1977 peterborough repair

Tbay-Jay

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Apr 27, 2010
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10
Let me start by saying I stumbled onto this community here last night and this forum has to be one of the most insightful of its kind thus far. Between information and knowledge base I have almost been overwhelmed by about 4 hours of non stop reading and only taking breaks to eat and continue with the deconstruction of my boat (which I really had no intentions of doing). But thanks for having me here

This story starts back in September when I find this sweet deal of a boat. Its a 14' 1977 peterborough tri hull with trailer and 70hp 1987 johnson outboard. Now the previous owner said it had a small leak and he had installed a bilge pump to counter it and that it never really filled up at all unless the boat sat overnight in the lake. The reason for this leak I assume is that the boat was only ever geared for a 60hp motor and the previous owner before this had installed a pretty heavy duty aluminum bracket over the transom and around the top of the boat mounting inside to another peice of aluminum which was situated opposite on the inside of the transom. Looks like this guy had a silicone fetish cuz there must have been a two inch coating of the stuff once I got under some layers. I only had a chance to take it out twice last year and I didn't notice any real problems. Bilge pump seemed to work. And for the price of the boat I was happy it float and the motor ran fine.

So I decided to repair one of the seats that were certainly broken as everytime I sat in it I felt the brackets dig into my back. Thats when I found lots of rot and despite the fact that I had pulled the plug before winter when the guy added the metal monstrosity to the back situated the plug in an area where all the water was not draining. Damaging all the stringers, subfloor and transom (well what used to be the wooden transom).

From here I said to myself ok this isn't that bad ..... wait .... yes it is now what. So I take a peek online and start removing the subfloor. Now I run into my first big problem. I see in everyone's restores that they remove the top of the boat whether it be screwed on or riveted. now there are screws around the outside however it seems that someone went a little glass crazy and fiberglass the inside making the process of removing it will be impossible with out cutting it.

Which brings me to my first question.

1. Will it be possible to replace the transom without removing the top half of the boat?

Now I know some of these questions may be hard to answer without a frame of reference but I do plan on taking some photos tomorrow after work so that you may understand what exactly I'm trying to describe here.

2. Now I removed most of the stringers from the back of the boat and there is almost a half inch indentation in the fiberglass where they sat. Should I leave this indent and put my new stringers in right in its place and glass over em?

3. What thickness of wood would be best suited for the stringers? would 1" suffice? And which do you prefer glassed styrofoam or wood? If wood what type of hardwood should I use?

I appreciate any and all help in the process here and hope that another first timer will benefit from the hoops I'm jumpin through.
 
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Bondo

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Re: 1977 peterbourgh repair

Re: 1977 peterbourgh repair

But thanks for having me here

Ayuh,... Welcome Aboard....

#1 needs pictures,...

#2 You can bed the new stringers right into it.... They need abit of beveling...

#3, I like 3/4" Plywood,... CDX is Fine, if overlayed with glass,+ resins...
 

Tbay-Jay

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Joined
Apr 27, 2010
Messages
10
Re: 1977 peterbourgh repair

Re: 1977 peterbourgh repair

Well I took a few quick pictures however I dont have a shop to work in and we are expecting 4 days of solid rain so im pretty busy rigging up a garage type enclosure to get all the rest of the deconstruction done, (taking the motor and controls out)

The lighting wasnt so good but here are the pics anyways.
 

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Tbay-Jay

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Re: 1977 peterbourgh repair

Re: 1977 peterbourgh repair

some more pics
 

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Tbay-Jay

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Apr 27, 2010
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Re: 1977 peterborough repair

Well I got the rest of the demo done, Aside from cutting the top off. All electrical components, steering controls and motor off. And I just ordered my supplies from uscomposites. Should be here by the time I get the sanding done. Then some 3/4 inch marine grade plywood for both the transom and the stringers (doubled up on the transom and laminated with thick epoxy). Im gonna use two types of roved fiber weaving a stronger type for the tabing of the stringers then a layer of 18 oz over that then a layer of CSM then repeat the process until I get the desired strength I'm looking for. I also grabbed some heavy duty adhesive for the bottom of the stringers just when I set them in place with about a 24 hour curing time.

