Cracked and soaked fiberglass motor mounts on Sea Ray 200cc

[ripazka]

unless you have a engineering background in boats and know the results of your decisions I would rebuild stringers the way they were but better, if I am not mistaken they do a ton of testing on boats to make sure they act the way they are supposed to .

Im an engineer but far from boat building. That was exactly what I thought, I wont make major changes without consulting an expert. Thanks Micky!

 

[CrazyFinn]

Ive seen many project boats that get extra bulkheads, stringers and some kind of side flaps. I kind of understand what people are after but I still dont know is it better to stiffen the hull up more than it was from factory. Isnt flexibility = durability also on the boats? Which brings me to two options. 1. Rebuild the hull as it was (but with care) or 2. add some structual stiffness at the expense of flexibility.

I'm certainly no expert either - and structurally it makes sense to duplicate (or improve with better materials) what the factory did. After all, it did survive this long, even with rotten wood! I will, however be taking some ideas from some newer construction methods used on some boats, such as adding a bulkhead ahead of the engine to help contain any leaks that might occur from bellows, etc to the engine compartment, and adding another bilge pump ahead of that. Not for structural reasons, but to add another level of safety that they weren't doing in 1969 when my boat was built...

 

[ripazka]

I'm certainly no expert either - and structurally it makes sense to duplicate (or improve with better materials) what the factory did. After all, it did survive this long, even with rotten wood! I will, however be taking some ideas from some newer construction methods used on some boats, such as adding a bulkhead ahead of the engine to help contain any leaks that might occur from bellows, etc to the engine compartment, and adding another bilge pump ahead of that. Not for structural reasons, but to add another level of safety that they weren't doing in 1969 when my boat was built...

Your way of improving your boat sounds reasonable and logical, I like that.

What I meant was that Ive seen people adding extra stringers, adding few bulkheads and installing few addition side supports from side of the stringers. Those are very heavy changes and they prevent the hull from bending (which is evident and natural for any material). Because Im not an expert, I dont want to do that kind of major changes because Ive not seen any tests what they might do. Maybe they are great but Im not very confident to do that kind of changes.

I guess it also matters which engine you use and where your boat is located. The waves are different in lakes than on a sea. But it also depends that which sea your located at. I guess?

 

[Baylinerchuck]

I agree to a certain extent what you guys are saying. It does amaze me that these boats do as well as they do for as long as they do given the shoddy construction. The stringers in my Chap weren't bedded well at all and were completely rotted through. The only way you knew they were rotting was one soft spot in the floor.
If you rebuild the boat exactly the way it was you pretty much guarantee it to last as long as it did originally. If you build it the way it was using proper methods it should last pretty much forever. I don't feel that making a few improvements such as adding a bulkhead is going to take away from the original engineering. The original design engineering was to make it safe, as solid as possible as cheap as possible which means less material and more importantly less labor to build.
If you bed and tab the stringers, bulkheads, and floor in properly, and use foam, there's not going to be much flex if any. I am adding an additional bulkhead to create additional support and eliminate a weak spot in the deck. A weak spot engineers wouldn't know existed unless they have wet kids jumping around to test their designs.

 

[ripazka]

I agree to a certain extent what you guys are saying. It does amaze me that these boats do as well as they do for as long as they do given the shoddy construction. The stringers in my Chap weren't bedded well at all and were completely rotted through. The only way you knew they were rotting was one soft spot in the floor.
If you rebuild the boat exactly the way it was you pretty much guarantee it to last as long as it did originally. If you build it the way it was using proper methods it should last pretty much forever. I don't feel that making a few improvements such as adding a bulkhead is going to take away from the original engineering. The original design engineering was to make it safe, as solid as possible as cheap as possible which means less material and more importantly less labor to build.
If you bed and tab the stringers, bulkheads, and floor in properly, and use foam, there's not going to be much flex if any. I am adding an additional bulkhead to create additional support and eliminate a weak spot in the deck. A weak spot engineers wouldn't know existed unless they have wet kids jumping around to test their designs.

I completely agree with you and I think it wasnt against anything we already discussed here. The way mine was build was just to build it as cheap as possible but not to compromise the feel of quality and it was safe for many years after the build. However as said by so many persons here already, we are rebuilding these boats for ourselves (mostly) and we are able to spend so many hours per boat, just for fun.

As for flexing, Im pretty sure the hull will flex more than you would think first. Forces on the big waves are big for the hull as well. Plastic and wood tend to bend and thats one of the things why they are so durable too.

