Project help

Discussion in 'Fiberglass and Composite Boat Building' started by glassr, Jan 10, 2005.

  1. glassr
    Joined: Jan 2005
    Posts: 23
    Likes: 0, Points: 0, Legacy Rep: 10
    Location: Melbourne Shores,Florida

    glassr Junior Member

    Hello everyone,
    Just before the Christmas holidays I picked up a 1990 30' cc with small cuddy.The outer hull is in great shape with no blisters or cracking. We only found a few small chips that looked like the result of trailering mishaps.
    Here is the dilemma.The fiberglass encapsulating the stringers has delaminated in various areas on both port/starboard sides.I will end up replacing the stringers from bow to stern. I haven't unbolted the sections of the floor that can be removed to inspect them further but I suspect the stringers are rotten.

    Next we have the transom, or what is left of it. When I took my trusty rubber mallet and tapped all around the area you could here the voids and smell what smells like rotten plywood. What is worse is when you lay a level parallel to the transom you can see that it is concaved about 1 1/2" side to side.The transom has a twin engine Stainless Marine bracket with twin Merc 225's. You can see where the old sealant from the bracket to transom joint was. It was only 1/4" max at the outer edge of the transom on either side. Right now it has expanded to almost 1". So to me this looks like a complete transom rebuild also. I am planning on not removing the outer skin of fiberglass on the outer side of the transom. It is still in great shape.

    Lastly we have the sinking floor.This boat was designed with a one piece inner-liner that was bonded to hull top side,stringers and transom.It is sectioned out with hatches across the stern one at port,one at starboard, with a 25 gal. round live well center. Just forward is the center console which has a removable deck section beneath it starting about 8" aft and running 10" forward of the console.there is also a large fishbox forward of the console on center line with two more boxes to port and starboard.The nonskid on the deck is round flat top circles about the size of a pencil eraser. Remarkably it is still in good shape. I would also like to reuse if possible.We took a straight edge and laid it across the deck from port to starboard and at the center the sag was 1 3/4"-2". I guess the filler between the stringers and the underside of the inner liner has deteriorated. This for me will be the most difficult to decide due the fact that there are so many options
    I have done hull restorations in the past with standard marine ply encapsulated in fiberglass. I also worked in the Cigarette race prep shop in the early 80's(I am still itching from it!)
    What I want to do is make this boat as light and strong as possible.Yes,I do know there will be a trade off somewhere. We will keep this boat for a long time so we are looking to get away from wood rotting in the future and better fuel consumption.
    Now onto the questions!

    1)Stringers: Would it be possible to use Nida-Core as the coring material for the stringers? If so at what orientation to the hull (IE:Lenghtwise honeycombs vertical or honeycombs horizontal with fiberglass,kevlar ,carbon fiber between layers of the coring materials.Or would you just cut the Nida Core into an upide down "U" and fiberglass it to the hull and fill void with 2 part foam. Again we would like this to be strong/light but with longevity in mind.

    2)Transom: I would also like to make the transom out of Nida Core if possible.
    Would it be better to use thinner sheets bonded together with fiberglass,kevlar or carbon fiber. Or just use (3) 1" panels bonded together to make the required thickness. Or are there any other matertials that would be better suited for this,excluding marine plywood of course.

    3) Floor/Innerliner: Would it be best just to cut out the flooring areas that are not accessed by removable panels or hatches and just re-deck along with trying to match the non-skid as I have done prior to this project. Or would it be best to cut the seal under the rub rail for the inner-liner to hull joint,remove the inner-liner replace the deck structure(again single sheets of Nida-Core or multiples) and lift the inner-liner back onto the hull and reseal the hull to deck joint with epoxy along with the mating areas at the stringers.

    4) Materials: I have used mat, biaxial ,chop and woven roving prior. What I would like to do with this hull is use some of the kevlars and\or carbon fiber in the areas that are deemed appropriate (IE:strenght,weight). Also what would be the proper orientation of the materials. As with the floor do you run the materials parallel, or perpendicular to the hull( for/aft being parallel,perpendicular being port to starboard) or do you run the materials on 45 degree angles. I guess that would be the question for the transom and stringers also. I will be using epoxy with any of the materials chosen.

    I have a good place to work on the boat and I have the proper equipment. I just need some good answers to the above questions so by summer our family can be fishing again.

    Thanks for everyones time. I appreciate your responses.

    Sincerely,
    Scott
     
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