CHAMPION 171SC Full Restoration

[rojoguio]

I have a shop in MS and regularly replace transoms but this is the most challenging project yet. My personal boat. Living on the coast I wanted a boat with a deep V to take some open water, have a boat for 2 people to fish out of, still have a livewell big enough for saltwater fish, lots of under deck storage, sit down to drive, and be able to run from a squall. Settled on the 171SC after reading how previous owners posted how much they all liked their boat. If you know anything about a AR Champion especially built between '95-'00 there are holidays in the glass work, the seam between the cap and transom allows water in rotting the transom out. This boat had a added feature, termites. I let the termites continue to eat until almost all the wood was gone before pulling the cap. I tried to upload pictures but I guess I'm locked out. I will ad pictures after post is approved.
171 SC Champion1.jpg171 SC Champion2.jpgPulling the Cap.jpgRemoving Bow Stringers.jpgStringers Out.jpg

[rojoguio]

I have a bit of progress. With the stringers out I patterned new ones from 5/8" Coosa Bluewater 26. After fitting so no hard spots were being created the replacement stringers were buttered into place. Afterwards 1708-S Glass was cut and fitted back to the original locations. I used a heat gun over several days to make the S-Glass conform as needed. West Systems Epoxy was used to re-laminate the stringers. 4# foam was used instead of 2# to spread out hull skin support. A piece of 1/2" Coosa Bluewater 26 was cut for the floor, 2 layers of S-Glass was epoxied the the underside, then I buttered the tops of the stringers before laying the new floor in. 1/4" Coosa Bluewater 24 was cut to re-cover the area under deck in the storage area.
171 SC Champion3.jpgFloor Removal too.jpgRemoving Bow Stringers.jpgStringers Out.jpgCoosa Forward Stringers.jpgRelaxing 1708S Glass before Epoxy.jpgNew Stringers and Flotation.jpg

[rojoguio]

In the transom area all the wood, thickened resin, reinforcement cores, debris, was removed. Any hard areas was cut in 1" cuts and broke out in pieces. Afterwards I ground or sanded everything back to original glasswork. A transom reinforcement core was cut and fitted from 1-5/8" Coosa Bluewater 26. The transom braces & reinforcement core were epoxied in first, allowed to cure fully, (30 Days) then sanded flush so no high spots existed that may hold the Transom core off the original glasswork. 3 layers of 1708 S-Glass was epoxied to both sides of the transom core first, allowed to fully cure, then sanded & squared with a air file. Epoxy was thickened with 404 & 406 West additives for bonding the new transom core into position. All the corner voids were buttered heavily before sliding core into position. Epoxy squeezed out of everywhere when clamped. A piece of 1/4" Coosa Bluewater 24 was cut to fit and fill difference between core level and outside hull level. It was epoxied in all epoxy that squeezed out was wiped clear then residue washed off with acetone. After fully cured a 12X bevel was ground on the seams, they were laid up with mat to level then 4 layers of heavy weight mat was laminated with vinylester resin. I have had great luck with Gold Rage bondo cut with vinylester resin used as a fairing compound. It was used to fair outer transom
. How Clean required.jpgBlue Water 26 Reinforcement core.jpgPrepped Transom Inner Skin.jpgCore Ready to Install.jpgEpoxy in New Core 2.jpgEpoxy in New Core.jpgVinyl Ester outer skin.jpgTotally Cleaned out.jpg

[bassboat1]

Looks like most of the brutal work is behind you - the effort is starting to show! FWIW The attachments aren't readable (in your second 8:47 post)

[rojoguio]

Surgery to under bow decks now. First is the trolling motor mounting area. I skinned it, cleaned out all the wood, used the skin for a pattern for replacement 5/8" Coosa Bluewater 26 and cutting the 1708 S-Glass. Thickened to mayo epoxy was used for bonding then very thick was used to fillet before laying up S-Glass. A 3/16" 5052 aluminum plate was installed under the bolting area, I fine thread using a production tap & cutting oil to mount trolling motors. I use big pipe cleaners soaked with Acrili-clean to remove oils before blue loc-tite trolling motor mounting screws in. Works great, no nuts to fool with.

