1970 Flatback 222 - Barn find Revival

[Ulysses485]

I can’t believe it’s been 2 years since I’ve posted an update here. Well I’ve been busy on other projects and it sat on the back burner for nearly this whole time but recently got some motivation (and a more definitive plan) to make some progress and here are some photos:

Well it turned out that there surprisingly wasn’t much change with about 180lbs of motor on the transom (with respect to how much water it took on at the factory scuppers). With me at the side of the helm, 30 gallons of fluid (mostly shellac and water) in the factory tank (60 gallon total) 2 - group 24 batteries and 2- group 31 batteries in the forward storage cubby, it sat with barely taking on water at the factory scuppers. Eliminating the trough and raising the scupper location to the main deck height has proved to be an option to keep it a self bailing deck.

May/August 2021..The 225 Evinrude was just stored on the transom and has since been sold.








Moving on to more recent actual progress. Got the rubrail and cap removed. There is no doubt that more caps aren’t removed because of the absolute pain in the neck that is a flathead machine screw, I’ve had enough of them!! Because the liner is bonded at the top where the rubrail/cap is connected, the form is kept and very rigid.

[dbiscayne]

Those liner screws are brutal to remove. I found a sharp chisel and 9 whacks from a big hammer would snap any that involved a nut that was so embedded into the liner I couldn't get vice grips on it. Which ended up being a lot on my boat.

[RickK]

@Ulysses485 - you might want to flip that cap over so it lays flat. Don't need a twist getting into it.

[RickK]

@Ulysses485 - please check your messages.

[Ulysses485]

@Ulysses485 - you might want to flip that cap over so it lays flat. Don't need a twist getting into it.

Rickk, That was just where it was when it came down from the gantry. I struggle to get photos of action or progress because do most of the work at night when the boys (2 & 4) are sleeping.

So after much thought and pondering, I devised a plan to split the top liner from the hull and stringers. Surprisingly I was able to convince the bonding putty to let go of the main deck underside and it peeled like an onion at the transom. I will take better photos for record when I have a chance but pretty happy with the way it turns out and eliminated the use of a sawzall (for now...pending final decision of the route I am going to take). Oh and I scored on some 1'' plascore honeycomb material. Plan is at least 2 maybe three layers of 1708 top and bottom.

Here was the setup is used to keep the liner from crumbling while I lifted from inside the casting deck holes and underneath the recessed storage box center forward:


Looking towards the Transom with the deck lifted:

[RickK]

Very nice!! Would you say the key to success is to lift/peel from the front?
So what is the plan of the rebuild? I assume the tank was above deck inside the console? Are you going to stay with that? Are you going to change the self bailing design of the boat? You really can't change much, like the deck to gunnel height without this becoming a full rebuild.

[Ulysses485]

Very nice!! Would you say the key to success is to lift/peel from the front?
So what is the plan of the rebuild? I assume the tank was above deck inside the console? Are you going to stay with that? Are you going to change the self bailing design of the boat? You really can't change much, like the deck to gunnel height without this becoming a full rebuild.

RickK,

Absolutely the key to success (with some exceptions)!  If not completely original, I can see how this would not be a feasible option (due to previous repairs or rebuilds, etc.). It does take a few extra tools (which are typically usable around boat building and DIY stuff and could be built cheap and resold anyhow). I'm honestly surprised that more don't do it this way. The rubrail typically come off in a rebuild (or at least it should IMO) and as long as you are careful with how you brace the cap and recore/reinstall it, its a much more clean way of rebuilding the boat. I'm a gelcoat guy (NO PAINT) and a perfectionist so spraying and finishing with the cap off has become a must for me.

Regarding the build, I am considering my options but I am leaning towards a closed transom with a porta bracket  so that opens up a can of worms as we all know regarding draft, fuel tank/battery/pump/rigging locations etc. My biggest concern (or the biggest unknown rather) was wet stringers and where I have poked, that's what I am finding. The good thing is that the stringers look to be in excellent shape so ill make swiss cheese of their tops like my 240 and gut all the foam. I'll reinforce from the inside of the stringers with putty and tabbing, refoam, and modify stringer height accordingly depending on what I decide. The fuel tank location was as shown in photo below as a 60 gallon cell. It eats up a lot of space and I am actually going to look into relocating it below deck in the forward section below the casting deck.

Existing Fuel cell that was removed.
[/b]

Some more progress photos (yes that is a bunch of dry glass from the transom skin):

[Ulysses485]

Well here she is, skinned and naked of the liner. This is going to provide much easier access to the outside stringers (which have horrible tabbing to the hullside and never really bonded to the bottomside of the decks). It will also provide me opportunity to define my rebuild now that I can inspect thoroughly. Unfortunately, the stringers in the flatbacks are primarily made of simply just chopped strand mat. There is NO woven roving /cloth or any form of structural glass in the design of the stringers, just the hull mold and the transom cap and liner. This is most likely why most of them are found with stringers that are basically destroyed and cracked all throughout. I was fortunate to have found one not abused and only powered up to 135hp (1973' model) when it was parked in the mid 80s.

Once i get my pressure washer fixed, it should clean up decently so I can get it chine/keel blocked to remove the foam and begin working on reinforcement of the stringers.

[RickK]

Wow, came with an oar and a fish gaff.

[Ulysses485]

Wow, came with an oar and a fish gaff.

Yup. A little extra.
They will make great wall ornaments for the shop when I eventually build one. :)

[Ulysses485]

Well there goes another year and some. I guess as I get older, summers are too much to bare in Florida when working in the heat. Fall and Winter were fairly productive. Got all the foam removed (Winter of 2023), pressure washed a few times, transom gutted out (winter 2024) , everything grinded down for the most part, and center stringer removed.

Photo Dump from progress since last post ! haha...

[RickK]

Wow, that's a lot of progress and some good clean work 

Yeah working in the heat in FL is tough - I almost passed out many times from the heat over the years during the rebuild.  This worked for me and I went through a bunch of them - A BIG tarp overhead about 5 ft above you, that allows you to extend the sides out about 10-15 ft and propped up with tent poles. This allows the air to cool that wafts through before it reaches you.  A big floor fan is also a must.

[Ulysses485]

Wow, that's a lot of progress and some good clean work 

Yeah working in the heat in FL is tough - I almost passed out many times from the heat over the years during the rebuild.  This worked for me and I went through a bunch of them - A BIG tarp overhead about 5 ft above you, that allows you to extend the sides out about 10-15 ft. and propped up with tent poles. This allows the air to cool that wafts through before it reaches you.  A big floor fan is also a must.

Its brutal. I am hoping to get most of the structural work done before it starts getting too hot (I can work under shop lights in the evening now with the new carport so that should buy me till early summer).