Grew 1500 Project

[Davinciman]

Hi All,

I finally got a chance to resize my pics after a lengthy "Tommydo List".
It's a circa 1973 Grew 1500 Sprint, so says the dash.
I got this boat a couple of years ago for $450 Cdn, with a rotten floor (go figure), off a guy on my baseball team. He just wanted it gone.
The floor had that horrible blue plastic carpet. He had replaced for floor once already but the foam was good so I just made a template and cut out a new piece of plywood.
I filled any voids with marine " bondo" and painted it with multiple coats of Hi-solids moisture cured urethane, gloss white. I also painted the open stringer area that goes to the bilge with the same material. I didn't tab the floor in at all, just ss screws.
I guess my first question is: do I have to remove the urethane around the perimeter to tab the floor in with fiberglass to make it permanent? Or can I just "rough and scuff" and tab away?
The only real area that concerns me is the exposed area where the motor attaches to the transom, (see picture014). Is that gel coat?
It's dry, checked with electro-physics moisture meter,what should I do with that?
Beyond that, I have a few spider cracks and some keel gouges to fix then paint.
Anyway that's enough questions for now.... I don't want to wear out my welcome!
Any guidance is much appreciated

Thanks Guys and Cheers
Ps I should get some stock in a beer company, judging by oops' consumption, I might be in for a long haul.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Grew 1500 Project

Yes, you should sand off the urethane before glassing. If you don't have a disk sander, you should invest in one. There are budget models from about $40.00 (see harborfreight.com) or stop in at the home centers and buy something a bit heavier duty.

A disk sander will make short work of cleaning up the urethane.

 

[Davinciman]

Re: Grew 1500 Project

Thanks Admiral Mark,

That's what I thought.
Ive got these, but I cringe at the site of them. I hate grinding, but at least there are no motors to burn out... advantages of air tools.
Can I use use peanut butter to bed deck before I tab?
I'm gonna replace the foam anyway just to be safe... hull integrity and all... over-build alla oops
Thanks for your reply

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: Grew 1500 Project

Electro-physics moisture meter what is this tool you speak of and how does it work? would it indicate soggy wet stringers and such?
not sure what your trying to do with deck but I'm gathering you want it removable so just caulk it in and forget the resins.

 

[Davinciman]

Re: Grew 1500 Project

Ya, it's for checking moisture content.
It has two prongs you probe wood,etc. with.
It tells you percentage of moisture content.
I will post up a picture if you like.
Do i want it removable,i don't want to get the foam wet.
I thought I'd use PL premium on stringers and a fillet of peanut butter to eliminate sharp edge where fiberglass will be tabbed.
Here are some pics of the meter
There are some alligator clip probe extensions (not shown)

 

[Davinciman]

Re: Grew 1500 Project

Hi everyone

Just a few questions and some update pictures.
I got a chance to remove the carpet and deck patches today and take a few photos.
I've got some 6 ton jack stands and was wondering about hull protection and placement.

Do need to remove the motor and are 4 the jack stands enough with the motor on the transom?

Are 2x4's with some old life jackets on top good enough to support the hull?t

I'm then going to clean hull with professional grade comet and a scotch-brite pad to remove any wax and contaminates....it's cheap (free to me).

Any suggestions are much appreciated.

Cheers

PS The beer photos a tribute to Ooops...He's a man after my own heart, although I curse him:
I'm only on pg 86 of his extension thread and not getting much sleep

 

[Davinciman]

Re: Grew 1500 Sprint (Update Pics)

Re: Grew 1500 Sprint (Update Pics)

Hello All

I'm hoping some of the more experienced members could take a look at my progress so far and suggest the next course of action.

I managed to get half of the foam removed on my boat today.

First I carefully cut up to edge of the old deck and found it just resting on the outer hull with a "flange" of glass over top.

I left a lip of this glass so as to not cut through the hull.

Then I was able to remove all of the foam and most of the plywood underneath the lip (see photos) to see where the stringers end.

I believe will be able to use the old stringers as templates for new ones.

I guess the question I am asking is can anyone tell if that foam was integral to the hulls strength? - there doesn't seem to be a whole lot between the deck and the hull.

I was hoping to use styrofoam pink to replace pour-in foam which WAS Wet.

Tomorrow I plan on removing the rest of the foam and stringers so I can start grinding the old hull tabs and flange off.

I'm not sure what to do with the stern section of the deck though... any suggestions would be appreciated.

The photos should show what I'm up against.

Thanks


Anyway Iv

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: Grew 1500 Project

Hi there Davinciman and Welcome

Well frist do you have your wood drying ??? That can take up to a Month !!!!

If yep , then you have got your favorite thing to do !!!! yep grinding !! LOL Get a cut off wheel for your grinder and get the stringers and the transom out !!! then the fun really starts !!

When you start glassing your going to need three layer out on both side of the stringers frist one is two inch's out then 4 inch's out and then 6 inch's out on both side ,

So you need to grind about 8 inch's out on each side of the stringers and on the transom !!!!!! fun lol

Plus you need to grind where the deck is getting glassed back in !!

On the foam its does add some struckure to it [ it really tightened up my trihull and i didn't need it ] On yours it looks petty sound , but you have to decide, when you step on the hull , does it move ?????

Ok there Davinciman have you gotten all that ?? LOL keep them pic's coming and we all will help all we can !!! John

 

[Davinciman]

Re: Grew 1500 Project

Thanks John,

I took a lot of pics and will continue to do so throughout the build.

I have a ton of marine ply given to me through work and will cut some blanks to start drying inside today.

The hull seems pretty solid...little flex and no creaking when I step on it.

