I have a 1986 wellcraft 186 american that I'm restoring. Can anyone tell
me what is the best way to approach a hollow engine mount. I'm tearing
the floor out to replace it. I would like to know what the best way to
tackle this. replace the whole stringer or just a section. Any help
would be appreciated

Stringer replacement isn't that bad,,, simply remove the engine (well not
that simple) but get a mini grinder, cut all the old rotten stringers out,,,
let it dry for a few days,, the get some hardwood (some suggest soft wood, I
would like to hear others suggestions of this) and replace the wood,, then
fiberglass the crap out of it,, remember your measurements and tolerances
and put the engine back in. You know for a few extra thousand dollars you
can beef up that transom, apply an Armstrong backet from
http://www.armstrongnautical.com/Repower.htm

and then you can re-engineer a beautiful new boat,, depends on how long you
plan to own the boat for. I had first hand experience with this and it was
well,, well worth the costs and efforts. Think of the room gained in the
back, think of the weight benefit. The engine you will replace, probably
weighs 1000lbs (approx) and you can replace it with a 400lb outboard. Then
the Aluminum Bracket (weights 60lbs) has an air tank that adds near 480lbs
boeyency.

Anyway,, funds dictate what you will do, so if your comfortable with
fiberglass work,,, replace your stringers yourself,, if that system is 30
years old,,, and you plan to keep the boat forever,,, and say have 200 to
400 hours per year usage,,, and reliability is a factor,,, well lots to
think about,,,
good luck











"trent" wrote in message
...
I have a 1986 wellcraft 186 american that I'm restoring. Can anyone tell
me what is the best way to approach a hollow engine mount. I'm tearing
the floor out to replace it. I would like to know what the best way to
tackle this. replace the whole stringer or just a section. Any help
would be appreciated

I made replacement stringers from that new composite deck material. My
engine mounts were ajacent to the stringers. The wood inside the engine
mounts was pretty soft but I just drilled holes down into then from the top.
Fed an air line of a compressor set to about 15lbs into it for a few days to
dry it. Then poured thinned epoxy into it multiple times until it wouldn't
take any more.

" Tuuk" wrote in message
...
Stringer replacement isn't that bad,,, simply remove the engine (well not
that simple) but get a mini grinder, cut all the old rotten stringers
out,,,
let it dry for a few days,, the get some hardwood (some suggest soft wood,
I
would like to hear others suggestions of this) and replace the wood,, then
fiberglass the crap out of it,, remember your measurements and tolerances
and put the engine back in. You know for a few extra thousand dollars you
can beef up that transom, apply an Armstrong backet from
http://www.armstrongnautical.com/Repower.htm

and then you can re-engineer a beautiful new boat,, depends on how long
you
plan to own the boat for. I had first hand experience with this and it was
well,, well worth the costs and efforts. Think of the room gained in the
back, think of the weight benefit. The engine you will replace, probably
weighs 1000lbs (approx) and you can replace it with a 400lb outboard. Then
the Aluminum Bracket (weights 60lbs) has an air tank that adds near 480lbs
boeyency.

Anyway,, funds dictate what you will do, so if your comfortable with
fiberglass work,,, replace your stringers yourself,, if that system is 30
years old,,, and you plan to keep the boat forever,,, and say have 200 to
400 hours per year usage,,, and reliability is a factor,,, well lots to
think about,,,
good luck











"trent" wrote in message
...
I have a 1986 wellcraft 186 american that I'm restoring. Can anyone tell
me what is the best way to approach a hollow engine mount. I'm tearing
the floor out to replace it. I would like to know what the best way to
tackle this. replace the whole stringer or just a section. Any help
would be appreciated

In article .net,
"Lawrence James" wrote:

I made replacement stringers from that new composite deck material. My
engine mounts were ajacent to the stringers. The wood inside the engine
mounts was pretty soft but I just drilled holes down into then from the top.
Fed an air line of a compressor set to about 15lbs into it for a few days to
dry it. Then poured thinned epoxy into it multiple times until it wouldn't
take any more.


How did that work for you James? How many and how big were the holes?
Was the compressor hose sealed into the hole? What type of boat was this
on? Did you use CPES?

I drilled 1/2 inch holes and used a tapered air nozzle that I could force
fit into one of the holes. One of those nozzles you use to blow stuff off
with. Then I backed the regulator way down so just a hiss of air went into
it and left the compressor on for a week or so. Hard to say how well that
worked but I figured it couldn't hurt.

I bought epoxy from US Composites,
they have pretty good prices and major chemical manufacturers make it
anyway, the vendors like West and others are just packaging it. I thinned
it about 20% with alcohol at first. I filled the holes a bunch of times.
Then I started filling with unthinned. Once it seemed like I really wasn't
getting much in anymore I added fill to the epoxy and filled the holes.

Another thing I found on the net was about treating wood with automotive
antifreeze. This guy has been soaking wood in antifreeze and drying it as a
preservative measure for a long time. He claimed pretty remarkable results.
I did this before I started the drying out process. I had removed the floor
and the outer stringers. The inner stringer set seemed mostly ok. I poured
antifreeze all over what was left. I had the floor out so it would collect
in the bilge and I would scoop it up with a cup and soak stuff down again.
I did this for a few days. Then I started drying stuff out with fans and
the compressed air.

While I was filling the engine mounting blocks I was also was soaking down
the remaining stuff with thinned epoxy. I could mix up a few cups and pour
some in holes and paint the rest on other wood. I spent a couple weeks and
a gallon or so of epoxy doing that before I started putting parts back in.
Then I used the composite deck boards to make stringers. I laid two along
the remaining inner stringers and made new outer ones. I used more epoxy
and glass cloth to put them in.

I left the foam out and put drain holes in all the stringers at the back.
Was a ton of work, not sure if I'd do it again or not!

"Bob D." wrote in message
...
In article .net,
"Lawrence James" wrote:

I made replacement stringers from that new composite deck material. My
engine mounts were ajacent to the stringers. The wood inside the engine
mounts was pretty soft but I just drilled holes down into then from the
top.
Fed an air line of a compressor set to about 15lbs into it for a few
days to
dry it. Then poured thinned epoxy into it multiple times until it
wouldn't
take any more.


How did that work for you James? How many and how big were the holes?
Was the compressor hose sealed into the hole? What type of boat was this
on? Did you use CPES?