Restoring childhood boat. A 1972 Ranger. Help needed (pictures).

[Woodonglass]

The second link is actually not an image but a PDF file when you click it it will download the PDF file and it will be at the bottom of your screen so you can click on it there to open it and view it. Not sure why the IMG icon is there
???:noidea:

Materials List

 

[kcassells]

Thanks WOG. I'm reading through it now. The cradle looks pretty much like what I had in mind so that will help.

Ok, back to the liner, compartments, cap issue. Apparently the entire liner is laminated into the inside of the boat. Ranger won't confirm if it was dropped in as one large unit or if it was glassed in, one section at a time but the bulkhead and sides are solid to the hull. The only reason the floor was no longer attached is because the wood rotted out from under it.

If I look at the backside of the fiberglass floor I removed, it has a thin film of plywood attached to it. The captain's seat pedestal, was epoxied flat to the plywood before it unlaminated. The pedestal up in the bow is rock solid. I can't move it at all.

So my question is this. If I remove the cap and find that the liner is epoxied to the hull, what would I do then? Would I cut the storage compartments out?
Would it hurt to do that as Ranger suggests anyway? Then, I would have a lot better access to the under side of the cap to cut all of the tabbing out. Just a thought.

Art
Once you remove the cap you can determine the best way to remove the liner. I would use a grinder or oscillating tool for the cuts. keep the cuts up high so they are
under the cap {if possible} then when you reinstall the liner the glassing work/repairs will be more or less concealed.
Probably the liner IS PB'ed to parts of the boat. How too approach that depends on what you find when you get there. All good questions..keep em coming!
BTW....when you're done with the rebuild your boat will be better and stronger than the day it rolled out of the Ranger factory.

 

[artfan1]

I'm sure I will laugh at myself later on about all my worries. Been there and done that with other types of projects.

I'll start making cuts as soon as it stops raining so much. (Working outside). But I do have my materials for the trailer mounted cradle and I'll be working in the rain on that. I'll post pics once it's done.

As for the gelcoat. No, I wish i had the option to save it and buff it out but there is several areas that I want to repair. Screw holes, rope rubs and even a couple of spots that are damaged from bumping docks. The worse one is on the cap's port/stern corner. This one happened years ago when the boat was used by another person. Not sure what they did. It's a big hole as you can see.
Just another reason to remove the the cap.

It damaged the rub rail as well which really stinks because the starboard side of the rub rail is perfect. Doubt I will find that matching rub rail anywhere.

 

[gm280]

I'm sure I will laugh at myself later on about all my worries. Been there and done that with other types of projects.

I'll start making cuts as soon as it stops raining so much. (Working outside). But I do have my materials for the trailer mounted cradle and I'll be working in the rain on that. I'll post pics once it's done.

As for the gelcoat. No, I wish i had the option to save it and buff it out but there is several areas that I want to repair. Screw holes, rope rubs and even a couple of spots that are damaged from bumping docks. The worse one is on the cap's port/stern corner. This one happened years ago when the boat was used by another person. Not sure what they did. It's a big hole as you can see.
Just another reason to remove the the cap.

It damaged the rub rail as well which really stinks because the starboard side of the rub rail is perfect. Doubt I will find that matching rub rail anywhere.

artfan1, I still believe that you can find that rub rail, even if it is from another donor hull from some boat salvage yard. However, the actual insert is a totally another story. Yes, they still make the insert, but you better be sitting down when you price it. I honestly can't understand why the insert material is so expensive. I mean does it have gold running through it? You will think you are buying the hull all over again when you price that insert. Figure a couple hundred $$$ for the entire boat... However, if you do find the railing itself from some other hull, maybe the insert is in decent enough condition as well and you can clean it up to use it also. Just a thought... Are you going back with the same color scheme or changing it?

 

[Woodonglass]

Repairing that corner and any other damage is actually going to be a fairly easy project. Once the time comes we'll talk you through the process. Nothing at all to worry about.

 

[Woodonglass]

Post some pics of the good portions of the rub rail too!! Also Post pics of any/all other areas of damage to the cap/hull.

 

[sphelps]

Maybe you can find a match for the torn up section of rub rail . Maybe make a nice clean splice .. And gm is right about those inserts . There awful proud of them . That was one of the reasons I went with the rope layed in there instead .. Needed 52 ft and they came in 50 ft rolls .. :lol:

 

[artfan1]

I'll post several pics in the morning showing the damage and areas that need repaired. I'll include pics of the rub rail damage on the port side.

