Larson Lapline All American

[Drb007]

Ugh, my aching hands. Anyone have a good trick for removing the rusty/corroded phillips screws from the rub rail? I have quite a few that just are stuck and none of my 20+ phillips drivers will catch. No luck drilling them out, so I've taken to chiseling from the left and right until they snap off. Not the most elegant method...

 

[Mark72233]

I had the same issue with my 100+ rub rail bolts with Phillips heads. I was able to get to the nut side and cut them off with a vibrating tool. It sucked.

 

[Drb007]

I managed to strike the head from side to side with a chisel on edge (I didn't have much room in the channel) and widened the hole. Then they turned right out.

 

[Drb007]

Forward motion today, and validation that we made the right decision. I suspect the boat may have spent time at the bottom of Lake Michigan. That's the only way I can figure the transom would be so wet.
We got the deck off and hung up out of the way. The transom is all out, and we are ready to do some grinding. I want to share some pictures to invite advice based on what you see. This is our first restoration, and appreciate friendly advice and criticism.

As I understand it, I need to grind back the edge of the fiberglass floor to the hull, as well as the mat from the top of the stringers. We have some windy warm days forecasted this week, so I plan to bring it outside to make the mess.

Some thoughts:
Any reason to go up to 3/4" plywood on the floor? Seems like it would be a good idea, but I'm sure the 1/2" would be fine too...

As for foam, the boat had none. Can I reinforce the glass around the stringers well enough to make them near water/air tight? If so, then I'd see the benefit of the pour in foam. If not, I have seen some put foam into plastic bags/wrap or use polystyrene so as not to invite more water soaking over time. Thoughts?

Can I make the bilge bigger? I am going to put in a bilge pump, so I'd like a bit more room to do so.

Really appreciate the help!

 

[Drb007]

Forward motion today, and validation that we made the right decision. I suspect the boat may have spent time at the bottom of Lake Michigan. That's the only way I can figure the transom would be so wet.
We got the deck off and hung up out of the way. The transom is all out, and we are ready to do some grinding. I want to share some pictures to invite advice based on what you see. This is our first restoration, and appreciate friendly advice and criticism.

As I understand it, I need to grind back the edge of the fiberglass floor to the hull, as well as the mat from the top of the stringers. We have some windy warm days forecasted this week, so I plan to bring it outside to make the mess.

Some thoughts:
Any reason to go up to 3/4" plywood on the floor? Seems like it would be a good idea, but I'm sure the 1/2" would be fine too...

As for foam, the boat had none. Can I reinforce the glass around the stringers well enough to make them near water/air tight? If so, then I'd see the benefit of the pour in foam. If not, I have seen some put foam into plastic bags/wrap or use polystyrene so as not to invite more water soaking over time. Thoughts?

Can I make the bilge bigger? I am going to put in a bilge pump, so I'd like a bit more room to do so.

Really appreciate the help!

 

[Drb007]

I found this little tag on the inside of the transom.

 

[Drb007]

And while I am thinking this process through, help me with this one.
The gel coat on the deck is blistering. There are a number of blemishes where the blister has popped and the gel coat bubble is gone, leaving a pit. There are a larger number of blisters. My concern is that this process will keep happening after we fix them and paint the boat. Any idea what causes this and how to keep it form being an issue?

In the areas where the boat is in "good" cosmetic condition, you can see the weave of the fiberglass under the gel coat. I assume that once I sand it down, epoxy seal it, and use sanding primer I will cover this up, yes?

 

[kcassells]

Ugh, my aching hands. Anyone have a good trick for removing the rusty/corroded phillips screws from the rub rail? I have quite a few that just are stuck and none of my 20+ phillips drivers will catch. No luck drilling them out, so I've taken to chiseling from the left and right until they snap off. Not the most elegant method...

This tool actually works;

 

[Woodonglass]

You're very fortunate to have those big ole' heavy glass walled stringers. I'd just use a R/O sander and some 60grit to smooth em up a bit and call em good. I'd Power wash the inside of the boat and unless there's some weak spots or other bad imperfections I don't see anything that needs work. You are a Lucky Boat Restorer!!!! As for foam, If I was doing this, I'd use the Blue Slab Foam and cut it to fit between the stringers and then use some Foam In a can to "Glue" it in place Until the Deck went down. I'd put a bunch of PB on top of the Stringers when you set the deck down and then PB and Tab the edges and you're DONE!!! Easy Smeazy!!!! You can make the bilge as large as you want. Totally your Call!!!.

Sorry to say, once the old gelcoat starts to bubble like that, there's not a whole lot you can do to stop it. Just the nature of the beast. Fix and repair on an individual basis, or take it all off and either re-gelcoat it or paint it.