Front Deck Damage.jpgDeck Skin saved as Pattern.jpgDeck Ready for new Core.jpgNew Deck Core dry Fit.jpgCore Epoxied and Filleted.jpg1708S Glass Epoxied over Core.jpg

[rojoguio]

Now the original Casting Deck was balsa core 1x2 squares. I skinned, cleaned, ground down old resins, re-cored with 1/2" Coosa 26. Also I added a piece of 1/4" Aluminum Mini Plate for seat pedestal mounting. Champion left a void to allow access to the backside of original pedestal mounting nuts, I plan on filling completely with flotation foam. Threading the Mini Plate makes replacing the pedestal base easy. Any void was filled with thickened epoxy. The core and Mini Plate was buttered down with West epoxy thickened with 404 High Density additive and 406 Colloidal Silica. 1708 S-Glass was used again for the new skin. I plan on trimming all rough burs after epoxy cures well. I hate to reach up under a deck and get stabbed or cut by wild glass burs.
Casting Deck Cut Out 2.jpgCasting Deck Skinned.jpgDeck Ready for Core.jpgCasting Deck Core BW26.jpgAluminum block for Pedestal.jpgCasting Deck 1708S Glass Epoxied.jpg

[90bumblebee]

Good lord this champion is going to be SOLID ! Looking forward to seeing the finished product

[rojoguio]

Thank you for noticing. The locals here nicknamed me "Mr. 100%". I'm researching alternative deck coverings to carpet now. I like my carpet but numerous speckled trout will be slung on the deck if our salinity ever returns to the marsh. At one time I was selling SeaDek here and may just pattern and SeaDek everything. I terrorize the sac-a-lait here so adding a forward livewell / ice chest is needed. I have to go to New Orleans next week to pick up the laminated bilge foam to make livewell out of. Was going to make it out of 2" but it is encroaching on the existing center hatch opening. Currently I'm tig welding up a piece of C-Channel extrusion that will be a splash guard under the hatch to keep the livewell water in. I have restored / updated a 17' Whaler recently that I would post here but not sure if it would be welcomed. Some different techniques was executed to produce a really one of a kind Montuk.

[Big Ron]

very nice work

[wdr2064]

You sir, are doing the job correctly not using plywood which will rot again
I am very impressed!

[Bassnailer]

Wow. Fantastic work. This Champion will last forever.

[Hunna]

A lot of work good job!

[rojoguio]

Thank you for your kind words. I have been unplugged Crappie fishing on Ross Barnett. Today's new boats are using some creative core materials. Materials that I think time will show was not a great idea. One new boat I built a lay down 8ft tournament Redfishing Tower for had a deck core made of the plastic, the kind you find in milk or water jugs. Not the bottles. The soft milky white stuff. It was formed into a honeycomb and sandwiched as a core. Another is a boat in my shop now, It's T-Top was breaking up all over. When I pulled the Top to repair come to find out a foam, compressible between your fingers, was used as a core where the Top screws down. The manufacturer glued in 5/8in deep, 1/2in diameter inserts for the 12-24 mounting screws to attach the Top bases to the deck. It is a factory Top. Anyway, needless to say, it all broke loose from the deck, beat the outer deck skin all up, enlarged the holes where the inserts were ripped from the deck and just pounded the outer skin to a pulp. My point to all this is Coosa Bluewater 26 is the Best Core material in my opinion. Champion 171's in the single console are hard to find in great shape, by removing all the wood and replacing with Bluewater 26 it will last me the rest of my life. Any job like this is a pain, I walk away when it gets aggravating and give it a few days.

[bassboat1]

Is the use of the Bluewater material going to affect the weight of the finished hull to a substantial degree?

