine compartment cover from side to side. By cutting the glass mat behind the panel I can remove the entire cut section from the inner liner, hinge it at the rear above the stern (photo 1) and be able to raise and lower the entire cover by rams on either side of the engine. The rear seat sections are to be cut out, the seat area will be glassed closed with a bench seat being installed ahead of the modified hatch.
What should I glass into reinforce the structure to support weight, as I'm thinking a sun pad will be a good fit here. Also the interior of the hatch will be sprayed with Lizard Skin heat/noise dampener then insulated with aluminum skinned something.

 

[sphelps]

Re: 68 AristoCraft 8-teen off and running

An angle grinder with a metal cut off wheel makes a nice cut . I assume you have some sort of trim that will go around the edge to keep water out somewhat . As far as support for the top my guess would be standing plywood vertically and glassing in from underneath .
Maybe doubled up ..
A wood glassed cleat mounted on the inside of the bottom cut might give the edges some support and keep water out also . Not sure if cutting like you have drawn will weaken the hull sides any but if you glass the bench seats to the sides somehow that should strengthen it back up .

 

[Lt. Dan]

Re: 68 AristoCraft 8-teen off and running

I thought about glassing and finishing a lip to both sides of the cut seam then adding a thin rubber gasket glued in to stop water intrusion and add a bit of the "finished look " to the hatch. I believe if I obtain and cut two engine hatches down, they will glass in nicely to the top of the rear seat allowing the removal of the entire backrest portion of the seats while giving the hatch a one piece look with no openings.

If I glass sealed wood under the soon to be hatch lid, support should be ensured? I have several types of angle & straight cut-off wheel air tools and didn't think about them, Thanks for the suggestion, they are capable of making fine cuts.

 

[matt167]

Re: 68 AristoCraft 8-teen off and running

I use an oscilating saw to cut fiberglass.. pretty much Surgical precision. tho it takes a while, it does not burn up metal blades very fast

 

[Lt. Dan]

Re: 68 AristoCraft 8-teen off and running

So as I stated at some point things change in process as in the cut lines for the hatch modification. Hinge size precluded the use of the original cut here lines. I re-mapped the cut and removed it in tact this morning, exposing the transom and creating much needed room for the stringer installation allowing for the V8.

...original hatch/rear seats

... single unit removed

... transom exposed, new garboard drain visible

As to changes in plans, the transom will be replaced, I found hollow sounding areas not located in the original test with the hatch in place, voids where the balsa has disappeared after holes were drilled in the transom for fish finders and other accessories so I decided it's there, it's accessible now why take a chance with more power. Done for the day,

 

[Lt. Dan]

Re: 68 AristoCraft 8-teen off and running

Who has knowledge or experience with a ceramic pourable compound used to replace transom wood by a company out of Florida,
ARJAY Performance Products? I came across this while researching "composite transom material". The weight is purported to be 40-50% less than the comparable sealed wood/glass setup but many times stronger and will never rot, can be drilled & tapped for hardware.
Found the concept interesting, a pourable transom that works for the life of the boat.

 

[sphelps]

Re: 68 AristoCraft 8-teen off and running

I used Seacast on my transom . Basically the same thing but you add shredded up fiberglass with the mix .
Pricey but good stuff ! They have a mix for stringers also .

 

[Lt. Dan]

Re: 68 AristoCraft 8-teen off and running

I'll pass on the pour in, I found a detailed description, when the prep is done properly & perfectly it will be the last transom ever installed on your boat, unfortunately the proper prep procedure is more involved than replacing the transom the conventional way.

 

[sphelps]

Re: 68 AristoCraft 8-teen off and running

Not necessarily . If you think about it you will still need to grind and clean the old fiberglass for a good bond . You will need to cut the inside skin out to clean it either way .

