Sport C Racing SilverWing Restoration
1987 SilverWing 1000
Here is our "Wing". It is almost re-rigged and ready to head out for testing. When it came in there were assorted rough fiberglass repairs from race incident damages over the years. Paint was also less than ideal, and the transom plywood core was water logged. Though it met racing requirements as is, we opted to remove and redesign the driver safety extensions and vacuum bag fresh kevlar with epoxy resin and Airex 1/2" foam core. Currently the rear cowling is also under refinement. Below are a few pics of the progress.
The Wing as it arrived
Original cockpit, note foot throttle, steering wheel mounted power trim buttons, and engine tachometer. There is also a dash mounted, highly essential trim indicator above the steering shaft, but in it's current condition is difficult to see
Initial sanding to expose repair areas, stress cracked gelcoat regions, and to allow better inspection of the overall boat.
Much of the material removal was done with abrasive grinders and this airfile longboard type tool. The greater length helped fair the deck surfaces more than a random orbital sander (though we still used a 6" random orbit for some tasks). The varying colors represent layers as they were cut through in a smoothing and fairing manner. The wing had many years of paints, primers, more paints, more primers, and original gelcoat layerd on.
The original transom splash well. These were originally designed so an outboard could be droped right on the hull transom for sport use. In racing we use a"Jack Plate" which allows manual adjustment of motor height between race heats. It also sets the motor roughly 6" farther aft which helps put the prop in clean water for maximum performance. The Wing was outfitted with an OMC type power trim retrofit, which required the hole in the center of the outboard well. This had to be removed to repair the transom rot, so we built a more appropriate splash well to house the power trim at the same time. In the background is the DynaBrade diamond blade equipped air saw that will cut through the old transom well fiberglass for removal.
Following is vacuum bagging up the kevlar and foam cockpit side extensions to protect the driver. Epoxy can be very frustrating to work with, but vacuum bagging does a lot to keep the resin where it's supposed to be until it cures. It also helps with weight management.
The primer stage. This took a series of coats of Awlgrip 545 primer, limited additions of fairing compound, and a bit of glazing putty to clean up pinholes and surface defects.
Power trim assembly bolted into place. It also recieves a rubber (automotive gearshift) boot to help keep water out of the boat. This system has been popular for years. Due to difficulty finding these OMC trim units, many boats also have Sierra power trim pumps mounted inside with a ram and bracket totally outside the boat, which also removes the need for the large hole in the transom. Other equipment, such as small Mercury trim pumps and rams, and reportedly even Lenco electric actuators, are used successfully.
The main boat is painted and hardware is going on. The rear cowling has not yet been completed, so the back half of the boat still looks odd.
