1974 Grady White Restoration

[DeepBlue2010]

Hi Derek, Just finished reading through your project. Good work!

Here are my .02 cents speaking from experience... Don't over complicate things at this stage; it is just the demo phase. If you over exhaust yourself now, you will run out of steam later on in the rebuild phase were you need it the most and you will never know what life will through at you. I have been trying to find the time to rebuild mine for 4 years now.

Hot wire is the tool to use if you are producing complex and/or precise shapes (i.e RC model wings, shaped seat bases, etc). In your case, I would just shovel the darn old garbage out. There are still plenty of opportunity for creativity during the rebuild.. Believe me, there are no shortage of them when you get to that phase. Your boat, your call. Best of luck

 

[Derekxj]

Hi Derek, Just finished reading through your project. Good work!

Here are my .02 cents speaking from experience... Don't over complicate things at this stage; it is just the demo phase. If you over exhaust yourself now, you will run out of steam later on in the rebuild phase were you need it the most and you will never know what life will through at you. I have been trying to find the time to rebuild mine for 4 years now.

Hot wire is the tool to use if you are producing complex and/or precise shapes (i.e RC model wings, shaped seat bases, etc). In your case, I would just shovel the darn old garbage out. There are still plenty of opportunity for creativity during the rebuild.. Believe me, there are no shortage of them when you get to that phase. Your boat, your call. Best of luck

Hey thanks man. Unfortunately the boat is not in its final resting place where it will be for rebuild, so it will need to be trailered there.......wherever thats going to be. Likely in a friends garage. Due to this, i cannot yet remove the stringers as im afraid of the hull warping. Infact. The stringers are quite loose...as in barely any glass holding them down anymore. I can wiggle them from side to side. This worries me about trailering it anyhow. i might actually lay a piece of plywood across the old stringers and screw her down before trailering it....just for a little extra support. For now, im going to mess with getting the foam out and the " pre-formed piece " out of the cabin. Getting windshield out etc.

 

[DeepBlue2010]

I would not think your idea of attaching a temp support along the stringers will help during trailing because the real problem you might have in this situation is vertical forces pushing against the hull (such as going over a rough road or a speed bumps; those rollers can puncture through the hull easy.
If I were you, I would try to widen the area of contact of these rollers to the hull to the best of my ability by using – just thinking out loud here – something like flat & wide ½ inch wood board covered with carpet between the hull and each roller group.

 

[Derekxj]

and you would think this would need to be done trailering as is? As of right now. The only thing thats actually removed is the deck.

 

[DeepBlue2010]

and you would think this would need to be done trailering as is? As of right now. The only thing thats actually removed is the deck.

I am not sure I understand your question. I was addressing your concern of trailing the boat to its construction place with weak/de-attached stringers. The suggestion I posted addresses minimizing the chances of the trailer rollers puncture through the hull due to a speed bump or alike situation. The stringers are already loose and pretty much a mulch. IMHO, attaching a board along them will serve no purpose in securing the boat during trailing.

 

[Woodonglass]

I agree with DB totally. If the stringers are detached from the hull as you say, then you should not be trailering the boat with that roller trailer. I'd be making some "Bunks" for it to disperse the load as he suggests.

 

[Derekxj]

Thanks for the input guys. I may look into doing this. Eventually, this trailer is going to be going by the way-side in favor of hopefully a much newer Bunk trailer.
I've never had a bunk trailer before and always thought / was under the impression rollers were best. I digress. I suppose i will get some beefy 2x6's or something of the like and some bracketry from somewhere (Where i dont know ), and attempt to jack the boat and get some " bunks " carpeted and installed under the boat as it sits now.

 

[DeepBlue2010]

an inch and half is - IMHO - an overkill and it might backfire. You don't want the bunks themselves to be a major stress on the hull. A 1/2 or 3/4 will be more than sufficient to to distribute the force of the rollers across.

 

[Derekxj]

an inch and half is - IMHO - an overkill and it might backfire. You don't want the bunks themselves to be a major stress on the hull. A 1/2 or 3/4 will be more than sufficient to to distribute the force of the rollers across.

Do you mean the thickness of the bunks i will build? So perhaps maybe a couple 1x3x10's ( PT) will get the job done then? I've seen people use what looks liek a 2x6 on the short side. Im not really quite understanding how the bunks work 100% by looking at photos on google. It seems most have a series of keel rollers down the middle. I would imagine the more bunks ( the more surface area ) on the bottom of the hull the better. If i add one long one on each side of the bottom of the hull would this be enough to transport / gut the rest of the boat?

 

[DeepBlue2010]

Do you mean the thickness of the bunks i will build?

