Gunwales Have Slight Movement

[CAPTKEV85]

I HAVE A 1977 proline 24. Its an odd boat design but i love it. Downeaster bow and flattens out to a very shallow v in the back. I have a small cuddy cabin up front and 20 feet of open space behind the cabin. open deck. she has an i/o 470 merc. The floor and the stringers were rotted. so i took a recipricating saw and cut it all out. i left the gunwales in the boat. so i cut 1" from the gunwales all the way around. see attached pic of what i done. Now i put a teak deck in. but i only went to the inside of the gunwale not the hull. I have a feeling that this floor needs to be ran all the way to the hull. also when i look in the gunwale/ storage compartments i see this long crack running parrallel with the gunwale. should i fiberglass this in with matting.? i dont know. I love this boat and i put a good floor and stringers in it. and while im under way when i hit waves the gunwales have some flex to them

 

[maxum247]

Re: Gunwales Have Slight Movement

Is the teak put down over a plywood deck or is it fastened directly to the stringers?

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Gunwales Have Slight Movement

As was mentioned, we need a little more info.

The sole (deck, floor) in most F/G boats is a structural part of the boat, so changing it to another type or form may create issues.

In the pic it looks like you put in new stringers, but you don't show them finished, so I'll assume you glassed over them and then it looks like you bolted or screwed the boards to them and the small flange you left around the edges. There may be too much flex in this set up compared to a glass over plywood floor.

 

[CAPTKEV85]

Re: Gunwales Have Slight Movement

What i did was the original stinger was in the middle of the 2 pieces of 3/4 plywood. i glassed them to the hull. then on top, i put a piece of teak making it like a t. then i put the teak floor down on top of that. my assumption is if you look at the pic is that i never brought the teak to the outer gunwale, so im unsure what to do. the hull is fine, no soft spots and barely flex since the new floor is down. also were the side compartmants are inside the floor has a hair line cracke running down the length of the boat. I just want to make sure the boat can be restrengthend.

 

[salty87]

Re: Gunwales Have Slight Movement

it sounds like the boards have some amount of movement they can make independent of the boards next to them. a glassed over plywood floor wouldn't allow that same movement providing more rigidity. the stringers are providing fore-aft strength but the lateral stiffness isn't there.

is the crack new? could be a sign

 

[CAPTKEV85]

Re: Gunwales Have Slight Movement

crack was always there. the boat is in good shape. i can go out in the ocean take 4 foot chop and shes fine. but i think your right. no lateral support. is there a way to do this? possible L brackets to the teak and to the gunnel. or pull a couple of boards and attach brace from the stringer to the gunwale?

 

[NoKlu]

Re: Gunwales Have Slight Movement

I'm not one of the experts but I would remove the floor and remove the "T' top on the stringers and put a full plywood sub floor in to get the strength back. Then after sealing the sub floor with glass,then lay the teak on top of the sub floor. That would prevent the water from running through the teak and directly in to the stringers.

 

[CAPTKEV85]

Re: Gunwales Have Slight Movement

I Might have to go that route. i dont want to it took a whole day screwin those boards in lol.

 

[yellow87ss]

Re: Gunwales Have Slight Movement

It came out nice any way..kinda brave for ripping a deck with little experience to go on but heck.. came out nice captain kev..

oh by the way i know a guy thats pretty good with upholstery if your ever considering redoing your seats..

 

[NoKlu]

Re: Gunwales Have Slight Movement

No kidding, what a PITA. The flexing is going to work them loose anyway and the flexing will get worse.

 

[oops!]

Re: Gunwales Have Slight Movement

As was mentioned, we need a little more info.

The sole (deck, floor) in most F/G boats is a structural part of the boat, so changing it to another type or form may create issues.

In the pic it looks like you put in new stringers, but you don't show them finished, so I'll assume you glassed over them and then it looks like you bolted or screwed the boards to them and the small flange you left around the edges. There may be too much flex in this set up compared to a glass over plywood floor.

i see a lot more there than you think.....but we need the above questions answered first........did you glass in the stringers?

what is in between the stringer system you now have in place.....?
(it kinda liiks like you sandwiched the rotted stuff between two new peices of plywood)
how are the stringers attached to the hull.......?
what type of lateral support did you use.....?
did you replace any foam?
what is holding the teak deck to the side of the boat?

the crack you speak of needs to be fixed if you can see it....i didnt see if the crack is on the inside or out side.

please answer the questions, as i fear the boat might not be as sea worthy as you think.......yes ....fiberglass boats are very strong....and they will take a pounding....but......when they go....

but dont worry....it all can be fixed....and btw....that floor you biult is stunning.....real classy......

cheers
oops

 

[CAPTKEV85]

Re: Gunwales Have Slight Movement

i see a lot more there than you think.....but we need the above questions answered first........did you glass in the stringers?

