Weeding the Pumpkin patch

Greg, i brought the foam removal back up in the off topic section and on the 4th page is a pic to where the stringers tie in, it does have alot of structural shots in the thread
eric

Buffalo BFN!
You have my most humble apologies about not responding to your earlier request for crossing the street. I have not been monitoring the maintenance section lately. My tool of choice as you know is an angle grinder with a cutting blade(for steel). It slices glass. but doesnt like wood. Sorry again for the neglect. According to the pictures above it looks like you have got it down.

Greg, i have a face for radio and for computers, lol

Maybe this will help. Anyone know anything about the 2 plywood squares hanging on the lift ring hardware?

Greg, yes that is where i stopped, your in the rake of the keel and anymore farther is dry, i dug all the foam out and re-fitted all the new tubing, your doing exactly as i did, and you see where the mains end and the fronts start, have you thought about re-thinking the foam thing? if anything mark your sides on the gunnels and grind them flat so you can corner your glass, grind every area where you think you are going to glass with at least 36 grit so the new bites in, you may want to re-think the 1/2 ply and go up to 3/4,

Cut my airbox out of my 83 SN last night, pete is correct the plywood was originally attached to the deck. My boat had just enough water along the foam along the keel that I had to go all the way and the water went all the way but the SN doesn't have a bulkhead where the barefoot does at that spot so your front is probably more self contained. I agree with pete on the air voids as well, they would not have been in the actual hull layup they were from the stringer glassing in process and they are not an issue. However, I usually go pretty deep into the hulls along where I am going to bed the new stringers so I get the new ones where the old ones would have been with a good amount of bedding in between.

The hardest part of the whole operation when using encased wood is planning out the thickness of the encasement laminations and not growing the hieight and width from the original stringers. If you use exact size replacement stringers they end up heigher and with not enough space between them, then you end up grinding off your fiberglass that you encased the wood with. Its an art.


My next step is to make a cad model of my new stringer and floor design and send the dwg files off to coosa and have them quote the cut pieces vs. and equivilent amount of 4x8 sheets.

8122pbrainard wrote: Greg, I think the plywood was originally glued to the underside of the deck. It keeps the rod from chewing up the deck just incase of some side loading on the lifting ring. Any real large voids (air) that are in the glass you can punch some holes in so when you put the first coat of epoxy on, some will get in the void. Don't worry about every small void. It looks like they are in the last layer that was put in over the stringers.

They are in the last layer and thanks as always!

Sorry I cut the airbox out generally as a unit but its trash I will rebuild something that performs the same function... but with no foam you dont need the dryer hoses below the floor just appropriate holes in the bulkheads. Will most likely reuse the wiring/cable tubing though. I have a whole bunch of things that need to go under my bow (perfect pass, 3 amps, stereo head unit, power buss, subwoofer and a nitrous bottle) and havent exactly devised how yet. I am also hoping I can build a battery box that will hold my two optimas side by side so I can reclaim my cooler space. Lots of work and not much winter left.

eric lavine wrote: if anything mark your sides on the gunnels and grind them flat so you can corner your glass, grind every area where you think you are going to glass with at least 36 grit so the new bites in,

I was planning to leave the lip around the edge from the old floor since it isn't separated. My intention(correct me if I'm out in left field) was to build the secondary stringers up to that lip and then drill small holes in the lip all around the perimeter for new resin to harden into as the floor gets reglassed.

And I found some 16 grit cutting discs. They're called 'turbo cut discs' by pearl abrassive co., and they really hog out some material. I think they are a fairly new product at my big box because they weren't merchandised into the shelving.

eric lavine wrote: really no need for screws into the sides

No screws Eric, I should've been more clear. What I meant is just drilling the holes for new glass and resin to harden into. I'm trying to get a mechanical bond.

8122pbrainard wrote: Carefull with that 16 grit. It will go through the bottom! Reminds me of a friend who rented a floor sander to refinish his hardwood floors. He ended up having to get a new floor!!!

Reminds me of digging into an oak tread with a belt sander on a glued up curved straircase back when I was 15...that was a long day! I'll be careful. I'm grinding down until the wood is just gone. Now I have to deal with the air box and then I'll do 1 main at a time and hopefully be headed downhill!

eric lavine wrote: make sure you need to remve the airbox because it is a troublesom area, i know its not rotted up that high, its mostly glass up there.

Check out the last pic with the light hanging in it. It's hard to see, but that foremost bulkhead is under the air box and it is wet and discolored. I don't want to mess with it either, but...

While the lip of the floor is nice to have to set depth and a real itchy mess to grind off, I would consider removing it. You can make a very strong joint with a good fillet at the floor wall intersection, the scenarios are not as good for the joint with a lip left behind. I sometimes find I can pull off most of the lip if I get under it and that gets me down to the side of the hull without too much grinding.

I have a few pictures of the tear out but material leadtime and design time will have me working on the engine for a while hopefully I will get it all up eventually.

Sure does look like fun Greg.

Not.

But I am sure it will be great when its done.

john

BuffaloBFN wrote: I didn't quite get 2 hours out of a new dewalt grinder...

Gears or motor? It pays to go all the way with tools. Greg, try a Milwaukee. With that 16 grit wheel, you are doing some HD hogging!!!