Never Again II

PackRat · #1 10-11-2017, 08:51 PM

When I was getting close to finishing my '74 20SF earlier this year , I joked with my wife (she really didn't see the humor) that I would name it "Never Again". I told her this was so I could name the next one "Never Again II". She still has not laughed.....

So begins the next boat project, a '75 Sceptre twin I/O which I plan on converting to a bracket / outboard(s) . I picked the boat up a few weeks ago from OSEAD in NJ and have started to disassemble. The sole/deck is shot as well as the patch over the tank. Previous owner had some rough glass work on the fish/storage box on center to make it deeper - that will need to be fixed. Forward deck is also wet/soft .Transom , surprisingly sounds solid but is likely wet too.

The hull is in pretty good shape with no damage or apparent spider cracks. There is a brush paint job that actually came our pretty good between the waterline and the rail. Boat is that Seacraft mustard yellow underneath so will be looking for a good paint stripper to start. to get cleaned up before final paint down the road.

The cabin was actually in pretty good shape and damage free and seems solid - hopefully not much work to do in there except remove cream colored carpet from the overhead and paint.

Here are pics as it was a couple weeks ago mostly intact.

PackRat · #2 10-11-2017, 09:29 PM

Thanks to Flexpat , who put a BUNCH of time into creating a 3D model of his 23 Sceptre project , and was willing to share the model - I am able to do a little preliminary work to see what my mods may look like prior to starting to cut any materials.

What I'm aiming to do is remove the windshield and replace with a fiberglass cowling that is a little steeper in the front and tapers back into the angle at the back end of the windshield base. Two possible looks are completely flat in the front which means a little more glass work or just add the cowling above the current windshield base which I think will be easier and doesn't look too bad.

Here are some images below of what this might look like. The added on part would be same color as cap and you would not see a seam on the sides.

The windshield was plenty heavy (115 lbs) and hoping that I can keep the weight in check by not over building. There will be much weight coming out of the stern with the engine removal (1300 lbs?) so need to be careful not to screw up the balance.

Lot of details to work out and I'm sure I'll stumble a couple times along the way. I could easily take a different path and turn it into a Savage type set up but want to do something different and keep all that open cockpit space open.

PackRat · #3 10-11-2017, 09:43 PM

Lot of hardware removed, drives off, engines ready to lift out, bow rail off, carpet pulled out of cabin .
Still a fair bit to strip off but this is the easy part....

And away we go ....

sisu22 · #4 10-12-2017, 04:22 AM

Thanks for sharing.looks like a interesting project.

uncleboo · #5 10-12-2017, 06:51 AM

I like that look! I can't imagine the added shroud made from the right composite board would add that much weight back.

Superminoh · #6 10-12-2017, 08:24 AM

Love the 3d stuff, will be watching this .

FLexpat · #7 10-12-2017, 09:17 AM

Looking good. You can track the changes to the CG inside Solidworks but I suspect that putting an OB on a bracket will almost completely offset the removal of the two I6's with drives. Some of the new core materials are about the same weight as balsa; using them for the stuff up front will help keep it from getting too fat. If you still have to play with balance, a 20-30 gal fresh water tank comes in real handy and you can put it wherever you need - you might even be able to put one inside the bracket.

77SceptreOB · #8 10-12-2017, 09:26 AM

Packrat-- I noticed in your pics you have a motorized windshield wiper. Are you planning on reusing it? If not, I may be interested in buying it from you. Does it still work?

Thanks,

Jim

Eric B · #9 10-12-2017, 10:05 AM

I might get in a bidding war with Jim over that wiper if it still works!!

abl1111 · #10 10-12-2017, 10:29 AM

I'll be watching this project as well. I will be doing some front deck work soon and potentially some areas on my floor, near the i/o cover hinges...

My gut says your transom is wet too - especially from the transom storage box garboard tubes.. At least thats where my transom was rotted from. I had two i/o's, redid the transom and converted it to one i/o.

If I were you. I would also look to fortify, add stringers etc to high load areas to really strengthen things - hey! you'll be there anyway, might as well make it tighter than new !

As for the wiper motors - are they hard to come by ? I replaced mine 12 years ago with (2) new AFI stainless ones like that - work well enough ( marginally so )