Howdy everyone! I've been lurking on this forum for a little bit, more than likely just over a year or at max two, but now it comes time for me to post up.
About five years ago, my wife and I purchased our boat, a 1964 Larson All American(not 100% sure of length) from her uncle for a song! It came with the trailer and a period original 50 outboard. The boat has been in the family since 1965 when my uncle's parents bought it. After running the boat for just over a year(in total used maybe3-4 hours), the boat sat unused due to some issues with the engine. We ended up replacing the distributor and until I get it back in the water, I can't verify if that cured the issue. I'm 90% sure it will.
But, here nor there, the floor in the boat had developed some soft spots, which were further exacerbated by leaving the boat outside without proper coverage and leaving the drain plug in... I don't need to hear grief from anyone, I feel pretty horrible about the whole thing. The boat has been in our garage for the last two years, waiting for a restoration. I was unable to do it last year due to an untimely shoulder surgery, but there's no time like the present to kick off the new year with a floor restoration.
I'm typing this at work, so I don't have access to pictures, but I will post some up this evening when I get done with pulling out the last bit of floor that needs to come out. Unfortunately, this will be a cap on replacement, so it's going to suck more than normal... I'm fairly certain that it can be done that way, so I'm just going to it that route. Besides, I don't have the space available, nor the tools necessary to do the job that way. So far, I'm guaranteed to have to replace the two wooden stringers in the boat, those are both completely shot.
At any rate, I've been very impressed with the amount of knowledge that has been posted on here about the restoration process for boats like ours. I'm still debating whether to use Seacast for the stringer "wood" replacement, or to just do it like they did originally. I like the idea of using the Seacast, as the fiberglass external structure is still good, but am a bit hesitant as it seems like something completely foreign.
I am curious, but with the Seacast process, it indicates via their website that it needs to be covered after being poured. If I'm very careful with the fiberglass on my stringers, and basically only cut right at the very top, would I be able to pour in sufficient material to bring it right to the top level of the stringer and just let it sit and dry? What would be the necessity to wrap material over the top of the opening? Does Seacast expand/foam as it dries? Does it shrink? Seems like I could lay my plywood flooring directly on top of the newly reformed stringers and call it good, right?
About five years ago, my wife and I purchased our boat, a 1964 Larson All American(not 100% sure of length) from her uncle for a song! It came with the trailer and a period original 50 outboard. The boat has been in the family since 1965 when my uncle's parents bought it. After running the boat for just over a year(in total used maybe3-4 hours), the boat sat unused due to some issues with the engine. We ended up replacing the distributor and until I get it back in the water, I can't verify if that cured the issue. I'm 90% sure it will.
But, here nor there, the floor in the boat had developed some soft spots, which were further exacerbated by leaving the boat outside without proper coverage and leaving the drain plug in... I don't need to hear grief from anyone, I feel pretty horrible about the whole thing. The boat has been in our garage for the last two years, waiting for a restoration. I was unable to do it last year due to an untimely shoulder surgery, but there's no time like the present to kick off the new year with a floor restoration.
I'm typing this at work, so I don't have access to pictures, but I will post some up this evening when I get done with pulling out the last bit of floor that needs to come out. Unfortunately, this will be a cap on replacement, so it's going to suck more than normal... I'm fairly certain that it can be done that way, so I'm just going to it that route. Besides, I don't have the space available, nor the tools necessary to do the job that way. So far, I'm guaranteed to have to replace the two wooden stringers in the boat, those are both completely shot.
At any rate, I've been very impressed with the amount of knowledge that has been posted on here about the restoration process for boats like ours. I'm still debating whether to use Seacast for the stringer "wood" replacement, or to just do it like they did originally. I like the idea of using the Seacast, as the fiberglass external structure is still good, but am a bit hesitant as it seems like something completely foreign.
I am curious, but with the Seacast process, it indicates via their website that it needs to be covered after being poured. If I'm very careful with the fiberglass on my stringers, and basically only cut right at the very top, would I be able to pour in sufficient material to bring it right to the top level of the stringer and just let it sit and dry? What would be the necessity to wrap material over the top of the opening? Does Seacast expand/foam as it dries? Does it shrink? Seems like I could lay my plywood flooring directly on top of the newly reformed stringers and call it good, right?
