mid-sixties fiberglass speed boat

[feh]

Hi folks!

I have a question about a 15' Nylox speedboat that was built in the mid-60s. It has a fiberglass hull, but I'm wondering about the frame, assuming it has one.

Would you expect there to be a wooden frame on such a boat? From getting the boat on/off a trailer, some of the fiberglass was chewed away on the keel, exposing bare wood. I'm wondering if water may have gotten inside the hull, rotting whatever frame might be in there.

Thanks!

[charmc]

Feh,

Hi, and welcome to the forums. Use the search function here for topics like fiberglass repair, restoration, old fiberglass boat, etc, and you'll find a wealth of information on working on old fiberglass boats.

There is a similar thread just started here: http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/showthread.php?t=22113

The short answer to your question is yes, there is wood in the boat under the fiberglass, and you are right to speculate that there may be water damage. The link above takes you to a thread with some good descriptions of how to begin finding the wood and evaluating its condition.

If you decide to go ahead you'll spend hours of hard work and more money than you might think, but you'll learn many worthwhile skills in the process. Good luck!

[dragonjbynight]

http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/showthread.php?t=16263

This is also another good one if you are needing some major overhaul work. I am in that "boat" right now actuall, bout same year boat too.

[tom28571]

There should be no wooden frame in the normal sense in a fiberglass boat. Other than what is easily visible, the only wood likely to be found would be in the transom, bottom stringers or floorboards and reinforcements behind stress areas like cleats. The most critical of these would be the transom followed by bottom stringers and floorboards. If present, all of these would be covered by fiberglass and resin.