Yes, that is exactly what I mean. Bunk trailers are designed in such a way that when the boat is loaded, it rest flat with its weight distributed evenly across all support points. As long as the designer satisfy this condition, he or she can use whatever thickness they want for the bunk because the whole design will be balanced (for example if they decide to use 4 inch thick bunks - for whatever reason - they can use shorter brackets to mount them)

In your case, you are modifying a roller trailer - temporary - for safe transportation of your boat. The thickness of the bunks you will use will alter the way the boat sits on the trailer. If the bunks are too thick, they may represent an undesired stress on the hull. You don't want that.

 

[kcassells]

Thanks for all of the input gents!!! I would probably have to get a heck of alot of nerves up to stick a sawsall in there with the blade pointing at the bottom hull!!
Call me crazy, but im always trying to think of overcomplicated ways to make life easier lol. My brain keeps going back to the idea of a hot wire. I've used them before back when i was in school for sculpting models out of rigid insulation foam. Works absolutely amazing and i even built a table-top one. It doesnt seem to me, that this would be difficult at ALL to build into some sort of " Wire Wand " if you will for soley accomplishing the foam removal task quickly and painlessly. Could ride the wire right along fiberglass getting REAL close without damaging the glass ( minimizing griding after ) etc etc etc.

No Biggy at all not wanting to use the sawsall. Thats why I said multiple length blades. There are so many ways to do this part but indeed feel comfortable. Let us know when you DO MAKE the first hull penetration.....we all have and it is an easy fix.

 

[Rickmerrill]

Thanks for all of the input gents!!! I would probably have to get a heck of alot of nerves up to stick a sawsall in there with the blade pointing at the bottom hull!! Call me crazy, but im always trying to think of overcomplicated ways to make life easier lol. My brain keeps going back to the idea of a hot wire. I've used them before back when i was in school for sculpting models out of rigid insulation foam. Works absolutely amazing and i even built a table-top one. It doesnt seem to me, that this would be difficult at ALL to build into some sort of " Wire Wand " if you will for soley accomplishing the foam removal task quickly and painlessly. Could ride the wire right along fiberglass getting REAL close without damaging the glass ( minimizing griding after ) etc etc etc.

I think you are duty bound to do this and show us how it works out. You might just revolutionize form removal on iboats! Of course with my luck I'd find a way to burn a hole right thru the hull if that's even possible... To accidently cut/grind thru a hull is human but if if you cut thru your trailer and the boat comes crashing to the ground it's time to find a new hobby.

 

[Derekxj]

I may abandon the hot wire idea. It seems that i have a very small bit of foam to remove anyhow, atleast compared to most of you fellas'.
I will most likely stick with the trenching shovels and a mixture of other tools, i've got many trenching shovels at my desposal as i install in-ground sprinklers every weekend as side work.

Does anyone know why only the rear half of my boat would have foam ?? You can see in the photo where it gradually stops about halfway up the boat. When I rebuild it at the end of the day, do i foam the whole thing? will it make it float weird or be unstable?

 

[DeepBlue2010]

I don't think it will imbalance the boat or affect the way it floats. Foam is relatively very light weight and its main job - as you sure now - is to keep the boat afloat in case it starts to take water. Also, it gives more rigidity to the fiberglass and dampen the noise. If I am in your shoes, I would foam everything. The factory - any factory - is motivated by cost reduction. A dollar more in a boat production is $1000 less profit in a 1000 boat lot. For you, it is just a dollar.

 

[kcassells]

I guess that when the po removed the the original under floor gas tank and the other related mods to the structure the foam that may have been there was removed also. Back in the day the surrounded the tank with foam on an unprepped aluminum tank.
On another point....Pour Foam in boats has been the question of "AGES and SAGES." And answered in so many different ways. The foam is the best bet in the event of an accident for flotation puposes. In some boats it is the purpose of structural support by the mfg.
In the end there are questions of, air ventilation thru the hull, drainage thru the limber holes, and of course safety. You will need to research alot more yourself to finally feel comfortable with your decision. You may find a combination of all the above that works. Dig around in the threads there are alot of great ideas and tecniques. All the best. I'm my self am still debating which way I'm going to go.

 

[Mikeopsycho]

I think foam is your friend, but IMO wherever it's used there should be no way for water to get in, and no drains out, (which could also be a way for water to get in). Use it in sealed compartments, and fill these compartments as best you can, completely.

 

[Derekxj]

Hello again old friends.

Life's gotten in my way. The Good old grady has to go. Unfortunately i do not have a place to restore her any further. Its a good hull. Needs some love, and everything else that you can tell from this thread!

The boat is currently up for sale locally. Have turned many down that i could tell were going to rip the motor off of it and scrap the boat. I really dont want that to happen. If any of you all are remotely local to me and would like to take over this project and bring it back to life, please let me know!!!