12' Fiberglass Boat Restoration Project - Newbie in Need of Advice

[gomopar440]

That looks like the bow deck support has pulled free on that end to me. Most likely happened when someone stepped on that area or something heavy was set on top of it for a while. It really needs to be pushed back into shape and then re-glassed in place for that deck to have it's proper shape and original strength again. I have a similar issue with a 14' fiberglass boat I'll be restoring next, but the supports didn't completely separate from the deck like that on mine. I've just got spiderweb cracks in the outer gel coat running around the locations of the supports. Nothing says you can't add extra reinforcements to make it stronger. I'll be doing that to mine after I fix the gel coat cracks.

 

[gm280]

pa, can you snap up a few shots of the over all boat from outside and then inside? I ask because I still have no idea what your boat actually looks like. And with pictures of you entire boat, we can then offer better ideas to support what you want to do to you boat. JMHO

 

[prescott_anthony]

gm280 Absolutely. Will get them to you ASAP.

gomopar440 Thank you for the response! How doe you recommend I go about getting that support back into position to be re-glassed? I can't really clamp it because there is nothing to provide leverage. On second thought I think if I had a long enough C-Clamp I could go through the storage area opening and may be able to do it. I'll check it tonight and get back with you. More to come.

 

[gomopar440]

What about using a little bottle jack? Put it on a small square of plywood and set another piece above it on the inside of the bottom of the hull. Fill the empty space with a section of 2x4 so you don't need a super long jack. Auto Body repair shops use a hydraulic version of this idea called a Port-a-power. Those have all different sized hydraulic rams that would work as well. You would just have to be very careful not to over extend the jack and crack the bow deck out. Just get it pumped up enough to close that gap back up and then hold it there so you can fix it. You can add extra stiffeners by cutting some large cardboard tubes in half lengthwise and cut them to length to fit in between the factory braces. Then glass over those half tubes like the factory pieces are and your bow deck should then be a lot stronger. If you have gel coat cracking on the top of your bow deck like I do on my Rambler, don't attempt to fix that until you've addressed the repairs for the structure supporting it first. If you don't, you'll end up doing it all over again.

 

[DeepBlue2010]

You mentioned that your boat is upside down on saw horses for painting, are these pictures upside down as well. Can you take a wide angle picture before you zoom in on the details.

 

[prescott_anthony]

gomopar440 Excellent idea! That is going into the memory bank and when It comes time to fix that structure piece I will be thanking you

DeepBlue2010 Here you are. Pics of the boat as it now sits on the saw horses. The last one (Back1) is one of those little gems you run into during projects like this that add X number of hours of work to the project. Whomever had this boat previously drilled motor mount holes way of center. Gonna have to figure out how to seal those....

 

[southkogs]

That sure looks like a sailboat hull ... which might explain the deck hold up front you describe in your first post. Any oar locks on the gunwales? I don't see a slot for a daggerboard or centerboard, but those two holes at the back sure look like they may have been self bailing drains.

Any signs in the cockpit of a place a centerboard used to be?

 

[prescott_anthony]

southkogs Right you are my friend. This is an old sailboat that at some point long before I purchased it was converted into a john/fishing boat. I bought it from a guy for 50 Euros (about 60 dollars) and other than needing a few fiberglass patches it was structurally sound. At first we patched the fiberglass that needed it and used some OD Green paint I got from the Germany Army and that was going to be that. It was only going to be used on one of our local lakes for short pike sessions. Eventually I started watching videos of guys doing boat restoration projects and decided to give this old sailboat a go.

 

[prescott_anthony]

*German army

 

[southkogs]

This is an old sailboat that at some point long before I purchased it was converted into a john/fishing boat.

... sorta: Most jon boats / fishing boats are planing hulls (unless they're drift boats or rowboats specifically). This hull is a displacement hull - probably not designed to run much more than about 8 - 12 kts. She's never gonna' be a fast ride. Might also be a little tippy if you're trying to stand up while you cast - the hull is designed to heel over with the wind.

That means you're very likely dealing with floatation foam - and the other cavities you were describing might be the cockpit seats running down the gunwales.

Are those holes in the stern going into the cockpit or into the hull?

 

[prescott_anthony]

southkogs Thank you for the response. Yeah I should have used some different terminology. The boat was "re-purposed" for fishing long before I purchased it. I have a Minn Kota Endura 50 that will be going on it and I am planning on purchasing a 5 HP 4 stroke motor of some kind but I am not that far along yet. I am not looking for speed or performance out of this craft. I realize that I am going to be using it for purposes it was not intended for so I will be happy if it will get me around the lake so I can catch some fish. As far as it being "tippy" I was able to fish out of it a few times before bringing it into the shop and was more than satisfied with how sturdy it was. I even did some casting around while standing on the front of the bow and it did well so that is a bonus. It is actually pretty wide and flat once you get past the bow so maybe that contributes to its stability?

Yes the holes in the stern go into the hull. I drained a bit of water from them before pulling it into the shop. Along the gunwales there are four strips of what I describe as grip tape that look like they were originally meant for four seated occupants, two on each side.

Because this thing was originally built as a sailboat the stern doesn't sit very high out of the water while the bow does quite a bit. Do you think I will have a problem with the combined weight of the motors and driver at the stern lifting the bow disproportionately high out of the water? Should I plan on adding some weight inside the hull at the bow?

Thank you for being so helpful!

 

[southkogs]

Gladly - I'm not usually worth very much in the restoration forums, so it's nice to actually have a real opinion

3 to 5HP on the back of that boat is what many sailors will use to get in and out off the pier, so you're fine that way. She won't steer like a power boat because the hull doesn't have any sort of a keel line. That might make steering a bit funky here and there - but nothing unusual to the hull design.

The grip tape you're seeing is for feet. When sailing (especially when running hard), you sit on the gunwale of that boat (most likely) and the grip tape helps you keep your feet in place. When sailing that boat, you sit on one side or the other to counter act the wind force on the main sail. She's probably designed primarily for one or two, but could handle three or four. The beam of the boat will help the stability, but it's still gonna' require some balance. I've seen these hulls used like this before and there's not much of a risk if you're just aware of what you're doing.

With the water that you had coming out - and the foam maybe being kinda' wet - there's a chance that you have some rot going on inside that hull. The stringers / supports (for the mast) and such may be damaged. That would require pulling the top cap off and doing some restorative work. That's a tough call on a boat like this - she's not gonna' be working even as hard as she was designed for, so it's probably not "dangerous" to use as is if you're on pretty calm water. BUT - stringers are the bones of the boat. The minute the hull has real stress on it, then you're running the risk of breaking up. Would I put the effort (a lot) into rehabbing a sailing hull to go catch fish? Probably not. I'd use it a bit and then find something else later.

You can stand on the forecastle (forward deck), but look under that stowage and see how reinforced it is. Some of 'em were designed to handle a body standing on 'em to rig sails and such ... others just kept rain off the sail bag.

There's a bunch of cool sailboat hull conversions out there. Just understand what the hull was for, and that'll help you repurpose it.

 

[prescott_anthony]

southkogs Dude (or Dudette, don't want to make any assumptions here you are awesome! I really appreciate all of your help and am taking all of your advice to heart. Tomorrow I am going to be doing some hole and crack filling with epoxy putty so I will take a few shots of the inside of the forward deck so you can see those supports. There is one small area of damage under there that I should be able to patch up with no issue.