As for the insert to the rub rail. It's not too bad all things considered. Even the area where the damage to the aluminum was, isok. There are a few scratches, dings and a couple of slight bends from where it set for years locked in the aluminum's bent grip. But after some scrubbing and soaking in a tub of water in the hot sun, it relaxed out of that pretty well. I'm cleaning it up even more now and I will store it away to use again. I've kept each and every part that comes off since I don't know how hard it will be to replace them. I photograph and measure the location first, then I remove the part and bag and tag it. Then it goes into my giant tub of parts.

It's interesting to hear that the insert costs more than the aluminum channel. I wonder if it's because the material has to stand up to years of water and sunlight. Most rubber and plastics will dry out and crack after a while but this stuff is still pretty flexible. Maybe it's a special kind of stuff.

Since the rub rail is already spliced in the center of the bow, I can do the same in other areas I'm sure. The end points that finish off the rub rails are both missing too but I'm hopeful I will come across those during my restore.

 

[artfan1]

Ok, here are some pics of various damage spots and screw holes. I still need to take some shots of the underside. There are a few scratches, wear spots and one long gouge.

And here's an additional damage spot on the port side rub rail. I already have the rub rail removed and I thought I had taken better pictures if that side but I guess I didn't, sorry. You can see in the images above that the rub rail insert has some rope rub damage. May have to just live with it but I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

 

[gm280]

Actually artfan1, if you work very carefully, you can refinish that rub rail section and make it look like it never had any issues. It will take some finessing, but absolutely doable.. And I haven't seen anything that would be off the chart of fixable either. Looks like everything is pretty much repairable and will work and look like new... :thumb:

 

[Woodonglass]

Pretty typical/basic stuff for a boat of this vintage. We can/will step you thru the repair process for all of this and you'll be a "Glassin' PRO" before you can say Dicyclopentadiene!!! (Look it up):lol:

 

[Woodonglass]

Based on the pics, I THINK this is the rub rail insert material you need. You'll need to measure it to make sure.

http://greatlakesskipper.com/skier-s...rail-insert-ft

iBoats sells it too but I could only find it in black and it costs more but they will price match if they can get it in white so you might check. We always like to support the iBoats Store when we can.

 

[kcassells]

Yup....what the Wogster said. So come on get that cap off. Can't wait to see how yuo get at her, chop er up and puter back together.:joyous:
This is such a nice clean, basic glass thread rehab.

 

[artfan1]

Based on the pics, I THINK this is the rub rail insert material you need. You'll need to measure it to make sure.

http://greatlakesskipper.com/skier-s...rail-insert-ft

iBoats sells it too but I could only find it in black and it costs more but they will price match if they can get it in white so you might check. We always like to support the iBoats Store when we can.

I know it's hard to tell in those images but here is a clean closeup.

I think it's this one right here actually.
http://www.iboats.com/15-16-x-3-8-Fl...view_id.271929
If so, it's not too bad for a 50' length. And iboats.com has it in white.

Yup....what the Wogster said. So come on get that cap off. Can't wait to see how yuo get at her, chop er up and puter back together.:joyous:
This is such a nice clean, basic glass thread rehab.

I know, I know? I'm procrastinating. No, not really. It's been one thunderstorm after another here the past couple of days. I have all my stuff ready and I continue to work on the cradle, and measuring/photographing, documenting, etc. between each downpour. It's been really nice today though and just my luck, I have to work most of the day at my real job. :smash:

 

[Woodonglass]

Yup you NAILED it!!! That's a good Deal on the insert!!! With patience you should be able to straighten the RR make it work or at the very least only have to purchase a small length of it. I'm a C.O.B. so I know ALL about pinching penneys and saving a buck when and where you can. If you check out my restoration thread you'll see many instances where I "INVENTED" a lot of things to get the boat put back together and she works just fine!!!!

 

[artfan1]

Quick question. I am removing the left and right "Ranger" logos from the hull so that I can place my supports for the cradle. They have to come off anyway, right?
So, normally I would just carefully drill the center of the rivet enough to free it. That's how I did the serial number plaque and the rub rail. On these logos, do I need to know anything first? Neither is cracked in any way so I want to be careful and do it right. Figured I should check just in case.

 

[DeepBlue2010]

Can't think of any extra precautions. Just use a center punch and progressively larger drill bit

 

[artfan1]

Can't think of any extra precautions. Just use a center punch and progressively larger drill bit

Thanks. Saw your message and went at it. They came off really easy actually.

Planning to start the cap cutting process this weekend if the weather holds out. Pictures will follow if I make any progress.

 

[cedarlattice]

I following this one. This looks like a fun project. Good luck on the cap removal.

 

[DeepBlue2010]

I wanted to ask you this for sometime now.... If it is not so much trouble, can you post a picture for from inside the boat under the gunnels where the cap meets the hull. I want to see how it looks like before you start cutting. You posted a drawing of it before but I would love to see a picture if possible