Dixie boat 170 , Floor , Transom , Stringers Rebuild. big job

[gsxrdan]

nice to have stuff goin back in, good work!

 

[Carpenter2486]

Alright! So I have finally hit a spot where I'm looking for some help.
I have the stringers all mocked.up but to fit my gas tank I cannot bend the stringers to the same form the existing stringers were. Also I'm using 3/4 ply for stringers.. and factory was 1/2. ..
Would I be able to leave the stringers straight and at the bow where they had the original bend. Just built a box to add extra support?? I don't have a computer to make photo bucket work so I'm photoless. Hopefully you'll know what im inquiring about

 

[Carpenter2486]

Also out of cabosil tell new year..... And ideas on other thickener???

 

[Carpenter2486]

I found someone somewhere on a.forum here said baking flour can be used. I had about 24 inches left to go so I tried it.. seemed to work fairly well. The mix.took a dark brown color. Looked like crap.. but seemed to kick about the same.as the others.. at least now I have the stringers bedded and can begin laying 1708 on them.tomorrow. il give a nice 17 hours to cure.. il try and upload photos with this phone but can't promise anything... Also! I choose to let the stringers lay straight and il build alittle box in the front on each side to give that added straingth where the stringers was. I think that'l do nicely!

 

[Carpenter2486]

​in this photo you really see the dark brown crappy looking flour filler ,, like I said seemed to harden nicely, it just looks nasty,, until its painted . and then hidden by the floor!

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Looks like your cruising right along. I think you probably added strength to that boat with the extra bulkhead to tie the stringers together at the bow. I have heard of using wood flour for thickened resin, but regular flour was new to me. I guess you could use just about anything as long as it thickens up, LOL. Nice work thus far!!

 

[ezmobee]

Looks real sturdy to me. Nice work.

 

[Woodonglass]

The use of flour, wood flour, or talcum powder is not the best although it will work. The problem is that Polyester resin is not as waterproof as epoxy and water can/will, over time, LONG TIME, permeate to the inner portions. Since the above mentioned ingredients are NOT water resistant but rather water absorbent they can/will lend themselves to the water absorption process. Having said this, IF you do proper care and maintenance to your boat, all I've said should not be an issue!!! You can bend the 3/4" stingers to the shape needed simply by cutting vertical KERFs into the wood about 3/8" thick. Then fill the kerfs with thickened resin and bend to the needed shape and use clamps to hold them in the desired shape until the resin hardens.

 

[proshadetree]

Many boats have the fuel tank surrounded by a box like structure. Dont see much of an issue with that. I wish i had moved my tank up to the bow more to help keep her nose down while loaded with 4 or more people. That might be an option. Last photo i see is november 21. Hope the flour fill works out. Bondo, Everhair, or most any body filler will do for corner fillets in case you dont want to do the flour thing anymore.

 

[Woodonglass]

Uhmmm, ALL Bondo Products use Talc as their thickening agent. It's ok for above the waterline repairs but not so much for under deck or BTWL hull repairs for the reasons previously stated.

 

[proshadetree]

Talc is why I suggested bondo products for fillets. They in general are not that structural. Mainly used is to get the cloth to lay down well and keep the resin from grouping below a stringer, transom ect. I know of 1 boat that the floor was put in with Bondohair, that was 4 or 5 years ago. Rode in it last summer still strong as ever. Not the way I would recommend but it is still usable.

 

[Carpenter2486]

Thank you for the information fellas! I don't plan on using the flour again. I only used it to round the edges on the stringers not bedded just helping the glass lay. I ordered my second material list. .. 5 gallon resin. 5 yards 1708 1 gallon cabsil. And hardener. Ordered on Wednesday and it arrived Thursday afternoon. Talk about good shipping times! But my update is the stringers are.now tabbed in! 4 inch on each side. Now taking a few days brake for Christmas and after the holidays will be putting a 6 inch on each side ( 12inch sheet ) to finish the stringers off. Apply some csm to the top for capping and then time for the floor!!! Hope everyone has nice holidays ! Up in Canada we have 2 feet of snow and it's minus 10 at the moment. Couldn't be happier! Winter for us means snowmobiling trips . Great times. Any ways. Have a safe and joyful holidays.

 

[Carpenter2486]

im glad to say the main stringers are complete. about 95%.. still have to cut abit for drainage as well fix a few bubbles. but they are mainly complete, also i am out of time! back to work until the summer, so the boat project will be coming to another slowdown. time for research. next up, plumb the gas tank, and install the wooden cleats for screwing the floor, and how could i forget the two stringers on each side, plus the keel support stringer, ( should have installed first....) live and learn. and after that the floor goes on, some nice paint! get to foam it, the same company who i get my glass from also carries the 2lb close cell foam, very good... if anyone is reading this and from Canada, who is having a hard time finding glass suppler for a boat rebuild also the gents who are following this and want to give advice to other Canadians who want to rebuild a boat, "" Composites Canada """ this is a company is Mississauga Ontario, great prices tons of product and they ship Canada wide. so here is what i have so far, and hope im on the right track!

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Looking solid. Nice work!!

 

[Shakedownscott]

Boats looking great, nice job on all of the hard work. Looks like you have a big part of the structural work behind you.

 

[Carpenter2486]

Thank you Bayliner and shakedown. It was a good amount of hours but I'm happy to be where i am! Looking forward to getting all finished and back on the water!

 

[Carpenter2486]

Hello everyone! Happy spring! All our snow here is gone and now we have flooding all over. Hopefully after I am done filling sandbags to save houses. I can get back to my job! Fixing the Dixie! I have one main question I'm looking for right now. I should be good to complete the remaining stringers and floor without much advice. But my question is this..
To paint the fiberglass.... All I have used is non wax Polly . So everything is completed with this. Now I want to paint. Using gelcoat... What do I do.. I have seen people who do a final coat with waxed Polly then paint.. but can I just paint over my glass as it sits... Or should I wait a few weeks after curing to let it really Harden then paint.

Any advice on this is a huge help to me.

Thank you. Hopefully I will be able to get the boat out of the shed and get some glassing done soon .

 

[Baylinerchuck]

I'm pretty sure you can paint it as is. Painting it will seal the unwaxed resin and it will cure 100%. If you are using gelcoat, then I'm 100% sure you can gelcoat as is. In fact if you used waxed resin you would have to lightly sand the wax off to gelcoat. Since you didn't use a surfacing wax, you're golden.

 

[Carpenter2486]

Baylinerchuck. That answer made my day. I was not looking forward to adding more.glass with wax in it just to paint. I am very pleased I can continue like this. Thank you again for the assistance!

 

[Woodonglass]

" Now I want to paint. Using gelcoat... "

Uhmm are you PAINTING or GELCOATING??? There IS a big difference in the methods of application.