Stringer Repair 1985 2001 Ski Nautique

Seems like the last month of posts have been mostly monologues in nature ~ but I did want to keep you updated.

I decided to run a layer of biax over the layer of fiberglass cloth on the floor to strengthen the bond between the floor and hull.

The engine is going in on Monday ~ it was supposed to go in today, but the garage was swamped.....

Today's question if anyone is interested in helping out: I was installing the battery and running the battery cables, and it occured to me that a one of the wires in the electrical harness is supposed to attach to the battery, but I didn't make any notes on this when I was doing the tear down. Any idea which wire(s)? I assume it is one of the shorter wires in the harness, but there are several of them ~ as the bilge pump and automatic float switch are there also.

I've been delaying so much on painting ~ trying to get the fiberglass absolutely perfect. Once that fiberglass is painted, there's no fixing it.... BTW, the decision to go with a non carpet floor has cost me at least a week if not more ~ as the carpet would cover many flaws in the finish (eg: a drop of epoxy that fell where it shouldn't have). Put carpet over that, and no one would ever know it. Paint over it, and everyone would think you had a blister......

So ~ I have been sanding and resanding like a mad man; building up low spots, and sanding down high spots ~~~ then you invariably have to sand again....

Best,
iplan

Completed Floor!

I'm out of fiberglass thickener!

Anybody know of something I could use as a filler ~ mostly for fairing applications ~ that would be available locally?

I've got some mat that I can chop up ~~~~~ but I'm not sure that would be ideal for fairing......

Was thinking talc, but I'm not sure where I'd go to get it (Lowe's, Home Depot have no idea what I'm talking about).

VICTORY!

Got the cable off at the steering wheel, and threaded through the bulkhead.

I intend to change the steering wheel also. Any tips on how to do that?

Also, what kind of grease do you use on the steering cable? I wiped it all off when I disassembled it.


Thanks ~~~

Unscrew that plastic nut holding the cable to the helm. Then spin the steering wheel. The cable's spiral core meshes with the pulleys inside the helm. Have a rag ready 'cause it's greasy. Fix a rope onto this end of the cable & pull the cable out towards the stern. Tie your new cable onto the rope & then pull it back through. When you re-thread the cable into the helm, you have the opportunity to get the steering wheel centered when rudder is centered.

Well I waited too long to run my cables back through, but I'm not sure I could have done it any other way.

I will say, it was not fun threading the the oil sensor cable, throttle cable, bilge pump hose, and electrical harness through the bulkhead, but I got it done.

The only cable left to run is the Steering Cable. It is/ was impossible. So, rather than run the "rudder end" of the cable through, I'm going to go in reverse and disconnect the cable from the steering wheel. The cable at the steering wheel is more flexible and should be able to get through.

My question is, "How do I get the steering cable off?"

I've attached a pictures...... really getting down to the nitty gritty.....

Keeganino wrote: Oh the memories! Looks good. I scanned through the pages of your thread and it kind of makes me want to do another one. One day...

Agreed! I have often thought about "what I'll do next" ~ now that I know what I'm doing..... That said, I recommend you come down here this weekend, and help me finish mine up!

Anybody got an idea as to how to mount a stereo here? The one thing my CC needs is a stereo, but there is just no really good place to mount it.....

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

Don't paint the ski pylon!

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!

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!

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?

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"!!

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