83 Thundercraft First Restore and a few questions.

[jtullous]

Hello All,

We have just acquired a 1983 Thunder craft Citation the other day. It needs some work and we pretty much just got finished stripping the seats and all the wood besides the floor out of the boat.

This is our first boat ever and wanted a little project for me and my son.

There is a few questions I have and I have tried to hunt the answers down before posting but I am new to boating and don't understand to much.

One is what is the white stuff on the inside of the boat? There this bean running the length of the boat and it has rotted and was going to replace it. Seen a few pictures of others that has done it but not on this exact boat. How does this beam stay in place there in the center of the boat? Does this coating build the strength of the boat?

Another question is do they make repair manuals like they do for cars by boats? If so where can I find something that can really help me.

There are a few blemishes on the hull but not leaking and wanted to also find some resources on fixing those nicks on the hull.

I have added a few pictures of the beam and white stuff I am talking about.

Any help would be such a great help.

Thanks.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 83 Thundercraft First Restore and a few questions.

Welcome to the iBoats Dry Dock!

Sorry No Boat Repair Manuals but... You have come to the BEST online source for repairing your boat. There are plenty of people on here to give you the expert advice that you will need to successfully repair your boat. Just keep posting pics and asking questions and you'll be done in no time.
Here's a link to a fellow iBoaters thread for a boat just like yours. You'll see he had the same questions and had great help.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=383644&page=1

The beam is called a Stringer. It is the Main backbone of your hull. The White Stuff appears to be a coating of Gelcoat of some other waterproofing substance to aid in waterproofing everything. The gouges in the hull are easily fixed with basic fiberglassing skills which we can address when the time comes. What Motor do you have? Have you core sampled the stringers and the transom and the motor mounts? Are you planning on De-capitating the boat and removing the motor? Can you post pics of the entire boat? What is your budget? What is your time frame? We will be here for you for the duration.

Welcome aboard.

 

[jtullous]

Re: 83 Thundercraft First Restore and a few questions.

Hello Woodonglass,

Thanks for getting back with me. That what it is called! Then that thing is rotted to the bone, I can reach in and pick wood out and it is soaked. I dont mind removing the engine and there is really no time frame but like to learn at least by winter or so. No budget really on this project would like to use what I can that is useable but open to full ideas.

History i know it was a 2 owner boat passed down to nephew which the first own keep it garage, nephew had it out side but covered. That's what I was told. The Out drive is gone as you can see. He does have 2 Out drive he said but his brother in law has them and was working on them for a bit of time. Which he says he will get to me by Tuesday but if not I have priced them already 1.2k to 3k for a new one. I have removed the back seats and side panels. Haven't touched the front as of yet.

I would like to make sure all the wood in the boat is good if not replaced. I'm just kind of lost at that aspect due to I don't know how it is put in and fastened down. It not a wall that I can just hammer it in and be done i know.

If I was able to get it to the shell and to the Stringer to replace would I just cut it out around it? Would it just lift out then what left of it? How does that part of the boat stay where it needs to be?

I would also probably rip the engine out and replace the square mount there also.

So what keep the stringer and the mount attached to the boat?

I saw a post.... http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=383644 and what he did and it gave some insight of how the boat was put together.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 83 Thundercraft First Restore and a few questions.

Right now, this guy, is the GURU on the forum for how to restore boats. He has done some outstanding documentation including videos on how to do everything that will need to be done on your boat. It WILL take some time for you to get through all of it but I PROMISE you it will be worth every minute of your time.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=454460&highlight=friscoboater

 

[jtullous]

Re: 83 Thundercraft First Restore and a few questions.

Another quick question. The previous owner told me that this engine take leaded gas. He used a lead additive on this engine. Is there a better engine/Out drive setup out there that can replace this engine?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 83 Thundercraft First Restore and a few questions.

You have not told us what engine you have.

 

[jtullous]

Re: 83 Thundercraft First Restore and a few questions.

Sorry I guess the pictures didnt upload.

The Engine appears to be a OMC 3.0L inline 4.

 

[stackz]

Re: 83 Thundercraft First Restore and a few questions.

is that a stringer drive?

 

[boatnut74]

Re: 83 Thundercraft First Restore and a few questions.

