having trouble getting the top back on my boat

[zigzag]

hey guys, recently gutted and replaced stringers, transom and deck in a 65 duo. had the top off and now that it's time to put it back on i find that i'm having considerable trouble getting it to sit right on the hull.

i can get it on and right now i have it in place but it's not perfect. i was thinking that a couple things may be to blame. either the glass has distorted a little and needs to relax back into shape a bit OR, and it's a big or, the transom distorted the shape of the boat just enough that the top can't sit down properly. the trouble spot is in the rear where the top fit down around the transom. it's really not too bad but i've yet to get it to drop into place and have the rivet hole line up in back, up front they are lined up ok.

anyone run into this before? any suggestions?

on a side note, i just picked up a 1960ish hydrodyne 17 footer to start working on. it's set up for an outboard. has the monroe spring seat up front. she's gonna be a long time project as she is in pretty rough shape. but hey $50 isn't too bad of a start!

the old man told me he wanted the space in his yard back and he was probably going to cut her up.... i couldn't bear to see that kind of style go to the dump, it'd be a shame

 

[legoman67]

Re: having trouble getting the top back on my boat

did you properly support the hull when you had the stringers and transom out?(aka more then 2 or 3 bunks on a trailer) if not it probably flexed, and then you glassed it back together in its new 'flexed' shape

 

[zigzag]

Re: having trouble getting the top back on my boat

that's probably the problem then. i did all the work on a trailer.


i guess i'll have to make do with what i've got.

lesson learned!

 

[bailey]

Re: having trouble getting the top back on my boat

Just a couple of suggestions. 1st if the boat has "sprung" sideways (gotten) wider, screw a piece of 2x4 that is cut a bit shorter than your boats width at the problem area and fasten to the gunales,you might get lucky in that you might have put the boat somewhat back to its orginal shape, put your cap on, rivet it etc. etc. then remove the piece of 2x4. 2nd have you tried putting the cap on 1st at the transom (applying a little pressure) the gradually fitting the cap on the gunales up to the bow doing each side of the alternately. Just a thought. I think "oops" ran into the same problem during his "extension project"
Bailey

 

[zigzag]

Re: having trouble getting the top back on my boat

thanks for the suggestions. i messed with it today after finding the correct rivets and low and behold i got it to fit back together! i think what ended up working was putting it on transom first. it was a real pain in the butt! i ended up sliding screws into the holes that did line up so they didn't move, then using a drill with a bit in it i fished it into a hole and used it like a lever to pull the hole next to it in place. once the adjacent hole was lined up i put a rivet in . i did this in a few spots then went ahead and attached the rails. worked out pretty well after all, everything lined up nicely. what a relief!

thanks guys!

now i have to figure out how to get the rub rail back in! i think i read that the kind i have can be heated a few feet at a time and the bottom lip can then be popped/pried back in the channel.

 

[HopeSheFloats]

Re: having trouble getting the top back on my boat

Glad to hear that you got it back on, I too, went from stern to bow{2nd attempt btw} on my old Imperial.