1977 Thundercraft Resto - Need Some Help

[Tadd352]

Just bought a boat for 20$ with title..its a 1977 thundercraft 13'6".. looking for some suggestions on where to start my first restoration project.

 

[GA_Boater]

Tadd352 Welcome aboard.

Moved your post right here, the Resto section. No need to start another thread, continue with this one.

 

[Tadd352]

Thanks..not a problem. I'll get this down eventually.

 

[Tadd352]

[No message]

 

[Tadd352]

[No message]

 

[GA_Boater]

Good move by adding pics. :thumb:

You have a lot of work ahead.

 

[Tadd352]

GA_boater any suggestions?

 

[GA_Boater]

Not from me, I only know about aluminum boats. Someone will be along and I'm going to change the thread title slightly.

 

[RazorbackBoater]

Welcome to boat restoration! There are many on here that are experts and can help give you great advice. I am not an expert, so I will leave it to them! Definitely go through other rebuilds to learn.

My one piece of advice is to go buy a good respirator, a tyvek style suit, gloves, and some eye protection. That is not optional. You will need to grind the fiberglass and that dust is not good to breathe or have in your eyes and you wont want to be itchy!

 

[sphelps]

Welcome aboard Tadd ! RbB is dead on about the PPE .. A good fitting respirator is a must ... Those little paper dust mask
that everyone is wearing on the news now days aren’t good enough. First thing is get the boat well supported underneath .
It need to settle in its original shape ..You don’t want glass in a hook /dip/or twist in the hull .. Not much for stringers in there so I’m assuming that the foam was a structural component.. You may be able to take the center stringer out in one piece .
You could probably use it for a template for the new stringers .. . Leave the little bit of deck that’s around the edg of the hull there for now as a guide height for the stringers . Later you will grind that out to tab in the new deck .. Get a angle grinder fit with some 36 grit paper an start cleaning the stringer area for new glass .. Just grind down to good clean glass and stop ..
‘Decide on your choice for material either epoxy or polyester resin .. Post pics and ask questions along the way so we see what you see ..
‘Good luck with the restoration ! :welcome:

 

[Tadd352]

I'll keep you posted thanks alot yall

 

[Tadd352]

I put togther a stand for the boat and started some sanding.. the stringer still seems solid but I'm not sure.. going to need some opinions also getting a friend who works on boats to come take look when he gets the chance.. still a work in progress.

 

[Tadd352]

[No message]

 

[Tadd352]

[No message]

 

[sphelps]

It looked like originally it had 2 layers of 3/4’ ply for the transom .Hard to tell ..
To keep the curve in the transom you could laminate 3 layers of 1/2” one at a time . Build a jig of sorts to hold the shape while the glue dries ...

 

[Tadd352]

Ok looking into the process of laminating 3 layers to get down the steps and process.. going to try to find some marine grade plywood but will have to make the drive about an hour north of me to hommassa florida.

 

[sphelps]

Are you using poly or epoxy resin ? Most use poly ...
‘Make sure you get a gallon or 2 of acetone ..
A thickening powder / cabosil along with your resin 1708 cloth and such ..

 

[Tadd352]

I was thinking epoxy just from what I have seen online its stronger.. but seems that I'll need that some resign 1708 like you mentioned but do you think I should throw chop strand in the mix too? And what's the deal with the thickening agent? I'm looking into the seacast maybe.. make a form of fiberglass that has the orginal curve and pour the transom. If anyone knows about seacast or a thread lmk.. I have the transom exposed and about gutted out I'll post some pics tomorrow

 

[kcassells]

Hi Tadd,
With eeeppooxxyy you use 1700. It has no csm backing and does not require any csm.
Seacaste is another product altogether that Sam has much better info on. Always start your project with poly or eppoxxy and stick with it thru the whole job.
Epox sticks to poly but poly wont stick to epoxy.

 

[sphelps]

If you do decide to go with seacast , you MUST use poly resin for anything that the seacast is bonding to ...
‘It will not stick to epoxy because it is poly based ...