Advice needed for stringers and bulkheads

[spears]

Hi All, I'm new to the forum and could use some advice. I bought an old 14 ft Silverline boat that needs repair. I have removed the floor, bulkheads and stringers and have cut new ones using the old as patterns. I intend to glass these in but I have read some things about creating hard spots on the hull when replacing the bulkheads. 1 Do I need to place something beneath them before I glass them in, like a fairly thick layer of silicon perhaps? Nothing was done during the original build like that so I it makes me wonder if it's necessary on such a small hull. 2 Once those are in and glassed should I fill the spaces with foam, such as spray foam? I was planning on using pieces of plastic sheet taped together to fill with foam in such a way that the foam pieces could be lifted out without making one solid mess of things. I want to put in a varnished wood floor, glassed at the edges in such a way that the thing will be water proof, and I hope those aren't famous last words. 3Someone drilled small holes on the dash and various places over the years to mount misc. things. Can these small holes be filled using glass mat behind them and resin in the holes or is there a particular product or a better way of doing this repair. At the moment I am really enjoying this project, I'll let you know how I feel about it later! You may be hearing from me again with more questions. Thanks in advance, Mike

[alan white]

Bulkheads can create hard spots visually when installed before a full cure of the hull, but once cured, like redoing an old hull, as long as no pressure is exerted (due to having to force the bulkhead in, for example), there should not be a telltale hard line on the hull's exterior.
You can set the bulkhead in place a sixteenth of an inch from contact by using a few popsicle stick-sized pieces of wood. A few thickened epoxy "tacks" (much like welding) will set the bulkhead in place.
After a partial cure, remove the sticks and begin the filleting and glassing, hopefully completing the job "hot" without any need to sand.
The sixteenth inch (or more) space will be completely filled when the first side is filleted, so that you see the goo oozing out the opposite side.