New guy, 82 Centurion complete re-build.
Printed From: CorrectCraftFan.com
Category: Repairs and Maintenance
Forum Name: Boat Maintenance
Forum Discription: Discuss maintenance of your Correct Craft
URL: http://www.CorrectCraftFan.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=21042
Printed Date: November-20-2024 at 4:14am
Topic: New guy, 82 Centurion complete re-build.
Posted By: 82Fineline
Subject: New guy, 82 Centurion complete re-build.
Date Posted: March-25-2011 at 5:04am
|
Hi all,
Im tearing into a stringer replacement and have a decent idea of whats going on, however Im still a newb. Ive done some glass work before and have done the stringers on a 21ft center console, but its construction was very different. My main question is what type of cloth/mat/biax should I use, and in what order? My thought is to use lvl microlam beams, Cpes them, bed them in a peanut butter(cabosil) mixture and radius the edges, then a layer of 2oz CSM tabs, then 3ish layers of 1708 biax over the whole thing. Anyone see an issue with any of that? Any suggestions are highly welcomed! Ive read about ten restoration threads on here completely and spent hours scouring the site learning. This seems like an awesome community with some really nice boats. I have to admit, the boat Im working on is not a correct craft. Its an 82 centurion. The construction is very similar and its a PCM 351 w/ borg warner 1:1. I hope you all dont mind me posting about it, but 90% of info on here relates to my craft and there is no other sites out there like this. If you feel its intrusive posting about a fineline boat on here, say so and I leave you guys alone wth no hard feelings. Thanks for any help ! |
Replies:
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: March-25-2011 at 9:02am
|
Kenny,
Welcome to CCfan. Don't worry about the brand of your boat plus, it's still a boat and I'd say everyone here would be glad to help. We've helped plenty of non CC owners. At least it's not a MC! 
Your amount of layup to me sounds good but you may want to consider 1 more layer around the engine. You are planning on using epoxy resin correct? ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: TRBenj
Date Posted: March-25-2011 at 11:54am
If you've worked with biax before, you know it is pretty thick and can be tough to work with- especially going around corners, etc. Also, if Im not mistaken, the 1708 puts the cloth layer at 45 degree angles- so you wont get as much strength running down the length of the stringer like you would with cloth tape (layed straight at 0/90 deg). Personally, I would use more cloth and less biax- it will be easier to work with, provide better strength along the direction of the stringer, and probably be cheaper. ------------- |
82Fineline wrote:Posted By: WakeSlayer
Date Posted: March-25-2011 at 12:07pm
|
It is defnintely cheaper, not only on the cloth material, but the amount of resin it will hold.
I like how you waited til the third paragraph to cop to it not being a CC. I think anyone willing to put this kind of work into their boat can play. You just get to take a little ribbing occasionally. Welcome, and best of luck. And pics !! ------------- Mike N 1968 Mustang |
Posted By: 82Fineline
Date Posted: March-25-2011 at 3:31pm
|
Thanks for the welcome guys! I figured its a classic ski boat with a 351 and straight pipes, you cant completely hate it. besides my dad owns a 2001 so Im extended family .
Ill be using the us composites epoxy resin for everything. lvl for the main stringers and 3/4 fir ply for the secondaries and floor. "Personally, I would use more cloth and less biax- it will be easier to work with, provide better strength along the direction of the stringer, and probably be cheaper." ^Thats what I was wondering about. Ive never really worked with cloth before (other than a surfboard) so what weight would I be using for the stringers? 7 1/2 oz? So I would use alternating layers of 2oz CSM and the cloth? or just a layer of mat and then several layers of cloth? Since the boat is 31 years old and had a thinner hull than a comparable CC from the factory, Im going to do a layer of glass on the entire hull before I start. Cloth, mat or Biax? Pics should be up monday! Thanks again |
Posted By: SNobsessed
Date Posted: March-25-2011 at 10:50pm
|
You might want to consider a 1X board instead of plywood for the secondaries. Good luck on your project. Please post pix! ------------- “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” Ben Franklin |
Posted By: 82Fineline
Date Posted: March-28-2011 at 9:45pm
|
Alright, I snapped a few pics of the project. Ill see if i can figure out how to post them.
