Boston Whaler chainsawed in half...

Don CS · Mar 1, 2003

Here is a project I will tackle this summer: http://groups.msn.com/BostonWhalerProject/shoebox.msnw The boat was halved as a promo stunt a couple years ago for a California boat show.

DJ · Mar 1, 2003

Re: Boston Whaler chainsawed in half...

Don, I would have serious reservations about that. I do not know how you could ever make that joint strong enough and still look right.

Seaboo2 · Mar 2, 2003

Re: Boston Whaler chainsawed in half...

Hum.... Just place a transom on 1 half, a bow on the other and have 2 boats for the price of 1. I'm of the same oppion as Djohns19. I'd be concerned about the structual strenth when the "patching" is done (of course.... It is proven that both halfs will float, so if it didn't hold, you can always paddle the front to shore and try again).

crab bait · Mar 2, 2003

Re: Boston Whaler chainsawed in half...

what's your project..?? to float it around different marina's to show a BW can still float if sawed in-half

FLATHEAD · Mar 2, 2003

Re: Boston Whaler chainsawed in half...

Go for it Don. Only thing is I hope you didnt pay anything for it.

Don CS · Mar 2, 2003

Re: Boston Whaler chainsawed in half...

I share everyones concern about strength in a rejoined whaler, but as seaboo points out, if the bow breaks off I will take it under tow and continue motoring. I don't have a dime in this boat so far, I just didn't want to fit it in a dumpster, so I took on the project. At the least, I will have a harbor dinghy, which is my primary need, and it will never look "right". Especially after I paint band-aids all over the repaired seam and name it "Repaired" or "Rejoined" or some such silly name. Any suggestions for names?

snapperbait · Mar 2, 2003

Re: Boston Whaler chainsawed in half...

I like it.. Go with the Band aids and maybe some stitches and name it "Ouch"...

crab bait · Mar 2, 2003

Re: Boston Whaler chainsawed in half...

well, in the case i'll help ya.. take some ( quite a few ) big closet rod type dowel rods .. say 1 1/4 inches.. but let the decidsion be made with a matchin' 'paddle/spade drill bit.. an a spade bit 'extention' made by 'IRVING'... cut 'rods to the lenght ..just shy of bit/extention combo lenght times two.. drill in foam around the boat.. say 3 in the side,, 4 in the bottom,, an 3 in the other side.. epoxy them in... the other half of the boat,, make matchin' holes.. but you can/should make these holes alot bigger.. bigger is better .. as so to go an line up the 2 halves.. makes it easier... just stick the dowels JUST inside the big sloppy holes ( i swear this ain't xrated ) an fill holes with a can of expandable foam.. but before hand,, first put hand made epoxy putty around the circumforance of the sawed hull .. both halves.. workin' dilligently is imparitive.. don't want this to set up on ya.. you should have a 1/2 hour or more at 70 f... then 'shoot' the foam.. slamm the two halfs together.. the rest ,, is fiberglass cloth work.. good luck..

Valv · Mar 3, 2003

Re: Boston Whaler chainsawed in half...

Only one thing I can say: JB will be so happy, they did show Whalers are GREAT boats (just in case we didn't know it). JB, I forgot to wish you Happy 5000th !!! Even if I didn't think you were that old

but still looking good !!

bidlimit · Mar 11, 2003

Re: Boston Whaler chainsawed in half...

You could also grind the edges of the joint down and fit a piece of fiberglass tape inside. This way, there won't be a big sloppy piece of fiberglass tape just sittin' on the deck. You could sand it down and fill it with some filler, and make it look halfway decent.

bayman · Mar 11, 2003

Re: Boston Whaler chainsawed in half...

I'm not a fiberglass expert so we'll let those experts comment here... What if you were to grind away most or all of the top fiberglass layer next to where the boat is cut in half. Maybe it would be a foot or more by however deep the top layer of fiberglass is. Then you would lay a few layers of new resin and fiberglass 2 feet wide. Then you grind away the excess resin and fiberglass and buff it to a fine finish. Then finish up with a new gelcoat. It seems to me that it would look pretty good, be smooth and be pretty strong. - bayman

tmcalavy · Mar 11, 2003

Re: Boston Whaler chainsawed in half...

