Needs A New Transom And Deck

Discussion in 'Fiberglass and Composite Boat Building' started by vulturerick, Jun 2, 2015.

  1. vulturerick
    Joined: Jun 2015
    Posts: 1
    Likes: 0, Points: 0, Legacy Rep: 10
    Location: baltimore md

    vulturerick New Member

    Hello Everyone,

    I got an old tunnel hull racer that I want to save from the junk pile.

    Its 14 ft long, with a hull made of molded fiberglass, and only weighs about 160 lbs.

    The only wood in the boat is the coamings, transom, and dash.

    The deck is very thin fiberglass and resin that has been riveted to the lip of the hull with sealant and a "C" channel.

    After being told that it would take $6k and two years (gulp) to have someone do the work for me, I decided to look into doing it myself.

    I have virtually no experience in building with fiberglass and resin except for a few fiberglass patches here and there that I performed 20 years ago on this boat:eek:

    I thought about replacing the deck and transom with wood and cover it with fiberglass cloth, but Im not sure how to go about doing it exactly and not wind up with any leaks :eek:

    Any kind souls with some experience share any thoughts, ideas, or pictures?

    Thanks
     

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  2. FMS
    Joined: Jul 2011
    Posts: 611
    Likes: 22, Points: 18, Legacy Rep: 227
    Location: united states

    FMS Senior Member

    The transom is small and won't be too difficult to redo with a wood core.

    What happened to the deck?

    Is the existing glass breaking down structurally? I can't tell from the photos the extent of the deck problem.
     
  3. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
    Posts: 19,126
    Likes: 498, Points: 93, Legacy Rep: 3967
    Location: Eustis, FL

    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    Welcome to the forum.

    Unfortunately, these little puppies were designed to be used hard and tossed away, often after a fairly short service life. The reason is simple, they became dated pretty quickly with new hull shapes being employed, which made previous models obsolete. They were built very light (read flimsy), with not a lot of emphases placed on durability as a result.

    This said is can be saved, but you'll have to make some hard decisions on what you want from it. The transom can be repaired and the easy way is to pop the deck cap off and work from inside. You'll likely have to reinforce a lot of areas, where there's busted up laminate or rotten wood. It's common for the cockpit side near the transom and bottom to break free from the laminate on this things, so this will need to get fixed.

    As to learning about these types of fixes, thee are several books on working with 'glass you can read up on. The guy that said it'll be $6k was simply giving you the "I don't want to do the job" price. In reality the job, if done professionally would only require a few weeks, not years of work and one week of this would be prep for paint or gelcoat. The price is dependant on where you are and the shop rate you'll have to eat, which can range wildly.

    Previous threads about transom and stringer repairs here might be helpful to read through. The procedures will be the same. The boat isn't worth anything as a empty hull shell. The value of these is in the engine and controls, so once stripped, it's just landfill incinerator fuel. The only exception to this is if it has some notoriety of some sort. If a famous owner once drove it, an impressive win record or a senator's son got his girlfriend pregnant in it or something.
     
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