My 69' Formula Project

Firewood	See pics http://photos.yahoo.com/kmw250 I hope the link works. I just started the yahoo album. I will post more pictures soon.	2002-07-13
Red Rider	LOL I was real impressed and curious, until I saw the picture. That is no 69 foot boat. That is a 1969 boat.	2002-07-14
mellowyellow	great slideshow on Yahoo firewood, I'll do all the manual labor on the boat in trade for that sweet Chevelle if you had some extra time (yeah, right!) it would be helpful to a lot of folks to post your project details as you go. good luck and have fun, M.Y.	2002-07-14
djohns19	Firewood, Great job, keep us posted. I'm doing the same thing. My hull is upside down in the garage. The hull is painted and I'm working on the trailer so I can flip her back over.	2002-07-14
dymo	Looks like you have a job on your hands. I know how it is as I just finished my own project this weekend. Thanks for the Yahoo Photo site also. I just finished making my own album. If you're interested, you can see it here. http://ca.photos.yahoo.com/kaiserboy1962 Good luck with your project.	2002-07-15
Jhall	Is your project completed yet? I'd be interested in seeing more pics. I just bought a 1970 Formula 233 project. The major task is re-powering, everything else is in pretty good shape. I'm going to replace a lot just for peace of mind, blower, bilge pump, fuel lines etc. Does anyone know a good source for remanufactured complete inboard/outboard packages? I am thinking about brand new but the $$$ is staggering. Good luck with the Formula, I'll start posting pics once I start my project.	2002-07-20
Firewood	The boat is not done yet. Its upside down waiting to be put back on the trailer. I just got back from vacation and hope to get it right side up this weekend. So far most of my time has been gutting out old rotten wood and cursing at rusted bolts. Once I had everything removed (floor, windshield, motor, bow rail, wiring, etc.) I began on the bottom. I first used a 3500psi power washer, then I rolled on West Marine paint stripper. It works good but the key is applying a thick layer of the stripper to loosen the multiple layers of paint and letting it sit long enough to work. This is hard to do when gravity is against you. (at this point the boat was on the trailer). After screwing around on and off for a few days I decided to flip the hull. That made things much easier. Next I bought a paint scraper and manually scraped every square inch of the bottom. This totally sucked but was worth it. I then applied the stripper to the now fairly bare hull, let it sit a few minutes and power washed the whole mess off. The gel coat actually shined! Now the bottom was clean of all bottom paint but the gel coat was stained and discolored. I tried muratic acid to lift the stains from the gel coat but that didn't work, So that's when I decided to paint the bottom with Interlux Plus 2part polyurethane (off-white). I first repaired any dings or gouges. I then sealed it with West Marine bottom-epoxy. Then applied the finish color. I'm breezing over a lot of prep work and details, If anyone has questions feel free to ask. I'm not a professional, but I am a dedicated perfectionist. Also a buddy of mine, owns Hustler Racing boats (Global Marine) and I pick his brain when I have questions myself. Good luck everyone on your projects.	2002-07-20
Hawkeye1	Hay Firewood. I am proud owner of that last picture in you album. That's so cool you picked my boat as a goal. If you don't know I have already replace the transom, built a box grid into it for strength for the bracket. Glassed the hull to the cap with 4 layers of 17/08 glass. Replaced and repaired the stringers, added cross braces in-between the stringers, added 1 layer of 17/08 glass to the in sides and inside on the bottom. Filled the outside 2 stringer tunnels with closed cell foam. Re floored the cockpit. Recored the entire front deck. You might want to check that out b4 you flip it back over. I had to do mine right side up, not fun. I have not gotten around to putting together a picture trail of the work yet but there scattered pictures on my yahoo site. I am still not done customizing yet. It looks like you have about as much work to do as I had to do. It will be worth it as these are great performing boats. I have about 400 hrs on the water now and loved every minute of it. Well except the 3 hr run in from offshore into 5 to 8' sea about a month ago. I could of done without that. But hay, the boat handled it great. Good thing I fixed the stringers. Keep up the good work firewood. Here is that link. http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/formula2332000/rlst?.dir=/&.src=ph&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/	2002-07-24
FreeBeeTony	Firewood, Nice boat, fellow long islander here. Where did you find her? Do you know of any salvage yards on the island? I'm from the Babylon area.	2002-07-24
