21 Hull #136...Restoration...Started

[Islandtrader]

OK the time has come. Since I have never done a boat before, let me hear from all you brave souls who have gone before me

As you may know from previous posts, it is a Moesly 21.

I want to do a complete gut out(after 40 years she deserves it).

My first question is this. IF you were doing it how would you start? Would you attack the transom first. Or would you take out the floors and cockpit first. Or???

Need input, since the old i/o is coming out between now and Christmas, and my enthusiasm is overpowering my common sense, so slap me back into reality.

Thanks,

[Bigshrimpin]

Build a cradle to support the hull.

Leave the cap on.

only replace one stringer at a time (do not rip out all the stringers at once - you can cause a permanent hook in the hull)

make cardboard templates of everything before you tear it apart (floor, stringers, etc.)

Budget for the materials and time and then multiply by 5.

Buy in Bulk (composites one)

Refrain from buying boat jewelry and electronics until all the fiberglass work is done. (you can blow your whole budget this way).

[CaptLloyd]

Don't forget the beer!!

[Bigshrimpin]

Also if you are planning on coring things with marine ply or need temporary work benches. Sign Makers use MDO (almost as good as marine ply - dougfir AB). . . when billboard signs comedown 1/2" and 3/4" 4x8 sheets of MDO can be bought for $5 - $10 a sheet.

[JohnB]

Why wait for them to take the signs down. I look at it as beautifing the interstate by tearing them down.
Take out a 2nd mortgage, don't let your wife see the materials cost, and whatever you do, don't count the hours you put into it. Those would be the first 3 steps.

[pcfishslayer]

Figure out how you want this to come out in the end. You can spend how ever much money you would like when restoring. The sky is the limit with how much you can invest. Figure out what you will reuse and what you will buy new. I decided to go all new and I think I could have bought a cheaper but new 20 ft bay boat for what I have into mine. It must be a labor of love.
My advise is to make a list of all the things you would like to do and focus on 1 thing then move to the next. I am restoring a 20 SF. I sometimes find myself getting staring one thig and hoping to another.

[Islandtrader]

Thanks for all the sage advice.
One thing I have under control is the budget. Selling 3 boats this year has left me with a good restore budget. Now adding the power will be another question...and one that I will not have to face for a while.

Really my question is. The outdrive and engine are out. I am thinking heavily on a parallelogram bracket. Do I rip out the transoms first and then the floors. Or do I do just the opposite? Or take the transom out. Leave open, and then take the floors out. Put a new transom in and then start building the floors.

It is daunting. However I wanted to do this, so I am mentally ready.

[htillman]

I would remove the floors and gain access to the transom and the stringers. Based upon what you find would lead to the next step. If the stringers are good, I would remove the transom from the inside. Then sand everything that is exposed. Replace the transom, paint the bilge and minor repair any stringer work and start on the deck. If stringer work is required I would remove only the stringers closest to the transom, repair the transom and then go after the stringers. Bottom line, only perform one major structural project at a time unless you can secure components. I remember Strick having a problem with his hull widening when he removed the deck (inner liner) and the sides widened causing him to modify the upper cap. So you need to consider this happening when doing major repairs.

[Islandtrader]

I would remove the transom from the inside.

This is already one good piece of advice. I was so used to looking at a lot of photo's of people doing this from the outside, that I really never gave it much thought from the inside.

[Bushwacker]

Terry, remember the 21's were very well built and survived some very rough offshore races w/o problems, which means they've got lots of structural margin for normal use. I'd be real careful about ripping something out just because it's old, unless it's obviously rotten like the front deck. At least do a little exploratory surgery first. I will forward your e-mail with the photo's to Bob to see if he had any problem areas on the Unohu that you might want to check out. Fresh water is worse for causing rot than salt water, so whatever did not rot after all those years of exposure to fresh water, is probably ok for salt water. Big Shrimpin's right, it's easy to CREATE problems if you're not careful. I'd put the emphasis on fixing enough stuff to get it operational, and then use it for awhile to get a better idea of what you might want to change. I'd hate to do all the work involved with a full restoration and the later regret that I had not made some significant modification that I thought of AFTER using the boat in it's original configuration! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

I do like your idea of a jack plate instead of a full bracket, although that boat was well balanced with a 1000# outdrive, so a bracket and a single V-6 2-stroke would probably provide similar balance. If someone like Fr. Frank on the forum knows the weights of the old outdrive leg and engine, it would be fairly easy to calculate the equivalent moment for an outboard set back off the transom.

I used to have a kicker with a parallelogram/4-bar linkage bracket on my previous boat. Might not be hard to make one and rig it up with a hydraulic cylinder. There's an outfit in the midwest that makes jack plates and trim/tilt brackets; will see if I can find a web site for them. Denny