rebuild of unknown fiberglass boat

[novice1]

Im rebuilding this boat in my garage and ran into some problems. I had to seperate the top from the hull to replace the rotton wood deck. When i got all the staples and screws out i had to cut the back part to seperate them. Then i found that the wood secured to the hull (holds up the floor) was rotton.Could i run some more strips of wood along these and screw them together to re-enforce before i put fiberglass matting down or do i have to tear them out.

 

[DukesFin]

Re: rebuild of unknown fiberglass boat

You need to search anything involving "stringer repair" or preferably "stringer replacement".

You can put new wood on the rotten, but you'd have new rotting wood very soon. You need to do a repair or replacement.

Good luck and post some pics! We love pictures on here!!!! (640X480 I think is the preferable size and you can post them for free and re-size them easily on photobucket.

Good luck!

 

[slasmith1]

Re: rebuild of unknown fiberglass boat

All my pics are too big to upload i can e-mail them if you need to see it. thanks

sign up for an account at photobucket.com and post your photos from there by cutting and pasting the direct link to the photo.

 

[jspano]

Re: rebuild of unknown fiberglass boat

what your suggesting is sistering a new stringer to the old. this maybe acceptable in house framing once you have stopped the problem (like termites or something similar but in boat restore i don;t think it would work.
but i'm a newbie and might be wrong



joe

 

[solar7647]

Re: rebuild of unknown fiberglass boat

The best would be to rip the rotten stringers out and replace. If you just screw new boards on the side and fibler glass you will end up just adding unneeded waight and will find you will need to do it anyways down the line. I suggest getting the measurments off the old ones, rip them out, grind away any resin build up so you have a flat smooth area to put the new ones. Also not sure about your plans for the new deck but if you use some kind of mechanical means to attach the deck to the new stringers such as screws, seal them with silcon or something to prevent any water that gets in from rain or wet swimers from having a way to leak into the stringer and rot it out again. Also use Stainless steel screws and such, if you dont it will not take long for them to rust out just leaving a hole for water to get into the wood. Oh and use marine grade wood or least weather treated to slow rot.

 

[BobsGlasstream]

Re: rebuild of unknown fiberglass boat

novice1,
First, Welcome to Iboats.
If you want to fix your boat correctly you have come to the right place.
The folks here will help you through your project all the way.
My first suggestion would be to do a little homework, Read as many threads as possible to get an idea of what your in for. You can pick up a lot of information by just reading what others have and are currently doing. I would suggest Opp's thread on "hull extension" for one and then lowkee's thread. Like I said there are several others going on right now too.
One of the posters suggested using silicone as a sealant, I would not silicon shrinks, I would use 3M 4200 or 5200 instead.
Anyways good luck on your project.
Bob

 

[novice1]

Re: rebuild of unknown fiberglass boat

Thanks. That should keep me working for awile. I was also looking into painting it. What's the differance between 2 part paint and normal paint. I know you put primer then paint then clear coat on cars. Just wondering.

 

[solar7647]

Re: rebuild of unknown fiberglass boat

On a fiberglass boat Gel coat is used. It is a two part "paint". You have to add a catalyst to the Gel Coat so that it drys, making it very robust.It is applied in many ways depending on the finish you want. If you plan on doing the hull just to give it color, the prefered method is a gravity fed spray gun, because it is thick and a siphon paint gun will most likly not spray very well if at all. You would spray the same way you would a car. Gel coat does not require a clear coat though, just a very light sanding if any and a buff. To add a texture for a non slip surface you can use a roller to apply it. You do not want to use any kind of "normal paint" they have a lot of chemicals and they will chip polluting the water ONLY MARINE PAINTS they are designed to be safe for marine life. I suggest a google search for how to videos and articals on it.