1974 Grady White Restoration

[jigngrub]

I've looked into the windshield..........Does anyone have any clue on how the heck to take them off???

Post some pics of the base of it, you may have to pop or slide off some trim to expose the fasteners.

 

[Derekxj]

Post some pics of the base of it, you may have to pop or slide off some trim to expose the fasteners.

I will try and take some photo's this evening. Thanks. Looks like a pain either way!

 

[Derekxj]

Hello Gents,
So this weekend i had some free time, so i busted out the tools and got to work for a little while before the rain completely stopped me in my tracks. See attached photo's. Lastly.........the video ( this is traumatizing! That WAS 3/4 ply!!! ). While sure, i was amazed at the fact that these side boards were COMPLETELY rotted ( more-so on the port side ), but i was even more amazed that the PO used construction adhesive to make repairs on such items. :facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm:

Once I got the side's stripped down i understood how they built this. The upper portion, is clearly the skin of the hull. This i absolutely do NOT like. If im banging around the inside of my boat with tools, gaff's, anchors, it wouldnt take much to slip up being the clutz that i am and put a hole through the boat. I need to do something about this. The " shelf " if you will, is simply a build out. Not sure if its there for structural purposes or if it was built onto the side of the hull in order to provide the base for the shelf that was there. I was VERY surprised about how flimsy this fiberglass was. Im talking, really thin. if i took the side of my fist and hit it nice and hard i bet i could put my hand right through it. Feel free to contribute your 2 cents, or 4, or whatever you can give to this young punk!











Now this i really dont understand. It appears that this could almost be factory. But really?????? 2x4s ???? Also, the wood just stops. The only thing on the gunnels is the top most piece of fiberglass. This could be why the gunnel where my rod holders are mounted are so flexy. Maybe i''ll have to tab in a nice thick piece of plywood under there once i really get into this thing for added support? SHOULD i take all of this foam out? or leave it in place? When i looked up as high as i could, i saw what looked like threads coming down that i believe are holding the windshield. Maybe its just a post with nuts? Remove or leave in foam. Decisions!




I know its not much gents, but im proud of this pile!



^^ This is a split / crack of sorts in the top of the " shelf " on the starboard side. LIke i said, its really crappy flimsy stuff. Not sure if these shelves are here for structural reasons or not, but either way, i wish they weren't here.

 

[jigngrub]

That's a start!

All that rot and bad workmanship is typical to older neglected boats, and you should expect to find a lot more of it. On the bright side, you'll put it back together a lot better than it has been in decades... probably better than factory and you'll have a like new boat for a very small fraction of the cost of a brand new one.

 

[Derekxj]

That's a start!

All that rot and bad workmanship is typical to older neglected boats, and you should expect to find a lot more of it. On the bright side, you'll put it back together a lot better than it has been in decades... probably better than factory and you'll have a like new boat for a very small fraction of the cost of a brand new one.

Thanks for the input. I would concur. I did feel a bit sad pulling apart something that i know is so old, and potentially not to put it back but hey thats how the cookie crumbles! I just dont understand why they'd design the boat like this. The main reason i hate these side pieces on boats is because on every boat i've seen, it seems to just be a complete haven for mold, and water to leak into.

I had a quick thought. Lets say i make a completely sealed and tabbed in deck on this boat like i want to, so theres no water able to get under the deck ( kind of like mako's and most center consoles have floor wise ), how the hell does moisture and maybe a LITTLE water from deck hatches etc, escape???? Could this not also cause problems? do these hermetically sealed decks need to be vented?

 

[jigngrub]

With a boat like that you really need an active bilge. One where the water drains off of the deck and into the bilge to be pumped out or drained while it's on the trailer.

If you want a sealed deck and deck drain system where the water doesn't go below deck, you can't have hatches and below deck storage... well you can, but like you're thinking... there will just be too many chances of water getting below deck and then you won't be able to drain it out.

An active bilge provides a certain amount of ventilation below deck when the boat is on the trailer and the bilge drain plug is pulled.

 

[Derekxj]

i understand this rational. It makes sense i guess. Now.............i've got a small area in the back as you've seen. a bilge area, where all of the water below deck appears to be able to drain into. THIS is where there was a bilge pump located when i got the boat. I feel like this setup is all wrong and i dont know why, i just get that feeling.
I know several things for sure. A. the cabin drain is not feathered just below floor grade level like ive seen on most boats, so water in the cabin floor sits unless boat is on an extreme angle.
B. i do not want water anywhere NEAR the foam in the future.
C. Currently, water was able to get under the deck, from the sides of boat under those stupid storage buildouts........This cannot happen. I want to be able to powerwash the floor of this boat and only have water go where its supposed to. I guess, more on this to come !

