1999 Crestliner Project

[thill]

All you need is a MIG welder and a bottle of Argon. Watch a few YouTube videos and give it a shot. It's what I did, and now I'm pretty comfortable welding aluminum

 

[LDUBS]

Thanks, I like the setup as well. It is a bit dated, but with some new materials it will be perfect.
That flip up cover covered the old stereo. The new ones are round. I want to see if I can repurpose it for something else.

I would be a great place to put a fuse block, and have room leftover.

 

[navipro]

All you need is a MIG welder and a bottle of Argon. Watch a few YouTube videos and give it a shot. It's what I did, and now I'm pretty comfortable welding aluminum

Thank you. I thought about it. I am comfortable welding steel, but have not tried aluminum. I do have a lincoln 160 welder from homedepot. Not sure if it will be enough. I will need to get a spool gun as well as the Argon bottle. About 3-400 around here. Decisions decisions...

 

[navipro]

Working on the transom today.
It is made of the 3 pieces of 5/8 ply. I have made one piece to exact size and 2 other about 1/4inch wider, so I do not to go crazy aligning them during glue up.
Not very happy with the plywood, as I have used ACX from local building center and it had 7 layers (which is 2 more then original) but had paper thin final layer of on the top and bottom. Not sure it it will delamenate, but it only acx I could find in 5/8.
Today glue was dry and clamps removed. I have trimmed the sticking out pieces flush with the top layer.
Before I glued it all I have installed the single layer in The boat and marked the holes. I wanted to drill them so I can soak them in the OTF.
Transom will have a very tight fit and i am not sure i can oull it out after hammering it in. I also hope that original holes were drilled perpendicular to the transom. Otherwise the holes will not lone up on the back.
Next was mixing some Old Timers Formula. I thought it would be 30 minute job to cover all areas with OTF, but it turned into 4 hour job. The edges on the ply were soaking in otf like crazy. At the end, I have went through 3 quarts of otf! And 90% of it went into end grain. I think I could have soaked even more, but I was so beat that it had to do.
I have layed the transom flat, plugged each the hole with my finger from the bottom and poured otf in. Had to top off each hole couple times, waited a minute or so for each hole and moved to the next one.
Tomorrow will do another soaking and will let it dry before doing straight spar.
Thanks for staying with me, guys!

 

[Still Afloat]

Thanks. I do not weld aluminum, nor know anyone who can can do odd jobs like that. I will have to find someone to weld the transom cover anyways, as it had to be cut for it to come out. So it all depends on the sequence of steps. If I will be able to do this all at the same time, I will do it.
Few of the cracks are right next to foam, it think I will bolt those up to prevent fire.

I think a professional welder could weld it quick enough to minimize on heat. Aluminum sinks the heat away quickly anyway. Perhaps a little melting but, I doubt if it would catch fire.

 

[LDUBS]

Transom will have a very tight fit and i am not sure i can oull it out after hammering it in.

I think I might do a little shaving so it fits without having to hammer it in place.

 

[navipro]

I think I might do a little shaving so it fits without having to hammer it in place.

It is not the width, it is thickness. The original transom is even thicker, but I think the aluminum on outer skin deformed a bit when the old transom rotted.
Some screw holes pulled inwards. I will try to pull them back to flat.

 

[airshot]

Thanks. I do not weld aluminum, nor know anyone who can can do odd jobs like that. I will have to find someone to weld the transom cover anyways, as it had to be cut for it to come out. So it all depends on the sequence of steps. If I will be able to do this all at the same time, I will do it.
Few of the cracks are right next to foam, it think I will bolt those up to prevent fire.

Check your local radiator repair shop, often they are aluminum welding experts !

 

[Azdesert]

Lots of work and effort goes into those builds, great job! I agree that welding would be the best way to repair those cracks.
You will have a wonderful boat when you are done, Crestliner makes a great boat IMO.

 

[navipro]

Yep, I think I am at about 100 hours so far and nowhere near even starting to put things back together.
Here is a little jig i made to repair the holes that were pulled in on the transom.

Lots of work and effort goes into those builds, great job! I agree that welding would be the best way to repair those cracks.
You will have a wonderful boat when you are done, Crestliner makes a great boat IMO.

 

[navipro]

Here is an little Easter egg from the factory. On the inside of the transom it says Daryl's Boat. Well, whoever you are Mr Daryl, nice to meet you over 25 years.

