'78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

[GT1000000]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Yep, a front loader will do nicely...not just for the engine, but properly rigged up can be a big help in lifting the cap, lifting the hull, flipping the hull for bottom painting, etc., etc.

Just find out what your neighbors favorite adult beverage is and keep a good supply on hand...LOL

 

[Trooper82]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Speaking of stringers. Who can tell me..

In a boat this size, are they there for structural integrity of the hull or just as a support member for the deck?

 

[GT1000000]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Definitely structural...before you get far enough along to pull them out, you will need to make sure the hull is properly supported or it will flex out of shape.

 

[zopperman]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Definitely structural...before you get far enough along to pull them out, you will need to make sure the hull is properly supported or it will flex out of shape.

I agree that the hull must be braced...
Pull the rubrail.. drill out the reevits or take out the screws and then pull the cap up. TADA! 6 big dudes should be able to move it

 

[Big Island Lifer]

Check out Friscoboater's thread. He did a full transom and stringers and didn't pull the cap. It is possible to do it without.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Trooper82]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

True, I have seen frisco's thread. He did an awesome job too. Will have to wait till this weekend to see what the transom looks like.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

I'm thinking this one can be done without a decap.

 

[Trooper82]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

I started ripping up the deck today. Taking a little break to provide an update.

Used my circular saw, set the depth to just over the thickness of the plywood and fiberglass overlay. Got as close as I could to the hull where it rises up the sides to the cap. (not sure what the correct terminology is)

Then made a few cuts at 90 degrees to make it a little easier to pull up the sections. Worked out pretty good. I have included some pics below.


I was not certain I needed to be this prepared for what I was about to start, but better safe than sorry I always say. (Yes I used a respirator/goggles and a second pair of gloves)

This is before I started cutting. Notice I finished picking up the foam around the tank. I really need to pull the tank out but have to empty it first, is half full, or is it half empty?

The decking here was really not all that bad, just a hint of starting to rot around the edges. The pockets could have used more foam in my opinion.
After closer inspection I am thinking this was the spray foam, not the pour type. Two blobs about the same size. I am also seeing evidence of previous repairs.

Foam on portside seems more abundant.

You can see that a bit closer to the bow there was more rot, on deck and the stringer. Pics in next post to show what I found/suspect.

Same goes for starboard side.

 

[Trooper82]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

As I was taking up the foam on the portside I noticed it was quite wet. After getting to the hull I noticed some raised fiberglass. Could this have been a hole that was repaired? I propbably won't know for sure till I get to sanding.

Notice how the stringer seems to be leaning towards the camera?

Different angle, seems the fiberglass on this stringer was sagging to me.

I won't take off the stringers till I get that tank out of my way. When it comes time though, would I be best to cut/grind them out?

If the stringers are good wood further up should I leave that or just take them out completely and start from scratch?

 

[zopperman]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Trooper, looks like all pour in foam. You can fix the voids when you go back and re deck her The foam is probably waterlogged at the bottom of teh deck looks wet which means it was just a matter of time before it rotted out. it could have been a hole, only one way to find out!!!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Yeah, On I/O's it's not a necessity to pop the cap. To pull the motor, One easy way is to hire a Tow truck. Usually $50 bucks and they'll come and pop it out for you as long as you have it ready to pull and place on your stand. Lot's of guys have used that method here on iBoats.
Nice work so far. I'm not much help on I/O's but friscoboater's thread is the BIBLE on how to do it right. OOPS thread on making a Stretch Limo out of a volkswagon is pretty good too!!!!

 

[Trooper82]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

To pull the motor, One easy way is to hire a Tow truck.

Now that is a good idea. Hitting the phone book now....

