first post complete restoration! *PICS* More pics added!

[uniquesnd]

Hello forum guys and gals I have lurked on here before to find tips on repairing my engine and have found this to be a very informative place. Well after 3 years of my boat sitting up I finally got my engine redone completely about 4 weeks ago and took it out three times since then and it ran great. Well went to take my wife and little girl fishing the other day and as I was getting in I noticed a crack in the transom so I pulled the metal plate between the splashwell and outer hull and found rotten bondo/fiberglass type material so I am sure the transom is rotten. So then I start thinking when I bought the boat the people I purchased it from told me they had just installed a new floor which the floor seemed solid with no soft spots but I thought what the heck lets pull the ski locker trim and see under the floor. Well guess what I found rot and lots of it! apparently they laid untreated 3/4 exterior grade plywood over the existing floor and just put new carpet over that and they left the old carpet inbetween the two layers! well i just decided screw it I watched a bunch of frisco jarrets videos and decided I am going to replace this floor and transom so here is where I am at thus far!I did notice there are no "stringers" persay just foam on both sides coated in fiberglass is this normal boat construction? only wood seems to be the fiberglass coated plywood decking!

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g119/tgp8282/15cb30d8-1d17-43f6-a8b2-0b72b199d570.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g119/tgp8282/photo314.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g119/tgp8282/photo221.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g119/tgp8282/photo410.jpg

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS*

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS*

Use the IMG

 next to your PB pix, and post them IN your thread instead of attachments:
[IMG]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g119/tgp8282/15cb30d8-1d17-43f6-a8b2-0b72b199d570.jpg[/IMG]

The IMG[code] looks like similar to this when you paste it:
IMG]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g119/15cb30d8-1d17-43f6-a8b2-0b72b199d570.jpg[/IMG

Welcome to iboats dry dock.

Yep, overlaid a 'good' deck on top of the carpet happens more then you'd like to hope.  Some people don't know any better, although it'd seem obvious to be a bad idea.  Others are sneaky b@st@rds & should be keel-hauled

 

[uniquesnd]

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS*

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS*

well my first question is why are there no stringers? Seems Like this boat is just solid foam from the edge of the hull to the ski locker and fuel tank location is this normal it is a 1996 OMC sunbird corsair 190. Second question is how can i tell if the foam is water logged it seems nice and bright white/yellow not black you can kinda see the foam in this pic and if the foam is fine can I just seperate the two halves repair the transom and just overlay fiberglass back over the foam?

 

[chconger]

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS*

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS*

I see stringers. They are running beside the tank and the ski locker. No?

 

[pckeen]

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS*

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS*

You do have stringers there - you can see them to the right and left of center. That foam looks waterlogged to me. In terms of telling whether it is - drill some holes into it and see what you can see.

 

[uniquesnd]

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS*

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS*

I see stringers. They are running beside the tank and the ski locker. No?

I thought they were stringers also but when I cut the fiberglass skin off in a section it appeared to be just 1/2 plywood 4 inches wide running front to back and its just sitting on top of foam? Kinda like they had a plywood frame then stretched matting over it to make the shape glassed it then then poured foam in for the actual structure. I actually could see where it looked like they patched the holes they drilled to pour the foam in with square fiberglass patches. I am guessing this is similar to how a boston whaler is built?

 

[chconger]

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS*

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS*

I thought they were stringers also but when I cut the fiberglass skin off in a section it appeared to be just 1/2 plywood 4 inches wide running front to back and its just sitting on top of foam? Kinda like they had a plywood frame then stretched matting over it to make the shape glassed it then then poured foam in for the actual structure. I actually could see where it looked like they patched the holes they drilled to pour the foam in with square fiberglass patches. I am guessing this is similar to how a boston whaler is built?

That's bizzare. So when i look at your fuel tank specifically it has these cross braces on top that are screwed into, what should be, the stringers.

Are those screws into the edge of plywood...or foam? Can you post a detail of what you have uncovered there?

 

[chconger]

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS*

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS*

Specifically;

What is this screwed into?

 

[uniquesnd]

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS*

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS*

Those appear to be screwed directly through the fiberglass skin into foam. Also the ski locker and gas tank channel appear to be made all at one time with just that wooden bulkhead wrapped in glass separating the two! I cut the top of the bulkhead on the opposite side of the PVC pipe and the wood is about 2 inches from actually touching the sides and it is just held in with fiberglass!

