1974 Lo 14 ft Restore

Tarheelsportsman

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Jul 13, 2014
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I recently purchased my first project boat. It's a 1974 14 ft. Lo that was manufactured in Wake Forest, NC . I have started removing the rotten floor and the old soaked foam I'm wondering if i should go ahead and remove the boat cap because i'm sure the wood is gone in the transom and it would easier to work around. Any suggestions on the cap removal

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Corjen1

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Aug 24, 2013
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Welcome to I boats, cool boat!! There are several guys that are the local experts, woodonglass, archbuilder, GT1000000 and friscoboater to name a few. I would highly recommend reading their threads before you get to far into tear down. I have learned a tremendous amount from this site and these guys. Good Luck on your boat!!!
 

Tarheelsportsman

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I certainly check there threads, I learned one important thing today, all ways check for wasp and hornets nest, I was taking off the rub rail and steered up a real hornets nest under the rail. Luckily i only got stung once .
 
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Woodonglass

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Dec 29, 2009
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I've seen multiple restorations of similar boats. I'd recommend that you check what's below deck. Some of these boat mfg use balsacored hulls. If yours is one of these and it has become waterlogged, then it could be VERY problematic to restore. Let us know what you find. If in fact it is a glass hull then the restoration will be fairly straight forward. Your cap may be more of a tub construction where the sides are attached to the deck. Hard to tell from the pics. Start cutting the deck and we'll be able to tell more. Careful not to go to deep and cut thru the hull.
 

friderday

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Apr 1, 2012
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very cool boat...welcome to dry dock...be careful when you take the cap off..get measurements as often the hull will flex & twist & such & when you're all done & go to put it back on, it won't fit right. support the hull & many use straps to keep it just as close to what it was with the cap on..gonna be watching this one....
 

jigngrub

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Mar 19, 2011
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Doesn't look like there's a whole lot to that boat.

I'd remove the cap and replace the transom and then reinstall the cap and finish doing the rest of the boat after the cap is put back on.
 

friderday

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^^^I like that idea, jig...less time for things to move around why you're workin'
 

sphelps

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Doesn't look like there are any stringers .. So the foam was the main structure for the hull /deck .
 

Tarheelsportsman

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Jul 13, 2014
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First I would like to thank everyone for there comments and suggestions. I have fully drilled out the old rivets that were holding the the cap and removed the cap.
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Tarheelsportsman

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Woodonglass, i gouged out one of the stress cracks on the side of the boat and appears to be all glass, i will be cutting out the the live well drain later this week and that will tell me for sure if there is any balsacore in the hull
 

Woodonglass

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If there were no stringers and Only foam then you will for sure have to put foam back in to support the hull and the deck. The hull was designed to be structurally dependent upon the foam. You also need to be careful about supporting the hull during demolition to ensure it maintains it shape. It could easily warp and twist and be hard to get back into it's original configuration. I'd be making some bracing for it pretty quickly.;)
 

friderday

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yyuupp!! ^^^^that's what I said(post #5)....amazing how quickly they change shape, then you reinforce the with glass, then there's no getting back to where you started...(insert been there done that here)..
 

Tarheelsportsman

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If there were no stringers and Only foam then you will for sure have to put foam back in to support the hull and the deck. The hull was designed to be structurally dependent upon the foam. You also need to be careful about supporting the hull during demolition to ensure it maintains it shape. It could easily warp and twist and be hard to get back into it's original configuration. I'd be making some bracing for it pretty quickly.;)
I plan on bracing it in the morning, i have some old 2x4's and 2x6's that are fairly straight, i'm going to cut them to the correct lengths and run them across the topside and screw them where the rub rail screw holes are. I plan on using a 2 part flotation foam after installing the new flooring. My biggest obstacle is going to be the transom, My question here is should i do floor replacement first or transom replacement first ? [h=1][/h]
 

friderday

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Good idea tarheel..if it's simple enough, I would set the cap back on her, do your braces, then remove the cap again for transom as you will need it out for that chore. . Transom first...maybe lay a piece of old plywood on the hull back there to give you brace to work off of while you prep/grind/scrape/etc. Once you get the transom tabbed in, I'd put the cap back on, as jig suggested I think, then work on the deck, including further demo, grinding, etc. Also, depending on your deck height, you might consider cutting your foam access holes BEFORE installing deck. This is especially important if you don't have a whole lot of under deck/bilge area. I was too nervous that I would just let her rip & hole saw all the way down thru the hull. I cut a few after I put csm on the underside, but before install/tabbing in. Once I got it tabbed in, I was ready to pour foam. Just save your pucks(label if need be)..
 

Tarheelsportsman

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Jul 13, 2014
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Good idea tarheel..if it's simple enough, I would set the cap back on her, do your braces, then remove the cap again for transom as you will need it out for that chore. . Transom first...maybe lay a piece of old plywood on the hull back there to give you brace to work off of while you prep/grind/scrape/etc. Once you get the transom tabbed in, I'd put the cap back on, as jig suggested I think, then work on the deck, including further demo, grinding, etc. Also, depending on your deck height, you might consider cutting your foam access holes BEFORE installing deck. This is especially important if you don't have a whole lot of under deck/bilge area. I was too nervous that I would just let her rip & hole saw all the way down thru the hull. I cut a few after I put csm on the underside, but before install/tabbing in. Once I got it tabbed in, I was ready to pour foam. Just save your pucks(label if need be)..
This sounds like the perfect plan friderday, you got any suggestions on resins, I was kinda leaning towards using a polyester laminating resin because of cost.
 
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