'69 Chrysler rebuild..... no stringers???

[EthanFire]

Newbie here, lurking for years and finally stepped out. Well..... finally got the wife to say OK and got a boat (mini project). She was happy because I didn't spend any money (traded for a couple guns I don't use), I was happy cause I got a boat (sorta). As far as I can tell, it's a Mustang and just doesn't have a windshield on it. When I get back home, I'll check the title.... it should say. I've found a lack of information on them on the internet, so I figured I'd post what I find and hopefully get some more info from you veterans along the way.

It has a '72 Merc 80 HP that doesn't run. The guy I got it from said he thinks it's the coil, but I'm starting in with replacing and checking everything I can (learning a TON along the way). Seals, fluids, checking electrical wires and connections, etc. All the things I've read typically need done. I haven't tried to start it yet, just turned it over to check compression. When I get back, I'll start trouble shooting it. So far, everything looks pretty good on the motor, the boat.... not so much.

As with most boats this age, no matter how solid they feel, you get 'em home and start digging to see how far damage goes. I pulled the seats and the deck, it was rotted through really nicely. It's sitting out drying (see picture) while I'm away for the weekend. When I get back, I'll start into grinding (woooo hoooo), cleaning up the edges and getting the rest out up under the bow. I have yet to drill into the transom, but REALLY don't want to pull the cap. Oddly, the floor rot was concentrated around the drivers seat and the penetrations for the pass. side seat. Back by the transom and about 5 feet forward was solid dry wood. I guess the drill chips will tell!

My BIGGEST question: Was this one of the boats made without stringers??? I found a couple threads, http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=449471&highlight=Chrysler+hull where some of the Chryslers had been built without stringers, filled with foam, and the floor sat on top of the foam for structural support. This would definitely explain what I found when I pulled the floor, but I'm trying to confirm this. So far have only seen pictures of ONE hull stripped down that didn't have stringers, but I've read it a few other places.

P.S. I'm taking pictures and video along the way. Hopefully someone else can learn from my mistakes as well!

 

[oops!]

Re: '69 Chrysler rebuild..... no stringers???

without a modle and other info we cant tell,,,,,,but, if the deck is out, you are a peek away from knowing !

take a core sample of the foam....it will tell you how deep you have to go into this.

btw......the deck needs to be replaced....no amount of drying will help it.

nice boat...nice score


and welcome to iboats !

 

[EthanFire]

Re: '69 Chrysler rebuild..... no stringers???

Thanks for the welcome and quick response! I pulled most of the deck out, the wife just made me leave before I was finished. I looked at the title to confirm the year, but didn't think to look at the model until now. I'm going to post the full info as soon as I get home. SN is 14321355.

For some reason, everyone I've talked to has LOVED their Chrysler. It's almost a cult like following. I think I've figured out why. I fell in love with this boat! I'm not exactly sure why, it may be it's simplistic design, maybe how light it is (so I don't have to use my big truck), don't know for sure..... but I love it!

 

[oops!]

Re: '69 Chrysler rebuild..... no stringers???

im allmost certain that your boat has stringers......and one of of our really good boat guys here has already done a chrysler......jonesg

if he doesnt see this....(but he will) ill pm him for you.

in the mean time.....look at my link in my sig......the first 16 pages are great for any restoration, as the information is just super

 

[EthanFire]

Re: '69 Chrysler rebuild..... no stringers???

Thanks!!!

 

[EthanFire]

Re: '69 Chrysler rebuild..... no stringers???

Well, just as Oops said, it has stingers..... well, stringER to be specific. It only has one running from the transom up to the point the hull starts to curve up to the bow. I am sure it will need replaced. Now have to decide what method I want to use. Replace with wood, or cut the top/dig/Seacast. Suggestions, good experiences, horror stories????

Pulled up the foam and found about three gallons of water (beyond what was soaked into some of the degraded foam). Also found some patches in various places along the hull. Biggest patch was made just forward of the transom..... looks like they just injected some sealant of some sort you can see in the pictures, the pancake size remnants where it spread between the hull and foam.

Question for you experienced guys, there are some areas the foam looks slightly different and has stuck to the inside of the hull. In those spots it appears they have driven some small wood dowels through. Is this a common repair??? In the picture, it's sticking up through the foam near the shovel.

Todays task..... finish cleaning out all the foam, drill the transom to see how bad it is, scrub some of the inside (damn neighbor cat marked it as soon as I got it home) and see how many patches I need to make to the hull.

This is more of a project than I'd hoped, at least I'm trying to convince myself it is. I knew how old it was and have been lurking here for years. If I were truly surprised, it'd mean I didn't believe all the stuff you guys write. Good thing I didn't buy it to flip it and make money HAHAHAHA

View attachment 113782View attachment 113783

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: '69 Chrysler rebuild..... no stringers???

Your pics are not working.

 

[EthanFire]

Re: '69 Chrysler rebuild..... no stringers???

Here are the pics from earlier. Not sure why they posted like that.....

 

[EthanFire]

Re: '69 Chrysler rebuild..... no stringers???

Spent a couple more hours digging out foam and cleaning up. Sure enough, the spots of foam that were stuck to the hull had a hole with a dowel stuck in each one of them. Looked like they drilled a hole (from the exterior), injected foam and stuck a dowel in it. They must have sanded them pretty smooth because they're painted over and you can't see them from the bottom.

Finding more and more with this little boat every time I start digging. Good thing I fell in love with it!

Attaching a crack and hole I found in the stringer after clearing out the soggy foam. Also, the back looks like it's either separated from the transom, or was never glassed across the back, leaving the wood exposed.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: '69 Chrysler rebuild..... no stringers???

Cool boat! I'm an aluminum hull guy so I don't have any wisdom to offer but I'm watching this one with interest.

