Well Now, what a place!!!

[MTboatguy]

I have been sitting here reading posts, since I found this place this morning, so we are talking at least 8 hours of reading!!! What a wealth of information..

So I figured, I would post a message?

I recently almost went broke, and picked up a Chrysler Del Ray 15 foot Aluminum Runabout for $50.00. After extensive searches on the Net, I was able to find the Chrysler brochures on this boat so I could figure out what I had...

Well now, when I went to put this darn thing on the hitch, I could barely pick up the trailer tongue, so figured, the bottom was full of water, which is was! But here is the conundrum, when I pulled the Micky moused floor up(they cut the middle out and put 1/2 regular ply wood in, screwed to the edges of the old floor!! ), the foam was gone, but also, there is NO stringers, so I am thinking that the foam was part of the structure of this boat.

Now I am contemplating my options.....do I build stringers for structure, or do I put that nasty pour in foam back in, I have a full shop with welding, painting and riveting capabilities(Spent to much time in the RV Business) Or do I just rip out what is left of the floor and do a restoration of the Chrysler foam pack?

I spent extensive time reading the various Star Craft threads today and this boat is very similar to the Star Craft aluminum boats, but they have ribs and mine don't, so trying to figure out the best way to keep it as stock as possible, but add some rigidity to the bottom of this boat..

Any thoughts or ideas, would really help out a lot, if has been over 20 years, since I have restored a boat, last one was a '62 seaswirl fiberglass, so working with the aluminum, is a bit different.

Thanks for any help in advance...

Dave

 

[Lion hunter]

Re: Well Now, what a place!!!

Not sure about yours but alot of tinnys use ribs that run cross ways for the structure. I sure the floor itself provided quite a bit as well. Stringers would be easy enough to install and probably make it easier too install the deck. I would think the faom provided stucture to the deck more than the hull. Without stringers I would think you would need to replace the faom or use very thick plywood to keep it from sagging when weight is on it.

 

[Willyclay]

Re: Well Now, what a place!!!

Welcome to the iboats.com forum. The experts here, which I am not, can help you with any question about your boat, motor and trailer. The link below is to the Lone Star section of Fiberglassics.com where you will find out that Chrysler's Marine Division was created by the acquisition of Lone Star in 1965. Additionally, the chronology indicates Lone Star began "Foam Pac" construction in 1962. I had a Lone Star Medallion II with Foam Pac and it was exactly as you describe yours. It is my understanding the foam was poured or injected after the deck was already secured in the hull by fiberglassing it to the aluminum hull. The foam then bonded to the underside of the deck to form one piece of structure. My rotted transom and aft third of the deck allowed me to learn all about this feature. Good luck with yours!

http://www.fiberglassics.com/library/Lone_Star

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Well Now, what a place!!!

Welcome to iboats.

If you want to do some enjoyable reading....... http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=288451 There are links in there to Foam questions/Calculations and a link to MANY of the aluminum Starcraft restorations.

I imagine that will get you on the right track

Just remember no pressure treated wood in an aluminum boat since it reacts with the metal.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Well Now, what a place!!!

Thanks Guys,

I, after looking at the boat this morning, have decided to build stringers out of 2x4 or 2x6 stock, cut to the proper dimensions to fit the the hull, what is the best way to attach them, I am thinking some type of epoxy, then fiberglass over that with cloth to the floor, would this be a good plan?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: Well Now, what a place!!!

Photos of the rig would be very helpful since most aluminum rigs do have aluminum stringers.

If you use wood I'd recommend sealing it very well with a 2-part epoxy resin so it won't rot.

I'm pretty sure that building stringers out of aluminum would be the best route to take...and avoid pour-in or injected foam. The blue sheets from Lowe's do not absorb water at all and leave a nice void in the keel for water to drain to the stern.

Sounds like a unique boat, good luck with the project

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Well Now, what a place!!!

Thanks,

I will try to take some pics today and post them, I had not planned on putting pour in foam back in it, which leads to the the stringer question, in research, Chrysler actually used the Foam Pac deck system as part of the structure for this type of boat, and I want to get away from that darn pour in stuff.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: Well Now, what a place!!!

Another thought...if you want some below deck storage hatches the 2x6 would be better than the 2x4s.

Also for a riveted hull Gluvit works wonders on the rivets and seams to prevent leaks for many years. Available here at the iboats marine store.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Well Now, what a place!!!

