Project - Aquasport 246CCP, 1979, Captain Koz II

[kaptainkoz]

Hello Aquasport friends,
Yes, long time no post as progress has been slow thanks to this wonderful economy.
Well here are the latest pictures from today. The 246CCP is all stripped and ready to start removal of the floor, the transom, and all the floatation foam. The 200CCP is also all stripped down of all the parts that are coming onto the 246CCP.
I wil be cutting many "donor" fiberglass pieces off of the 200CCP to close off the transom and for some other fishing goodie surprises for the 246. But, you will have to stay tuned until next spring as the goal for 2012 is to strip the bottom of paint, pull the floor/transom/ foam, and junk the 200CCP after I cut out what I need. I want one boat on one trailer for the winter. I may do some fiberglass forms over the winter and I will be sure to post them as it happens.




200CCP dismantled and ready to get cut up

[Capt. Bob]

Hell of a hull.

Good luck and keep posting.

[Georgie]

Koz -

Kinda peripheral comment, but I love your renderings.  You do a great job representing what's in your head so we can intelligently discuss your project.  Love the cleaning station you're planning for the transom.  Have really appreciated the one I've used on my buddy's pursuit.  

I plan to re-wire much of my '79 246 CCC sometime next spring/summer since it's all still original, so let's each keep record of measurements, mistakes, successes, research, etc. in case it saves either one of us some time, money, or headaches.  

Also, I'm researching trailer specs for mine so I can pick one up this winter. What can you tell me about the overal length, axle strength, brakes vs. no brakes, weight, etc. of yours, and how did it trailer?  What did you use for a tow vehicle?

Good luck w/your project!

[kaptainkoz]

Georgie,
Thanks so much for reaching out and offering ideas. I totally plan on documenting and sharing on this site all my experiences with this project as a "pay it forward" for all that I have learned on here. There is no way I would even think to attempt what I plan on doing had it not been searching and learning from this site for hours. I am all for helping in any way that I can. I will have suggestions and I will have a ton of questions so both will be exchanged here.

As for trailering, it takes me about 20 minutes to get to the ramp so my trailering setup may not be as advanced as it should be, but that would have to be an individual and financial decision. In a perfect world, I would have a double axle trailer with brakes pulled by a body on frame 4x4. Currently have a shorelander 3"x3" square tube double axle roller trailer with no brakes. My buddy has an almost new venture aluminum trailer and he has had brake trouble. If I had to trailer further or faster I would want the security of a brake system, but finances dictate what I can possess. Brakes on saltwater trailers are a huge maintenance issue and fiancially I am not able to maintain a brake system so I had to rely on an oversized vehicle to do the work for me. I had a 1994 Range Rover which did the trick just fine, however I had to drive ultra conservative to compensate as best I could for increased braking distance.  I have since sold the Rover which is fine while I am boatless. I expect to replace it with a Trailblazer or a Land Rover Discovery as I need a trailer again. As for a "must have", I am sold on either axle being enough to tow the whole boat's weight. I have a pair of 3500lb axles for what is about 3100lbs of boat. The actual cost for one axle strength to the next is marginal. I have lost a bearing on the road and mathematically I was capable of getting home and did just fine.
I also find that some trailers are not balanced correctly. I personally feel that the tongue should weigh about 200-300 lbs, and if not, the boat can be shifted forward or backwards by moving the winch post forward or backwards, or by moving the axle assembly forward or backwards. I actually like to start by moving the axle's forward to shorten the wheelbase which makes turning and backing in to my driveway easier by shortening the wheelbase.  Its like playing see-saw with the boat until it gives you the desired tongue weight. Again, its my experience and opinion, im not sure if there is a more documented rule.

As for wiring, I am a big fan of slipping on a tube of adhesive lined heat shrink tubing, crimping a jacketless crimp on, soldering the crimp, then shrinking the tubing on until the adhesive oozes out creating a sealed, watertight seal. The crimps alone with the cheap plastic shield have questionable holding power if not applied perfectly and the plastic shield is crap. Its time consuming but so it chasing electrical issues years later or even worse, having something crap out at a really bad time when you are out there and now in trouble because of a failure. I only used tinned copper marine grade wiring and am a fan of the blue seas blade type fuse block with the negative ground bus. The bladed type are color coded which in a bad spot can make it much easier to change a fuse, plus you can change them with needle nose pliers which is usually found on most fishing boats. I find that block works well for me, and if you need more fuses you can add as many as you like. In fact, on my buddies 24ft Grady walk around, I put a 12 fuse block under his helm and a 6 fuse block up in the electronic box to handle what was closer to it. Now I only had to snake one set of pos and neg through the hard top piping instead of many wires. I am not a fan of the fuses on the dash panels as they take up space and are more exposed to the elements.
More to come!!!!

[kaptainkoz]

November 2012
I finally got around to cutting out the donor pieces I needed out of the 200CCP and gertting the hull down to the dump. Definitely a bittersweet day as she was a good boat. However I am looking forward and very excited about creeping along on the 246 project!


