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1978 hewes ressurection


learn2swim

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hello everyone! I have been trolling these forums for about a year. I gotta say some of these guys do some really nice work on these old girls. I am embarking on a rebuild of my 78 17' bonefisher/redfisher? I dont really know what model it is. I do know these boats ride really sweet, so they are certainly worthy of bringing back from the dead. I snapped some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Whoever rebuilt this boat prior to me getting it, was a complete hack. The deck was in place with nails :thumbdown: They had some rediculously heavy box contraption tied into the transom, which you can see remnants of in one of the photos. And there idea of floatation foam was questionable at best.

Planning on replacing all of the stringers, short of the center one. For that one I plan to "sister" it with 3/4" on both sides, and tie it into the transom. This may seem silly, however I am going with a v6 powerplant and want the stringers and transom as strong as possible.

we cut the cap front and rear as the plan is to have the "modern" look. I have molds for livewells and lockers so that should turn out nice.

I am still in the teardown and planning process though so plans may change.

input and pointers are always welcomed. she is rough right now but eventually she will be sweeet. :D

Oh and sorry in advance if my grammar isn't on point

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Welcome. There are two guys doing pretty much the same stringer to deck restore as you and they are both in your area. Reel Loco is in North Port and Crawfish in Sarasota. One is doing an LT18 and the other an LT20. Crawfish posted some very useful links and picutres on his project. The guy is an artist. Look in the Vintage Hewes forum and you will save alot of time and money.

Register yourself as an owner and you can send and respond PM. It takes a couple days to a week, but sooner or later you will see the Owners logo next to your user name.

Crawfish has found some very good and reasonable sources for the cloth, resin and other components you will need.

How long is your hull? It could be a redfisher and it could be an LT.

If you find the serial number send an e-mail to MBC and they can tell you.

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Hey oldsalt, the boat is listed as a 17'. I appreciate the help, I have seen these two projects you speak of, very nice. My dad actually owns a repair shop, and we have wholesale accounts with a few fibergl*** places. So as far as getting good pricing I've got that. But the knowledge gained from this sight is invaluable! I love crawfish's console work, just amazing. Id hate to copy him, but he may have left me no choice, just a great idea.

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Yes sir! Johnny's console looks better on the inside than mine does on either side. I'm jealous. He is a gel coat wizard.

He totally rebuilt his transom and stringers too.

I love the sponsons on the rear. I like the ones like yours with laps all the way down.

Crawfish is getting ready to rewire his. Do you know where to get the marine wire with the stripes?

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L2S,

Welcome to the forum.

Feel free to voice any questions you may have.

The only dumb questions are questions never asked.

Nobody can know everything but as a bunch of intelligent individuals we can, usually,

figure it out together. LOL

I believe your hull is a Redfisher.

Hope you don't mind but I have made a fews suggestions below in regards to beefing up your hull.

Once again, welcome aboard and post LOTS of pics.

Planning on replacing all of the stringers, short of the center one. For that one I plan to "sister" it with 3/4" on both sides, and tie it into the transom.

If your planning on upping the HP then beefing up the structural components of your rig is a good thing.

Just don't overkill.

A few extra pounds won't hurt,

but alot of extra weight is a bad thing.

What's your hull CG rating for HP, weight, people?

My first suggestion would be for you to replace all the wood with composites,

resin (epoxy and polyester), mat and cloth.

I would also consider gl***ing in some stringer supports between each stringer.

Transome may need some beefing up as well.

Where does the fuel tank go on that rig?

This may seem silly, however I am going with a v6 powerplant and want the stringers and transom as strong as possible.

Don't exceed your CG HP rating.

we cut the cap front and rear as the plan is to have the "modern" look. :thumbup: :thumbup:

I have molds for livewells and lockers so that should turn out nice.

I am still in the teardown and planning process though so plans may change.

input and pointers are always welcomed. she is rough right now but eventually she will be sweeet. :D

Oh and sorry in advance if my grammar isn't on point

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I may be able to get said wire, I will call my supplier Monday and check on that. I think I will be foaming in half of the baitwells, up to about an inch bellow the trim tab through hulls.

No mako in these pictures, just a Morgan, seacraft, and 222 flatback aquasport. Which are sweet rigs too.

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Welcome to the forum neighbor! Glad you decided to share your restoration with us. What a great boat to bring back from the grave. Looking forward to more pis and posts as you progress.

Crawfish has my console and is bringing it back to showroom condition. I'm still working on my hull and the next trick is going to be flipping it upside down on my trailer to complete the hull repairs.

The wife and I just had Philly cheesesteaks at "The End Zone" on friday. Love that place!

Glad you like the forum. It is a great place to exchange thoughts, info and ideas.

RL

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And if you need somebody who knows how to run a grinder, RL is your man.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

L2S,

These restoration projects are all each to their own.

No 2 restorations are the same,

their all hands on learning experiences.

But fun to do and something we can enjoy when finished.

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crawfish, thank you. I was thinking it was a redfisher myself.

the previous owner must have removed the CG rating badge, So does that mean I can strap whatever HP I want on it? lol.

