fiberglass relic restoration

[Scott Chinsota]

A few questions to start. I have a 14' '71 Glassmate tri-hull with typical rot issues. The floor was a total loss and has been removed. The three stringers don't look salvageable. By design, the void under the floor had a plug and drained into the small bilge area at the transom. I assume this was to relieve condensation and when plugged, provided boyancy although i am not familiar with boat design/architecture. I believe I need to remove and replace the stringers but, as this is my first boat, I confess I have no idea what this procedure entails. This would then be question 1...how do I replace the stringers and with what? The old ones appear to be fingerjointed one by sixes? More to come as the thread progresses. pics are likely soon to follow...gotta find the wire to get the pics from the camera to the pc.

question two would be related to hook, rocker, and stringers being replaced while she sits on the trailer. I know it will flex. How do I correct any deviation before the new stringers are "peanut buttered" in and glass/mat applied? How long should it cure before I proceed with the floor replacement? I may not know what I'm doing but I have my thinking cap on.

Question three would be regarding adding an additional layer of resin/mat over the bottom and up the sides, transom say 4 inches past the floor height prior to installing the new floor. I want to stiffen it up a little but not much. It is supposed to flex right? can it be stiffened up too much...enough to cause structural failure? see, told you I had my thinking cap on.

please feel free to drown me with replies. I'm going to look for the wire to my camera. Thanks.

 

[Scott Chinsota]

Re: fiberglass relic restoration

hey guys, i'm back. still can't find camera wire to post pics. may go buy another. i'v read alot since i posted. got froggy and removed the floor and stringers...lots of rot, had to be done. bought a respirator and some goggles, metal cutoff disks, metal grinding disks, sanding disks(flapped wheels), a multi tool with epoxy blades, and some rasp bits for my drill. the multi tool does great in the tight spots but its slow. the metal cutoff disks eat glass like magic! the grinding wheels work wonders too but the flapped wheel sanding disks were the perfect tool for removing gel. i stripped the transom to bare wood in about ten minutes! had to check for rot. got lucky...rock solid except for a couple spots where the floor used to be. minor, 6 inches long, 1/4 in deep on each side. quite a gap at the bottom, filled with god knows what...sloppy construction? i'll probably cut it out and redo it...looks questionable. maybe pack it full of peanut butter and lay glass/mat over it to re-bond it to the hull. gotta go shopping, do the acetone wipedown, template and fabricate all the missing pieces and its time to reassemble. while i'm re-stringering, i plan to do one new layer of csm to the entire bottom of the hull. had to remove alot of blisters and sloppy glass work...no voids=no problems right? just a dozen spots for gel and roving to get the thickness back then csm over for piece of mind. pics will come. i really would like to share my experience with others. i've learned alot and soon i'll have my boat back. best wishes to all.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: fiberglass relic restoration

Welcome to iBoats!!!

Yep we LOVE pics!! Hope you find that cable.

These drawings will hopefully help.



Not sure I understand this....

"i stripped the transom to bare wood in about ten minutes! had to check for rot. got lucky...rock solid except for a couple spots where the floor used to be. minor, 6 inches long, 1/4 in deep on each side. quite a gap at the bottom, filled with god knows what...sloppy construction? i'll probably cut it out and redo it...looks questionable. maybe pack it full of peanut butter and lay glass/mat over it to re-bond it to the hull."

If you left ANY wood on the transom this is NOT advisable. It should ALL be removed to BARE fiberglass and Totaly replaced.

 

[Scott Chinsota]

Re: fiberglass relic restoration

to clarify regarding the transom...where the old floor met the transom, water had penetrated through two small cracks...one on each side (port and starboard). To check for a rotted transom, i sanded the skin off the bottom half of the transom, just to the surface of the wood. there were two soft spots the size of cigarettes. i removed the rot making the spots the size of a pair of swisher sweet cigars. transom is 99 and 44/100% free of damage. the fillet work where the transom meets the hull was sloppy. looks like the transom could have been shaped to fit better. i intend to cut out the goop, repack the void, the re-glass the transom to the sides and the hull at the bottom. aint as bad as it sounds. thanks for the drawings. i'm going to buy another wire for the camera. time for work, happy friday!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: fiberglass relic restoration

This is GREAT Stuff for filling in small voids in your transom. Lowe's sells it.

 

[Cadwelder]

Re: fiberglass relic restoration

Go easy with the water when you mix that stuff (water putty)....it don't take much water at all...you'll have soup really quick if you're not careful....

