Stratos 1850 possible rebuild?

[bakerjw]

Re: Stratos 1850 possible rebuild?

I must say that the scaffolding and hand cranks are the best thing since sliced bread. Taking the cap up and down took maybe a miute each direction. Right now the cap is 6 feet above the bottom of the hull and secure on 4x4's I have a tarp draped over the cap to keep rain out and a secondary tarp under the cap to keep water out of the hull.

 

[lokonn]

Re: Stratos 1850 possible rebuild?

Cool rigging setup. Looks like you got it figured.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: Stratos 1850 possible rebuild?

Looks like a ton of hard work, but the pay off is in how well it is gonna work for you...
Very, very nice!

 

[bakerjw]

Re: Stratos 1850 possible rebuild?

Actually it was quite easy to get everything put into place. I needed a way to raise and lower the cap by myself without renting expensive equipment and this came to mind and so far is working great. Yesterday was one of those days where everything goes right.


Today was glassing the stringers day! WooHoo! No more heavy demolition. All of the calculations have been done. I rounded the edges of the stringers and went to work finishing out the tabbing of some of them and then laid 1708 down the sides and out onto the floor of the hull. It was slow going just mixing and painting epoxy by myself, but I managed to get 5 7 foot strips completed. The cut cloth was between 13" and 18" wide.

I picked up some pumps for my epoxy and hardener. They don't work all that well with the thicker epoxy, but they work great with the hardener. I'd measure out 3 containers with 12 ounces of resin. I'd pour one into my mixing container (cut down milk jugs work well) and then add 4 pumps of hardener. After mixing I'd go to work. When I needed the next batch, the resin was already measured out and would get added to the mixing container. Add hardener, mix and continue. In the past I'd had trouble with the epoxy going into exotherm on me, but no issues at all today. I did have the last batch go off, but there was only an ounce of epoxy in there and I was starting to finish out some freshly laid glass.

It is my hope to have the stringers all glassed in place by Tuesday night. Then I can start cutting and adding in the bulkheads. Originally, Stratos put the stringers and bulkheads in some kind of a jig and then stapled them all together. By glassing in the stringers first, I am isolating them from the bulkheads. If I ever were to get water into a piece of wood, it would have a tough time getting through to the adjacent pieces.

 

[bakerjw]

Re: Stratos 1850 possible rebuild?

Luckily I've been making many steps forward with very few back. Tonight, was one of those back ones. In my last 7' run of 1708 on a stringer, one of my epoxy batches missed hardener. There is only one thing worse than sanding out glass and hard resin... Yep, it's sanding out glass with sticky gooey half hardened resin.

I hate that I lost time more than material.

 

[bakerjw]

Re: Stratos 1850 possible rebuild?

Well race weekend (Nascar at Bristol) is upon us and that usually eats into my time a bit. Rather than take only a half day off for the truck race on Wednesday, I opted for a full day and was able to work on the hull from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Seven hours of pure unadulterated boat working glee! Ok, it wasn't that gleeful, but I did manage to glass out all but one strip of the stringers to the front of the hull. I was also able to get the 2 front most main bulkheads mostly glassed in. I ran out of time and 1708 :facepalm:

But, I have plenty of plywood around to cut the rest of the bulkheads as an order of 1708 and flotation foam makes its way here from US Composites.

So I have bulkheads to cut for between the main stringers and the outer stringers and for between the outer stringers and the hull. They're all fairly small and shouldn't take more than an evening to get cut out. Then there are the fake floor for the fuel tank compartment and other odds and ends. It is my absolute hope to have everything tidied up in the hull by next weekend and start the process of installing the deck and mating the cap to the hull.


The next hurdle is coming up with some industrial control equipment. You see, I work for Siemens as an industrial controller system test engineer. My plan is to use one of our S7-1200 PLCs connected to one of our HMIs (Human Machine Interface) for controlling all aspects of the boat operation. Bilge, livewell timer, lighting, deck courtesy lights, etc... Since I also have a high end Lowrance graph/chart plotter, I can pull the NMEA sentences in with an RS232 interface and display navigation data on the HMI. Then by using a 24V 8" actuator with feedback, I can use the entire system to control a kicker motor for an autopilot. It should be a sweet deal when finished.

