Newbie having problems with concepts and terms

[PiratePast40]

Hello everyone. This my first post here so please bear with me if these are redundant questions. To start out - I bought a 1977, 18' FiberForm runabout with a Volvo Penta 130D/280 outdrive. The motor is out and appears to be in good shape.I started out pulling out the seats and carpet and found out that the deck was a little soft in spots. I think you can guess where this is headed. The water and fuel foam soaked foam is now out and I'm down to the stringers forward and just starting to cut the glass and plywood out of the wetwell. I've been doing quite a bit of reading on the forum and also checking the manufactures web sites. Because of what I've read, I think it's best to go ahead and remove the stringers - they seem to be wet (if not totally rotten) all the way down to the hull. I'll 2 pieces of 3/4" marine ply to make the beams and coat them in resin.
Here's my first question concerning the stringers:
1) When I laminate the 2 pieces of ply, can I screw them togeher to hold them while the resin sets or do I need to use clamps?
2) Will the resin be a good enough adhesive or do I need to use something else like construction adhesive?
3) What about bedding compound of some type between the stringers and the deck? I'm reading conflicting information. Some say to use tons of resin and others say there should be flex between the hull and the stringers. I'm not sure which direction to go on that one.

I'm making the assumption that I should complete the stringers prior to tearing out the transom so that the hull retains it's shape. Is that correct?

When it comes to replacing the transom, I can't seem to get my head around the idea that the strength is in the glass. I was going to just cut out the soft spots from the inside while preserving the outer skin and then put them back in. But my brain tells me that my new pieces could just pop through if not properly secured. Can someone help me out with that's the right technique?

Thanks for putting up with my questions. This is my first time doing any of this.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Newbie having problems with concepts and terms

Welcome to iboats. You are on the right track and in the right place.

I use small 1" stainless steel screws when I laminate sheets together and sink them below the surface and epoxy right over them. Some people laminate with epoxy, some use liquid nails, and some use gorilla glue...... it all works

 

[PiratePast40]

Re: Newbie having problems with concepts and terms

Thanks for the help. I'm learning that I'm not the only one who bought a "bargain". The wife want to name it "five bills" because that's what we paid for it - $500.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Newbie having problems with concepts and terms

For bedding the stringers you can use construction adhesive or epoxy (peanut butter style). ..... whatever you decide to use just make sure it will not trap water and hold it. Many people use peanut butter epoxy and a plastic spoon to round out the joints.

Post a few photos.....it helps keep a record and helps you too. Read the completed project section...... don't worry it will all come together.

 

[oops!]

Re: Newbie having problems with concepts and terms

yuppers......read lots here and you will have the answer to a ton of your questions.....

all you have to do to bed the strings is keep the strings off the hull...you can even use shims to keep them up....pl9000 is a cheap and easy way to bed them....just make sure the glue is cured before you glass over them.....

but you are a long way from that right now....so just keep reading here.

cheers
oops

 

[PiratePast40]

Re: Newbie having problems with concepts and terms

Thanks for the initial advice. I thought that I had done a good job of reading up but am allways finding more. Spent a few hours reading the thread from Oops and am picking up more and more points. Some of my questions were answered there so the information is available - just guess I'm not going to become a "Rocket Surgeon" overnight.

Since I'm getting a good idea of how much work the hull will need, think I'll switch to the motor to verify that it runs well. It's allready on an engine stand so I just need to hook up battery, fuel, and water to make sure it's in good shape. At this point, it seems to make more sense to make sure I know the status of the engine before I spend more cuss words on the hull - the wife says you're only allowed so many in a lifetime and I've used up many of mine allready!

Thanks again for the advice so far.

 

[zach103]

Re: Newbie having problems with concepts and terms

you can screw it together or clamp it.. i just used some drywall screws. once it was set i took them out.. than when i glass it all over im going to fill the holes in with resin.

 

[PiratePast40]

Re: Newbie having problems with concepts and terms

Here are some of the initial pictures with some of the decking removed.

The first one is what I found after removing the deck: Was surprised to find 3 "saddles that were built to support the deck and notched into the stringers.

This one is looking aft and you can see one of the "saddles" that was built and notched into the stringers.

This is looking at the transom. It doesn't look bad from this photo but several of the mounting bolts are sunk into the plywood indicating some rot.

Obviously, I need a little practive posting photos and links but here's the start.

 

[PiratePast40]

Re: Newbie having problems with concepts and terms

Trying the photos again.

 

[92excel]

Re: Newbie having problems with concepts and terms

Yes Your first step should always be make sure your engine is in working or close to working order before you start your rebuild. It will be the rock to knock you one way or the other off the fence of should i rebuild or not..

 

[PiratePast40]

Re: Newbie having problems with concepts and terms

I have pretty good feeling about the motor but am going to make sure. The guy I bought it from said that all the boat needed was a bellows and the motor put back in. The motor was supposedly rebuilt recently. It does look good with fresh paint where it's supposed to be and all the indications that it's recently been gone through. After a bit of running around I discovered that the bellhousing was about 8" shorter than what it was supposed to be. I'm making the assumption that they didn't replace the carrier bearing in the bellhousing tailpiece. When they put the motor back in and cranked it up, the bearing gave way and shattered the tailpiece. I've allready picked up a used bellhousing and vibration damper. When I tried to see if the starter was any good, ended up dropping it and cracking the selonoid. I replaced the solenoid and the starter and bendix seemed to work well when using the battery charger an an energy source.

I'll work up to assembling enough parts and pieces to run the motor on the stand to make sure it's more than just an anchor. It turns over using a wrench on the front pulley so think I'll just squirt a little WD40 in the cylinders and crank it a few times before putting the plugs back in and applying the juice to it.

That will definately determine how committed I become to the project - or determine if I should be committed to a mental institution!