how would i repair this?

[trailerbound]

not sure how to go about fixing this?

 

[Scott Danforth]

never come into the dock faster than you want to hit it.

to fix it, the rub rail has to come off, then you need to remove the light. this should allow the fiberglass to relax back into position. the aluminum rub rail channel is holding the broken fiberglass in that position.

from there, you will need to get on the inside and determine the extent of the damage

from there, you can grind away the broken fiberglass and repair as required.

 

[trailerbound]

I just bought the boat and actually didn't notice it until I got home.I've never removed a rub rail before. doesn't the rub rail hold the deck and hull together?

 

[Scott Danforth]

the rub rail covers the joint between the cap and hull. in many cases, the same screws hold everything together.

to remove the rub rail, start at the stern. there should be a small cap in the center of the rub rail with two screws. remove this. then start pulling out the rub rail bumper strip, working forward toward the bow. under the bumper strip, you will see the screws.

 

[trailerbound]

ok. I had a 64 sabre craft that I couldn't find a rub rail bumper insert for. I wonder if id have that problem.do you think that only removing the rail up to the point I need to fix would hold the boat together and not have the 2 pieces shift?is the deck glued to the hull usually?

 

[Scott Danforth]

each manufacturer is different. some are glued and screwed, some are caulked and screwed. you wont know until you get under there.

then again, you could simply use the boat as is

 

[fhhuber]

Needs fixing because the cracks will allow water intrusion direct to the wood supporting the front deck. That will lead to the wood rotting.

I wouldn't just operate as-is for long, though its not going to sink you.

Might be lucky and the hull just flexed. Deck is for sure broken.

As you remove screws to pull the rub rail, put them back in about 3 to 4 screw locations back and the hull will stay aligned. Then it won't matter if its glued or not.

Tape the aluminum to the hull just under the screw line so the weight of it doesn't cause it to kink, which would happen about when you have about 6 to 8 ft of it just hanging in the air.
You'll want to drop the WHOLE rub rail at the same time... 3 to 5 person job or use strings to lower it evenly. This is to prevent it kinking from its own weight.
The location of the damage means you can't easily support the aluminum and have access with half of it still bolted to the hull... just take it off.

Once the rail is off... more pics.

 

[trailerbound]

thanks for the tips and info.im not planning on using it anytime soon.i have to replace the floor at minimum. if I find the stringers are rotted I'm going to obviously replace those. I'm planning on using seacast for stringers and even though the transom is good id cut it out and pour it at the same time.there will be plenty of pictures and I'm sure more questions.

 

[Woodonglass]

Well if this ends up being a Full Restoration, I'd HIGHLY recommend that you remove the top Cap of the boat and effect the repairs on the bow the correct way.

 

[Scott Danforth]

thanks for the tips and info.im not planning on using it anytime soon.i have to replace the floor at minimum. if I find the stringers are rotted......

If your floor is soft, guarantee the stringers are rotten

 

[trailerbound]

being by myself and working outside I'm not sure how feasible separating the deck from the hull would be.I'd love to do a full restoration on this boat. I'm sure the stringers are toast.even if they aren't I'm not going to repair the floor without rebuilding the stringers.thanks for the pm woodonglass!

 

[trailerbound]

No Title

I got the mats and plywood out and found this hole.just looking through it I can tell the whole thing is rotted.hopefully I'll start cutting it all out this weekend!

 

[gm280]

I got the mats and plywood out and found this hole.just looking through it I can tell the whole thing is rotted.hopefully I'll start cutting it all out this weekend!

trailerbound, if it is any consolation, you are not the first to discover rot on their new-to-them-boat. Looks like it is time to refurbish this the proper way and that is going to take time, money and a lot of labor. So start snapping tons of pictures now and taking tons of measurement and plot them on a paper sketch of the hull or on a computer program to use when you reassembly the two parts down the road again. I guarantee you both the pictures and measurement will come in very handy. I will say you found the best place on the net to refurbish your boat. The experts on here will guide you through the entire project. But we do love pictures so post away. JMHO!

 

[trailerbound]

thanks gm280 I will do that.I guess this will be my build thread...

 

[trailerbound]

so I pulled up a small part of the floor and the stringers sounded hollow???? I drilled a tiny hole and found no wood.the other seafairs I've seen have a different layout from what I saw as far as the stringers go. I'll take pics tonight when I remove more of the floor.

 

[trailerbound]

No Title

so I pulled up the floor and this is what I found. hollow stringers??? I'm not sure if this is factory I've never seen a boat like this that has no ribs in it???maybe a fellow glasspar owner could chime in? now the question should I fill in between the stringers with foam either expanding or the pink home depot stuff then epoxy it in? or should I just clean it up and coat the plywood and fiberglass it back down?

 

[trailerbound]

No Title

this is a 1960 seafair sedan floor which looks like the others I've seen.any idea why the differences?

 

[trailerbound]

just incase somebody runs across this in the future,1962 they started using hollow fiberglass stringers like what are in my boat.so my boat isn't a 1959 like I was told.

 

[Woodonglass]

You're one lucky fellow. This is going to make your restoration sooooo much faster and easier. Get her all cleaned up and inspect the laminations of the stringers where they attach to the hull. If they are in good shape and still well attached then you won't have any further work to do on them. This is why, with these vintage boats, I try not to jump to conclusions about rotten stringers. Som of the Old Time MFG's used Hollow Core stringer formats. If you're lucky enuf to have one and they did a good job at the factory...You're Good To Go!!!

 

[trailerbound]

I picked up the epoxy today for the floor replacement. the stringers look like they're still attached solidly. I'm going to coat the wood top bottom and sides before putting it back on.should I put a layer of 1708 on the bottom or will the epoxy be sufficient?