 

[zopperman]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Regarding the stringers, you can core sample them... and sister in the good wood (see andgott's Lake n sea resto thread), but I would imagine it would be easier to just make new stringers... unless there is a lot of good wood.
BTW, here's how I made an engine lift for 40 bucks
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=496010

 

[oops!]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

hi buddy.......got the link from my thread.

yeah a couple of things.....

as mentioned earlier by lots of people....the cap might not have to come off.....

the difference is that an outboard boat with a splash well......MUST come up.......but an i/o with room under the cap.....might not have to.
but you arent there yet.....you may not even have to pull the motor !!!!!!

the reason to pull the motor is because you are
A. doing the transom
B. the motor mounts are shot.
C. the stringer configuration. if it actually becomes part of the motor mount or forms the bilge next to the mount.

we dont even know if the transom is shot yet.

what i would suggest you rip up the deck around the motor......take core samples of the stringers and transom as well as the motor mounts.
this will tell you of the next phase of the tear down.

the boat has been done before.......that is evidenced by pic 3 in post 28......you can see foam remains from where the previous foam was removed.....and the pour in that is in there now is not factory......the reason for the lack of foam in the area is because the last restorer ran out of foam......a factory would know how much to pour.

since the boat has been done before....the transom might be good. the deck does not look too bad. but the condition of the stringers, leads me to beleive the previous rebbuild was not thorough enough......so its a 60/40 chance that you are ripping out the transom.

as for supporting the hull......you are on a good bunk trailer......do what BWT suggested in post 2 and you are good to rip and rebuild on that system.....just make sure that the boat is evenly supported....no one point is "point loading" the hull.

safety is paramount... even though you are just using a circ saw.....dust is major on the lungs....ask your wife, she will tell you that you wheeze at night.

but it looks like you are doing a good job on the tear down.....and the boat is a great candidate.

cheers
oops

 

[Trooper82]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Had to run into work, so late getting these latest pics posted.Here I pulled the top cap off the portside stringer, something looks odd here doesn't it?

Why does it look as if the fiberglass has never touched the stringer?

Here you can see the 3/4 x 3/4 piece of wood that was at the top of the stringer. This was dry, the other piece is gone, dry rotted.

Close up

This is how it looks towards the bow on portside, There is a little resin in the fiberglass here because it is stiff but not fully saturated.I hope I can do better than this!

This is how both stringers currently look. Am I correct in thinking I need to have 2 sheets of plywood sandwiched together for the stringers?

Anyone know why they would have done the stringers this way? I was wondering earlier why they appeared to be wavy/droopy...now I know.

 

[Trooper82]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

More from this evening...
foam is really wet towards the stern.

This is how starboard looked after today.

And port...

The port side of the "V' there where the ski locker was is very soft compared to the starboard side. I put some weight on it tonight while putting the cover on and noticed it was flexing quite abit. I will work on getting some added support before going any further with the stringers. ( there really isn't much there to call a stringer in my opinion)


Tomorrow I will look int the area around the motor. from what I have sen so far I am not expecting to see much of any good. More to come....

 

[oops!]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

hi bud....

the reason for the floppy fiberglass material is just a bad choice of materials combined with a bad glassing job.

the thick woven roving (the material there) does not like to go around sharp corners. that , combined with not enough chopped strand matt, caused the thicker glass to pull away from the laminate right at the point of glassing.. instead of cutting the glass to make a proper lamination...they just left it.

you , can do a much better job with more advanced materials, and a little more care and attention to detail.

no worries.

cheers
oops

 

[Trooper82]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Weather is not going to cooperate today. As you know I am forced to work outside so if mother nature feels weepy, I cannot do much for now. I did manage to get in the boat and take some samples of the motor mounts and transom.


The portside motor mount felt hollow once I got through the exterior fiberglass. Drilled twice to be sure.

Further back on motor mount not hollow feeling, but as you can see very wet wood.

Transom, just above the motor mount - wet wood.

Stringer near motor - mixed wet/dry wood. This is due to the previous repair that had been done on the boat - see pictures in post #35.

Would everyone agree that the motor will be taking a rest dockside?

I would like to fabricate my own stand to rest the motor on. id a quick search of forums to see if anyone had plans out there for this particular motor, did not find anything. If others out there know of any pleas share. Otherwise I will document what I plan on building.

Because I will need to have the motor stand very mobile, I was planning on using 8" or 10" pnumatic castors and build up a frame to sit the motor on. I will need to be able to move it across grass and concrete both. Anyone have experience using these type of castors like this?

Trooper82

 

[Trooper82]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Mangaged to get a little time in today before the rains hit again.

Next 3 -5 day will be rain they say.


The wife got me an early christmas present. I am thinking the starboard stringer might not have needed to come out? There was evidence of rot at the top of this stringer.

Question for the pros.

Stringer material - board or plywood? Noticed the boat had both, the board is from a previous repair.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Most here seem to prefer plywood.