1975 Skiier Stringer Replacement

8122pbrainard wrote: Scott, Looks like the woodworking is moving along and almost done. That was the part of the job you were worried about! It wasn't bad was it? Now you need to get going on the glassing. Summer's here!

I just want to get all the wood cut and in place then I can just glass.

I still have to:

1. grind all the bilge area.
2. inbed all the stringers on the passenger side
3. inbed the bulkhead for the front air lines and electrical wiring
4. Figure out what to do on that piece I posted earlier today and how to put one similar to it back in.
5. Coat the floor other than the bilge area with epoxy.
6. Glass, glass, glass........

Here is my latest work:

Here is the back of the boat. The passenger side needs another long board next to the side wall, boards next to the exhaust hole, holes cut for drainage and everything set in it's base and fiberglassed. Other things need done as well but that will keep me busy next week:



Here is my drainage idea. The triangle cuts will drain down towards the center of the boat and out a copper exit tube that will have a drain plug stuck in it:



Here is the front of the boat. I had pretty good success cutting the piece in the floor that the air hoses and electrical tubes will go through. I just used the scribing method Pete told me about and traced the bottom of the boat on to the wood and cut it out with a jigsaw:



What do ya'll think?

Got another question.


Re: The three air intake lines underneath the scoop on the bow. I envision me using something to the equivalent of a radiator hose for the three lines. The problem is lowes, home depot or advance auto does not sell anything close in the 3" size I need.

Anybody know where I can get some sold by the foot?

It looks like it is the joining piece that holds the kicker on top of the primary. Mine were just screwed to both and poorly glassed over.

If you have one set the only thing you can do is measure off of some know hull center points. You could run a string line between the rudder shaft center line and the back of the bow eye and the measure some offsets. You should have 21" to the inside faces (10.5" offset at the transom and dash) of the primary stringers. If you are more you can shim with some hardwood pieces or aluminum plate. If you have significantly less you may have a problem.   

Good luck with it.

FrankT

Your stringers should have been 24" outside to outside, or 21" inside to inside. I assume you measured this prior to removing the primaries, just to confirm. Your motor will have some side to side adjustments for precision alignment.

Got a question.

I have one primary stringer in and will be putting the second one in this week. The engine is sitting in my garage away from the rebuild. I have made a jig before I took out both stringers so I could see how the distances were.

My question is, how can I determine exactly where to put the second stringer so that it will be aligned with the prop shaft or basically have my engine exactly where it is supposed to be? I don't dare put the second stringer in until I am positive the engine mounts will sit in the center of the strigers and aligned with the shaft. If the engine was just sitting beside the boat on the engine hoist(which it's not), I could set it in the boat and trial fit it and I can still do this if it means getting it right, it's just a lot of work.

Any advice?



Thanks,

scott

1. I'm using 5/8" ply for mine, but our boat design and the ribs / supports are a little different. I'd listen to the CC guys on this one. My original was 1/2" so I wanted to go thicker, but I have to be careful not to go too thick and prevent the top from setting down properly. I used A/C Doug Fir plywood, exterior grade.

4. I'm planning thickened epoxy on the tops of the stringers and cross braces, then lay the plywood on top. I'm probably just going to weight the wood and let it set, but I might screw it just long enough for it to set right.

5. I glassed my secondaries with 2 plys of 1708.

6. Most people seem to use Bilgekote. I guess grinding it smooth is a personal preference. I'm probably going to do some smoothing up front since I'm planning to put a ballast bag up there and I want to reduce wear on it so I don't poke a hole.

HELLO EVERYONE!!!! Did you think I was going away???   NOT! Just had other things to do but now I am back at it.

I will post some pictures soon but let me give you an update. I have the drivers side all but finished(the stringers that is). Everything looks good but I should be able to do the passenger side much cleaner as I know what I will be up against. I have to show everyone a picture of an idea my buddy John came up with to drain the secondary area. I think it should be patented but more than likely it has been done before. The fiberglassing went ok, it's just hard to get a smooth finish on a piece of doug fir that has not been planed smooth.