 

[Lt. Dan]

Re: 68 AristoCraft 8-teen off and running

After cleaning the inside skin from the rotted wood do you build a temporary outer wall that is removable to hold the pourable compound until it cures? I read a string of posts but they were not real clear. One said he placed a Styrofoam bulkhead to replace the glass transom cover and installed it to contain the compound until cured adding that it oozed out in areas where he stuffed cardboard to contain the leakage. Sounds like a potential mess with structural voids. Wouldn't do for the transom to crumble with this powertrain, I can do it for days but would hate to tread water that long, of course I could bob across Lake Ponchatrain if I had too being an average of 9ft deep .

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 68 AristoCraft 8-teen off and running

This is one of the best pictorial guides of how to do a composite transom on the forum, IMHO...http://forums.iboats.com/boat-resto...ki-boat-complete-restore-splashed-364284.html Starts at Post #21 .

This guy also did some nice work start at post #55http://forums.iboats.com/boat-resto.../mfg-rebuild-getting-started-pics-523969.html

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 68 AristoCraft 8-teen off and running

After cleaning the inside skin from the rotted wood do you build a temporary outer wall that is removable to hold the pourable compound until it cures? I read a string of posts but they were not real clear. One said he placed a Styrofoam bulkhead to replace the glass transom cover and installed it to contain the compound until cured adding that it oozed out in areas where he stuffed cardboard to contain the leakage. Sounds like a potential mess with structural voids. Wouldn't do for the transom to crumble with this powertrain, I can do it for days but would hate to tread water that long, of course I could bob across Lake Ponchatrain if I had too being an average of 9ft deep .

Yep ^^^ you at least have to have a temporary inner wall on the interior side of the transom. I think that's shown on the Arjay specifications *pdf/document on their website.

Some have carefully removed the existing fiberglass skin, then removed the rotted wooden transom & cleaned the inside surfaces that will abutt the pourable. Once prepped, it's set back in place, it's securely braced and tabbed so that once the pourable is completed, the skin remains in place, like it was before.

Some have also used a chainsaw (or similar) to dig down between the inner & outer fiberglass skins, leaving them both intact. Working on a 20+" deep channel that's about 1.5" wide is challenging and for sure difficult to ensure that the inner surfaces are as clean as they need to be & 100% of the rotten wood is removed.

BUT, I'm not sure either of those are good alternates based on my limited understanding of how your balsa cored transom was built originally.

Look thru the thread WOG posted, perhaps seeing it done DIY will help formulate a plan for yours...

 

[sphelps]

Re: 68 AristoCraft 8-teen off and running

If you can separate the inside skin from the existing wood in one piece . That would be the easiest way . Clean both sides re-tab in and pour it . Make some spacers out of PB to maintain the right thickness . Piece a cake ! If the skin tears up on the demo you can easily make a new skin .

 

[Lt. Dan]

Re: 68 AristoCraft 8-teen off and running

Thanks guys! I sat in the boat for 2 cups of coffee this morning visualizing what needs to be done. Got to say that the transom on this boat appears different than the ones that have been repaired and posted on the site. I like tech stuff like composites, so I'll research further after your suggestions. Either way, I have to tie the stringers that are going in for the centerline fuel cell & the motor mounts to the transom I think. They are not there now I suppose they were not needed. So I have some cleanup to do currently, I'll be back
Thanks again

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 68 AristoCraft 8-teen off and running

To be quite honest, to the best of my knowledge, now that I think about it, I've never seen a composite "Pour-In" transom done here on the forum for an I/O boat. Not saying that it can't or hasn't been done, just that in all my extensive "perusin'" I've never run across it. It's always been for Outboard Transoms. I did a quick search on the forum and couldn't come up with one. Looking at your configuration and how it all mounts up, I'm wondering now if you can actually do a composite transom with that outdrive. I'm NOT an outdrive guy so I guess I'll back out and leave it to those much more "In the Know!!!"

 

[sphelps]

Re: 68 AristoCraft 8-teen off and running

You have a point Woody . I don't think I have seen one poured on an I/O . I thought most of the stress was placed on the motor mounts .
And not so much on the transom .

 

[matt167]

Re: 68 AristoCraft 8-teen off and running

I don't think I'd do a pour in on an I/O.. There is a very narrow spec for transom thickness min and max thickness. And if you get it wrong, it's not going to go back togther right