Here is the 200CCP next to the 246 just before I rolled her out of there for good.


This is the panel in the gunnel along the rod holders....


It will be the perfect filler panel to close off the transom of the 246 with. I plan on pouring a transom 2 inches thick a few inches past the highest mounting bolt of the engine bracket, then 1 inch to the top where structure isnt as vital. I also want to tie the stringers into the transom somehow as now they really arent.


Here is the port storage bin with the drain bib cut out of the 200 which I plan to install (along with the starbord one) onto the 246 as a custom transom bait cutting and storage station. It may be hard to visualize but it will be obvious as the progest progresses.


Another donor piece which will be used as....


.... a toe relief somewhere along the transom station.


This discovery came as a surprise to me and im glad i saw it before it was too late on the 246. I didnt realize that the plywood does not come all the way to the gunnel. I was surprised to see a gap. I could have cut the 246 too close to the gunnel and created an issue for myself. I plan on cutting all the way through the floor about 3.5 inches out, then cutting the top skin about 1.5 inched out and removing the plywood, leaving me a nice original fiberglass lip to lay the new plywood on. I am also toying with the idea of doing the same as mentioned above, except laying the new floor on top of everything tight to the gunnel, in effect raising the floor about 3/4 of an inch. The Thought behind this would be to futher prevent water from coming back onto the deck through the side thru hull drains. Seems the CCP's sit low in the water and with the added leverage weight of a bracket im afraid the thru hulls will be even closer to the water line. I know that water weight in the foam is a weight issue, but I was surprised to see that my 200 didnt have all the cavities filled with wet floatation foam. I definitely had saturated foam around the gas tank. I also drilled test holes in the stringers to find that those were wet too. So am i to assume that the weight of the wet foam in the gas tank well and the stringers was enought to lower my through hulls right to the water line to were I would get water coming in when I stood in either of the rear corners? I have not had the 246 in the water at all so I cannot gauge where it sits, but the scum line on the bottom paint shows the water line was close to the thru hulls. In fact the bottom paint is over the rear thru hull (not that that is necessarily an indication of water line). I may have to cut drains in the transom based on my design so by the angle and position it will actually have those holes closer to the water line than the side thru hulls. So Please chime in on if raising the floor 3/4 of an inch is a worthy idea or not. It will be more finish and fillet work to make it look right but I wont be happy if im fishing off the transom and my boots are taking on water... like on my 200.


200 CCP. under the floor, port side, looking from the stern to bow. The stringer is on the right. No floatation foam. Im going to foam my 246. Im toying with cutting closed cell foam block and laying a huge piece in for floatation. I figure if the foam isnt poured but pieces laid in,  it will allow water to drain under the pieces and never saturate. Am I on to something that makes sense or will it not work? I definitely want to fill the hull with floatation as I want to make it near impossible for her to sink completely. Dont want to put my loved ones in any additional danger.

[RickK]

Wow - big time mods - sounds cool though.  
Does the 246 not have the corner storage already?  How do you plan to fit in the ones cut from the 200?

[Capt. Bob]

Increasing the distance (elevation) between the thru hull drain and the deck drain is good.
Raising the deck is one way. You lose a little of the deck to top of gunnel distance but the CCP has a lot to begin with so it really isn't a deal breaker. If it were me, raising the deck and holding the position of the thru hull drain would be the route I'd take.

Good luck.

[gman 82 aquasport]

Raising the deck 3/4 inch, you will never notice it, my 19-6 was done that way and you would have to measure it to see it..
As far as the closed cell foam block, just make sure that it won't absorb water after you cut it, if it does you will need to seal it somehow

[gran398]

Go with closed cell foam block outboard of the stringers...let it float. Sound deadening (removes hull slap) and of course positive flotation. Easy to install, doesn't stick, and won't hinder drainage.

Referencing the existing foam in the stringers. You'll remove a lot of weight and raise the waterline when the saturated foam and trapped water is removed, and the stringers are dried out.

Re-tab internally and externally...pour foam...glass the tops...done deal.

[kaptainkoz]

thanks everyone. I appreciate the advise. Damn, nothing is simple! It will be a much quicker and cleaner finish to drop the floor into the recess and glass over it flush, but better functionality and a pain to fair and finish in raising it. Ughh. Another benefit in building up the height difference in the stringers is I would have to add and glass plywood to the top of the stringer which will give killer screw and mounting bite to anything I am mounting on the deck (center console, t-top or pilot house).

Rick, my 1979 246 CCP did not have the similar transom boxes as the ones I cut out of the 200. Is has this wide open, double motor wide cut with a tremendous and useless splashwell. I have seen pics of larger CCp's (222's or 246's?) with the same transom boxes and I wish mine had that but it doesnt.

Thanks gman, yes, i heard when you cut some foams it opens pores which should be sealed. My first thought is the "blue" foam that I see used for floating docks. Im not sure if thats the way to go, material or weight wise. I will have to research better as the time comes closer.  Through my limited experience I am pretty comfortable with the observation that poured expandible foam is eventually going to saturate. Hypothetically some loose but well fitted foam sections held in place from rattling with a few dollups of 5200 would do the trick of draining off water and holding her up if need be, God forbid.

