87 Ebbtide fish and ski hull separation question

[Antihero27]

I have a 87 ebbtide where I am planing to replace stringers and transom. The removing of the top from the hull has me concerned though. I've read where people talk of the hull expanding out upon removal of top and to combat this I thought I would make a two x four sandwich running two 3/8 threaded rod between the sides of the boat. This would require four small holes to be drilled at the rub rail area, but that could be easily patched. Is this a good idea? Or is this being overly concerned? Is it really a big problem?

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 87 Ebbtide fish and ski hull separation question

Building a cradle to hold your hull to the proper shape is the way to go, here's a thread on how to do it:

http://forums.iboats.com/boat-restoration-building-hull-repair/boat-hull-cradle-help-584635.html

 

[Friscoboater]

Re: 87 Ebbtide fish and ski hull separation question

You will need to build a cradle. My current restoration did not spread at all, but then again i have a VERY wide cradle.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 87 Ebbtide fish and ski hull separation question

I replied in your other thread:

You should ask a Mod to condense your thread(s) down to just 1. Having 2 places w/ the same question, can get confusing as you get advice, ask followup questions, and particularly for anyone that finds 1 but not the other later......

But Jig & Frisco have you covered too..........

 

[Antihero27]

Re: 87 Ebbtide fish and ski hull separation question

I replied in your other thread:


But Jig & Frisco have you covered too..........

Thanks, I will ask mod to do such.

thanks to all who have responded...
I suppose I now must ask the inevitable stupid question. How is that cradle much more than what the trailer supports? The only difference I notice is the top support running further down the boat. And I notice there are several folks on here who have failed to build cradles for stringer,transom repair. Are they really fools with distorted boats?

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 87 Ebbtide fish and ski hull separation question

As Frisco noted, his hull didn't deflect. As his 3rd project, I'm sure he fully, completely & thoroughly checked many dimensions & measurements before & after the cap came off to make sure it's not moving.

His is 1 model of Glastron, mine is another. They are not even remotely similar in structure & hull rigidity.

Think of the trailer like the strange shoe/foot size measuring plate at a shoe store, the boat is then the shoe. Measure your foot, get a size, get a pair of shoes that size & they fit 100% of people 100% of the time, right? Nope, not even remotely.... But yes sometimes it's a good fit..............

I suspect that some guys get lucky, even when their hull moves the cap goes back on easy. Others can get the cap to fit, w/ some degree of effort, but it stresses the fiberglass because the hull has moved. Others have some rework to do because it is just too much of a difference.

Like I said, it's not just the spread of the hull's sides, the hull can also sag along the bottom of the hull. It's hard to catch when it does, and although he did what he thought was a sufficient cradle, PMC's ChrisCraft got a horrible deflection glassed into his hull:
Man vs. Boat (season 1). You'll have to find it, but he has a pix of the problem near the end of his thread.......

Despite his best efforts, he couldn't get it resolved, he abandoned the project, sold it entirely, and is currently a very happy tin boat rebuilder: 1988 Sea Nymph GLS - 17'

There have been at least 2 other threads in the last 6+/- months where the cradle failed (PMC did have a collapse) or wasn't sufficient & the cap did not go back on easily, or well..

Like I said, it is much better to err on the extra & unneeded cradle then to not & have needed 1 or a better 1......

Google 'hull hook' or 'hooked hull'.....

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 87 Ebbtide fish and ski hull separation question

I suppose I now must ask the inevitable stupid question. How is that cradle much more than what the trailer supports? The only difference I notice is the top support running further down the boat. And I notice there are several folks on here who have failed to build cradles for stringer,transom repair. Are they really fools with distorted boats?

The trailer is designed to hold the boat in it's most rigid form, completely assembled.

Taking a cap off of a boat weakens it, removing a transom weakens it even more... remove the stringers and foam and a fiberglass hull becomes pretty floppy and needs support where it didn't when it was assembled.

A lot of it has to do with hull design, and it looks to me like the "pointy" bowed speed and bass boats may not need as much additional support as the wider bowriders and trihulls do.

Some of it depends on the trailer design too.

As JBC already said "It's better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it".