 

[uniquesnd]

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS*

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS*

So I managed to get almost all of the deck up that I could reach and noticed that the rot stops right inside the area of where you put your feet at. I managed to also snap a pic of the stringer that I accessed by removing the fiberglass skin good news is the stringer stops right at the edge of the gas tank towards the bow and the rest seems to be all foam. I managed to cut the glass off part of the foam and it is not water logged! I talked to a boat restoration place today and they recommended that I just replace the floor from the very front of the footwells to the stern and use coosa instead of plywood. They also recommended that I just cut the back part off with the splashwell to remove the transom wood instead of actually popping the whole top off. This boat seems to be almost completely fiberglass and foam except for the stringers transom and floor. So what do you think of the guys suggestions and do you think I am headed in the right direction? Thanks for the look!

Rotten stringer closeup just looks like 1/2 Plywood

Picture of foam that I accessed as well as the complete boat


And I realized I never showed you guys the outside so here you go! I really like the look of this boat.The trailer is also a galvanized dual axle shorline that has new axles and hardware. Plus this traler tilts I really do not understand why it has that function or what it would be used for?

 

[chconger]

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS*

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS*

....This boat seems to be almost completely fiberglass and foam except for the stringers transom and floor...

That is not unique. What you will see here is a lot of folks replacing the stingers, foam, transom, and floor.

Welcome to dry dock!

 

[uniquesnd]

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS* More pics added!

My plan is to replace the stringers transom and floor and leave the foam. I drilled into the foam and it was dry all the way down and still bonded to the hull of the fiberglass. So how does this idea sound plus what do you think of the coosa composite versus marine plywood?

ETA the stringers are so thin they look more like a way to screw the gas tank cover on than structure!

 

[jigngrub]

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS* More pics added!

1/2" stringers are pretty common, you can make them thicker if you want when you replace them.

You're going to have to remove some of the foam to tab the stringers to the hull properly, when you do this I think you'll find that the foam isn't as dry as you think/hope it is.

Coosa is very expensive, even compared to marine grade plywood... and a boat that is properly taken care of will not rot, even when built back with plywood laid over with f'glass.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS* More pics added!

yep ^^^

does the guy that recommended coosa board, sell it?

 

[jigngrub]

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS* More pics added!

FYI, this is how you'll attach your stringers to the hull:

You'll need to remove a minimum of a 6" wide strip of foam on the sides of your stringers so they can be tabbed to the hull properly, anything less will be unsuitable... and you may want to opt for a wider strip for more working room.

If it was me, I'd remove all of the old foam. New foam is cheap insurance when it comes down to "float or sink".

 

[uniquesnd]

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS* More pics added!

Thank you for all the help and actually the guy that I talked to that restores boats recommended the coosa and told me where he purchases it from. Where I work we build custom cars so I have access to routers, router tables, and a table saw with a big table that makes cutting easy. I also have some experience with fiberglass because I use it to build custom boxes door panels dashes etc. So I have some faith I can get this done. I am gonna get the outboard off it today and try to section the back so I can remove it to access the transom. I do have a question though on the peanut butter couldn't I just use short strand fiberglass reinforced filler that comes in the gallon containers instead or will this not work? I mean I use it at work and it sets up hard as a rock!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS* More pics added!

I do have a question though on the peanut butter couldn't I just use short strand fiberglass reinforces filler that comes in the gallon comtainers instead or will this not work? I mean I use it at work and it sets up hard as a rock!

Typically the Autobody filler uses Talc as their main filler. This means it can/will absorb water. This is why we don't usually recommend using in for marine use. And it's more expensive than making your own. Not saying you can't use it, just want you to be aware of some of the issues.

 

[uniquesnd]

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS* More pics added!

Typically the Autobody filler uses Talc as their main filler. This means it can/will absorb water. This is why we don't usually recommend using in for marine use. And it's more expensive than making your own. Not saying you can't use it, just want you to be aware of some of the issues.

Ok well that rules it out as a bedding material. How do I go about making peanut butter? is there a certain mixture? I am guessing its resin, chopped up mat and a thickening agent?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS* More pics added!

The thickening agent is Cabosil Usually takes about 150% as much Cabosil as resin. I mix 1000 ml at a time (about a quart) My mix is 750 ml resin 1500 ml cabosil 200 ml chopped milled fibers (or make your own by cutting up scrap pieces of CSM) mix till its' about the consistency of Creamy Peanut butter stir in the catalyst for about 30 secs and you're good to go. This is good for filleting and bedding.

 

[uniquesnd]

Re: first post complete restoration! *PICS* More pics added!

Managed to get a little bit more done today. Had some friends help me get the motor and the back cap off now to get the transom cut out and the rest of the floor removed! Obligatory pictures