Replacing My Deck

[BobsGlasstream]

Re: Replacing My Deck

Hey obxhawk,
Great news with the wife and family. Doing it together will just add to the pleasure and memory's. You will also find that we talk about a lot of things here not just boats.
I was going to mention too that one of my favorite tools during the tear down period was Toe kick saw or flush cut saw as some call it. It makes short work of stringers and deck removal, it will allow you to get pretty close to the hull with out cutting through. You still can cut through the hull so be careful. I don't know if you have a Harbor Freight in your area but they have some cheap tools that work good for this application.
Glad to hear the transom may still be OK too.
Good luck
Bob

 

[boatflipper]

Re: Replacing My Deck

I took a closer look at the stringers today and was shocked to see that they are plywood standing on the edge and then wrapped??? Is that common? I know it's awhile before I will get to the point when I start replacing them but I would think salt treated 2X would be the strongest and best option.

I have seen plywood stringers and that is what I plan on using. If you can use a common size such as a 2x6 go for it-seems much easier. I am using plywood because my stringers are odd dimensions (4x1.25, 9x1.25, and 8x1.75)
Good luck!!

 

[obxhawk]

Re: Replacing My Deck

Thank you to everyone who has been posting here. Great advice. Hopefully I will be able to dig in a little more this weekend and see how far I am going to need to go.
Bob,
There is a Harbor Freight here. Thank you for the info. On their home page there is a multi function tool that I think will come in handy. It cuts, scrapes and sands/grinds. It's on sale for $39. The toe-kick saw is $70. Still not bad but I think the multi-function tool may get the job done.
Ok. Another rookie question...What is the best way to remove the flotation foam? It's in there pretty tight.
Bill

 

[Robert4Winns]

Re: Replacing My Deck

Keep an eye on the Harbor Freight ads for the toe kick saw. I got mine on sale for $59. I think the multifunction tool may be underpowered for most of what you need to do, but might be helpful for getting into corners.
The best tool for removing the foam is a spade. You can dig it out in large chunks and then scrape the sides and bottom of the hul with a wide, flat scraper.

 

[obxhawk]

Re: Replacing My Deck

Well I had about an hour after work to rip out more deck. I know it's hard to see from the pictures but I am down to the hull on about 1/4 of the deck. I'm finding that the toughest part is digging out the foam. I am using a shovel and a hand trowel. Any suggestions that make this work easier?
One thing I discovered is that the deck was not salt treated or marine plywood. It was OSB. The plus side of that is that it's just like picking up mulch to remove it.

 

[BobsGlasstream]

Re: Replacing My Deck

jsmart,
I used one of those flat nail puller demolition bars and slid it under the foam and gt out in large chunks. Other just use a small shovel in the same manner.
One other thing you can get a photobucket account and load full size photos instead of thumbnails into you post and it's free. Just resize them to 680X 480 size.
Keep it rolling.
Bob

 

[obxhawk]

Re: Replacing My Deck

Bob,
I did setup a photobucket page. Here's the link: http://s955.photobucket.com/albums/ae32/obxhawk/1989 Raven 2100 CC Restoration/
I tried adding on my signature but it says it is not a valid format. How do I link this on my profile?
Bill

 

[cheesegrits]

Re: Replacing My Deck

Lets see if this works!
http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae32/obxhawk/1989 Raven 2100 CC Restoration/0119001228.jpg

Okay they will work except when you have a pic in portrait form. You need to rotate the ones in portrait till they are in landscape mode otherwise they will be too tall. You also need to set your size to large 640 x 480 so they won't take up too much time for someone on dialup. Mine are already on this setting and I am not sure if you have to reload them into photobucket to resize them. Your pics of the rotten floor are 600x800. Anybody else know?

 

[micks110]

Re: Replacing My Deck

Bill,
Sorry I haven't been around for a while. I forgot to subscribe to your thread.

Yeh, the family thing is touchy... Like Bob said- you have to know how far you can push it until you back off. I don't know how old your kids are but I have a 4 year old and 2 year old. I said too we should all work on stuff together but my wife and kids have been out to see the boat maybe 4 times in 3 months for a total of maybe 10 minutes. I can't imagine them being there when you are grinding and the fiberglass dust is flying or when you are glassing and the fumes are flowing. if they are older then maybe but if they are younger I wouldn't chance their health.

