99 Larson 186 SEI Ski-n-Fish Re-Deck Project

[JASinIL2006]

How would one know if it is near failing or not, until it fails? :noidea:

I'd be particularly worried since this an OB, where the transom supports the motor and takes the force of the propulsion. But it's your boat; you need to decide what's safe for you and your passengers.

 

[QuickPuppy]

I would imagine you would see signs of it failing well before a fatal problem. I would expect to see some flexing and gelcoat cracking before the entire transom goes. There doesn't appear to be any give when I trim the motor up and lean on it to try to get the lower mounts to flex. An old roommate of mine had a worse issue with his boat. He bolted up a piece of c-channel aluminum on the inside and put a metal plate on the outside between the engine and transom. That boat lasted years like that.

 

[QuickPuppy]

I’?m not saying I won’?t replace it eventually, but I’?m also not ready to commit to that job yet. It appears that the deck and transom are two separate jobs that don’t need to be done at the same time. Maybe I’?m wrong... still trying to figure this out.

 

[QuickPuppy]

Have any of you tried a belt sander to get old PB off of the stringers. I may try that instead of the grinder.

 

[Woodonglass]

Stick with the grinder. You can do a Transom Reinforcement Scab if you want. Most of us decided to replace it. But...It's your boat and you can do as you wish. Just make sure you have good insurance and always wear your life vests. You might luck out and NOT have a major failure and then again you might. How much risk you want to deal with is your choice.

 

[chevymaher]

I was in a different frame of mind on mine. If it needed anything it was getting everything. I was only going to deal with it once. to do stringers you got 95% of the work done anyway.

My transom looked perfect drilled good at the bottom where I checked. On the wrong side than the damage was on. I took the skin off a little higher on the bad side and there was literally a void in it. Once I had the stringer out away from it. I found a quarter sized hole in the glass to wood.

Transom is more important than the deck or stringers. The power of the boat is transferred to the hull through it.

Transom is easier to do to me anyway than the stringers were.

I understand this stuff is a pain. But just make sure and do it right. So when your done it is a good boat as long as you care to have it.

Chances it is okay if the rest of the boat isn't are slim. It is directly exposed to water its whole life.

Not trying to be a pain but. Imagine if you fix the boat do all that work. Then it starts or completely fails. Then you have to do 90% of the work you already did over to get to it.

 

[QuickPuppy]

You guys are close to convincing me! ;-)

Jim--- do you still have a materials list for when you did your boat? (How much 1708, CSM, Resin etc... it took to do yours?)

 

[JASinIL2006]

I think so.. I will try to dig it up tomorrow for you.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Ok, so here are the approximate totals for my transom and deck. I did not have to do the stringers, except for patching the engineered stringers near the transom (I had to cut out the rear section of the fiberglass stringers to get at the transom.) Mind you, this was my first restoration, so I was probably not as economical as I could have been.

Fiberglass cloth
50" wide CSM: 32 yds.
6" CSM tape (for tabbing): 7 yards
50" wide 1708 biaxial cloth: 10 yards
38" wide 1708 biax: 4 yards
6" 1708 biax tape: 15 yards
60" wide 6 oz. woven cloth: 9 yards

Resin, etc.
20 gallons laminating resin (unwaxed)
3 gallons cabosil (for peanut butter)
5.25 1/4" chopped milled fibers (for peanut butter)
1 quart finishing wax
2 - 16 lb. foam kits (2 part foam)
5 qts. fairing compound
2 quarts white gelcoat (for bilge area)

This list doesn't include bubble rollers, rollers and chip brushes to apply resin, measuring and mixing cups for resin and foam, and stir sticks. It also doesn't include the cost of the Durabak coating I put on my deck, but I'd strongly advise against using that stuff anyway.

Does that help?

Jim

 

[QuickPuppy]

It certainly does... thank you! This gives me a good starting point to go off of. Besides the Durabac, is there anything you would?ve done differently. What was the issue with the durabac?

 

[JASinIL2006]

It certainly does... thank you! This gives me a good starting point to go off of. Besides the Durabac, is there anything you would’ve done differently. What was the issue with the durabac?

The Durabak is not durable. It has worn through in multiple spots. I don't think it looks bad, and it is comfortable underfoot, but it wears through too easily. Even worse, it's not easily removed or covered, so getting rid of it will be a pain, if it comes to that. If I were to do it over, I'd gelcoat the deck and then either install snap-in carpet or something like HydroTurf.

Otherwise, I'm not sure I'd do anything different. It was a great experience, overall (except for the grinding!). I like that I know my boat inside and out - literally - and I know it's well-built. It should last a long time. Like others, I feel a great sense of accomplishment at having restored my boat. Definitely was worth the expense and time.

 

[QuickPuppy]

Did you end up using all of the fiber and resin you purchased? 20gal seems like a lot of resin. (But having never done any glass work before either, maybe it isn?t. )

 

[JASinIL2006]

Not too much cloth or resin left over when all was done. I had a lot of extra cabosil and a decent amount of fairing compound left over.

 

[QuickPuppy]

Here?s the current plan which will probably change tomorrow.
3/4?marine plywood deck covered in two coats of West System epoxy. 1-2 layers of 6oz cloth on topside, tabbed in with 1708. Painted over with some type of marine paint. Probably not doing gelcoat.
I?m leaning toward pulling the cap and replacing the transom. Same set-up... two layers of 3/4 marine ply coated in epoxy and tabbed with 1708.

 

[QuickPuppy]

I’?m going to attempt to drop the boat in my pond today to make sure the engine is running well since getting all the old fuel out.

 

[QuickPuppy]

Well, it was an interesting afternoon... I pulled the boat out of the shop, hooked up some rabbit ears and the battery, put a new fuel line in a can of fresh gas with some seafoam in it. The engine fired right up but it seems to be back to running on only two cylinders. I ran it on the hose for ten minutes then backed it into the pond and ran it on the trailer in gear for 30 minutes. At times it seemed to run normally but most of the time it was on only two. When I went to pull it back out I saw that my front tire was completely flat. It wouldn't hold air for longer than a minute due to a small cut near the sidewall. New tire time.

Got the boat back inside with the tractor and went to get the tire replaced.

After that debacle, I went back to the boat to disconnect the battery and found a foot of water in the bilge and rear port compartment that I had taken all the foam out of. A light and my drill were sitting underwater. Not sure where it all came in but probably was from the removed live well hose. I spent about an hour sponging everything out and taking power tools apart to dry. I’?m so glad I spent all that time with the dehumidifier.
Tomorrow is a new day right?

 

[oldrem]

Sounds like it can only get better from here? :frusty:

 

[QuickPuppy]

Anyone have thoughts on West System, good or bad. It does seem to be more expensive than others.

 

[bpounds1991]

From what I've seen/heard/read, it's overkill. Polyester Resin will last you plenty of years and at a fraction of the cost.

 

[TRH299]

I have built two airplanes using West System for gluing and their Pro-Set laminating epoxy for laminating. I too am contemplating what resin to use on my stringer/floor Larson project. Even though I like the West System stuff, it is too expensive to use on my boat in mass quantities. If I end up using epoxy I will likely buy the cheap stuff from US Composites. A five gallon kit is only a little over $200. I have no doubt poly would work too, but I am sold on epoxy when it comes to encapsulating wood long term. I have a couple weeks to decide, but I am heavily leaning towards epoxy.