Project Sea Sprite

[Nova II 260]

Re: Project Sea Sprite

One way to keep grinding dust to a minimum is to wet the area. With electric tools you have to be a little more careful with water obviously, You can get a few bed sheets from goodwill and wet them down, dust won't fly off them. Rinse 'em with the hose once in the while. and keep them wet.
There is no need to replace a solid stringer. Just makes sure your stringer is OK and the core sample holes are sealed well. I don't think the boat should be without any stringers or hull support of some kind. I am not a big fan of foam either but that's your call. Think about how long you are going to keep her.

 

[oops!]

Re: Project Sea Sprite

if the stringer is solid.....and you know that you know its solid.....

just a do a big 1708 wrap over the strings....and foam it.....i hate foam...but if its structural...its structural

 

[oops!]

Re: Project Sea Sprite

oh yeah....the dust.....


poly the area....make a curtain around the boat and keep the resporator on.

grinding dust is worse than drywall dust, as it comes off the wheel with force. it goes everywhere.

 

[Cougar_15]

Re: Project Sea Sprite

Yea, John your right, thanks for the reality check. The only way I'm ever going to be able to trust it is if I use the tried and true method and replace them...​

Nova, oops, thanks for the tips on keeping the dust down.​

I did not get much done this week but I did get the rest of the foam and rotten wood out. Next I am going to take some more pics for referance and lots of measurements of the stringrs before I start grinding.​

I took a pic from a different angle and was somewhat suprised to find that the main stringer is not even close to being straight...​

The little stringers on the sides look like they were just slapped in any old way. All the way along they are different widths and heights. They are not even in the same place on each side. The distance between the port outside stringer and the center is different than between the starboard and the center. I found a spot on the starboard one near the bow where the fiberglass is seperated and you'll never guess what was underneath...... rotten wood. Big suprise I know..​

 

[maxum247]

Re: Project Sea Sprite

Do look like a winding road don't it?

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: Project Sea Sprite

Yea, John your right, thanks for the reality check. The only way I'm ever going to be able to trust it is if I use the tried and true method and replace them...​

Nova, oops, thanks for the tips on keeping the dust down.​

I did not get much done this week but I did get the rest of the foam and rotten wood out. Next I am going to take some more pics for referance and lots of measurements of the stringrs before I start grinding.​

I took a pic from a different angle and was somewhat suprised to find that the main stringer is not even close to being straight...​

The little stringers on the sides look like they were just slapped in any old way. All the way along they are different widths and heights. They are not even in the same place on each side. The distance between the port outside stringer and the center is different than between the starboard and the center. I found a spot on the starboard one near the bow where the fiberglass is seperated and you'll never guess what was underneath...... rotten wood. Big suprise I know..​

Sorry MAn didnt know how else to put it !!!

The dust.. OHHH MAN the dust . do like oops said and make a curtain and is there any way to cover the kids toys ??? also run a shop vac when you got the grinder going . that cut down on a lot of the dust . I would say half of it !!


I'm not surpised on the board , yours lookes a little more glassed in then mine was , mine wasnt glassed very well at all !!! same with my transom thats part of the reason it rotted , even after 32 years on my ride !!! cant wait till i get in to my crownline 1968 17.4 with a 120hp mercuriser in her !! she was used for about the frist 5 years and then sat the rest of this time , but thats after i get this one painted this winter !! John

 

[redfury]

Re: Project Sea Sprite

With the curvature of that center stringer, I think the first thing I would do is check that hulls keel for a bow or a hook.

Otherwise, this is my thought on it. That stringer seems to be more for holding up the floor than anything. I'd probably be contemplating the same thing you are. If the hull checked out, you may just want to get some lumber and see if you can't straighten that stringer out by cross drilling it and bracing it on both sides with wood. I may consider taking that sander of yours and cleaning up the surface of the stringer and the hull around it and putting on a layer of 1708 biax up the sides to keep it straight and then cap the stringer with some cloth to seal it up from water...particularly if the wood in the stringer is not wet. Really, the wood is mostly a form for the fiberglass if it's an encased stringer, so it's job has already been done.

Hard to say though, since it's your boat and not ours. How far you go into it depends on what level of restoration/re-engineering you are willing to put into it vs. how long you plan to keep it.