Most people use the chisel method on the old rivets.

 

[Drb007]

Wood, do I need to fiberglass over the new floor or just tab the edges?

 

[Woodonglass]

You need to always pre-coat All wood surfaces with resin and then apply one layer of CSM to the Bottom surface of the Deck. That's all that's required for it and the edges. For the top I'd recommend 1 layer of CSM and Tab the edges with a 8-12" tabbing of 1708. If You're NOT going to Carpet the deck then I'd put down a layer of 6-8.5oz fabric to finish off the deck and then use some soft deck pellets to give it some grip or use some DuraGrid custom fit to your deck.
Review this...Fabricating Decks, Stringers, and Transoms

 

[Drb007]

Time to do some shopping. Anyone want to help debate what kind of plywood I should use for the transom and floor? JUST KIDDING!
I have read and read and read some more of the many threads about this. In the end, Menards is 10 minutes from home and sells 4x8 sheets of 3/4" marine fir plywood for $70, 5/8 for $60, and 1/2 for $50. They stock the 1/2 and 3/4, 5/8 is special order (4 to 7 days).

The original transom is 1 1/8" not counting the glass. So, I am thinking of "beefing up" the floor to 5/8 rather than 1/2, using a sheet of 5/8 and a sheet of 1/2 to get my 1 1/8 transom. I think I would need just the one sheet of 1/2", and no more than 3 (maybe only 2) sheets of the 5/8". So my total should be around $170-220, and my wife always has a coupon for Menards to at least save sales tax.

Does that sound like a decent plan?

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Woodonglass]

Are you "Foaming" The floor? if so remember that will give a LOT of support to it so there's really no need for the extra support and weight. You can if you want but...??? Other than that, your plan sounds good.

 

[Drb007]

Well, yes, but you had recommended using the blue polystyrene rather than pour-in foam, right? If I do pour in, I had thought about using a flexible plastic to make a curved base at the bottom of the stringers, so there would be an open area under the foam for water intrusion. That way water can come/go as needed into the bilge, but should minimize how much water gets soaked into the foam.
Or, I can just cut up the polystyrene and pack it in to the space between the stringers. But it won't add much strength to the floor, right?
I figured the weight difference between 1/2 and 5/8 would be less than 20 pounds. Am I off?

 

[sphelps]

If you install the blue ridged foam vertically and cut it off even with the stringers ... That will give the deck extra support .... It does take a little time to cut the angles though ..

 

[jbcurt00]

After adding poly resin and glass, 1/2 would likely be plenty for the deck (floor), since you should glass both sides. 5/8 even more so.

Dont know anyone who wished they'd used thinner plywood when they used 5/8 plywood instead of 1/2 on glass or tin boats. 3/4 is too much, IMO. So if you think 1/2 isnt enough, 5/8 is a great choice.

SATX is much more active @ the FG site. Email him thru there about the patterns.

 

[jbcurt00]

Looping back a post or 2, IMO, if you enlarge the bilge area out to that crescent shaped bulkhead the stringers terminate at, you'll have a twice as big bilge area for your pump and water to collect.

Any bigger requires reconfiguring that crescent shape, impedes space below the splashwell (on the deck) for gas tanks and battery tray and is probably a lot of extra work, for not a lot of benefit.

If you need a 12gal reservoir for your bilge on that boat, you've got problems a larger bilge probably wont solve.

 

[Woodonglass]

sphelps is spot on about cutting the foam in strips and putting it on edge. makes for a much stronger installation for the deck support. You can also make a one piece a bit smaller to make drainage channels.

 

[Drb007]

I got the transom template cut out. Just about ready to cut the plywood. My question is: How tight does the transom have to fit on the edges? To get it to sit flush up against the fiberglass on the transom, I had to trim the template up in a few spots along the bottom and sides to accommodate the variations in the hull. I have less than 1/2 inch at the most gap between the wood and the fiberglass around the edges. Is that ok? My understanding is that I will fill that with PB.

I decided to go with the West System, and ordered all the stuff I will need (hopefully). Do you think a roll of West's 6oz glass 60" x 10 yards will be enough? I figured I would do one sheet on the underside of the floor and a couple on top, plus the transom work.

Thanks for the advice

 

[Woodonglass]

You're using epoxy right??? 1/2" gap around the edges is just about perfect. You want that so the PB can ooze out and you can cove it to make it easy for the glass tabbings to bend around the edges. It also seals the edges of the plywood and ensures no hard spots on the glass. 10yds will be close. How much resin did you buy? 6oz is a bit light especially on the transom. I'd prolly recommend 3 layers on the transom.