Don't know where to start. So many problems with 95 Crownline

[Baylinerchuck]

Depends on the volume of the space your filling. Gonna have to do some math to get you close.

 

[Rick Stephens]

I hear you on jumping in and out. Between that and being on your knees in awkward position it can be trying. Wait till yer my age :^)

 

[littleguydave]

This is as far as I am going with the deck build on the rear end. I am going to clean up the mess and the left over cuts will be used as a shim to the pieces too small. I am going to saturate the hell out of the boards (old and new) with a penetrating epoxy this week. Then I will lay down the plywood and move on to the middle of the boat. My carpenter skills are very limited so I am doing the best I can. I will also fill all voids with the #4 boat foam to add some structural support

 

[littleguydave]

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Is the old wood you are fasten to still wet? The stringers and bulkheads look really dark....Epoxy won't bond to wet wood. Just wondering why you're not tearing everything out and starting fresh. Is this just to buy a little time until you do a complete gut job? :noidea:

 

[littleguydave]

Is the old wood you are fasten to still wet? The stringers and bulkheads look really dark....Epoxy won't bond to wet wood. Just wondering why you're not tearing everything out and starting fresh. Is this just to buy a little time until you do a complete gut job? :noidea:

I don't plan on gutting everything. Yea the wood is still wet but very strong. I can't start fresh because I don't have the ability. I have a very small garage and no precision cutting tools. I am horrible at wood work and that is why I need a shim on every piece of wood I cut. I am looking at the overall strength when I am done, and plywood an inch thick will have plenty of support. This is my first boat. It needs to last me about 2 more years until I move out of my subdivision. I want a pontoon boat instead but HOA will not allow anything so I have to hide my small boat. I know I can get storage, but I want it at my house.
I am pretty sure that this setup will be a lot stronger than before. Even with all of the rot the floor was never soft.
I am really trying my best but my cutting and measuring and everything aren't that great. I'm doing the best I can. The remaining stringers will not come out The wood towards the front of the boat is dry and solid

 

[littleguydave]

Not sure what a bulkhead is, but if it is the plates towards the front, those are pretty rusted. I was just going to pull them out and put in thick wood or some newer metal

 

[littleguydave]

So is there a way to dry out the wood? I have a few days. I just removed the foam and it was saturated in water. I can run the fan on it for a few days if that does anything

 

[littleguydave]

I am thinking of drying the wood, but it looks like I would need a heater and a fan. I might try to replace a couple more, but the wood is already a little crooked and I will be relying on the plywood to level it all out.

 

[littleguydave]

If you're talking about the wood to the left by the engine, yes I am replacing that. I am waiting until I get this back section first. Once this is finished I can work on other sections. I just want a stable place to work. I will work on the engine and rear wood when the middle is done

 

[wrench 3]

When you ordered the fuel pick up I hope you included an anti-siphon valve http://www.iboats.com/Anti-Siphon-V...4931332--session_id.263320859--view_id.392107. It may look like simple brass fitting but it's a safety device to prevent the engine compartment from filling with gasoline in the event of a leak.

 

[Rick Stephens]

You planning on fiberglassing everything in? If you leave it bare it won't last very long at all. And you should fiberglass instead of use angles and screws. All this stuff needs to be glassed in to each other for strength. You won't believe how much a boat flexes underway, all those ribs, stringers and bulkheads aren't to hold the floor up but intended first to stiffen the hull.

 

[littleguydave]

When you ordered the fuel pick up I hope you included an anti-siphon valve http://www.iboats.com/Anti-Siphon-V...4931332--**********.263320859--view_id.392107. It may look like simple brass fitting but it's a safety device to prevent the engine compartment from filling with gasoline in the event of a leak.

I just ordered one now brother. Thanks a lot

 

[littleguydave]

You planning on fiberglassing everything in? If you leave it bare it won't last very long at all. And you should fiberglass instead of use angles and screws. All this stuff needs to be glassed in to each other for strength. You won't believe how much a boat flexes underway, all those ribs, stringers and bulkheads aren't to hold the floor up but intended first to stiffen the hull.