 

[Cougar_15]

Re: Project Sea Sprite

Redfury, I don't see any distortion in the hull, is there a way to test for it other than visible inspection?​

I did not find much time to work on the boat this weekend . I did start shopping around for supplies a little... It looks like I am going to end up using 1/2 ply and laminating 2 pieces together for the transom and stringer as I can't find a lumber yard around here that carries 1 inch exterior ply. I did find a place that sells exterior fir AC ply for $28 a sheet.​

I was also looking at glass suppliers. I found a local store that I'm probably going to get my supplies from, their prices seem to be reasonable and I will not have to pay the high shipping costs.​

I was also looking at fiberglass remnant bundles on ebay, does this looks like it would be worth getting, it would be about $60 including shipping???​

PREMIUM BIAXIAL FIBERGLASS CLOTH - HEAVY MAT
32oz per square yard Biaxial weave (+45/-45) with Heavy Mat - 40 LBS.
Heavy Molding Mat (45 oz/sqyd) - 15 lbs
Sorted (see illustration below) Large pieces of various sizes and shapes...perfect for laminating thick, stiff and strong gussets, mold bases, seats, bulkheads and any other superstrong and stiff sections of your project. Extra thick, superior wetting, premium product.
Wets and bonds extremely well with polyesters and epoxies.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++
+++++++
++++++++

The illustrations above show the two types of shapes contained in each box, some triangular and mostly long rectangular. Pieces average 18" minimum square size that can be cut from the piece, although the piece itself may be much larger.

 

[redfury]

Re: Project Sea Sprite

I'd be mostly worried about a hook in the hull, which you can check with a stringline from bow to stern down the length of the keel. You want to see little to no gap between the string and the hull from front to back in the middle of the boat ( hook ). IF you see the hull touch the string in the middle but not on the ends, then you have a bow, which isn't horrible compared to a hook ( causes porpoising/plowing )....bowing causes some ride instability.

The only reason I worry is because that center stringer is looking shorter than it should being curled up like that...makes me wonder what caused it to go wavy in the first place.


Don't just fix the problem, find out why the problem exists in the first place.

 

[Cougar_15]

Re: Project Sea Sprite

Redfury, I'll take a closer look at it this weekend but I don't know how I would be able to do the string test as their are 2 keel rollers and a front brace (that I installed when I took the cap off) in the way of the path of the string...​

As far as the crooked stringer, I don't think it was ever straight. It looks like it was installed that way as it's crooked at the base (where it's glassed to the hull) not just at the top. When I look at it from a top down view (sorry I don't have a good pic that shows this yet) you can see that the base of the stringer is not centered on the center line of the hull. I don't think this stringer is designed to be as structral as the stringers tend to be in other boats (like you said mostly to hold up the floor) because it does not tie into the transom, it ends about 8 inches in front of the transom. I'm sure it provides some structure, just not as much as in other boats...​

I was thinking a little more about the ebay bundle I asked about last time and if I'm understanding how the numbers on fiberglass work that glass would be thicker than 1708 right? Correct me if I've got this mixed up but 1708 would be 25 total ounces per yard. So that 32oz glass would be heavier than I want to mess with. Oh well, I'll just keep watching ebay, I would like to find a box of 1708 as I plan on using this as my primary glass...​

 

[redfury]

Re: Project Sea Sprite

Maybe Ward will have some leftovers he'll be willing to fire sale here.

I wonder if they glassed that sucker out of the boat ( encapsulated it ) and then tabbed it in after the fact and it warped on the table....just odd.

You could check the keel deflection by trapping a string between a board and the transom of the boat and lift up the back of the boat with a jack and that board and then run the string to the front roller....that should give you a good "guesstimate" as to the condition of it.

 

[Cougar_15]

Re: Project Sea Sprite

I got to spent a little bit of time on the boat this weekend. I removed what was left of the deck. I discovered that the deck was not attached to the sides of the hull; it was only glassed in at the bow and transom. I also found out that the storage rails on each side were not glassed on top of the deck; rather the glass went around the rails. They also were not sealed at the bottom.

I?m not sure how they did it but it looks to me like the deck and the rails were glassed outside the boat and later tabbed in at the transom and bow? The sides of the hull were coated with some kind of foam.

I don?t know if (or how for that matter) I?m going to try to replace this foam. It looks like it was sprayed onto the hull. Does anyone think this foam looks like it was a structural component? To me it looks like it was for floatation only, it?s pretty light weight stuff?
There was a thin layer of glass from the sides of the deck over the foam but there was no solid connection between the sides of the deck and the hull.

I?m also not sure why they did not extend the wood core of the deck all the way to the sides of the hull. The next pic shows the area that had a wood core (blue lines), the area between the blue line and the side of the hull was just glass and was not bonded to the hull at all. Does anyone have any idea why they would have built it this way?

I don?t know if the manufacture had a good reason for building it this way or if it was just the quickest and cheapest method?.

When I replace the deck I?m thinking to extend it to the sides of the hull and tab it in all the way along (just like all of the projects I have been reading about). I?m also thinking of adding a few bulkheads to give some additional support to the deck. I plan on installing the center stringer on the actual center line of the hull and the two small side stringers an equal distance from the center stringer. It really looks like they did not care too much about the details when this boat was built, they just kind of slapped it together and called it good enough?