 

[EthanFire]

Re: '69 Chrysler rebuild..... no stringers???

Yesterday I cut the stringer out and started grinding off the old glass that was around it. I've still got a LOT of grinding to do. The stringer was encased in water, so I ended up grinding a hole at both ends and letting it drain out so It wouldn't throw water all over me, the boat and into the grinder. The wood was surprisingly solid except around the hole and crack I posted earlier. I found another dowel type patch under the stringer, near the rotted spot. This one was a little bigger than the ones in the rest of the hull that had foam injected through them, and it went clear through the bottom (not sanded and painted over).

Today...... I get to do a bunch more grinding, WOOO HOOOO (that's a little thing I like to call sarcasm). I'm also going to drill out all the little repair holes in the hull so I can find them on the outside and get ready to repair them. I still have to grind down were the deck was glasses in too. Me and the grinder, we have a love hate relationship.

The trailer: This isn't the original trailer. It's a roller, and I don't think this boat is designed for much other than bunks. It doesn't show up really well on pictures, but I can see where it was bowing the hull a bit, even before removing the floor/foam. I'm thinking a may switch it out to bunks, 'til I have it all back together at the very least. Then may make a custom deal on the trailer to where I can lift rollers higher than the bunks for the ramps that make it difficult to launch. Just a though......

 

[ezmobee]

Re: '69 Chrysler rebuild..... no stringers???

That trailer looks like it probably could be converted to bunks pretty easily. Here's my setup: http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w200/ezmobee/New Boat/DSCF2352.jpg

 

[EthanFire]

Re: '69 Chrysler rebuild..... no stringers???

Nice! It may help quite a bit if I just added more keel rollers like you have too. I didn't realize how few I have! My main concern of using the rollers (instead of bunks) is the keel is the only place on the hull reinforced by a stringer on this boat.

 

[Mark42]

Re: '69 Chrysler rebuild..... no stringers???

Thats a cool little boat. Not much of a stringer, it doesn't look like it extended up to the plywood deck. More of a keel reinforcement.

Was the entire area under the plywood filled with foam? If so, its a foam supported hull. But with just a center "stringer", there is a large expanse of unsupported glass on either side of the keel. If it were my boat, I would put in a center stringer of 3/4" pressure treated ply, then a 1/2 or 5/8 pressure treated deck. Drill 3 inch holes with a hole saw in about 6 or 8 places down the deck, and pour in expanding foam. Put back the ply cut out by the hole saw, and glass the whole deck over.

BTW, the new polyester foams do not absorbe water like the older styrene based foams did. So even if you do get a leak, it will not soak up water like a sponge. The foam is so good, that is what foating docks foatation is often made from.

Regardless, best of luck with your choice of build.

 

[EthanFire]

Re: '69 Chrysler rebuild..... no stringers???

Yep.... it was foam filled. I dug it all out, and I'm glad I did. Now I can fix it up right. Once I fix the holes in the hull and replace the stringer (more appropriately, keel support like you said) I'm planning on doing pretty much just what you said. The only thing I thought about doing slightly different was glassing the top and bottom of the deck before I put it in. Pretty much encapsulating it.

I contemplated putting some ribs in to support it sitting on the trailer, but I may just switch the trailer to bunks and call it good.

 

[Mark42]

Re: '69 Chrysler rebuild..... no stringers???

There was a Bayliner project done about 5 years ago by member Realgun. He called it "Project Long Haul". He foamed the entire underside of the deck. Has some good pics and info. Do a search and see if you can find it. Might also find his project on shareaproject.com under boats.

The most import part of filling the cavity with expanding foam is to 1) mix and pour quick and 2) have lots of holes for the foam to expand out through, or it might just buckle the floor and/or hull. Realguns project has some good pics of the foam expanding out the holes he cut. It worked well for him, if I remember right. A couple of years ago I talked to Realgun (Robert) and he told me he had since sold the boat because he lost interest in boating. But the build was still rock solid.

 

[EthanFire]

Re: '69 Chrysler rebuild..... no stringers???

Thanks for the heads up, I'll dig through and find it. I saw one on here that was done with a lot of little pours, never saw the finish (hopefully it worked out). He was planning on sanding it flat and then putting the deck over it. After spending all day yesterday grinding and sanding fiberglass.... I'm liking the idea of pouring through the deck more and more! Lukily it's a small boat and the foam will only be a foot think at the keel. For a restoration, I'm thinking this is about the best boat I could cut my teeth on.

 

[EthanFire]

Re: '69 Chrysler rebuild..... no stringers???

One more picture from yesterday.

Now that I've ground out the holes a little more, you can see how many there are. Directly under where the keel support was cracked (earlier picture) there is a bulge on the bottom...... some kind of repair. Besides the wooden dowels put through some of the holes, there were screws put through too. The screws had rusted out on the inside of the hull so I didn't even know those holes where there until I started sanding on the bottom side.

Got some more grinding to do, then some patching before I can start working on the keel support and foam. I think I'll start working on putting the motor back to together in the mean time.

 

[JDA1975]

Re: '69 Chrysler rebuild..... no stringers???

Just another newb here but curious question, I see a drain for above the deck, but nothing for below it. I am assuming they were relying on their work being water tight...may be good for a little bit but any small hole and there would be nowhere for the water to escape. maybe one of the gurus can chime in on that, perhaps while you have her open you can do some sort of modification so your bilge, or lack thereof can drain?

 

[EthanFire]

Re: '69 Chrysler rebuild..... no stringers???

Yep.... it appears they just intended on the foam filled compartment staying sealed. Probably worked really well until they crashed it (damage to the keel) and put new seats in it (neglecting to seal the attachment points).