Tom's 1986 170 Rebuild

[wingnut]

Alright, I've been lurking for a few months while starting on my rebuild, and thought I'd finally get around to posting some winter eye candy for everybody!

Picked up a 1986 Osprey 170 this past summer for $1000, knowing it was a project. Yamaha 115 was tired, so I sold it for $1000... Free hull and aluminum I-beam trailer! Then the fun began. I knew the deck and transom were toast, but she had good bones otherwise.



Photos of the initial tearout. Previous owner cut holes in the deck (starboard side, just aft of casting deck) and "repaired" it with silicone caulk and some aluminum bar. Not sure what they were trying to find, but I'm guessing they found it because there is nothing there to warrant a cutout! Nowhere near fuel fill, through hull or wiring of any kind. They did, however, leave a Makita drill in the bilge, which was a fun easter egg to find.





Old aluminum tank was like swiss cheese on top so I got a new 35 gallon Moeller. Weight will be a bit farther forward but I'm thinking that may help with my bailing situation a bit anyway.



The foam outboard of the stringers was soaked but the stringer foam was bone dry and stringers themselves were in great shape, just needed to retab a bit with some 1708 to beef them up a bit.

[wingnut]

Decided to go with a marine ply deck... figured if I do it right, it's good for another 30 years, at which point I will be 65 and MOST LIKELY in a different boat! Mostly left the stringer putty alone because it was still solid for the most part, minor height adjustments with a planer.







It will, however, be the LAST time I use folded biaxial. Wrinkles initiated bubbles, etc. Ended up having to fair the deck way more than I wanted to but end result is fine.

[wingnut]

On to the transom! I went back and forth for a long time on this, but ended up deciding to go with pourable Carbonbond and am actually very happy with the result. I'm very fortunate to have a boat builder/supplier in the family and was able to get 10 gallons of it for very cheap, which sealed the deal.

Cue backlash because haters gonna hate: I did NOT remove the transom skin! (gasp!)



Photo is of the inside of the transom, with material mostly removed but not yet cleaned.

I came up with a hybrid method and ended up getting all of the soggy ply out and ended up with a clean, dry, sanded finish on the interior faces and saved ~10 hours over a traditional transom tearout. Can provide details if anyone wants to A) try it sometime or B) laugh at my methods.

Anyway, went on to form up the sides of the transom. Had enough material to raise the sides about 3".







I would have liked to get another inch or two of height, but I wasn't going to buy another 5 gallon bucket for that.

Sanded and fared the Carbonbond and then glassed over the edges with a couple layers of 1708.





At that point, it got too cold in my garage to do any real epoxy or paint work (it's Maine, after all), plus my truck wanted her spot back so the boat went to the yard under winter cover. And there she sits for another month or two...

[wingnut]

However! There is plenty of inside work to do. Console had to be gutted and re-rigged. I'm switching over to a 1998 Suzuki DT85 that I had, which is 100 pounds or so lighter than the Yamaha.





I ran across several old stainless bow rails on craigslist and grabbed them for dirt cheap... It's 1.25" stainless so I cut them up to make a hard top frame. Hard top is in the works now - photo is prior to sanding and glassing, just doing a dry fit over the console.



And that's where she is for now. Plenty of work left to do... Hull is going to get Seafoam Green AwlGrip as soon as it warms up, along with deck nonskid, etc. Hopefully she will be in the water for a trial splash in May, and be fully up and running by June 1. 

[Scooter]

Congratulations, you're making quick progress and it looks good.

[mshugg]

Looks like you’re off TPA great start.  The 170 is a sweet skiff.

[wingnut]

Thanks guys, I'm definitely excited. We live in coastal Maine and there are all kinds of uninhabited islands to explore, and plenty of fish to be caught too.

My biggest unknown is whether it will be self-bailing. With my lighter DT85 (230lbs) and fuel tank forward, my hope is that it will be - any 170 owners have thoughts on this? I left the deck height original, in effort to keep the gunwale height high (kid safety etc.), and preserved the bailer well at the transom.

[mshugg]

Back in the day, I had no complaints about the self bailing of my 170.  As long as the scupper flaps were in good shape, the rear deck stayed reasonably dry even with my substantial weight back there. In the Florida winter, I’d wear rubber boots, but I never had a concern for safety.

[RickK]

On to the transom! I went back and forth for a long time on this, but ended up deciding to go with pourable Carbonbond and am actually very happy with the result. I'm very fortunate to have a boat builder/supplier in the family and was able to get 10 gallons of it for very cheap, which sealed the deal.

Cue backlash because haters gonna hate: I did NOT remove the transom skin! (gasp!)

You shouldn't get any resistance to your process from our members.  We learn from all members - this isn't THT.  We have members that poured their transom with Seacast - worked well for them, but was a lot of prep.
As for using plywood - My first sole replacement was in '98 and was with plywood (not even marine plywood) and I coated the wood with resin and glass and it lasted  until around 2012 where I started getting a soft spot up against the casting deck - bummer.  I cut out the entire sole and the underside of 98% of the plywood was like the day I had glassed/installed it. I then went way off a normal person's path and gutted the entire hull - stringers, casting deck, transom.

[wingnut]

Thanks guys! It's awesome to have a supportive group for projects like this.

Rick - your rebuild was hugely helpful in seeing what the guts of one of these looked like before taking on the project.

I just can't wait to get her out on the water up here.

[RickK]

Running a light 85 on it should keep her high and dry. As long as you don't add a 30gal baitwell to the aft, you should be fine.

[Fish Head]

Looks great! Cool idea repurposing the stainless rails for a T -Top!

[RickK]

The transom came out great. How was the product to work with?  Did you see any leaks as you poured it in?

[wingnut]

Thanks guys! The curves on the stainless worked out just about perfect and ithe frame came out way more solid than I had even hoped for. I have a couple more pieces, if anyone in New England can use them (free).

The Carbonbond material was not bad at all to work with. I nicked the inner liner in one spot but taped it prior to pouring so there were luckily no leaks. Once it was poured the forms stripped just fine (I had taped them... the resin on bare wood may have been a problem though). I WOULD, however, pay attention to the 90 day shelf life on the product... Mine was at 110 days or so and it was starting to crystallize at the top. Still very useable, but I wouldn’t push it much past that. It cured to the fiberglass really nice though and fared with a grinder no problem.

[RickK]

What is the going price for the Carbonbond per 5 gal?