Good news though, my mother has agreed to do all the upholstery for me! She is a master seamstress so it should come out awesome! I plan on changing the seating layout a bit and using composite for all the seat backing instead of ply. Pics! 
Too many projects going on at my house. Boats being torn into, helping my neighbor rebuild the engine in his 4runner, building tube fenders on my jeep, center section of our pier we are re doing this summer, and the Jet skis got pulled out for the season last week. Water was 52*, perfect wakeboard temp haha. 
Lets see if this pic posting works! |
Posted By: 82Fineline
Date Posted: March-28-2011 at 10:09pm
|
So the pics are up, the first few are really poor quality, not sure why.
The plan is still to use microlam lvl beams for the main stringers, and some sort of 1x or fir ply for the secondaries. Im not too worried about the secondary's strength as there were not any originally. You can see there is literally no support outside of the main stringers...not cool and not a good design IMO. Ill be doing a secondary stringer system with bulkheads every 18" or so, similar to a CC setup (this site may have influenced that )
I still plan to do a new layer of glass on the entire inside of the hull as the original is thinner than I like. Right now there is only a 2'x 3' chunk of floor out, the rest should come out this weekend depending on whether I finish welding up the tube fenders for my jeep and get them sanded and painted. There will be no foam going back in this boat. It will live on a boat lift for 5 months of the year so interior drainage is a huge must. I cant just pull the rear plugs and let it drain on the incline of the boat ramp. Everything needs to drain to the middle of the bilge where the center interior drain plug can be pulled while on the lift. To accomplish drainage, I need drains through the main an secondary stringers. To do this Im thinking of cutting half of a 2" hole in the base of the stringers and gluing a half piece of PVC in the notch. Then glass over everything. Will the epoxy resin react with the PVC? And what would be a good adhesive to use to attach the pvc? I was thinking just thickened epoxy resin or maybe 5200? I know some of you like to keep your stuff original, and I respect that. The older centurions were not made to near the standards of older correct crafts. Im going to be altering the construction of this boat a lot along the way, all for the better hopefully. The exterior of the boat is in 99% condition other than the teak. The interior will be totally re designed with a classic look with a touch of modern wake boat flair. Nothing hideous though not to worry. Im working on some sketches of the upholstery that have been whirring through my head, maybe Ill scan those and put them on here in a day or two. Thanks guys, Ill keep you posted. |
Posted By: horkn
Date Posted: March-28-2011 at 11:19pm
|
I can completely understand and admire the help of a master upholsterer for re doing the interior of the boat. When I refloored my martinique, the stringers were solid as it was a very low hour boat, so I leaned heavily on my friend's dad for doing the upholstery. I went with 100% custom work, both the vinyl itself as a tri color, and the bases and seat frames were 100% new and re designed because I could. As result, my boat has a very nice modern style interior in a classic ski boat hull.
If you deviate from the stock seating/ layout, make sure to really think stuff through. In the end, you'll end up with a custom ski boat that will turn heads and make you happy you spent all that time redoing the interior in a more modern way. Tom ------------- 78 martinique- refloored, reinforced, stringers re glassed, re engineered interior GT40P heads Edelbrock Performer intake acme 4 blade http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v64/horkn/fish/nautique.jpg |
Posted By: 82Fineline
Date Posted: March-29-2011 at 12:36am
|
Thanks for the kind words! I definitely appreciate original, but this will all be custom designed to the best of my ability. Glad to see someone else with a retro ski boat!