 

[jigngrub]

Water won't hurt your foam as long as you keep your boat drained and don't let water accumulate and stand for excessive amounts of time (months/years).

This is from a marine foam supplier off their FAQ list:

[SIZE=-1]14. Is this foam water resistant?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]Yes, but with the following caveat. The foams that we sell are considered closed-cell, which means that each cell that makes up the foam structure is completely closed off from surrounding cells which prevents it from acting like a sponge. It is completely safe for this foam to be in contact with water for hours/days/weeks and even months with no adverse effects. However, it should never be submerged in contact with water permanently. Over a period of years the water contact can begin to soften the foam and cause it to lose its closed-cell status. This foam is designed primarily to be used as an insurance policy in case of damage/holes that could cause a vessel to lose buoyancy. Pinhole sized openings would essentially have no effect on the foam since the amount of exposure is so minimal but you should always make repairs as soon as possible to keep the foam effectiveness as good as possible. This will be the case with all after market closed-cell polyurethane foams and even manufacturer installed foams.[/SIZE]

All the wet foam you see in the rebuild threads in this forum is from years and years of neglect to those boats, Being stored outdoors uncovered and exposed to the elements. Rain, snow, and ice allowed to accumulate and not drain off because the plug was never pulled or the drain hole became stopped up with debris.

When you build your boat back, provide drainage... this will be burned into your brain after you tear out all the rot and see what neglect and exposure has caused.

After your boat is built keep it drained covered and dry... you may become anal about this, I know I have. If my boat isn't on the water being used, it is covered and dry on the trailer. When I wash my boat on the inside, it's done on a warm sunny day and left uncovered to dry out completely before recovering. Just a little time and effort goes a long way in keeping your boat dry problem free.

 

[Derekxj]

Water won't hurt your foam as long as you keep your boat drained and don't let water accumulate and stand for excessive amounts of time (months/years).

This is from a marine foam supplier off their FAQ list:


All the wet foam you see in the rebuild threads in this forum is from years and years of neglect to those boats, Being stored outdoors uncovered and exposed to the elements. Rain, snow, and ice allowed to accumulate and not drain off because the plug was never pulled or the drain hole became stopped up with debris.

When you build your boat back, provide drainage... this will be burned into your brain after you tear out all the rot and see what neglect and exposure has caused.

After your boat is built keep it drained covered and dry... you may become anal about this, I know I have. If my boat isn't on the water being used, it is covered and dry on the trailer. When I wash my boat on the inside, it's done on a warm sunny day and left uncovered to dry out completely before recovering. Just a little time and effort goes a long way in keeping your boat dry problem free.

interesting facts about the closed cell foam. Thanks for the info. I'll be sure to keep this all in mind when the time comes!!

 

[Derekxj]

Top of the morning to ya all!

So last night when i got home from work, i was feeling froggy and hopped inside the Ol' Grady with my demo tools of choice. Let's just say in the bad part of the floor, i didnt even need the circular saw. Just the claw side of the hammer and a slight tug. I immediately noticed several things about the boat, and the travesty that had occurred. It appears as though the port side had rotted once before. it seems to me, that this was the side that was " fixed " BIG quotations there. They used some thin garbage sheeting board, and liquid nails, and ROOFING nails to attach this crap to the stringers. Oh, and did i mention the " L " brackets they used to tie the boards into the stringers?

With that, i began ripping up the front section of the floor aft cabin. I immedietly said to myself. " where the F is all the foam???? " I was only able to see the beginning of some foam, looking back toward the stern. Was there ever foam? I also noticed. " where is the gas tank????? " That appeared to be gone also. I did notice in the center behind the cabin doors a few pieces of that white vinyl board on the bottom of the hull with a bunch of screw holes. was this the anchor point for the original tank? I ALSO noticed, there seemed to be " extra" supports under there. Not sure what this was about, but the original stringers, i could probably breathe on the fiberglass cap looking pieces that were running ontop of them and they would come off. they were completely bubbled and not affixed to the wood any longer.

My main concern, is that i wanted to see how strong the hull was as i've been told by you folks that i'll be able to walk on the bare shell. To my suprise.....it did NOT feel as " strong " as i thought that it would. I didnt like the way it felt flexing under my feet. im about 6' - 235. I really really do not want to find myself cracking the shell of this boat by stepping on it. Is this normal for it to feel flexy a bit? Or am i going to need to layer my entire hull with additional glass? See photo's. attached. I'd love some input here gents, as i really dont know what im doing.................in the slightest bit! lol!






Here you can see the white vinyl junk i was talking about on the bottom of the hull.

