Hull down to the shell .. Dont let this happen to you !!

Well, though it is not as far along as I would have liked , my hull is stripped <br />This picure shows the last little bit of the transom wood. It was all soaked. <br /><br />This picture shows the front bow storage area. This has also been removed. <br />I debated about removing this area, but I plan to make the storage area just a little bigger. Once the floatation foam was removed I was glad I took the plunge... The foam was wet .. and the plywood on the bottom of the storage compartment was rotten.. <br /><br />This is the transom area before I disected it a lot of damage...notice where the screw goes thru .. black wood ! <br /><br />I have the epoxy ordered the wood for the stingers and picking up the 3/4 in marine plywood this week or next. <br /> <br /><br />Thats all there is for now , just glass. BTW the stringers were broken in at least 4 places. If your boat does not act right on the water (mine did the bouncy bouncy thing ) make sure your hull is not damaged. Yea I tried a lot of things to correct the problem but in my heart I knew it was something sinister. To everyone ... PLEASE dont let this happen to you buy a cover for you boat .. prop the nose up and remove the drain plug. Put a fan under the cover .. ANY thing to keep the water from laying stagnent in your boat !! BTW if you screw anything to the floor I recommend running the screw in running it out pouring epoxy in the hole then run it back in (more epoxy on the head please ). Every place there was a screw thru the floor it had a area 6 inches around it rotten !!

Re: Hull down to the shell .. Dont let this happen to you !!

Good work, Maximerc. Sometimes there is nothing like a clean slate. She'll be one strong beauty when you are finished.<br /><br />

Originally posted by Maximerc:<br /> Every place there was a screw thru the floor it had a area 6 inches around it rotten !!

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I hear ya on that, Maximerc. My 1/2" floor was also rotten everywhere something was screwed thru it. In my rebuild, all areas that were to receive screws now have blocks under them. I'll predrill the holes and saturate with CPES before running the screws back in. <br /><br />For my seat assemblies, I cut in epoxy impregnated 2 x material under the flooring across the stringers and epoxied to the hull. Now when I run my seat lags in, they really have something to bite on.

Re: Hull down to the shell .. Dont let this happen to you !!

I think Boomyal’s procedure will work fine, or better. To set lags ‘properly’ requires pre-drilling out a hole about 1/4 inch bigger than the threads on all sides, fill the hole with epoxy, then inserting the lag with waxed threads. After the epoxy sets, remove the lag. Now you have a threaded epoxy base in which to seat the lag when assembling the floor. It’s a lot of work but the wood is protected, the lag never touches the wood.<br /><br />Btw, to fill the holes with CPES those little plastic syringes work well. At $3 for a 2-pak they are pricy. Try a local art/sculpture supply. Same critters are about $.50 each, many different sizes, too. My local sculpture supply also has small qualities of all kinds of fiberglassing stuff. They also have nifty rubber mixing bowls for alginates and plasters. I was thinking about getting one to mix small qualities of epoxy in. I hope it doesn’t stick to rubber?!? … never tried.

Re: Hull down to the shell .. Dont let this happen to you !!

Looks sweet. Now you get to do the fun part...

Re: Hull down to the shell .. Dont let this happen to you !!

Thanks for the words of encouagement. Really looking forward to putting those first few NEW parts on her. Going to use Marine 3/4 for the transom x2 then 1/2 exterior for the floor. That 150 Merc hanging on the back deserves the best to push against !

Re: Hull down to the shell .. Dont let this happen to you !!

Before you start laying down your stringers,make sure you have the boat in a cradle that is true to the hull.if not,the bottom of the boat will not be true and will not run right.Your stringers will shift out of place when you are climing in and out of the boat as you work before the glass is set.Looks good,you have your hands full.

Re: Hull down to the shell .. Dont let this happen to you !!

gee, looks like mine, lol.<br />I know what your up against, but I keep telling myself, at least I know it is all done properly.

Re: Hull down to the shell .. Dont let this happen to you !!

Hull trueness is something to be concerned about, but not that difficult to deal with. You do not have to build a huge crazy complicated cradle. The shell will want to stay in its original shape from the mold. In fact, it is always best to let a shell set for several days to allow it to return to its original shape. Boat hulls develop warps, hooks, and bows from having bad structure and sitting on a trailer for a long period.<br /><br /> If it is on a good roller or bunk trailer that evenly supports it, it will be fine. The shell will retain its shape, but you have to be careful about how you lay the stringers in. I personally recommend doing one stringer at a time, and letting each stringer cure before going to the next. The reason being that your weight in the shell will alter the shape a bit. If you are glassing in stringers with your weight on the shell bottom, the stringers will cure and cause the shell to retain that small change in shape. If you lay in one stringer and get out of the shell, it will cure and hold the true hull shape. As you do each stringer, the hull gets stronger. By the time you have all your sringers in, hull deformation is no longer a concern. Good luck...

Re: Hull down to the shell .. Dont let this happen to you !!

is why I bought an AL hull with Al stringers...

Re: Hull down to the shell .. Dont let this happen to you !!

Hull is sitting on a double bunk trailer. Only one set of stringers on this project too. Today I built the new transom and the forward bulkhead. I love the smell of fresh plywood!!

Re: Hull down to the shell .. Dont let this happen to you !!

Before you start laying down your stringers,make sure you have the boat in a cradle that is true to the hull.if not,the bottom of the boat will not be true and will not run right.Your stringers will shift out of place when you are climing in and out of the boat as you work before the glass is set.Looks good,you have your hands full.

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Amen to that.<br /><br />You want to make sure that your boat trailer bunks extend beyond the transom, or you may glass a "hook" in the hull.

Re: Hull down to the shell .. Dont let this happen to you !!

DJ , Good point on the trailer bunks , they extend 2 inches past the butt. My Dad use to sell boats and trailers , always insisted they be a bit long. Will have a few more pixs of the fresh wood work soon.