New-to-me 9 ft sailing dinghy...

[jaymoussy]

I got me a 9 ft sailing dinghy, which needs a few things fixed.
Thin, "single lay" fiberglass, not a double shell (tech terms!).

Pictures (I have not shown, mast, dagger board, rudder and sail!):



I bought it to be a plain dinghy to go to mooring and back.
This guy needs a few things:

Some areas need Marine Tex and/or fiberglass: top of transom, gunwale minor cracks. Transom outside wood "platen" is cemented in, and will need water protection. Very minor leak at the back of dagger board case, typical, I read.

What concerns me right now is that the gunwales do not have wood or metal structural members. Current thought is using 3/4" white PVC Sch. 40 water pipe, and screw it in every few inches using existing holes in gunwale fiberglass top.

Stepping back, I can make this a passable plain dinghy, which I need a a few weeks, OR pay more attention to details about the sail part and restore with that in mind.
Note that I have zero idea of what boat it is.
There is an oval manufacturer plate on transom:

Only part I can make out, at bottom "...LLMORE"

So, how do I deal with gunwale support?

EDIT: Holly mackerel, I found the manufacturer:
"... Atlantic Laminates was located in Bellmore, Long Island, New York"..."showed 8 dinghies models and a sailboat at the 1969 New York Boat Show".

 

[jaymoussy]

More research indicates this was an Atlantic Laminates Inc. "Seal Sailing" model, early 70s.

The gunwale treatment is still uncertain:
- does it need stiffening reinforcement?
- there will be a need for a rub rail, for the purpose of approaching other boats.

 

[fhhuber]

Depends on the condition of the fiberglass...

OEM that would most likely not have had anything to stiffen the gunwales, depending on the "U" of the fiberglass for stiffness.

If it looks like its starting to flex and crack then you'll want to do something about it. "prettiest" would be cleaning the inside of the U (flip the boat) and putting some added fiberglass inside where it can't be seen.
If you expect to be bumping stuff then you may want to fill the U with wood/fiberglass laminate which would be VERY strong.

Maybe carry the outer edge of the gunwale down a bit to accommodate the rub rail if you are doing the wood reinforcement.

That gunwale wasn't intended to take impacts. or even be used to step on (but it looks like its been stepped on a lot)

iboats sells rub rail materials.

 

[jaymoussy]

Depends on the condition of the fiberglass...

... cleaning the inside of the U (flip the boat) and putting some added fiberglass inside where it can't be seen.
If you expect to be bumping stuff then you may want to fill the U with wood/fiberglass laminate which would be VERY strong.
...
... rub rail materials.

Thanks for the advice.
Added fiberglass in hidden area has an advantage, which is staying with fiberglass, a opposed to adding epoxy, I think(?)
I can also use my PVC pipe add-ons idea, not super-strong, but non-destructive. They could be stiffened a bit with spray foam inside the pipe.

Functional rub material could be as simple as pool noodle arrangement, or, fancier, small-size boat fenders, the kind with eyelets at both ends.

 

[fhhuber]

Spray foam inside pipe doesn't work well.

Tends to have a couple inches foam, then several inches air... repeat all through the pipe.

Note that some spray foams its even worse. Some cure by reaction to moisture in the air. There won't be enough moisture in the pipe and you have goo in the middle with foam plugs at the ends.

 

[Sabeski]

How did the dinghy project turn out. I have an American laminates dinghy also that I bought last year. It's the size down. The econo dink. I am missing the rudder I rebuilt the dagger board bix, seats and stern. Can you send me a pic of the rudder. Still need to build one. Thanks... joe

 

[jbcurt00]

Jaymoussy started this topic a year ago, posted a reply above and hasnt been back since.

Not likely to get or respond to your question

Closed