i got a question for any boaters out there that have renovated or repaired there own boats, hopfully you guys can help me,

me and a friend recently bought a boat to renovate during the fall and winter nights, the fiberglass is in good condition but all the wood is rotted (floor, stringers, transom) we have already stripped the entire boat and pulled all the wood and and have already rebuilt the stringers and the transom and are ready to glass them in. my main question is where do we use the flotation foam, i saw on a couple web sites to pour into the whole bottom but in our book and in a few other sites i found it says to leave the bilge channel down the middle open and only do the the 2 sides it is a 1970 glastron v170 if it is of any help, we only paid 475 for the boat motor and trailer and the motor was running so i think we got a good deal, we have the time to put in so we didnt mind that it needed alot of work,

any help you guys could give me would be greatly appreciated,

thanks,
loc

if your gonna "fill" the entire bilge with foam, make sure its closed cell foam.
don't want it gettin soggy in there.

You probably don't need that much foam. Figure out how much you need. The first place I would fill would be up under the gunnels. That way if the boat gets filled it still stays upright. If put the foam in the bilge the boat is going to flip over if it gets swamped. Fill under the gunnels first and if you still need more foam thenfind little out of the way places where you can put it.

thanks,

is it hard to fiberglass, i've used the the resin and cream hardener in a can to do repairs on my truck before but i've never worked with the mat and woven before. to get the mat and woven to stick to the original fiberglass, do we have to scuff it with some sandpapaer first or should we just lay it down and it will stick.

thanks again

new at this but it has been fun and have learned alot about boats

loc

you gotta grind it. or really sand it aggressively.
you want it to be clean and coarse.
the new resin won't stick if there's any dirt or grime on the old stuff.
i'd get some kind of grinder say 24 grit sandpaper discs on it, and really have at it. wash it good with soapy water and let it dry for a day or two.

roll/paint the resin on, then lay the mat on it while it's still wet, then roll/paint more resin on top of that.
if you want to do multiple layers, you gotta grind in between resin coats for it to really stick.

don't breath that crap in either, and cover your whole body. or you'll be itchin for days.
mike

thanks, lol, i've been itchin since we started from cutting away all the stringers and the floor, man this stuff does really itch for days

loc

The voice of doom and gloom here:
You might want to pull the motor and find another cheap boat, Florida will be full of them in a couple of days.
Once completed you'll have a boat thats more for lakes than the ocean.

How exactly did you "rebuild the stringers and transom" without doing any glass work yet?

It is not hard, but it is not easy either. I have several books and videos on the topic. I would go get something along those lines. The west system book at west marine is not bad and is cheap ( <$10). http://www.fiberglass-repair.com/ has a pretty good DVD that will give you the basics on how to glass and it is nice to see him actuall do it than just read it in a book. There are also a bunch of good website message boards that can help you along the way, probably much better than this one, ie. hull truth, classicmako, etc...

You should wear one of those tyvec suits and have a good respirator. This schit is nasty.

Filling the whole hull with the foam is a good idea. You do have to leave drainage, though. If you use the two part expandable foam, do it before you put the floor back on, otherwise you stand a higher chance of f-ing up the shape of the hull. Don't get me wrong, you can do it with the floor on, but it will come out better if you do the foam first.

What are you going to use for a core for the floor? That is a question I am debating now myself....

There is so much more to say, but I guess I will leave it at that.

_Z_

Good luck.

We are using the book, runabout renovation right now, we have completed all the stringers and transom (we have them all cut and ready to go) we have checked them both for right fit in the boat but havent matted or glassed them in yet, that is our next step just waiting for our supplies to get here.

we used whatever plywood they recommended in the book, i cant remember i think it was just regular plywood 5/8, and in the book it said to put two coats of water sealer on it.

we decided that we are going to use the pourable foam and just do the two sides on the not the bilge down the center as this is the recommendation in the book also.

we are hoping this will be a decent inshore fishing boat as we will only be fishin hingham harbor, weymouth and quincy areas. then upgrade to something bigger next year (that needs alot less work)

loc

oh yea we used pressure treated for all the stringers too

Be sure to wash the old fiberglass with acetone, before you put a new layer on. If you are going to put more than one layer on use "Laminating resin" on the first coat. It will stay sticky and get better adhesion for the second layer. Only use the "regular" resin for the final coat.

You should just coat the wood with epoxy to seal it. It also helps the fiberglass/epoxy resin to bond better.
I'm not so sure that pressure treated wood was your best choice for the stringers. From what I've been told, it's difficult to get a good bond.
Best of luck to you.

PT is not good from what I have read. It will not absorb any resin. Regualr lumber soaked with resin is what you want. Just liberally brush the stuff on to the ply, it will suck it up good. Then put some more on. Two coats min.

LOCDOG , try some tyvek suits unitchy after taking them off..yeah:happy: ......eek the thought of that god awful itch......good luck and hope all comes out well........jim....:happy:

if you do get fibers stuck in you?
tape will usually pull them out.
some hair too, but no more itch:D

Originally posted by thefishingfreak
if you do get fibers stuck in you?
tape will usually pull them out.
some hair too, but no more itch:D

Good to know, never heard that~!

thanks for all the help, i will post some pics when we are done

loc

oh yea, wish me luck, i'm going out on a charter tomorrow morning out of barnstable for some stripahs, hope the sea isnt too rough heard some reports of some big waves

loc