That's why I was afraid to replace too much. I am using the brackets to hold the wood in place. I have already ordered a penetrating wood epoxy. After that I will do some fiberglass resin to the base and paint the rest of the wood with waterproof material. This is starting to cost a lot of money

 

[Baylinerchuck]

A fan will help dry the wood, but if there is still wet wood and foam that you haven't uncovered the drier wood will wick from the wet. Yes it costs money to put a boat together. Time and money, then more time. But honestly if you don't do it right and get out all the wet wood, wet foam, and rot you're just peeing in the wind. This has the potential of being much better and more fun boat than a pontoon boat by far.....but it ain't cheap to do it right.

 

[JASinIL2006]

I have to say, while I understand your desire to watch costs, you also need to understand that the structure - new and old - work together with the hull to make your boat safe. Using compromised wood, using screws to hold things together rather than fiberglass and not glassing everything together could cause your boat to fail at an inopportune time. If you hit some rough water at speed, it pounds on your boat. Anyone you have with you on the water is dependent on your boat being safe.

 

[littleguydave]

I have to say, while I understand your desire to watch costs, you also need to understand that the structure - new and old - work together with the hull to make your boat safe. Using compromised wood, using screws to hold things together rather than fiberglass and not glassing everything together could cause your boat to fail at an inopportune time. If you hit some rough water at speed, it pounds on your boat. Anyone you have with you on the water is dependent on your boat being safe.

How bad will the boat be when I take it on the water? Are you talking about the waves destroying the hull and the boat sinking?
I mentioned in a few earlier posts that I am bonding the wood with a penetrating epoxy to hold it together. I bought some bondo fiberglass resin with some cloth. I'll use that to bond the new wood to the hull.

Regardless, isn't it going to be in better condition than what it was previously at? The way things are going I feel like I should have just left it alone because it was riding fine with the rotten wood

 

[Rick Stephens]

Yes, you can break up the hull if the stringers and bulkheads - and floor - are not structurally sound.

When I replaced a transom and built new motor mounts I used 2 gallons of epoxy resin and 5 yards of clothe. Your job is bigger than mine was and will need even more materials (there are a number of places to get these materials in bulk quantities that saves and also ensures quality). Depending on how the boat was designed, the wood itself can be structurally insignificant. Lots of boat structures use the wood to form the fiberglass into the shapes required to strengthen and make rigid the hull. Most boats, the wood plays a part in the structural integrity - its cheaper to use everything. I have seen a number of hulls designed with styrofoam stringers and ribs that sole purpose is to give form to the structural fiberglass laid over them.

That said, you MUST get adhesion and structure around the wood you are installing. Soaking the wood in epoxy is fine as a way to retard further water intrusion, but it adds nothing structurally. One other factor in soaking the wood in resins, the type of resin used must be compatible with the resins used to fiberglass it all to the hull. I have seen newly fiberglassed in motor mounts that fell off because they were installed using improper combinations of resins - literally - all finished up by the owner and he stepped on one and broke it loose from the existing stringer fiberglass beneath.

Other factors when fiberglassing in structural members is getting 100% of paint and gelcoat ground off before glassing. No purpose in putting glass over a non-bonding surface. So everything is ground down to the raw resin underneath. This is the biggest part of the job. Here's a couple pics of a hull I purchased already prepared for new stringers and flooring.

 

[Rick Stephens]

Dave,


In your picture, I highlighted the stringers that form the basis of the structure of your hull. Splicing in sections is very carefully done, like building a truss to hold up the roof, the stringers keep the hull straight and not only prevent it from folding up, but even more keep it from twisting and shearing. Stringers must be sound, and strong the full length of a hull like yours. All the bulkheads and the outboard stringers sections play a part in hull strength. They box in and tie it all together. Without everything tied in solid, the hull will flex and twist and can have a catastrophic failure.

 

[achris]

This is now more a restoration thread than an engine problem thread, so I'm moving it to restorations. Dave, if you have further engine/fuel system questions, raise them as a new thread in the Mercruiser section.

Chris......