confirmation of fiberglass/resin choices for old Glasspa Stringer and Deck repair

ianmoore

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Hadn't thought of the access plate. That is an interesting idea..hmm..
Here is a question..may come across as a bit dense:

Why is the sump area needed? If the stringers are open, and well glassed, and the deck is pretty watertight, wouldn't it be best to allow any water to clearly flow back to the Garboard drain?

It also seems that the best place for an actual bilge pump would be in the deep V, where the cubby starts. That would also be a low impact place for a hatch, as theoretically there should be little above deck water there anyway. When the boat is in the water, or trailered, this is the deepest part of the hull

I hope I'm not coming across as argumentative, as i really appreciate the advice and ideas. More that I am just learning, and trying to take a classic design that had a couple of flaws and make some simple improvements. I feel good about moving the keel stringer off of the transom. That was a weak spot.

I'm hoping to set this boat up so that with a little care it will last for a long time

Best
Ian
 

Willyclay

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I have been tagging along your thread because I love everything Glasspar and wanted a Seafair Sedan when they were new! WOG recommended the sump area and I will let him respond to your question. He posts stuff for a reason and only does high-quality work. IMHO the forward location for the bilge pump would be less desirable and effective. I believe that water in the boat will accumulate at the stern regardless of whether the boat is stationary or underway. How is sits on the trailer is another issue. Good luck!
 
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ianmoore

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It sure is a beautiful boat! Really loving working on it! I have zero boat knowledge coming into this. My father in law worked building boats years ago. He is much more cavalier then I am, but he also has 60 something years of woodworking and boatwork, so I try to balance out what i'm gleaning with his common sense and knowledge.
I was doing some gelcoat repair on the splashwell tonight. I bought finish gelcoat when i should have bought a paste, as i'm filling some decent scratches/gashes etc. Anyway, going along filling and taking a deep joy in restoring these old parts to a nicer state. I don't have the means, time or financial, to do what some have done, but I do have the same aesthetic, and Its a joy to see the boat slowly transforming.
I did what i think is my last major grinding today. I may have to frame the tyvek suit. Scared the heck out of my dog. Letting the glue set on the stringers, which takes way longer then i thought it would, and glassing them in tomorrow and Friday!
 

Woodonglass

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IM, you can add some cabosil to your gelcoat to make your own gelcoat paste.;)
 

ianmoore

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Thanks WOG! I actually stumbled upon that last night! Learning S L O W L Y!
 

ianmoore

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Lots of grinding yesterday and an unhappy shopvac today. Filleted in all of the stringers, and quick grinding tomorrow and then tabbing. Hopefully I can get them wrapped tomorrow. Goal is to get this done this weekend and then install the deck when i get back to town in a couple of weeks.
-I still have a question about how to handle the cross pieces.
Should i glass in the notches that they sit in?
I am buying some new mahogany for the . Should i glass these pieces as well? FIL says to coat them in resin and install them in a non glassed notch. I guess if i did that i would be looking to go pretty thick on the PB around the joint. It seems that this is where they were rotting the most, as well as delaminated figerglass, when i took the boat apart.

I scored twins Mercs today! A TOP 115HP and a 8.5 kicker! Looking to find an appropriate and affordable steering package
 

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Woodonglass

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Notches? Got pics? If the stringers are sitting in the strakes of the hull then yes the strakes should be filled In solid with something. Your hull needs to be cleaned and ground down to fresh clean "Pink Glass" to allow the new glass to adhere properly.
 

ianmoore

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I'm about to grind it back down! I guess i should be more specific. Should i wrap the notches that the strakes(i knew there was a word for them) go in, and should i wrap the strakes themselves as well?
 

Woodonglass

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The Notches ARE the Strakes. The Stringers are the Longitudinal pieces of wood running from front to back of the boat that sometimes sit in the strakes. Bulkheads are pieces of wood that run Side to side in the boat across the stringers that add additional support to the hull and the deck/floor.
 

ianmoore

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oh. Thanks! Lingo always gets me.
Maybe it's all the fiberglass dust over the last 2 weeks!
 

ianmoore

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so would you wrap the bulkeads and strakes? Just bought some new mahogany and FIL says to just seal it with resin, and not wrap the strakes, but PB the joint after they are in. He says it should be a wood to wood joint
 

ianmoore

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I was hoping to have the stringers totally wrapped, but I was able to tab them in with 2 layers of 1708. I'm out of town for the next 2 weeks and then will be back at it.
The discolor around the keel stringer is from some mahogany dust that settled on the fillets. I thought they were totally cured. The glass was ground down to clean glass and the tabbing seems pretty sound.

