1975 Skiier Stringer Replacement

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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?

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?

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........

Keeganino wrote: Looks great! Are you going to do the rudder port and the lift ring mount? I just got a hole saw kit so I checked my lift ring mount and the wood was wasted. I would at least check it for peace of mind. My rudder port was not that bad but it had water in it too.

Well, I was not going to but I may think about it. I kind of think I won't because the boat has been garage kept for 35 years and never left in the water or a boathouse except when being used or on a week of vacation. I have only put about 12 hours/summer on it since I bought it in the summer of 1990 so I doubt I will tackle it. If I had more time, I may have done it but I have vacation planned for June 4th and want to have it done by Memorial Day.

Scott

Ok, I will to a test with a drill bit. I would assume I could test the rudder piece anywhere but I would guess the only place to check the lifting ring wood would be on the bottom side and not the top side??? Does it make any difference if the boat never will be lifted(as in a boathouse or storage facility)or never will??

Working on the boat today from 8-1. Will let you know the results of the test and maybe a picture. I will be embedding the passenger side stringers today.

By the way, I need some other help. Do I just coat the area under the floor except the bilge area with a layer of epoxy or what? It will never be seen so appearance is not a factor. And, do I need to grind down the gunwales or just sand them before applying glue and carpet. I removed the lip ring that runs around the boat where the old floor met the gunwale. A piece was loose so I ended up just pulling about a three inch wide piece that included the lip ring off the boat and now it is virtually flush, thus not much grinding to do. What do you think?

Okie Boarder wrote: Scott, Things are looking good. Your wood work looks nice. Are you wrapping the stringers or just taping the bottoms? If you're wrapping, you might want to round over the tops with a router or sander. The glass lays over the round easier. Did you CPES the wood? I have a question for the more experienced guys. I've seen lots of drain holes cut...some are just long cutouts and some round. This is the first time I've seen a triangle. Is the triangle any more or less difficult to glass?

Let me try and answer your questions the best I can:
Yes, I am going to wrap the stringers. The only thing I have glassed is about 85% of the drivers side primary. The others have to be sanded and glassed. I am using a block plane to round off the tops because I do not have a roundover bit but I may go buy one now that I think about it. It would be much easier.

Here is where I am fixing to get blasted by everyone. NO, I did not CPES the wood. The reason I did not was on advise from the manufacturer of my resin and the chief service guy, Woody, at the former Correct Craft of Orlando on Orange Avenue just down the street from the plant. As I stated in an earlier post, the resin manufacturer said that CPES is basically lacquered down epoxy and that the lacquer actually weakens the epoxy. Both guys said to basically sand the wood, wipe down with denatured alchohol and apply a coat of epoxy to dry. It was really not a money issue, it was just that I trust what these two guys say because they are in the business.

Here is my take on the triangles. I basically was given the idea for the triangles because I did not have a vertical drill press to cut a hole half on the board and half off the board or about the shape of the letter "C". All you have to do with the triangles is cut them out with a jigsaw. The water will run along the stringers and thru the triangle and exit that whole side of the boat through a 1" hole in the primary stringer with a 2" piece of copper inserted in it pointed ever so slightly downward. I will keep a standard 1" boat plug from wally world in the hole until I finish for the day and then pull it out from each side so that the water can drain out. I just did not want water going in from the bilge area and then having to drain it out.

As far as glassing the triangles, my personal view is that glassing only adds strength and not waterproofing. So I plan on sanding the triangles and applying 1-2 coats of epoxy, maybe thickened with pine flour, and go with that.

Scott,
You must have missed my answer when you mentioned the CPES before. It is not structural but rather a sealer.