newbieboater1
Cadet
- Joined
- May 17, 2010
- Messages
- 12
Hello All,
I have been reading on this site for reference for quite some time now, and it has given me enough courage to tackle this project. So, thank you all! Although it seems to be taking more time, I am only working on half of the boat at one time to prevent hull distortion- but I'm not sure if it even matters at this point, and I will explain later. I bought this boat in February, and it seemed solid at the time, but as I found out, all of the water saturated wood/foam was frozen, making it seem solid. I learned my lesson when I took the boat out on the lake with my family and she took on water very quickly. Essentially, the bilge pump was just a little too underrated, and allowed the water to build up to the stator, and shorted out the electrical system. It was a boating experience from down under (not Australia, either). We got it back to the ramp, eventually, with OODLES of extra water aboard. As I found out, the water was coming in from the bottom (anode) bolts of the transom assembly. I thought, "OH, I can just get it home, and tighten the bolts, and she will be good to go." As it turns out, the more I tightened the bolts, the more the gelcoat cracked..
It was at that point that I reaplized there wasn't any wood left down there to tighten down on. Then I thought, "Oh, I'll just change the transom out, and it will all be fine." Fate has a way of kicking my butt. When I removed the motor, I found that every piece of wood in the boat was rotten into nearly a powder. This made wood removal easy- I just shop vaccumed it out. There is literally nothing left of the stringers, and I found it odd that it only has two. I have fabricated a new right stringer, and lined the bottom of it with 1/2" Polyisocyanurate foam (this supposedly compatible with polyester resin).
There are still some small 1/4" gaps between the foam and the hull. Do these gaps need to be filled? My second question is should I encase the entire stringer? The originals only had one side of the stringer laminated to the hull, and was tabbed out about 6". And my third question is: Is two or three millimeters of hull hook acceptable, or should I adjust it before I install the new stringer? I plan to use 1708 fiberglass, as this was what was originally used in the boat.
I have been reading on this site for reference for quite some time now, and it has given me enough courage to tackle this project. So, thank you all! Although it seems to be taking more time, I am only working on half of the boat at one time to prevent hull distortion- but I'm not sure if it even matters at this point, and I will explain later. I bought this boat in February, and it seemed solid at the time, but as I found out, all of the water saturated wood/foam was frozen, making it seem solid. I learned my lesson when I took the boat out on the lake with my family and she took on water very quickly. Essentially, the bilge pump was just a little too underrated, and allowed the water to build up to the stator, and shorted out the electrical system. It was a boating experience from down under (not Australia, either). We got it back to the ramp, eventually, with OODLES of extra water aboard. As I found out, the water was coming in from the bottom (anode) bolts of the transom assembly. I thought, "OH, I can just get it home, and tighten the bolts, and she will be good to go." As it turns out, the more I tightened the bolts, the more the gelcoat cracked..
It was at that point that I reaplized there wasn't any wood left down there to tighten down on. Then I thought, "Oh, I'll just change the transom out, and it will all be fine." Fate has a way of kicking my butt. When I removed the motor, I found that every piece of wood in the boat was rotten into nearly a powder. This made wood removal easy- I just shop vaccumed it out. There is literally nothing left of the stringers, and I found it odd that it only has two. I have fabricated a new right stringer, and lined the bottom of it with 1/2" Polyisocyanurate foam (this supposedly compatible with polyester resin). There are still some small 1/4" gaps between the foam and the hull. Do these gaps need to be filled? My second question is should I encase the entire stringer? The originals only had one side of the stringer laminated to the hull, and was tabbed out about 6". And my third question is: Is two or three millimeters of hull hook acceptable, or should I adjust it before I install the new stringer? I plan to use 1708 fiberglass, as this was what was originally used in the boat.
