Very early Sunseeker refurbishment - Photos and a few questions.

[Boathook]

Looks like you are doing a very good job. Carry on the same way with all the other jobs and enjoy using her when completed. I prefer sailing boats but as others have said there is something about the older boats that makes them look a lot better IMHO.

 

[dylanwinter]

what a beauty

what a great boat and what a thoroughly worthwhile project

I cannot wait to see film of the boat zooming around a harbour or estuary somewhere

throttle full open, the roar of the engine, wind in your hair, creamy wake sensuously stretching out behind you.

Brilliant

Dylan

How am I doing Chrusty?

 

[Greenheart]

Nice work, stick at it! If you're ever discouraged by her apparent antiquity, and the effort and uncertainty of refitting non-standard parts aboard a design that doesn't have plans you can look at, it's all worth it...

...I'm a sailor not a motor-boatist, but classic speedboat shapes like yours, are art in motion. Like E-types & DB5s.

 

[rbcoomer]

+1 As said above these are classics and well worth the effort. I seriously considered a couple on eBay over the last 2-3 years before starting our Arrowbolt project. There's something special about that era of Powerboats IMO...

My advice as someone doing similar is don't take any shortcuts and do the best job you can - however long that may take as it'll be worthwhile in the long term!

 

[ChrisChase]

(Hawke house)

I purchased my vinyl from Hawke House earlier in the year when restoring and rebuilding my classic speedboat (thread below), I found them to be a very good company. Sorry to hear about the problems you had! Hopefully they will sort it for you!

The boats looks great! Another classic being saved! Well done!

 

[Vara]

This sort of post fascinates me, being devoid of patience, skills, and enthusiasm, I can only view with total admiration, keep posting.

 

[mlines]

SunseekerS20 - are you in Val Wyatt? If so then we met up on the slipway late last saturday and early Sunday. If not then there is another S20 around like yours.

 

[Feneris]

mlines - No, my boat's still in the workshop. It was meant to be out 3 weeks ago, I'm looking at being in the water, Falmouth, next week hopefully!

 

[Feneris]

I've had a week of not working on the boat for various reasons, next week should be a busy week and see her provisionally finished.

Few updates, first I fixed the brushes.

I used a dremel to cut and shape them, then used 'epoxy with metal', (can't remember the exact name, but it comes in tubes like araldite) to attach a couple of new brushes into the old housings. I cut a groove all around the brush and the plastic housing, I made sure the glue went fully into it, so there's something mechanical holding them in, not just the adhesiveness of the epoxy. Then I soldered them into the motor. And it now works very well.

Now the tilt mechanism is working properly, and I've had a new 'thrust bar / trim setting pin' made up, I discovered why the old one had been removed. The reverse latch mechanism has a broken part, so it doesn't release when you try to raise the sterndrive. It's now all in pieces and I'll have a new part made by my local friendly workshop. The cost of spares for this mechanism is hilarious, I tried calling a well known parts supplier, even they agreed the bits are v. expensive.

I temporarily fitted the sides into the boat, they'll come out again prior to cleaning and buffing the gelcoat (which is heavily oxidised).

I also failed to get the engine started, then removed a banjo bolt on the fuel line, then split the aluminium washer by over tightening. A short delay while the washers are delivered (ebay). I could not find anyone who sold these washers in Falmouth. I'm finding it's often the little cheap parts that cause probs as they have to be mail ordered, and hence take time to arrive.

I've also had the windscreen almost fully off, to reseal the bolts to the inside. The winscreen surround is not in a good state and is almost a project in itself. I've sealed and covered most of the problems. I also reassembled the console. At Falmouth boatjumble a week ago I bought fenders, lifejackets, rope etc. Getting ready to go out.

More updates shortly....

 

[ccscott49]

I dont know if you know, but the engine was also (in road trim) fitted to the Volvo 164, so if you need any normal main engine parts or filters etc. They are easily available.
Watch for stripped timing gears, if its an older engine as the cam wheel was fibre, later aluminium. Also cams wore quite drastically, can be seen by low power (engine sounds fine)and very small valve opening.
Plus you are making a lovely job of her, good on you!