How does this sound to anyone, so far so good from what I have read.
 

Tbay-Jay

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Joined
Apr 27, 2010
Messages
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Re: 1977 peterborough repair

Well its been awhile and progress is slow. That stupid full time job has me by the short and curlies. Anyways I ended up getting a place to set up the boat to work in on a more permanent basis.

P1010181.jpg


So now that I have a place to work on it nothing special just a 12' x 24' makeshift garage I was able to throw together fairly quickly one afternoon.

Now here is a pic of the next stage of the progress. I finally got it cut in half which was a pain considering there was the screws for the rub rail and rivets beneath that and a decent layer of fiber woving over the inside. Anyways it made cracking it in half a huge pain. I was also able to gut it and start on the grinding.

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Well I figure I have I few more days of grinding and sanding to do. At a rate of a case a beer/day I work on the thing it may have been cheaper for someone else to do it. But heck im 25 and Id drink the case of beer anyways now im just doing what I normally do with the addition of a hasmat suit and an angle grinder.

Well cheers and expect an update a few cases of beer from now.
 

tallcanadian

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Sep 7, 2006
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3,245
Re: 1977 peterborough repair

I love your boat. Is it a Sunchaser? After looking at your pics I'm glad you decided to rebuild it. That transom looked dangerous. Have you found the source of your leak? Your boat and mine are similiar in style and both are Canadian made. Yeah!! You can use PL Premium to bond your plywood together for your transom. I used epoxy resin for mine but polyester will do as well. Just open your doors on your shelter. I used csm on most of my build except for the deck, I used woving roving with csm. Take your time and have fun with it. Good Luck.
 

Tbay-Jay

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Joined
Apr 27, 2010
Messages
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Re: 1977 peterborough repair

Its a ski sport originally made in Quebec but I can't find to much info on peterborough boats in general, I guess the company changed its name or went belly up sometime in the early 80's.

I grabbed epoxy about 6 gallons of the stuff and enough csm and woving for the job. I plan on using 18oz woving and 1.5oz csm for the stringers and I was just gonna use 6oz roving on the deck whenever I get to that step.

Im thinking that the leak was from the transom as there were quite a few holes where there was that aluminum reinforcement. I also probably took out about a layer of caulking about a half inch thick over the transom on the inside where the previous owner(s) had tried to fix it before. Some of the stuff was still wet as it never had a chance to dry.

Currently there is still alot of grinding to do and the weather is so nice I havent really been that diligent with keeping to any kind of schedule. But Thanks for the interest and Ill update once I get to the next step.
 

tallcanadian

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Sep 7, 2006
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3,245
Re: 1977 peterborough repair

Peterborough made nice boats, along with their sister company, Princecraft. I did at one time have brochures for all the main companies. Had them by the box load and one day someone threw them all out. It should have a HIN number on the top right side on the back of the transom. If I had that I could give you more info. Good luck.
 

Tbay-Jay

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Apr 27, 2010
Messages
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Re: 1977 peterborough repair

well progress is slow .... Workin lots and the weather is so nice Im either at the camp or on the golf course. I did take a look for the HIN and found that a whole was drilled through the third digit.

z0?35627m790
 

tallcanadian

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Sep 7, 2006
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Re: 1977 peterborough repair

Of all letters to be missing. The third letter is the manufacturer. If it's a Peterborough, then you don't need it. The last digit should be between A and L, so I'm assuming it's a C. It's definitely a 1979 and was built in October.
 

Tbay-Jay

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Joined
Apr 27, 2010
Messages
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Re: 1977 peterborough repair

kewl there is a plate on the inside that says Peterborough SKI SPORT on it and it also has the manufacturers address on the us coast guard plate as well. So I am to assume that really the last 3 digits tell you the year and month? Its good to know its a 79 as I was under the presumption it was a 77 as that was the only info I was given at the time of sale.
 
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