Yep, thats a stringer drive alright.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 83 Thundercraft First Restore and a few questions.

JT, I am NOT a PRO. I am NOT an I/O kind of guy. I prefer outboards. I have fixed a few Old boats by tearing out the stringers and transoms and decks and replacing them. I have done a LOT or research on boat repair and during the course of that research I have found out the OMC corp went under in 2001 and these engines are not highly desirable now, and parts are not that easy to come by. I would think your first order of business would to make SURE that you can get that 28 year old power plant up and running in good shape before you sink any more time, effort or money into this project. Hopefully others with more experience with this motor will chime in.

 

[jtullous]

Re: 83 Thundercraft First Restore and a few questions.

I agree about the engine. Me and a buddy just yanked the engine out along with the top portion of the boat.

We are about to cut out the decking which is sad its pretty new looking but the Stringers are dead, the motor housing is bad, and the transom is toast.

I do have a few questions on the transom and how it is removed. I did find a ton of read on the subject but the answer I am looking for was never straight up said. Can I cut the transom around the edge were the fiber glass is molded to the hull in order to get back out. Then once it is all out and cleaned up cut the new transom to fit and them epoxy it back on and then fiber glass with mat over it to build the strength? Do I epoxy it on the back side of the transom that is attached to the hull and then around the sides and bottom correct?

That is how I am making it out to be. Same goes with the stringer and the Motor support. Remove, clean up, epoxy it down then glass over it including mat.

I do notice there is no foam though. Is that normal? Is it bad to add foam into the boat and would that possible increase the weight limit of the boat? Not saying 900lbs is not enough but 4 200lbs peeps seem not a lot.

As for the epoxy do you recommend a type and brand? As of the fiber glass do i look for specific wha about the mat i am seens different kinds and not sure there.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 83 Thundercraft First Restore and a few questions.

To replace the transom I recommend using a Circular Saw set to a depth just shy of the depth of your wood and cutting a grid into the transom making SURE you are NOT cutting into the outer Fiberglass skin of the Stern of the boat. Once this grid is cut it's just a matter of using a chisel to remove the wood as best you can from the outer skin. You then use a 4 1/2" grinder with a backing pad and 36 grind sanding discs to grind the remaing wood off of the skin leaving fresh glass on the outer skin of the stern into the corners, around the sides of the hull about a foot and down on the bottom of the hull about a foot. Everything should be ground down to nice clean fresh glass.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yw6MH-BV_k&feature=player_embedded#at=493

This has good info on I/O transom replacement as well

http://transomfix.dcpolk.com/Home-1/prepping-for-the-new-transom

 

[jtullous]

Re: 83 Thundercraft First Restore and a few questions.

Hey Woodonglass,

Wanted to ask you a quick question. I am down to the transom now. All the stringers and motor housing was mud wood. BAD! But have it all removed. Now the transom is about 2 inch thick and only the bottom portion of it is rotted and the rest is good. I been beating cutting sawing to no limits right now. Is there anything that I can use or do to make this not a huge nightmare? Anything to soften it up a bit?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 83 Thundercraft First Restore and a few questions.

Set your saw to just shy of the depth of the transom wood. DO NOT CUT INTO THE OUTER SKIN. Cut a grid into the wood, no particular pattern just multiple passes then you should be able to chisel it off relatively easily.

 

[jtullous]

Re: 83 Thundercraft First Restore and a few questions.

cool that helped a ton. Done with it.

I watched FriscoJarretts over on YouTube and followed a ton of his stuff. I am down to the grinding but now and was curious about one thing. I know you sand and grind down to the fiberglass but do I need to grind it down past the epoxy on the transom since there was ton behind the wood?

One last thing I do have to take out is I left about 1 inch to a half of inch of the deck around the inside. Who ever put the deck in sealed the tar out of it and still debating on how I can get it cleaned out and grind down. Should I ground it out so I leave a lip so I can have a guide to put the new floor in?

My goal by the end of the week is to have the boat completely sanded and prep to install the new wood next week.

There is a few spots i found on the hull its self that need cut out a redone but will cross that road soon.

Ill probably post again once I get to the point putting it back in but I think I have that down.

You have been a great deal of help Woodonglass thanks a million.