Back from Iraq, on to boat restoration

[infx708]

I've finally saved up enough money (built up a large enough line of credit on my cards?) to undertake the restoration of my boat. It is a 1981 Sea Nymph model JB-161. This boat has a lot of meaning to me, as it's the one my grandfather bought in 1981 and the one in which I caught my first fish. I had it running about 8 years ago - it had sat in a barn for the previous 10 and had mouse nests in the motor, wires had been chewed through, etc. It sat outside for a winter, while I was at basic training, filled with water and then froze into a solid block. So far, I have stripped out all of the carpet except the part that is held down by a riveted aluminum frame and have removed all of the rotted wood. The two main deck pieces are still in good shape, despite the years of torture, and I have coated them with a water sealant. I've been searching for a carpet kit, but it doesn't look like anyone makes one. I have saved all of the carpet I've removed so I can make a pattern if needed. I've never undertaken a project quite this big, but I have half of August and half of September off, so I think I should have enough time to get most of it done. What type of wood should I use to replace the pieces I've removed? The old carpet was glued in and then held in place with screws - should I use this same method? I would really appreciate any help and guidance anyone can give me.

Matt

 

[oops!]

Re: Back from Iraq, on to boat restoration

welcome home and thank you for your service !

uh.....that water sealant.......junk.......fiber glass it.

i dont know the boat....is it an alum?

for the deck...use ext grade plywood.....

as a rule of thumb....duplicate everything that was there.....!

the carpet is easy....no worries....when you get to that phase, well walk you thru it.

there is an exceptional thread on a restoration of an aluminum fishing boat....

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=237215

and qc did a sea nymph....

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=266074

these projects are in the compleated projects forum.....read read read !

were here to help when you get stuck or just arent sure !

cheers
oops

 

[oops!]

Re: Back from Iraq, on to boat restoration

btw.....welcome to i boats

 

[infx708]

Re: Back from Iraq, on to boat restoration

She's an aluminum, shallow-V hull. If I can figure out how to post pics, I can do that. Pretty simple layout - 16' from bow to stern, 6' wide. Has two levels - the main covers about 2/3 of the boat and the other is in the bow, about 8" higher than the rest. Has holes for 3 pedestal mount seats and the helm seat is on top of the live well. The left side has storage lockers all along it. Not sure what you mean by fiberglassing it - there's no fiberglass on the whole boat.

 

[oops!]

Re: Back from Iraq, on to boat restoration

fiberglass the floor !

both sides..(above and below)...yup....glass it....it will be permanant....quick and cheap.

read those threads i gave you....there is some really class work on them....

cheers
oops

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Back from Iraq, on to boat restoration

welcome home safe and sound i hope. you are on the right track.

 

[infx708]

Re: Back from Iraq, on to boat restoration

Ok, I've decided to consolidate my progress in this thread. Before today, I removed all the carpet and the rotted wood covers for the various storage compartments and floatation compartments. I also removed about 50% of the foam. It looked like this:

Today I began removing rivets, the remaining screws, and most of the remaining foam at the stern. I also got both of the decks up and found some foam under the bow deck.

Notice that it is centered and doesn't fill the entire void under that deck. Is this related to keeping the boat at the right attitude in the water? Should I fill it completely or should I try to replace it just as it looks before I removed it? If I keep it centered, I'm considering adding storage compartments on either side of it. Any suggestions for building materials for these? I'd like to make them water tight as that space is where water drains to the stern.
Tomorrow I plan on getting the ShopVac out and focusing on removing the rusted screws that are stuck in the cross members using a Dremel and drill.
There were also sheets of foam located between each cross member under the larger deck. I'll take a picture of it tomorrow. Going to need to find a source for it.
Sorry the images are landscaped - can't get them to rotate here.

 

[imported_JimmyMac]

Re: Back from Iraq, on to boat restoration

Matt:

Not to be redundant... welcome back and thank you for your service. It looks to me like they used two-part expanding foam, but not quite enough of it. On most boats it completely fills the void.

It's there to keep the boat afloat to the degree that you can stay with her in the event of a serious holeing. If you search this site, there are a number of really good threads on quantity and brands of foam to use.

Oops is right about glassing the deck if you want it to last. Also, coat all fasteners that secure it with 3m 4200 sealant.

Best of luck,

Jim

 

[infx708]

Re: Back from Iraq, on to boat restoration

Thanks Jim. I was more concerned about the location and formation of the foam - wondering if changing this will affect the handling of the boat.

