Nova 23xl with LT1 power (Budweiser budget)
08-07-2020, 11:35 PM
#14
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Thread Starter
Alright dudes,
This thread has been dead for long enough... Hopefully y'all are surviving this COVID-pocalypse.
Through my lack of inspiration, and a whole lot of other obligations getting in the way, the Nova has sat dormant for a couple months now. At last glance, I knew that the existing floor had to come out, as it had been redone half-assed about 19-20 years ago. The tired carpet was removed, and I slowly started chipping away at the hardware and deck in my way, but progress was uninspired at best.... The motor had become a damn end table in my garage, and I kept telling myself "I'll take this weekend and tear into it", only to have it rain or have some kind of adult obligation to take care of (curse not having a shop big enough for a boat yet). Anyway, the Nova was dieing a slow death around the back of my little workshop.
That was until last week, when a pair of old friends came through to stay with me over a long weekend. Through the BS'ing in the shop, a couple dozen cold beers, and of course the obligatory blast down the bay in my 20 foot VT rocket, one of the ol' boys caught a wild hair up his ass, and decided he was going to spend the second hottest day on record out behind the workshop cutting out all the old core and glass in the Nova, and after another half dozen cold brews, we dove into it....
Took about 6 solid hours of component disassembly, sawzall operation, and one of those obnoxious shake head multitools to get all the corners dug out, but we were met with the pleasant surprise that the floor (which was not sealed on the underside which lead to it's failure) was hiding fairly healthy stringers, which I wont be messing with, other than a few very small penetrant epoxy injections, and a fresh coat of paint...
Here's me gearing up for the debauchery about to occur... Yeah I know there should be more skin coverage for taking out fiberglass, but it was HOT!
here's what the half squishy floor looked like before we started hacking at it... At first I was weary about pulling the old bits out, but now I feel way better about the project knowing that I can tab in a new floor way better than this one was put in.... unfortunately I haven't taken any pictures of the stripped hull, but assuming the weather holds out tomorrow, I'll be sure to do so...... regardless (and I know I did this backwards) take a look at those nice interior pieces that came right back out!
...In the mean time,
Had a blast on the days that we could, thrashing on my old tunnel V... She's made by Stratos and very similar hull design to the STV charger. Even with a 150 Mariner, this thing flys the hull across the Chesapeake bay, as long as you can keep it out of the rough stuff!
This thread has been dead for long enough... Hopefully y'all are surviving this COVID-pocalypse.
Through my lack of inspiration, and a whole lot of other obligations getting in the way, the Nova has sat dormant for a couple months now. At last glance, I knew that the existing floor had to come out, as it had been redone half-assed about 19-20 years ago. The tired carpet was removed, and I slowly started chipping away at the hardware and deck in my way, but progress was uninspired at best.... The motor had become a damn end table in my garage, and I kept telling myself "I'll take this weekend and tear into it", only to have it rain or have some kind of adult obligation to take care of (curse not having a shop big enough for a boat yet). Anyway, the Nova was dieing a slow death around the back of my little workshop.
That was until last week, when a pair of old friends came through to stay with me over a long weekend. Through the BS'ing in the shop, a couple dozen cold beers, and of course the obligatory blast down the bay in my 20 foot VT rocket, one of the ol' boys caught a wild hair up his ass, and decided he was going to spend the second hottest day on record out behind the workshop cutting out all the old core and glass in the Nova, and after another half dozen cold brews, we dove into it....
Took about 6 solid hours of component disassembly, sawzall operation, and one of those obnoxious shake head multitools to get all the corners dug out, but we were met with the pleasant surprise that the floor (which was not sealed on the underside which lead to it's failure) was hiding fairly healthy stringers, which I wont be messing with, other than a few very small penetrant epoxy injections, and a fresh coat of paint...
Here's me gearing up for the debauchery about to occur... Yeah I know there should be more skin coverage for taking out fiberglass, but it was HOT!
here's what the half squishy floor looked like before we started hacking at it... At first I was weary about pulling the old bits out, but now I feel way better about the project knowing that I can tab in a new floor way better than this one was put in.... unfortunately I haven't taken any pictures of the stripped hull, but assuming the weather holds out tomorrow, I'll be sure to do so...... regardless (and I know I did this backwards) take a look at those nice interior pieces that came right back out!
...In the mean time,
Had a blast on the days that we could, thrashing on my old tunnel V... She's made by Stratos and very similar hull design to the STV charger. Even with a 150 Mariner, this thing flys the hull across the Chesapeake bay, as long as you can keep it out of the rough stuff!
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smashm (08-09-2020)
