Stringer Repair 1985 2001 Ski Nautique

The pint mixed with the epoxy not 3 quarts of dye.

TRBenj wrote: We did a tinted epoxy bilge in the BFN. Epoxy doesn't start opaque like gel, it took 3 coats to cover. The 3rd ran, made a mess, ended up looking terrible. No idea what happened. Good enough for the bilge, but gel would have been a lot less work, looked nicer and would have been UV resistant (epoxy is not). I brushed gel on several other pieces, piece of cake. Not sure why you'd say that gel is more work. Petes recommendation on the rollers is probably a good one!

Last question on the floor assuming a gelcoat floor ~ what am I going to use for a traction mechanism???   

I was planning on putting something like "Interdeck Non Skid" on top of the gelcoat in the areas that needed it but I wondered if that was an extra step (or 3 when you count primer, etc.). Thoughts? Trying to get my order (hopefully my final order) in today.

Gel only starts opaque if you order it tinted you can get it clear as well. It is more work. First you got put down a bonding agent. Then you got to mix the stuff perfectly.Then you got to hope it lays down other wise you will be sanding again. Every bump you have in it will be magnified. Not saying that it wont be way cool. Everybody uses there boat differently, but I would be worried to death about a wake board or anchor getting dropped on it. Not to mention the center board in the aft at least in mine has some flex, that's with two layers of biax. For me carpet and spend the money on motor that's where the real fun is anyway.

large pieces of cardboard (refrigerator box)? to use as a template and then make your cuts from the cardboard.

Up front the the square and measurement works good. That front piece can be tricky to get in and heavy when trying to set it buy your self. This is a good time take sure you leave enough overhang in the bilge for your dog house to sit on. Also make sure where your floor joint falls you have a joist or should say rib under it. I double up a rib so both pieces had plenty to rest on.

I put mine back the way it was originally to include the rubber trim strips.
You need to be able to access the area under that removable section for maintenance purposes. Just make sure that when you cut the ply to allow for the carpet thickness x 2 (floor and removable piece) I had such a nice fit and seam I thought about leaving off the rubber strips but then mini Pete popped up on my shoulder and made me do it as original.

I would fix the tube with some JB Weld if you can't get one cheap, not like anybody will see it.

The steering wheel may need a puller, there is a nut behind the center cap and that should be it. Mine comes out real easy after that's gone but I have a splined connection and I'm not real sure when they started using those.

Jonathan,
That split brass tube is a pulsation damper for the speedo. It's a common problem when then boat hasn't been properly winterized. If the pitot tube isn't plugged, the system will drain by itself. I would not try to use JB weld as suggested. I don't feel the epoxy is a good product and epoxy certainly is not the best for a substantial repair. You can sweat solder a patch on it or make a new one out of sweat solder copper pipe and fittings. I believe several here have done it.

It's carpet glue and yes it needs to come off.

iplan wrote: Seems like driving screws into the decking above the secondary stringers is not worth the inherent water leaks.    Does this sound like a plan

Yes, screwing the sole to the stringers is not needed nor recommended. It's been mentioned in several threads. Besides a potential water ingress point, the screws also set up a high stress area. Get your stringers done, glass the sole and bed it to the stringer tops with thickened epoxy. Weigh the sole down and let it cure. Most here use 30 packs of their favorite brand of brew for weights. Then of course when the epoxy cures, you can crack open one of the "weights"!!

Well conduit pipe isn't going to work. I was thinking about this all last night, and my suspicions were confirmed this morning in Home Depot.... I think it is too stiff and rigid to get it to line up and conform to the limited space around the battery box.

Does anyone have another air vent piping solution/ recommendation?

dangerwil wrote: This is pretty good 3 inch flex. HTS Heavy Duty RV Sewer Hose pipe

Awesome! There is an RV dealership near my home ~~~ went there and got everything I needed. Thanks!

So... A list of accomplishments:
1. Bulkhead fabrication complete

2. Sewer pipe (air box vent hose)connected. One of the lengths of sewer pipe is cut about 6" too short to connect all the way to the outlet in the bulkhead, but I've got extra, and will complete that tomorrow.

3. Center flooring is cut, CPS'd and now has has 2 layers of fiberglass on the bottom side.

4. Checked fit for the ski pole..... Man it was close. Initially it was about 1/8 of an inch off ~ and I was HORRIFIED!!!! lol Then I remembered the tilt in the pole towards the bottom so I straightened it up, and it was really close ~~~~ so I got out a my sledge, and tapped on the top of the pole and it seated all the way in. Then I pulled it back out because I'm painting the pole garnet to match the trim in the boat (applied 3coats of etching primer, and will come back with 4 - 5 coats of garnet, and a couple coats of clear to seal everything.

Questions:

1. Does anyone have a picture of what they "found" behind the gas tank? The only one I have is "before" the gas tank was removed and I wanted to go ahead and get cracking on installing a new blower, but wasn't sure what it was supposed to look like when it was done.

2. There is a hole in the female mount that the ski pole sits in ~~~~ and a hole in the male part of the ski pole. I can not find a bolt that would have gone through there in my "paper sack of bolts" ~~~~ Was it a through bolt, or maybe a pin?

My goal is to be on the water this Sunday ~ after church.... the final push is NOW!

Don't paint the ski pylon!

The hold up:
1. The Bulkhead (I'm waiting on two 3" through hull fittings ~ to give air access to the engine compartment without letting water past the bulkhead) before I can install the bulkhead and the portion of the floor between the ski pole and the link underneath the dash. The fittings should be here Thursday afternoon.

Today's Projects:
1. Install Blower Fan & Blower Air Hoses
2. Change out bow light
3. Fiberglass Topside of the Removable Center piece of the floor that sits aft of the engine compartment. I did 2 layers of cloth on the bottom. I think I'm going to do the same on the top. The factory just had a plywood or particle board wrapped in carpet....

The Concerns:
1. I'm not sure I've got enough Epoxy resin to complete the job
2. I'm out of CPES