Wellcraft 23 Nova project

[arks]

1985 model, 260 Merc/Alpha. Re-powered 1997.
I bought this boat last year but only in the past couple months found the time/energy to make real progress.
Background:
I owned the same year/model boat for 18 years but sold it in 2004 to go bigger.
Long story short, I got this one for the right price.
-Boat had minor hull damage that was repaired with MarineTex but not properly feathered. It's taken LOTS of sanding/re-feathering to make it right. After prep, I applied white epoxy barrier coat up to the gray gel.
Before:

-No trailer. Rented one to get her home and blocked.
Found a good one in the spring, so once the bottom epoxy was dry I -carefully- put the trailer under the boat.
Would have been a lot easier with another person!

-When purchased, the engine/outdrive were run and tested by a marine mechanic. Other than routine service they should be good to go. Biggest ??? was the built-in 80 gal. aluminium gas tank- it was dry but dirty. I've rigged a temporary 'polishing' system that circulates the gas using a Racor 10 micron filter/separator with an electric fuel pump:

-Sooo, the new gas goes in yellow and comes out red. The GOOD news is that there's no water at all. Looks like I'll have to flow enough E10 thru the tank to make it come out clean:

-One of the stringers is questionable. The port motor mount is depressed about 1/8". I'll have to investigate this some more. My mechanic is talented with reconstruction so I'll probably have him do any dirty work....
- The hull is heavily oxidized so I'll try buffing or wet-sanding to restore some shine. I'd also like to re-stripe it at some point but it's not high on the priority list.

I'm glad to finally have it on the trailer. The plan is to get the tank cleaned up and ready for fresh gas, carry out some maintenance, then start her up just after last frost next spring. If all goes well at home then it'll be heading for the launch ramp for basic water-testing.
It's gonna be a LONG winter!

Comments are welcome!

 

[oops!]

Re: Wellcraft 23 Nova project

hi budddy,
welcome to the dry dock.

one of the best polishing ways is to do what you are doing.....but drive the boat around town.....when you get to stop lights. just stop a little harder.

with a half tank of gas. it will slosh around plenty !

 

[oops!]

Re: Wellcraft 23 Nova project

lol....your pics just showed up after i posted

 

[arks]

Re: Wellcraft 23 Nova project

one of the best polishing ways is to do what you are doing.....but drive the boat around town.....when you get to stop lights. just stop a little harder.

with a half tank of gas. it will slosh around plenty !

Yeah that the plan, after I get the bottom of the tank cleaned up. At this point I'm running 6-8 gallons thru at a time. I can agitate the tank by pushing on the side of the boat a few times.

Here's a wider shot of the fuel line running into the filler neck after being filtered:

 

[Blue Crabber]

Re: Wellcraft 23 Nova project

Arks - its great to see pics of the "new" boat and that you are making progress! She looks to be in very good condition.

Any idea on what you will be naming her?

Oh yeah, and if you ever need a hand like putting her on the trailer, you had better call next time can't wait to see her on the water next spring!

Long winter? Yeah, it's going to be one of the longest ever!

Keep up the great work!

 

[arks]

Re: Wellcraft 23 Nova project

Arks - its great to see pics of the "new" boat and that you are making progress! She looks to be in very good condition.

As you know she needs a good buff (or repaint), but the cockpit upholstery is spectacular:

Exterior:

Any idea on what you will be naming her?

Not positive, but my daughter wants me to name it after her, so maybe the "Lauren E"

Oh yeah, and if you ever need a hand like putting her on the trailer, you had better call next time can't wait to see her on the water next spring!

Thanks, but that day wasn't planned in advance- rain was forecast the next few days and I wanted to get it done without tearing up the lawn.

Long winter? Yeah, it's going to be one of the longest ever!

ESPECIALLY for you, my friend!

 

[skargo]

Re: Wellcraft 23 Nova project

Glad to see this thread! I know your mechanic, he's great!

That fuel polishing setup is clever!

How did the grand handle towing it?

 

[arks]

Re: Wellcraft 23 Nova project

Yeah, after much debate I decided to get her ready to splash instead of taking it farther apart.
It's nice to know Matt is around to do what I'm not comfortable doing!
If needed, I can add a temporary stringer plate if it's a serious issue (which I don't think it is....).
The plan is to permanantly install the Racor after cleaning up the tank BUT I gotta buy a steel bowl to be legal.
So far I've completed 2 flushes (recirculating the gas at least 8 hours each) and it's still red. It runs fine thru my lawnmower.

I use the ZJ for moving trailers around the yard because the F250 is 2WD.
The jeep is rated to tow 5K but probably wouldn't be much fun (short wheelbase, coil springs).

 

[arks]

Re: Wellcraft 23 Nova project

Update:
After 4 flushes the gas is finally coming out 'less red', but still not yellow. I plan to add a larger quantity next time (20 gallons) and keep circulating. I'm running the filtered stuff thru our cars, so the gas isn't being wasted. Maybe by spring it'll be good!

Last weekend we had great weather so I took the buffer to the hull for the first time.
I was surprised to see some shine. Thought maybe it was too far gone.
The hull isn't perfect but 100% better than before.

You can see my wheelbarrow in the reflection!

 

[Blue Crabber]

Great to see the progress! That reminds me that my "little" boat really needs shined up too! Good thing I enjoy working on boats!