​

 

[Nova II 260]

Re: Project Sea Sprite

It really looks like they did not care too much about the details when this boat was built, they just kind of slapped it together and called it good enough?

Standard small Boat mfg procedure. Make it pretty, add a 3 year conditional warranty..... she'll sell. Manufacture as cheap as possible...go belly up in the future.

 

[mattkenton]

Re: Project Sea Sprite

Did this project shut down for the winter?

 

[Cougar_15]

Re: Project Sea Sprite

Not for the winter, just for the holidays. I have been so busy with other things I haven't had a chance to even look at the boat the last couple of months. I'm hoping to resume working on it soon. My next step is to remove the existing stringers and get everything ground down. I'd like to be able to get the main stringer out in one piece to use as a template but I won't know how likely that is until I remove some of the glass covering it... I will also need to make a template for the transom, since I ended up removing it with a shovel there was nothing left for a template. Then it's a trip to the plywood store...​

I still haven't figured out how I'm going to do the new deck. I want to take it all the way to the sides of the hull but buttom of the hull dips down before it meets the side and the last 3 feet or so (before the transom) of the bottom of the hull is higher than the forward section. I'm thinking to add some bulkheads to support the deck, still working on the ideas...​

mattkenton, How's your boat coming, any progress?​

 

[Nova II 260]

Re: Project Sea Sprite

Lay your new side stingers in above your strakes. Cut some bulkhead and wings (lateral) supports in to better support your sole (floor).

the wings should support your floor on the outer edge. Or maybe glass in a ledge on the sides to support the floor.
Or lay the floor in up to where you have the blue line (on the leftside )

and make rod lockers for the sides. Looks like you have about 10" from the raised part to the side.

 

[Cougar_15]

Re: Project Sea Sprite

Well the wheels are turning slowly but their still turning... I was able to get a few hours on the boat during the little warm-up we had here a week or so back. I was able to remove the main stringer in one piece, so I will have a good template (see pic).​

I found quite a bit of dry glass while removing the stringer:​

I have also started trying to put together my glass shopping list. I'm still trying to figure out what types/weight of materials I should be using, there are so many different choices it's confusing... Right now I am leaning towards using epoxy resin. When I get my list together I'll post it for opinions.​

Along those lines, I saw an add for cloth that looked interesting:

1 box of fiberglass cloth pieces 50.0 inches wide total weight of 17.7 lb for an approximate of 29 square yards and has a satin finish listed as F72. The size of the box is 10" X 13" X 7". The weight per square yard is 8.21 oz

It's selling for $30 plus shipping. Does this look like it would be a good deal?​

Would 8.21oz satin finish F72 cloth be suitable for my stringers and/or transom and/or deck to hull tabbing? I have not been able to find out exactly what F72 means...​

 

[redfury]

Re: Project Sea Sprite

Sounds like it'd do the trick, if you are going to use epoxy though, you'll want to make sure that it is compatible with epoxy. The price is decent enough. If you can't use it, you've got a whole message board of folks that you could resell it too right here

 

[Cougar_15]

Re: Project Sea Sprite

That's a good point about making sure it will work with epoxy, with my luck I'd end up with a whole box of glass that I could not use... I'm going to inquire about its compatibility before I consider it further. The biggest thing I was unsure about was the satin weave part; I have not been able to find much information about the different types of weave specifically which type is appropriate for which repairs...​

I am very anxious to get moving on the grinding but it?s been too cold here to get out in the garage and this winter does not seem like it will ever end? I am going to try to borrow a heater from my brother so I can make a little better progress. In the mean time I?ll have to be satisfied with working on the TnT hydraulics in the basement. I pulled the unit off the motor because it was leaking fluid and now that I?ve started troubleshooting it looks like there may be more wrong with it than I suspected. The trim ram does not move at all, the tilt ram was doing all the work. I'm going to order a face spanner wrench to disassemble the rams to check the seals and while I?m waiting for that to show up, I?m going to check the high pressure line for blockages?​

 

[Cougar_15]

Re: Project Sea Sprite

This weekend I was able to actually get some time in on the boat. I spent a few hours grinding and was able to remove most of the starboard stringer.

I also worked on the TnT system some more. The spanner wrench arrived so I was able to disassemble the rams. In the tilt ram I found an o-ring that was chewed to bits and that the high preasure line was blocked. I also managed to spray hydrolic fluid all over the place when I accedently pressed down on one of the rams after I removed the supply line, man does it come out fast I picked up an o-ring kit for both rams from the dealer to replace all of the o-rings. I decided that it would probably make sense to paint it before I put it all back to together so that's where I'm at now. I have a couple more coats to go then the rebuild and pray...