I basically agreed with my wife that I would only work on it at night after we put the kids to bed at 7:30 a couple times a week. Now I go out there when our son is napping on weekends and pretty much every night during the week. Like Bob said you have to know how far you can push it

My wife isn't always happy about it but she knows where I am on weekends when other guys are out at bars with a bunch of friends. Plus she knows why I want to do the boat and get it done for the summer- because it is mainly for the family and to give us something to do that is 100% family oriented, fun, outdoors, and something we can look forward to on the weekends.

If I could offer advice it would be- it is going to take alot of time away from your wife or family, you have to be able to balance the time, and lay off it for a day or two when you see it starting to get to her. Keep reminding her that it is for your family and it will offer you guys a ton of enjoyment when it is completed.

Good Luck

 

[obxhawk]

Re: Replacing My Deck

Thanks Lewis and Mick.
I made a trip to Harbor Freight today based on Bob's suggestion. I held off on the tow-kick saw but did buy a heavy duty angle grinder, some cut off discs and grinding discs. I'll see tomorrow how the cut off discs work. I figure I have to have a decent grinder anyway. That place is great. I could get into trouble there.
I may have caught another break that will save a little money. My brother-in-law has about 10 yards of fiberglass cloth in his shop that he doesn't need but it's 12 oz. Most of what I have read suggests 6 oz. Is there any reason the 12 oz. won't work?

 

[BobsGlasstream]

Re: Replacing My Deck

Hey obxhawk,
Glad to see you got the photo account. As for adding it to your Signature, At the top of your screen, you should see user CP, click it and then edit signature. add it there.
Nice score on the glass, I don't see any reason not to use it. I'm using 1.5 oz CSM and 18oz wovin roving. I wanted to use 1708 biax but didn't find any locally.
Hey cheesegrits, You need to resize your pic in photo bucket to 680 X 480, before the mods get you.
You can edit it in photobucket very easy.
Have a great day All
Bob

 

[obxhawk]

Re: Replacing My Deck

Hey guys. It's been slow going with snow flurries and then rain last weekend. It looks like I will get a break in the weather this Saturday and be able to spend a little more time and hopefully finish tearing out the deck and foam. If I have the time then I'll start cutting out the stringers.
I should say that my work here is a repair and not a restoration. I admire the work many of you are doing but at least at this point have no intention of going that far with this old boat. My goal when done is that it will be safe to take my family out on the river and bay.
Before I rip out stringers and bulkheads I took the measurements below for a guide when I start replacing them. How important is it that I am absolutely exact on things like spacing between the stringers?
I also want to beef it up a little. There is on 1 brace between the stringers about 2' in front of the stern. I am thinking that more bracing will provide more overall strength and not add any significant weight.

 

[BobsGlasstream]

Re: Replacing My Deck

obxhawk,
I believe in going back with pretty much the same as the OEM because I'm sure they had to do their homework to get the boat to pass the USCG spec's.
The stringers should be relativity close to original position, which should not be hard to do. I did go with 3/4" ply instead of the 1/2" they used. Some slight changes should not hurt anything.
MY 2 cents worth.
Bob

 

[obxhawk]

Re: Replacing My Deck

Good morning guys. Sorry I haven't had any updates in a couple weeks. Progress has been very slow right now. I am still working on getting the deck and foam torn out but between weather and other commitments it's been tough to get much done. I'll get some pics today when I get going.

 

[obxhawk]

Re: Replacing My Deck

Well I finally had a decent day to get a little work done. I made some progress on the demolition. I still have another good day or so of cutting and pulling out the foam.
When I pulled out the trim panels I found out they were rotted as well. I don't think they will be too tough to rebuild. This is a good project to get my wife involved on. The original panels look to be 1/4 plywood capped with foam padding then wrapped in vinyl. I am probably not going to use salt treated plywood but maybe some water seal or paint. Has anyone done this with success?