250 Custom Restoration

[Tampa Bay Mike]

Well it's been two years since I finished the 22 and it has been a great boat but it may be time for an upgrade. I've had my eye out for a 24 Seahunter but I can't justify what the market demands for them. So I decided to go the ambitious (crazy?) route and picked up an '84 250 the other day. The plan is to do another hull up restoration and ditch the liner in exchange for a custom cap.

This is how she looked the day I got her home.





The floor was already removed and the liner was out in about an hour.



I'm glad I pulled it because the foam underneath was absolutely soaked and weighed a ton



I went ahead and got all the grinding out of the way and the hull and stringers were in good shape. A few bubbles here and there and one small crack on the starboard stringer tabbing but that won't be an issue.



I decided to start with the stringers since I had them opened up to check and replace the foam. I know I'll have to do the back 18" or so separately after I finish the transom but I didn't want tear too much apart at once and risk twisting the hull. I knew I wanted to raise them up slightly so I went with the fence posts again since that worked so well last time. This time however I did it a little differently. Instead of foaming and recapping the stringers first, I duct taped the pvc down, drilled openings in the tops and refoamed it all as one piece. I'll admit it was kind of an experiment and I was prepared for it to go hilariously wrong but to my surprise it worked out really well.



A few minutes with the oscillating tool and sander to clean them up and they are nice and solid and looking good.



I haven't done any glass work yet but I do plan to wrap them all with a few layers to lock it all in place. I'm going to start tearing the transom out first and do all the glass at the same time.

[Tampa Bay Mike]

This is how she's sitting now without the liner. I know some people really like the look of the CCPs but I really do like the clean lines without the extra bulk.



The plan for the rest of the build will be similar to my 22. I splurged a little and picked up enough coosa to do the transom and floor before the price goes up next year. (I've heard 11% from a few people after Jan 1)



I'm thinking a flat deck with a forward seating bench that wraps around the bow and a custom ring deck and transom cap like I did on my 22 but this time with a built in livewell. I'll probably go with a porta bracket and 250 for power and possibly a tower if funds allow.

[Capt. Bob]

Well count me in as a CCP lover (except for the transom design) so I look forward to this build.

[Ulysses485]

Wow mike, you have been hard after her already! Nice progress. Looking forward to seeing this come along! Thanks for sharing!!

[RickK]

Yes they do have great lines - great progress. That'll be a great fishing platform. 

[plugger]

Wow…. Wish I had the  time ,talent and space to attempt this, look forward to this one.

[Tampa Bay Mike]

Wow…. Wish I had the  time ,talent and space to attempt this, look forward to this one.

Thanks guys. I do have the space at least, guess we'll see about the time and talent part lol

[wingnut]

Interesting that so many hulls from the mid-80s had the foam squirted in through the gunwale to hold the liner cutouts in place. Kind of a copout imho, since they ALWAYS leak along the bottom edge, then you get wet foam in a place that it can't be replaced. Scrapping the liner is definitely a fix to the problem though! Excited to see this come together; I'm with you on the clean lines sans liner.

[dmont]

Don't doubt the power of duct tape! I have also used it to hold in some pieces I was foaming around, worked great. That is some good progress. Looking forward to following along.

[Tampa Bay Mike]

Pretty much done with all the heavy grinding now. I got the transom out and cleaned up. I left the top lip attached for now to make it easier to climb in and out but it will be cut off soon. I have next week off work so hopefully I can start glassing then. I hope everyone has a great Christmas!

[Nates 86 200]

Looking good

[RickK]

Those huge stringers are stout - the ones in my 230 Explorer are the same.

[Ulysses485]

Coming along nicely! Your making some great progress!

[Tampa Bay Mike]

The transom is in, but I gotta say it look a little more thinking than my 22 did. So if you've ever looked at the back of a 250, the transom actually bows out past 90⁰ on the sides. (I know the 240s also had an interesting design.) They also only doubled up the plywood in the center where the motor was bolted to. The rest was only a single layer of 3/4". My first thought was to cut it out and go with a flat transom but the outside skin was in great shape and it was over 9/16th of an inch thick down towards the bottom so I couldn't justify it. So my solution was to get a little crafty with the coosa instead. I ended up cutting it in a few strategic pieces to help it conform to the shape. It ended up working really well and I am happy with the outcome.

You can see the wide angle here.



I laid up four layers of 1708 to fill in the cutout



Then did two more full layers overlapping the sides and bottom



I used 2" strips of cardboard to make a template



First layer of coosa bonded into place



Cutting out the three inside layers with 4, 8 and 12 inch overlaps



Final layers on



Next step will be to trim the top flush and add a little crown. With so many bends and curves in the factory transom I wasn't sure how much of a crown I was going to want so I laid it all up a little tall knowing I could cut the final shape later on. I'm thinking I may just go with an inch to an inch and a half. Anyway, that's a decision for tomorrow.

Oh, and happy new years to everyone!

[Capt. Bob]

Not bad.
Not bad at all.

Happy New Year to you.