Stringer - Bulkhead Install Questions???

[kenny26]

I'm still working on my transom, but planning ahead for the next steps.

After I dry fit my stringers and bulkheads...

Do I hot coat them and then screw them together? Will the hot coat affect the fit if the dry fit is tight?

I'm assuming you want to hot coat them before attaching the stringers to the bulkheads so you get total coverage.

After the hot coat, I'm thinking I'd like to screw them together then bed them with PL all at once as a single unit. Then proceed to filet with PB, tab, and cover them with glass.

Is this a good approach? Also I'm teetering between PB and PL for bedding and filet? Any opinions on that? I'm using Poly Resin.

 

[lowkee]

Re: Stringer - Bulkhead Install Questions???

I'm thinking I'd like to screw them together then bed them with PL all at once as a single unit.

I'm a bit lost as to what you mean by all of the "them"s. I know "them" seems obvious in your head, but I don't want to give bad advice from a miscommunication.

 

[kenny26]

Re: Stringer - Bulkhead Install Questions???

I have 2 stringers and 3 bulkheads. I'm talking about screwing the bulkheads and stringers together and then proceeding to bed all the stringers and bulkheads to the hull.

 

[lowkee]

Re: Stringer - Bulkhead Install Questions???

Okay, I get you now. I suppose you could look at it two ways. You are guaranteed a perfectly flat deck mounting surface if you preassemble, but you risk having sections which touch or hover too far above the hull. I opted for putting each board in separately and would likely do the same again, as I was able to tweak each board for a perfect fit. Also, with bare stringers you can use one long piece of mat to cover them, rather than multiple pieces. I never even screwed my bulkheads into the stringers, as the glass will hold it without issue. Either way you go about it, you are building a boat frame which will last 20 years so long as you seal it up tight and bed it securely to the hull. The fun part of restoration seems to be the twenty ways you can do any one task and still get a long lasting, better-than-new result.

 

[kenny26]

Re: Stringer - Bulkhead Install Questions???

My question is really more related to fit.

If as in your case you dry fit your strings and bulkheads. Then you bed your stringers and use full length strips of CSM to cover them. Then won't your bulkheads be too wide due to the hotcot and the glass you used to tab and cover the stringers? That's my question.

 

[BobsGlasstream]

Re: Stringer - Bulkhead Install Questions???

kenny26,
Most people put the stringers in one at a time. If you glass over them you will need to allow for the glass/ resin when you do your bulkheads. It won't be much.
As for me my stringers are not straight, so I plan to set the two curved stringes together by building a fixture to hold them in the corrrect position, then remove the supports after I get them glassed enough to hold the proper curve. I will then do the bulkheads. I will measure and cut the bulkheads at that point not ahead of time.
I hope this helps with what you are asking.
Bob

 

[kenny26]

Re: Stringer - Bulkhead Install Questions???

Thanks guys!

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Stringer - Bulkhead Install Questions???

What do you mean by hot coat?

 

[kenny26]

Re: Stringer - Bulkhead Install Questions???

What do you mean by hot coat?

Thought that "Hot coat" was the general term for applying a coat or two of poly resin to the stringers and bulkheads prior to tabbing them in so as not to have it soak into the wood and starve the mat of resin.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Stringer - Bulkhead Install Questions???

I ask because frequently people think they should add extra catalyst, thus the term "hot coat". Adding more catalyst than recommended can cause a weak poorly cured resin that can do more harm than good.

 

[lowkee]

Re: Stringer - Bulkhead Install Questions???

I went Bob's route and fit one piece at a time. If after glassing in the stringers I had to trim some material off a bulkhead, I simply trimmed it off and glassed that tidbit to seal it. It doesn't have to be a perfect, one coat glassing on the bulkheads, just as long as it is sealed. I cut all of the bulkheads 1/4" short and rounded the outer bottom edges to account for the filleting of the stringers prior to matting them. That fillet will be quite big, so be ready for it. If you have a built-in fuel tank, you need to make sure the fillet will not stop the tank from seating fully. I had this issue and it required a bunch of post-glassing grinding and sealing to fix. Best to avoid the issue altogether. If you dry fit your fuel tank and it has less than 1/4" of play, you need to widen the stringers or you'll regret it after glassing.