1981 Aquasport 170 rebuild in Sweden

[larsli68]

Hello Rick!

I finally broke the 40 knots barrier! 40.5 knots yesterday, with possibly a little bit more with less fuel in the boat. This was with a full tank of fuel.
40.5 knots is 46.6 mph. I'm also very happy with how the boat feels now, and gets up out of the hole. For anyone thinking of re-powering with an OptiMax, this info is golden. I know I would have loved knowing before I tried 5 props... ;)

Have you used your boat much lately?

All the best,

I'm always checking in on you guys in the forum.

//Lars

[larsli68]

Spitfire stainless steel prop has made wonders to my boat! 19" pitch. 41 knots, and super fast out of the hole. I love my Aquasport even more now. They will bury me in this boat... 

[RickK]

She sure looks purdy.  I'm in Tennessee in my RV right now, heading home, further south each day.

[larsli68]

It's going to be 86 degrees here tomorrow, and my wife is working early shift at the hotel tomorrow morning. I will be out on the Baltic all day tomorrow. I hope she will join me in the afternoon
Drive safe bud!

//Lars

[BradC]

Hey Lars,

Thanks for an incredibly informative thread. Your attention to detail and doing it properly ethic has made your journey a genuine inspiration. I recently bought a rough but functional '83 175 and this thread has answered pretty much all my unasked questions.

Cheers
Brad

[larsli68]

Thanks Brad,

Very nice words! I'm glad if what I did can help you. I love my boat, and continue to improve it.
The 4 blade Spitfire stainless steel prop made a world of difference.

Thanks again,

Lars

[larsli68]

I made a video of the restoration of my 1981 Aquasport 170. You find it here.
https://youtu.be/RMv7GdR-wOA



//Lars

[Mwar410]

Very nice

[RickK]

Nice video Lars !

[larsli68]

Thanks guys, I hope it can inspire someone. I hope everyone is having a nice summer.

//Lars

[umecheme]

Lars,

How long did the wood removal from the transom take?  How satisfied are you with the Seacast...?

Thanks in advance.

-Mike

[larsli68]

Hello Mike,

It took me a couple of weeks, but mainly because I had some problems with carpal-tunnel at the time. You can do it faster.
I would buy or rent a chainsaw with a longer sword. The chainsaw removes the wood but spares the fiberglass.
I made a couple of special tools. You can find pictures of them in this thread.The more rotten your wood is, the easier to remove. I had parts of the transom that was in good condition, and it too a lot more work to remove it.
You have to remove all the wood. Seacast is awesome. I'm on my 5th season now, and it's strong and looks like the day I launched the boat. I'm very happy with it. The only thing is, don't leave any wood in there...
I think it took my 2-3 days after I thought I had it all removed, until it was 100% removed...

You can do it!

//Lars

[Ulysses485]

Great video and a beautiful build! Well done!

Ulysses

[larsli68]

Thanks!

I love my boat. Don't think I will ever sell it. I plan a refresh for next year or the year after. I'm restoring a Soling sailboat at the moment.

Thanks,

Lars

[larsli68]

2020 refresh of my 1981 Aquasport 170. When I restored my boat, I elevated the floor with 3/4 of an inch, my mistake was that I never tied the new floor into the transom with fiberglass. I got a hairline crack after the first season... This spring, I used my Makita finger belt sander, and sanded the hairline crack (until I didn't see a crack) and added 4 layers of stm fiber glass. I sanded, added a little bit of polyester filler, before I painted new topcoat.

In the bow, I repairing some hairline cracks, and will refresh with new paint. Floor will also be re-painted. I'm also painting top coat on the underside of the covers.

I hope everyone is staying safe,

Lars