Re: Where to start?
It may not be a good idea to "add on" to an existing transom.<br /> As far as what I can see in the hull. The glass stringer system looks to be fairly intact. If you are not worried about speed. What you can do is clean the surface really well, then sand down the stringer with a rotory sander, to rough up the surface for a new coat of glass.<br /> Then I would cover the whole thing in 1/2 oz. mat and 16 oz.woven glass again. The woven glass adds strength, the matt provides a bond for the woven.<br /> But, before that process it looks like the stringer is nothing more than merely a paralell system. Only four stringer spines rinning up the hull from transom to bow. You can add some gunwales cross ways to the stringer to make a more rigid hull.<br /> It is not hard to make. Find your dimensions. Nail a few 2x4's together and wax them good to allow you to pop the bulk head out off the mould. Cut to fit between the existing stringer and glass them in laterally and even all the way across the hull. In at least three rows, evenly spaced.<br /> Get some PVC pipe about 3 to 4 inches in diameter. Cut it in half to form a dome and then cut it into pieces to form tunnels for water drain down the center of the hull. Make sure they are at least one inch longer than the bulkhead. Glass the PVC down to the center chime in the boat in the areas where you plan to add a bulk head. Then, after it has cured, notch out the bulk head you made to fit down into the slot over the PVC pipe. Make sure to not to lap over the opening of the pipe. Glass in the lateral bulkheads with the mat and woven glass, solid. If you want the extra piece of mind you can drill some holes in the new bulk heads big enough to spray in asome expansion foam. That will give extra strength but with the glassed in bulkheads it could be enough. If yo wonder what all this does, it is to prevent alot of twisting of the hull which causes stress cracks to the desk and hull. I think alot of new boats come with this concept, ours does. Your boat has more of a deck rail than an actual deck. Not much strength there. This would add the extra support in the hull. Then you can add a floor adn use the new bulkheads to screw down the floor. To do that add some strips of balsa wood to the top of the bulkhead in the mould before it is cured. It will bond without any extra glass needed. Press it into the wet resin that is on the glass.