Jhall	Firewood, Hawkeye1: I have the same goal as Firewood, that is to get my 1970 233 to that same condition as Hawkeye. Just a few question for both of you. Since you both pulled up your cockpit decks, is there something that I should be on the lookout for? such as rotted stringers, sponginess etc? I just got the boat last summer and haven't started tackling anything yet except for cleaning her up. Everything seems pretty solid on her, but I was curious as to whether you pulled the deck because of a problem or just did it because you were in there. I was considering pulling the deck so I could install a holding tank since the head doesn't met today's regulations. How big of a pain in the a** was pulling up the deck? Also Hawkeye: where did you get the hardtop? was it custom built for you? also were the graphics still on the hull or did you find replacements? My boats been painted once already and it sure would be cool to put some original graphics on her? I'd appreciate any info you guys can share since I'm at the very beginning of my project. Thanks for all the pics and info it sure steers me in the right direction before I get started. Hey FreeeBeeTony: I just saw another 233 that needs work. I don't know if it's for sale, it's in Niantic, CT. I can give the number of the that it's at if you want to check.	2002-07-24
Hawkeye1	Jhall, I ran mine about 200 hrs without doing anything to the stringers. I knew I had a small area around the limber holes where it was not sealed. After about 200 hrs I noticed a hairline crack on the outside along the port inside stringer. I also talked to a guy that had a 233 hull crack along the same stringer and almost sunk his boat. I had 2 hatches so I could get to about 3' of all 4 stringers but that wasn't enough. That's what lead me to tearing up the floor. The floor was about 98% good. I ended up putting all new floor a little lighter then the original glassed over 5/8" ply wood. I used 2 layers of 5mm or a short 1/4" ex luan with a layer of 17/08 biax cloth over it. Epoxy coated, very well, all sides and edges with all seams overlapped. Came out very sturdy with the 2x2 grid under it. It might of been ok with one layer of luan but I didn't want to chance it. I only increased the weight of the boat about 150 lbs in the whole floor/stringer and new layer of glass in the bottom project. My hull is only 3/8" thick at the max. What did your alls hull thickness come out too. I though that was a little skinny that's why I added a layer of fresh glass and epoxy to seal it up good. The 17/08 glass I used comes out about 1/16" thick a layer. I added some more project photos to the yahoo site just a few minutes ago. Couple surprise pictures in there from July 1st offshore trip. http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/formula2332000/lst?&.dir=/stringer-floor+project&.src=ph&.begin=9999&.view=t&.order=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/bc/formula2332000/lst%3f%26.dir=/str inger-floor%2bproject%26.src=ph%26.view=t Good luck Hawkeye	2002-07-24
Firewood	Hawkeye, What a small world. I contacted Formula trying to track down some info on my boat about a year ago. I came across your pics on their web site. They put me in contact with you and you gave me the link to your yahoo album. (I hate to be a copy cat but that's a sweet boat). As for my floor it was also near perfect, but I have a lot of plumbing, storage, foaming etc. to do. So it had to come out. I noticed the floor was 1/2inch, I was going to go with 3/4" replacement. I'm mounting two 55 gal tanks under each gunwale which will be recessed down into the floor. I also want to have a nice sized fish box in the floor. I thought with the floor being so cut up I might go with (2) 1/2" layers instead. The bow deck is soft, probably same as yours was. I planned on flipping the boat back over this weekend, I'll have to take a closer look at the bow. How big of a pain was it? Good Luck with your Formula.	2002-07-25
Firewood	Freebeetony- I did come across a Formula 233 in Mastic, sitting in a boatyard, I was actually doing a land survey of the property for the town which is condemning the property. I figure all the boats he has piled up in there have to go cheap or free. I'll be down that way tomorrow, I'll see if its there and get the phone number.	2002-07-25
