Bilge advice needed

I have removed everything that would unscrew from my 62 Cruiser Inc. The bilge area needs cleaning and refinish/repair. A previous posting by me resulted in suggestions to scrub the bilge thoroughly with a scrub brush and cleaner.

The problem I am having is with the design of the joint at the keel. The ribs that run down the sides end at the keel, but there is piece screwed onto either side of the keel that the ribs are screwed into from below. I can unscrew the side pieces that run along the keel, but it only lifts up fractions of an inch due to the ribs holding them down. As seen in the pictures below, there is a cavity formed by the space between the ribs and lengthwise pieces screwed to the keel. There is no way to clean out these 5/8" high cavities thoroughly. Maybe a toothbrush would get much of it, but there would still be dirt inside the corners.







Any suggestions on what to do?

The ribs are in pretty good shape so I don't want to rip the whole boat apart.

Most of the "gray" color in the bilge is just dirt, so I should probably first wash and scrub it to see the actual condition first.

Thanks
Steve

Re: Bilge advice needed

Any suggestions on what to do?

Click to expand...

Ayuh,... 1st,.. Resize,+ edit your pictures to 480x640...

For that area, grab a Plumber's Brush of the appropriate size,+ Brush away...
That little wirebrush,+ a shopvac, she'll be ready for varnish in no time...

Re: Bilge advice needed

What Bondo said^^^^^ To add a little about getting under the stringers get yourself a boiler cleaning brush or a baby bottle brush. You will be able to get under there and get her clean.

A 62 Cruisers inc. Cool.... Great boats !!!! I have a 73 and an 84 Cruisers inc. How about some pictures of the old girl, I'm a big fan of them

Re: Bilge advice needed

Last night I pressure-washed the bilge with water only, wide fan and low pressure. The pickup tube didn't work so I couldn't mix cleaner with the water. It was getting late so I decided to do an initial cleanup with water. Here's how it looks now:





Looks like the plywood is not rotted, but some of the top layer is delaminating. I'm planning on scraping off all the loose top layer where it is delaminated. Then I'll use small wire brushes to get into the crevices.

I want to refinish the bilge with a clear finish, but is that the best choice in this case? If paint would provide better protection, then I would be willing to paint the whole area that is covered by the floor since it won't be visible anyway. Whatever I use will have to be applied into the crevices where I can't see how well it applied.

What paint/varnish/epoxy should I use?

The previous owner said he refinished it one with linseed oil first and then spar varnish.

I want to use whatever provides the best preotection and is the longest lasting.

Here's a picture of the boat before disassembly:



Thanks
Steve

Re: Bilge advice needed

That's a darn good lookin' boat and seems to be in great shape from the photos...not much prettier than a wooden boat! Good luck!

Re: Bilge advice needed

Over the weekend I unscrewed the keel from below. The plywood was in remarkably good shape from below, it was not soft at all. There are two keel pieces, one 11' long from the transom forward, and a piece about 6' long that curves up the front.




These two pieces are well worm and should probably be replaced.

The previous owner said that there was a leak where the two keel pieces joined. I could see that the keel needed to seal to the plywood otherwise there would be leaks.

Here is a picture of the leaking area without the outer keel piece:




It looks like the bottom edge of the keel strip that is inside the bilge (as seen between the plywood pices in the above picture) may have a little rot along its bottom edge.

An interesting mystery is the joint between the two keel pieces. There is a hole that runs through both pieces and the previous owner said there was a brass peg that was in the hole at one time but had fallen out. See the picture below:




This hole is close to the edge that is against the plywood.


Questions:

1) What wood should I use for the new keel pieces?

2) To make the curved keel piece, should I try to steam a piece or laminate one?

3) How should I seal the plywood/keel joint? I was thinking of turning the boat upside down and filling the joint with epoxy flush with the bottom. This should fill any rotted areas in the inside keel piece. Then I was going to epoxy the new keel pieces to the bottom and screw them on with either flathead screws or through-bolts. Or should I do all this in one big epoxy step?

4) What is the purpose of the hole at the joint of the two keel pieces?

Any information or opinions are greatly appreciated!

Thanks
Steve

Re: Bilge advice needed

I would highly recommend spruce or mahogany ONLY. Steam bending would be prefered but lamination with epoxy is acceptable. No clue as to what the brass plug was for. As to sealing the keel, mixing an epoxy filler would, in my opinon be an optimum method of fixing the rotting and leaking problem. You MUST insure that the wood is DRY or else the rotting WILL continue and the epoxy will NOT bond. flipping the hull would be your best bet and yes you would want to try to make the fill and the keel replacement all one project. I love the old woodies!!! I have a thought of taking an old 15 foot fiberglass v-hull boat, removing the top cap, and replacing it with a wooden top to simulate the old woodies. Not sure when I'll get to it but would love to give it a go.

Good Luck and keep the pics coming.