STRINGERS 83 2001

SNobsessed wrote: There is a plywood floor in the front half of the boat. Rear half is fiberglass only. I think the transition is at the front of the doghouse.

I don't know why this thread is coming back up now but to be clear it wasn't plywood in any CC that I have been into that was holding the seats down it was combinations of 1x board stock. Putting in 3/4 plywood in its place would hold all the dimensions the same, but if not done with specific attention to sealing all penetrations and using well treated wood it would last even less time than the original board stock. If I was only going to use Coosa in one spot in a boat this area would be it, seats can take abuse over the years and wet people sit in them allowing water to infiltrate in almost any well used boat. Additionally the seat coming loose in a boat makes it unusable.   Even if you pulled the screws out of a coosa floor the repair is relatively simple and reliable compared to repairing wood.

There is also a comment in this thread comparing the CC construction to the bayliners and Sea rays of the time, that is just nonsense. Yes they could have done better in sealing wood that was exposed to foam but they used real wood chosen for rot resistance. I was rebuilding those other boats boats built in the eighties by the mid nineties the quality of wood wasn't close with extensive plywood use in the stringers and floors and even OSB in many interior/seat pieces, combine that with copper gun layups and no energy spent to seal anything anywhere. The CCs easily lasted twice as long even when abused.

Classy resto! Nice touch with the platform and the powder coated windshield frame.

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SNobsessed wrote: There is a plywood floor in the front half of the boat. Rear half is fiberglass only. I think the transition is at the front of the doghouse.

What is supporting the Fiberglass??

chuck kemp wrote: Replacing stringers in a 83 2001 SN    When i removed the flooring, it has a 1/4 inch of fiberglass on top of the foam between the stringers. (no wood)

Now I'm really cornfused.. If I understand what you say there is no wood floor up front in the 83 just fiberglas???

Not sure what the design life was intended to be, but most of their boats blasted quite a while given the poor stringer wrapping.

Seems to me going all fiberglass is the way it’s done today. Is coosa pretty close to an all glass hull? I get that it won’t rot. Will it be structurally similar to an all glass boat in terms of ride and feel?

To me at least, if you build it properly it will outlast you even with wood. Just apply best practices and don’t put foam in there and if you drill make sure you seal. I’d sure feel confident buying a boat rebuilt to the standards many of you have pursued here, but the factory jobs from the 80’s sure didn’t impress me.

I have an 83. No foam replacement. I used coosa board stringers and floor.   Why bother with wood, go composite.

David,
It's always a pleasure to see someone do a restoration on an older CC. The powder coat on the speedos is interesting as an alternate to having them chromed. Make sure you pass on our concern of more grinding needed before the new stringers are laid in. Grinding for the best bond is down to where you just see the actual glass in the original. What is the guy who's doing the stringers using for material for the actual stringers? Wood? If so, I do suggest a good CPES treatment and then epoxy for the glass layup.

I hope he has a lot more grinding left to do... new stringer gel will not make a high strength connection to the hull if placed over old bilge gel.

David.........YES....Foam soaks up water! I'm pretty sure that the latest and greatest foam is a "closed" cell foam that won't absorb water. There is a thread deep in the site where a member did a sunken foam test. Weighed several different types of foam before they submerged it in water for a couple weeks under a weight then weighed it again to see if the foam absorbed water. I dug out a couple of 30 gal trashcans worth of wet foam in the 72 Mustang a couple winters ago before a bulkhead job was done. I kept digging and digging till I hit dry foam. DID NOT replace it. I'm with Pete and I say leave it out and YES I would add a couple of webs or glass in a plywood doubler underneath the plywood flooring where the driver seat attaches too.
I'd go back with the original seat and if you want height for the driver then sit on your throwable boat cushion. Works great and it doesn't take up any storage room plus it's handy if you ever need it as a boat bumper or for it's original intent. I think Zack is the only CCFan that has Coast Guard approved Phonebooks as a booster seat so check with him on that.

Thanks, I heard the foam could trap water too...... Also, since I'm redoing the floor, should I go back with screwing the drivers seat back into the glass and flooring? Maybe rig some kind of mount underneath to the joists? It seems like 1/4 inch of ply or glass wouldn't be enough to keep the seat secured, especially with someone weighing 200 plus lbs bouncing around on it.
I also like the seats with the front that folds to the back of the seat to get greater height and perspective. Thoughts on a totally different seating options? I've seen some new seats that swivel on a round base.

I am also restoring a 1983 2001 SN. The guy doing the work said he could put foam in but some don't. Why foam? Flotation? Also, There seemed to be wood on the floor where the seats had been. Totally rotted out and lots of stringer rot. Where I could see the floor around the engine compartment, there was 1/2" plywood. What to do? Completely rebuilt the engine, replacing everything....gauges, carpet, vinyl, gelcoat, bilge, blower, pitots. Will essentially be a new boat. Prop and rudder stay, shiny brass.
Need 1983 SN sticker package. Anyone know where to get a set of decals?
Thanks!

Yes people have, including many other tournament ski boat manufacturers. There are downsides to it too though.