All and all I am concerned with the amount of weight I am adding to the boat, with the bulk of it at the transom. Im already adding 150-200 lbs to the last 2 feet of the boat with closing the transom, the transom bracket, the bait and storage station, and bracing the stringers to the transom. One weight offset is the twin 27 series batteries are going under the center console but the pilot house will probably add 60-90 pounds as well. I will probably never have more than 4 fisherman or 6 people on the boat but I dont want to throw her off right from the start. I lost a few pounds going from the 6ft coffin box it came with to the 4 ft one i will be using from the 200.

 I also wonder about the transom itself as I am removing the plywood and replacing it with sea cast (which is lighter than finished glass ply per sq inch by about 1/3 i read) I will have the whole transom closed but the lower half will be 2 inch and above the bracket will be one inch. I may investigate if going to 1.5 inches will be strong enough, which I suspect it will (the 2 inch was my idea).  Im hoping the seacast substitution will wash the weight difference of closing off the transom. I have toyed with having the new tank made 20% shorter (down to about 100 gals) and mounting it forward to shift weight forward a bit to offset.   I am not worried about fuel use as the furthest i will go is 8-10 miles off shore. Im going to try to push the boat with a 150, if that sucks then Ill go to a 225, so 100 gals is more than going to cover the 3rd rule. Im looking for 20-25 mph to plane and if I can get 32 top ill be happy with that. Im fishing not racing. The 150 is a bit less thirsty so im going to give that a shot first. Im not a big fan of the loopers and they have always been tempermental to me on my rebuilds.  I have both a early 90's crossflow 150 and looper 225 that have good compression and are ready for a "soft" restoration (everything soft replaced but not cracking the block open). Alot of calculations or a ton of money for trial and error to get her right I guess.

Speaking of gas tanks, im also going to ask the tank builders to give me two outflow lines, and try to stagger the fuel pick up ends to effective give me a 10 gallon reserve. I will use a 3 way fuel petcock valve (off, tank 1 and tank 2), keep it on the "shorter" pickup first. When I run out of gas, I can switch to the longer pickup and know I have 10 gals to get home.... similar to motorcycles. To try and read a bouncing fuel guage is useless and i dont really want to invest in, or wire in fuel monitoring equiptment. Simple and basic... run out of fuel switch to line 2 for 10 or so gallons. If thats not good enough, I NEVER hit with water without Seatow or boat US, NEVER.

For now im stuck until april or so for the weather to break. Plus I have to put in some overtime to fund the renovation so I am not so upset about the time span.

[kaptainkoz]

Rick, to answer your question directly (as I got on a tangent with my last reply) I had hoped that the cap from the 200 would just drop in and Bolt on to the 246 but the 200 has a 90 degree corner and the 246 has a greater than 90 degree corner. I'm not really sure. It may end up being an entire single custom bait station instead of integrating the pieces but I most definitely want it to look factory. I won't have the answer until the floor and transom are in and I'm ready to make the piece. I have little fiberglass experience but im ready to take it to a professional level by making negative molds of whatever it is I will make, gel coating first and then fiberglassing to create professional looking pieces. I look forward to the challenge and you tube has been a blessing with videos on making stuff out of molds. Famous last words but I don't really think it will be too hard. The hardest part is to figure out what I want to make and create the negative mold of it. The gel coat and glass are the easier part. I want to make flush in floor hatches that drain to thru hulls as well. The plastic bolt on ones are too flimsy to walk on often (and expensive!). It should be interesting!

[RickK]

The molds would be a good winter project.  Be sure to take lots of pics because I would like to do the same thing for hatches.  I think it is actually pretty easy to make these molds but you're taking it to the next level gelcoating first and such. Above the floor of my boat will be all gelcoat so I'm all ears on this - can you start the molds now  

[kaptainkoz]

Rick,
spend some time on You Tube and you will see the beauty in gel coating first. They will not be boat items necessarily but you can apply the idea. A fiberglass piece is a fiberglass piece. Its actually how boats are made. thats the only way to get that super smooth factory finish. Seems a helll of a lot easier too as there is little to no finish sanding. You pop the thing out of the mold 99% finished.  I hate sanding gelcoat for a finished look.
You are absolutely right that it will be a great winter project... however taking many things into account its going to take some time. Plus I need the floor and transom in first before I can lay out what i need for the tramsom station. Winters suck on Long Island. Althought I have an attached garage, its about 50 degrees in there (or colder) right now which will not allow glass to set. Sure I can heat it but it would take alot to get it and keep it in the 60's. It also means that all the cutting and sanding would have to be done with the garage door shut which would create a dust storm nightmare for everything in there. Im stuck until spring.

[RickK]

That sucks.  Lots of planning only then  :(

[gman 82 aquasport]

Lots of planning, not a bad thing