Restoration Project 78 Trimate III/V

[kalugs22]

Ok so here's the story with this one, way back in the day my father owned a 78 V-Mate I along with a hew other people. So a guy he worked with wanted to be bigger and faster so he went out and purchased this boat brand new in 78. Of course things changed boats were sold and everybody got out of the scene for a while. So about 17 years ago my dad came across this boat sitting in a barn and made an offer to buy it and he became the 3rd owner. So he entertained us for a few years with it and then decided to sell it and we remained out of the boating scene other than friends with boats. So I had started looking around for a little project boat and I knew I definitely wanted a Checkmate. My dad calls me to tell me his thinks he saw this boat sitting in someones yard not for sale. So one day just for the heck of it I rode by and there it sat and it just happened to have for sale signs put on it that day. So I stopped and started looking everything over and made a fair offer based on the condition and now I am the 8th owner. That's the good part... The part I will definately need help with is the restoration... I will be documenting pictures all the way through... I am redoing the floor, reinforcing the transom, buffing out the gel coat, redoing the seats, which by the way are the factory ones still... So if anyone would like to throw there 2 cents on any part of it I would appreciate it, what type of plywood should I use for the floor and what type of fiberglass, etc...

 

[Gimme Fuel]

Congrats on the find and good luck with the resto

 

[justincase]

Congrats, im kinda liking the color, where in ohio are you?

 

[yellowfiero88]

Some would not agree but I use exterior grade plywood (not pressure treated). I cut it to fit and then coat it with resin on both sides and all edges. Then glue it all in and glass it to the hull smooth it with bondo and glass it all again. Take your time on the stringers and glass work to make sure its done right for years of enjoyment. Check out my build and there is a couple other builds that are real great builds also on here.

BTW, My first floors I used pressure treated but after talking to my neighbor who ownes a large marina, I now dont use PT wood. Waste of money and also you have to set it out and really get it dried out before you can resin it or you trap all that moisture in it.

 

[mmeditz]

I agree with yellowfiero88, I used exterior grade cdx resined it both sides and and bondo'd it into the sides then glassed it all twice.

 

[Rob B]

I agree with yellowfiero88, I used exterior grade cdx resined it both sides and and bondo'd it into the sides then glassed it all twice.

X3!! I went the same route as well.

 

[yellowfiero88]

Any updates my ohio brotha ?

 

[kalugs22]

Any updates my ohio brotha ?

Well here's a quick rundown of whats transpired so far... I basically gutted the boat other than the guages and steering, cut the floor open to expose the mulch laying in the hull, I have cleaned all that out and power washed everything down. My father has ordered some aqua buff and will be starting the exterior portion of the project. I pulled the motor off a few evenings ago and realized the transom is rotted out (I had a pretty good idea it was), I'm not sure how I am going to approach this yet I don't want to half the boat if I don't have too. I'm going to dig the wood out by trimming the top off and see how far the damage is. I am thinking about using Seacast to fix it. Your thoughts???

 

[yellowfiero88]

Knock on wood, I have been lucky in the transom department. I have read some good threads on the repair of transoms and there is alot of smart people on here that can help. Good luck and hopefully someone can chime in with experiance on it.