From bad to worse!!

[OhioLowell]

Well all I have overcome my fears of the transom. While I was tearing into the boat today to remove the rotting floor I did find some more "ISSUES".

You all know how it goes. Like the mulch where the stringers used to be. That is really the one that has me thrown for a loop right now.

Here are some pics:

This is how the boat started, more or less. I know the boat looks like a heap but I really like and think it has personality.

This is he interior of the boat after the floor was removed. The boards that the floor was fastened to were in pretty rough shape.

This is a shot of the interior after the floor boards were removed (well mostly removed). That black stuff is the stringers, well,,the used to be stringers. They are falling apart and need replaced.
Now I have these questions:
1. How can I replace these stringers? The ribs are made out of fiberglass. I was thinking that once I removed the transom I may be able to slide new stringers into the slots in the ribs from the back of the boat.
2. Do I have to replace the stringers with wood? Is there anyway I can make them strictly out of fiberglass so we don't have the rotting issue again?
3. Once I replace them, then what? (here's what I was thinking, Remove the old stringers, rough up the glass under the old stringers, and on the ribs, slide in new stringers once the transom is off, epoxy the new stringers onto the hull. After the epoxy is set glass over the stringers and the ribs to the hull over each stringer with glass mat.) Does that sound feasable?

This is a shot of the bow where the stringer used to be.

In this shot you can see how the fiberglass ribs are shaped.

That will do it for this chapter right now.

Thanks,
Lowell

 

[NealLauderman]

Re: From bad to worse!!

Hey Lowell!

Looking good! Who cares what the boat looks like. You can make it look just as good as any other with a little work

If for some reason you are not able to slide the new stringer boards in like you are wanting too... I was thinking you could just take a saw and cut out the ribs that are preventing you from putting the new stringers in... then just fiberglass all around the wood. That should keep it from rotting. Then you can put it in place and fiberglass the ends of the ribs that you cut to the fiberglassed board. Does that make any sense... I know its late I was just thinking that would keep the same structural integrity

 

[Mark42]

Re: From bad to worse!!

If it were my boat, I think that I would remove the transom, carefully remove all the rotted stringers and try to slide in pressure treated lumber in its place. Not knowing the actual dimensions of those old boards, it looks like you may have to laminate up some 1x4 pressure treated lumber, then cut down to proper dimension on a table saw.

Additionally, if you cut them 3/8" under dimension, trial fit them, then remove and completely wrap them in glass/resin. That should prevent any future rot. Then reinstall under the loops and attach new pressure treated lumber on top. Encase in glass/resin also. Use stainless screws with sealer to attach stringers one on top of the other.

My approach would be to not disturbe the original ribs if at all possable.

The transom looks like it would be really easy to replace using two pieces of 3/4 pressure treated ply, encase in glass/resin and install. It would also be a good idea to drill a hole and install the standard drain plug low on the transom. (I don't see one in there now, and that may have contributed greatly to the rot you now see).

The floor can be 1/2" or 5/8" pressure treated ply or regular ply, encased in glass/resin.

Actually, if it is a trailered fishing boat, you could probably skip all the glass/resin and just use pressure treated lumber for all but the transom. Glass ove the entire transom.

If you go with pressure treated lumber, just make sure you have a place to put it out of the rain for a few weeks to let it dry fully before use. And remember PT wood tends to warp badly as it dries, so I tell people to screw it to the garage wall while it dries to keep warping to a minimum.

Neat little boat. Is it from the '50's or 60's? Those ribs are common from those years.

 

[OhioLowell]

Re: From bad to worse!!

Neal & Mark,
Thanks for the replies. I'm glad that you guys think that my idea for the stringer replacement is feasable. I don't want to have to cut any ribs but if I need to cut one or 2 to get the stringers in then I think that is what I may have to do. There are several of them that have pulled away from the hull anyway. Any suggestions as to how I can reattach them? Can I just rough up all of the glass on the loose ones and the surrounding areas and hit them with some new resin to refasten them?

So, should I glass the new stringers before I install them? Or should I glass over them after they're installed?