And a can of it will last for years....

 

[Scott Chinsota]

Re: fiberglass relic restoration

thanks...wow, i used to use that stuff as a flooring installer. it is a great crack filler. considered packing with pnut butter, maybe an adhesive. if i was installing a new transom, which product would normally be used around the perimeter to bond the edges to the hull?

While i'm asking, i need to choose wood for stringers...old ones were fingerjointed 3/4 wide 'bout 5" tall. gonna use 3/4 underlayment for the floor...just aint payin 320 a sheet for marine ply. thinking maybe an oak 2x6 routered to fit the groove for the center and oak 1x6s for the port and starboard. could really use some help here.

thanks in advance for your suggestions!

Thanks in advance for your suggestions

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: fiberglass relic restoration

thanks...wow, i used to use that stuff as a flooring installer. it is a great crack filler. considered packing with pnut butter, maybe an adhesive. if i was installing a new transom, which product would normally be used around the perimeter to bond the edges to the hull? See my drawing. It shows you everything about installing a transom and what is used.

While i'm asking, i need to choose wood for stringers...old ones were fingerjointed 3/4 wide 'bout 5" tall. gonna use 3/4 underlayment for the floor...just aint payin 320 a sheet for marine ply. thinking maybe an oak 2x6 routered to fit the groove for the center and oak 1x6s for the port and starboard. could really use some help here. Oak is NOT a good choice. It is not very rot resistant. Your underlayment plywood IS a good choice since the glue in it is 100% waterproof and the wood is Fir which is very rot resistant. You can use lap joints to make it longer and lam pieces together to make it thicker.


thanks in advance for your suggestions!

Thanks in advance for your suggestions

See my comments above in blue.

 

[Scott Chinsota]

Re: fiberglass relic restoration

thanks again. got distracted while vewing the (excellent) illustrations. now i know the cracked goop thats there is resin. i was going to dig out the loose stuff and pack with resin and csm. Looks like i can just fill it with thickend resin. looks like i'm fabbing some stringers. how much lap...an inch or two?

 

[Cadwelder]

Re: fiberglass relic restoration

. looks like i'm fabbing some stringers. how much lap...an inch or two?

Yeah or three or four.....

 

[Scott Chinsota]

Re: fiberglass relic restoration

another silly question...i told the wife i was going to glass and mat both sides of the new floor. the (excellent)illustrations provided to me show csm on both sides. the old floor was only gelled. is csm on both sides overkill or would everyone else wrap the panels in mat and gel?

 

[Scott Chinsota]

Re: fiberglass relic restoration

Yeah or three or four.....

thanks for clarifying...i lean toward overkill...might go 6

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: fiberglass relic restoration

When using Poly resin you must use mat. Without it the resin will eventually crack and allow water penetration.

 

[Scott Chinsota]

Re: fiberglass relic restoration

that explains the floor rotting from underneath.

"the old floor was only gelled"...on the underneath...gel and mat on top from the factory, i assume. it was made by x-l plastics...craftsmanship was apparently not a factor.

 

[Scott Chinsota]

Re: fiberglass relic restoration

Originally Posted by Scott Chinsota
. looks like i'm fabbing some stringers. how much lap...an inch or two?

Yeah or three or four.....

i looked at the illustrations again and realized that i can lap two 8' pieces to the correct length (plus a couple inches to trim when fitting). i need about 12', giving a lap of four feet. then i can add the two missing 4' pieces, one at each end on opposing sides. this should be much stronger than a shorter lap in the center.
i used to use the same stagger to install hardwood floors to keep the floor running straight and square.

thanks again to woodonglass for the illustrations...i truly couldn't have pulled this restoration off without the advice ive been given

 

[Scott Chinsota]

Re: fiberglass relic restoration

found another little issue...the thru-hull tube for the bilge plug has corroded past the point of not replacing it. it is flared on both ends...hmmm, what to do? is there a replacement fitting to slove this problem?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: fiberglass relic restoration

Yes there are replacement fittings available here are iboats and other places. There's brass, aluminum, and plastic options.

 

[Scott Chinsota]

Re: fiberglass relic restoration

awesome...i was hoping it would be just that easy.
thanks!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: fiberglass relic restoration

You can make your own flaring tool...

(Click the Pic to enlarge)

 

[Scott Chinsota]

Re: fiberglass relic restoration

wow! cool,
thanks