 

[Feneris]

I've nearly finished the glass repair underneath, I used topcoat (gelcoat that hardens in presence of air), then sanded, but need more topcoat. There's a couple of places where I've sanded done to the filler, although the filler should be waterproof, I'll grind it back a little more and put more topcoat on it. I am very fed up with hand sanding!

I have a question about antifouling. I've bought a new tin, there are at least 2 old layers on the hull already, which I've started to remove with a scraper. It's hard work, do I really need to remove the old stuff?? Also, you can see where I've been scraping, it's still a mess. Do I need to remove everything, do I need to sand, or can I just prime over what's left. The thickness has gone, just seems to be remnants of colour??!!

 

[Searush]

Most of us just paint the new A/F over the old, but just occasionaly there are reactions between the new & old. If that happens (perhaps try a small test area first) you can use a blocking primer coat between the two layers.

BTW thanks for an entertaining & informative hread.

 

[[2574]]

I have a question about antifouling. I've bought a new tin, there are at least 2 old layers on the hull already, which I've started to remove with a scraper. It's hard work, do I really need to remove the old stuff?? Also, you can see where I've been scraping, it's still a mess. Do I need to remove everything, do I need to sand, or can I just prime over what's left. The thickness has gone, just seems to be remnants of colour??!!

The antifouling that's left is fine to paint over, having said that when we scraped back we removed everything back to pure white gelcoat as we were applying a prophylactic osmosis prevenation treatment (Gelshield 100). The best way of removing the very last bits of paint is with International thinners No. 7; wipe it on and it removes residual paint completely.

If you are unsure what the previous a/f was (I see that you've still a solid layer of a/f above the waterline) then applying a barrier coat will be wise to prevent poor adhesion of the new a/f (not all makes of a/f will adhere together depending upon any conflicting paint composition). Most a/f makers produce their own primer (barrier coat) for this purpose.

Whether you're bothered about osmosis is worth a moments thought. If the boat has been ashore and the hull is dry it might be worth applying Gelshield (five coats to be applied in good atmospheric conditions and within a short time frame) as this will delay any osmotic ingress to the hull. However if you're not planning to keep the boat or are planning to store her on the trailer then Gelshield wouldn't make sense.

Great job by the way.

Rob

 

[Feneris]

I've now polished the boat with a rotary polisher and farecela G3. I then went over it again with polish, by hand. I don't know when it was last polished but the gelcoat was like looking at a newspaper. No shine what-so-ever. In this photo, I've only done below the rubbing strip. The upper moulding is a very slightly darker shade, but you'll see the complete lack of shine before:

It took about a day and a half to do all the compounding and polishing. When it's outdoors I'll try to get better photo's. There really is no comparisson to before/after.

The thrust bar/trim bar for the 280 sterndrive was missing. I had one made (cheaper than the hilarous £50 for the part), fitted it, and found that it had been removed as the tilt/latch mechanism was broken. There is a long bent rod with a threaded adjustable 'cap' on it. The cap wasn't as long as it should be, and when unscrewing it, the bar sheared off. I had local machine shop extend the thread on the bar and make a longer cap. The (hilarious) cost of the parts, as I enquired about new bits from a well know supplier, are £75 for the bar and £15 for the cap. You can see then old and new in the photo.

The mechanism still isn't quite right and needs adjusting. A friend has the full manual detailing gap distances, we'll adjust accordingly. At least for now I can electrically tilt the sterndrive up and the latch now releases.

The mechanism catches the new thrust bar when it's down. What catches it are 2 small metal arms, each held by a spring. An impact should allow the arms to move and release the thust bar. So that when you select reverse the bar is permanantly caught, and the sterndrive won't lift, a further piece catches the lower arms. In the photo below the drive is in forward, I don't think the bit circled is right. But the mechansim that 'catches' it can't be moved fully free. (Sorry, it's really hard to describe this, hopefully someone will recognise the pic and say'it's ok, or needs attention!)