Thanks,

Gluvit is already sitting in the garage waiting! I have used that stuff on a lot of different projects I have done over the years and we used to use it in the RV industry as well, at this point in time, the hull seems very water tight, the boat has been sitting for over 10 years through Montana winters and Springs, when I went to pick it up, there was several hundreds of gallons of water in it! and no dripping or seepage. One thing good about cold weather around here, rot is not very prevalent... I am sure if this boat had been in a warm or humid climate, it would be trash and only good from scrap...

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Well Now, what a place!!!

Okay, here we go with some pictures of the diamond in the rough!

As you can see, foam is missing and Nope, no stringers at all! The previous owner(s) at some time in the past, cut the middle part of the deck out, then scraped all the foam out they could get to, then laid some blue 2" foam strips down, then decided to screw regular 1/2" plywood over things to put a floor back in it, I removed the plywood they put in and there is still a good amount of the old decking in there, so it will all be coming out and put back in the correct way..

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Well Now, what a place!!!

Cool boat. I can't believe it has no stringers or ribs! Crazy! I guess I'd go about building this one like the glass guys do it. Bed some plywood stringers to the hull with PL Premium. Not sure how to tell you to attach it to the sides though.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: Well Now, what a place!!!

I like that rig...the windshield looks great, kinda unique look to it.

It looks like it's in good shape too, does the glass have any scratches?

Those handles on the gunwales are sweet also. Well worth restoring and should be a nice project.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Well Now, what a place!!!

The windshield is pretty much a lost cause, so I will build a form and make a new one to fit the frame that is on it, done that a few times for Motorcycles and ATV's.

For what I paid, it is in very good shape, to bad I couldn't talk them into letting me have the trailer!!! but they wanted to make a flatbed for hauling motorcycles on of it! So I will either pick another trailer up or build one, not a hard thing to do..

I will eventually paint it back to the original Chrysler color scheme, which was white with red accents on various parts of the boat.

I was thrilled the transom is good and strong, from the factory, it was rated for a 65 horse, but in looking at it, I am sure it could handle more. They asked if they could keep the steering and I told them please do! It was an older double cable system, which I don't like, so I will be putting a new enclosed single cable system in it..like I did on my last boat.

I am hoping to find a reasonable Chrysler engine for it, so I can keep with the original theme of the boat.

 

[mytquinn]

Re: Well Now, what a place!!!

If your dreading the foam, and it's water sucking properties, try the Bobsglasstream method:

Spread some plastic where you want the foam.
Mix up your foam batch and pour it.
You can use a properly sized piece of plywood covered in plastic as a "lid" to help keep the top of your pour level.

Once the foam is cured, you can pull it out. The plastic will pull right off when the foam is cured.
Now you can carve some drainage channels in the underside.
When done carving the channels, epoxy coat the block of foam.
Just make sure it all drains to the bilge.

That pour foam really is pretty easy to work with.
If you go that route, I suggest buying some large clear disposable plastic cups from wally world. If they have them, get the ones with rings on the sides. The rings make it easy to measure equal amounts. Just make sure you don't fill the cups over half, or you will need a separate larger container to mix them together. I just poured one cup into the other and mixed for 25 - 30 seconds and poured where I needed and then repeated as needed.

One other thing. If you do this you have to make sure that the shape of the compartment you are pouring the foam into is not shaped so that it locks the foam in place and you can't pull it out.

 

[Lion hunter]

Re: Well Now, what a place!!!

If I was to build stringers with wood I would glass the wood and put aluminum angle on either side and rivet that to the boat. My crestliner in the post below my sig. has aluminum channel for stringers that are about 1/8" thick. That may get pricey though. If I remember mine has four of them about 10" apart with the outer deck resting against a lip on the sides.

 

[monk-monk]

Re: Well Now, what a place!!!

Yep, you found the best boating forum site there is...Education is expensive, but here on iboats...IT'S FREE...!! Got one piece of advice...check out westsystem.com for all your Resin, hardners, cloth...etc. I have recently used these products and can tell you first hand, im not a pro with fiberglass, but they provide products that are so easy to use...Even a caveman can do it...!

 

[Lion hunter]

Re: Well Now, what a place!!!

Somebody else may chime in on this one but if you used wood like I mentioned I wouldn't think you would need to run the angle the full length of the boat. Maybe just about 4 places 6" long along each stringer. If that would work it would cut some costs as well. I think I would also figure out a way to fashion some knee braces to tie it into the transom as well. At least 2 in the middle. The stringers could just run along side them and tie in that way.