can plywood deck be patched?

zool

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Sounds doable . So if the stringer ends at the bulkhead , cut out the rot and cut old stringer on an angle. Cut new stringer on an angle and sneak it in under above plywood. Maybe attach stringer to plywood first then butter bottom before glass in ? If stringer goes all the way through I'll wait till next year and have the boat shipped to my house where I can work on it all winter. I can still repair everything up front and use the boat this summer.

Yes, but you will add a longer section of 2x10 glued and screwed to the cut out replacement piece, then you would glue and screw the longer piece to your good section of stringer, up to the next bulkhead. Don't need to cut the angle, the sister board carries the load over the patched in piece.
 

Rbryan94

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Thanks Zool I hate to sound like a dope but when you say glued your talking about 105/206 resin right? And when I butter the stringers I will add 403 to mixed up resin.
 

Rbryan94

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When I stripped the stringers from the skins today it almost fell off by itself. The 2x10's look like there is nothing on them. Should I wet these with a coat of just epoxy first for better adhesion then coat them again with the glass?
 

zool

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Thanks Zool I hate to sound like a dope but when you say glued your talking about 105/206 resin right? And when I butter the stringers I will add 403 to mixed up resin.

Any thin laminating epoxy resin, with west 403, it has the strongest adhesive and structural properties of the line. You can use it for all thickening throughout, since none of it is cosmetic.
 

zool

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When I stripped the stringers from the skins today it almost fell off by itself. The 2x10's look like there is nothing on them. Should I wet these with a coat of just epoxy first for better adhesion then coat them again with the glass?

Yes, sand them clean, presoak them....if the resin is cured when you start the tabbing, wipe them with water before, to remove any blush
 

Rbryan94

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Thank you, I would be so lost without you and other great guys on this site.
 

Rbryan94

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Please bear with me , I realize some of these questions sound basic but I'm getting a crash course in hull stringer repair. How do I prep the existing fiberglass hull when installing new tabbing. Most of the old tabbing is ground. What's the adhesion properties of the resin. Do I need a tacifier to soften it up. When you said wet with water to remove blush I'm assuming you didn't mean the existing glass.
 

zool

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Ask as many Q's as you like, I'd rather see you get it right the 1st time, then have to redo something ;)

You need a 4 1/2" grinder with a flap disk, or a pad with resin coated disks.

I use the flap
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Diablo-4...ype-29-Conical-Design-DCC045040N01F/202830906

You laminate schedule will be 2 staggered layers of 17oz biaxial cloth, per side. So if the stringer is 10" high, you will lay the 1st layer from the top of the stringer, down and extended out 6" over the hull bottom, that's a 16" wide piece of cloth, the length of the repair area, the second will go from the top again, and out 10" over the hull bottom, so a 20" wide second piece. So you need to grind down to clean glass, about 12 inches out from the sides of the stringers,+-.

You should wipe the old glass with acetone or laquer thinner, before and after you grind, to decontaminate.

I have a few other things to go over with you, ill BBL
 

zool

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It looks to me the stringers run thu the bulkhead, all the way back...so theres no point in cutting out that 1 foot section by the bulkhead, leave that 1 foot wet section unglassed til the fall, if that's your plan. I get not wanting to do all those other repairs at the marina, I had mine shipped home to work
on it here, best 300 bux Ive spent in a while.

Also, theres no way CC put a holding tank, with fittings, under the sole without an access panel, so I bet you have something under the aft sleeper deck.

I circled the areas that you need to fix, now, or this fall if that's your choice. From the close up pic of the 1 foot section by the galley, it looks just wet with surface rot, regardless, the process has started, and wont reverse itself, so you need to get to it sooner than later.



You will need to leave a section of the new cabin deck temporarily removable, to access one of your new bulkheads to tie into...not a big deal.
 

zool

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Please bear with me , I realize some of these questions sound basic but I'm getting a crash course in hull stringer repair. How do I prep the existing fiberglass hull when installing new tabbing. Most of the old tabbing is ground. What's the adhesion properties of the resin. Do I need a tacifier to soften it up. When you said wet with water to remove blush I'm assuming you didn't mean the existing glass.

The adhesion properties of epoxy are about a superior as u are likely to find..

If you laid up one layer of glass, then let it cure overnight or so, then did the second layer, it can blush, water removes that from the surface, so the second layer adheres properly. Its usually best to lay both layers at a time, then move to the next length....its called hot coating.
 

Rbryan94

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The good news is that I'm running out of questions. It will be real nice if the weather can get out of the 20's now! I think we're going from winter to summer with no spring, and it's definitely still winter!
 

Rbryan94

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Ok I have another question. When I put the new bulkheads in do I screw them into the stringers after I butter them or just butter them and glass them with biaxial? I'm thinking like a house where I would use joist hangers. I know it's a boat but I never did this before. Def don't want to do it again!
 

Rbryan94

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It's been a few days since I've been able to work on the stringer project. This crazy work thing is getting in the way. I'm going to try for Monday Tuessay Wednesday. This powerboat actually has a keel. When I pulled the sump pump and the mounting wood out there is no place for the water to drain. Everything is sealed with the bilkhead. I'm assuming this is bad. There is a small opening that goes to a hollow keel but can't drain anywhere, I'm assuming this is also bad. I will try to post some pics of this before I have to go to work at 3:00 today. A pic is worth a thousand words!
 

Rbryan94

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Hi guys, I think I'm moving along pretty good considering the time I've been working on this project. Above is a couple pics of the bottom, as you can see it has a keel. The reason I'm showing this will be clear in the next posts as I'm not sure what to do.
 

Rbryan94

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There is a crack in the fiberglass inside the boat above keel, there is a good size hole about a foot from the bulkhead almost like a drain but it only goes to the deepest part of the keel . Lastly there is no drain hole in the bulkhead to let water get to the engine compartment where the bilge pump is. For that matter there is no bilge pump forward of that bulkhead. My questions are do I glass over that hole and crack and do I drill a drain hole in that bulkhead? I got more pics and questions coming guys. As always thanks very much. I'm hoping next week I'm at least bedding stringers.
 

Rbryan94

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As far as the stringers go, do I have to grind all the old epoxy from the hull? There is a raised area along the stringers that is bonded to the hull. All the epoxy is removed from stringers. I was hoping to use the old epoxy as a guide when I bed the stringers. Also the stringers do not go through the bulkead. I have ground all the old glass and tabbing from the hull where the plywood was loose. I know it's a lot going on so please understand if I'm all over the place. I wan't to take advantage of any material I have out at the time.
 

Rbryan94

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This might be a better pic that shows the hole above the keel by the bulkhead. It's tough to explain. Thank God for photobucket!
 

zool

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The reason your center stringer extends down into a keel, is due to the very shallow deadrise you have at the stern. It helps with tracking and tight area maneuvering.

That "crack" just looks like some delam, you should grind out that area, and add some fresh glass.

If the bulkhead with no drain you are refering to is the cabin to cockpit separation, Mine was set up from the factory with a drain hole, but it was plugged with one of those rubber flip open plugs, and kept closed. This keeps water from coming up under the cabin, from the rear bilge. The reason for the plug is incase of catastrophic conditions, like a rogue wave swamping the cockpit and filling the lower cabin, the drain allows access to let the water back out. It was the closed plug that saved my cabin structure from water intrusion and rot. Mine has a pump forward of the bulkhead, to pump out any water from the shower, or open door, hatch, ext. You can add a pump up there, and route the hose back towards the engine bilge, where you should have redundant pumps, for safety, since there is no flotation foam.
 
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