70's Cadorette Trihull, possible restore

[srollin]

Hi fellow boaters,

I have been reading this forum for the past year now and even asked a few questions for my motor and got awesome answers.

I have bought my boat for 700$ last year. It's an old boat, I had issues with it, but I solved most of them. I'm up to the point of maybe doing it a facelift and I will need your opinion on the task at hand.

http://s1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh571/srollin/

I never did any type of restoration before and I'm scared to start it and never finish it or screw the job so bad that the thing is done for the crapper. I see people with immense skillset on this website that are doing an incredible projects with incredible results, and I'm wondering if I'm up to the challenge to make this rough looking boat way better.

I have read tons of post and viewed vids and pics on how to do fiberglass and replace a transom. I have the unfortunate or fortunate problem of having bought the boat from a previous owner who apparently changed the floors, stringers and transom. On first look it seemed ok, but once I got back from a boating day I hit a huge bump in the road, enough that the splash well cracked from the weight of the motor. That's when my questioning began.

I have posted pics on there and will be waiting for your comments on the whole boat or on the task that awaits me.

Here's what I wonder:

-Should I redo the transom, floor and stringers
-What should I do for the cracks and weathered look? I'm unfamiliar with gelcoat, paint and such. I'm not equiped with a painting booth, garage or air compressor either... I have read tons of posts, some suggest a complete sanding and redo gelcoat, others it's fillers(?) and paint, sand and repeat.

Thank you in advance for your input!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 70's Cadorette Trihull, possible restore

If you want to spend $1500 to $2000 dollars 150 - 200 hours and Get yucky dirty and itchy then, Yeah you could restore her. But...You seem to be apprehensive about your skills and willingness to do this. If that's the case take the money and buy a better boat, however, you need to be very careful in your selection so you don't get another boat that needs restoring. Bottom line...unless you are emotionally attached to her OR you just gotta have a project to work on...I'd pass on this one.

 

[srollin]

Re: 70's Cadorette Trihull, possible restore

Thanks Woodonglass.

I gotta say that I'm not totally out of skills. I'm able to do good wood working, usually I do well on big stuff, but the details sometime get to me. What I apprehend mostly about the boat is the transom. It has not been done properly. In fact the whole back area has been shaped to look like the original boat, but it seems to be new skin instead of the original glass. From most transom work I viewed, the inside skin was cut off to glass the new transom in. And it was properly cut and fitted, tabbed, glued and glassed to the stringers and side of the boat. What I see on my boat is the plywood has been covered in what I assume is resin, but I think it holds on to the boat by the bolts of the motor and the metal eyes to secure it to the trailer.

I am also concern about the equipement needed. I do not own a garage or a compressor to shoot the paint or gelcoat. I guess what I'm affraid of is getting stuck in the middle of the restoration with hundreds of dollars invested, but without any way to complete it because I didn't have a plan.

Is there some steps to a restoration that must be followed?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 70's Cadorette Trihull, possible restore

Tools needed...
Circular Saw, 4 1/2" grinder, R/O Sander, Hammer, Chisels. Personal Protection equipment,(Respirator, goggles, Tyvek suit) You can Roll n' Tip the paint. Glass supplies in Canada ARE kinda hard to find and get. If you don't have the space, time or equipment thne your options are kinda limited.

 

[srollin]

Re: 70's Cadorette Trihull, possible restore

Ok I have all the power tools you mentionned, the tyvek suit, google and respirator I can grab at my local carquest shop.

So I guess the first thing would be to spot for a glass supplier around me. With Ottawa and Montreal close by, I should be able to find what I require as far as building material goes. I doubt I could find marine grade plywood though, is it mandatory or can it be replaced by another type of plywood?

As far as hours, I do need a winter project, I might have to convince my father in law to lend me part of his garage though. I guess, to start, I could simply repaint the motor cowling, it'll give me some practice on how to paint glass and such and I could do it this summer without compromising the boating season.

 

[srollin]

Re: 70's Cadorette Trihull, possible restore

Found a few places in MTL for fiberglass stuff.

http://www.hl-plasto.com/prodlist.asp?s=3
http://www.distributioncomposites.com/DistributionComposites_Catalogue2011.pdf

 

[srollin]

Re: 70's Cadorette Trihull, possible restore

Okay so I have decided to do a simple restoration.

So I'm basically going to do it in 4 steps:

1-Repaint the motor

2-Remove seats, windows, prep the hull, remove rubrail (that will be replace by a new one)

3-Glass repairs, sand and paint

4-Redo interior: new carpet, new seats, re-install windows, install livewell, redo electrical stuff (lights, bilge pumps, swithes, sound system)

So I won't be redoing the transom afterall. I might do a spot check to see if it needs to be redone first. I want to basically get the dirty stuff done before winter time since I'll use my father in-law's garage to do the rest (probably the paint and such) during winter season.

 

[srollin]

Re: 70's Cadorette Trihull, possible restore

For step one:

I have a few questions regarding the paint and primer I want to order. I'll be ordering my stuff from nymarine.ca they sell paint and primer either by spray can or quarts. I might order the spray cans since I don't own a compressor big enough to do paint.

My first question is regarding the aluminum prep. I have read this posthttp://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=457159 about aluminum prep. Are they the same steps as for my motor's lower unit?

My second question is regarding that issue:

See the pitting? I guess this is the result of corrosion over time. Is there anything that can be done to stop it further. Someone suggested sanding, but I have read somewhere on iboats to never sand aluminum since it could be lethal. Should I use bondo or some kind of car putty to fill the pits before priming? Is it ok to leave it like that?

Third question is regarding the prepping of the rest of the motor. Oil and grease are left on the underside of the front of the motor where the bracket for the steering control is. I can't wash it by hand and I doubt water will do the trick. Plus there are creases that I can't get to, how should I go about cleaning those? Pressure washer?