I have a line on a vmax 150, I know it would

scream with that. however that may be borderline excessive as far as the CG is concerned.

someone know what the factory rating was? I imagine it would be a 115 or under.

As far as cross members in-between the stringers, I am cerrainly adding those, good call! that should add good strength probably do them in a composite core, I want the stringers to be wood for shear strength. The stringers I will tie in to the transom, and at the transom I plan to bring the stringers up to cap level.

Not sure if i want to get a 2" COOSA board, or use 3 pieces 3/4" marine ply. I am leaning towards ply as it is waaayyy cheaper. As far as using mostly composites: IMO I prefer a boat that has a lil weight and strength, for rough seas, like the charlotte harbor, which I spend alot of time on. It seems to me that the lighter composite boats are a little flighty, call me crazy but, i like that led sled feel.

someone once told me that if you use foam composites, whem through bolting stuff to it you have to fill the drill hole with an epoxy. they told me if you didn't do that you could crush the foam and thus pull the fibergl*** together forming a dimple. anyone have a thought on this?

the fuel tank sits on the deck under the front cap, I plan to keep it in that area if anything I might slide it forward. and might have to add a water tank for extra bow weight.

After I get the transom, stringers, and bracing in place. I plan to flip her over and sand, sand and sand some more and then do the gel coat bottom, and paint the sides.

Then Im going to float the boat and put weight in the appropriate areas, to mimick things such as, the motor & jack plate, livewell, fuel tank, etc, etc. and then I will have a good idea of how it may float, and can adjust accordingly.

sound somewhat like a good plan?

Reel loco, you have quite the project going on, how do you plan on flipping her over?

The end zone is a solid sports bar. although I havent had there philly, sounds like I'll have to go get one!

thanks for the help fellas!

L2S

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You might want to consider putting the TM batteries where you thinking of a water tank. Will definetly keep the bow down. I also go with Johnny and Gary, the less wood the better. By the time you matt and gl*** the stringers you will have plenty of support and you will get enough additional weight from the gas tank batteries TM, gear people. That hull cuts water very nice and handles chop well too.

Reel Loco, gary, and I have been brain storming ways to flip the boat. There are a couple of You Tube vids showing a couple methods. Any thoughts?

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L2S,

We've been tossing ideas around on flipping our hulls. I wasn't planning on flipping mine until I excavated that large hole in my keel. Johnny has cracks down both sides of his hull that would be sooo much easier to work on with the hull flipped. Oldsalt feels we should lift the bow straight up and then lay the hull back down on the trailer. I'm more inclined to pick the entire hull up level in slings and then roll it but I'm open to suggestions.

And BTW the spicy cheeseteak is my favorite!

RL

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I plan to do the big boy method myself. But mine is light right now.

Any thoughts on the compsite cores squashing when through bolting?

I'm afraid I don't know enough "Big Boys" to flip mine. At roughly 1000# I know my back would be useless.

I can't speak to the composite cores squashing personally but I always see large washers(or backing plates) being used to spread out the forces being caused by the torquing down of the thru bolts.

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i know that on plywood built skiffs, that technique of over-drilling the holes is more to protect the laminate and wood from possible water intrusion....

depending on your method, and what you are thru-bolting, i'm not sure it would be necessary with foam/fibergl*** sandwich...

that said, i would do it... just to be on the safe side, and if you crank down on even a fender washer, you can do damage...

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  • 2 months later...
  • 1 month later...

Been a while. I'm wondering if anybody has an idea as to how to braces the boat to where it doesn't lose its form when I take the stringers and transom out? I'm thinking maybe just a few 2x4's across the top from port to stbd. Any help with this would be appreciated.

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L2S,

Salt is correct in that I used straps to hold the sides of my hull from losing their shape. I did not however remove my transom. I like his idea of constructing a solid brace close to the transom end to retain the shape. Another thing I did was to run a 2x6 on edge lengthwise on the first chine either side of the keel to keep the hull from sagging. My hull was on a trailer so I was able to shim between the bottom of the 2x6 and the cross braces on my trailer.I ran a stringline along the top edge of the 2x6 to accomplish the shimming. This maintained the shape of my hull very well.

RL

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after reading a lot of boat building info... i think it depends on what you are going to do with the hull with the cap off... the rub rail can't keep the sheer line on these boats.. so if you plan to flip it, move it, etc. something more substantial is in order...

straps can move, and can change shape...

you could use bracing to anchor part of the sheer line to something solid, to keep it from moving around... and a solid 2x4 across the 'deck' to keep everything square...

hit that cl***ic mako sight... all kindsa good info on this stuff there!

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  • 8 months later...

Nice work. I have the same 1978 Bonefisher and did the stinger and decking that you are doing now. All I can say is get a good mask for the fibergl*** work. I don't know how guys do that work full time. Anyway, I am about to repower. I want to get away from the heavy 1998 Evinrude Ocean Pro 115 that's on it now and put on a fuel efficient 2008 Yamaha 50 two stroke. Anyone have any idea how fast the boat will go with that small of a motor? I don't need to break any records I just want to be sure the boat will go on plane. I welcome any comments you all might have. I had a 1994 Hewes Bonefisher that rode well with a Yamaha 90 but I can't afford a newer 90 right now.

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