[tunaorlater]

I've been asked by a number of members here to start a thread on my rebuilding process of a 1999 Northern Bay I purchased back in the begining of May. We have been working on her since May 15th and alot has been doen but plenty more to do. I'll start with pictures of how she was bought and then post some of the work so far. I'll try and update this every few weeks.

This post edited by tunaorlater 11:03 PM 06/29/2008

 

[tunaorlater]

So far we have extended the step into the pilot house back 17 inches so the generator will fit behind the engine.
Completly redone the fuel system and fills.
Added water tanks, holding tank and hot water heater. Fresh, salt and live well pumps.
Cut open deck in back for canyon anchor set up and fishbox.
Added 2 anchor hatches to deck.
Decored entire boat, over 100 holes.
Remade exaust system.
Added exaust system for generator.
Replumbed hydrolic system
Pluming for waist and water.
Sound proofed entire engine room.
Rebuilt steering.
THats off the top of my head.

This post edited by tunaorlater 12:23 AM 11/14/2008

 

[tunaorlater]

These are not in order but you get the point. I have not taken any pictures in about a week.

 

[baywatch]

This Should be a great thread

Tuna,

Thanks for starting this as it should enlighten some on the do's and don'ts.

My first question is:

Decored entire boat, over 100 holes above and below the water line.


Why do this and how big of project is it?

 

[oneblitzen]

Mike,
This is great I am looking forward to watching the progress.

My buddy knows the old owner and Captain there is some very interesting stories behind this boat.

 

[MakoMike]

baywatch wrote:
Tuna,

Thanks for starting this as it should enlighten some on the do's and don'ts.

My first question is:

Decored entire boat, over 100 holes above and below the water line.


Why do this and how big of project is it?

I had the same question, was the core waterlogged? What kind of core was it?

 

[stakones]

Nice boat! Look forward to seeing the progress. Keep us posted!

 

[tunaorlater]

Every hole that was put into the boat was not decored. I knew this getting into the boat. An entire moisture check was done and after talking to the builder(downeast composits) he told me that the boat was infact vacume packed when built and the moisture should not have traveled from one core cell to another. This infact was true and once I got out the wet material I was able to get into dry balsa. The resin accually goes between the different pieces of coring and stops any water or rot from traveling to other cells of core. Heres a picture of a wet plug compaired to a dry plug and one of a few thru hulls I did away with. The reason there were so many to do is because the tower was mounted in like 15 spots with 4 holes at each spot (100 probably alittle much no that I think of it). Anyway, all that is taken care of and another moisture check was done last week and everything is now dry.

 

[baywatch]

So we could guess that when these holes were made for the tower and through hull that they were not properly prepared and sealed when insatlling these items..

That is one of the reasons I have always shyed away from cored hulls, not that there bad but when something is done like this the prep and sealing seems to go by the wayside so all the new install work can be done and delivered with out the customer knowing any better.

Simply put shortcuts???

 

[tunaorlater]

You are correct. The tower holes and all the underwater holes were done with 5200 and they were dry as the day they were drilled. The hand rails were the problem, the were just drilled and bolts put in so the water got right in. The cap nuts were all rusted witch was a sure sign of a leaking problem. The correct way to do the job is too drill with a hole saw 1/2 inck or so larger than the hole needed. You drill through one layer of glass and core then remove and fill with glass. Then drill the hole you need. It takes some time but you'll never have a rotten core problem in your hull. All the rails were done by the builder before the boat left his shop and they were decored correctly so I didn't have to worry about them. Moisture meters are a life saver when buying a used boat.

 

[GoodChance]

Looks nice. Post some more pictures of the cabin interior and the truck cabin too.

 

[tunaorlater]

Most of this is getting cut out. V berth is the only thing staying but that needs to be rebuilt. Upstairs the port side will stay the same with the addition of a help chair. Starboard side will be just like the port with A/C unit under bearth. It should sleep 6 comfortably. Also adding a bridge.

 

[bloodnguts]

once again, these boats are beautiful and the work your doing is unbelievable.....

good luck with it...

 

[oldmud]

Looking good Mike !! Keep the updates coming. After owning and rebuilding a balsa cored boat I know what you are going through !! I can say this that cored hull when kept dry will give you a quiet ride barring the drone of the engine.

Don

 

[oldmud]

OH !!, I forgot my original question. In pic. 4 i see a carrier brg.,are you going to leave that there ?? Also are you going to put in a tube or keep the stuffing boxes ??

Don

 

[tunaorlater]

I plan on installing a drippless shaft seal. The carrier is a temp hold because there is no engine and I don't want to risk bending the shaft when it gets stepped on.

 

[captainlarry84]

Dipless

Dipless seals are great I installed on my JC when I repower in 2000. However the one draw back with the dripless is that if you have a long shaft the dripless does not add support to the shaft like the old styles flax packing does. This can cause some whip in the shaft. On some cases the whip may not be felt and if ailment is not dead on you can knee the shaft causing a break at the coupler. Just some food for though as you do your rebuild. On my vessel the shaft was fairly short so it was not an issue.

 

[tunaorlater]

Thanks Larry, I will talk this over with Bosler before going that route. I was just planning on repacking it for the first season anyway.

 

[captainlarry84]

Good move

If it works do fix it. In addition the dripless work the best on brand new shafting, The flax has most likely grooved the shaft a little, which can make install a little interesting. I nice upgrade for any flax packed shaft in the install of a water feed if you do not have one it is a great idea. I like to tighten the nut once in the water and underway. We hold the nut and make sure that under load it is running cool. A little drip is good.

 

[38Holla]

Mike everything looks great. I see one major problem with the layout in your deckhouse however. I made the same mistake on my boat. I dont want you to repeat it. You have to make some room for this the most indispensable piece of shore side equipment. When at the dock its importance can't be denied! Looks good!!