89 Four Winns Freedom 170 Floor / Stringer Rebuild PICS

[mbasonic]

Well, I'm new to this forum in posting, but I've been reading for a while on OOPS! hull extension project he did a few years ago. I was encouraged by this, and decided that taking some pictures of my project and sharing them with others could potentially help others, like oops! helped me. Hopefully i don't screw anything up!

 

[mbasonic]

Re: 89 Four Winns Freedom 170 Floor / Stringer Rebuild PICS

I was trying to load a pic in the first post, but i was on my tablet and the pic insert tool wasn't showing up. Here we go. So, unfortunately,i don't have a pic from the very beginning, but pretty close. This is kind of where i am. I thought as rotten as the seats and deck wood was, that i could cut around the base of the seats to remove them. Well,i was slightly wrong, so i ended up removing the screws that hold the seats to the box base, and then i just went to cutting and hacking the seats away. Here's the deck with the seats removed and the seat base chopped out. You can see the deck rot in the pic.

 

[rickryder]

Re: 89 Four Winns Freedom 170 Floor / Stringer Rebuild PICS

Welcome to the Dry Dock! Check my resto thread below on a Four Winns resto

 

[mbasonic]

Re: 89 Four Winns Freedom 170 Floor / Stringer Rebuild PICS

I guess I'll just continue commenting on my own posts. Lol. I had an idea of how i was going to approach this project, but it could change depending on people's comments. I originally was going to use standard marine plywood for the stringers and definitely for the deck, but I've seen several interesting videos of people doing their stringers with nida bond. I've kinda cut into some of my stringers,so i can't pour product anymore. What i was considering, was to cut a stringer cutout out of cardboard and make some plywood copies with a mold release agent, or wax paper, basically a plywood sandwich that i could pour nida bond between. I then could take this nida bond stringer and glass it into the boat. I also read how people use biax fiber, but i came across a really good deal on fiber, and i purchased the roll in this picture for 30$. It's about five to six feet long, and i was wondering if there's any disadvantage or reason why people use biax as opposed to this. This seems as though it would be stronger. Thanks, Matt

 

[Georgesalmon]

Re: 89 Four Winns Freedom 170 Floor / Stringer Rebuild PICS

What you got there is woven roving. It was used in almost all boats and is still used today in many. Stitched mat such as 1708 is a more recent development in terms of FRP history. Can't tell from the pictures but could be 24oz/sqyard (very common weight). 1708 is 17oz/sqyard plus CSM. So it could even be stronger and it will use slightly more resin per square foot of material than 1708. Your going to need some .75 or 1.5 oz. Chopped strand mat along with that WR.

 

[mbasonic]

Re: 89 Four Winns Freedom 170 Floor / Stringer Rebuild PICS

Thanks rickryder. I actually did read your entire post, and your boat is obviously very similar to mine as far as floor construction goes. I'm goin going to try and do this redecking without taking the cap off. If i remember correctly, that is how you did yours.
Georgesalmon, what exactly will i need that cross strand stuff for? Is that for a top or bottom layer?
Any opinions on my stringer idea?
Matt

 

[rickryder]

Re: 89 Four Winns Freedom 170 Floor / Stringer Rebuild PICS

Yes I didn't pull the cap on mine but if I were to do it over the cap would have come off....My transom was solid so I just worked around the cap....

How do you have your boat braced up? What kind of trailer...roller?bunk? It is very important to make sure the hull doesn't flex out of shape with all the structure removed.

I wouldn't waste the $$$ on marine ply.... Go to your local lumber yard and ask for underlayment plywood....It has waterproof glue and no voids in the ply layers... It will be fine for your stringers,bulkheads and deck.

The woven you have will work but you will need CSM to put between the layers of woven.

On the Nida Bond.....it has it's uses but it's expensive.... I used it only for a motor mount repair and the end of a stringer at the bow...

 

[mbasonic]

Re: 89 Four Winns Freedom 170 Floor / Stringer Rebuild PICS

The trailer is bunker style, so it's supported very well. There hasn't been any indication that the sides are slouching. I feel that between the trailer and the cap being on still, that it'll be solid support.

 

[rickryder]

Re: 89 Four Winns Freedom 170 Floor / Stringer Rebuild PICS

Yup sounds like it will hold up. Post some pics as you get her all opened up....Gotta check the transom and stringers for rot then make a material list and get grinding..... Make sure you have all the proper safety gear.....glass dust will put a hurtin on ya real quick.

 

[mbasonic]

Re: 89 Four Winns Freedom 170 Floor / Stringer Rebuild PICS

So, after another afternoon of work, I've cut out approximately 1/8 of the floor. Carpet was pulled out of ski locker. The side carpet is gonna get layed back down and the new carpet that goes into the center of the boat will snap over the edge of this. So I've basically just rolled it up the side of the boat. Well cutting the old stuff out was relatively easy. The wood was pretty rotted. I've bought an oscillating saw, and it has kicked butt cutting fiber glass and wood.

