New guy with a dumb question

[dawg11]

So I bought a 1988 bayliner capri 1950 , with 5.0l i/o . The guy I bought it from said he was in the middle of replacing the floor . Said he had it all (stringers new deck and carpet ) cut and laying in the boat . Said "All you have to do is take the new carpet up and remove the floor , seal it and screw it back down". Once I got it home and pulled the carpet backout (wall to wall and new ), I discovered that the new deck was only the open area in the aft and up the middle between the seats , to just under the windshield. A total wood replacement is required . From what I've been able to find on this site , it is not that hard just consumes enormous amounts of time to do it correct . All just so that at some time in the future you can do it all again , if you keep the boat . Especially here in Oregon where keeping your boat dry means not using it .

Which brings me to my question .

If your we are going to poor so much time, energy and money into replacing the wood . Why are we wasting time , energy and money putting something in that we already know will rot out ? Why couldn't we use a synthetic material such as UHMW ? Which is 94% buoyant , and does not absorb water . I just say uhmw cause Ive used it for other things at work and seems like it may be a good fit here . Maybe some other synthetic would work better . It was just a thought looking for other like minded thoughts .lol If anyone has any ideas I'd love to here them . I was thinking a fix it and forget it (forever) solution was better . God knows there is plenty of other stuff we will get to repair over and over again.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: New guy with a dumb question

"All you have to do is........

Classic boat sellers line right there.

If your we are going to poor so much time, energy and money into replacing the wood . Why are we wasting time , energy and money putting something in that we already know will rot out ? Why couldn't we use a synthetic material

Done correctly (my glasser buddies can describe what correctly is) and completely sealed up your Bayliner will last longer than you will. Provided you take reasonable care of it when you are not boating. Meaning throw a boat cover on or back it in the garage when she's on break. If you leave her for dead, out in the weather, under a deciduous tree, she'll rot out again.

To answer the other part of your question, synthetics are very expensive and unnecessary if you do this ^^^^. If you run synthetic material and leave the boat out, your structure may not absorb water, but, your foam will eventually.

Either way, all the best to ya, and welcome to iboats :welcome:

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: New guy with a dumb question

you can not use materials such as UHMW or delrin because noting will stick to them. there are composites that you can use, however at the cost of 4x using exterior grade plywood, the cost is not worth it.

properly done, the wood wrapped fiberglass will last a really long time (much longer than original). properly maintained, well after your grandchildren have passed.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: New guy with a dumb question

Welcome (again) Dawg . . .

I am one of the advocates of synthetic material for stringers and other hull structure. However, in my repairs so far, I have used wood, because the existing structure was wood.

If I were to do an entire restoration, which it sounds like you will be doing, I would research and probably use synthetic materials. The most common synthetic materials used for stringers are foam and fiberglass. You will use a fair amount of fiberglass to obtain comparable strength to a wood/glass system, so budget accordingly.

As far as the decking material, I am not sure what you could use instead of wood . . other than make a fiberglass/foam laminate of about an inch or so thick. The most common foam used with fiberglass resins is urethane foam, since it withstands the resins. Styrene foams are dissolved by the resins. So, consider the type of foam(s) used.

Also, your question about foam (from your first post) yes, definitely use foam. It is required by USCG regs for boats under 20 feet, and a ABYC standard for boat up to 26 feet. It also adds a fair amount of strength to the hull structure.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: New guy with a dumb question

Not a dumb question at all and one that gets a lot of traction around here...
As has been mentioned, it is very possible to build a boat hull completely wood free, yet at a large increase in cost and labor for the backyard boat builder...
Several boat manufacturers today are building totally wood free boat hulls and most of them are using a pre-shaped urethane type foam for their stringer/bulkhead cores and doing a process of vacuum forming the fiberglass layers to the forms in one operation...
Another method that is still popular is the Boston Whaler type of construction, where the inner and outer hulls are fiberglass skins, molded together and filled with expanding foam, which if maintained in its original sealed condition will definitely last for decades...
I am not sure what materials they are using for the transoms, but I read about certain types of new plywoods that are supposed to be disease and rot resistant along with poured type transoms such as Seacast...
Check out these links...http://www.tritonboats.com/about.aspx
http://www.larsonboats.com/vec.php

 

[jigngrub]

Re: New guy with a dumb question

I am not sure what materials they are using for the transoms, but I read about certain types of new plywoods that are supposed to be disease and rot resistant

This is that wood:

3/4" Marine Treated Decking

40 yr. lifetime warranty and won't rot even if it gets wet, and if you throw that nastyass carpet away that absorbs and retains water and put in a water shedding finish inside your boat instead... it'll last forever.

The Kiln Dried CCA Pressure Treated Marine Plywood can be used for stringers, transoms, and decks. It's easy to work with, strong, and cheaper than composites. Ya gotta love it!

 

[Ned L]

Re: New guy with a dumb question

Typical 'synthetics' are not as stiff as regular dimensional lumber, and stiffness is the purpose of stringers.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: New guy with a dumb question

If, Big IF, wood Cored Stringers, Transoms, and Decks are properly Fabricated, Installed and then Cared for and maintained by the Owners they can and will last for Decades. My boat is 50+ years old and still has all the original wood cores. It's all about Care and Maintenance...Period. Even Shoddy workmanship can be overcome with Great Care and Maintenance. There are a LOT of new Composites on the market that can alleviate the need for care an maintenance but there's a HEAVY price to pay for them. I really don't see the need when C&M will take care of it. This might be of interest to you when you start your restoration...

"Fabricating Decks, Stringers, and Transoms"

(Click the Pic to Download and View the PDF File)

View attachment MaterialsList.pdf