Can I remove 2/3 of my liner? Is it structural on my boat?

Hoping to get better results here, may also try a few places with same question. Please help if you can. 21’ walk around Cuddy, in pieces. I want to keep the Cuddy section of the liner and remove the other 2/3. Possibly adding glass to the sides of the hull if it makes sense. The cap is rigid. The liner was riveted around the top, a few bs screws in the transom. That’s it. Floor on stringers was a little glass and 1/2” plywood. Liner floor is 1/2” plywood and some chopper glass. I can elaborate later, the liner made poor contact for what you think 2 flat surfaces would do. Walls of liner are about1/8 to 3/16 in thick. I would like to streamline the floor with 3/4 coosa and glass. Can I remove it for my I/O Conversion project I’m in the middle of?

 

You can remove any or all of the liner, but you will undoubtedly need to add some reinforcing to make up for it.
Even poorly fastened, the liner adds considerable support to the hull.
I would suggest retaining at least the gunnel cap portion, and glassing it securely to the hullsides.
Your pictures do not show stringers and bulkheads, so cant help there.

 

Lol, uncapped stringers and bulkheads. Foam all around. Well rotted. Impressive actually to see how far gone nearly all the wood was including 5 termite colonies I wouldn’t have expected to find in seemingly isolated areas.

are you suggesting keeping the walls of the liner and glassing them in? I think there is about 1” between the liner wall at floor and hull wall(side). Keep going back and forth on this issue. For prudence, I’m wanting to keep it as is and make some changes to the floor hatches. I would really like to eliminate it though and have one deck layer instead of 2. Thanks

 

I'd try to keep the cap as well.

Anyplace the liner makes the hull more rigid will need reinforcing. It is really to hard to suggest where except the obvious gunwhale reinforcement.

20mm coosa is a bit much unless the spans are great or you'll have engine loads-for simple walking loads 12mm with glass is pretty sturdy stuff

surprised to see you tackle such a job; most people would punt wjen they see all the bug damage

 

Maybe just keep upper 6” or so of the wall portion so that the gunnel is boxed in to retain shape and strength.
Maybe a few gussets inside if it is flexy.
Sounds like a classic case below the floor!
Unfortunately, I have been there and done that more times than I’d like to admit!
You may be able to save some labor and materials by ripping out just one side of the damaged stringers, removing rotten wood, and then laminating against remaining stringer wall.
That will also help retain the hulls shape while you do the repairs.

 

That’s a mess!
I’d take it all out , considering the termite infestation.
At least you can start with a clean slate, and rebuild it exactly the way you want it!

 

Is all coming out. What’s there is just for reference to make sure the Cuddy and probably the rest of the liner fits. So my stringers were not strait in the boat resulting in one side of the floor below the liner being higher than the other. They then stopped the floor on one side and cut some off to get the liner to fit. Hope this makes sense? Since the Cuddy is going back, at a minimum the liner in the Cuddy section goes back in. That spot under the green extension cord is how it was, the other side had a floor you can see the skin outline.

 

Just get it all out.
Watch for spikes up cracks, cut it all out, and then some...
Big project.
You go.

 

when you say cap do you mean top cap or liner?

 

Top cap, gunwhale, same view as kapn. It is all moulded and really made to fit.

Anything you feel you would need to mould new ought to be salvaged.

 

Yes, no doubt I will keep the top cap. It is rigid. Just wondering how the boat would do without the liner floor and sides from the Cuddy back. I’ll add a pick today with some more details. Really need some opinions on this. New transom is in! Clamping jig gets removed later today and ready to build stringers. This floor/liner decision needs to be made....

 

The floor liner is a liability. You can't bond it well enough.

 

So your vote is that it’s not structural? Liability, how so?

Also since the original was 1/2” plywood with glass for deck and liner I figured 3/4 on the floor would keep the weight similar(close enough for me) as well as similar strength. Since this weight seems to be desirable for my circumstances, the added stiffness on the floor appears to be a bonus. A little concerned that the above deck bulkheads fore and aft were butted against the liner. If I remove it they will be against the hull sides directly. Not sure if the possibility exists for a hard spot there and if this is a factor for my hull design.

 

This is what started it all, that and I’ve been wanting to do an I/O conversion for a while. Went to look at a Grady White that exploded. Turns out it was probably too short and I didn’t like it enough to put in the time and money. So I decided to pull this patch, looks like it was done many years ago for a through hull transducer. They just cut both layers of floor and refoamed. Poorly sealed. Any thoughts of selling and getting a different boat with my rehab budget added went out the window. Big project indeed