79 Tempest Full Resoration

[79TEMPEST]

I would like to say Hi to everyone here on the forum, its an amazing place to find great information on everything to do with boating. I have learned tones and I've only been around for about a week! I am a third year mechanic apprentice 20yrs old and I just bought my first boat Sunday March 28th 2010 its a 1979 Tempest with a Mercruiser 120 inboard in it. When we brought the boat home it didnt run. The PO said it needed a carb rebuild we got it home and after some messing around got the engine running (new set of ignition points) and after checking around on the forum i figured hey i should dig at the transom and make sure its solid and thats when the real fun began totally rotted transom so i then proceded to pull up the carpet and seen that the (NEW) floor was some outdoor ply layed over the old rotten stuff, i then removed all the flooring to find what would have been called stringers about 20yrs ago lol there is not a whole lot left of them. I've done tons of work restoring cars since i was about 10 (dad owns a garage) so i figured hey i can do this i will try and keep the updates coming hoping to have the boat in the water by june 2010 the latest and i really hope im not in to far over my head. Im sorry the pics are about half way into the desruction (engine pulled, floors half pulled foam somewhat removed) i just decided that i wanted to make a log and so i pulled out the camera im sure i will be on here ALOT asking tons of fiberglass questions (stringer rebuild, transom rebuild) anyways let me know what you think of the project so far and i hope the pros will be here to help me when needed you guys have an amazing forum and im sure ill be here for years to come. ON TO THE PICS!







Thanks alot guys let me know what you think and if you think i should move on and get something in better shape or if this is worth fixing up.

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: 79 Tempest Full Resoration

You have the background, a wealth of information from this forum, nice weather to work on it, and time to have it ready for June, so why not give it a go. The knowledge you will gain will be invaluable. The rebuilt boat will give you a sense of pride that you can only get by doing the work. The problem you get when you buy an older boat is that it's hard to determine what's under the pretty parts. This way you will know for sure.
BTW, welcome to the forum. I see that you are in Ontario, which part?

 

[79TEMPEST]

Re: 79 Tempest Full Resoration

Im in grimsby ON not far from hamilton and ya im gonna give this project a go.

 

[glennwolf]

Re: 79 Tempest Full Resoration

looks like you have a great project boat. Looking forward to following your progress. Good Luck!

 

[79TEMPEST]

Re: 79 Tempest Full Resoration

got alot done today, well it feels like alot but doesnt look like much. got most of the stringer out today did tones of grinding and sanding here are the pics and i have some questions should i reglass the hull before i re stringer it? should i at least glass some of the spots i really had to grind at to get the loose glass out of? what kind of glass should i use for this?

in the bildge area there was some cracks in what looked to be just paint but after trial grinding one crack out it went good the crack was gone by the time i got to the fiberglass hull, but the paint or coating or wat ever it is is about 1/4 inch think????? im not sure what i need to put back down here after grinding it all out? and the last question is how do i know the thickness of the hull when i grind through all the loose crappy glass down to the good stuff? i can still hit it and it doesnt budge i just wanna make sure im not going to far thank alot for the help so far im sure ill need lots more.

on to the pics!

 

[79TEMPEST]

Re: 79 Tempest Full Resoration

any body? have the answers im looking for?? i hope my resto isnt to boring

 

[thefairlaneman]

Re: 79 Tempest Full Resoration

It it were my boat I would put a good solid layer of new cloth on the entire bottom. This would solve the question about thin spots from grinding. Then I would fit in the new wood nice and tight and glass over the whole thing again.

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: 79 Tempest Full Resoration

any body? have the answers im looking for?? i hope my resto isnt to boring

Not boring, just better you than I. ha ha
You haven't mentioned the transom. What do you have to do with it?

 

[79TEMPEST]

Re: 79 Tempest Full Resoration

got some more progress done doesn't look like anything but here it is went through the whole thing with the cutoff got almost all of the srtiners out all the way back to the bilge box, have some questions for the gods though what exactly do i need for fiberglass? i want to know what i need to tab in the stringers and transom and what i need to do a full lay on the hull before and then what to cover the transom blah blah blah lol don't really know much about fiberglass so i someone can let me know exactly what materials i need for the deck stingers and transom (minus the wood which i already have) don't worry about how much materials i just wanna know what i need anyways on to the pics, seems to me they look the same as all the other pics LMAO but i have gotten a lot done.


all pressure washed (looks a Little better but still needs paint!)