I scored a couple of seats from a friend of mine for nothing! Psyched to have the original seat design in the boat. I need to clean them up a bit and probably reupholster them at some point, but glad to have them. He also has a splashwell from a slightly newer Seafair, which i am going to look at using. My splash-well goes almost to the deck, and has no underneath usable space, as well as precluding me from using a blige-sump area. This would allow me a much more usable space. I just need to make sure they are interchangeable( I think they are)

Now on to the next question!
I am looking to use foamular, since our temps up here don't get in the 80's till August, and I'm not willing to wait that long! If I cut it into strips, filling along the stringers, would this create issues with water flow, should it get under the deck?

Thanks for all the help and suggestions so far> Back at it in a couple of weeks!
 

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ianmoore

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I found another splash-well from a mid 60's sedan. It is not as deep as my(original), which is more of a bathtub style. It needs to be cleaned up, but is in pretty good shape! This will allow better storage and usage of the aft in the main cabin
Did some grinding, cleaning, and started to cap the stringers. I also made a little bulkhead area similar to the mid 60's boats. I will put a couple of PVC holes for drainage once i finish glassing. I'll continue capping and then go back and put some CSM in the strakes.

The glass is laying down pretty well. It's a little tricky to pull the 1708 over the plywood stringers without any airbubbles, but with a bit of work i was able to get it pretty solid. I tabbed up to about 1/2" from the top of the stringers, and then capped down about 2-3". I think i am going to go with just the one layer of 1708 on the caps.
 

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ianmoore

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I spent yesterday trying to cover the strakes in CSM. My technique was a bit of a fail. I used a bunch of small pieces at once, and it mostly turned into a big mess. Did some grinding today to clean it up, put the bulkhead pieces in, and PB'd all the joints, as well as all of the PVC drain holes. I need to inspect everything, and possibly grind down one of the bulkheads a little, but for the most part, I am ready to start plotting out the deck.

I also scored a couple of really nice aluminum tanks. Ground off all of the gunk/paint and have really nice side saddle tanks. I need to get some new hoses, but pretty excited about them
 

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ianmoore

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Today we measure and cut out the deck. It came together pretty easily. I raised it about a half inch from before repair, and i think it is a bit more level, at least as much as i can tell while in it's present state.
I cleaned, resined, and skinned the underside as well. Tomorrow I will cut up the foamular and stuff as much as i can under the deck. I have 3 sheets of 2" foamular. I read somewhere that each sheet is about 335lbs. If that's true, that gets me to my desired floatation weight, which is a bit under 1000lbs. I'm gonna have to get creative with upper placement of foam as i don't have a ton of space. I can cram about 1/5 piece along each gunwhale, and have a bit of space in the fore of the cuddy cabin.
If i finish that I will glue down the deck as well. I'm going to mount a small bilge pump in the sump area and will have a 8" inspection plate that i can remove If i need access to it.
I am also going to start prepping my "new" splashwell. I found some really cool paint that i can get in a satin finish, more like the original paint on the seafair's. I will be going with their light blue: http://www.fisheriessupply.com/marshall-s-cove-marine-paint-traditional-alkyd-enamel
 

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ianmoore

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I had a couple of photos that seemed to have disappeared into the ether. Today I cut up the foamular. I was able to fit about 1 1/2 sheets under the deck. I also mounted the bilge pump, and built a small platform to screw the bilge "auto on" switch to. Cut a hole for the inspection plate, which is right above the bilge in the sump area. The new splash well bought me a bit of space to work with, though it will still be less than ideal to have to get to it.
Tomorrow i will glue the deck down and let it cure. Probably start prepping the spashwell as well
 

ianmoore

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Glued the floor in this morning. I ran some 1/4" foam along the fore section where it was contacting the hull. I have a few stainless screws into my mahogany bulkheads, but nothing into the stringers. The front of the floor is mostly resting on the center stringer, but should firm up with the PB. It is a storage area.
Here are some pics
 

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Mikeopsycho

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Nice job on the foam, looks good. :thumb: And I bet it feels great to have a flat place to stand now!
 

ianmoore

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I'm grateful for steps forward...and something to step on as well!
 

ianmoore

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Yesterday i filleted the floor in. I went back and tabbed 1708 along the sides. I'll start glassing the deck today.
I'm looking into different deck paint ideas. I was originally looking at Zolatone, which was the original deck paint, but the application and price have steered me elsewhere,
I'm been going back and forth between awlgrip, interlux deck, and interlux perfection with some non stick. would love any ideas
 
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