 

[Woodonglass]

Uhmm you DON'T want a fiberglass hull to do ANY flexing. Just because the less than desirable construction methods of the manufacturer make it appear that way doesn't mean it's proper. Adding additional bulkheads is normally not a problem as long as they are installed correctly.

 

[ripazka]

Uhmm you DON'T want a fiberglass hull to do ANY flexing. Just because the less than desirable construction methods of the manufacturer make it appear that way doesn't mean it's proper. Adding additional bulkheads is normally not a problem as long as they are installed correctly.

There I go. Thanks WoG.

 

[mickyryan]

I guess what I was trying to say is you really have no idea how the energy of a wave is transmitted through the hull and spread out adding a bulkhead someplace might make that energy be applied more in one area or another causing a spot that fatigues and cracks , as you say they all have a lil flex in them and was designed as such boats with no flex snap imho but again I'm no engineer except in the backyard where it counts

 

[ripazka]

Let's see how my boat turns out. I hope it floats :laugh:

Do you guys know what kind of gasket/seal to use on my windshield? PO has placed some crappy DIY gasket in there and the windshield is leaking water in. He used 4 pieces of gasket / window, so the water can get in from the corners. I think my Sea Ray has Taylor Made windshield but I don't know the correct part number. Would this work, what do you think -> http://www.ebay.com/itm/TRACKER-7721...9UuTJC&vxp=mtr


The problem is that I don't know what kind of seal/rubber/gasket there was earlier. I thought there should be a seal that is more like the one they use on car windows (one part goes between the glass and the frame and another part goes few mills over the frame). But I'm really not sure.

 

[ripazka]

The grinding progress feels endless. I think Ive done about 75% now. I still have to: 1. Cut lips from the cabin and near front seats and then grind them 2. Transom 3. Bilge area.

I hope Im ready with transom and bilge today. So there's one more 2-3 hours of work ahead. Ive done the whole grinding in 1-3 hour batches. After 2 hours I become slow and exhausted. So I try to keep that as a maximum work time.

No pics sorry. Ill get few when Im "ready" with this stage and I clean the hull completely (to see what I still have to do )

7,5 hours of grinding behind now.

 

[ripazka]

8,5 hours behind. The bilge is nearly done. They really didnt save resin on that section. It takes time and effort to do it, but its doable. Got my first cut today, just a minor one to finger.

Im going to continue next week. I try to be ready with grinding then. Lets see how it turns out

Pics coming then!

 

[proshadetree]

Keep plugging at it man. The worst has to be about over now. Have you had the fiberglass splinters yet? Never liked those. Keep those updates flying and yea you know we want the pics.

 

[ezmobee]

It'll be worth it when you've got nice new solid stringers glassed in there!

 

[ripazka]

Keep plugging at it man. The worst has to be about over now. Have you had the fiberglass splinters yet? Never liked those. Keep those updates flying and yea you know we want the pics.

Nope not yet. I think my gloves have saved me so far. Good gloves and the chem suit is a lifesaver. Chem suit just needs pretty cool climate, otherwise its like a sauna in there. Well at least I wouldnt handle it like a man in 90F

 

[ripazka]

No Title

Bilge is nearly done now. I still have to do bilge pump's plate, transom, cabin's lip, front seat lips and light grinding on the "flat" surfaces. That is too easy compared to that 1/2" thick resin sea at the bilge. My lady starts to look a lot better than few weeks ago or what do you think?

 

[proshadetree]

Looking lots better, every hour you grind is one hour closer to getting her wet.

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Glad to see you're progressing. Grinding makes a mess huh? Like you said, thick stuff on these boats. Easy to lay down tons of glass when it blowing out a gun!! Especially in the bilge area. Sheesh!!

 

[ripazka]

Glad to see you're progressing. Grinding makes a mess huh? Like you said, thick stuff on these boats. Easy to lay down tons of glass when it blowing out a gun!! Especially in the bilge area. Sheesh!!

Exactly. I guess it was so fun to use the resin gun lol.

Huge mess!! I think it takes hours to clean the boat well after this stage.

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Definitely. I'm grinding mine outside but it's still a huge mess. I blow it then vacuum it all out before backing in the garage again. Trying to keep that stuff out of my garage!!

 

[ripazka]

Definitely. I'm grinding mine outside but it's still a huge mess. I blow it then vacuum it all out before backing in the garage again. Trying to keep that stuff out of my garage!!

Sounds good. Blowing the dust away from the old lady!

Im on a vacation at the moment and yesterday I got this wonderful idea. Im going to build some lockers in to the cabin to keep my wife happy and all the stuff organized. It might take some time because I want to finish all the other stuff first. Happy wife, happy life. Or how was it