Cobalt 1978 19BR floor repair help needed

[Boblore]

Hello All,

New to iboats, awesome forum. I just bought a Cobalt 78 19BR and have a few questions to throw out. I'm repairing the floor panel from the driver side seat back to the engine, the rest of the flooring and stringers are solid. When I put the new 3/4" stringers on the side and just behind drivers seat can I just epoxy them to the fiberglass or do they get nailed in? Other than this the rest of the interior is in excellent condition, pretty good for over 30 years old. The engine only has 245 hours and has not been started in 2 years. The gas tank is empty, oil and plugs are clean, new oil and gas filter so it looks like it was winterized properly. Any advise on what to check/do before trying to fire it up? Also, I have a Chevy S10 4x4, V6 4.3 liter I towed it home with but it was a bit scary. Is this an acceptable towing rig or I'm I pushing it?

 

[Bondo]

Re: Cobalt 1978 19BR floor repair help needed

Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,..
Boat hulls are held together with resins, 'n glass, Not nails....

Ya don't say What motor,....

'n if yer ride home was Scary,...

I'm guessin' somethings wrong with the trailer, or the truck, or it's To heavy for the trucks capacity...

Yer in the right forum for the Hull questions,...
Yer tow unit questions oughta go in the Trailer forum,...
'n whatever yer motor is, there's probably another forum for it....

 

[Boblore]

Re: Cobalt 1978 19BR floor repair help needed

Thanks... The only reason I mentioned nails is I found a few on the side stringer
just barely penetrating the fiberglass subfloor. Might be just tacks at the factory
while the glue dries? Motor is Mercrusier 228 GM. Will address other non-restore
related posts to the appropriate forum.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Cobalt 1978 19BR floor repair help needed

Welcome to the iBoats Dry Dock!

You state that the rest of your stringers are ok. I'm curious what you base that on? It's quite unusual for just one side of the boat to rot and not the other. Looks can be deceptive. I'd highly recommend that you core sample All the stringers and the transom as well. If you want to make sure the boat is sound all the way through then now is the time to do it. As Bond-o says you will attach the stingers to the hull using thickened resin and or construction adhesive and then tab them to the hull with chopped strand mat and either woven roving or 1708 biaxial cloth. If the nails you are speaking of were in the top of the stringer then they were probably used to hold the deck to the stringers.
I would also recommend that you post some pics. It makes it a lot easier for the guys on here to help you if they can see what you are dealing with. There's a link in my signature below that tells you how to post the pics.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Cobalt 1978 19BR floor repair help needed

Cobalt is a great boat. Your's has a listed dry weight under 3000 plus your trailer and you are still under your tow limit. I imagine the trailer is equipped with brakes and they might need to be checked out.

I doubt it only has 245 hrs unless that is when the meter was changed or stopped working......... used only less then 8 hours per year

Epoxy is stronger then fiberglass however......... with a few screws installed everything becomes stronger. I would add some fasteners along with the resins and if you are not doing "full length" repairs then the sister wood needs to be attached before the resins.