 

[Teamster]

Re: Stratos 1850 possible rebuild?

The next hurdle is coming up with some industrial control equipment. You see, I work for Siemens as an industrial controller system test engineer. My plan is to use one of our S7-1200 PLCs connected to one of our HMIs (Human Machine Interface) for controlling all aspects of the boat operation. Bilge, livewell timer, lighting, deck courtesy lights, etc... Since I also have a high end Lowrance graph/chart plotter, I can pull the NMEA sentences in with an RS232 interface and display navigation data on the HMI. Then by using a 24V 8" actuator with feedback, I can use the entire system to control a kicker motor for an autopilot. It should be a sweet deal when finished.

Yous lost me with that part, Kind off, sort off,....Maybe,......

I think were gonna need a metric sh!t ton of photos when yous get to that part!!!!,...

Glad to here things are coming along,........

 

[lokonn]

Re: Stratos 1850 possible rebuild?

^^^^^Yah, what he said. Remember some of us work on tin boats!

 

[bakerjw]

Re: Stratos 1850 possible rebuild?

Basically, my console will have a 6" touch screen. One screen will show all navigation data (Lat, Lon, Heading, Speed, etc...). Another will be for controlling lights, pumps, etc... Another will have display battery and fuel level. One will eventually be for autopilot control of the kicker motor which will run off of general heading or waypoint routes. I can add screens to my hearts content.

The touch screen controls the industrial controller. I work with these devices for a living so I know what the capabilities of the system are and I will certainly post a lot of pictures.

 

[bakerjw]

Re: Stratos 1850 possible rebuild?

Well, sometimes real life gets in the way of our boat renovations. I've managed a few hours of boat work each of the last few days, but I've not had time to post pictures. I landed a pair of hot passes for the race at Bristol and that's eaten all of my evening time. This was last night in turn 2 as my son and I were headed toward the back pits

But, the last few days, I've worked on cutting and fitting bulkheads.

Once fitted, I marked the tops on the starboard side cut them to the correct height. I then tacked them into place with some epoxy and will be glassing them in very shortly. The bulkheads between the stringers have to be cut out to accept a 4" piece of PVC pipe for handling control cables and wiring.

More pics later today.

 

[Teamster]

Re: Stratos 1850 possible rebuild?

Sounds to me like you'll be finding the company a new market for their touch screens,........

I look forward to seeing that!

 

[bakerjw]

Re: Stratos 1850 possible rebuild?

Well back at it today.

Before the rebuild, the only way to get wiring to the front area of the boat was to go back to the stern and route up the sides. Since my trolling motor batteries are in the center console, It only makes sense to give a more direct route to the front. Hence a conduit for any wiring going to the front or back. It will all be sealed tight as a drum when finished.

Originally Stratos used a 4" PVC pip for routing the fuel fill hose and vent. They cut squares out of the stringers and routed the hose up to a hole at deck level. It wasn't sealed and water made its way in there. I'm installing some plastic conduits to guide the fill and vent hoses from the tank to above the new deck line. This will also be tightly sealed.

For routing wiring and control cables, Stratos once again cut through stringers and bulkheads without sealing them back up. I've replaced their 4" pipe with a new one and am ensuring that the bulkheads will still maintain some structural value. Before they had 5 to 6 inch squares cut in them and the bulkheads were not sealed.

All of the bulkheads are cut and are now tacked into place with epoxy. I have 5 or 6 already glassed in as of tonight. I'm going to round up some people to help with glassing this week and next weekend, I hope to get the deck back in and perhaps the cap lowered.

Important note!!!
Lastly... Not all 1708 is created equal. I am using epoxy from fiberglasssite.com. It is a higher viscosity than some other epoxies but is touted as being much stronger. The first batch of 1708 biaxial mat that I picked up from them absorbs epoxy very well. The top stringer is their epoxy and their 1708. You can see that it is very clear. The 2 pieces of 1708 along the bulkhead with the cutout came from US Composites. It does not want to wet out completely.

I've not changed my method of application. I first apply epoxy to the CSM side of the 1708, then I brush it on the surface where it is going. I brush epoxy on the top surface and then use a bubble buster roller to work out the excess epoxy and bubbles. This new 1708 is saturated; however, the epoxy doesn't seem to be able to penetrate some of the biaxial strands completely. I leaves opaque areas.

