86 SN rebuild

I was in your shoes not too long ago...

I decided to through bolt the cradle from the sides of the stringer. Remember, unless you want the cradle to be permanant, you need to be able to access the nuts on the back side- so this will affect your stringer/floor configuration around the motor. Cradles DO sometimes break, so I would resist the urge to make yours permanantly mounted! This is the approach we took on our BFN, but the main stringers on the v-hulls dont support the floor- so making a pocket to access the backing nuts was more straightforward.

You could do the rod trick, but Im not sold on the idea. I would think it would make installing the cradle a real PITA... gotta be precise to align everything. If one rod isnt perfectly vertical, good luck! As far as the cradle sitting below the floor at the front goes, that is true... but the original '86 floor had a removeable wood panel that went around the pylon. If you built something similar, it would give you full access to the cradle should it need to come out later.

I would give some strong consideration to simply lagging down from the top, just like it came from the factory. This is by far the simplest and most straightforward approach. I would think you could keep the 5200 around the top half of the lags (not the threads) which might make it a little easier to get the bolts out next time.

Ranger wrote: Yes, I'm going to reconfigure the stringers that allow me to have access to both sides of the main. The original confguration only had foam in that area, so I don't think it's a big deal. Do I really need to bolt it through the top?

No reason to bolt through the top that I can think of if you sufficiently through bolt it.

Keep in mind a few things when you build the pockets for the backing nuts.

-Water will make its way into these pockets... how will it get out?

-Is your motorbox wide enough to cover the new pockets?

The deck is going to be the same, so the engine cover will remain as it is. The area that needs to be opened up is full of foam, so it's not structural. I am going to run another piece of fir, from the rear cross brace (by rear of engine) forward to another cross brace (forward cradle). It will leave me a 3 inch wide path between the stringer and deck support. I will also cut a 2 X 2 angle in the bottom of the cross braces for water to come and go as it pleases.

Hopefully this makes sense?

Also, if I understand you correctly, you don't think I would need to bolt through the top, if I am through bolting on the sides. Correct?

Jeff

Yes, no need for lagging from the top if through bolting through the side, IMHO.

Your extra bracing and draining to form the pockets makes sense as well. From the sounds of it, you are not refoaming at all? I dont see any drains cut in your ribs- will you be adding some to allow all the water to get to the drains?

I know many people who rebuild without foam simply allow all compartments to drain together and drain to the bilge. The first part (draining together) is fine by me, but the second part (draining to the bilge) worries me. Any drain point then becomes an intrusion point, which can let water in under your floor very easily. The pockets at the side of your motor would be a very big intrusion point as well- and as soon as the water gets down in there, it will run where it pleases.

We built our BFN so that all of the compartments will drain together, but there are no obvious intrusion points, ie, they dont drain to the bilge. Instead, we chose a few low lying spots where water will collect if it somehow makes its way below the floor. We made a few access points ot these spots so we can pump water out if need be. Ive seen an early glass boat (no foam) with a free draining structure with a drain hole that became clogged with leaves, etc from the bilge... which ended up holding a ton of water under the floor. Yikes.

Tim, my skier didn't have any foam from the factory and has drains to the bilge at the transom. We also have a drain hole in the transom.

I haven't seen any problems with this set up and find it pretty convenient that everything would go into the bilge should some water get under the floor. As soon as the bow comes up (either on the trailer or in the water) everything flows back and the goes into the bilge. Once it's there, everything stays between the mains and you can either pump it out or pull the plug.

Seems like a far better set up than having to check access panels in the floor for water....or worry about intrusion in the middle of the mains.

Chris, the whole point is to not allow water under the floor in the first place! I do not intend to have to drain, ever... but in case I do, I can. Basically the same as a foam rebuild, except you can get the water out if it finds its way in. It seems like inviting it up there via the bilge is asking for trouble... all it would take is a misplaced dryer sheet or a few errant leaves to block a drain located out of reach and youre in trouble. I dont neglect my stuff either, but things like that make their way into my bilges from time to time. Maybe Im alone on this one, but draining 50 gallons of water from a '65 CC with a plugged drain was not a pretty sight.

As far as no-foam constuction and a drain hole in the transom being factory work in 1970, I have a pretty hard time believing it. My understanding is that foam became standard equipment around the '66-67 timeframe. Ive yet to see a CC with a drain plug like that... maybe someone here can clarify.

8122pbrainard wrote: Tim, You allowing debris to dirty up your bilge??? There must be someone else who is using your screen name!

Yes, I have to admit Pete that a dryer sheet or 2 (my critter detterant during winter storage) has escaped my attention. And yes, I have found leaves in my bilge too. Maybe its because I winterize during the FALL, instead of the summer.

Jeff, no offense taken. I do think that if you can guarantee your boat will never get a piece of debris in the bilge then you will be fine... I must use my boats too much be at that comfort level.    Like I said, Im in the minority with this- just something to think about.

Jeff, sorry for the thread jack....just seemed like it could be a viable option if you wanted to have access to the outer sides of the mains for your cradle.

Ranger wrote: I do have another question. They seem to never end. Since I plan on bedding the secondary this weekend, can anyone give me a hint on the mixing ratio for adding mil fiber to epoxy and what is the optimum consistency? I am also thinking about 4 or 5 cinder blocks as weight. Will that be enough? Thanks again, Jeff

I was told equal amounts filler and resin, but to really get it thick it seemed to take more than that using the cabosil. A firm peanut butter consistency will make it easier for the epoxy to fill any gaps. It gets runnier as it starts to kick so keep that in mind. I used a lot more weight than a few cinder blocks, but 6 or 8 blocks would surely do it.

I was just saying it has be convenient to put openings under the stringers where they meet the transom. ( as long as they are sealed properly.)

I haven't had any problems with getting wanter out of the boat. But I'm sure it would be a pain of it lived on a lift and I couldn't pull the plug on the ramp.

TRBenj wrote: Use some sort of drain plug on his stringers like you have on the transom?

Tim - Funny you mentioned this. On my previous (OB)boat I rebuilt the transom, which included a 'drain pit'. Since I had previous trouble with water & mice getting up into my foam (up under the floor) I glued in some PVC tubing in the bulkheads & used those small cam-lock drain plugs.

From what people have said it seems that a mixture of the 2 makes a very strong, easy to use consistency. While the milled fiber makes it stronger the cab thickens better so you are probably right about the fillets. I repaired my bucket seats before I bedded or filleted anything which gave me a chance to experiment with it before I got to the real part. I found that the bilge side fillets are the hardest to do because it slopes downhill so you have to be sure you make the mixture extra thick there.

more likely than not a rebuild of this magnitude is in my future...i really appreciate all the details and photos...keep up the good work

B: Bust
O: Out
A: Another
T: Thousand