stringer fiberglassing and waterproofing

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: stringer fiberglassing and waterproofing

I started capping stringers yesterday with 1.5 csm i have some small air pockets at top of stringer. Should this be
ground and reglassed? I am going to finish capping stringers today and will post pics.

I would ..

All you need for this boat is csm for capping the stringers .. you dont need overlap of 1708 on the capping.

YD.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: stringer fiberglassing and waterproofing

My pic in Post #2 shows and tells you exactly what to do for your stingers.

 

[steve5]

Re: stringer fiberglassing and waterproofing



Here are a few pics of stringers tabbed in and capped engine mount pl in today still need to tab mount and cap
stringers in rear. Thank all of you for the help.

 

[Scott Chinsota]

Re: stringer fiberglassing and waterproofing

looks like yer getting the hang of it. grind the bubbles off the top of the stringers and cap where needed. wet the top then add torn pieces of csm. cut 1/2 an inch off a chip brush and use it to add more resin. stab it into the fiber to wet out the bubbles. let it set! if your tabbing goes all the way to the top, you're good. wrapping the cap over both sides is nearly impossible. you can trim some of it with scissors or a utility knife but it's not necessary if it's not sticking up to interfere with the deck installation. others here may disagree but that's what i saw when i ripped my deck out. i had trouble with my deck panels cuz there only 3/8 ply. i capped the edges flat and trimmed/sanded the excess then "painted" the edges (no glass) to seal any flaws. may not be "textbook" but i have enough faith in the technique to share it with another first-timer.
my stringer cap did get wrapped down. i used a 3/8 roundover bit/router to make it easier. hope this helps.

 

[steve5]

Re: stringer fiberglassing and waterproofing

Thanks for the info. Capped the rest of the stringers tonight had better luck on them. It is hard to get all
air bubbles out.

 

[Scott Chinsota]

Re: stringer fiberglassing and waterproofing

i know others may oppose my let it hang off the edges technique but sometimes you can only do what you can do and move on. best of luck, be patient, and listen to wood. i was lost without his help. read his flamingo thread and you'll see he had alot of good help form here too.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: stringer fiberglassing and waterproofing

This sounds like a prime example of why some of us use better wood and Proper Prep ( resin coating and resanding ) before lams go on.

As a DIYer .. you can get away with doing things two times. In the shop that kinda thing could cost us Hundreds of dollars in time alone ( remember we work at 90-100 bucks an hour .. )

I hope this helps some of Iboat members understand why Pros buy only the best of the best in materials. Very expensive we know .. but materials is only about 20% of our labor cost.

Time is money for us.

Scott .. your capping glass plan works very well in a multitude of applications. Instead of letting it set up completely though .. you could wait at Just the right gel moment where you can zip the edges right off with a fresh utility knife in about 60 seconds .

Steve .. No matter how hard you try you will get air bubbles on the caps of the stringers if the cut has Voids in it or if its not properly prepped with resin coatings.

Lets say your using CDX or something NON MG ply. You can have the risk of exposing voids in the wood when cut. Now if your cut exposed a void your going to need to fill it with some bondo or some filler ( does not matter what kinda of filler ) to fill those voids. If you dont you Will not be able to do a solid air-free lam on your wrap.

Bottom line is Do not start your lams until the Wood is Prepped properly. Some Plywood requires More prep then others. You can base the amount of prep based on how expensive the ply is. MG requires less prep and materials then CDX per say.

Hope this helps ..

YD.

 

[steve5]

Re: stringer fiberglassing and waterproofing

I do not understand ur statement just because more expensive material is used the quality of the job will
be better? I do understand labor cost i am a automotive tech at a local dealer our labor rate is also 100 per
hour. I have never restored a boat. I have read alot of threads on this site and used materials others have
used and had success with. I tore this boat down and from what i can tell the originally wood was not
sealed as it should have been hell the cover over the fuel tank was screwed into stringers
I feel even the "cheap" wood and resin i have used and my improper prep work i have done should
still be far better than the boat was originally and it lasted 26 years.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: stringer fiberglassing and waterproofing

What he meant was... With plywood other than Marine Grade there can be voids and these voids, if not filled can cause the air pockets. Also the wood used can "Drink" the resin and cause you to use more or it thus increasing the expense. Marine grade uses top quality wood veneers with no voids and tight grained veneers that typically do not "Drink" resin thus saving on costs. It's kind of a toss up between saving on resin and labor costs or on wood. For the DIY'er it's usually trying to save when and where you can. Like you say, usually what ever you do will be better and last longer than the original.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: stringer fiberglassing and waterproofing

You can base the amount of prep based on how expensive the ply is. MG requires less prep and materials then CDX per say.

I do not understand ur statement just because more expensive material is used the quality of the job will be better?

Im just talking Prep time ( time=money ).

But yea .. all in all when you use the more expensive materials you normally get better quality out of the job overall.

I didnt say that or even elude to that statement .. just agreeing with ya .

YD.

 

[GracieBell1]

Re: stringer fiberglassing and waterproofing

I have been on Iboats for a couple of years now. I am restoring an '87 Four Winns Liberator. I can honestly say that with YD, Wood and Ondavr and Opps you cannot go wrong in your restoration. I have also learned that the manufacturer of these boats(Four Winns being a very good one) cut a lot of corners when it comes to fiberglassing. The design is great but it IS a production boat. Hell my boat had no caps on the stringers and the glass only came about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way up the sides of the stringers. The back sides of the engine stringers did not even have glass on them. So if your capping and have a small bubble or two I don't think it will affect your boat. The info that these guys give is very seasoned and results in the absolute best finished product. Far, Far above the factory finished product. Even the tabbing on my boat is only about 1/8 of an inch thick except for the engine compartment, it is about 1/4 thick on the front and nothing on the back of the stringers. I have had to replace the mounts as well. When I cut out the first one water was draining out. They had about a 1/4 inch on top and was thinner down the sides. Heck the boat even had bubble in the glass from the factory. So, all in all your glassing looks good and will last a long time. But don't go against any advise from these guys that they think would compromise the integrity of your boat. Opps, I am so glad you posted about the CSM thing. Hell, CSM is what seals the glass as the weave on Woven Roving or cloth is way to big to seal out water. Did not know that until these guys helped.

 

[steve5]

Re: stringer fiberglassing and waterproofing

Hi everyone had lots of things come up keeping me from this project but have started on it again this summer. I have all deck cut to size
and am glassing back of deck. The boats hull is part of the floor in from the console back about 12 inches on each side. Should the deck not contact hull at any point? Thanks