 

[thill]

Thank you. I thought about it. I am comfortable welding steel, but have not tried aluminum. I do have a lincoln 160 welder from homedepot. Not sure if it will be enough. I will need to get a spool gun as well as the Argon bottle. About 3-400 around here. Decisions decisions...

You don't need a spool gun unless you are building a whole boat or doing a lot of it. Look up some youtube videos, but all you REALLY need is argon and you must oversize your tip so the wire doesn't bind, and try to keep the lead as straight as possible, with no hard bends that could bind the softer wire.

I think you will really enjoy doing it yourself. Play around with some scrap and then get it done. You have to move so fast that it's almost disappointing. You think about it, worry a little, study and prepare, and then it's done in 90 seconds. But then you realize that you have a new super-power, AAARRRGGHHH, YESSS!!!!

 

[LDUBS]

Here is an little Easter egg from the factory. On the inside of the transom it says Daryl's Boat. Well, whoever you are Mr Daryl, nice to meet you over 25 years.

I wonder if it was Daryl or his other brother Daryl.

 

[navipro]

Hi Guys, I followed your advices and attempted to weld the aluminum myself. The local guys wanted at least 350 for 3 little welds.
I have decided that I can put 350 towards cheap Amazon welder and give it a shot. Well, I know the welds are ugly but I think they will hold especially that I have reinforced those seams with rivets. I have also welded half a dozen of holes in transom from the PO. So I think welder was a good idea.
I have also did another soaking of the transom in OTF and have 3 coats if varnish on it. The goal is 5.
Also started prepping the boat for the paint.

 

[Stand Up]

Very nice! With a little practice on some scrap pieces, you could get real good at it.
Would you mind sharing what you roughly paid for this set up?

 

[navipro]

Very nice! With a little practice on some scrap pieces, you could get real good at it.
Would you mind sharing what you roughly paid for this set up?

For sure. Practice makes .
The welder was 430 canadian from Amazon. 250 was the argon tank filled (refills are 80). 9 dollars for 1/16 filler rod (should have gone for 3/32). 20 dollars for tungstens .
I had regulator, but would prefer to have a dedicated one. Maybe later.

 

[navipro]

So the good milestone is here! Transom is in! After 2 coats of otf and 5 coats of varnish, it is finally in its place!
I have added blue tape to the top, as the old transom rotted from tip to bottom and any measure is good to prevent it in future. I have also added a bead of silicone on the inside of the tip channel to prevent water from getting in.
The top channel is welded in (I think I am getting better at this TIG thing. Still needs tons of practice.

Here are some pics

 

[Stand Up]

Great progress. The welds look good from the pictures. Yes, it will be a fine boat when you're done. Thanks for posting.

 

[thill]

That was a bit to pay for the welder, but the product looks worth it. I rent my gas bottles. $100/year and whatever gas costs. No need for a dedicated regulator. Gas doesn't leave any residue in the regulator.

Wait... Did you say Tungstens? That is a TIG welder? In that case, that's a good price for the setup, especially if you use it for more than just this one job.

Welding aluminum is kind of fun. You will only get better and better, and as long as it's burned into both sides properly, even an ugly weld is very strong. A grinder can make it pretty enough.

Congrats and good job!

 

[navipro]

That was a bit to pay for the welder, but the product looks worth it. I rent my gas bottles. $100/year and whatever gas costs. No need for a dedicated regulator. Gas doesn't leave any residue in the regulator.

Wait... Did you say Tungstens? That is a TIG welder? In that case, that's a good price for the setup, especially if you use it for more than just this one job.

Welding aluminum is kind of fun. You will only get better and better, and as long as it's burned into both sides properly, even an ugly weld is very strong. A grinder can make it pretty enough.

Congrats and good job!

Thanks!
It is an Ac/dc tig setup. I do not think I can find a cheaper option. And to be honest, even with my lousy skills, it does the job fairly well.
I do not weld that much to justify the renting of the bottle. I have figured 250 dollars as the one time cost if low enough to own one. And that is 250 filled, so actually the bottle was 170.
I have used the regulator from my argon/co setup and I have a feeling that at 15 psi it was draining faster them with the dedicated regulator that has a flow meter set at 15cubic feet per minute. Regulator with the flow meter was 40 dollars on Amazon.
Al in all, I am very happy with the setup. I have already welded shut a bunch of holes in transom, that otherwise be filled with screws.