King Fisher..... DO OVER@#$#

:facepalm: Do Over...... Soooo... It all started when I happen upon a 1977 King Fisher with a sort of basket case 1974 50hp Evinrude. Was helping a friend of mine at work put in a new bay window and his neighbor had the King Fisher sitting in his yard. The neighbor happened to walk over and to see the new window going in and I asked him if he wanted to part with that boat. He told me..... give me $50.00 and get it out of my yard and its yours..... well I went ahead and give him the 50 there and then and towed it home. Really looked to be in good shape. Deck felt solid, transom looked to be in solid shape, no visual damage, outboard lower end was sort of pulled off for an impeller change. So I get to taking core samples on the transom and what do you know.... NO Rot at all. Did few samples on the deck near the transom as that is usually the trouble spot and also.... NO Rot. SO I proceed to buff the thing out, paint the inside, put down new carpet and pretty much doll her up. I finish pulling the lower unit, which the PO couldn?t get off due to not removing the pin the connects to the shift rod. I install the new impeller and button the lower unit up, install the water muffs, and she runs great. SO me and the wife take it camping this weekend and she starts fine, runs fine, gets on plane fast and runs out about 35mph????.

This is where the story turns to the do over part?? as we are running down the lake we go from the glass smooth water of a cove to the chop of the open water. This is when we notice the deck moving in a wave along with the choppy water under the hull. He deck was moving up and down so much the console was going up and down about 3 inches. We go scared as H#$@ and turned around loaded the boat and left it on the trailer the rest of the weekend. Once I got it home and back in the driveway I proceeded just bypass the core samples and cut a section of the deck to see what was the trouble. Once I got the deck opened up it was total waterlogged wood. The deck on this boat is like nothing I have ever seen. Laminated between the hull and the deck is small pieces of tightly placed blocks of end grain. These blocks of wood have delaminated and are now allowing the deck and the hull to move making the deck flow like a wave. This has only happed in area between the front and rear bench seats. All the rest of the deck is dry and solid (per more core samples).

My plan is to remove the deck fiber glass between the to bench seats, take out all those engrain blocks, clean it all up, glass in some stringer, and deck it with marine ply? totally getting rid of the ends grain blocks.

The work begins tomorrow after I get home from work and I will keep posting until its complete and solid again?..

Sorry such a long read

Re: King Fisher..... DO OVER@#$#

Pictures of after on the first go round....

Re: King Fisher..... DO OVER@#$#

Pictures of the begining of the second go round.....

end grain rotted blocks..

Re: King Fisher..... DO OVER@#$#

wow....that entire belly filled with them end grain blocks??? kinda reminds me of the old government required anti-static factory floors...they were made like that many years ago...3s4 wood blocks about 8 inches long, standing on end grain...packed tightly.

can't say i've ever seen a boat built like that

Re: King Fisher..... DO OVER@#$#

I would keep all the old wood you pull out and weigh it, I have a feeling all that waterlogged wood is not factory, there are several floatation types of foam that will work along with new stringers if they are rotted too. Tell us this was done by the previous owner and not factory?

Re: King Fisher..... DO OVER@#$#

It really looks to me like it is a factory done job. The color of the deck and interior sides look to be in the filberglass itself and not painted on. I don know this.... those blocks are all coming out tonight and will not be going back in!!

mrdjflores..... I worked in an old gun relining plant in Pocatello ID and it had the same sort of floor in it. Would smoke to high heaven when we were welding or using a smoke wrench to cut steel.

Re: King Fisher..... DO OVER@#$#

is that the old fashion way of making wood that follows complicated patterns the deck does look like its shaped lower in the middle like a curved piece of wood or is that just the way the picture looks

Re: King Fisher..... DO OVER@#$#

Glenn.... the hull does have a curve to it, higher on the outside and slopes down to the keel. That may be why it was built like that so it would be easy to follow that curve so the deck would have the same shape/curve.

This is deffinatally a factory job.... you can see the inprints of the end grain in the hull. I didn't get all that rotted blocks out tonight like I had planned. Long regular workhours and igh temps took its toll. needed to get in the A/C for a while.




Claw hammer seems to be the best removal tool..... just grip it and rip it!!


Picture of one of the blocks that came out in one piece....

Re: King Fisher..... DO OVER@#$#

I got all the wood blocks out and have everything cleaned up and sanded. I have cut the new stringers to shape and am currently getting ready to glass them in. This brings me to my next question...... what is the best way to bed in the new stringers?

Re: King Fisher..... DO OVER@#$#

Hang on DD, you have an end grain Balsa Cored hull. Removing it and not replacing it will significantly weaken the structural integrity of the hull. you should either replace the balsa or consider laying CSM and 1708 Fiberlass to strengthen the hull.

Re: King Fisher..... DO OVER@#$#

I was thinking of doing just that after noticed a big hook in the hull as it sites on the trailer. I jacked it up and the hook went away. I am getting the csm ready right now but still neet to know the best way to bed in the stringers.

Re: King Fisher..... DO OVER@#$#

You gotta get the hull fixed before you put any stringers in.

Re: King Fisher..... DO OVER@#$#

Wood.... followed the directions in your link to fabricating decks, stringers and transoms. However, I onlu used 2 layers of CSM and one layer of cloth over that since the hull was nearly 3/8'' thick to start with. I then added 2 stringers down the center about 1'' either side of the keel. I then add 4 stringers.... I think thats what there called..... equally spaced going out toward the poat and starboard sides. I then added my glassed decking over that and glassed it in to the port and starboards sides.... it all worked like a charm and is solid as a rock.