Replacing stringers and floor, seeking guidance

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by Viking190, Jun 30, 2016.

  1. Viking190
    Joined: Jun 2016
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    Location: Laporte IN U.S.A.

    Viking190 New Member

    I was looking for a nice flat bottom john boat and long story short I ended up with a 1978 Viking 190 S.I. deck boat made by Chris Craft through trading and basically it was free. It's powered by a 1978 Johnson 175 that probably came on it new. I knew the floor was soft but I've only ever had flat bottom aluminum very basic boats so I didn't know what I was getting into but I found out once I pulled the plywood. I've dug out the old soaked foam, finally manipulated the right tools that made the rotten stringers fairly easy to remove and I'm about to start reassembly once I figure out how to properly address the mushy compartment up front under the front seats. My biggest concern because I don't want to do it again, I have epoxy resin, fiberglass cloth, A-B pour foam, lumber and marine plywood, do I only need one layer of the cloth when I coat the stringers? How many layers of resin do I need to apply? That's my biggest current issue at the moment because I'm going to tackle it in the next day or 2. Also, do these boats have a solid transoms or do I need to figure out how to get in there and check for more rot?
     
  2. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
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    Location: Eustis, FL

    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    Welcome to the forum.

    Most boats of that vintage, simply aren't worth the can of trouble you're about to open on yourself. Yeah, the transom is probably shot, along with the stringers, soles and pretty much everything else that's been sealed up down there, for the last 4 decades. The engine is also probably toast too, but I've seen plenty of them repaired and still in service, if you want to go that route.

    For an overview of the materials, techniques and methods, dowload the free users guides and epoxy book from westsystem.com and systemthree.com. Next look for previous threads here about the various projects you'll want to tackle. There's thousands of them, so expect to read for a few hours. Check out the videos over at bateau.com too.
     
  3. ondarvr
    Joined: Dec 2005
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    ondarvr Senior Member

    What's your expected budget.
     
  4. Viking190
    Joined: Jun 2016
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    Location: Laporte IN U.S.A.

    Viking190 New Member

    Thanks for the links! I have $340 into it right now and I have foam, resin, cloth, marine plywood and lumber. I have been expecting to have $800-$900 in it when I'm done. The engine runs great
     
  5. ondarvr
    Joined: Dec 2005
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    Location: Monroe WA

    ondarvr Senior Member

    $340 for all the materials seems a bit low, you will normally spend several times that just for the basics.....then a bit more.....sometimes a lot more.
     
  6. Viking190
    Joined: Jun 2016
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    Location: Laporte IN U.S.A.

    Viking190 New Member

    I got a heck of a deal on new marine plywood, 5 sheets for $100 and it's new, I'm really close to the owners of a local marina that does boat work and they sold me all the foam for $180 and after last night I have about $400 in it because I picked up some extra resin, cloth and stainless wood screws. I figured I've been lucky so far and I'll find something I'll need to fix. Here's a picture of what I'm working with, I'll post a picture of it cleaned out, I have a little more to get out in tight places but it's basically cleaned out.
     

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  7. mydauphin
    Joined: Apr 2007
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    Location: Florida

    mydauphin Senior Member

    Being down that road before too. Not sure it is worth it. But if you are going to do it make sure your are going to do it right then it might be worth the money and time.

    Start with transom. You have to remove ALL wood that got wet or rotten.. You are building a boat from a Fiberglass outside shell. Consider spliting top and bottom pieces, sometimes it easier to work in a open boat.you reattach back.

    Make sandwiches of plywood and Fiberglass to get thickness you need. Use Fiberglass and wood to make pieces, use Epoxy for final glueing. I love epoxy, but Fiberglass is easier and a lot cheaper for what you are doing. You need several layers. Don't be tempted to just pour Epoxy to solve your structural problem. It doesn't work that way.

    Make sure you work on a clean and dry environment otherwise your work will compromised. Get a carport, not just a tarp to work on your boat.

    So much more, but hope this gives you idea.
     
  8. mydauphin
    Joined: Apr 2007
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    Location: Florida

    mydauphin Senior Member

    Remember this Epoxy glues wood, Fiberglass and epoxy. Fiberglass glues wood, Fiberglass but not epoxy. I make my parts in wood, cover them in Fiberglass mat with resin, and then glue them together with epoxy. I get the strength of the wood, stiffness of glass sandwich, and low cost, and the bonding of Epoxy. But personally on your project I would have skipped epoxy, and just go with a higher grade resin like a vinylester.
     
  9. Capt Drake
    Joined: May 2015
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    Capt Drake Junior Member

    IMO you opened a can of worms, having said that, its open and your determined to complete it so go ahead. Make sure when you remove foam you clean it as most as you can and when you grind/ sand the fiberglass you keep it clean to place new mats. Im assuming your matching the same stringer layout so its just a jig puzzle before you start laying them on fiberglass and laminating them. As for the foam, what deck will you eventually lay on it?
    What ever deck you use, preferably fiberglass make sure you have a chemical bond with the deck and the foam if not its soft floor once again in no time. Sealing it and making it water tight is important.

    looks like a challenging project, good luck keep posting pics of progress.
     
  10. Viking190
    Joined: Jun 2016
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    Viking190 New Member

    Thanks for the info guys! Yeah it is quite the project but I've dealt with worse restoring cars and trucks here in the rust belt, I'm just new to boats like this and want it done right. I planned on laying a plywood floor like it had on it when I got the boat but I can see where the original fiberglass floor was at. I have about decided to just do a spray in bed liner for the inside finish, I originally wanted to do carpet or a nice non skid paint but I'm undecided on that right now. I really don't want to do carpet the more I think about it because of moisture. I haven't had time the last few days to work on it nore am I able to crawl around inside because of someone hitting me while I was on my motorcycle so it's on the back burner for a week or two until my knees are good to go. But I have my own shop working on vehicles and I have room inside to store it out of the rain/weather and I pull it outside to work on it. I cut down the original stringers and the fiberglass sides around them and they were MUCH easier to dig out. I cut an extra tire tool to width and bent it to a 90° angle close to the tapered end and tapped it down the groove gently with a tiny hammer and it only took about 2 hours. Getting the old rotten stringers out and the majority of the foam is as far as I've got with it, I'm going to check the transom out before I start doing any flooring. I thought about splitting the boat halfs but the sides/seats only stick out about 1.5-2 feet so I decided not to break that seal if I didn't have to. Once again thanks for the info and when I get back to it I'll post progress pictures and I'm sure I'll have a couple more questions or seek advice before it's all done.
     
  11. mydauphin
    Joined: Apr 2007
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    mydauphin Senior Member

    The keys is cleaning the whole thing up so everything bonds up good. Clean out wood, foam and everything has to get sanded. I hate carpeting on any deck of a boat. I have replaced way too many decks because of carpeting.
     
  12. mickyryan
    Joined: Apr 2016
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    Location: florida

    mickyryan Junior Member

    all total my gutted 17 footer cost about 1200 in materials to get it to cap replacement
    that doesn't include all the stuff I already had for the destruction :)
     

  13. mydauphin
    Joined: Apr 2007
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    mydauphin Senior Member

    I built a 10 foot work boat for my usage. All in all, I believe I spent $700 in materials just for hull, and it was only designed to a 5hp engine. It was designed to be as light as possible. I have easily spent $600 on materials to repair a transom. The point is don't underestimate the real cost of fiberglass and epoxies.
     
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