 

[Rickmerrill]

Hey Derek, you can thicken up the hull if you want but I tend to think the engineers at GW knew what they were doing when they designed it. With all the bones missing it's going to be flimsy but once you get all the structure back in and some foam you'll be amazed just how strong it is. I'd just add some support under the hull to stiffen it up so you can safely move around inside but that's just a suggestion.

 

[Derekxj]

Hey Derek, you can thicken up the hull if you want but I tend to think the engineers at GW knew what they were doing when they designed it. With all the bones missing it's going to be flimsy but once you get all the structure back in and some foam you'll be amazed just how strong it is. I'd just add some support under the hull to stiffen it up so you can safely move around inside but that's just a suggestion.

well that's the thing. The structure isnt out of it. I've only removed a small portion of the floor thus far which is why im not sure why the hull would feel not okay to put all my weight on under the force of only one foot. I cannot unfortunately get extra support under the hull until its in its final place of rest for rebuild which wont be for at least another month. Due to this, for now i will only be removing the floor and foam. Stringers and transom ( with engine ), will not be touched just yet.

 

[Derekxj]

Morning All!

Quick question as this weekend my goal is to remove the rest of the floor, and get the windshield off.

In order to get the windshield off im almost positive i need access to the bottom, however i cant access the bottom ( i dont think ), because all of this foam is in the way. Now. this foam is 110% dry. Very old, but dry. Im not sure at all why the factory put foam here. IF i remove it, how the heck would i be able to put foam back here or would it even be required?????

 

[pckeen]

If you need that flotation foam for flotation, then you are really in trouble. I'm wondering if the purpose of that foam is to provide some stiffness to the panels there.

 

[Derekxj]

If you need that flotation foam for flotation, then you are really in trouble. I'm wondering if the purpose of that foam is to provide some stiffness to the panels there.

This was my thoughts as well. Additionally, I was curious about these rediculous 2 x 4's that seem to be holding that foam up and framing it in. Is there any way these things can be factory? raw, un epoxied wood like that? Something doesnt add up. Now, lets say i remove that foam thats only in there for panel rigidity, how would one add it back??

 

[Woodonglass]

IF you want to add it back, I'd recommend using the Blue/Pink Slab foam and cutting it to fit and gluing it in place.

 

[Derekxj]

IF you want to add it back, I'd recommend using the Blue/Pink Slab foam and cutting it to fit and gluing it in place.

Wow really???? you can use this stuff on a boat? lol. I used to use that stuff for making sketch models in architecture school. I had gotten pretty fancy using home-made hot wires and stuff. Its a PITA working with those big blocks, especially when it comes time to try and attach them in place in any way shape or form being as most stuff, especially glues / epoxies will flat out MELT that foam. Do you glass it in somehow? orr?

 

[Woodonglass]

Epoxy won't melt it, and yes it's 100% closed cell foam and is used all the time here on the forum. The "Tin Boat" guys use it a lot for their Under Deck Flotation foam. Some of the Glassers use it too. It's NOT impervious to fuel though so you have to be careful using it in certain areas but in your case it would be fine. Pretty sure they used it for stiffening purposes. I'd add it back for sure. I would recommend sealing the wood however. Don't think you'd need to epoxy it unless you want. There's many other ways to seal the wood especially since it wont see much water. A couple of coats of oil base paint will probably be good enuf.

 

[Derekxj]

Epoxy won't melt it, and yes it's 100% closed cell foam and is used all the time here on the forum. The "Tin Boat" guys use it a lot for their Under Deck Flotation foam. Some of the Glassers use it too. It's NOT impervious to fuel though so you have to be careful using it in certain areas but in your case it would be fine. Pretty sure they used it for stiffening purposes. I'd add it back for sure. I would recommend sealing the wood however. Don't think you'd need to epoxy it unless you want. There's many other ways to seal the wood especially since it wont see much water. A couple of coats of oil base paint will probably be good enuf.

Very interesting. Thankyou much. That wood was only there to screw those side panels into i think. I need to really come up with a game plan for stiffening the ENTIRE legnth of the gunnel where i'll be mounting rod holders and stuff. Im probably going to layer a few thicknesses of either that thick fiberglass mat or maybe even glass in some marine plywood under there, THEN drill in my rod holders and such. Mind you, i will be sending out 16' aluminum outriggers off the side of this boat, and will most likely have downriggers mounted on the back. I will potentially also need these gunnels to be strong enough to fight a couple hundred pound fish from, instead of using a stand up belt and harness setup. With All of this being said, Im going to pull out that wood and all of that foam tonight and attempt to get at the studs for the windshield tonight. Pictures soon!

 

[Woodonglass]

Once you get her "Gutted", It'll be much easier to "SEE" the possibilities of how she and be reconfigured to meet your needs. Lot's easier to work from a "Clean Slate"