I would follow crab baits advice, with the dowels. The angle of the cut is almost like that of a scarf joint used to join two sheets of plywood when building a ply boat. I would think about adding two to three butt joints, longitudinally, inside and out. Check out the wooden boat building sites to see what a butt joint is. Looks very workable, especially for what you will use it for.

ebbtide176 · Mar 11, 2003

Re: Boston Whaler chainsawed in half...

this topic just makes ya wanna say - crabbie aint afraid o nuttin! we need someone to donate a cutNhaf hull for him to give us pics on...

b.gagnon · Mar 12, 2003

Re: Boston Whaler chainsawed in half...

Make sure you get all the water out of the hull before you try to join it back together.

crab bait · Mar 12, 2003

Re: Boston Whaler chainsawed in half...

that was cute.,,EBB..an funny ,,too... i reckon your rite.. i got all the tools ,,a little heated shop,, three chain store marine centers,,an a few good 'mom & pop' stores locally.. also have alittle know-how,, patience,, an a whole alotta 'stick-to'... had some money ,too.. but i got into boatin',,well,,all among ya know the story.. i'm serious,, i was thinkin' the same thing.. wish i had that project..!! BADLY..!! i know just what to do.. it would take two to three weeks to finish.. I'M FOAMIN' AT THE MOUTH.. SOMEONE GIVE ME A SAWED-OFF WHALER....... P L A A E A S E...

BillP · Mar 12, 2003

Re: Boston Whaler chainsawed in half...

I think dowels will wallow out the foam if you just do holes and epoxy them in...foam is not structural in this application. I would carve the foam out on each half enough to epoxy/glass an internal "cleat" on one side and epoxy the other side to the cleat. The whole width could be 12" or so. This isn't like scarfing wood where you need a 5:1 length ratio. Epoxy would probably hold it if you just glued the butts and jointed them but I wouldn't try it. Make the cleat with enough clearance and you can sandwich a few layers of woven roven in when putting the halves together. To beef this up you could add external wood runners on the bottom like old plywood boats had. Make them out of oak or solid fiberglass and epoxy to the bottom. Place one on each side. These could also be added to the hull sides as rub or spray rails.

crab bait · Mar 12, 2003

Re: Boston Whaler chainsawed in half...

the dowels ain't for structure.. it's to hold/line up the two halves.. the fiberglassin' adds the structure..

BillP · Mar 13, 2003

Re: Boston Whaler chainsawed in half...

Crabbait The way you are describing dowel installation appears to me you still have to align the hulls when the dowels are being glued in. A sure way to line the hulls up is to fasten steel straps (say 1/4"thick x 2"wide x 36"long)to the exterior sides, side everything together and secure with self tapping screws until the epoxy is dry. Then remove all straps and patch. I was using the cleat to line up the two hulls. The hulls could also be mechanically fastened from the exterior to the cleat and then plugged for cosmetics. One side of the cleat is glassed in and the other side of the cleat is epoxy glued (and mechanically fastened if desired).

G DANE · Mar 30, 2003

Re: Boston Whaler chainsawed in half...

Hi Don CS Im sure it can be done. I once looked at buing a 24" cabin boat. It turned out to be a 21 foot hull the factory took apart and build longer with a mid-section. If you sharpen the glassfiber plate 1 3/4" Inch aside from the cut for each 1/32" the fiberglass it thick, the repair will have same strength as the original. It will be some of a job though. Take it this way: 1/4 glasfiber will need 1 1/2 foot of repair !

Firestomper · Mar 30, 2003

Re: Boston Whaler chainsawed in half...

and i was worrying about getting my boat running good enough to put in the watter... after seeing this. Who ever said if theres a will theres a way wasn't lieing

Boston Whaler chainsawed in half...

Recruit

DJ

Guest

Petty Officer 2nd Class

Captain

Commander

Recruit

Vice Admiral

Captain

Petty Officer 1st Class

Petty Officer 2nd Class

Senior Chief Petty Officer

Rear Admiral

Commander

Master Chief Petty Officer

Captain

Captain

Captain

Captain

Commander

Seaman Apprentice