The photo makes it look dirty, I've fully disassembled and cleaned, greased all parts. It is possible, with immense amounts of struggling, to assemble the lower part upside down. The good new is it's only slightly harder to assemble it the right way up!

Otherwise, I'll be priming and anti fouling tomorrow, carpeting the cabin and cockpit floor. Almost done!!

 

[monkfish24]

Had a read after meeting Simon today, the boat is really coming on nicely and the primer is going on well for the antifoul.

 

[Feneris]

The sterndrive is a mess, I scraped a lot of the paint off the sterndrive, corrosion was flaking off. I have ended up sanding it with 400 grit wet and dry. There's a lot of pitted corrosion on it, the antifoul looks the same as what was on the hull, and there was no gap around the sterndrive mounting on the transom. I really hope it's not copper antifoul on the leg, but I'm not convinced, hence the fight to remove it all. I've not got a leg which is a mess of residual antifoul, original epoxy paint, and bare aluminium.

In the photo below I've sanded evenly all over. The marks from a rotary sander were exposed by my hand sanding. Only some areas of drive are affected. So hard to try and remove it all.

Where there has been a 'lattice' of corrosion before, the antifoul has been painted over it. The antifoul has filled the little recesses in the metal and is now very hard to remove.

I've bought 2 aerosol cans of outboard primer, zinc based, from a chandlers. I could do with more advice on how to proceed.

I've also got a prob with the tilt mechanism release which I've put in the motor boat forum, here:

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=320173

 

[penfold]

Sikaflex is the stuff to seal leaking deck fittings. As I'm sure you know, take them off and replace onto a bed of the stuff, leaving the final tightening of the bolts for a few days to let it cure into a gasket first. Just squirting it round the outside will do nothing.

Sika is a bit over the top for deck fittings; Arbomast or Lifecalk would be just as good and less of a pain to use.

 

[Feneris]

I had the leg looked at by another 280 owner, the corrosion is actually very shallow, an possibly a creeping corosion, mainly in the paint. I sanded the leg more with 400 wet and dry, then wiped down with acetone. Primed it with aerosol etch primer, then painted with 2 aerosols of outboard engine paint. It has a super finish, with a few tiny but deep holes. Holes are maybe 0.5mm across but up to 1mm deep. I filled them as best as I could with paint, and will monitor them in future. Then painted it with drive (biocide) antifoul.

I've carpeted the cockpit with Flotex, stuck down with aerosol contact adhesive. Also started to put the rear seat assembly back together. The different shade of the centre panels are because the flotex has a directional surface. I'd cut the centre pieces before I realised this (looks much worse in the photo than first hand). It's only the front panel that can't be instantly turned around, I may rectify this later.

 

[Captain Haddock]

I'm not really a motor boat enthusiast but I totally respect what your doing having just done it with my own boat. I think she's looking great and your doing a fantastic job.

Believe me it'll all be worth it when you are on the water, I couldn't stop grinning when I launched and was sailing (I still do! )

Excellent work keep it going! I can't wait to see the photos of you afloat in her.

 

[scottie]

The thrust bar/trim bar for the 280 sterndrive was missing. I had one made (cheaper than the hilarous £50 for the part), fitted it, and found that it had been removed as the tilt/latch mechanism was broken. There is a long bent rod with a threaded adjustable 'cap' on it. The cap wasn't as long as it should be, and when unscrewing it, the bar sheared off. I had local machine shop extend the thread on the bar and make a longer cap. The (hilarious) cost of the parts, as I enquired about new bits from a well know supplier, are £75 for the bar and £15 for the cap. You can see then old and new in the photo.

The cap that you have replaced is not a shown in parts list and is originally in two parts ie cap and lock nut this may affect dimensions and certainly removes locking function

Is the setting pin genuine part if not likely to bend in use.