Hawkeye1	Firewood, I remember that. I hope I was of some help. Oh, the pictures make the boat look better then it does. There are lots of little rough spots but then this is a fishing boat and not a show boat. What are your plans for power? is the 2 55 gal tanks going to be the mains or extra. If extra you will have plenty for twins. I notice your stern stringers are different then mine. That front deck is a bear any way you slice it. I used a 2.5" carbide saw wheel on a high speed electric die grinder to cut out the inside skin. Works real slick cutting through fg. Wet ply wood pretty much fell out. Then custom fitted 1 layer of ex luan and then another layer of ex luan over the 1st one overlapping the seams. I ended up with a 3rd layer in the front part back to just behind the forward bulkhead. Going with 2 layers allowed me to skip the fg layer on the inside. Of course I used cloth to tab it in on all edges. I believe its stronger then new now. There are some pictures of that. I used nothing but epoxy and thickened it quit a bit to keep it from running out. If you have the boat upside down that might be the ticket, I guess. But be careful as the outside fg skin could deform if its not blocked right. On 2nd thought maybe its best to do it right side up and toothpick it in so to speak. Either way its pretty much a bear of a job. You might want to raise the floor a inch or 2 to make better self bailing. The original floor came out just about 1/2 to 1 above with he 1 bracket ob. I had to put these ball scuppers on and they work really good. I put like 1 3/8" id brass nipples in the transom as thru hulls. Of course bedded in epoxy. Now I have the raised floor I ended up with a shallow 1 1/4" deep moat all the way around the cockpit. Kind of sweet as it make for a great toe rail when leaning over the side. You might be able to see that in the pictures. I want to build a insulated box for seating on the port side tied right to the side of the boat and drained into the moat so to speak. That would make a nice bench seat. Might do the same but a little different on the starboard side.	2002-07-26
Firewood	The gutter design sounds good, A friend of mine who is a clammer told me to do exactly what you described. He said put two layers of flooring and leave the top layer short so I'd have a 3/4" deep gutter. Believe me when I say I'm up half the night thinking of what I want to do. I'm using I/O power (single 200hp MerCruiser). The motor has no hours on it so I'm keeping it. I was looking at my Uncles boat (2000 Key West CC) They had scuppers (with rubber flaps) below the water line, the deck had drain in it that were piped to the scuppers, as well as the live wells. I was on a Grady White that had openings in the transom... stupidest thing I ever seen, they where about a snot hair above the water line, my feet where in water all day. I won't do the bow deck till later, I figure the whole cabin area will be a project in its self.	2002-07-26
Hawkeye1	I had a Grady that would keep your feet wet also. Those rubber flaps work for about 2 weeks. My gutter on the formula is about 2" wide as I left about 4" of original floor around the edges to work with. My buddies kind of looked at me funny when I was building it but now they see the advantage. The cabin is definitely a project in itself and I ran my boat 1 year like it was. It took about 3 months for the cabin project alone. With my hardtop I didn't want to screw it up with the flexing where the front to legs bolt down. Oh I ordered the Thunderbird graphics from formula. I tried to talk them out of it for free but they wouldn't since I was restoring the boat. I think they were 30$ a pair. I didn't want the word formula just the bird. Funny thing is I grew up fishing on a 1965 17'thunderbird tri hull of my dads that he still has. I fish on that boat till 1985 when I bought my own boat a 1978 20' Grady wac. Thought I was a big dog then. Boats and fishing is in my blood. Catch them up and good luck with the formula. Hawkeye	2002-07-27
Firewood	Well I didn't flip it over today, but I did glass the gunwales (hull) to the top. It was originally pop-riveted together, half of which I drilled out to get the rubrail off, and the other half just corroded away. Talk about fumes!! try being in an upside down boat with a gallon of fiberglass resin. It didn't take long to do but I came out for a breather halfway through. It gave me a chance to use up lots of scrap and odd sized fiberglass. If the forecast is good I'll turn it over in the next day or so.	2002-07-27
Firewood	I got it back on the trailer today. I was looking at my lumber options for the floor. I think I'm going to go with two layers of 1/2" water resistant luan. Originally I was going to go with 1 layer of 3/4" tongue&groove plywood. The sandwiching of the two thinner layers will be stronger and also allow me to create a gutter for water to drain out.	2002-08-01
Hawkeye1	Firewood, you using epoxy or polyester resin? If you are using epoxy, you don't need the wax. 2 layers of 1/2 is going to be real beefy. Mine with 2 layers of 1/4 luan with the layer of 17/08 glass on top is almost like a concrete floor.	2002-08-01