I am curious, how many filters in the Racor have you gone through now? I just got one of those to install in the Wellcraft this winter. Think I will be getting a couple for the Sea Ray too.

Keep up the good work

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Wellcraft 23 Nova project

That reminds me that my "little" boat really needs shined up too!

Hmm, interesting. When I saw the above pic, I thought to myself, he should go do Brandon's while he's at it

 

[skargo]

Re: Wellcraft 23 Nova project

cough*vaseline*cough

 

[arks]

Re: Wellcraft 23 Nova project

Oh, you and your vaseline......!
Gotta say, that buffing kicks my a##. Only got half of one side done and my shoulders were sore for a couple days.

Brandon- surprisingly, I'm still on filter #1. Still has good fuel pressure and volume. Guess there wasn't too many solids in the tank.

 

[Blue Crabber]

Re: Wellcraft 23 Nova project

Just bumping this thread back up to see if you have made any more progress and if you will have it ready for a spring time launch! Looking forward to seeing it on the water.

 

[arks]

Re: Wellcraft 23 Nova project

Slow progress, and for some reason it seems that I'm taking apart more than I'm assembling.
The good news is the gas tank is CLEAN.
That Racor has probably filtered/re-filtered 1000 gallons of gas!
I did (finally) get the trailer and hull registered, so when the time comes I'll be legal.
Hopefully I'll have the free time and energy to get it ready to splash before too long.

BTW, my definition of 'splash' means being ready for the first round of testing. Might not even get her off the trailer the first time. I fully expect to have some issues before I can just jump in and blast down to Stillpond.
By thinking this way, I plan to minimize any disappointments.....

 

[rpaldrich]

Re: Wellcraft 23 Nova project

Arks,

Nova looks good! I've liked the looks of the Nova for a long time and just purchased one. It is a 1986 and painted white and red. The white part isn't too oxydized but the Red is real chalky (maybe the white is, it may just be harder to see.) I have a random orbital buffer and was wondering how you applied/buffed the polish on such a large hull w oxydation?

I have the kind of buffer with a foam pad that you slip an "applicator pad" or "buffing terry cloth" over. Just wondering how often you had to replace the terry cloth or applicator. Did you wash them, or use them the whole boat? Last time I did it it required hand rubbing with a towel to get all the polish off bc the buffer terry cloth got saturated with polish?

Thanks a lot!

 

[arks]

Re: Wellcraft 23 Nova project

Nova looks good! I've liked the looks of the Nova for a long time and just purchased one.

Thanks- I like them too. They're good boats if the stringers are dry. Congrats on yours.

I have a random orbital buffer and was wondering how you applied/buffed the polish on such a large hull w oxydation?

I use a heavy-duty 7" buffer/grinder with 3M "Perfect-It" foam pads. See pics. With this type of buffer it's very easy to burn thru the gelcoat, but it does the job 100x better than a car buffer. I use black pads for wax application and white pads for polishing. Lots of work, but I think it's worth the effort.

I have the kind of buffer with a foam pad that you slip an "applicator pad" or "buffing terry cloth" over. Just wondering how often you had to replace the terry cloth or applicator. Did you wash them, or use them the whole boat? Last time I did it it required hand rubbing with a towel to get all the polish off bc the buffer terry cloth got saturated with polish?

I don't use terry bonnets at all. I use the 3M pads until they're almost flat- which is a LONG time! I use 'em to polish my cars too. They can be washed out and dried which is a good thing because they're not cheap!

Here's a pic of my 'first' Nova showing the buffer and how much better it looks after buffing. Pretty amazing!

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Wellcraft 23 Nova project

Looking forward to more progress on this one. Very nice looking project.

 

[Augie56]

Re: Wellcraft 23 Nova project

Great looking Wellcraft! I've just gotten into the "big boy boat" game this year (Wellcraft 196 Sunhatch), and my hull is in pretty good shape but needs a good buffing after a few small gelcoat scartch repairs. I haven't bought a car buffer or grinder/buffer yet, but after reading your posts I'm leaning toward the 6 or 7 inch right-angle grinder/buffer. Could you tell me exactly what pads and polishing compound you use? My level of oxidation is minor, so I won't really need anything too aggressive. Thanks in advance!

 

[arks]

Re: Wellcraft 23 Nova project

Thanks guys, but it's nothing compared to Mustangs Silverton resto!

Augie- Google '3M Perfect-It' and you'll find kits with pads and cutting compound. If you get an angle buffer make sure it's variable speed. My old Black and Decker "Buffmaster" has 2 separate speed switches (trigger and rotary). Don't be too aggressive until you get the feel of it. My neighbor runs a body shop and 'learned' me how to use a buffer properly. It doesn't take much compound or wax to work. There's probably some YouTube vids on the process.

The gray Nova was pretty far gone, so I used heavy-duty Turtle wax compound (the white stuff) and el-cheapo Turtle wax car wax. That'll do it for me on this boat, but a second (or third) lighter compound would've made it 'pop' even more.

Back when I polished the blue Nova I buffed in 3 different compounds (don't remember the brand) followed by 2 coats of Zymol wax. It was a lot of effort but I couldn't believe how it brought back ALL the original shine. It also eliminated those awful black streaks that boats get when sitting outside.
Here's another shot of the old Nova after refinishing. When I took that pic, the boat was 19 years old. Check out that shine!