I went out this morning and removed the passenger side primary stringer. I was SHOCKED!! It was totally rotten from the front engine mount back to the middle of the floor in front of the gas tank. It was still wet from last August and fell into a million pieces when I cut it out. I am glad I saved the drivers side stringer!! I guess I can just copy it and reverse the angle on the bottom.

Going to be asking a bunch of questions and could use some help. Bought white pigment to put in the bilge area when I do that. If anyone wants to comment on the following items, please do as I can use the advise:

1. The plywood floor
2. What type of air hose for the three front lines under the scoop.
3. Where can I get a new battery box?
4. What type of hardware do I put the floor down with?
5. Do I have to fiberglass the secondary stringers or just set them in a heavy base?
6. When I do the bilge area, do I just grind it smooth and epoxy it over adding the white pigment I bought or what?

Let's hear it from you. Hope you are all well. Hoping to get the project done in April and then have three weeks to put the carpet and everything back together.



scott

srbranum wrote:    I have only put glass on the rear two or three feet of the beam at this time. I still have to finish the first glass application of glass and then come back with fillets and cover the whole beam.

This confuses me. You want to do your fillets first, before the glass. It makes it far easier to lay the glass if you have a nice rounded transition to lay it over.

79nautique wrote: Main problem I see is the bilge coat under the cloth and the lack of bare fiberglass the length of the stringer, your never going to get the inside radius and subsequent cloth that needs to go down over it and to the stringer to bond right thus weaking the stringer on the inside/middle of the boat and causing a delamination issue later on down the road.

Let me apologize for not being more clear. The only thing I have done concerning the primary stringers is set them in their epoxy base. I have only put glass on the rear two or three feet of the beam at this time. I still have to finish the first glass application of glass and then come back with fillets and cover the whole beam. I ground off the remaining gelcoat on the bilge side of the primary where the glass will go from the driveshaft forward as you all suggested. I did accidently leave a couple of very small patches of gelcoat inderneath the first glass application but you can see from the pictures that even they were sanded. I will remove all remaining gelcoat before applying further glass. There was no gelcoat where the foam and secondary stringers were so I just ground that area for adhesion and a coating of epoxy.

I guess I was just asking if I had left off any major steps. My plans are no foam, plywood floor and carpet.

Thanks for taking the time to comment.

Scott

Main problem I see is the bilge coat under the cloth and the lack of bare fiberglass the length of the stringer, your never going to get the inside radius and subsequent cloth that needs to go down over it and to the stringer to bond right thus weaking the stringer on the inside/middle of the boat and causing a delamination issue later on down the road.

Have you read Keeganino's thread? There is some Skier-specific info in there that you should see. The secondary stringer shape in regards to the exhaust pockets comes to mind. He started at the same place you did, and has been asking a lot of questions- so that would be a great resource for you.

Have you read any of the other stringer repair threads yet? Theres a ton of info that has been shared and documented on this site over the past few years. It would be nearly impossible to recreate every single discussion that we've had and post it in this thread. If you have the feeling that you may have missed something, then you may be right- like I suggested in the beginning, slow down and do a little bit of research before proceeding down the wrong path!

Beyond that, keep posting lots of pictures. If someone sees something wrong, they'll say so. Asking specific questions will get you specific answers.

srbranum wrote: Here is what I accomplished today: This is a picture of the notch I cutout of the the beam, one in front and one in back scott

Scott,

I would recommend that you create an epoxy fillet at the bottom of the stringer before you glass. A good rule of thumb is 1/2" radius. Some take a thin piece of wood or metal and cut the profile on the end but I have found a plastic spoon works well.



This radius will allow the tape to wet out nicely but more importantly it is structural. The strength of this joint is based upon the tensile strength of the epoxy (psi) and the thickness of material at this joint.

FrankT       
    

8122pbrainard wrote: WakeSlayer wrote: srbranum wrote: 81nautique wrote: Bevel square. ??????? I suspect Alan was telling you what one of your antique tools is called. It is the two piece flat one he is referring to. Sliding bevel square:

Rosewood Brass sliding bevel square