I was sitting in a history class tonight (Im an engineering major, why do I need European history?) and got bored. I threw together some upholstery designs and a seat design. All are rough sketches, but Im very attached to the upholstery for the most part. The exterior of the boat is brown with orange and yellow accents. I like the exterior a lot, but brown on the interior just isnt for me. With this color scheme I can eliminate the brown inside and use a charcoal carpet. All the upholstery will be a cream white as the gel coat on the boat is a natural white and not bright white. The seats will have orange piping as well as some orange stitching. Part will be simulated diamond tufted as well. A friend has a sewing machine ($$$$) that can do embroidery with multiple colors, shadows, and the whole sha-bang. Hello Centurion logos on the front and rear seat as well as one on the carpet General Idea, I think it will look better when the seats and boat rails are cream white. The brown is original teak accents. drivers seat is yet to be determined but will be similar upholstery. The color on the seats is orange. When I scanned it, the orange seat piping/stitching and brown teak became hard to differentiate. 
Back seat 
Im also thinking of adding a rear facing seat behind the drivers seat. It would be nice to have the extra room when slaloming from the pylon. It would be a plywood tower fully glassed into the floor and covered in matching vinyl. Inside would house the battery with a vinyl snap cover. The seat back cushion and seat base cushion would both be fully removable. Even with the seat there, there is still tons of storage room on that side of the boat. 
And 
Just my rough thoughts, still a long way to go on the stringers and floor before I even begin on that haha. Suggestions are more than welcome! |
Posted By: horkn
Date Posted: March-29-2011 at 1:38am
|
I like the ideas, sort of reminds me of how I did mine. Originally mine had a 3/4 backed bench, with the passenger side being able to turn around to see the skier. I took that out, and got a nice newer plastic based upholstered bucket for the driver, and I made a wrap around rear facing bench for the front passenger's seat. Only 2 people that are a couple really fit in the passenger seat due to the narrower beam of my CC. The back seat I basically just copied and made all new of plywood and 2x4's, then used new foam and upholstery. .
Now on mine, I don't have the beam to accommodate a person behind the driver's seat. I wish I did as space is really a premium on my boat. The martinique I have is the same hull as the early ski nautiques, and not the bigger wider martiniques of later years. I run a fly high because IMHO, a tower on my boat would not look right, but a tower on a 2001 looks fine. The tower on yours looks good too from what I can tell. As much as I love my boat, and all the 250 or so man hours I put into resto modding it, I still think at some point I will get a sport, supersport or a air or SAN for the daily use skiing and wakeboarding rig. ------------- 78 martinique- refloored, reinforced, stringers re glassed, re engineered interior GT40P heads Edelbrock Performer intake acme 4 blade http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v64/horkn/fish/nautique.jpg |
Posted By: 82Fineline
Date Posted: March-29-2011 at 2:11am
|
I need to find some pics of it on the water last summer so you can get a better idea of the boat. Garage pics for now, Oh well.
^What seat did you use for the driver. I know I want something plastic based. The thing i dont like about most of the ski boat drivers seats are the super high sides. I like the support of the sides on my hips, but most seem to go way up to your elbows which gets in the way, makes it hard to get in and out, and takes away airflow which is hot in the summer. I might make one seeing as the upholstery/foam will be custom anyway... |
Posted By: eric lavine
Date Posted: March-29-2011 at 9:47am
|
if you keep day dreaming your going to get an F ------------- "the things you own will start to own you" |
Posted By: Swatkinz
Date Posted: March-29-2011 at 10:21am
|
just a couple of potential issues with the rear facing seat.
The position of the seat (especially if you glass the tower to the floor) may interfere with engine maintenance, no?) Seems like it may make it more difficult to access the RWP for impeller replacement. Also, the weight of the seat and battery will need to be offset to level out the wake. When you add the battery and seat weight to the driver, you'll have a lopsided wake (which will be great if you)'re wakesurfing the starboard side  )
I really like the layout you have in mind. The rear facing seat is a great idea if you can overcome the potential problems. ------------- Steve 2011 Sport/Air 200 Excalibur 343 2017 Boatmate Tandem Axle Trailer Former CC owner (77, 80, 95, 88, all SNs) Former Malibu owner (07, 09) |
Posted By: 82Fineline
Date Posted: March-29-2011 at 2:33pm
|
For the maintenance aspect of the rear facing seat, that is why I want both cushions removable. Working on the engine with only the small tower in place should be no issue. Im used to working on I/O's so anything is better access wise.
