Bought this as a project, needs transom and minor glass work around hull. (A few hairline impact cracks, looks like it bounced off a dock a few times!) Deck felt very solid. Decided while the transom is being torn apart, I better take a peek at the stringers. Damn. Previous owner did a nice job...of laying new floor on top of rotton plywood and stringers. Will post pic's soon, so others will see what they are getting into. Basically, 2 layers of 3/4" plywood. 1 of which was saturated. The bottom layer had been cut out and reinstalled so 2 bare 2x6's could be bolted to the rotton stringers, that were only glassed about 2 inches up. I pulled out everything, except for up at the bow which I will finish next weekend. Very hard going under the dash and under the bench seating up front. I have run into 1" thick fiberglass at the edges of original deck, up at the bow. I'll try to follow the actual wood next weekend. This boat only had 2 stringers, nothing else. I will be creating a better design, fiberglassing everything with epoxy. Boat has a nice running 65 HP Merc, the 4 cylinder version, however I have a 150 HP Force with less than 40 hours just waiting. Transom will be beefed up...I tend to over-build things anyway. Will use 3 layers of 3/4" in the transom, with large knee braces 20" apart. I'm looking for close to a 3" transom. As for the weight difference from the 65 horse merc, I figure I pulled out 150 pounds + of soaking wet foam, plus 250 pounds + of soaking wet, rotten plywood. With one less layer of 3/4 on the deck, that reduces a lot of weight as well. I ran the boat last summer, and noticed it was sitting low in the water, wouldn't plane with 3 people onboard. My wife loves the boat, so it's worth the money to restore. Excellent for fishing, just cruising around exploring the many lakes here in Oregon, etc. We don't waterski, so it's perfect.
Note: I did explore the idea of pouring the transom and stringers in Seacast. I have no problem with the concept, I just prefer using time tested techniques. Original stringers were 2x6's. I just happen to have some left over, clear 2x6x16 doug fir decking from 2 years ago, completely dry. Not pressure treated, but treated with something. I'll epoxy them real good and glass them in.
Pictures soon!
Note: I did explore the idea of pouring the transom and stringers in Seacast. I have no problem with the concept, I just prefer using time tested techniques. Original stringers were 2x6's. I just happen to have some left over, clear 2x6x16 doug fir decking from 2 years ago, completely dry. Not pressure treated, but treated with something. I'll epoxy them real good and glass them in.
Pictures soon!