I'm having a heck of a time finding a source for a piece of 4'x10'x3/4" marine plywood. Anyone have experience in joining 2 pieces of plywood?
After removing all this foam, I've noticed that the ribs in the hull are blocked under the stringers. To me, that's the primary channel for water to drain to the stern for the pump. Should I install some PVC pipe to serve as a sort of drain field for the boat?

 

[oops!]

Re: Back from Iraq, on to boat restoration

Thanks Jim. I was more concerned about the location and formation of the foam - wondering if changing this will affect the handling of the boat.

I'm having a heck of a time finding a source for a piece of 4'x10'x3/4" marine plywood. Anyone have experience in joining 2 pieces of plywood?
After removing all this foam, I've noticed that the ribs in the hull are blocked under the stringers. To me, that's the primary channel for water to drain to the stern for the pump. Should I install some PVC pipe to serve as a sort of drain field for the boat?

#1....nope....it wont affect it at all.....
you can replace the foam with one of two methods.....
1 pour it in and wait till it fills the area...then cut off exess and cover with the deck......the other way is to replace the deck ant then cut a few holes in the floor....then pour in the foam and let it expand thru some extra expansion holes......both ways work...i like the first way better cause the foam will generate lots of pressure when it expands...and can actually change the shape of the hull....thats when you can run into handeling problems...

#2 ....use 4x8 sheets of ply....then just seal the edges with resin...butt them close togeather....when you glass in the deck...it will efectively become one sheet.


there should be a bilge channel.....a way for the water to get stem to stern.

 

[204 Escape]

Re: Back from Iraq, on to boat restoration

WELCOME HOME !!!!!!!!!!!! I am glad you made it back safe and sound. T H A N K Y O U !!!!!!!!!

Enjoy you boat project !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[zach103]

Re: Back from Iraq, on to boat restoration

like oops said. your better off with pouring the foam in than cutting it. . its easy to cut i did it in my boat.. someone i know said once he saw someone cut the holes than pour and it pushed the whole deck up

 

[Bull54]

Re: Back from Iraq, on to boat restoration

Thanks for serving! Good Luck on the boat! I have one going also

 

[imported_JimmyMac]

Re: Back from Iraq, on to boat restoration

Matt:

I had the same problem. I purchased a piece of 1-1/4" wide aluminum from a hardware store and used PL adhesive and big head rivets to hold the thing together. When I finished the deck, I painted over the rivet heads to hide them. If you need a handful of these rivets, let me know, I had to buy a bug box of them and only used a few.

 

[infx708]

Re: Back from Iraq, on to boat restoration

Thanks for the idea Jimmy. I'm thinking about trying to cut the two pieces of wood so that they meet at one of my stringers. My stringers are about 2.5" wide. I'd rather not have a double screw line though. Do the rivets leave a bump in the carpet? I suppose it'd be possible to countersink them. Any suggestions for screw materials? I know stainless is out due to the aluminum. Not idea what the originals were - after almost 30 years, they were pretty much eaten through. Looks like an early trip to Lowes for some fact finding in the morning.

 

[imported_JimmyMac]

Re: Back from Iraq, on to boat restoration

Yeah, the rivets would leave a small bump that would be visible in the carpet. You could countersink them and fill with resin or epoxy. The rivets are aluminum with aluminum shanks. Some guys have used stainless screws on the "tinnys", I think the galvanic corrosion problem is really a saltwater issue but I'm not 100% sure. I do know you don't want to ground your battery to the hull to minimize the effects.

Cheers,

Jim

 

[infx708]

Re: Back from Iraq, on to boat restoration

I think what I might do is temporarily join the sheets with a piece of wood underneath and then cover the top and sides with glass mat and epoxy resin. After that dries, I'll flip it over, remove the wood join, and glass that side. The question is, will the fiberglass reinforce the joint enough to make it act as a single piece?

 

[infx708]

Re: Back from Iraq, on to boat restoration

Today I cut the plywood for the two floors and some of the other compartment covers that I still have the original wood for. I test fitted the two floors - the bow is one piece and the main is two pieces.

Here you can see where the two pieces of the main floor will join.

I'm still deciding on the options here. I found a site that describes how to do a scarf joint with a circular saw and a jog. I'm also considering attaching a piece of plywood to the underside to hold them together. I think I want to wrap the whole thing in fiberglass for better protection and strength, but I've never dealt with fiberglass before. How does it handle with holes? I have a couple of holes in the floor for mounting pedestal chairs. The joint is unsupported directly below it. There is a stringer about 2" from the joint on the shorter side and about 13" on the longer side. I'm figuring that there won't be much weight at that point - the battery and gas tank will sit on either side of the keel, in the storage by the transom.