The transom looks good but I'm gonna remove the rest of the foam, stringers and trim right up to it today. I should know more then.

I will do all the steps you said and then veil the sides and gel coat/paint...no carpet.
Any suggestions for the hull bracing with the 6 ton jack stands...

Thanks again

Cheers

Tom

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: Grew 1500 Project

With the v hull i would do it just like the pic you had it on the jack stands, John

 

[Davinciman]

Re: Grew 1500 Project

With the v hull i would do it just like the pic you had it on the jack stands, John

I just had those set kind of in position along the "chine?", but what did you use to pad your stands?

I had a good day of demo yesterday got all the foam and stringers out. The stringers are 1" thick mahagony which I've got drying and waiting for a pass through the thickness planer.

I cut the enclosed flotation foam out to the transom and mined out the "block foam" with a pry bar.

On the side transom flotation enclosures I'm going to cut some big holes, remove the foam, and pour foam eventually.

I used a jigsaw to cut most of the glass away which worked very well I think...it kept the glass dust to a minimum.

I should be into the cutoff wheel and grinder soon enough though, yikes!

Anyway do you guys think its worth it to recondition those stingers?

Heres a few pics of yesterdays progress

Cheers

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: Grew 1500 Project

Well with the V hull , its a lot different then my tri-hull , I just put a folded up towel on top of my jack stands !!
With yours I would get something right under the keel in two spots and also 4 jack stand on the chimes !! I would even think about tieing them together, like one on one side to the one on the other !!! just to be safe , I know your not sitting on the chimes very good !! JOhn

Ps keep up the good work !!!

 

[jonesg]

Re: Grew 1500 Project

Really check the transom, drill some test holes, a moisture meter can't show dry rot. Inspect the drill shavings. Fill holes with 5200.

 

[Davinciman]

Re: Grew 1500 Project

Really check the transom, drill some test holes, a moisture meter can't show dry rot. Inspect the drill shavings. Fill holes with 5200.

I've got some awesome pics of my work on it today'

You're so right; I drilled some 3 1/8" holes in the transom flotation boxes near the bottom... water was oozing!

I cut every bit of foam out.

Tomorrows pic are really good documentation of why you drill exploretory holes.

A picture says a thousand words.

Thanks Guys

Update pics tomorrow!

 

[Davinciman]

Re: Grew 1500 Project

Well I finally had a chance to get some pictures uploaded.... imagine work getting in the way of my fun project. Plus it's been raining cats and dogs here all weekend, including today, so no work on boat. Yesterday was my daughters B-day so that doesn't count... that was a great break from work.

I started by drilling some 3 1/8" holes in the transom flotation boxes; there was water oozing and the cut was hard to make due to it being saturated.

I ended up cutting most of the boxes away and removing all the block foam -just leaving enough of the box for reference. I then used diamond cut off blade to remove all of the deck tabbing and plywood.

While cutting away the starboard side box away,I realized that unlike the port side, that box was only smothered in gel coat- NO FIBERGLASS. Hence the saturation... must have been a new guy on that side. The port side was covered in fiberglass at least, although still wet.

I then ground down all of the flange of fiberglass surrounding the deck as well as the transom tabbing. The wood I ground out of the transom deck flange up to and including some of the transom was very bright and appeared rotless...I still plan on drilling a few small core samples though.

I'm going to start doing a major grinding of the hull as soon as it stops raining here...unless I start building an ark that is!.

Now a couple of questions for the more experienced guys:

1, The transom looks good, how high up should I explore with these core samples and what sort of pattern?

2, Can anyone tell whether this is epoxy or polyester resin from my pictures or how to test to see which it is?

Thanks Guys,

Cheers

 

[Davinciman]

Re: Grew 1500 Project

Well work has slowed down a bit,- rainy and cold preventing me from running power to the compound I'm working in.

I did talk to my FG supplier today his 1.5 oz is going to be $4.79/yd Cdn, but he has some 12 oz cloth, he says is for aircraft, that he can't sell for $3.00/yd.
This material is also 60" as opposed to 38".

Can I use some of 1.5 oz for the initial stitching and then the 12oz to encase the stringers and decking? Maybe some half round on each side of the tops of the stringers to help prevent air pockets when I wrap them.

I've been trying to figure out all the materials while I'm on this down time. I'm sure it's going to be nice on the weekend when I'll be doing 3 12hr shifts.

Thanks guys...learning lots here

 

[Davinciman]

Re: Grew 1500 Project

Just a quick update as i had a chance to work on it between "work".
I removed the flotation boxes and started grinding with the 36 grit disk.
I got most of the perimeter ground where the tabbing will be.
I am planning on making the new flotation boxes out of styrofoam sm and then covering them with FG and gluing and tabbing them back in. Don't know if that will be enough though... the boats capacity is 1425lbs so I have to have enough foam to displace at least 75% of that. I am unsure of how to measure that though.

Anyway didn't sleep much, but I'm back to the grindstone... literally.

 

[zach103]

Re: Grew 1500 Project

Hey that motor looks really familiar Hows it run?

and good job so far with the boat its looking good

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: Grew 1500 Project

Hay !! sounds like your having some kind of fun now !!! LOL I will trade yea ??? LOL I would much rather be doing the stringers and transom !!! lol

Any way there is a formula to figure out how much foam your going to have to add , I think it was on USComposities , under the foam !!! I think I have it some where also , I will look !!!!

Ok Have fun !!! hahaha John

 

[Davinciman]

Re: Grew 1500 Project

Hey that motor looks really familiar Hows it run?

and good job so far with the boat its looking good

Very well, just needs reverse cable adjustment.
Clean inside here's a pic.