And yes the boat will sit un-level. Swatkinz has uncovered my secret plan. I do in fact surf the starboard side of the boat because im a goofy footer. For skiing/boarding there will be 2 85 pound water blocks behind the rear seat on either side of the gas tank and one block on the port side under the dash in front of the observer seat. That should set fairly level and since the blocks are easily movable I can fine tune it. For surfing I can toss the front block on the starboard side and with it plus the weight of the seat have a nice list on that side to surf. Whenever we really ski (not just messing around) the 3 blocks will be out, waketower off, and one person in the spotter seat offsetting the new seat/battery. Im going to get all the floor done and dry fit everything before I decide the exact dimensions of the seat and its design. Thanks for the tip. |
Posted By: TX Foilhead
Date Posted: April-03-2011 at 11:06am
|
My 85 Centurion just left for a new home, I should have been brave enough to post when I redid it, instead I waited until I got my Excel to join. Cool boats, keep that interior working with the multi-colored gel coat, that's somthing CC's don't have.
On your seats, what I did with mine was not glass them to the floor. Instead I put stainless latch on the front and back of the drivers base that had a small hook mounted to the floor and leaver mounted to the seat base front and back. The reason for this was so I could remove the seat from the boat to work under the dash. I never had a problem with it coming loose and 1in foam pad was enough to cover the small hooks when I needed under the dash. Something to think about since the dash isn't removable when you need access to the back of it. |
Posted By: LaurelLakeSkier
Date Posted: April-03-2011 at 11:20am
Ouch! I suppose you thought that would slip by...... ------------- The world is full of youth—what we need is a fountain of smart! |
Posted By: eric lavine
Date Posted: April-03-2011 at 11:53am
|
btw, your comment on who needs Europeon history, you will someday, I said the same thing one time about Spanish class and got dropped into a all out spanish speaking airport and didnt have a clue, well except for the international language....thats an easy one to speak ------------- "the things you own will start to own you" |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: April-03-2011 at 1:57pm
I never though it would slip by you!!  ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: jbear
Date Posted: April-04-2011 at 12:51am
You know we love ya anyway Mark! john ------------- "Loud pipes save lives" AdamT sez "I'm Canadian and a beaver lover myself"... |
Posted By: 82Fineline
Date Posted: April-04-2011 at 5:20pm
|
Got to work on the boat a bit this weekend. Got all the interior out, some more floor cut out, gas tank out, and the secondary stringer out and ground flat.
The operation room 
Gas tank out. You can see why the stringers rotted, the PO had all sorts of holes drilled in them. 
Secondary gone and ground flat 
The hardest part is getting the remnants of the floor out where it was attached to the hull. Its two layers of 3/4" ply peanut buttered to the hull and then glassed. You can see that Ive gotten about 2 feet of it off and ground flat where the spotter seat goes. I cut it about half an inch from the hull (as close as I felt comfortable with)and then ground it with a 16 grit flap wheel. Is there a better way? I cant afford those 7$ flap wheels if Im going to eat them that quick. I was thinking of trying a masonry 1/4" grinding wheel to get the bulk off and then finishing it with the flap wheel. Thoughts on that? 
Removal of rotten stringer innards via shop vac. Its scary how gone those things were. Where have you guys gotten your rough cut fir from? I cant seem to locate any around here (eastern Va). It seems that using lvl for the stringers is almost as costly so I might as well spring for fir. Also, have you ever heard of using AdvanTech flooring for the floor instead of fir ply? Someone we know just had his charter refloored with it. Of course it will still be cpes'd and a fully glassed. The stuff seems pretty tough, we floored our house with it and it held up to months of rain while we were fighting with permits etc. The main bonus to using it is that we have 10 plus sheets that have been in dry storage for 2 years or so. How do you think it would hold up compared to fir ply? http://www.advantechperforms.com/advantech-advantage/ |