Teen Restoring 16' Fiberglass Boat, Need Help

[djkingmatt]

Hey all, I'm a 15 year old that lives in VA, and recently aquired a free boat. Afer some cleaning, and taking off the rotten floor, and attemting to dissasemble the rotten or just expanded transom, it looks pretty good. The previous owner had a too low wench, so he was actually bending the front of the boat when He tightened it all the way (lol), so the center beam (stringer?) cracked. I loosed the wench, and the front end sprang up, so it's not a lost cause, but theres ants in the styrofoam in the front, that go to the transom in the back through the side molding which I took off.
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Ok, I'm planning on putting ant killer this weekend, wait until they're dead, then repair the crack in the beam and reinforce it (is that possible), get some Great Stuff foam and fill in the front (w/o styrofoam), sides, and bottom then shape it all with a sander. Then waterproof one big, thin piece of Plywood, screw it down to the beams, and fiberglass it over -Matt

[gonzo]

Grind the old fiberglass before laminating over it. Seems like you got a handle on it. Good luck.

[djkingmatt]

Ok, like sand it, I just ordered Ram for my computer, a DVD burner, and among other things, a Round sander brand new, thanks for saying I have a handle on it, thats what I wanted to hear, thanks -Matt

[marshmat]

Sounds like you've got yourself a pretty decent project there. The rebuild outline you described sounds pretty good to me too. Your first task is to clean the boat, and to take out everything that is rotten or delaminated and replace it. How meticulous you are when repairing the stringer grid to its original condition will determine how well your boat survives.
Sounds like you're well on track. I was 15 when I launched Sunset Chaser.... it's a long, involved but very rewarding project. (And the girls really dig a nice boat....;-) )

[Ssor]

Hi Matt, If you want to use canned foam you may use it to glue pink extruded styrofoam to its self and to the boat. I built the ice box for my boat with extruded styrofoam and great stuff foam, sprayed the inside with 3M adhesive and covered that with glass cloth and epoxy. You seem to be taking a good approach to this job, don't rush it. And come back if you have any more questions. Welcome to the club.
Ross in Bel Air, Md

[djkingmatt]

Sweet, yeah, I've been procrastinating, because my friend just got a Pocketbike (sooo cool) but it's all clean, exeppt for ants, and the transom is expanded, any ideas, just some ant killer and some of that instant transom stuff?

[Ssor]

Now I get it you were speaking of the winch on the trailer.
The transom carries your engine. Yes?
If the transom is weakened, will it support the engine and the thrust that the engine places on the transom?
If the transom fails it is the second worst thing that will happen that day. The worst thing is the engine leaves home and the boat probably sinks.
Talk to some local boaters when you get it taken apart enough to see what you have.
Diazinon is a granular insecticide that is very effective with ants.(and some uncles)

[marshmat]

After the third season I had my 15-footer on the water some stress cracks began appearing around the wood bracing on the transom.... now it has some hefty steelwork there. An outboard puts incredible stress on very tiny parts of the transom; if you're at all unsure it's probably best to rip out whatever seems bad and put in hefty, well-braced new structure.

[djkingmatt]

I'm on a low budget, I didn't get the sanding done this weekend because I had a gnarly crash on my friends Pocketbike, I hit a roll of carpet on the curb, coming out of a turn doin 20 probably, trying to catch up with this dude to race. Anyway, yeah, I'll get some ant killer and get back on the boat now my aunt and uncle found out what I've been doin at my best friends house after they told me not to ride it at all (whoops)
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I was wondering if anyone knew what a can of GreatStuff (- cracks and leaks) foam is area-wise, 'cause I don't wanna get too mush because it's $10 a bottle and I need a little gun to dispense it which is $30 + the sander $35 + sandpaper $5, so I'm lookin at $120 bucks. Also, should I just pull ot the bolts on the transom, and just gut it with a chainsaw? That's he way they say to do it on the Instant Transom site, then just pour the stuff in, thx again -Matt

[Ssor]

Some of the best advise I ever received ,"make haste slowly".... Great stuff does not cover much ground. Use it to fill in around the pink or blue extruded styrofoam ( 2 inches thick 2 feet wide , 8 feet long about twenty bucks.) Leave the damn chain saw at home and work smart. 1 Sheet of 3/4 inch plywood will make a new transom, and ten bucks worth of polyester resin and fiber glass will turn it into a new transom.

[djkingmatt]

ok, ok, this sounds cheaper, what do I do about the bad transom, cut off the back of the boat, because the whole back is rot wood, and then there's the two metal plates in the middle. Also, what do I do about the runners in the nose, I think they're not attached, because the fiberglass on them that is supposed to be attached to the hull isn't should I reattach them, or rip them out and put new ones, or what?? I know, I ask a lot of Q's, but I don't really wanna mess up. I got like 9 cans of great stuff cracks + leaks because I heard that it was the closed cell kind, a orbital sander, 80, 60, and 120 sandpaper, gloves, resin, and fiberglass, and my aunt got some plants, i bought my second powertool today, feel the testosterone!

[Ssor]

You seem to be getting overwhelmed with this project.. So here is my advise, you can't fix it all at once. You can only fix one problem at a time. Make a list of every defect that you know about. Place all of the individual defects on post-it notes in a note book and arrange them in the order that makes the most sense to repair them.

What I mean about listing the defects is ; each and every detail needs to be noted.

That way with your list on movable notes you can concentrate on doing one repair at a time. Each time that you complete a repair move the post-it note to a page of completed items. This way you will also be able to see how much you have accomplished. You might even want to make note of the time and money spent on each item.

I spent ten years rebuilding a thirty foot sail boat, new everything.

[djkingmatt]

Should I re-do the little runners in the nose? And does anyone know of something easier than Sea-Cast for a new transom? Thanks for the idea, I need to be kept in a small-picture state of mind.

[Ssor]

Easier and less costly than Sea-cast---Plywood
Replace the runners---- Put them on the list of things to do and forget about them until you have to decide if not doing them now will make you undo something else that you repaired.

This is going to end up as many layers of work, you don't put you pants, socks and shoes on before you put your underwear on. So don't let yourself be in a hurry to see progress and do work out of sequence.

keep on asking questions.:-)

[seamonkey]

transom rebuild....assess the extent of rot by poking into anydrill-holes going into the transom-typically this is where the rot starts,,then drill a few other exploratories from the inside........typically on a runabout this size,,it's worth then assessing the floor, foam,and especially stringers before continuing,,as if you're transom is fully rotted,,then it's likely that these are rotted as well-----it's worth FULLY assessing your project before pulling out your wallet,,and hair later!!
........depending on access,a transom rebuild can be best done from the inside,,as the glassing is MUCH thinner than the outside,,and the cosmetics would be simpler,as well.