1987 Ski Centurion Tru Trac II - First Time Rebuild - Floor, Engine, Dash, etc.

[ACon977]

And I also got the bulk heads layered up tonight. Not my best glassing work. But for what they need to do, I'll call it good enough.

 

[ACon977]

And lastly. A big question that came up when I was looking at the floor layout. What should I do about my through bolts...

I realized that once I put the floor on and put foam in, i will never be able to access the back sides of the bolts. Which would be great if I never had to pull the engine. Ever. But I probably will have to at some point.

my initial thought was to make some PB and glue the fender washer and nut to the stringer. Then when I unthread the bolt, they will stay in place.

thoughts?

 

[ACon977]

:bump2: to a few guys who have been super helpful on this thread...

Im wondering if it makes sense to do boxes around the bolts, and keep access to the end nut, or go with the epoxy route I mentioned above.

kcassells Ned L mickyryan Timr71 Baylinerchuck; Mad Props archbuilder

 

[AlabamaNewbie]

Take what I am about to say with a grain of salt because I don't really even know what I am looking at ... but....

Could you use a carriage bolt and go the other way with it? Then you could just glass over the carriage head and it wouldn't budge, and it would be on the sealed side, and the nut would be on the exposed side.

 

[ACon977]

Take what I am about to say with a grain of salt because I don't really even know what I am looking at ... but....

Could you use a carriage bolt and go the other way with it? Then you could just glass over the carriage head and it wouldn't budge, and it would be on the sealed side, and the nut would be on the exposed side.

great comment and I did think about that. but then in order to get the engine out I would have to detach the mounts from the engine, which is doable, but then would be harder to get lined back up to put back on.

That may be the better solution though, my goal was to leave the mounts attached, but I'm starting to like it.

 

[ACon977]

Looking back at pictures of the rear mounts I remember why I didnt take the engine mounts off. The bolt that locks the horizontal slide is right next to the engine mounting bolt.

This would make it tough to get this bolt off. but again, doable.

 

[AlabamaNewbie]

Yeah I see what you mean. So yeah back to your idea... I would probably do a counter sink on the foam side the depth of the nut. Then I'd coat my bolt in wax, put it through and tighten down. Then I'd epoxy/glass the nut in place, and hope the wax on the bolt keeps the resin from sticking to it.

But again remember - I know nothing about boat buildin'... I am just a wannabe redneck engineer.

 

[ACon977]

Yeah I see what you mean. So yeah back to your idea... I would probably do a counter sink on the foam side the depth of the nut. Then I'd coat my bolt in wax, put it through and tighten down. Then I'd epoxy/glass the nut in place, and hope the wax on the bolt keeps the resin from sticking to it.

But again remember - I know nothing about boat buildin'... I am just a wannabe redneck engineer.

I wasnt even gonna countersink. Just glass them to the outside. I already coated the bolts with wax when I first pushed them through the holes. Hoping that they are free enough to turn out as is.

 

[AlabamaNewbie]

I wasnt even gonna countersink. Just glass them to the outside. I already coated the bolts with wax when I first pushed them through the holes. Hoping that they are free enough to turn out as is.

I guess I was thinking counter sink because the resin will get in between the flats of the nut and the curve of the hole, and help wedge it in place. That way if you really have to torque on it, it's less likely to break lose.

 

[ACon977]

I guess I was thinking counter sink because the resin will get in between the flats of the nut and the curve of the hole, and help wedge it in place. That way if you really have to torque on it, it's less likely to break lose.

definitely a good idea. I was just thinking to put a minimum number of holes in the stringers, But yea, would hate to have one of those come free.

 

[AlabamaNewbie]

At least your stringers are wide enough to do that. This silly boat I am slowly becoming in debt for has stringers 3/4". I'm still trying to figure out how I can get 15 ft of stringer when its so thin! I'm seriously considering going back with 1-1/2" just to make life easier laminating together a splice joint.

 

[ACon977]

At least your stringers are wide enough to do that. This silly boat I am slowly becoming in debt for has stringers 3/4". I'm still trying to figure out how I can get 15 ft of stringer when its so thin! I'm seriously considering going back with 1-1/2" just to make life easier laminating together a splice joint.

Ayeee, the discussion I had on here with a few guys between plywood or dimensional lumber.

I decided to do dimensional since that's what I took out of the boat, and it ended up being a hair easier to glass around. A lot of other boats couldn't have that as an option because of the required height of the stringers. Those with the deep hull are better for cutting waves, but require much taller stringers. My boat is supposed to ride on top of the water, so 2x6 lumber was perfect for me.

I watched project glasstron on youtube by JMink. he did a glastron that may be similar to yours, he also used dimensional lumber for his stringers, although people on here swear by layering up plywood due to the multidimensional strength being the same.

Heres a link to his playlist. Its a good series. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...3CiTJs4-21ol2d

Also if you are doing ply, I would recommend feathering them together, do 2 layers next to eachother rather than just 1. Or heck, do 3, then you could have a better tongue and groove joint between the 8' sections.

 

[ACon977]

If you dropped down to 3/8" ply you could do 2 layers and be at 3/4" or do 3 layers and just be a 1/8th over an inch. Better to be overkill than underkill. When we are restoring an entire boat, my goal is to never have to touch any of it again, so Im putting in extra effort to have extra strength where it may not even need it.

 

[AlabamaNewbie]

Thanks, I hadn't seen that series yet. I am still toying with going back with dimensional because of the lengths and the space I have to work with. I have my head stuck in ply because that's what came out. But I just looked at his stringer video, and I may be back leaning towards dimensional.

So many decisions just to be able to go fishing!!

 

[ACon977]

My vote is stick with what came out. There is a reason, even if dimensional seems that much easier. But hey, I'm sure either would be ok. Glassing with the Ply was actually very nice. I would recommend sanding or routering the top of the boards so that you have a smoother edge, any time you can make a 90 into a radius its worth the time.

 

[ACon977]

Also... I was thinking more last night, and realized, why not just use T Nuts. Seems like what I am trying to do and then I could glass over the end and cut out the opening.

I think this will be the winner. Pretty much putting a threaded hole in the board.

 

[AlabamaNewbie]

Well now that makes a lot of sense! I told you.... I'm a redneck engineer that makes things harder than they need to be!

 

[ACon977]

Well thats the best thing about this forum. Its a great place to bounce ideas off of people

 

[Woodonglass]

Where are you using the T-nuts?
The reason the MFG's use dimensional lumber is...It's Cheaper!!! Plywood IS the best and strongest way to go but either will work. If you go dimensional make SURE it's Douglass Fir. Mush more water resistant and Stronger than Pine. If Plywood use two layers of 1/2"

 

[archbuilder]

I almost mentioned tee nuts yesterday, but I wasn't sure I understood all of the problem. Next time I will just open my mouth and put it out there lol!