FYI I think Bass Cat has the original 202 Mold and are developing a new boat using the bottom 1/3 of the 202 married to the top 2/3 of their existing boat of the same length. I don't know if they finished the project or not.
FYI I think Bass Cat has the original 202 Mold and are developing a new boat using the bottom 1/3 of the 202 married to the top 2/3 of their existing boat of the same length. I don't know if they finished the project or not.
I appreciate the advice. New motor and controls and everything else sounds about a 40k ball park. Still 20k less than a new Skeeter and it would be better than when it was new. I think I want to tackle this job. I understand I will make some mistakes and do some things wrong but I only want to do it once because I will have it the rest of my life. I do appreciate you posting your progress.
Went back and reread this. I love the metal under the trolling motor and seat bases. I’m going to have some questions for you for sure. Thanks again for such a detailed explanation and write up. Hope when I’m done I can hang a 300hp on it and some power poles. Right now I think the ass end would sink. Looking forward to following your build.
I was a Power-Pole dealer when they were new. I just dropped them as for me not a important product. I don't sell boats. Got the aluminum idea from installing Power-Poles on Triton 240LTS boats. You are drilling through fiberglass at a good clip then the bit slows down & bites. The first time aluminum shavings came out of the drill bit hole in the transom on a PP install I thought I screwed up something awful.
Well if the aft livewell was full to the overflow the load is 250 lbs of water. The Free Surface Correction and required 250#'s of water is a bit much for me. Certinly contribute to "Tipping". Since balancing Transversely is required to help keep the boat on the pad while running solo the larger storage will be on the Port side. I'm adding a 80qt livewell in the front since I mostly crappie fish. These pictures show how Champion installed the livewell, side coolers, & flotation position. Scrap Coosa is always saved for repairs like this. The Aft Seat Base was glassed in by Champion, I had to cut it completely out. Also the termites did their damage to all the wood available so that had to be removed after skinning the underside where the seat base was located. As always grind all surfaces possible free of any trace of wood. The Scraps were fitted, then laid out in the order & position they are meant to be installed in. Thickened epoxy is troweled into all voids, on the exposed surfaces, and on all sides and bottoms of Coosa blocks before pressing blocks into position. While still wet a piece of 3/16" 5052 aluminum scrap was cut, ground with 24 grit disc, buttered with epoxy mixture, and pressed into void on top of Coosa blocks. All the voids were filled to refusal with thickened epoxy then 1708-S Glass was epoxied over everything. A 105qt Ice Chest / Storage will be installed on the Port side where the livewell was and a 60qt Ice Chest / Storage will fill the balance. I will show the fabrication and installation of the new Ice Chest / Storage unit in the next post.
Livewell 4.jpgLivewell Seat Cut 1.jpgLivewell Seat Cut 2.jpgAft Seat reinforcement.jpgAft Seat reinforcement 2.jpgAft Seat reinforcement 3.jpgAft Seat reinforcement 4.jpg
Great build!! Keep posting!!
Getting up to put Crappie in the rear livewell in my Beater spooks the fish. To continue to replace all the termite damage wood and correct poor laminations I'm adding a bow Livewell Cooler. When Champion built this particular boat whoever was laminating didn't wet the fabric well or put enough chop mat to even seal the luan underneath. Quite a bit of time has been spent grinding out all the old fiberglass tapped edges so my new vinylester resin has a very good tooth to adhere to. I have the replacement transverse bulkheads cut out of 1/4" Coosa 20 and will show their laminations when installed. Now this will give an idea of how I am installing the Livewell Cooler in the Bow center storage compartment. The replacement unit has to support the upper deck, prevent transverse twisting of the front of the boat, provide a anchor point for the rod holder tubes that will be installed later in the build and provide 2 day insulation minimum for ice. Tall order. Pictures here are of poor bulkhead laminations, prep for new work, old components used as a pattern, new components in their basic form, and dry fitting. You may be able to see in the pictures I ground 1/4" of the lamination tape left after cutting the top cap loose so I don't set the cap back on later with a high spot somewhere. I will reset the cap into expanding foam to help glue the boat back together.