what is in between the stringer system you now have in place.....?
(it kinda liiks like you sandwiched the rotted stuff between two new peices of plywood)
how are the stringers attached to the hull.......?
what type of lateral support did you use.....?
did you replace any foam?
what is holding the teak deck to the side of the boat?

the crack you speak of needs to be fixed if you can see it....i didnt see if the crack is on the inside or out side.

please answer the questions, as i fear the boat might not be as sea worthy as you think.......yes ....fiberglass boats are very strong....and they will take a pounding....but......when they go....

but dont worry....it all can be fixed....and btw....that floor you biult is stunning.....real classy......

cheers
oops

Yes the stringers are sandwich to old system. i cut the rotted pieces out.
stringers are glassed to hull,
lateral support. mmmm in between stringers i put 4x6's to lock all of the stingers to gether. nothing to gunwale.
i replaced the foam,
teak is screwed to the stringers and the inch boarder around the boat. but if you notice the side compartments theres a good 4 inches to the gunwale. i think im gonna half to glass the teak to the gunwale some how.
i love the boat and i dont wanna give it up. like i said the hull is perfect no soft spots and the transom is excellent also.

 

[oops!]

Re: Gunwales Have Slight Movement

your deck has to come up bud.


sorry......as ondarvr said...the deck....(sole) is structural.....and cant be played with.

if you take the deck back up......and over the stringers every two feet put a cross frame to the side of the hull....and tab them into the flange you left


http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=234392
stringer frames....post #547 pg 22

then add cross braces between the frames as close to the side of the hull as you can tab those in to the flange......kind of in a grid system......then glass that whole sha bang

then screw down your teak deck....you will be ok

 

[oops!]

Re: Gunwales Have Slight Movement

you wont be able to glass the teak to the hull because you just filled the hole of the old deck.......there is a 4 inch storage area there that is between the hull and the deck.......and the amount of wrap you would have to put on it would be substancial.



uh.....btw.........i would not suggest using you boat in any thing other than flat glass calm water until you fix it......it is not as strong as you think.

sure youve had it in 4 footers and no problem......the problem is ....you cant see the problem till there is a real problem.....and if there is a real problem then youve got another kind of problem......stayin alive

cheers
oops

 

[CAPTKEV85]

Re: Gunwales Have Slight Movement

ok, thanks for all the advice. the good thing is is that the deck is screwed in so its gonna be easy pulling boards but ill just mark them. what type of wood should i glass the the sides and to the stringers.

 

[oops!]

Re: Gunwales Have Slight Movement

holy smokes the site is slo today.......took me 3 minits just to change pages!

ext grade ply wood.......you will have to dry it for a week or so ...just put a fan on it.....or store it in a heated area with a fan....thats the best.....if you dont...it wont take the resin as well......have a look at the index of the thread i gave you.....look for tabbing the deck.....or just any thing tabbing....thats what you will be doing

 

[CAPTKEV85]

Re: Gunwales Have Slight Movement

Well just realizing after looking at the floor in my boat. there was no stock lateral beams fasten to the gunwale. the foam that was in the boat was the structual support. the crappy thing is, is that i never put new foam in. If you look at the pic of the hull the outer 2 cavities were filled completley with foam. Now i saw the thread on how to do foam. but i think i need a 55 gallon drum of that stuff lol. or a pallot of great stuff. Ideas? thanks

 

[fishinaddict]

Re: Gunwales Have Slight Movement

Yes the stringers are sandwich to old system. i cut the rotted pieces out.
stringers are glassed to hull,
lateral support. mmmm in between stringers i put 4x6's to lock all of the stingers to gether. nothing to gunwale.
i replaced the foam,
teak is screwed to the stringers and the inch boarder around the boat. but if you notice the side compartments theres a good 4 inches to the gunwale. i think im gonna half to glass the teak to the gunwale some how.
i love the boat and i dont wanna give it up. like i said the hull is perfect no soft spots and the transom is excellent also.

I thought you did replace the foam....

 

[sschefer]

Re: Gunwales Have Slight Movement

Many will argue about the structural qualities of foam. I personally can't see how there wouldn't be some. As for the crack, if it's always been there, then it could be that this is where the boat needs to flex and so it may alway's will be. Caulk it if needed otherwise consider it a feature and not a flaw. Contrary to popular belief, a rigid boat is not the most durable. Hydraulic pressures are most effective when used against rigid objects.

 

[oops!]

Re: Gunwales Have Slight Movement

a lot of mfgr's used foam as a structural component of a hull.....adds as much as 10% in some situations.......in some very popular unsinkable boats.....the foam IS the structure.

a few months ago we had a case of a hooked hull......the op did a stringer job and didnt replace the foam.........because of a lack of bracing the hull durng the job.....it hooked him.....the boat was hooked so bad it was unsafe.


the best thing we gould figgure (other than re string the boat) was to add the foam........

worked perfect.