1981 Aquasport 170 rebuild in Sweden

[larsli68]

I'm currently removing all the wood from my transom. Any ideas or help very much appreciated.
I'm probably the only Aquasport 170 owner in Sweden. There might be more of us, I just don't know.
My goal is to make the boat wood free, but I might only do the transom this year. The floor is OK.
Picked up a brand new 2014 Mercury Optimax 115hp yesterday. My first brand new motor. I'm very excited

[RickK]

Hi Lars,
Sharp looking boat.  Not sure I've seen decals placed on the sides like that though. We have a ton of members here with 170/175s.
Are you using Seacast?  I've never done the process but the few members that have were pleased when they did it themselves.  You'll probably have to do separate pours to fill the side "wings", up the sides of the transom.
That little boat ought to fly with a 115 on her - probably easily over 50mph with the new technology in today's motors.

I made a new members group for you to join - Sweden.  You can do this via your user control panel.  I think I included the instructions in the email I sent you.

[dburr]

Lars how far along are you in the wood removal process?

[larsli68]

I think I have past the half way mark in the wood removal. I will do some more drilling today. I also hope my brother can help me weld up some
special tools to reach down deep. I plan to drill everything and then with a blade tool, break off what is still attached to the fiber glass.
It's quite time consuming, but I have 7 months before I plan to be in the water again. I will pick away at it.
I will post more pictures after today's efforts.

[larsli68]

The stripes on the sides have been removed. They were painted on... Quite a job to get them off.
Used a paint stripper and a lot of wet sanding. I will do gel-coat repairs and polish it back to gloss.
I have been in touch with Jack and his Carbon core product. I'm waiting for his shipping quote... I'm afraid it will be more
expensive than the product itself... I want a non wood solution, since my boat sits in the water from April to October.
Feels great to have this forum and group of guys to ask questions and read tons of very good information.

Thanks guys!
/Lars

[RickK]

Some guys use a chain saw to dig the wood out.

[larsli68]

I might give that a try. I have an electric chainsaw. I'm just a little scared of it...
It will probably be needed to get the wood down at the bottom out. I think I have at least 2/3 of it out, but due to the hard to reach places, probably still not half way
if you count the time. I'm picking away at it.

[larsli68]

Thanks Rick! That was a huge difference! The chainsaw did wonders!
Since you are down in a pocket, it was not that scary either. My chainsaw was not long enough to reach all the way down, I will have to drill that out.
The boat looks like a mess... I will do some cleaning this week before I take more pictures.
Thanks for your support! Feels great not to be alone with a project like this.

//Lars

[larsli68]

Hello again. I went out and took some pictures of the transom job. 4 or 5 inches remains down at the bottom. I'm hoping to clear all of it by next weekend.

[RickK]

Glad it worked out.

[larsli68]

I was at it for 4.5 hours yesterday. I would love to have a longer chainsaw. The one I have is just not long enough. Chainsaw is the way to go...
I also plan to buy a longer 1" drill bit. The 3/4" I have does not reach all the way down either. I did a little tonight, but need better tools.

[flatbackpaul]

I have been going round & round with EcoWolf about their installation of SeaCast.  I had them (EcoWolf)  install a SeaCast transom at their shop in Edgewater & they did a terrible job.

Words of advice.  Make sure - 100% - that you get all the wood out, reinforce the cut-downs, fill the wings all the way, properly make skin repair and cap it properly.  I have been in court with them for months and the latest time their attorney was claiming that the product was not warrantied at all.  Fortunately I am not suing them because of the warranty rather their inability to install it properly, so the judge dismissed their Motion to Dismiss.  We will have a trial within the next couple weeks.  

Here's a take away - install it right and you wont have a problem.  If you have a problem, their attorney will argue that there is no warranty despite all the representation of such on their website and probably in conversations with them.  If you do it right - you're good to go.  

By the way - nice boat.

[larsli68]

Thanks for the words of advice. I'm sorry to hear about your troubles. I hate it when you pay someone to do a job and they screw things up (they call themselves professionals).
I had to take a couple of days off to rest my arms. I have an issue with my neck, that makes my arms numb if I over do it. I think I did on Sunday. I might rest tonight too.
Getting all of it up is quite a job. I will not stop until everything is up. I have all winter (longer here in Sweden...) to do it.
I hope things works out with your boat.

Thanks,

Lars

[Aquasport Commodore]

I have all winter (longer here in Sweden...)

Keep at it, your doing great. As for the winter, you can keep that white stuff, I have a bad allergy to it  I'm moving to Cudjoe Key when I retire where it gets only in the 70's :pirat:

[larsli68]

I have all winter (longer here in Sweden...)

Keep at it, your doing great. As for the winter, you can keep that white stuff, I have a bad allergy to it  I'm moving to Cudjoe Key when I retire where it gets only in the 70's :pirat:

Sounds like a plan for me too. My wife is from Louisville KY. I don't think she will ever quite accept the winters over here. I live 60 miles south of Stockholm, by the coast.
Up north they have real winters. If we are lucky, we have snow on the ground for around 4-5 weeks, not more...

We usually go back to Raleigh NC for a week and a half in November each year. Very nice to leave Sweden at that time...

Thanks for your encouragement. I will pick away at the wood. Hope to get it all out in about a week.

//Lars