I'll see what it's like tomorrow. As a test, when I mix up some epoxy, I'm going to take a piece of plywood and glass it with the fiberglasssite and US Composites 1708 as a comparison.

 

[bakerjw]

Re: Stratos 1850 possible rebuild?

Well, I got home from work a bit later than usual, but the wife jumped in and helped apply epoxy to the back side of the 1708 that I am now using. The biaxal fibers don't saturate quite as well as the other stuff that I was using but the sections that I laid last night are in and rock solid.

We used a bit different technique tonight. We laid the 1708 with the CSM side up and saturated it with epoxy before painting epoxy on the surface where it was going to be placed. Once in place, I brush on more and then roll out the excess and air bubbles with a bubble buster. With her help, we easily finished the 5 larger bulkheads between the 2 port stringers. Each bulkhead chamber now has at least 1 layer of 1708 with some of it having 2 layers with some 10 ounce cloth between the stringers and the hull.

I still have some patching to do on the stringers that were cut to fit the control pipe. If you notice, the 2 cut out stringer from the bottom has been glassed with 1708 that is relatively clear when compared to the bottom one. That is because it is the 1708 from my first order.

I've looked at how my material costs have gone higher than I anticipated and then I stand back and look at the size of this 18' hull and the size of the stringers. I see so many boats with 6 inch stringers and here I am with 11" + ones for most of the length of the hull. Oh well, the expense isn't getting to me any longer as I am sure that next weekend will see the bilge, fuel compartment and other places getting painted and the deck going back in. In another 2 or 3 weeks I could very easily be getting ready to say the "S" word.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Stratos 1850 possible rebuild?

I understand your anxt about the costs but... think about this number...$15,000 minimum cost for a new boat probably more like $20,000 for a boat of this size and quality. Sooooooo now how are your numbers lookin!!!!

 

[bakerjw]

Re: Stratos 1850 possible rebuild?

Oh, I'm quite aware of that. That's the only thing that keeps me sane through this process.

 

[lokonn]

Re: Stratos 1850 possible rebuild?

Watching go thru rebuild is helping to silence the voice in my head, fiberglass boats are really cool, you wil catch a lot more fish, look at those lines. I do not have what it takes to do what you are doing. Your progress is awsome and I can't wait to see you finish.

 

[Tnstratofam]

Re: Stratos 1850 possible rebuild?

Hello I just found your thread and wanted to say I am very impressed with the progress and work you've done to date. I have a 1988 Stratos 2000XLS open bow that I'm going to start on in a month or so. I have a soft spot in the floor at the mid part of my deck, and am probably going to find a real nice surprise when I tare into it. Anyway i just wanted to say looks good so far, and I will be keeping my eyes on your project and its outcome. Also I'm right up the road in Elizabethton so would be glad to offer some help

 

[bakerjw]

Re: Stratos 1850 possible rebuild?

Thanks for the offer. You're welcome to stop by and see what is involved. I'm on the downhill slope now and it is my hope to be putting the deck back in this weekend.

I am no expert at this type of work, but I'd be happy to give you the benefit of my experience when you get ready to tackle your project.

 

[bakerjw]

Re: Stratos 1850 possible rebuild?

Advice needed.
What kind of wood is acceptable to use for the rub rail screws? The ply that is in there now are 6" long or so and 1/2" thick and I believe that it is cedar. Many of the holes are also stripped out so I want to replace the wood. I have plenty of 3/4" exterior grade that I can plane down to 1/2. Will that suffice?

This is what I did...
Removed the old "nailers" and made new ones for the rub rail screws...

 

[bakerjw]

Re: Stratos 1850 possible rebuild?

I've decided that I'm going to go ahead and paint my hull rather than redo the gel coat. I have the spray equipment, so it shouldn't be that big of a deal. I know that TSC sells some decent paints, but I'm going to stop by the local automotive paint place and see what they think of using a PPG acrylic enamel.

I'm going to keep the hull white, but I'm thinking about a very light blue for the console and even possibly the entire cap.

Any thoughts?