I was also thinking that once I go through all the trouble of glassing the new stringers in, does it make sence to drive screws into them (the screws I'm talking about will hold the new floor down)? Seems to me that that would only let water in.

Now for the transom, you mentioned 2 sheet of 3/4 ply. Should those be laminated together with epoxy (or what would you recommend?)? The new transom will have to be glassed in place as there is no means to fasten it mechanically in place. There I was thinking, 2 layers of mat around the inside perimeter of the transom, then 2 layers of cloth over the entire exterior lapping about a foot onto the boat. The interior of the transom would remain unglassed except for the edges. I would seal the whole transom with thinned polyurathine before instalation. Fiberglass will adhear to polyurathine won't it? Does that sound feasable? And yes the new transom will be drilled for a drain plug. The old transome has a drain hole also.

As to the age of the boat.. I'm not sure, I know the title says it's a 1992 homemade boat. I'm not sure I completely buy into that as there doesn't appear to be any "shadetree" stuff in the boat that I can find.

Thanks again!
Lowell

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: From bad to worse!!

You Know, You might be able to get some corrugated fiberglass roofing in the correct size corrugations to fabricate glass stringers. Maybe glue 1 or 2 corrugations layered together for more strength. Might work with all those ribs supporting it.

And get rid of those shelf supports. Glass in some decent knee braces from transom to floor.

 

[Saskatoon2005]

Re: From bad to worse!!

Yeah I agree about the shelf supports...First thing I saw when looking at the boat. Don't install anything NOT made for the boat.

As far as the ribs are concerned, I don't think there is anything wrong with cutting them. As long as you reglass in new ones. What I have learned so far is that fiberglass does not stick to pressure treated wood, so I would never use it. I would use dimensional lumber like 2 X ? and then soak them in resin let them set, install them back in the boat, and then glass them to the boat itself, you should never have a problem again. Make sure before you reinstall, that you prep the existing fiberglass that is already on the boat, sand and prep it so that when you reglass in the new stringers that they have something to "stick" to. I guess when you remove the transom that it is fine to try and slide in new stringers, but if it is too difficult don't feel bad about having to cut the ribs, no big problem to reglass in new ones.

I DO see a drain for the bilge to drain, so that is good. Make sure you reinstall another one when you make your new transom. Get it as low as possible and make sure the transom is encapsulated in resin so that water will not affect it for a very long time.

Please keep us updated as you work, we love to see a boat come together.

 

[Mark42]

Re: From bad to worse!!

Use Marine Tex epoxy to re-attach any cut or broken ribs. I would glass up the stringers then slide them in. As far as holes for screws, you can pre-drill oversize, then fill with epoxy, then drill pilot hole for screw into the epoxy. Even if water gets to the screw, it sealed in epoxy.

Those little pulley wheels are from an old steering wheel system using a drum/cable system. Popular on 50's and 60's boats. It probably also had an enclosed deck with dash and windshield. The fact that it is a lapstrake fiberglass hull with exposed wood transom is pointing to late 50's early 60's designes before they completely glassed the transome as part of the hull.

Like this:

Someone "converted" it to an open fishing boat.

 

[Mark42]

Re: From bad to worse!!

BTW, that transom is meant to be PUSHED on by the motor. So wrapping glass around the outside isn't going to help hold it together too well.

Remove the transom, clean everything to bare glass on the hull, make a new transom that fits INSIDE the hull completely encapsulate in two or three layes of glass. Then re-install the transome with EPOXY on its edges to the hull. Build up large "fillets" radius on the inside where the transom meets the hull with epoxy and filler mix. Use something nice and round to form the fillets, like a 4" round plate.

With this design the transom is pushing against an epoxy "lip" all the way around the peremiter of the transom solidly anchored to the hull.

EDIT:

From looking at the photos in your other post, I don't think that is the original transom.

After you remove it, if there is a lip on the hull, then apply transome to the lip, otherwise try to fit in inside the hull like I outlined above.

 

[imported_airxsteel]

Re: From bad to worse!!

I like the look of your wife holding the baby. I wonder what is going on in her mind right there. That is priceless.

8)

 

[Saskatoon2005]

Re: From bad to worse!!