What used to be floors

 

[79TEMPEST]

Re: 79 Tempest Full Resoration

finally im making some good progress with this boat, hoping to have it ready for may 24 weekend got all the grinding done today and some glass layed around the hull in some low spots, then finally pl'ed the transom together and finally pl'ed in into the boat, i then filleted the transom with pl i know some people shy away from this due to bubbles, but i have done it before with no issues! so i hope that continues anyways i am going to tab and glass the transom tomorrow and then start on the stringers, i have ordered two new white lounge seats and two new white jumps, all white vinyl to re-wrap all interior panels then finally new fresh blue bottom paint with new white top paint im going to be going hard on the boat now so updates will be coming constantly thanks for looking guys!

tabbed in the fiberglass for some security
]


the matting im using how many layers for tabbing? then how many full transom layups should i do with this?

transom laminated with PL

 

[79TEMPEST]

Re: 79 Tempest Full Resoration


transom PL'ed in and clamped! MAN i never thought id finally be here!


all filleted with PL no bubbles! PERFECT!


The best tool for filleting PL and my Buddie had to put his smoke in the pic for some reason?
Took 18 tubes of PL about 100 Bucks worth and still need more for the stringers but at least i know i got a good adhesion and its not going to give me any troubles! thanks alot for all the info on this site you guys are amazing

 

[79TEMPEST]

Re: 79 Tempest Full Restoration

Re: 79 Tempest Full Restoration

hope my resto isnt to boring or that im not doing it totally wrong no replys for a long time so if someone could chime in at least to let me know im doing this job correctly that would be great the stringers and HOPEFULLY deck will be done this weekend then its on to a completely new interior and new top then on to engine install and paint let me know if im messing this up or if everything looks alright, thanks alot guys!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 79 Tempest Full Restoration

Re: 79 Tempest Full Restoration

Looks good to me but I'm a tin-head so what do I know Are you planning on glassing that transom?

 

[79TEMPEST]

Re: 79 Tempest Full Resoration

yes defenetly going to glass the transom! once thats done im going to cut and PL then glass the stringers followed by 2 part pour in expanding foam and hopefully then the floor thanks for the complement i am working really hard working almost 2 full time jobs and still trying to keep a girlfriend (of 5 years) lol and somehow get some time to work on the boat! thanks again the updates will be coming

 

[79TEMPEST]

Re: 79 Tempest Full Resoration

Ok i finally have an update, well I've had a few just haven't had time to get on the computer to post. I WILL have pics up tomorrow i promise. So the updates are as follows the transom is tabbed in with 3 layers of 1.5OZ csm and with 2 full transom layups between the tabs with the same 1.50z. The stringers are PL'ed in and tabbed with one layer of 1.5oz csm. I have more then a couple excess pools of resin that have dried around my tabs (noob mistake) so the next step is to sand all my excess resin pools out of the hull with some 60 grit and while im in there i am going to just giver all my work a quick buzz with the 60 grit and then cap the stringers with 6oz cloth (seems to cap easier) and then tab one more time with 1.5OZcsm then one more sand with 60 grit in the bilge box and fully seal it off with a 3rd layer of 1.5oz csm. no im not using waxed resin but i feel better sanding in between layers anyways just makes me sleep at night. after that i will be cutting the hole in the transom and tabbing the whole with 1 layer of csm just to make sure its fully sealed.

so PICS TOMORROW

I just would love for one of the pros to look over my so far and my to-do list and let me know if im doing alright thanks a lot you guys are amazing help!

 

[numbers]

Re: 79 Tempest Full Resoration

Just joined this forum, looking for information on restoring my Dad's 78 17'6" tempest. 100 Johnson Javelin ( trim line) V4. Was running and floating when we stored it 6 yrs ago, but I haven't had a look lately. I know the floor was going. I'm just starting to gather inforamtion.
Saw your posts, very impressed, very interested. I have some mech/woodworking skills but not at your level, more of a want-to-be/hobbyist.
An update would be great.
Some more information on how you fibreglassed would be great. Did you learn by trial and error or do you have a resource ( person, site, book?)

There is another tempest rebuild thread on this site. It's how I found this site to begin with, but I lost it. If I find it agian I'll let you know.

Well done, lets hear more.

 

[79TEMPEST]

Re: 79 Tempest Full Resoration

well been a while since the last post i really kinda got so worked up in getting the project done, i just got it all together and have been enjoying it all summer long. i am going to contiue the pics starting from the last update and then the resto will go on from there as the temps are dropping off and its time to start working agian. Plans are as followed remove engine and drive. 100% rebuild on engine. service drive. complete hull and paint work. complete interior restoration. and then it should be the fun stuff (depth finders guages, stereo. ect.... will be a complete top notch resto when done and again i do apologive for being gone so long! hope theres still interest

 

[numbers]

Re: 79 Tempest Full Resoration

Good to hear your still at it.
Yes, i'm interested in hearing how you are making out.
Post some pictures.

Good luck.