Wellcraft Nova Spyder Destruction/Reconstruction

[26 Spyder]

I am completely rebuilding an '87 Wellcraft Nova Spyder.
I started a thread on OSO but I will bring the progress over here if you guys have interest.
There will be a lot of custom work done to this, including;
* Custom Carbon Fiber Dash, & Other Panels
* Custom Paint & Graphics
* Custom Windscreen
* Custom Engine Hatch
* Custom Blower Vents
* Shaved Rubrail
* Transom Replacement
* Bilge Liner Rebuild
* Cockpit Liner Removal & Installation
* Possible Conversion To Single Engine

This project is being done on a very tight budget so I will be getting very creative on a few things.
I am also new to some of this in-depth glass work and fabrication so it may get comical

This boat has not seen water for over 10 years!
The hull is in decent shape. There is the normal dock rash and damage for a 22 year old boat. The structure of the hull is worse than I thought.
There are many holes in the topside to be filled and a few stress cracks in the usual places.
Plans are for a shaved smooth finish with a silver base and possibly some blue based graphics.

Again, project details will be posted if you guys have interest.

[glassdave]

By all means post away, we love these kinda threads. You have my info if you need any guidance at all. By the way someone grabbed that hatch extra i had just before Christmas (hell'uva stuffer ).

As always . . . post lots'a pics.

[26 Spyder]

By the way someone grabbed that hatch extra i had just before Christmas (hell'uva stuffer ).

Bummer on the hatch I was playing with mine yesterday and was thinking it was unusually heavy... I cut it apart and found a waterlogged foam core... Not much left to work with now. Looks like a hatch from scratch now...

By all means post away, we love these kinda threads. You have my info if you need any guidance at all.
As always . . . post lots'a pics.

Cool, when I get a few I will get everyone caught up to where I am now.
Carbon fiber supplies are on the way!
Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction the other day.
The only thing I can't find right now is balsa or foam coring materials.
Any chance the blue styrofoam available at Lowe's would work?
I got some for mockup parts and was going to experiment with it.

[glassdave]

no, the blue foam will not work the poly resin blows right through it. You can get foam and balsa at fiberglast.com. Where did you carbon fiber from?

[26 Spyder]

no, the blue foam will not work the poly resin blows right through it. You can get foam and balsa at fiberglast.com. Where did you carbon fiber from?

Thanks.
The carbon fiber and clear epoxy came from Polymerproducts store on ebay.
Their store is worth checking out, they have tons of information and how too videos in their auctions. Lots of cool stuff!

[old377guy]

I loved the fact that my old Nova was twins - hope its works out that you can keep 'em. May I assume Alpha drives? Good luck. - Jeff

[26 Spyder]

I loved the fact that my old Nova was twins - hope its works out that you can keep 'em. May I assume Alpha drives? Good luck. - Jeff

It did have Alphas and if I stay twins I will go back that way. Looking for a counter rotating drive now... I also have a complete TRS setup sitting here I have considered using.
Still weighing the options and it also depends on what parts I have here when it is going back together.

While I am here I will start posting a few pics. This is how the boat was when I picked it up a few months ago.

[26 Spyder]

Here are a few during the first clean up.

[26 Spyder]

These are after cleaning and ready to make another mess!

[26 Spyder]

This is where I discovered the rotten transom and rotten & cracked bilge liner.

To get the transom out the bilge liner has to come out, to get the bilge liner out the cockpit liner has to come out.. Unless you do a lot of hacking...
After some study I discovered to get the cockpit liner out the entire deck had to come off..
But wait.... I was able to make 1 small cut that will be hidden on the cockpit liner and I was able to get it out in 2 pieces without removing the deck!
Fun Fun!

[26 Spyder]

Cockpit liner is out & working on removing bilge liner...

[26 Spyder]

Bilge liner is out and discovered a rotten stringer...
Also between the cabin disassembly and under the liners I found several rodent nests, hope they were gone before the boat came into the shop...

[26 Spyder]

A few cabin shots during teardown.. Suprisingly I have all of the factory cabin interior pieces. Very dirty but at least I have patterns to work with.

[26 Spyder]

Finished tearing out cabin.

I have heard many people talking about using Rustoleum in the bilge etc. so I thought I would do some testing here.
It brightened up the cabin, sealed any exposed wood and will leave a good surface for the new carpet etc...
Once fully dried I will do some chemical testing to check its durability with oil & cleaners etc. I will also use it in the storage comaprtmemts under the seats/liners etc.
I was getting depressed about the project getting worse, at least now with the clean painted cabin I have the sense I am getting something positive done!

[26 Spyder]

This is today, I am using cheap foam to mock up the windscreen and playing with hatch ideas. Hatch plan is to be a lightweight raised style with a couple aero scoops. Not that the boat needs it but I like the look.

[26 Spyder]

Side project....
I wanted some custom bilge vents so I decided to make my own. I found a plastic replica of what I wanted so I made a few molds off of it.
This is my first attempt at mold making so don't laugh.
After coating the plastic part with PVA I laid a few layers of mat strips overhanging the part, then flipped it over and continued to glass it to the board. After the resin kicked I removed the plastic part. I did this 3 times so I can make 3 parts at a time (or in case I screwed one up).
Then some bondo style filler in the low spots and pin holes.
BTW, don't laugh at my materials selection.. I am using up what I had laying around.

[26 Spyder]

I then tinted some gel and shot a few coats on the part. This made the imperfections much easier to see! More filler and sanding and another few coats of gel. I am now waiting for my mold release wax to show up and I will be ready to start the actual part production.
The carbon fiber dash panel details will be coming in a few days as well. My materials should be here in a day or so!

Since we are caught up with the pictures there won't be so many posts at once... Unless I have a good day and get on a roll!

[old377guy]

way cool; even though it's a mess underneath the cockpit sole, doesn't it feel great to be able to get rid of so much crap and get this boat back to a condition where you know exactly what you have? Another thought, there's bound to be a lot of older (but still strong enough) Volvo drives that are counter-rotating. They should be able to be had for cheap. I used to race against a number of older offshore boats (Magnums and Scarabs) that were running small blocks with Volvos and they were fairly reliable. Keep us posted, I for one just love to see the progress of this project - great job so far. -Jeff

[26 Spyder]

If I ran across something else for a drive I am always open to different things. I have even considered #2s or even a surface drive or 2. But then again, I already have enough parts for the pair of Alphas. Still would like a counter though, but that can come later.
If using the Alphas I have a pair of roller 350s I can easily make 450hp out of. Not too worried about breaking an Alpha since I can build them fairly cheap. Just watching my right hand should keep them alive.
My thought is I can make 900hp cheaper with a pair of SBCs than a single BBC. And more reliable as well.

[old377guy]

If I ran across something else for a drive I am always open to different things. I have even considered #2s or even a surface drive or 2. But then again, I already have enough parts for the pair of Alphas. Still would like a counter though, but that can come later.
If using the Alphas I have a pair of roller 350s I can easily make 450hp out of. Not too worried about breaking an Alpha since I can build them fairly cheap. Just watching my right hand should keep them alive.
My thought is I can make 900hp cheaper with a pair of SBCs than a single BBC. And more reliable as well.

Amen. You might want to check with some folks on the board here but there were some counter- rotating Alpha legs back in the day. They might have just been outboard race division lowers with no reverse, but someone here knows for sure. - Jeff