[rojoguio]

Bluewater is very light, Bluewater 26 is 26lbs per cubic foot. So there is 24 1/2in thick square feet in a cube. Different densities are available. When stability calculations are done for Longitudinal, Transverse, & Vertical centers of Gravity the very minor differences in the Bluewater product weights make no noticeable effect on the numbers. So I use the strongest spine material. If I know flex has to be built in I use a thinner piece. It still surprises me how light for the strength it provides. Care needs to be taken when wetting out the fabric. lots of added weight comes from using too much resin. When a quality reinforcement fabric is used the extra bulk is not needed. Epoxy is 10 times tougher than vinylester so critical areas I use 1708S-Glass & Epoxy. I'm fixing to switch over to Vinylester working the compartment dividers & new bow Livewell / Ice Chest. That is why the epoxy overlaps on existing glass is only 1-1/2 to 2 inches. Epoxy is very tough to sand. All the areas that will need to be re-taped to the hull need to be glass for ease of re-assembly. I will set the cap back on, mark the mating areas with a sharpie, lift off the cap so I can prep grind for glassing the cap back to the hull.

Now my boat will be heavier in the front than factory but there is a reason Champion went out of business. I don't ever want to do this again. I'm going to start out with a 10in setback jackplate to help lift the front and get the boat loose. Also after I put this boat back together it will not be possible to separate again, I plan to epoxy the cap to the hull with a injectable product. I use it to glue the decks back on Fly fishing Skiffs, Hells Bay Waterman type 2 piece boats that the deck had to be removed for repairs.

1/2in plywood 45-1/2lbs per sheet 1/2in Coosa Bluewater 26 32lbs per sheet and Termites hate it.
5/8in plywood 56-1/2lbs per sheet
3/4in plywood 68lbs per sheet

[bassboat1]

"I plan to epoxy the cap to the hull with a injectable product."

That will be a sight better than the #8 screws with a plywood backing strip they used on my old boat! I look forward to your future progress with the Champ.

[HalBrown]

Damn, you really know what you are doing

[rojoguio]

Thank you for your kind words. More to come, I must finish some calculations before designing new changes to bow area.

[electric fish]

I would be interested to understand the “shop charge” for this kind of work. I am looking at splitting my 202 and replacing all the wood. 6-8 k be in the ballpark? I have more time than money and through research believe it can be done,yourself, for around 2k. I plan on spending about 6 months doing it. I ask you because you are an obvious professional. How many hours of labor do you have in it?

[rojoguio]

Full restoration of the hull, think about doubling your estimates at least up to $20K. Your 202 has to be completely cut apart like my 171. Champion fiberglass's the boat together everywhere. It took me 2 days to carefully split the 171. I am building my own boat. If Triton put a deep V in a 17ft Bass Boat I would just buy one. I may have to run across MS Sound from the MS state line to fish Specks and the Sound can blow up quickly. A 18ft Champion would have worked but not where I crappie fish. Champion fiberglass the boat together in stages, the easy seams are covered with carpet. The hard ones like where the cap is glued to the hull at the transom I started several cuts before I was in the right spot. For example the aft stringers are under 3 different glass laminations. The first is the stringers themselves, on top of that is some flotation then another lamination. Then they glass in another 1/4in luan panel over everything else. I cut out a section, then another section, then finally get to the damage I'm after to fix. I have over 100 hrs in it already. My material estimate is 6K. Gelcoat, Vinylester, Epoxy (West only), Various reinforcement glass, consumables, not counting new gas tank, all new hardware, wiring, switches, pumps, hoses, hyd jackplate, hyd steering, carpet, carpet glue, nuts & screws, foam, Coosa Bluewater 26 ( 1-5/8", 5/8", 1/2", and in Coosa 24 1/4"), rub rail, new lights & bases, seat bases, etc. It really costs doing it on the skinny. I'm personally making a new boat not just replacing rot. It has to last me the rest of my life. I picked up a little Blazer that I fish out of while building the Champion and will have at least a year in my boat working on it when I can. Patients in the prep is important. I have a Waterman in the shop now that took a piling punch through, the transom was broke in 6 places, numerous cracks in aft compartments. My repair will eject the operators on the next piling impact. Full repair, (Bulletproof) new gelcoat inside & out, this repair is $16K (includes 7% sales tax). The reason I'm posting this project is for bass boat lovers of the "Old School" boats, so someone curious can see what is involved. I have done several and under bid every one. I won't take in these projects anymore. I hope I have given you a scope of what to expect and will try to answer all questions.