Stbd Transverse Bulkhead.jpgPrep for later lamination.jpgPrep for later lamination 2.jpgPrep for later lamination 3.jpgOld_New Bow Bunkhead.jpgNew Bow Livewell Cooler.jpgNew Bow Livewell Cooler 2.jpgChecking Livewell Cooler fit.jpgChecking Livewell Cooler fit 2.jpg
Love the dedication and attention to detail. Great thread.
Is there any exterior damage to the hull that will need addressing?
'94 Charger Foxfire 180VF '96 Suzuki DT150S BASS
No Holes in the hull, the engine fell off of it ripping the transom off. I am finishing up a gelcoat repair on a Pursuit 310 OS tomorrow and hope to run to NO Friday for more Duratec VE Primer & a gallon of black gelcoat. I need to spray the transom black before re-flaking & clear gelcoating. I will post a picture of the transom skin so everyone interested can see how big a hole an engine tears in a transom when it falls off. The boat will get a coat of Clear gelcoat when finished. I painted custom shotguns for years and just happen to have a jar of House of Kolor flake in my stash that is a exact match for this boat. I wonder if the boat was underway when the engine fell off?
Well it sure looks like a lot of work. I have some chip repairs on my boat and a couple of spider cracks in the rear corners. Was wondering the best way to repair and if 3m 5200 would hold up long enough to get a season out of it before making the gel coat repairs.
'94 Charger Foxfire 180VF '96 Suzuki DT150S BASS
Chips I fix with West Systems syringes loaded with gelcoat. I cut gallon water jugs up to get the flat part. Cut a piece that has 3/4" larger than the chip all the way around. Use the green masking tape to tape over the plastic leaving the top or upper part open. I inject just enough gelcoat to fill the repair, then tape the plastic up flattening it over the repair and let it cure. Peel the plastic off and the water jug plastic won't stick but shape the repair to the hull. You will need to cut the tip of the syringe off just a little bit so it will suck up the gelcoat. Finish it up when you can.
5200 will need to be completely removed before doing any work over it.
I understand that and 5200 is not easy to remove either which is the reason I am thinking it would hold up to the water pressure and it would have to endure.
Should I drill tiny holes at the ends of the cracks to keep them from spreading or growing longer?
'94 Charger Foxfire 180VF '96 Suzuki DT150S BASS
I only drill holes in aluminum cracks before TIG welding them up. I personally don't drill holes to stop cracks in fiberglass.
Excellent work and great craftsmanship. I've played with polyester resins and glass for years but just recently started using some epoxy resins. If you don't mind me asking a few questions. Ok to use epoxy resin with 1708-s (repair) to polyester (boat)? And if so, do you use polyester gelcoat to topcoat? Can polyester bodyfiller like formula 27 be used on top of the epoxy? Sorry about the questions, I just like to learn from people that actually know what they're doing. Thanks in advance.
No polyester over epoxy except gelcoat. You must fair with epoxy. I use West Systems 410 Micro Lite for filler to make my fairing compounds. After fairing has been sanded put 2 coats pure epoxy resin over fairing and sand for topcoat. At this point the Epoxy "Must" be fully cured. West Tech Support says 3 days, actual directions say 30 days so I wait 30 days. After curing time a simple mild soap & water washing of the repair area to remove animines I think they call it, it's a oily byproduct of the reaction while curing with air. Then I use Duratec VE Primer (the VE stands for Vinyl Ester) over the fairing to fill all the pinholes you created. The first coat of VE primer if real wet I will take a bondo spreader and force primer into all pinholes. You can roll it on. It cures to sandable in 4 hrs. Once you are finished priming & sanding (I use Guide Coat to prevent burn through of the primer) a acetone wipe down then spray gelcoat. All the stringer work I do is done with Epoxy & 1708.
Thanks rojoguio, I'm going to print the above and keep it in my notes.
How's this project coming along?