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.
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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