I'm trying to upload pictures, but now i can't even get the picture to upload to the site. Ive read the tutorial. Is there some sort of limit on total uploaded data. I've got 300kb uploaded already, and i can't get a41kb picture to upload.

 

[rickryder]

Re: 89 Four Winns Freedom 170 Floor / Stringer Rebuild PICS

Get a photo bucket account.....upload to that..... When you mouse over a pic in PB you can copy the forum code and paste in the reply box here.

 

[mbasonic]

Re: 89 Four Winns Freedom 170 Floor / Stringer Rebuild PICS

http://i1046.photobucket.com/albums/b468/mbasonic/startremoving.jpg
Alright, here's the link to photo bucket of my progress that i posted yesterday. I'm still not sure why i can't upload pictures or reference pictures from photobucket. I keep getting some sort of error, saying a directory couldn't be created!!! Although I've already loaded three pics in the past, and it worked perfectly. Maybe there's something wrong with their server.
Matt

 

[mbasonic]

Re: 89 Four Winns Freedom 170 Floor / Stringer Rebuild PICS

Well,i dove into a little more of the boat here. As you can see, it's got some pretty advanced rotting. I'm sure this bow is going to be a very difficult area to remove wood from, especially since I'm not removing the cap. I just don't have the resources for that though, so I'll suffer through the digging a little. Some of the wood breaks away pretty easily.
Anyone have any idea if i decide to pour my stringers into the boat with nida bond, would it stick to a board wrapped in wax/parchment paper, or would it release? Like i want it to.....
http://i1046.photobucket.com/albums/b468/mbasonic/cd86c6da0c7e1149d7dcecd3f3f757f26091dfb3.jpg

 

[rickryder]

Re: 89 Four Winns Freedom 170 Floor / Stringer Rebuild PICS

 

[rickryder]

Re: 89 Four Winns Freedom 170 Floor / Stringer Rebuild PICS

Even if you can make stringers out of Nita Bond like you thinking how ya gonna glass them in under the walk-through? How are you going to remove and better yet replace the deck under the walk-through area? I know I did mine but my rot was not as advanced as yours...

I'm just curious why you can't pull the cap?

 

[mbasonic]

Re: 89 Four Winns Freedom 170 Floor / Stringer Rebuild PICS

man rickryder, no faith!! Well,i just don't have the equipment to do a cap lift. I'm sure that I'm probably in the same situation when you did your restore. I just don't feel comfortable going to that extent with my project. I feel like i can get the job done without doing some extra work that i feel is unnecessary.
Thanks for reposting my pics,and maybe you can continue.
Here's where i am currently with my project. I feel like I've made some pretty good progress. The answers to your questions on the glassing of the stringers..... Well,i removed the kick panels under each dash area and there's a lot of room to see the front end of the stringers. In the picture, you can almost see the very end of the right front stringer. It's pretty easily accessed, and i don't think ill have any problems glassing it in. Under the walk through, the deck was in two pieces. There was a triangular piece of decking under the bow area that was separate from the rest of the deck, with a support beam from one stringer to the other that holds the bow walk through area up.
I also traveled down one side of the boat removing wood and foam.
http://i1046.photobucket.com/albums/b468/mbasonic/64bacf5c559407175050b20df34692c33b3dc1e3.jpg

http://i1046.photobucket.com/albums/b468/mbasonic/b97676e539253bd4dd9f23c3cb6e6386a1048627.jpg

Let me know what you think!!
Thanks Matt

 

[mbasonic]

Re: 89 Four Winns Freedom 170 Floor / Stringer Rebuild PICS

Also, the underlayment you spoke of in a earlier post..... I could only find it with a thickness of 5mm. Im not sure i would trust a small child walking on that. Anyone know if they make this in a thicker form?
The guy at home depot assured me that he used to work at a boat building place, and they used CDX board sprayed in resin, and that i was wasting money on specialty boards. I explained to him, that he was probably the reason people's boats rot!!! Unbelievable....
Any help is appreciated.
Matt

 

[rickryder]

Re: 89 Four Winns Freedom 170 Floor / Stringer Rebuild PICS

The Home Depot will only have luan 5mm underlayment.....Try a real lumber yard that's where I found mine...btw it came in 1/2 5/8 and 3/4" Cdx is exterior plywood and can be used but it has voids in it. If the ply is coated in resin and glassed properly it will last for years.

Looks like your making good progress on the gutting out.

 

[mbasonic]

Re: 89 Four Winns Freedom 170 Floor / Stringer Rebuild PICS

So,i was thinking, with all this work..... right now, my gas tank is in the back of the boat, and my ski locker is in the front extending under the bow. Would moving the gas tank to the front and making my ski locker in the back help my boat plane out better because of shifted weight?
Matt

 

[mbasonic]

Re: 89 Four Winns Freedom 170 Floor / Stringer Rebuild PICS

I was going to use the 435 polyester resin on my boat. Is this acceptable, or incorrect? I need a little guidance here.