She is thinking," OMG, what have you gotten yourself into...it's gonna sink the first time you take it out." LOL!

Good luck in your rebuild, it's jouney, not a race.....dd

 

[OhioLowell]

Re: From bad to worse!!

Thanks all!

I do have a question though. I don't ask out of disrespect but out of the demons in my mind. The mention MARK42 made about the transom being pushed. Wouldn;t it make more sence to build the tramson the same size out the exterior dimensions of the boat. That way when the motor pushes on the transom it actually shoves the transom into the rear of the boat, not "INTO" the rear of the boat. Just my thinking, but you all know WAY more about this stuff than I.

On a side note I went outside earlier and picked at one of the existing stringers and MAN those things are stuck in there. Whats left of them most deffinately does not want to came out. I'll need lots of elbow grease! Any suggestions or tricks to getting those bad boys out?

That picture of the boat that was posted looks just like my boat in another life! lol I even have that same steering wheel out back still. Too bad, all of that stuff is coming out. The boat will be strictly tiller control.

Thanks,
Lowell

 

[tmh]

Re: From bad to worse!!

First off, it's already too late! WHY did you let your WIFE see this "boat"?!?!?!? I only will show my wife the finished version! Certainly not a big pile of rot. The toddler and the baby were a nice touch though! You haven't been married for long, have you?

If those rotten stringers are epoxied/glassed to the bottom of the boat you'll have to cut the ribs to get them out, right? So like someone said, don't worry about cutting them, just glass it back in after replacing the stringers. The engineer in me says you should run some cross boards perpindicular to screw the floor into. Seems crazy to lay the in the same direction as the stringers as it appears it was. But I don't know boats too well, just basic "get it done" engineering.

I've seen some say epoxy/glass is fine with PT wood, some say not. It's a heack of a lot less work to use PT, but if the design requires the epoxy to stick to is, then I guess you'd need to know for sure it would. IF you do get the stringers out and just slide new ones in under the ribs, THEN PT might be a good way to go.

Good luck - NOT with the boat, with your marriage! You really don't know what you're doing, do you? Showing the wife a "work in progress"!?!?!? Rookie!

 

[95yj]

Re: From bad to worse!!

Actually, I was wondering what you wife had to say about you working on the boat when the back of the house still need the siding put on and the windows finished.

 

[JasonJ]

Re: From bad to worse!!

It looks like that poor boat has gone through some serious backyard engineering in it's lifetime. I wonder if the original fiberglass transom shell is sandwiched between the layers of wood, and the outer layers of wood was sheathed in fiberglass. I hope so. If the original fiberglass transom was cut out, you will just be left with an empty space where a transom should be when you remove all that wood. It would be repairable, but you do not have optimal strength when the hull shell has been compromised. You would be relying on too many secondary bonds to keep that transom on. I don't know what horsepower you will put on, but anything that would plane that hull could rip the transom out. If the transom area is missing fromt the shell, I will be hesitant to recommend anything beyond abandoning the project altogether. Too much at stake for a novice boat builder.

I would say you should just get rid of all those tranverse strips, that is old school tech that is not necessary and is just making things harder than they need to be. You can use a 4.5 inch angle grinder (my personal tool o' choice) with cutoff wheels and grinding wheel to cut and grind everything down to a bare fiberglass shell. All that nasty blue paint needs to go as well. Then you can glass in a new transom (on the INSIDE of the fiberglass shell, not the outside), and glass in new stringers. Then you can glass in the new floor.

Now, if the bottom is actual wood lapstrake, then those transverse strips would need to stay, and it would change how you would deal with this boat. Good luck...

 

[OhioLowell]

Re: From bad to worse!!

Thanks all!

My wife says she wasn't thinking anything bad?? lol

As for the house, windows and siding are "summer" work..lol

JasonJ,
You mentioned what size motor will I be running. I plan on installing a 15HP evinrude after the new transom is installed. Hopefully it will plane out the boat but I don't know. Before I bought the boat the previous owner ran a 25HP mrec on the boat. How it didn't flip off of the trnasom and into the boat I'll never know. I would have to think that anyhting I'm able to do to the transom wil have to be better tha the way it is.

Lowell