Firewood	I planned on using polyester resin since its 1/3 the price of epoxy resin. Is the epoxy resin that much better? If you say the 1/4" doubled up is strong enough I'll take your word for it. It seems so flimsy thou. You also added lots of bracing between your stringers. I don't plan on doing that. Also my floor height seems high enough so I don't plan on raising it. Let me know what you think about the different resins.	2002-08-02
Hawkeye1	I guess if your on a budget it is cheaper for polyester. The one thing I would be worried about is getting a bad stick. You are going to have to tie this floor into the sides and that will be a high stress joint. You can only get a mechanical bond unlike when they built the boat they had a more chemical bond with the FG. Polyester just don't stick like epoxy and that's the main reason I would use epoxy over poly. Other pluses to epoxy is very forgiving on mixing, it doesn't fume much compared to poly, slightly more flexible when cured, you can add thickeners to custom make putties to fair out edges all at the same time your laying the glass. The cost difference shouldn't be more then 200 to 300 $ on the project. To me its worth it for the epoxy. The cloth will cost the same. you could go to 3 layers of the 1/4" stuff. That would be more then they had to start with. The epoxy really tightens those layers up especially the 17/08 cloth on top. Use the plastic poly sheathing to over the wet epoxy to make a finished smooth surface the needs little fairing, mostly around the edges and corners. That what I used when I recore my gunnels and glassed the gunnel to the hull. Built up the 1 layer of cloth on the plastic, then added the 3/8 plywood and 3 more layers of cloth. Wetted all this out real good and used the plastic to carry it to the work spot then pressed it in place, tooth picked it in and smoothed out the air to the edges of the plastic. Don't even make a mess this way. Left the plastic on till it cured and it pulled off leaving a nice smooth finish. Just wandering about your sringers. Mine rotted from the bottom up from trapped water in the hollows under the stringers. The stringer weren't cut exactly to the hull and the resin ran out from under them when they built it. Might be worth a couple test holes at the base of each of them b4 you start the floor.	2002-08-02
Firewood	Don't worry, I plan on doing a thorough inspection before any flooring goes down. I'm going to take a ride over to a guy I know who builds "Hustler" boats. I figure he can get me the epoxy resin and cloth I'll need. I've gotten this far...might as well spring for the epoxy. Thanks Hawkeye-	2002-08-05
Hawkeye1	I just looked back and I didn't include the links for the epoxy I have been using. Epoxies from these 2 run from 165 to 210 for a 6 gallon set. They ship fast also. Even with the shipping charges it is cheaper then buying from outlets stores. Both are top notch epoxy. http://www.raka.com	2002-08-06
Firewood	Thanks for the great links. Have you been using the biaxial cloth (8oz.)? Sounds like a deal 50" wide and 8 or 9 bucks a foot. The prices on resin are SO MUCH cheaper than anyplace I've looked. Thanks again-	2002-08-06
Hawkeye1	Now you see why I don't use the polyester anymore. I did many years ago. For the cloth I use the 17/08 biaxial. That 17 oz biaxial with .8 oz mat. I think it about 9$ a yard 50" wide. Its pretty heavy and cures to about 1/16" thick per layer and will make cure pretty easy. Put the mat side down. I have found the lighter stuff is harder to work with for me but then again most of my work has been structural so stronger the better. The 17/08 will soak up a lot of resin but also makes a very strong joint or surface. Sorry if I didn't post those links earlier. I have posted them b4 on this site but sometimes I forget which post I made them on. Larry at raka, knows his stuff and his web page as lot of how to info. Look under manuals. The us composite epoxy I just started using and not sure what they know but there epoxy is cheap and works like all the other epoxies I have used.	2002-08-07
Firewood	Well I'm finally back on track. I hope to get some work done on the boat this weekend. Seemed like every time I had some $ put aside something would pop up. I don't want to charge everything.. Who wants a monster credit card bill hanging over their head.	2002-08-22

If you would like to post your own question for the experts just click on
the Boating Forums tab at the top of the page or click here!

Disclaimer: iboats.com provides this content for the education and benefit of all boating enthusiasts.
We cannot, however, take responsibility for individual postings, nor can we verify the accuracy of any posting.
Please use any information provided from individuals with great care and read any applicable manuals or safety instructions.
Also, if you determine that a posting is inaccurate or offensive in any manner, please email us.